Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to encourage more people to consider a career as a (a) SEND teacher and (b) member of support staff in a SEND school.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
High-quality, well-supported teaching is the single most important in-school factor in improving outcomes for children, and it is particularly important for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds and those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). That is why, on top of last years’ teacher pay award of 6.5%, which was the highest in over thirty years, the department ensures that an additional SEND allowance of up to £5,009 per year must be paid to teachers in a SEND post that requires a mandatory special educational needs qualification and involves teaching pupils with SEND.
The department is further encouraging people to consider becoming teachers, including teachers of SEND, through its Get into Teaching service and marketing campaign. The campaign provides inspiration and support to explore a career in teaching and directs people to the Get into Teaching service’s website.
Through the website, prospective trainees can access support and advice through expert one-to-one Teacher Training Advisers, a contact centre, and a national programme of events. The long-standing campaign has established a strong brand identity for teaching over time and continues to do so across the teacher lifecycle, supporting initial teacher training (ITT) recruitment whilst aiming to raise the status and improve perceptions of the profession over time.
The department has put in place a range of measures, including bursaries worth £28,000 tax-free and scholarships worth £30,000 tax-free, to encourage talented trainees to key subjects such as mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing. The ITT financial incentives package for the 2024/25 recruitment cycle is worth up to £196 million, a £15 million increase on the last cycle.
The department is also offering a Levelling Up Premium worth up to £3,000 after tax for mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing teachers in the first five years of their careers who choose to work in disadvantaged schools, including in Education Investment Areas. For 2024/25 and 2025/26, the department will be doubling the rates of the Levelling Up Premium to up to £6,000 after tax. This will support recruitment and retention of specialist teachers in these subjects and in the schools and areas that need them most.
The department has published a range of resources to help address teacher workload and wellbeing and support schools to introduce flexible working practices. Similarly, it has convened a workload reduction taskforce to explore how the department can go further to support trust and school leaders to minimise workload for teachers and leaders.
The government values and appreciates the dedication, professionalism and hard work of support staff, and knows that they play a key role in supporting children and young people with SEND. The department’s education reforms gave schools the freedom to make their own decisions about recruitment, pay, conditions, and use of support staff. Schools should have this freedom as they are best placed to understand their pupils’ needs. To support schools recruit and train teaching assistants, schools can access up to £7,000 in levy funding through the recently revised Level 3 Teaching Assistant apprenticeship.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will hold discussions with (a) local authorities and (b) academy trusts on increasing the level of pay above the statutory minimum wage for non-teaching staff in schools.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The government has given schools the freedom to set pay and conditions for support staff according to their own circumstances.
Local government employees, including school support staff, are covered by the National Joint Council terms and conditions, known as the Green Book. Most schools, including academies, use the local government pay scales in conjunction with the Green Book.
The pay scales are set through negotiations between the Local Government Association, which represents the employer, and local government trade unions (UNISON, Unite, and the GMB), which represent the employee. Central government does not have any formal role in these matters.
For the lowest pay scale, there has been an increase of 22% over the two years since April 2021, to £11.59 an hour. This is above the current national living wage of £10.42 an hour.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the HGV skills boot camp.
Answered by Robert Halfon
A statistical release published in November 2023 showed that there were 5,710 learner starts in total in HGV Skills Bootcamps between April 2022 and March 2023. Sustained provision of Skills Bootcamps in HGV driving has been welcomed by the road freight sector, which has seen high levels of ongoing demand for these training places. This was also evidenced in an implementation report on delivery in the 2021/22 financial year, which showed that Skills Bootcamps in HGV driving was oversubscribed in comparison with other sectors. Further insights into the effectiveness of Skills Bootcamps in HGV driving will be set out in the publication of our completions and outcomes report for Skills Bootcamps delivery later this year for the 2021/22 financial year.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress she has made on updating apprenticeship standards; and what representations she has received from business stakeholders on these standards.
