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Written Question
Religion: Education
Tuesday 19th March 2024

Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to page 41 of the Annual Report of His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills 2022-23, published on 23 November 2023, what steps her Department is taking (a) improve the quality of and (b) coordinate stakeholder work on improving religious education in schools.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

Religious education (RE) is an important part of a school’s curriculum and can contribute to a young person’s personal, social, and academic development. When done well, it can develop children’s knowledge of British values and traditions, help them better understand those of other countries, and refine pupils’ ability to construct well-informed, balanced, and structured arguments. This is why is it remains a compulsory subject in all state-funded schools in England for each pupil up to the age of 18.

The department read Ofsted’s 2023 annual report with interest and is committed to ensuring high-quality provision of RE in schools. In order to improve teaching quality, we are offering a £10,000 bursary for RE trainee teachers starting initial teacher training courses in the academic year 2024/25. The department have published this information on the ‘Get Into Teaching’ website and will be marketing the offer to prospective teachers through other channels.

To support teachers when they are in post, and to ensure high standards and consistency of RE teaching, RE resources will be procured by Oak National Academy during the second tranche of its work. Oak will work closely with the sector and utilise sector experience when producing new materials for RE. This will ensure that high-quality lessons are available nationwide, benefitting both teachers and pupils, should schools opt to use them. Oak RE resources will be available for teaching from autumn 2024, with full packages expected to be available by autumn 2025.

The department also continues to offer eight-week subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) courses in the academic year 2023/24 for candidates who have the potential to become outstanding teachers but need to increase their subject knowledge. The eight-week SKE course, available in religious education, can be undertaken on a full-time or part-time basis but must be completed before qualified teacher status can be recommended and awarded. Eligible candidates could be entitled to a SKE bursary of £175 per week to support them financially whilst completing their SKE course.

More information on these courses is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/subject-knowledge-enhancement-an-introduction.

The department engages closely with key stakeholders within the RE sector, including the National Association of Standing Advisory Councils for Religious Education (NASACRE) and the National Association of Teachers of Religious Education (NATRE). The department also welcomes the work that the Religious Education Council (REC) has done to assist curriculum developers by publishing its National Content Standard for RE in England.

The department has no plans to publish additional non-statutory guidance on RE syllabus content in schools.


Written Question
Religion: Education
Tuesday 19th March 2024

Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to page 41 of the Annual Report of His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills 2022-23, published on 23 November 2023, if he will publish additional non-statutory guidance on religious education syllabus content in schools.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

Religious education (RE) is an important part of a school’s curriculum and can contribute to a young person’s personal, social, and academic development. When done well, it can develop children’s knowledge of British values and traditions, help them better understand those of other countries, and refine pupils’ ability to construct well-informed, balanced, and structured arguments. This is why is it remains a compulsory subject in all state-funded schools in England for each pupil up to the age of 18.

The department read Ofsted’s 2023 annual report with interest and is committed to ensuring high-quality provision of RE in schools. In order to improve teaching quality, we are offering a £10,000 bursary for RE trainee teachers starting initial teacher training courses in the academic year 2024/25. The department have published this information on the ‘Get Into Teaching’ website and will be marketing the offer to prospective teachers through other channels.

To support teachers when they are in post, and to ensure high standards and consistency of RE teaching, RE resources will be procured by Oak National Academy during the second tranche of its work. Oak will work closely with the sector and utilise sector experience when producing new materials for RE. This will ensure that high-quality lessons are available nationwide, benefitting both teachers and pupils, should schools opt to use them. Oak RE resources will be available for teaching from autumn 2024, with full packages expected to be available by autumn 2025.

The department also continues to offer eight-week subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) courses in the academic year 2023/24 for candidates who have the potential to become outstanding teachers but need to increase their subject knowledge. The eight-week SKE course, available in religious education, can be undertaken on a full-time or part-time basis but must be completed before qualified teacher status can be recommended and awarded. Eligible candidates could be entitled to a SKE bursary of £175 per week to support them financially whilst completing their SKE course.

More information on these courses is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/subject-knowledge-enhancement-an-introduction.

