Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help reduce the number of secondary schools teachers retiring early.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
There are now over 468,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) teachers in state-funded schools in England, which is an increase of 27,000 (6%) since 2010. This makes it the highest FTE of teachers since the school workforce census began in 2010.
The department is taking action to support teachers to stay in the profession and thrive. The department accepted in full the School Teachers’ Review Body’s recommendations for the 2023/24 pay award for teachers and leaders, meaning teachers and leaders in maintained schools will receive a pay award of 6.5%. This is the highest pay award for teachers in over thirty years.
The department has also launched a new and updated suite of national professional qualifications for teachers and school leaders at all levels to help teachers to continuously develop their expertise throughout their careers so that every child, in every classroom, and in every school gets the best start in life.
Staff wellbeing is crucial to the department’s commitment to recruit and retain more teachers and support teacher quality. The department has made available a range of resources to help address teacher workload and wellbeing including launching the education staff wellbeing charter, which the department are encouraging schools to sign up to as a shared commitment to promote staff wellbeing. Further information on the charter is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/education-staff-wellbeing-charter.
The department has also 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 department are also looking at how flexible working opportunities can be expanded and promoted in schools to help recruit, retain and motivate teachers and leaders. The department has worked with school leaders and other sector experts to publish non-statutory guidance, case studies, and a flexible working toolkit. This is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/school-workload-reduction-toolkit.
These measures are aimed not only at helping more teachers to remain in the classroom, but for them to thrive in their careers.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will amend the national curriculum to include teaching on the dangers of (a) road collisions, (b) drink-driving and (c) driving under the influence of drugs.
Answered by Robert Halfon
From September 2020 in England, Relationships Education became compulsory for all primary school aged pupils, Relationships and Sex Education compulsory for all secondary school aged pupils, and Health Education compulsory for all pupils in state funded schools.
The statutory guidance for Health Education sets out the following content on drugs, alongside drug education as a statutory subject in maintained schools as part of the National Curriculum for science in Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3. Primary education guidance covers the facts about legal and illegal harmful substances and associated risks, including smoking, alcohol use and drug taking. Secondary education guidance builds on the primary areas and additionally covers the associated legal and psychological risks of using drugs.
In Health Education, there is a strong focus on mental wellbeing, including a recognition that mental wellbeing and physical health are linked. This includes teaching about the dangers of drugs and alcohol, including drug misuse. The Department has published non statutory implementation guidance titled ‘Plan your Relationships, Sex and Health Education Curriculum’, alongside teacher training materials. Further information is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/plan-your-relationships-sex-and-health-curriculum.
The Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) statutory guidance states that, in both primary and secondary school, pupils should be taught the facts about legal and illegal harmful substances and associated risks, including smoking, alcohol use, and drug taking. A link to this guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education.
To support schools to deliver this content effectively, the Department published a suite of teacher training modules, including one on drugs, alcohol and tobacco, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teacher-training-drugs-alcohol-and-tobacco.
Personal safety, which would include road safety, is currently a part of the Personal, Social, Health and Economic curriculum, but this subject is not mandatory in schools.
The Department will be launching a public consultation by the end of this year on draft revised RSHE guidance, so that interested parties can contribute their comments and ideas, including the impact of drink driving and drug taking on driving and road safety generally. The Department intends to publish final guidance in 2024.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has plans to update guidance to schools on the use of seclusion rooms.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Behaviour in Schools guidance, updated in 2022, provides advice on situations that may warrant the removal of pupils from the classroom due to serious misbehaviour, and to maintain the safety of all pupils. The removed pupil should never be isolated but taken to a supervised space where they can regain calm and continue to engage in their education. The guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/behaviour-in-schools--2.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data her Department holds on the academic achievements of schools teaching (a) Singapore maths and (b) other forms of maths teaching.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department draws on a range of published data about the effectiveness of teaching approaches, including from Ofsted, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF). Mastery based pedagogy in mathematics promoted by the Department is informed by approaches in Singapore and Shanghai, jurisdictions that perform highly in international tests.
A randomised controlled trial funded by the Department’s Centres for Excellence in Maths Programme, which provided mastery teaching support for GCSE resits, found that students on the full intervention made one month of additional progress in attainment compared with students in other business as usual colleges. Students from a disadvantaged background benefitted the most, the research showed they made two months of additional progress.
Combined analysis of an EEF study of ARK Multi Academy Trust’s Mathematics Mastery programme at primary and secondary also showed an average improvement equivalent to one month’s additional progress over a year of teaching.
The latest Key Stage 2 results from 2023 showed that 73% of pupils met the expected standard in mathematics, which is up from 71% in 2022. The results from the latest Trends in International Maths and Science Study (TIMSS) and Programme for International Assessment (PISA) international comparison studies showed that England performs above the international average for mathematics. Before the pandemic, England achieved its highest ever mathematics scores in the 2019 TIMSS international test for year 5 pupils and the 2018 PISA study for 15 year olds.
