Teaching Assistant Pay

Nick Gibb Excerpts

Monday 17th July 2023 Westminster Hall

[The Minister for Schools (Nick Gibb)]

It is a pleasure to take part in the debate under your chairship, Sir Mark. I congratulate the hon. Member for Gower (Tonia Antoniazzi) on her well informed and passionate speech opening this debate on the petition relating to pay for teaching assistants. I would like to start by saying that the Government recognise teaching assistants as a valuable part of the school workforce. We appreciate the dedication of our teaching assistants and know the valuable contribution that they make, alongside excellent teachers, to pupils’ education.

The Department recently published data on the number of teaching assistants through the school workforce census, which showed that there are now 281,000 full-time equivalent teaching assistants in schools. That represents an increase of 5,300 since 2021. Teaching assistants now make up three in 10 of the school workforce overall, accounting for 37% of the nursery and primary workforce, 14% of the secondary workforce and 52% of the special school workforce.

We know that when teaching assistants are well trained and well deployed, they can improve pupil attainment. Evidence from the Education Endowment Foundation shows that teaching assistants can add up to four months’ improvement in pupil progress when delivering one-to-one or small group support using structured interventions, as the hon. Member pointed out in her opening speech. That is why we set out in the SEND and AP Green Paper our intention to develop a longer-term approach for teaching assistants, to ensure that their impact is more consistent across the system and that they can specialise in interventions that are proven to work.

[Tonia Antoniazzi]

I hope the Minister will indulge me. When I was teaching, I had a young man in my classroom called Jac Richards, who was a wheelchair user and non-verbal; he used an Eyegaze. He was well supported by his teaching assistants, Hayley and Joanne, and learnt French from year 7 to year 11. Unfortunately he was unable to sit the GCSE exam, but the gift they gave him in preparing and supporting me to prepare resources for an Eyegaze to teach a young man French was absolutely magic. Also, he participated fully, and this was a mainstream 11-to-16 school. When I say “fully”, I mean he was able to come on the trips to France and everything. That is how magic his experience was in school: he was able to be in my classroom and to participate. That is how wonderful teaching assistants are, and I hope that the Minister hears more examples like that, because it really was an honour and a privilege to be able to teach Jac thanks to them.

[Nick Gibb]

I am delighted that the hon. Member was able to put that on the record. I hope that the teaching assistants she mentioned will see that in Hansard. We want those examples to be more consistent right across the country, so the Department already provides support for teaching assistants through a number of programmes, including training to improve maths for teaching assistants through the maths hubs, and to support them to identify and meet the needs of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities through the universal services programme. We are also pioneering innovative practice through the “Early Language and Support for Every Child” pilot to trial new ways of working to better identify and support children with speech, language and communication needs in early years and primary schools.

The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education, IfATE, recently published a revised level 3 teaching assistant apprenticeship developed by employers, which became available for delivery from 6 May this year. Schools will be able to access up to £7,000 of levy funding to train and upskill teaching assistants. Of course, schools are free to set terms and conditions for teaching assistants and support staff according to their own circumstances. Local government employees, including school support staff, are covered by the National Joint Council terms and conditions, known as the green book. Most schools, including academies, use the local government pay scales in conjunction with the green book. Local government pay scales are set through negotiation between the Local Government Association, representing the employer, and local government trade unions, such as Unison, Unite and GMB, which represent the employee. Central Government have no formal role in those matters.

Currently, a generous offer is on the table for employees covered by local government pay scales. The offer for 2023-2024 is a flat cash uplift of £1,925 from 1 April 2023. That is the same uplift agreed for the 2022-23 pay deal. If accepted, it would equate to an increase of 9.42% this year for those on the lowest pay scale and an increase of £4,033, or 22%, over the two years since April 2021. We also know that schools can and do pay teaching assistants more than those on the lowest pay scale, currently earning £20,441 per annum. It is disappointing that the unions have rejected that offer, which would provide certainty for staff who are waiting to see an increase in the size of their pay packets. I hope that the pay award can be settled without the use of strike action, as we know that that will impact children’s education and cause disruption for parents.