The department engages closely with key stakeholders within the RE sector, including the National Association of Standing Advisory Councils for Religious Education (NASACRE) and the National Association of Teachers of Religious Education (NATRE). The department also welcomes the work that the Religious Education Council (REC) has done to assist curriculum developers by publishing its National Content Standard for RE in England.

The department has no plans to publish additional non-statutory guidance on RE syllabus content in schools.


Written Question
Pupils: Nutrition
Tuesday 6th February 2024

Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help promote healthy eating in schools.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

I refer the hon. Member for Strangford to the answer of 9 January 2024 to Question 8739.


Written Question
STEM Subjects: Higher Education
Tuesday 6th February 2024

Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of trends in the uptake of STEM subjects studied at universities.

Answered by Robert Halfon

The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects and publishes data on student enrolments across all UK higher education (HE) providers. This includes data on full person equivalents (FPE) enrolled in different subject areas, categorised using the HE coding of subjects (HECoS) system. Counts of enrolments across all science subjects from 2019/20 to 2021/22 are published in Table 52 of HESA’s Student Data at: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/table-52.

HESA developed the HECoS system to replace the Joint Academic Coding System (JACS) from the 2019/20 academic year onwards. Counts of enrolments across all science subjects from 2014/15 to 2018/19 are still available and published in Table 22 of HESA’s Student Data at: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/table-22.

Due to the change in subject classification system, figures for 2018/19 and earlier are not directly comparable with more recent years. Caution is therefore advised when interpreting data over a longer time series. For more information on JACS and HECoS see: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/support/documentation/hecos.

More recent data on acceptances by subject to full-time undergraduate courses for the 2023 admissions cycle is available from UCAS here: https://www.ucas.com/data-and-analysis/undergraduate-statistics-and-reports/ucas-undergraduate-end-cycle-data-resources-2023.


Written Question
Agriculture: Education
Tuesday 30th January 2024

Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will hold discussions with the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs and the Department of Education in Northern Ireland on the potential merits of teaching agriculture in schools in Northern Ireland.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

Education is devolved in Northern Ireland. Therefore, with a small number of exceptions, the department’s responsibilities relate to England only.

In England, the science national curriculum has space for agriculture to be taught in various places. For example, in the science Key Stage 1 and 2 topics of ‘Plants’, and ‘Living things and their habitats’, the biology Key Stage 3 topics of ‘Reproduction’ (in plants, including fertilisation) and ‘Relationships in an ecosystem’, and the Key Stage 4 topics of ‘Evolution, inheritance and variation’.

The department does not specify how schools should teach the curriculum, instead the national curriculum is a framework setting out the content of what the department expects schools in England to cover in each subject. The department believes that teachers should be able to use their own knowledge, professional expertise and understanding of their pupils to determine what is the most appropriate way for them to teach, the aim here being that they develop the right approach for the pupils in their particular school.

There is also an Agriculture, Land Management and Production T Level available to students in England. During the two-year programme, students will learn the core knowledge and skills that are needed for entry to a range of agriculture, land management and production occupations that include agricultural engineer, farmer, and tree surgeon, amongst a number of others.

Whilst education is a devolved matter, if it would be helpful, departmental officials would be content to meet their relevant counterparts in the Department of Education and Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland.


Written Question
Special Educational Needs: Northern Ireland
Tuesday 30th January 2024

Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had recent discussions with the Department of Education in Northern Ireland on the adequacy of funding for SEND in schools in Northern Ireland.

Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

As education is a devolved matter, the Department of Education in Northern Ireland is responsible for its education policies, including funding for Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND) in schools.

The department engages with the Department of Education in Northern Ireland at ministerial and official level on a range of areas, though, to date, this has not included a ministerial discussion on the adequacy of funding for SEND in schools in Northern Ireland.


Written Question
Religion: Education
Tuesday 30th January 2024

Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to require all students undertaking the Advanced British Standard to study religious education until the age of 18.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

The department launched a consultation on 14 December 2023 on our proposals for the Advanced British Standard, seeking views on the design of the overall programme. This includes seeking views on the approach to agreeing subjects included, and on what should be covered in the Employability, Enrichment and Pastoral (EEP) offer for all students.

