Asked by: Joan Ryan (The Independent Group for Change - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans his Department has to introduce climate change and ecological education as a core subject in the national curriculum.
Answered by Nick Gibb
It is important that young people are taught about climate change and ecology. Topics related to this are already included in both the science and geography national curriculum.
For example, in primary school science, pupils are taught about how weather changes across the four seasons and look at how environments can change as a result of human actions. In secondary science, pupils are taught about ecosystems, and the production of carbon dioxide by human activity and the effect this has on the climate. They go on to consider the evidence for additional anthropogenic causes of climate change, and positive and negative interactions with ecosystems and their impact on biodiversity. In secondary geography, pupils will study how human and physical processes interact to influence and change landscapes, environments and the climate.
In 2017, the Department also introduced a new environmental science A level. This will enable students to study topics that will support their understanding of climate change and how it can be tackled.
The Department is also funding the Children and Nature Programme, a £10 million programme that aims to support children from disadvantaged backgrounds to have better access to the natural environment. This includes studying about nature and how to care for the natural environment.
Asked by: Joan Ryan (The Independent Group for Change - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of children who have applied for free school meals in (a) Enfield North, (b) the Borough of Enfield and (c) London since the roll-out of universal credit in those areas; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The information requested is not held centrally as we do not collect and publish data on the number of individual applications made for free school meals through schools or local authorities.
The department publishes data on the number and proportion of pupils eligible for and claiming free school meals by local authority area and region.
The latest version, published in January 2018, is available at:
Asked by: Joan Ryan (The Independent Group for Change - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the summit held on 3 May 2018 to discuss the preparation of new guidance to promote freedom of speech at universities, and the Government response to the Eighth Report of the Joint Committee on Human Rights, Freedom of Speech in Universities, HC 1279, what plans he has to ensure that representatives of University Israel Societies are involved in the discussions on freedom of speech.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
I am working with a number of partners in the Higher Education sector in the development of guidance. This includes the National Union of Students, who represent the majority of student unions including those with Israel societies.
I have asked the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to lead the guidance. As part of their evidence base the EHRC are considering the Joint Committee on Human Rights’ inquiry into freedom of speech in universities. The inquiry heard evidence from representatives of the Union of Jewish Students and university Israel societies.
Asked by: Joan Ryan (The Independent Group for Change - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of compulsory knife crime education and prevention in the Personal, Social, Health and Economic or Citizenship curriculum of (a) primary and (b) secondary schools; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
We know how important it is that young people understand the dangers of knife crime. Schools can currently choose to include lessons on weapons awareness and gangs as part of their school curriculum.
Through the Children and Social Work Act 2017, the Government is making the subjects of Relationships Education compulsory in primary schools, and Relationships and Sex Education compulsory in secondary schools. These subjects will help young people understand safe, respectful and positive relationships and appropriate ways of resolving conflict. The Act also provides a power for the Secretary of State to make Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education (or elements therein) mandatory in all schools.
The Department recently conducted a wide-ranging engagement process, including a public call for evidence, on the scope of the subjects, and on the status of PSHE. Departmental officials are assessing the evidence gathered during the engagement process, to support decisions on subject content and on the status of PSHE. The Department plans to publish the results of the engagement process shortly, alongside a consultation on draft regulations and accompanying statutory guidance, before laying the regulations in the House for debate.
Asked by: Joan Ryan (The Independent Group for Change - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in (i) the Enfield North constituency (ii) the London Borough of Enfield and (iii) London that will receive a reduction in (A) cash and (B) per pupil funding in each of the next five years.
Answered by Nick Gibb
In 2018/19, all schools in Enfield North attracted more cash funding through the national funding formula, compared to their 2017/18 baselines.
All schools, with the exception of new and growing schools, attracted more per pupil funding. New and growing schools typically see their per pupil funding decrease as they grow in size, while receiving significant increases in their total budgets. One new and growing all-through school in Enfield, and 23 new and growing schools in London (18 primaries, 3 secondaries and 2 all-through) attract less funding per pupil in 2018-19 than they did in 2017-18.
Final decisions on individual schools’ budgets are taken by the local authority, based on the local funding formula.
In 2019/20, no school will attract reduced cash funding per pupil through the national funding formula. Given that funding follows the pupil, individual schools may attract less funding in total if the number of pupils on roll decreases. The Department will publish notional funding formula allocations for 2019/20 later this year after updating calculations using the latest autumn census data.
Funding after 2019/20 will depend on the outcomes of the next Spending Review.
Asked by: Joan Ryan (The Independent Group for Change - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the performance of PwC, in its capacity as the liquidator of Carillion, in providing support for local authorities in their statutory obligations to schools to (a) transfer in-house and (b) re-procure with alternative providers, services affected by the liquidation of Carillion.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department has been working closely with the Cabinet Office and the Official Receiver who manages the relationship with PwC in their role as Special Managers.
