Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to promote active travel by key stage (a) three and (b) four students.
Answered by Nick Gibb
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools had at least one construction element in condition grade (a) C and (b) D in Birkenhead constituency when that data was collated; and which of those schools (i) have received and (ii) expect to receive in the next two years funding from the School Rebuilding Programme.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Condition Data Collection (CDC) is one of the largest and most comprehensive data collection programmes in the UK’s public sector. It collected data on the building condition of government funded schools in England. It provides a robust evidence base to enable the Department to target capital funding for maintaining and rebuilding school buildings.
The key, high level findings of the CDC programme were published in May 2021 in the ‘Condition of School Buildings Survey: Key Findings’ report. This is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/989912/Condition_of_School_Buildings_Survey_CDC1_-_key_findings_report.pdf.
Individual CDC reports have been shared with every school and their responsible body to use alongside their existing condition surveys to plan maintenance schedules and investment plans. The Department plans to publish detailed school level CDC data. The Department is still preparing the data and will publish it as soon as possible.
Well maintained, safe school buildings are a priority for the Department. Our funding is directed both to maintaining the condition of the school estate and rebuilding schools. The Department has allocated over £13 billion for improving the condition of schools since 2015, including £1.8 billion committed this financial year.
The ten year School Rebuilding Programme (SRP) is condition led. 400 of the 500 available places on the programme have been provisionally allocated. A list of these schools and the methodology used to select them is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-rebuilding-programme-schools-in-the-programme.
Of the 400 so far selected, none are in Birkenhead or Brighton Kemptown constituencies.
The 239 schools announced in December 2022 will enter delivery at a rate of approximately 50 per year, over a five year period from 2023. The Department is currently undertaking due diligence on these schools prior to scheduling them, with schools prioritised according to the condition of their buildings, readiness to proceed, and efficiency of delivery. The scope and funding for each project will be confirmed following detailed feasibility studies and condition surveys of buildings.
Where a school identifies significant safety issues with a building, that cannot be managed within local resources, the Department considers additional support on a case-by-case basis. This includes applications for Urgent Capital Support (UCS) from eligible institutions. Schools eligible for Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) can apply for UCS where there are urgent health and safety issues that threaten school closure and cannot wait until the next CIF bidding round.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department has made any assessment of the potential merits of introducing a National Sleep Strategy including recommendations to help ensure all children have their own bed to sleep in.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The department does not have policy responsibility for this area. Therefore, it has not carried out an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a National Sleep Strategy.
The government provided a written response to a petition on the creation of a sleep strategy on 23 March 2022. The response can be found here: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/604509.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the impact of a child not having their own bed to sleep in on educational achievement in primary school.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The department has not undertaken a specific assessment of the impact of a child not having their own bed to sleep in on their educational achievement in primary school, but we have evaluated the impact of poverty on educational outcomes.
Evidence shows that disadvantaged pupils and those with additional needs are more likely to fall behind and need extra support to reach their full potential. That is why there is a range of support in place to support pupils, families, and schools.
Overall, core schools funding (including funding for both mainstream schools and high needs) is increasing by £4 billion in 2022/23 compared to the previous year. In 2022/23, the department will be allocating approximately £2,000 per pupil, for all pupils who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years through the national funding formula, the pupil premium and the 2022-23 school supplementary grant together. The Pupil Premium enables schools to provide extra support for disadvantaged pupils to help improve their academic and personal achievements.
The department is also investing in 55 Education Investment Areas (EIAs) where outcomes in literacy and numeracy are the poorest, where a package of measures will be implemented to drive school improvement and improve pupil outcomes.
Providing support for vulnerable children and young people is a priority for this government. The department recognises the strain that families are under and will continue to work collaboratively with local areas to ensure children, young people and families have access to the support they need to recover from any negative effects of the pandemic and respond to cost of living pressures.
The government spends over £1 billion annually delivering free meals to pupils in schools as we know that the provision of nutritious food ensures pupils are well nourished, develop healthy eating habits and can concentrate and learn. In addition, the department recently announced a further investment in the National School Breakfast Programme, extending the programme for another year until July 2024. Overall, we are investing up to £30 million in the programme, covering the period from July 2021 to July 2024. This funding will support up to 2,500 schools in disadvantaged areas meaning that thousands of children from low-income families will be offered free nutritious breakfasts to better support their attainment, wellbeing, and readiness to learn.
The department is also investing over £200 million a year in the holiday activities and food programme providing healthy meals, enriching activities and free childcare places to children from low-income families, benefiting their heath, wellbeing and learning through the provision of healthy free meals, nutritional education, and physical activities on a daily basis.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if his Department will take steps to simplify the process of referring a young person for a Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) assessment.
Answered by Will Quince
As per the proposals set out in the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Green Paper, the department proposes to create new national SEND standards spanning early years providers through to further education. These standards would make consistent the provision, processes and systems that should be made available across the country for every child and young person with SEND, acting as a common point of reference for every partner within the SEND and AP system.
The standards will set consistent processes for decision making on how a child or young person’s needs are identified and recorded and instruct on how and when an assessment should take place, who should be involved in the assessment process, and how the information and evidence collected should be recorded and monitored.
