Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of budgets for free school meals.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department recognises the cost pressures that some schools and suppliers may be facing. The Department is holding regular meetings with other Government Departments and with food industry representatives, covering a variety of issues including public sector food supplies.
Following the Autumn Statement 2022, schools will receive an additional £2 billion in each of the 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years. The core schools’ budget, which covers schools’ day to day running costs, including schools’ energy bills and the costs of providing income related free school meals (FSM), has risen from £49.8 billion in 2021/22 to £53.8 billion in 2022/23 and will continue to rise to £57.3 billion in 2023/24 and £58.8 billion in 2024/25. By 2024/25, funding per pupil will have risen to its highest ever level in real terms. These increases provide support to schools to deal with the impact of inflation on their budgets.
The Department is continuing to review funding to ensure that schools continue to be able to provide healthy and nutritious meals in schools. The funding for the FSM factor is increasing for 2023/24, in line with the latest available Gross Domestic Product deflator forecast when the National Funding Formula was published in July 2022.
Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM) are funded through a direct grant to schools. In June 2022, the Government announced an increase to the per pupil meal rate in UIFSM to £2.41. This was backdated, recognising the cost pressures schools and some suppliers may be experiencing.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an estimate of average savings to parents of buying school uniforms from a shop rather than a school or a designated supplier.
Answered by Nick Gibb
In 2015, the Department published a report on the cost of school uniforms, which included data on the average cost of buying items of school uniform when they could be purchased from a range of retailers, compared to when items are restricted to purchase at a school or designated supplier. This showed that most items tended to be substantially cheaper when they could be purchased from a range of retailers. The report is accessible at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/436576/RR474_Cost_of_school_uniform.pdf. This is why the Department’s 2021 statutory guidance on the cost of school uniform requires schools to keep branded items to a minimum, enabling parents to purchase generic items of uniform from a range of retailers. The guidance is available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/cost-of-school-uniforms.
The Department has not made a recent assessment of the average savings to parents of buying school uniforms from a shop rather than a school or designated supplier.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department's publication entitled Cost of school uniforms, published on 19 November 2021, whether her Department has received any complaints from parents and carers on school compliance with the statutory guidance.
Answered by Nick Gibb
At the time of writing, the Department has received three complaints about school compliance with the statutory guidance on the cost of school uniforms.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of SATs test design.
Answered by Nick Gibb
End of Key Stage 2 National Curriculum assessments, also known as Standard Assessment Tests (SATs), assess the National Curriculum published in 2014. When the new curriculum was published, the Standards and Testing Agency (STA) developed test frameworks setting out the format, structure and content of the tests.
The frameworks were developed in conjunction with teachers, education and curriculum experts. Test materials are reviewed against this framework and trialled comprehensively in schools with Year 6 pupils to ensure they are appropriate. There are no plans to review the specifications for the tests.
STA works independently on the test materials. Ministers have no involvement in test development or in the selection of the content of the test. Ministers do not have access to the test materials until they are published after the end of the timetable variation window, which is five school days after the scheduled test date. Ministers likewise have no involvement in the standards maintenance process which determines the threshold for the expected standard each year.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has undertaken research on the potential effects of Standard Assessment Tests on children’s mental health and well being.
Answered by Nick Gibb
End of Key Stage 2 National Curriculum assessments, also known as Standard Assessment Tests (SATs), are an essential part of ensuring that all pupils master the basics of reading, writing and maths as set out in the National Curriculum and to prepare them for secondary school.
Although it is important that schools encourage pupils to do their best, this should not be at the expense of pupils’ mental health and wellbeing. Research conducted by the UCL Institute of Education and published in 2021 found that there was ‘little evidence to changes in [pupil] wellbeing around the time of Key Stage 2 tests, or that pupils in England become happier – either in general or regarding school – once these tests are over’.
The Department is committed to ensuring schools and colleges are safe, calm, and supportive educational environments which promote and support mental wellbeing.
The Department’s senior mental health lead training available to all state schools and colleges by 2025 supports this commitment. More than 10,000 schools and colleges have received senior mental health lead training grants so far, which includes more than 6 in 10 state funded secondary schools, and a further £10 million provided this year means up to two thirds of state schools and colleges can benefit by April 2023.
This is in addition to record funding for pupils’ mental health support through the NHS long term plan, and the £79 million increase announced in 2021, meaning more than 2.4 million pupils now have access in schools and colleges to a mental health support team. The number of teams will increase from 287 to over 500 by 2024. The Department has also recently brought together all its sources of advice for schools and colleges into a single site on GOV.UK, which includes signposting to external sources of mental health and wellbeing support for teachers, school staff and school leaders. The resources are available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mental-health-and-wellbeing-support-in-schools-and-colleges.
Neither the Department nor the Standards and Testing Agency (STA), who are responsible for the development of the tests, have any current plans for a formal review of the SATs papers for 2023. STA will continue to engage with schools, unions, and other stakeholders to understand their views on the papers this year, and with regard to all aspects of primary assessment.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential effects of SATs on children’s (a) mental health and (b) well-being.
Answered by Nick Gibb
End of Key Stage 2 National Curriculum assessments, also known as Standard Assessment Tests (SATs), are an essential part of ensuring that all pupils master the basics of reading, writing and maths as set out in the National Curriculum and to prepare them for secondary school.
Although it is important that schools encourage pupils to do their best, this should not be at the expense of pupils’ mental health and wellbeing. Research conducted by the UCL Institute of Education and published in 2021 found that there was ‘little evidence to changes in [pupil] wellbeing around the time of Key Stage 2 tests, or that pupils in England become happier – either in general or regarding school – once these tests are over’.