The Government understand the pressures that people face with the cost of living, which is why we are providing £94 billion of support to households with higher costs across the 2022-23 and 2023-24 financial years—equivalent to £3,300 per household on average. Points have been raised in the debate about the ability of schools to pay for teaching assistants, particularly in the light of the recent pay award. The Government are committed to providing a world-class education for all children and have invested significantly in schools to achieve that. The 2022 autumn statement announced an additional £2 billion in each of the 2023-24 and 2024-25 financial years, over and above totals announced in the spending review in 2021.

In response to the issues raised by the hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale (Tim Farron), let me say that the pay award announced last week is fully funded. Last week, we announced an additional £525 million this year to support schools with a teachers’ pay award, and with a further £900 million in 2024-25. That means that funding for mainstream schools and special needs is more than £3.9 billion higher this year compared with last year. That is on top of the £4 billion cash increase last year—an increase of 16% over those two years. We submitted detailed evidence of the schools cost to the pay body, the School Teachers’ Review Body, and set out that the first 3.5% of the pay award is already funded by a £3.5 billion increase in school funding, which also included a very pessimistic assumption about energy costs that the hon. Gentleman also mentioned. The extra 3%—between 3.5% and 6.5%—is the funding that I just announced of £525 million this year and £900 million next year. The unions have acknowledged that the pay award has been properly funded.

Next year, school funding will be more than £59.6 billion—the highest ever level of school funding and the highest ever level in real terms and in real terms per pupil, as measured by the Institute for Fiscal Studies. Schools are expected to use their core budgets to pay for staff, including teaching assistants, and they may use local government pay scales when setting pay. The Department’s affordability calculation for schools takes account of the latest pay offer to teaching assistants.

The petition highlighted the importance of teaching assistants supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities. I reiterate the importance of teaching assistants’ support to those pupils, and outline our commitment to ensuring that such pupils receive the support they need. High needs funding for children and young people with complex special educational needs and disabilities will rise to £10.1 billion in this financial year, 2023-24; that is an increase of over 50% on the 2019-20 allocations. On top of that funding, special and alternative provision schools will receive an additional £50 million in 2023-24 through the teachers’ pay annual grant to support schools with their staffing costs.

Schools are expected to meet additional support costs of up to £6,000 per pupil with SEND from their core budgets. They can then seek additional funding from local authorities’ high needs budgets, and local authorities usually assess the need for extra funding through the education, health and care needs assessment process. If a pupil has an EHC plan, the local authority has a duty to secure their special educational provision, which will often include a teaching assistant. If the cost of that provision exceeds £6,000 per pupil, it will be paid for from the local authority’s high needs budget, which, as I have said, has increased considerably over the last few years. On 2 March, we published the SEND and AP improvement plan in response to the Green Paper. This outlines the Government’s mission for the special educational needs and alternative provision system to fulfil children’s potential, to build parents’ trust and to provide financial stability.

As I outlined earlier, we intend to develop a longer-term approach for teaching assistants to ensure that their impact is consistent across the system and the different responsibilities they take on. We want teaching assistants to be well trained and to be able to develop specific expertise —for example, in speech and language interventions. As a first step, we have commissioned a research project to develop our evidence base on current school approaches, demand and best practice. That research is being conducted by YouGov and CFE Research, with findings due by the end of the year.

The Government value teaching assistants and the role they play alongside excellent teachers. We recognise the positive impact they can have on pupil outcomes when they are well deployed and well trained. I have set out that we will be developing a longer-term approach to ensure that this is the case and that the impact of teaching assistants is more consistent across the system. The first step we are taking is to improve our evidence base through the research project that is currently in the field. Schools are best placed to recruit and pay teaching assistants according to their own needs, which is why central Government do not have a role in setting pay for teaching assistants or other school support staff. Many schools, including academies, pay teaching assistants according to local government pay scales, and if the pay offer for local government employees is accepted for 2023-24, it would see the lowest paid earning 22% more than they did in April 2021.