All of the proposals within the Green Paper are currently open to a full public consultation, closing on the 22 July, and the department will be listening carefully to all views expressed to ensure the policies secure the department’s ambitions to improve outcomes and parental confidence in the system. The department is committed to ensuring everyone has the opportunity to take part in the consultation and encourages everyone to do so.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing health workers to refer young people for Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) assessments.
Answered by Will Quince
Health professionals are key partners in identifying, assessing, and meeting the needs of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
The responsibility to decide whether a child or young person requires an education, health, and care (EHC) assessment rests with the local authority, but a range of partners can bring any child or young person who they feel may require an EHC assessment to the attention of the local authority. This explicitly includes health professionals. This is set out in paragraph 9.9 of the SEND Code of Practice 2015, which is statutory guidance.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if his Department will introduce new and proportionate mitigation measures to schools and other compulsory education settings to curb the transmission of covid-19.
Answered by Robin Walker
Our priority is for all nurseries, schools and colleges to deliver face-to-face, high-quality education to pupils and students and to minimise disruption to education. The department has worked closely with the UK Health Security Agency (UKSHA) throughout our response to the COVID-19 outbreak and to revise our guidance from Step 4 of the roadmap when the government relaxed most restrictions across all parts of society.
The department continues to closely review data, analysis, and advice from a number of different sources including UKSHA, the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, and the Office for National Statistics. We also continue to work closely with local authorities and their Directors of Public Health to inform our planning and response. We will continue to keep all measures under review in partnership with health experts and informed by the latest scientific evidence and advice.
As our guidance outlines, nurseries, schools and colleges should continue to keep good hygiene measures in place, keep spaces well ventilated, and follow public health advice on testing, self-isolation and managing confirmed cases of COVID-19.
The contingency framework describes the principles of managing local outbreaks of COVID-19 in nurseries, schools and colleges, and sets out the measures that all settings should be prepared for if they were advised to take extra measures to help break chains of transmission. It also sets out thresholds for managing COVID-19 cases and when settings should consider seeking public health advice. The contingency framework can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-local-restrictions-in-education-and-childcare-settings/contingency-framework-education-and-childcare-settings.
All education providers should have contingency plans in place describing what they would do if children, pupils, students, or staff test positive for COVID-19 or how they would operate if they were advised to reintroduce any additional measures. If a provider is concerned because they have reached the thresholds outlined in the contingency framework, or if they are concerned about transmission within the setting, they can seek public health advice via the department’s helpline.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment his Department has made of the prevalence of covid-19 in (a) schools and (b) other compulsory education settings.
Answered by Robin Walker
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) leads in conducting the national Coronavirus Infection Survey and publishes weekly prevalence estimates of COVID-19 in school-age children. A link to the latest ONS report is here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/bulletins/coronaviruscovid19infectionsurveypilot/15october2021#age-analysis-of-the-number-of-people-who-had-covid-19.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the existing covid-19 infection mitigation measures in place in schools.
Answered by Robin Walker
The current COVID-19 operational guidance for schools sets out the best way to deliver face-to-face high-quality education to all pupils while also helping reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19. The evidence is clear that being out of education causes significant harm to educational attainment, life chances, mental and physical health. The contingency framework describes the types of measures that nurseries, schools and colleges should be prepared for, who can recommend them and where, when measures should be lifted and how decisions are made. The department has worked with the UK Health Security Agency to develop the thresholds outlined in the contingency framework. The thresholds are designed as a guide to differentiate between isolated cases as a result of community transmission and transmission occurring within the school, and to help the school identify when it might be sensible to seek public health advice.
Alongside Step 4 of the government’s roadmap in July 2021, the department published a summary of the evidence regarding the COVID-19 outbreak and children, young people, and in nurseries, schools and colleges: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/evidence-summary-covid-19-children-young-people-and-education-settings.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department made an assessment of the potential merits of incorporating the £15 voucher scheme for local shops and supermarkets into the Healthy Start voucher scheme prior to the recent re-opening of schools during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Vicky Ford
During the period of school opening restrictions, schools continued to provide free school meal support to pupils eligible for benefits related free school meals and who were learning at home. Extra funding was provided to support schools to provide lunch parcels or meals to eligible children. Schools were free to decide the best approach for their free school meal pupils. They could provide lunch parcels, locally arranged vouchers for local shops or supermarkets, or they could use the national voucher scheme.
The Healthy Start scheme helps to encourage a healthy diet for pregnant women, babies and young children from low income households. Vouchers are available for pregnant women and mothers with young children that meet the eligibility criteria, with further information available here: https://www.gov.uk/healthy-start/eligibility. In contrast, free school meals are available for eligible school age children. Further information on this is available here: https://www.gov.uk/apply-free-school-meals.
At the time, Healthy Start vouchers could be used to purchase fruit, vegetables, milk and infant formula, in order to support a healthy diet, but not the full range of foods needed to provide a balanced meal for a child at lunch time.
A range of options were considered, including using the Department of Health and Social Care’s Healthy Start vouchers. However, these are aimed at different eligibility groups and were not designed to offer the full range of foods necessary to support a healthy, nutritious meal to learn, concentrate and achieve.
Given the pace required to set up support for free school meal pupils learning at home, this would not be considered a feasible option for delivery.