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Written Question
Pupils: Attendance
Wednesday 15th March 2023

Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of flu on pupils’ attendance over winter 2022-23.

Answered by Nick Gibb

Regular school attendance is important for pupils’ educational progress, their wellbeing, and their wider development.

As this is the first winter without pandemic restrictions in two years, pupils and adults may be more susceptible to the usual winter bugs and viruses this year. December saw high levels of illness in pupils and young people including flu, scarlet fever, group A streptococcus and COVID-19 that will have contributed to high levels of absence. In previous years, there has been more seasonal spread of these infections. For example, group A streptococcus usually peaks in March. More recently there have been reductions in the incidence of these infections, but it cannot yet be predicted if there will be further resurgences.

During the week commencing 12 December, the weekly illness absence rate was at its highest level since the start of 2022 autumn term. The illness absence rate was 9.1%, which was up from 7.5% in the previous week and 2.6% at the start of term. In the latest data between 6 to 10 February 2023, the total weekly illness absence rate was 3.9%.

In the 2022 autumn term, all primary school aged pupils in England were offered a flu vaccination by the NHS school-aged immunisation service to manage the spread of some winter illnesses, such as flu. The Department has also provided over 8,000 air cleaning units to schools that identified poorly ventilated spaces. These devices filter airborne respiratory aerosols from the air. The Department hopes this will have a positive impact on sickness absence going forward.


Written Question
Uni Connect Programme
Thursday 21st January 2021

Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when he will set a budget for the next phase of the Uni Connect scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology

The Uni Connect outreach programme operated by the Office for Student (OfS) has, since its inception in 2017, established 29 regional partnerships of universities, colleges, employers and other local partners, to provide sustained outreach to young people in schools and colleges in areas with low or unexplained gaps in higher education (HE) participation. The programme has been successful in addressing cold spots in outreach and enabling engagement from schools and colleges. Funding this programme has embedded a collaborative approach to widening access and enabled local partners to galvanise action around HE outreach to complement the funding already spent by Higher Education Providers on outreach as part of their Access and Participation Plans.

The initial investment in the Uni Connect programme to establish a collaborative model and set up a regional infrastructure comes to an end in July 2021, and so this is an appropriate time to consider the scope and objectives of the programme, including funding other areas of increasing importance for students and prospective students.

The OfS is currently consulting on the future of the programme. Whilst it has not undertaken individual discussions with Shaping Futures regarding the next phase of funding for Uni Connect, programme-wide updates have been provided to partnerships at regular meetings with the Programme Leads and Chairs.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, writes annually to the OfS, setting out the available teaching grant funding, and will issue the letter for 2021/2022 in due course.


Written Question
Uni Connect Programme
Thursday 21st January 2021

Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will publish a Letter of Strategic Direction to the Office for Students in respect of the next phase of the Uni Connect programme; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology

The Uni Connect outreach programme operated by the Office for Student (OfS) has, since its inception in 2017, established 29 regional partnerships of universities, colleges, employers and other local partners, to provide sustained outreach to young people in schools and colleges in areas with low or unexplained gaps in higher education (HE) participation. The programme has been successful in addressing cold spots in outreach and enabling engagement from schools and colleges. Funding this programme has embedded a collaborative approach to widening access and enabled local partners to galvanise action around HE outreach to complement the funding already spent by Higher Education Providers on outreach as part of their Access and Participation Plans.

The initial investment in the Uni Connect programme to establish a collaborative model and set up a regional infrastructure comes to an end in July 2021, and so this is an appropriate time to consider the scope and objectives of the programme, including funding other areas of increasing importance for students and prospective students.

The OfS is currently consulting on the future of the programme. Whilst it has not undertaken individual discussions with Shaping Futures regarding the next phase of funding for Uni Connect, programme-wide updates have been provided to partnerships at regular meetings with the Programme Leads and Chairs.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, writes annually to the OfS, setting out the available teaching grant funding, and will issue the letter for 2021/2022 in due course.


Written Question
Uni Connect Programme
Thursday 21st January 2021

Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions the Office for Students has had with Shaping Futures, the Liverpool City Region arm of the Uni-Connect programme, on what budget it can expect to have for the next phase of the programme from August 2021.

Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology

The Uni Connect outreach programme operated by the Office for Student (OfS) has, since its inception in 2017, established 29 regional partnerships of universities, colleges, employers and other local partners, to provide sustained outreach to young people in schools and colleges in areas with low or unexplained gaps in higher education (HE) participation. The programme has been successful in addressing cold spots in outreach and enabling engagement from schools and colleges. Funding this programme has embedded a collaborative approach to widening access and enabled local partners to galvanise action around HE outreach to complement the funding already spent by Higher Education Providers on outreach as part of their Access and Participation Plans.

The initial investment in the Uni Connect programme to establish a collaborative model and set up a regional infrastructure comes to an end in July 2021, and so this is an appropriate time to consider the scope and objectives of the programme, including funding other areas of increasing importance for students and prospective students.

The OfS is currently consulting on the future of the programme. Whilst it has not undertaken individual discussions with Shaping Futures regarding the next phase of funding for Uni Connect, programme-wide updates have been provided to partnerships at regular meetings with the Programme Leads and Chairs.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, writes annually to the OfS, setting out the available teaching grant funding, and will issue the letter for 2021/2022 in due course.


Written Question
Schools: Garston and Halewood
Tuesday 19th January 2021

Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether schools in Garston and Halewood constituency can order additional digital devices during the January 2021 covid-19 lockdown period.

Answered by Nick Gibb

The Government is investing over £400 million to support access to remote education and online social care services, including securing 1.3 million laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children and young people. This includes over 750,000 laptops and tablets that have already been delivered to schools, trusts and local authorities by the end of last week.

