Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to protect freedom of speech in universities.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
This government believes that freedom of speech and academic freedom are fundamental pillars of our higher education (HE) system and that protecting these principles should be a priority for universities.
That is why the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill was introduced on 12 May 2021. The Bill will strengthen existing freedom of speech duties and directly address gaps within the existing law. This includes the fact there is no clear way of enforcing the current law when a HE provider breaches it as well as applying the duties directly to students’ unions and constituent colleges including those at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. The Bill introduces a role on the Office for Students board, with responsibility for overseeing its strengthened duties to promote freedom of speech and investigate where potential breaches of the duties occur.
The changes will introduce clear consequences for breaches of the new duties and ensure that these principles are upheld.
The Bill will reach the Report Stage in the House of Commons shortly.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to improve the transparency and consistency in university advertising.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
This government believes in greater transparency from higher education (HE) providers so that prospective students can inform their decision making with meaningful comparisons between different providers and courses.
I have announced that all universities and other registered HE providers should prominently display their completion rates and progression to graduate jobs on every advert, whether that is online, on a billboard or in their prospectus – just as every advertisement for a loan must clearly state the annual percentage rate. I am working with the sector on this matter and expect to publish guidance next month.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to support pupils who fall behind in maths and English.
Answered by Robin Walker
The recent Schools White Paper (SWP) set out a vision for a system that helps every child to fulfil their potential by ensuring they receive the right support, founded on world class literacy and numeracy.
The department’s ambition, by 2030, is that 90% of primary school children will achieve expected standards in reading, writing and maths. The SWP also sets an ambition that the national GCSE average grade in both English language and in maths increases from 4.5 in 2019 to 5 by 2030.
Key to achieving these is providing targeted support for every child that needs it and we have made a pledge to parents that all schools will regularly assess their children to identify if they have fallen behind in English or maths, provide them with timely and evidence-based support if necessary, and keep parents informed on their progress.
To help schools in providing timely and evidence-based support to pupils who have fallen behind in English and maths, the SWP makes the following commitments:
The department recognises that great teaching, high standards of behaviour and attendance, a strong curriculum, and a stronger school system will also have a key part to play in helping children to reach their potential in English and maths.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to invest in education in low performing areas.
Answered by Robin Walker
Overall, core schools funding is increasing by £4 billion in the 2022/23 academic year, a 7% increase in cash terms per pupil from 2021/22. This includes an increase in mainstream school funding for 5-16 year olds of £2.5 billion, which is equivalent to an average 5.8% cash increase, or an average of £300 per pupil.
The low prior attainment factor in the national funding formula (NFF) supports low attainment areas by providing more funding for schools whose pupils are likely to need more help to catch up with their peers. We have allocated 6.7% of the total NFF to low prior attainment in 2022/23.
As the government’s Levelling Up White Paper and recent Schools White Paper outline, the government is committed to levelling up education standards and increasing capacity in the parts of the country that need this most. The first part of this journey will see investment in 55 Education Investment Areas. These are in the places where outcomes in literacy and numeracy are the poorest and there is the most urgent need for improvement. In these areas we will focus our support for schools not making necessary improvement and trust growth, as well as offering the Levelling Up premium, worth up to £3,000, to eligible teachers in disadvantaged schools and supporting improved digital connectivity through the Connect the Classroom programme.
The department will also be making additional intensive investment in a subset of 24 Priority Education Investment Areas, to address entrenched underperformance, including in literacy and numeracy, in areas with some of the highest rates of disadvantage in the country. This includes around £40 million of additional funding, which will be provided for bespoke interventions to address local needs, such as addressing high absence rates.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to deliver the Lifelong Loan Entitlement by 2025.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The Lifelong Loan Entitlement (LLE) will be accessible from 2025, providing individuals with a loan entitlement the equivalent of four years of post-18 education (£37,000 in today’s fees), to use over their lifetime. The government has already introduced key legislation as part of the Skills and Post-16 Education Act 2022.
As part of the pathway towards the LLE, the department will also stimulate the provision of high-quality higher technical education (at levels 4 and 5). We have introduced pilots to inform future flexible and modular provision.
From the start of the 2022/23 academic year, the department will be trialling loan-funded access to tuition fees for certain short courses at levels 4-6 at a number of providers across England. This will help us build and test towards the LLE and will allow students to study and build up the skills they need more flexibly.
The government published a consultation on the Lifelong Loan Entitlement which concluded on 6 May. We are carefully considering the contributions and will publish our response in due course.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to attract and retain high quality teachers.
Answered by Robin Walker
There are now more than 461,000 (FTE) teachers working in state-funded schools across the country to inspire the next generation of young people. Over 37,000 new trainee teachers were recruited to start training in the 2021/22 academic year, showing that teaching continues to be an attractive profession.
At the heart of the Schools White Paper’s vision to boost literacy and numeracy outcomes is the need for an excellent teacher for every child. The department aims to continue attracting and retaining the highly skilled teachers that every child needs. To do this, the department is taking action to improve teacher recruitment and retention by transforming the training and support we provide, not only to attract more people into teaching but to encourage them to stay and thrive in the profession.