The Department is committed to ensuring schools and colleges are safe, calm, and supportive educational environments which promote and support mental wellbeing.
The Department’s senior mental health lead training available to all state schools and colleges by 2025 supports this commitment. More than 10,000 schools and colleges have received senior mental health lead training grants so far, which includes more than 6 in 10 state funded secondary schools, and a further £10 million provided this year means up to two thirds of state schools and colleges can benefit by April 2023.
This is in addition to record funding for pupils’ mental health support through the NHS long term plan, and the £79 million increase announced in 2021, meaning more than 2.4 million pupils now have access in schools and colleges to a mental health support team. The number of teams will increase from 287 to over 500 by 2024. The Department has also recently brought together all its sources of advice for schools and colleges into a single site on GOV.UK, which includes signposting to external sources of mental health and wellbeing support for teachers, school staff and school leaders. The resources are available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mental-health-and-wellbeing-support-in-schools-and-colleges.
Neither the Department nor the Standards and Testing Agency (STA), who are responsible for the development of the tests, have any current plans for a formal review of the SATs papers for 2023. STA will continue to engage with schools, unions, and other stakeholders to understand their views on the papers this year, and with regard to all aspects of primary assessment.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, will he make an assessment of the impact of SATs on children’s (a) mental health and (b) well being.
Answered by Nick Gibb
End of Key Stage 2 National Curriculum assessments, also known as Standard Assessment Tests (SATs), are an essential part of ensuring that all pupils master the basics of reading, writing and maths as set out in the National Curriculum and to prepare them for secondary school.
Although it is important that schools encourage pupils to do their best, this should not be at the expense of pupils’ mental health and wellbeing. Research conducted by the UCL Institute of Education and published in 2021 found that there was ‘little evidence to changes in [pupil] wellbeing around the time of Key Stage 2 tests, or that pupils in England become happier – either in general or regarding school – once these tests are over’.
The Department is committed to ensuring schools and colleges are safe, calm, and supportive educational environments which promote and support mental wellbeing.
The Department’s senior mental health lead training available to all state schools and colleges by 2025 supports this commitment. More than 10,000 schools and colleges have received senior mental health lead training grants so far, which includes more than 6 in 10 state funded secondary schools, and a further £10 million provided this year means up to two thirds of state schools and colleges can benefit by April 2023.
This is in addition to record funding for pupils’ mental health support through the NHS long term plan, and the £79 million increase announced in 2021, meaning more than 2.4 million pupils now have access in schools and colleges to a mental health support team. The number of teams will increase from 287 to over 500 by 2024. The Department has also recently brought together all its sources of advice for schools and colleges into a single site on GOV.UK, which includes signposting to external sources of mental health and wellbeing support for teachers, school staff and school leaders. The resources are available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mental-health-and-wellbeing-support-in-schools-and-colleges.
Neither the Department nor the Standards and Testing Agency (STA), who are responsible for the development of the tests, have any current plans for a formal review of the SATs papers for 2023. STA will continue to engage with schools, unions, and other stakeholders to understand their views on the papers this year, and with regard to all aspects of primary assessment.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential effects of the Standard Assessment Tests on 10 May on children’s mental health and well being.
Answered by Nick Gibb
End of Key Stage 2 National Curriculum assessments, also known as Standard Assessment Tests (SATs), are an essential part of ensuring that all pupils master the basics of reading, writing and maths as set out in the National Curriculum and to prepare them for secondary school.
Although it is important that schools encourage pupils to do their best, this should not be at the expense of pupils’ mental health and wellbeing. Research conducted by the UCL Institute of Education and published in 2021 found that there was ‘little evidence to changes in [pupil] wellbeing around the time of Key Stage 2 tests, or that pupils in England become happier – either in general or regarding school – once these tests are over’.
The Department is committed to ensuring schools and colleges are safe, calm, and supportive educational environments which promote and support mental wellbeing.
The Department’s senior mental health lead training available to all state schools and colleges by 2025 supports this commitment. More than 10,000 schools and colleges have received senior mental health lead training grants so far, which includes more than 6 in 10 state funded secondary schools, and a further £10 million provided this year means up to two thirds of state schools and colleges can benefit by April 2023.
This is in addition to record funding for pupils’ mental health support through the NHS long term plan, and the £79 million increase announced in 2021, meaning more than 2.4 million pupils now have access in schools and colleges to a mental health support team. The number of teams will increase from 287 to over 500 by 2024. The Department has also recently brought together all its sources of advice for schools and colleges into a single site on GOV.UK, which includes signposting to external sources of mental health and wellbeing support for teachers, school staff and school leaders. The resources are available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mental-health-and-wellbeing-support-in-schools-and-colleges.
Neither the Department nor the Standards and Testing Agency (STA), who are responsible for the development of the tests, have any current plans for a formal review of the SATs papers for 2023. STA will continue to engage with schools, unions, and other stakeholders to understand their views on the papers this year, and with regard to all aspects of primary assessment.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the (a) strengths and (b) weaknesses of the Education (Guidance about Costs of School Uniforms) Act 2021.
Answered by Nick Gibb
In line with standard procedures, the Department conducted relevant and proportionate impact assessments during the development of the draft guidance.
The Department will continue to assess the impact of the cost of school uniform guidance through continued engagement with key stakeholders, including through correspondence received by the Department from parents, head teachers and uniform suppliers.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an impact assessment of the statutory guidance entitled Cost of school uniforms, published in November 2021.
Answered by Nick Gibb
In line with standard procedures, the Department conducted relevant and proportionate impact assessments during the development of the draft guidance.
The Department will continue to assess the impact of the cost of school uniform guidance through continued engagement with key stakeholders, including through correspondence received by the Department from parents, head teachers and uniform suppliers.