Oral Answers to Questions

Nick Gibb Excerpts

Monday 19th January 2015 Commons Chamber

[Craig Whittaker (Calder Valley) (Con)]

17. What assessment she has made of the effect of the introduction of regional schools commissioners.

[The Minister of State, Department for Education (Mr Nick Gibb)]

In the four months since the eight regional schools commissioners took up their responsibilities for the academies and free schools in their regions, they have been working efficiently with their head teacher boards to inject experience, expertise and valuable local knowledge into the management of the academy system, playing a vital role in the development of a self-improving school system.

[Craig Whittaker]

Prior to the schools commissioners being in place, it was my experience that the Department’s approach to failing academies was sometimes inconsistent. How does the Minister envisage that schools commissioners will apply a consistent approach to drive up standards and make academies more accountable?

[Mr Gibb]

Given their proximity to schools that are underperforming and their local knowledge, regional schools commissioners will act far more swiftly in taking failing schools to academy status than we have seen to date. That is the purpose of the regional schools commissioners, and I am confident that we will see a faster and smoother process of conversion to academy status.

[Stuart Andrew (Pudsey) (Con)]

18. What progress her Department has made on tackling bullying.

[The Minister of State, Department for Education (Mr Nick Gibb)]

This Government take bullying very seriously. We have strengthened teachers’ powers to tackle bullying, we have provided anti-bullying advice for schools, we have provided approximately £4 million of funding to anti-bullying charities and announced a further £2 million to address homophobic bullying, and we have included internet safety in the national curriculum. According to our longitudinal study of young people published in November last year, around 30,000 fewer young people are being bullied than 10 years ago in England.

[Stuart Andrew]

The ultimate consequence of bullying can be that the victim takes their own life, as a friend unfortunately did when I was at school. Given that these days cyber-bullying is an additional pressure for victims, what advice and support does my hon. Friend’s Department offer to teachers to deal specifically with that problem?

[Mr Gibb]

It is always tragic when young people take their own life for whatever reason, but particularly when that is linked to cyber-bullying. As this is a particular worry for parents, we recently issued advice on how they can help protect their children from cyber-bullying, the signs to look for and what to do if children are being cyber-bullied. We also produce advice for schools on how to support pupils facing cyber-bullying.

[Greg Mulholland (Leeds North West) (LD)]

A two-year research project entitled “Addressing Sexual Bullying Across Europe” has just been published by Leeds Beckett university, revealing that sexual bullying in young people is widespread across Europe, with 73% of young people aged 13 to 18 having experienced at least one form of sexual bullying on more than one occasion. This is horrendous. What more can we do in our schools to deal with this very worrying problem?

[Mr Gibb]

My hon. Friend makes an important point. This is an increasing trend and we have to make it very clear in our schools that this form of behaviour in our schools is unacceptable. The guidance issued by the Department makes it clear that issues such as consent have to be taught in our sex and relationship education lessons.

[Justin Tomlinson (North Swindon) (Con)]

19. What steps she is taking to promote the teaching of emergency life-saving skills in schools.

[The Minister of State, Department for Education (Mr Nick Gibb)]

Three in a row. Schools are free to teach emergency life-saving skills and may choose to do so as part of personal, social, health and economic education. The Department, as my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State said, is encouraging schools to purchase automated external defibrillators and has made arrangements to help them do so at a competitive price. We have also published a guide to defibrillators on school premises, in which we suggest that schools may wish to consider offering cardiopulmonary resuscitation training throughout the school.

[Justin Tomlinson]

Of the 30,000 cardiac arrests that occur outside the hospital setting each year, only one in 10 people survive. Will the Minister agree to meet me and the British Heart Foundation to discuss how, in countries where two hours of emergency life-saving skills are taught, survival rates often increase to up to 50%?

[Mr Gibb]

I agree that first aid and life-saving skills are very important, but the Government do not believe that it should be a statutory requirement for schools to teach those skills. We trust schools to make their own decisions about what is best in their circumstances. Many schools do choose to teach these skills, working with organisations such as the British Heart Foundation or St John Ambulance. I would be delighted to meet my hon. Friend to consider what more can be done to promote these programmes in schools.

[Sir Oliver Heald (North East Hertfordshire) (Con)]

T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

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[Angie Bray (Ealing Central and Acton) (Con)]

T3. Will my hon. Friend join me in congratulating teachers and pupils at primary schools across Ealing on their latest key stage 2 standard assessment test results, which have taken them well above average? It is particularly good to note that pupils from the most disadvantaged backgrounds have done especially well this year.

[The Minister of State, Department for Education (Mr Nick Gibb)]

I happily join my hon. Friend in congratulating primary schools in her constituency on that achievement. It is true that during the last few years we have narrowed the attainment gap between those from poorer and wealthier backgrounds. In particular, I cite key stage 2 reading, writing and maths figures, where we closed the gap by one percentage point between 2013 and 2014, which is a staggering achievement, but there is more to do.

[Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North) (Lab)]

T2. More than 10,000 people have now signed an e-petition urging the Government to introduce a VAT refund scheme for sixth-form colleges. Does the Minister now accept that it is time to drop this learning tax on sixth-form colleges, which does not have to be paid by schools, academies and free schools?

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[Julie Hilling (Bolton West) (Lab)]

According to the Minister, schools should be able to choose whether to teach emergency life support skills, but we do not allow a choice in other subjects. Does he not agree that it is worth two hours so that we can transform our society, make every school leaver a life saver, and so save potentially 150,000 lives a year?

[Mr Gibb]

I understand the hon. Lady’s passion on this, which is shared by Government Members as well, but what is taught in personal, social, health and economic education is up to the schools, and we do not want to have an over-prescribed school curriculum. We have created a carefully balanced curriculum between central prescription and autonomy for professionals, and this is a matter for professionals. All schools are free to teach these very important skills, but we must leave some matters to schools to decide.

[Sir Nick Harvey (North Devon) (LD)]

T5. Is the Minister aware that Chulmleigh academy in my constituency has been three quarters rebuilt for just £3.7 million, compared with the £18 million it was due to have cost under Building Schools for the Future? Given the school’s superb record of delivery and astonishing value for money, will Ministers smile upon the bid now in for funding for the last stage of this superb project?

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Gibb]

I am grateful for that question. There is already an Oxford, Cambridge and Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, or OCR, GCSE qualification called “Religious Studies GCSE (B): Philosophy and Applied Ethics”. The philosophy of religion will feature in the new revised religious studies GCSEs. There are also post-16 level 3 qualifications in critical thinking and philosophy. There is significant choice in schools for students wishing to study philosophy.

[Andrew Gwynne (Denton and Reddish) (Lab)]

The National Audit Office has raised concerns about the DFE’s accounts relating to the academies programme. The NAO qualified signing off the DFE’s accounts, given uncertainties and errors. What has the Secretary of State done to ensure that these serious financial irregularities have been addressed by her Department?

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

The cluster academy of Montsaye academy in Rothwell, together with local primary schools in Rothwell, Desborough, Wilbarston and Rushden, is working very well in providing a more seamless education for local children from primary all the way through to 18. How might the best practice from clusters such as Montsaye be best spread across the rest of Northamptonshire and the rest of the country?

[Mr Gibb]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on his involvement as a former governor at that school. The Government’s academies programme is actively encouraging schools to collaborate and support each other as part of developing a genuinely school-led system. We are encouraging groups of schools to form strong partnerships by converting to academy status like the Montsaye cluster. The Department is working closely with Northamptonshire schools and the local authority to support the development of strong clusters led by teachers and head teachers to secure the best education for pupils in Northamptonshire.

[Several hon. Members]

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