The department is creating an entitlement to at least three years of structured training, support and professional development for all new teachers, to bring teaching into line with other prestigious professions such as law, accountancy, and medicine. Underpinning this is the new Initial Teacher Training (ITT) Core Content Framework and the Early Career Framework. Together, these ensure that new teachers will benefit from at least three years of evidence-based training, across ITT and into their induction.
Beyond the first few years of teaching, the department's priority is to help all teachers and school leaders to continuously develop their expertise throughout their careers so every child in every classroom in every school gets the best start in life. Teachers and school leaders at all levels can now benefit from an updated suite of National Professional Qualifications. Aimed at those who want to develop expertise in high-quality teaching practice, to those leading multiple schools across trusts, these professional development programmes are now free to access for those eligible to apply.
These measures will create a golden thread running from ITT through to school leadership, rooting teacher and leader development in the best available evidence.
To support the recruitment and retention of specialist teachers in subjects that are harder to recruit for, the government has put in place a range of measures, including bursaries worth £24,000 tax-free and scholarships worth £26,000 tax-free. This will encourage talented trainees for key subjects such as chemistry, computing, mathematics, and physics. Additionally, we have announced a Levelling Up Premium worth up to £3,000 tax-free for maths, 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 (EIAs). This will support the recruitment and retention of specialist teachers in these subjects and in the schools and areas that need them most.
The government also remain committed to increasing teacher starting salaries to £30,000 to make teaching an attractive graduate option.
Teacher retention is key to ensuring effective teacher supply and quality, and we are taking action to support teachers to stay in the profession and thrive. The department has published a range of resources to help address teacher workload and wellbeing and support schools to introduce flexible working practices.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of degree apprenticeships.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Degree apprenticeships provide people of all backgrounds with a unique opportunity to combine degree-level study with being in a job and earning from day one.
We are encouraged to see year on year growth in degree-level apprenticeships (levels 6 and 7), with over 138,000 starts since their introduction in the 2014/15 academic year. Employers, working in partnership with providers, have already developed over 150 apprenticeship standards available at levels 6 and 7, of which over 100 include a degree. We want to see that strong growth continue.
We are taking a number of steps to drive further growth, including exploring options with the Office for Students (OfS) to make up to £8 million available to higher education (HE) providers through the Strategic Priorities Grant. This will help providers to expand their current degree apprenticeship offers or develop new ones. Alongside this, the OfS is challenging HE providers to increase the proportion of degree apprentices they recruit, through refreshed access and participation plans.
In addition, the Institute for Apprenticeships and Further Education is reforming how degree apprenticeships are developed, approved and delivered so that they work better for apprentices and employers, and we are continuing to work with UCAS to capitalise on the excellent work it does to connect young people with a range of opportunities available to them when they are considering their next steps after school or college.
Taken together, these measures will ensure that more people benefit from the unique opportunities that degree apprenticeships offer to individuals, employers and the wider economy.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure political impartiality in schools.
Answered by Robin Walker
The law is clear that schools must remain politically impartial. Schools must not promote partisan political views and should ensure the balanced treatment of political issues. Schools are free to teach about political issues and, of course, play an important role in supporting pupils to understand the society in which they grow up and to be prepared for life in modern Britain. However, it is important that schools uphold their duties with regard to political impartiality. To support school staff in understanding their legal duties in this area, the department has worked with the sector to publish clear and comprehensive guidance available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/political-impartiality-in-schools.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to promote T-Levels.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The department wants as many young people as possible to benefit from T Levels, the new gold standard qualifications in technical education. In January this year, we launched our ‘Get the Jump’ campaign, which helps 14-19-year-olds explore their education and training options, and spotlights T Levels, apprenticeships, traineeships and higher technical qualifications in particular. We are working closely with the Careers and Enterprise Company, Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge programme, academy trusts and other representative bodies to ensure that teachers and careers leaders have the information and resources they need to communicate the benefits of T Levels to their students. In addition, this August will see the first T Levels results day and there are a number of activities planned to celebrate and promote the achievements of the first cohort of T Level students, both regionally and around social media to signpost students to the dedicated T Levels website.
Our ‘Join the Skills Revolution’ campaign promotes the government’s training and employment schemes, including T Levels, to employers. We are also engaging directly with employers to raise awareness of T Levels and promote industry placements, and we have established a T Level employer ambassador network so that employers can promote T Levels within their industry networks.
Both campaigns make use of a wide range of channels, including the use of social media to get through to young people, parents and employers.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to support children in education who have foetal alcohol spectrum disorder.
Answered by Will Quince
The government is committed to pupils with medical conditions, including foetal alcohol syndrome, being properly supported at school so that they have full access to education.
In 2014, the government introduced a new duty on schools to support pupils with all medical conditions and has published statutory guidance on this for schools and others. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3.
The guidance does not specify which medical conditions should be supported in schools. Instead, it focuses on how to meet the needs of each individual child and how their medical condition impacts on school life.
All schools are required to identify and address the special educational needs of the pupils they support, and to make sure that a child or young person gets the support they need.