Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had recent discussions with the travel industry on trends in the cost of family holidays during school holidays.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Secretary of State for Education has not had recent discussions with the travel industry on trends in the cost of family holidays during school holidays. However, information and research on the cost of holidays is widely available online.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate she has made of the proportion of children on the roll of (a) primary and (b) secondary schools who have been absent for four weeks or longer.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Data on absence and attendance are collected via two sources. The School Census collects data on total termly absence only and does not collect dates or continuous periods of absence. It does not collect data on whether pupils were absent for a period of four weeks or longer. It collects data on proportion of absence over a term or year.
Information on absence is also collected via data submitted to the Department by participating schools on a daily basis. The information requested is not readily available from this source and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department spent on education about international development in schools in England in the last financial year.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Autumn Statement 2022 announced additional funding of £2 billion in both 2023/24 and 2024/25, over and above totals announced at the Spending Review 2021. This means funding for mainstream schools and high needs is £3.5 billion higher in 2023/24, compared to 2022/23. That is on top of the £4 billion, year on year increase provided in 2022/23. This is an increase of £7.5 billion, or over 15%, in just two years.
This additional funding will enable headteachers to continue to allocate budgets to areas that positively impact educational attainment, including high quality teaching and targeted support to the children who need it most, as well as help schools to manage higher costs, including higher energy bills.
All schools and academies have the freedom to choose how to spend their core funding according to their own unique circumstances and priorities, providing that all expenditure ultimately benefits their students. The Department does not allocate specific budgets for each subject. It is for schools to decide the allocation of resources at an individual school level.
Geography is part of the statutory National Curriculum for maintained schools at Key Stages 1, 2 and 3. Within geography, the National Curriculum and subject content for GCSE sets out requirements for teaching human geography including economic, global and international development.
Citizenship is also part of the statutory National Curriculum at Key Stages 3 and 4. As part of citizenship, pupils will learn about Parliament, the importance of voting and elections, the role of police, courts and justice, free press, human rights and international law and the governments of other countries, both democratic and non-democratic. They are also taught the actions citizens can take in democratic and electoral processes to influence decisions locally, nationally and beyond.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department spent on (a) teacher training and (b) educational resources on international development in the 2022-23 financial year.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government is committed to providing a world class education system for all pupils and has funded significantly in education to achieve that.
The Department does not specifically fund Initial Teacher Training on international development.
Schools receive core funding, to cover all the core running costs of a school. Overall, funding for both mainstream schools and high needs increased by £4 billion in 2022/23 compared to the previous year. Total funding for mainstream schools was £53.8 billion in the 2022/23 financial year.
All schools and academies have the freedom to choose how to spend their core funding according to their own unique circumstances and priorities, providing that all expenditure ultimately benefits their pupils. The Department does not allocate specific budgets for each subject. It is for schools to decide the allocation of resources at an individual school level.
Geography is part of the statutory National Curriculum for maintained schools at Key Stages 1, 2 and 3. Within geography, the National Curriculum and subject content for GCSE does set out requirements for teaching human geography, including economic, global, and international development.
Citizenship is also part of the statutory National Curriculum at Key Stages 3 and 4. As part of Citizenship, pupils will learn about Parliament, the importance of voting and elections, the role of police, courts and justice, free press, human rights and international law and the governments of other countries, both democratic and non-democratic. They are also taught the actions citizens can take in democratic and electoral processes to influence decisions locally, nationally and beyond.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support students whose courses have been affected by the insolvency of Supporting Minds CIC.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Supporting Minds is a private organisation that neither has contracts with, nor receives government funding from, the Education and Skills Funding Agency or the Office for Students in respect of the provision it delivers and students it has enrolled.
The department’s advice to any individuals affected by the closure of this organisation is to contact the National Careers Service to seek advice about the options for enrolling onto another course with a different provider.
The National Careers Service provide careers information, advice and guidance to people of all ages and can help individuals to make decisions on learning, training and work at all stages of their career. Their website is available at: https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk.
As a private provider not receiving government funding, the department assumes it will have charged students for its provision. Affected students will need to make a claim with the insolvency practitioner to try and recover those funds.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the extent of (a) bullying and (b) consequent suicide of pupils in schools.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
Every suicide is a tragedy. Supporting the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people, including suicide prevention, is a government priority. The department is committed to ensuring schools and colleges are safe, calm and supportive learning environments, where bullying is actively prevented. Schools and colleges should also promote mental wellbeing and provide early, targeted support to prevent the onset and progression of mental health problems.