Answered by Robert Halfon
This is a matter for the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education. I have asked its Chief Executive, Jennifer Coupland, to write to the hon. Member for Bosworth, and a copy of this reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an estimate of how many and what proportion of businesses have used their apprenticeship service account to transfer unused levy funds to SMEs in each of the last three years.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Transfers are a way for large employers to use their levy funds to support apprenticeships in any other business, including smaller employers, flexi-job apprenticeship agencies and charities to help meet local or sector-specific needs.
Levy-paying employers have been able to transfer 25% of their annual funds since April 2019, when this was increased from 10%, and have been able to use an online service since 2021 to make the process quicker and simpler. Since September 2021, over 500 employers, including ASDA, HomeServe and BT Group, have pledged to transfer over £33 million to support apprenticeships in businesses of all sizes.
The table below shows the number and proportion of levy-paying employers that have used their apprenticeship service accounts to transfer funds to non-levy paying employers in each of the last three financial years. The department does not hold transfer data specific for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), but can confirm that SMEs represent most non-levy employers on the apprenticeship service.
Financial Year | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 |
Number of levy paying employers that have transferred funds to non-levy employers. | 390 | 520 | 580 |
Proportion of levy paying employers that have transferred funds to non-levy employers. | 2.0% | 2.5% | 2.7% |
When reviewing these figures, it is important to note that only unused funds can be transferred. Some employers make full use of their levy funds and so have no funds to transfer.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, What progress her Department has made on implementing the Government's Autism Strategy 2021-2026; and what steps she plans to take to implement the objectives in 2024.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department worked closely with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to develop a refreshed cross-government autism strategy, which was published in July 2021 and includes children and young people. The national strategy sets out the department’s vision to make life fundamentally better for autistic people, their families and carers by 2026.
The department has made significant progress on implementation of the strategy.
Examples of key actions taken have included:
In 2024, DHSC is prioritising updating the Autism Act statutory guidance by working across government, including with the department, to support the NHS and local authorities to deliver improved outcomes for autistic people in line with the national autism strategy. This updated guidance will be subject to public consultation in 2024. Delivery of the cross-government actions set out in the national autism strategy remains a priority for 2024 and progress will continue to be monitored.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that data on the number of children with neuro-diversity is reflected in (a) national policy development, (b) local funding allocations and (c) operational guidance for local outreach services.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The department has multiple data collections related to pupils and students with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) published on GOV.UK at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/. The SEND and Alternative Provision (AP) Green Paper consultation and subsequent Improvement Plan, published in March 2023, are underpinned by this data and wider evidence.
The Dedicated Schools Grant is intended to meet the educational costs of pupils in primary and secondary education, as well as the educational costs of special educational provision for children and young people with SEND in post-16 provision, including those aged over 19 and up to 25 who have an Education, Health and Care plan. This is set out here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/high-needs-funding-arrangements-2022-to-2023/high-needs-funding-2022-to-2023-operational-guidance.
The department committed in the SEND and AP Improvement Plan to publish local and national inclusion dashboards from autumn 2023, which will present performance data across education, health and care, covering the full system from ages 0-25.
We also committed to introducing new local SEND and AP partnerships, who will be expected to create evidence-based local inclusion plans, drawing on the new dashboards, to set out how the needs of children and young people in the local area will be met in line with new national SEND and AP standards.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support (a) World Book Day and (b) initiatives that help ensure access to books for children regardless of (i) family circumstances, (ii) parents’ educational background and (iii) household income.
Answered by Nick Gibb
World Book Day is a memorable day for many children across the country. Knowing that strong literacy skills are hugely important, both as a pupil and later in life, the curriculum places a greater focus on reading and requires pupils to study a range of books, poems, and plays to encourage the development of a life long love of literature.
The Department’s reading framework, published in 2021, provides guidance to schools on the teaching of early reading. It supports teachers to ensure phonics is taught in a wider context and focuses on the contribution of talk and stories as well as phonics.
Young people may access books through their school or local library, free of charge. Individual schools decide how best to provide and maintain a library service for their pupils, including whether to employ a qualified librarian. Many head teachers recognise the important role school libraries play in improving literacy and encouraging pupils to read for pleasure and ensure that suitable library facilities are provided.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support online courses that can lead to recognised qualifications.