Ofsted’s latest mathematics subject report highlights how Maths Hubs, which are increasing the numbers of schools that are focusing on mastery pedagogy to 65% of secondary and 75% of primary schools by 2025, have contributed to notable improvements in the quality of mathematics education since 2012. Ofsted’s latest mathematics subject report can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/subject-report-series-maths/coordinating-mathematical-success-the-mathematics-subject-report.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish an action plan on steps to help local education authorities expand the provision of sign language courses for families of deaf children.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
Funding is available through the Adult Education Budget (AEB) for qualifications in, or focusing on, British Sign Language (BSL) up to and including level 2. Approximately 60% of the AEB has been devolved to Mayoral Combined Authorities and the Greater London Authority, who determine which provision to fund for learners who live in their areas. The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) provides the remaining funding for learners who live in non-devolved areas.
ESFA funded AEB qualifications include, for example, the level 1 Award in BSL which allows learners to communicate in BSL on a range of topics that involve simple, everyday language use, thereby giving them the basic skills and confidence in production and reception of BSL. It will depend on an individual’s circumstances as to whether they are entitled to free provision or expected to meet part of the cost through co-funding. Where community learning providers offer BSL courses, those providers are responsible for determining the course fees, including levels of fee remission. Some local authorities receive a funding allocation as part of the AEB, depending on the circumstances in each area.
For some BSL courses, Advanced Learner Loans (ALLs) are available. Parents can find more information about which qualifications are eligible at: https://www.qualifications.education.gov.uk/Search. More general information about the provision of ALLs is available at: https://www.gov.uk/advanced-learner-loan.
For parents learning BSL on an AEB funded course, there is also additional support available. The AEB provides funding to colleges and providers to help adult learners overcome barriers preventing them from accessing learning. Providers have discretion to help learners meet costs such as transport, accommodation, books, equipment, and childcare. Learning support funding also helps colleges and training providers to meet the additional needs of learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and the costs of reasonable adjustments, as set out in the Equality Act 2010.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of whether state schools have sufficient capacity to accommodate the number of additional pupils who would leave independent schools in the event that VAT were to be levied on independent school fees.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government has no plans to make changes to the VAT regime for independent schools. Therefore, it is not necessary to make any assessment of the capacity of state schools to accommodate additional pupils in the event VAT were levied on independent school fees.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will issue guidance to schools on identifying gaming disorders.
Answered by Nick Gibb
As part of the statutory relationships, sex and health education guidance, pupils are taught about the importance of online safety and the harms associated with excessive use. Pupils are also taught how to seek help and support for issues or have mental health concerns. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education/relationships-and-sex-education-rse-secondary.
Statutory health education, sets out that pupils are taught that although the internet is an integral part of life, they should understand the benefits of rationing time spent online, the risks of excessive time spent on electronic devices, the impact of positive and negative content and how this might affect mental and physical wellbeing.
Schools can also access the 'Teaching online safety in schools' non-statutory guidance. This includes content on how schools can ensure their pupils understand how to stay safe and behave online as part of existing curriculum requirements and when they should seek support. This guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teaching-online-safety-in-schools.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that there are enough teachers qualified to teach deaf and partially-deaf children.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The department is firmly committed to ensuring that children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including those with a hearing impairment, receive the support needed to succeed in their education.
It is a legal requirement for qualified teachers of classes of pupils with sensory impairments to hold the relevant Mandatory Qualification for Sensory Impairment (MQSI). To offer MQSIs, providers must be approved by the department.
We have developed a new approval process to determine providers of MQSIs from the start of the 2023/24 academic year. Our aim is to ensure a steady supply of teachers of children with visual, hearing and multi-sensory impairments, in both specialist and mainstream settings.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will issue guidance to schools on the minimum notice which parents should be given of a decision to close a school due to bad weather.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department has updated its emergency planning and response guidance, which sets out how education and childcare providers should plan for and deal with emergencies, including significant public health incidents and severe weather. This guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/emergency-planning-and-response-for-education-childcare-and-childrens-social-care-settings.
All education and childcare providers should have emergency plans in place. The plans should detail what providers would do and how they would respond if any temporary actions needed to be taken in the event of an emergency, including severe weather. The aim of an emergency plan is to help providers respond effectively in an emergency, and, where possible, continue to prioritise and maximise face-to-face learning.
The guidance outlines that a good plan should cover how providers would communicate any changes to children, pupils, students, parents, carers, and staff.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will hold discussions with fee paying schools in (a) the Borough of Telford and Wrekin and (b) Shropshire on the potential impact of the introduction of VAT on (i) school fees and (ii) local state school (A) places and (B) class sizes.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department regulates and inspects independent schools to ensure that they provide a safe and suitable education for children. The Department does not monitor or regulate independent school fees, spending or financial arrangements.
The introduction of additional tax on school fees may make independent education less affordable and create place pressures on state funded schools with limited capacity. As a result, the Department has no plans to make changes to the VAT regime around independent schools.