Minimum School Week

Nick Gibb Excerpts

Monday 17th July 2023 Written Statements

[The Minister for Schools (Nick Gibb)]

In March 2022, the Government announced in the Schools White Paper ‘Opportunity for All’ that to give every pupil the opportunity to achieve their full academic potential, all mainstream, state-funded schools would be expected to deliver a minimum school week of 32.5 hours by September 2023.

Most schools already have a school week of at least this length, and others will have plans in hand to meet the minimum expectation by September 2023. However, in recognition of the pressures currently facing schools, the Government have decided to defer the deadline to September 2024. The Government are encouraging schools that are planning to increase their hours from this September to continue to do so.

The Government have today published guidance and case studies:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/length-of-the-school-week-minimum-expectation to support those schools that are not yet meeting the minimum expectation.

[HCWS948]

School Funding: Provisional 2024-25 Allocations

Nick Gibb Excerpts

Monday 17th July 2023 Written Statements

[The Minister for Schools (Nick Gibb)]

Today I am confirming provisional funding allocations for 2024-25 through the schools, high needs and central school services national funding formulae (NFFs). Core schools funding includes funding for both mainstream schools and high needs. This is increasing by over £1.8 billion in 2024-25—from over £57.7 billion in 2023-24 to over £59.6 billion in 2024-25. This is on top of the over £3.9 billion increase in the core schools budget in 2023-24.

The core schools funding increase for both this year and next year includes the additional funding for schools’ teacher pay costs, through the teachers’ pay additional grant (TPAG). On 13 July, we announced this funding to support schools with the September 2023 teachers’ pay award. The funding is being split between mainstream schools, special schools and alternative provision (AP), early years, and 16 to 19 provision. The part of the additional funding that goes to mainstream schools, special schools and alternative provision is worth £482.5 million in 2023-24 and £827.5 million in 2024-25. This funding will be paid on top of NFF funding in both 2023-24 and 2024- 25. Further information on the TPAG is published here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teachers-pay-additional-grant-2023-to-2024.

Funding for mainstream schools through the schools NFF is increasing by 2.7% per pupil compared to 2023-24. Taken together with the funding increases seen in 2023-24, this means that funding through the schools NFF will be 8.5% higher per pupil in 2024-25, compared to 2022-23.

The minimum per pupil funding levels (MPPLs) will increase by 2.4% compared to 2023-24. This will mean that, next year, every primary school will receive at least £4,655 per pupil, and every secondary school at least £6,050. Academy trusts continue to have flexibilities over how they allocate funding across academies in their trust. This means, in some cases, an individual academy could receive a lower or higher per-pupil funding amount than the MPPL value. This may reflect, for example, activities that are paid for by the trust centrally, rather than by individual academies.

The NFF will distribute this funding based on schools’ and pupils’ needs and characteristics. The main features in 2024-25 are:

We are introducing a formulaic approach to allocating split sites funding. This ensures that funding for schools which operate across more than one site will be provided on a consistent basis across the country.

The core factors in the schools NFF—such as basic per-pupil funding, and the lump sum that all schools attract—will increase by 2.4%.

The funding floor will ensure that every school attracts at least 0.5% more pupil-led funding per pupil compared to its 2023-24 allocation.

The 2023-24 mainstream schools additional grant (MSAG) has been rolled into the schools NFF for 2024-25. This is to ensure that the additional funding schools attract through the NFF is as close as possible to the funding they would have received if the funding was continuing as a separate grant in 2024-25, without adding significant complexity to the formula. Adding the grant funding to the NFF provides reassurance to schools that this funding forms part of schools’ core budgets and will continue to be provided.

For the first time, in 2024-25 we will allocate funding to local authorities on the basis of falling rolls, as well as growth. Local authorities can use this funding to support schools which see a short-term fall in the number of pupils on roll.

The 2023-24 was the first year of transition to the direct schools NFF, with our end point being a system in which, to ensure full fairness and consistency in funding, every mainstream school in England is funded through a single national formula without adjustment through local funding formulae. Following a successful first year of transition, we will continue with the same approach to transition in 2024-25. As in 2023-24, local authorities will only be allowed to use NFF factors in their local formulae, and must use all NFF factors, except any locally determined premises factors. Local authorities will also be required to move their local formulae factors a further 10% closer to the NFF values, compared to where they were in 2023-24, unless they are classed as already “mirroring” the NFF.