Answered by Robert Halfon
A range of online provision leading to qualifications is available to learners.
The adult education budget (AEB) fully funds or co-funds skills provision for eligible adults aged 19 and above from pre-entry to level 3, to support them to gain the skills they need for work, an apprenticeship, or further learning. Providers decide upon the mode of delivery for AEB-funded courses to best meet learners’ needs. This can include online delivery.
The free courses for jobs offer gives eligible adults the chance to access high-value level 3 qualifications for free. This offer includes qualifications available to study online. Learners can contact their local college or provider for further information about online delivery.
Skills Bootcamps are free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks, giving people the opportunity to build up sector-specific skills, with an offer of a job interview with an employer on completion. Many Skills Bootcamps are delivered online.
The department launched the Skills Toolkit in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is an online platform providing free digital and numeracy courses to help individuals build the skills that are most sought after by employers, and it can help individuals progress in work and boost their job prospects.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Skills Fund on progress towards upskilling the adult workforce; and what steps his Department is taking to use the Skills Fund to help support more adults to achieve higher level qualifications in (a) Leicestershire and (b) Bosworth constituency.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Skills Bootcamps are free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks, giving people the opportunity to build up sector-specific skills, with an offer of a job interview with an employer on completion. Skills Bootcamps have the potential to transform the skills landscape for adults and employers.
In December 2021, the department published outcome data on the Skills Bootcamps trailblazers, training delivered across six areas of the country between September 2020 and 31 March 2021 (Wave 1). Over 2000 learners completed Skills Bootcamps training, with 54% of adults completing training going on to secure a new job or apprenticeship or for those that are self-employed, access to new opportunities. In addition to these recorded outcomes, published research for Wave 1 of Skills Bootcamps suggests that three quarters of learners felt the training met or was meeting their needs, and 79% were satisfied with their course overall.
The department is on track to deliver 16,000 Skills Bootcamps training places in the 2021/22 financial year as planned and will continue to significantly expand Skills Bootcamps over the next 3 years, following the announcement at the 2021 Autumn Budget Spending Review of up to £550 million of funding across the 2022 to 2025 financial years. The evaluation of 2021/22 delivery, which will provide detail on learner starts, completions and outcomes will be available next year, with the evaluation of 2022/23 delivery available at a later date.
Skills Bootcamps are currently available across the country, offering training in digital, technical, including engineering and manufacturing, construction, logistics (HGV driving), and green skills, including heat pump engineer and electric vehicle charging point installation.
In Leicester, D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership are delivering some digital Skills Bootcamps through De Montfort University, working with Leicester employers who have vacancies in Leicester City Council, Test Q and NHS Leicester. More information about this can be accessed at: https://d2n2lep.org/people-skills/skills-bootcamps/.
The Free Courses for Jobs offer, which was launched in England in April 2021, gives eligible adults the chance to access high-value level 3 qualification for free. Eligible learners in Leicestershire and Bosworth, aged 19 and over, can take advantage of the offer. Adults without a full level 3 qualification are eligible. From April 2022 the offer has also been available to unemployed adults or those earning under the National Living Wage annually, regardless of their prior qualification level. Over 400 qualifications are included, in areas such as engineering, social care and accounting, alongside many others that have been identified for their strong wage outcomes and ability to meet key skills needs.
A recent evaluation of Free Courses for Jobs shows that it has increased uptake of these key qualifications, meaning more adults are making the most of this opportunity to boost their skills free of charge. 9 in 10 people surveyed say they believe their Free Courses for Jobs-funded qualification will help them progress in their careers. The data points to over 20,000 people having enrolled on the courses between the offer’s launch in April 2021 and May 2022.
Adults can also be supported to access qualifications not included in the Free Courses for Jobs offer, for example through Advanced Learner Loans. Advanced Learner Loans are income-contingent loans that provide extensive coverage of regulated qualifications at level 3 to level 6, helping to meet the up-front tuition fees.