Figures on the number of devices delivered is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/laptops-tablets-and-4g-wireless-routers-progress-data. These figures are broken down by local authority and academy trust, depending on which organisation ordered devices. Information on delivery by constituency is not available.

We announced on 12 January 2021 that we are purchasing 300,000 more laptops and tablets, bringing the total to 1.3 million. The Get Help with Technology scheme will email all schools with information on the number of additional devices allocated to them, and when they will be able to order. Devices will be available from early February 2021.

We have also partnered with the UK’s leading mobile operators to provide free data to help disadvantaged children get online as well as delivering 4G wireless routers for pupils without connection at home.


Written Question
Remote Education: Garston and Halewood
Monday 18th January 2021

Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many G4 routers have been supplied to schools in Garson and Halewood constituency to help families who do not have affordable broadband or data to access online learning during the January 2021 covid-19 lockdown.

Answered by Nick Gibb

The Government is investing over £400 million to support access to remote education and online social care services, including securing 1.3 million laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children and young people. Over 750,000 laptops and tablets had been delivered to schools, academy trusts and local authorities by the end of last week, nearly 140,000 of which had been delivered this month.

We have also provided over 54,000 4G wireless routers, with free data for the academic year so that children have access to remote education. Routers have been distributed to schools, academy trusts and local authorities, who are responsible for allocating them to the families that need them most. For this reason, figures on the number of routers provided at constituency level is not available.

The Department has also partnered with some of the UK’s leading mobile network operators to provide free data to disadvantaged families, which will support access to education resources, including Oak National Academy, and other websites.

Families will benefit from this additional data until July 2021. Schools are able to request free mobile data uplifts via the Get Help with Technology service.

A number of mobile network providers are also progressing the zero-rating of educational resources, such as Oak Academy and BBC Bitesize.


Written Question
Assessments: Coronavirus
Monday 23rd November 2020

Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on the ability of school pupils to prepare for examinations in 2021.

Answered by Nick Gibb

Our priority is that there is a consistent approach to what is taught and will be assessed across schools. We know schools will be making every effort, including in areas where there is a high prevalence of COVID-19, to deliver high quality teaching, including through remote education. All schools are expected to plan to ensure any pupils educated at home for some of the time are given the support they need to master the curriculum and make good progress.

The changes to assessments in certain subjects that were announced by Ofqual in the summer, alongside the later starting date for exams in summer 2021, will give schools and colleges extra time to plan teaching and pupils extra time to study. Combined with our £1 billion catch-up package, including a 'Catch-Up Premium' worth a total of £650 million, these changes give young people the best chance of being ready for their exams without undermining the value of the qualifications they receive.

The Department is working with Ofqual and engaging widely with the education sector to identify any risks to examinations at a national, local, and individual student level, and to consider measures needed to address any potential disruption. This could be a student unable to sit examinations due to illness or self-isolation, or schools affected by a local COVID-19 outbreak during the examination season resulting in examination centres not being able to open. More details will be published later in the autumn.


Written Question
Schools: Inspections
Monday 23rd November 2020

Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the ability of schools to prepare for Ofsted inspections in 2021; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Nick Gibb

The COVID-19 outbreak has had a profound impact on schools across the country. The Department acknowledges the continued hard work of all school staff in ensuring that pupils receive a high quality education that enables them to thrive and progress whilst putting in place proportionate protective measures for children and staff.

It is important for school inspections to start up again in the new year, but at the right time and in the right way. The Department is working with schools and Ofsted to decide the best way to achieve this in a sensitive and gradual way.

The Department and Ofsted are clear that schools are not expected to prepare for Ofsted inspections.


Written Question
Schools: Inspections
Monday 23rd November 2020

Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he has taken to amend the Education Inspection Framework for 2021 in response to the potential effect of the covid-19 outbreak on school performance.

Answered by Nick Gibb

The COVID-19 outbreak has had a profound impact on schools across the country. The Department acknowledges the continued hard work of all school staff in ensuring that pupils receive a high quality education that enables them to thrive and progress whilst putting in place proportionate protective measures for children and staff.

It is important for school inspections to start up again in the new year, but at the right time and in the right way. The Department is working with schools and Ofsted to decide the best way to achieve this in a sensitive and gradual way.

The Department and Ofsted are clear that schools are not expected to prepare for Ofsted inspections.


Written Question
Remote Education: Coronavirus
Monday 23rd November 2020

Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the ability of pupils who are told to self-isolate to access online learning at home in circumstances where those pupils do not have access to the internet.

Answered by Nick Gibb

The Department has invested over £195 million to support access to remote education and online social care. As part of this, we have already provided over 50,000 4G wireless routers, with free data for the rest of the 2020/21 academic year; 220,000 laptops and tablets in the summer term; and over 100,000 more this term to support disadvantaged children. Departmental guidance about remote education is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/remote-education-good-practice/remote-education-good-practice.

The Department estimated the number of disadvantaged pupils without access to an internet connection using data on pupils eligible for free school meals in each school, taking into consideration estimations by Ofcom and reflecting that some pupils would already have access to a private internet connection. We know that schools and local authorities will have the best judgement of the children that need access to a device or internet connection.

We continue to provide 4G wireless routers, with free data, where schools face disruption and children need to access remote education.

In partnership with mobile network operators, the Department is providing temporary access to free additional mobile data, offering families flexibility to access the resources that they need the most.

Schools can request free mobile data uplifts for families who lack sufficient internet access until the end of the academic year via the Get Help with Technology service, when they experience disruption to face-to-face education or for clinically extremely vulnerable children. Further guidance about the Get Help with Technology service is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/get-help-with-technology-for-remote-education-during-coronavirus-covid-19.