It is important to recognise that suicide is complex and rarely due to one factor. However, there is strong evidence in the wider academic literature for a causal link between being a victim of bullying, and experiencing negative mental health outcomes, including depression, anxiety, self-harm, and psychotic experiences in both adolescence and throughout adult life. In February 2022, 15% of secondary pupils (years 7 to 13) self-reported that they had been bullied in the past 12 months.
The analysis of The National Child Mortality Database (NCMD) data on child deaths between 1 April 2019 and 31 March 2020, for which the child death reviews have been completed, shows that of the 91 deaths categorised as ‘Suicide or deliberate self-inflicted harm’ (excluding substance misuse related deaths), at least 21 (23%) had experienced either face to face or cyber bullying.
The department’s ‘Behaviour in Schools’ Guidance states that all schools are required by law to have a behaviour policy which outlines measures to encourage good behaviour and prevent all forms of bullying amongst pupils. This should be communicated to all pupils, school staff and parents. The guidance can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1101597/Behaviour_in_schools_guidance_sept_22.pdf.
The department is providing over £2 million of funding, between 10 August 2021 and 31 March 2023, to five anti-bullying organisations to support schools to tackle bullying. This includes projects targeting bullying of particular groups, such as those who are victims of hate-related bullying.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish a list of the circumstances in which a person is required by law to produce or show their birth certificate in an education setting.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The Education (Student Support) Regulations 2011, and associated student support regulations, require higher education students to provide information requested by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education.
For the first year of their course, undergraduate students that apply to Student Finance England for student support are asked to provide proof of identity on their application form by including details from their passport. Student Finance England share the passport details of the applicant with HM Passport Office to confirm that they are valid. If a student does not have a valid, current passport, they are asked to send a photocopy of their UK birth or adoption certificate to Student Finance England.
There are other circumstances where an educational institution may request evidence for verification purposes. This could include, but is not limited to, a birth certificate in order to prove identity, date of birth or the right to work in the UK.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what advice and training is given to primary schools on tackling pupil bullying.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The government has sent a clear message that bullying should never be tolerated, and we are committed to supporting all schools to tackle it. The department provides advice for schools, which outlines their responsibilities. The advice makes clear that schools should make appropriate provision for a bullied child's social, emotional and mental health needs. It is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preventing-and-tackling-bullying.
The department is providing over £2 million in funding, between 10 August 2021 and 31 March 2023, to five anti-bullying organisations to support both primary and secondary schools to tackle bullying. This includes projects targeting bullying of particular groups, such as those who are victims of hate related bullying and Homophobic, Biphobic and Transphobic based bullying.
We have also published, ‘Respectful School Communities’, a self-review and signposting tool to support schools to develop a whole-school approach that promotes respect and discipline. This is available here: https://educateagainsthate.com/school-leaders/?filter=guidance-and-training-school-leaders.
All schools should set clear, reasonable and proportionate expectations of pupil behaviour in line with the department’s guidance on behaviour and discipline in schools, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/behaviour-in-schools--2.
It is for individual schools to develop their own best practice for managing behaviour in their school.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance and training is available for primary schools on tackling pupil bullying.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The government has sent a clear message that bullying should never be tolerated, and we are committed to supporting all schools to tackle it. The department provides advice for schools, which outlines their responsibilities. The advice makes clear that schools should make appropriate provision for a bullied child's social, emotional and mental health needs. It is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preventing-and-tackling-bullying.
The department is providing over £2 million in funding, between 10 August 2021 and 31 March 2023, to five anti-bullying organisations to support both primary and secondary schools to tackle bullying. This includes projects targeting bullying of particular groups, such as those who are victims of hate related bullying and Homophobic, Biphobic and Transphobic based bullying.
We have also published, ‘Respectful School Communities’, a self-review and signposting tool to support schools to develop a whole-school approach that promotes respect and discipline. This is available here: https://educateagainsthate.com/school-leaders/?filter=guidance-and-training-school-leaders.
All schools should set clear, reasonable and proportionate expectations of pupil behaviour in line with the department’s guidance on behaviour and discipline in schools, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/behaviour-in-schools--2.
It is for individual schools to develop their own best practice for managing behaviour in their school.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to take steps with Cabinet colleagues to review the charging of overseas student fees to British National (Overseas) visa holders from Hong Kong who have moved to the UK.
Answered by Robert Halfon
To qualify for home fee status in the UK, a person must have settled status or a recognised connection to the UK. This includes people who are covered by the EU Withdrawal Agreement, have long residence in this country, or who have been granted international protection by the Home Office. There are also requirements associated with ordinary residence in the UK.
Subject to meeting the normal eligibility requirements, British Nationals (Overseas) status holders will be able to qualify for home fee status once they have acquired settled status in the UK. This is usually acquired after five years.
There are no plans to review British Nationals (Overseas) status holder’s access to home fee status.