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Written Question
Further Education: Extracurricular Activities
Tuesday 13th February 2024

Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of using (a) the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme and (b) other enrichment opportunities to develop skills for the workplace within a further education setting alongside the work placement required in T-Level qualifications.

Answered by Robert Halfon

Employability, enrichment and pastoral (EEP) are an important part of current post-16 study programmes as they prepare students for future education, employment and life.

T Levels were introduced in 2020, and are high-quality, Level 3 qualifications that equip students with the skills, knowledge and behaviours they need to progress into skilled employment. As set out in the department’s delivery guidance, providers are encouraged to take advantage of EEP support and work taster activities in the first and/or second year of the T Level programme to help with student preparation. This guidance can be found at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1163906/T_Level_industry_placements_-_delivery_guidance.pdf.

As part of the T Level, students also complete a minimum of 315 hours in an industry placement working with external employers. The Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme and other enrichment opportunities can be incorporated into a T Level industry placement, provided that the activity is occupationally relevant to the T Level and meets all requirements outlined in our T Level delivery placements guidance. To do this, providers may choose to incorporate one or more of the flexible delivery approaches outlined in our guidance.


Written Question
Rawlins Academy: Repairs and Maintenance
Friday 15th December 2023

Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the outcome of the rebuilding survey at Rawlins Academy in Loughborough.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

Rawlins Academy is part of the School Rebuilding Programme which will transform buildings at 500 schools and sixth-form colleges over the next decade. It will rebuild or refurbish poor condition buildings, providing modern designs, with new buildings being net zero carbon in operation.

The department’s surveys at Rawlin’s Academy have recently started and are due to complete in the New Year. The department will share the outcome of these surveys with the school shortly.



Written Question
District Heating: Training
Wednesday 15th November 2023

Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that training centres have the (a) resources and (b) developed curriculum to train heat network installers.

Answered by Robert Halfon

In the 2021 Heat and Buildings Strategy, the government committed to a range of policies enabling a zero-carbon heating system in the UK. In the strategy, the government committed to investing £338 million into the Heat Network Transformation Programme over 2022/23 to 2024/25.

The Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy’s 2020 Heat Network Skills Review found, among other things that:

  • Skills challenges in the energy and engineering sectors were a barrier to the uptake of heat networks.
  • The heat networks sector lacks data to support workforce planning.
  • Occupations particularly in demand include project delivery managers, heat network development managers, and control system specialists.
  • Heat network training is often informal and completed on-the-job as continuing professional development. There are some private organisations that deliver specific training on heat networks.

Earlier this year, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero ran the Heat Training Grant competition for education providers in England. This funding facilitates the ability to provide training on the designing, building, and maintenance of heat networks. A further round of the scheme will run for training to be delivered in academic year 2024/25.

There are existing courses funded by the department for education that provide the skills needed to build and operate heat networks. These are highlighted in the list below:

  • The building services engineering craftsperson level 3 apprenticeship provides learners with the experience and training necessary to install large-scale heating systems in buildings like factories and hospitals, including those powered by sustainable energy.
  • Skills Bootcamps have been delivered on a range of green heating technologies. The courses are open to adults aged 19 and over and are designed with employers to meet short to medium-term skill shortages and to boost productivity.
  • The Building Services Engineering for Construction T Level supports learners to progress to a job as a heating & ventilation engineer, which can include low carbon technologies like heat networks.
  • The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education is currently developing an occupational standard for an apprenticeship at level 3, entitled district heat network maintenance technician.
  • The network of 21 Institutes of Technology (IoTs) is committed to supporting the government’s targets for sustainability and net zero. With access to £300 million of capital funding to develop industry-standard facilities and equipment, IoTs are delivering higher level technical provision in key STEM subjects, such as net zero carbon energy production.
  • The department has launched the Local Skills Improvement Fund to implement the training facilities needed to meet the workforce needs set out in an area’s Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP). £80 million of capital and revenue funding is in the process of being awarded, and a further £85 million of capital funding will be made available in 2024/25. This funding can be used for the equipment needed to deliver training on heat networks if that is designated as a local workforce need in an area’s LSIP.


Written Question
Special Educational Needs
Tuesday 29th November 2022

Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department is taking steps to implement the recommendations in the report by the Children's Commissioner entitled Beyond the Labels: A SEND system which works for every child, every time, published on 14 November 2022.

Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero

The department welcomes the Children's Commissioner's report, a response to the department’s consultation, which provided a range of recommendations for the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system. This includes improving the education, health and care (EHC) plan process and the support that is available for through alternative provision (AP) providers. The SEND and AP Green Paper set out the department’s proposals for how the SEND system can be improved, so that it delivers improved outcomes, experiences and financial sustainability. The department will publish a SEND and AP Improvement Plan that will set out the consultation feedback and our next steps in due course.


Written Question
Pupils: Visual Impairment
Monday 18th July 2022

Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the absence rates from education of blind and partially sighted pupils at (a) primary and (b) secondary school were in each year from 2012 to date.

Answered by Will Quince

The department publishes annual statistics on absence from school broken down by pupils’ type of special educational need (SEN). The most recent figures, for the 2020/21 academic year, are published here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/pupil-absence-in-schools-in-england.

The publication includes figures for pupils whose type of SEN is visual impairment. The figures for primary and secondary schools are available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/34b7634d-01b2-45bb-be2e-5003ac8ea73f. For comparative purposes, ‘Total’ includes all pupils, including those who have no SEN.

The figures do not include the 2019/20 academic year, because the publication was cancelled that year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


Speech in Commons Chamber - Mon 21 Feb 2022
Skills and Post-16 Education Bill [Lords]

Speech Link

View all Jane Hunt (Con - Loughborough) contributions to the debate on: Skills and Post-16 Education Bill [Lords]

Speech in Westminster Hall - Tue 11 Jan 2022
Careers Guidance in Schools

Speech Link

View all Jane Hunt (Con - Loughborough) contributions to the debate on: Careers Guidance in Schools

Speech in Commons Chamber - Mon 06 Dec 2021
Arthur Labinjo-Hughes

Speech Link

View all Jane Hunt (Con - Loughborough) contributions to the debate on: Arthur Labinjo-Hughes

Speech in Commons Chamber - Mon 06 Dec 2021
Oral Answers to Questions

Speech Link

View all Jane Hunt (Con - Loughborough) contributions to the debate on: Oral Answers to Questions

Speech in Commons Chamber - Mon 06 Dec 2021
Oral Answers to Questions

Speech Link

View all Jane Hunt (Con - Loughborough) contributions to the debate on: Oral Answers to Questions