Our priority has been to ensure schools can continue to operate as usual. The Government is supporting the Official Receiver, so that services to schools and other public services can continue to be delivered.
Local authorities (LA) and academy trusts are responsible for their own contracts. The Department has been working with LAs and academy trusts to make sure contingency plans are being implemented. Contingency plans vary according to circumstances, including bringing services in-house, sourcing alternative providers or the Official Receiver managing the transfer of Carillion contracts to new owners.
The Department is continuing to monitor developments and will provide support where it is needed to help minimise any disruption.
Asked by: Joan Ryan (The Independent Group for Change - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he plans to take to increase the number of apprenticeship starts in London; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Anne Milton
We are supporting employers in London and across England to help them plan their future apprenticeship programmes including account management of over 1,000 of the largest levy-paying employers. We have recently announced initial awards totalling around £485 million to hundreds of providers across the country to provide apprenticeship training to non-levy paying employers.
A new phase of our communications campaign started on 26 January 2018, to encourage employers to offer high quality apprenticeship opportunities and to promote these to potential apprentices.
There have been over 1.2 million apprenticeship starts since May 2015 and we aim to achieve three million apprenticeship starts in England by 2020. Apprenticeships are open to individuals and employers across the country, and we are investing in the whole of England by doubling funding for apprenticeships to £2.45 billion by 2019-20 – twice what was spent in 2010-11 – and giving employers more autonomy to design training that meets their needs.
Asked by: Joan Ryan (The Independent Group for Change - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of devolving (a) careers funding streams and (b) London’s apprenticeship levy funding to the control of the Greater London Authority; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Anne Milton
The Department for Education has agreed to only devolve the Adult Education Budget to Mayoral Combined Authorirties and Greater London Area.
The careers strategy, published in December 2017, sets out opportunities for local involvement and funding for a range of activities across the country which may include the Greater London Authority:
£5 million for an investment fund to help disadvantaged pupils to get the additional support they need to prepare for work, including opportunities for mentoring and guidance;
£5 million for “careers hubs” in 20 areas, linking together schools, colleges, universities and other local organisations;
£4 million for the development of new training programmes for Careers Leaders and support for at least 500 schools and colleges to train their own Careers Leaders;
£2 million to test which careers activities are appropriate and work well in primary schools.
In addition, we are re-procuring the National Careers Service area-based contracts that will provide free and impartial careers advice and guidance to adults. We will be awarding a number of contracts across the country and local advice will be tailored to local needs. The Education and Skills Funding Agency has worked with the Greater London Authority and will continue to do so.
While we have devolved some aspects of skills locally, such as the adult skills budget we have been clear that we need to keep apprenticeships as a nationally driven and funded programme. This is critical if the system is going to produce the skills employers and the economy needs.
Locally, employers will be driving the economy and can provide the local perspective on the skills needed. The levy allows employers to spend their funds on the apprenticeship training that they judge best meets their needs.
From April 2018, we will allow eligible levy-paying employers to transfer up to 10% of the annual value of funds entering their digital accounts to other employers. We plan to issue further details on how this will work before April to give employers time to prepare.
I recently met with the co-chairs of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for London on this issue, and would encourage local authorities to work with employers to ensure that apprenticeships funding is being used effectively in their area.
Asked by: Joan Ryan (The Independent Group for Change - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to promote digital safety in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools to tackle (i) cyber-bullying and (ii) online grooming.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department’s statutory safeguarding guidance, ‘Keeping children safe in education’ (KCSIE) states that all schools should have appropriate filters and monitoring systems in place to safeguard children from harmful material online.
All schools must have a behaviour policy, including measures to prevent all forms of bullying. Government funded The UK Safer Internet Centre to develop cyberbullying guidance for schools and an online safety toolkit. The Department is providing £1.6 million of funding for four anti-bullying organisations to support schools to tackle bullying, all include cyberbullying as an integral element.
The National Curriculum for computing covers e-safety including using technology safely, recognising inappropriate conduct and how to report concerns.
The Department has legislated to make relationships education (primary level) and relationships and sex education (secondary level) mandatory in all schools, in the future. We expect young people to be taught about positive, healthy relationships and keeping themselves safe in a variety of situations, including online.
Asked by: Joan Ryan (The Independent Group for Change - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect of the apprenticeship levy on schools in (a) Enfield North constituency, (b) the London Borough of Enfield and (c) London.
Answered by Anne Milton
The department will be monitoring the uptake of apprenticeships by schools, as we would with other parts of the public sector. Public sector bodies are required to annually publish and report to the department on their progress towards the apprenticeship target. The first reports (covering the period 1 April 2017 – 31 March 2018) are due by 30 September 2018.
As we have outlined to the Public Accounts Committee, our assessment of the cost pressures on schools will include the financial impact of the apprenticeship levy.