The government firmly believes that religious education (RE) is important, which is why it remains compulsory for all state-funded schools in England, including academies and free schools, in each year group. Quality RE can develop knowledge of British values and traditions and refine pupils’ ability to construct well-informed, balanced, and structured arguments.

The publication of the consultation on 14 December 2023 marks a new phase of working in partnership with students, teachers, leaders, schools, colleges, universities, and employers to develop these proposals. The department will consult extensively over the coming months, and this will inform our plan for subjects and EEP, which the department will set out in a White Paper this year.


Written Question
Religion: Education
Tuesday 30th January 2024

Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason religious education has not been included in the consultation document for the Advanced British Standard.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

The department launched a consultation on 14 December 2023 on our proposals for the Advanced British Standard, seeking views on the design of the overall programme. This includes seeking views on the approach to agreeing subjects included, and on what should be covered in the Employability, Enrichment and Pastoral (EEP) offer for all students.

The government firmly believes that religious education (RE) is important, which is why it remains compulsory for all state-funded schools in England, including academies and free schools, in each year group. Quality RE can develop knowledge of British values and traditions and refine pupils’ ability to construct well-informed, balanced, and structured arguments.

The publication of the consultation on 14 December 2023 marks a new phase of working in partnership with students, teachers, leaders, schools, colleges, universities, and employers to develop these proposals. The department will consult extensively over the coming months, and this will inform our plan for subjects and EEP, which the department will set out in a White Paper this year.


Written Question
Pupils: Nutrition
Tuesday 16th January 2024

Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to promote healthy eating in schools.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

The department encourages a healthy balanced diet and healthy life choices through school funding, legislation and guidance.

The standards for school food are set out in the Requirements for School Food Regulations 2014. These regulations are designed to ensure that schools provide pupils with healthy food and drink options, and to make sure that pupils have the energy and nutrition they need throughout the school day.

Under the benefits-based criteria, over 2 million of the most disadvantaged pupils are eligible for and claiming a free school meal. An additional 1.3 million infants enjoy a free, healthy and nutritious meal at lunchtime following the introduction of Universal Infant Free School Meals.

The School Fruit and Vegetables Scheme also provides over 2.2 million children in Reception and key stage 1 with a portion of fresh fruit or vegetables each day at school. Schools are encouraged to use it as an opportunity to educate children and to assist a healthy, balanced diet.

The importance of a healthy diet is also included in the science curriculum for both primary and secondary school. Healthy eating is covered through topics relating to nutrition and digestion, which cover the content of a healthy diet and the impact of diet on how the body functions.

The Relationships, Sex and Health Education statutory guidance states that by the end of primary school, pupils should know what constitutes a healthy diet; the principles of planning and preparing a range of healthy meals; the characteristics of a poor diet; and risks associated with unhealthy eating and other behaviours. By the end of secondary school pupils should know how to maintain healthy eating and the links between a poor diet and health risks.

Healthy eating and opportunities to develop pupils’ cooking skills are covered in the design and technology (D&T) curriculum. Cooking and nutrition are a discrete strand of the D&T curriculum and is compulsory in maintained schools for key stages 1 to 3. The curriculum aims to teach children how to cook and how to apply the principles of healthy eating and nutrition. The department has also introduced a new food preparation and nutrition GCSE to provide pupils with practical cookery experience and teach them the underlying scientific concepts of nutrition and healthy eating.

The Healthy Schools Rating Scheme celebrates the positive actions that schools are delivering in terms of healthy living, healthy eating and physical activity. This voluntary rating scheme is available for both primary and secondary schools.


Written Question
Special Educational Needs: Northern Ireland
Wednesday 20th December 2023

Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions she has had with the Northern Ireland Administration on SEN teaching provision in Northern Ireland.

Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Education is a devolved matter and therefore, England and Northern Ireland have different systems for supporting children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). Officials in the Department for Education and the Department of Education in Northern Ireland keep in regular touch about SEND policy, sharing information about developments and good practice.

My right hon. Friend, The Secretary of State for Education, has not recently had such contact with the Northern Ireland Administration.