Today we are also publishing local authority funding formula data for 2023-24. Following the first year of transition, the number of local authorities that mirror the schools NFF increased significantly from just over half in 2022-23, to just over two-thirds in 2023-24. Of the 72 local authorities that were not mirroring the NFF in 2022-23, 61 chose to move their local formula closer to the NFF than required.

In 2024-25, high needs funding through the NFF is increasing by a further £440 million, or 4.3%—following the £970 million increase in 2023-24 and £1 billion increase in 2022-23. This brings the total high needs budget to over £10.5 billion. All local authorities will receive at least a 3% increase per head of their age two to 18 population, compared to their 2023-24 allocations, with some authorities seeing gains of up to 5%.

The £10.5 billion funding includes the continuation of the £400 million high needs funding allocated to local authorities following the 2022 autumn statement, and the £440 million increase is provided on top of that. All special and alternative provision schools will continue to receive their share of that funding in 2024-25.

Central school services funding is provided to local authorities for the ongoing responsibilities they have for all schools. The total provisional funding for ongoing responsibilities is £304 million in 2024-25. In line with the process introduced for 2020-21, to withdraw funding over time for the historic commitments local authorities entered into before 2013-14, funding for historic commitments will decrease by a further 20% in 2024-25.

Updated allocations of schools, high needs and central schools services funding for 2024-25 will be published in December, taking account of the latest pupil data at that point.

[HCWS958]

Key Stage 2 Attainment

Nick Gibb Excerpts

Tuesday 11th July 2023 Written Statements

[The Minister for Schools (Nick Gibb)]

The key stage 2 (KS2) statistics released today show an increase in this year’s mathematics and writing attainment compared with 2022. More pupils met the expected standard in mathematics—73% in 2023, up from 71% in 2022—and writing—71% in 2023, up from 69% in 2022—than last year. The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in all of reading, writing and mathematics— combined—at age 11 was 59% in 2023. This is unchanged from last year. The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in science has also risen—80% in 2023, up from 79% in 2022—and those meeting the expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling remains unchanged from 2022—72%.

While those meeting the expected standard in reading is down from 2022 from 75% to 73%, it remains higher compared with 2016—66%—and is in line with pre-pandemic standards—73% met the expected standard in reading in 2019. This stability compared with pre-pandemic results was also reflected in the Progress in international reading literacy study (PIRLS) results released in May. Despite the disruption of the pandemic, England’s score remained stable, following significant improvements in 2011 and 2016, coming fourth out of the 43 countries that tested children of the same age. England’s score of 558 was well above the international average of 520 and the European average of 524.

This is the second publication of KS2 attainment since the beginning of the pandemic, as there were no KS2 assessments taken in 2020 and 2021. Following the impact of the pandemic, it was expected that there may be lower levels of attainment while children caught up on lost learning. The progress that has been made in recovering from the pandemic is testament to the hard work of teachers and teaching assistants across the country.

The Government are determined to build on the significant progress that has been made over the past decade in raising standards in reading through the tried and tested approach of phonics. It places great focus on ensuring early reading is taught well because children can only begin to articulate their thoughts in writing when they have a good grounding in early reading and spoken language. This is why today, we are announcing an updated version of our reading framework. This will provide teachers and school leaders with evidence-informed guidance on good practice in reading in primary schools and for those key stage 2 and secondary school pupils who still need support. We are also announcing today our intention to launch an evidence review of best practice in the teaching of writing. This will be a valuable resource for schools and will inform further research and guidance.

The Department also continues to invest in English hubs and Maths hubs. These programmes enable high-performing primary schools to spread their exemplary practice in the teaching of reading and mathematics across more primary schools. Furthermore, the Government are investing an extra £2 billion into our core schools funding this year and the year after, meaning school funding will be at its highest level in history next year, as measured by the IFS. This increase builds on our continued efforts to embed tutoring and provide targeted support for schools and children in need.

There will be a further statistical release in September setting out a more granular breakdown of the KS2 results and that will include statistics at regional and local authority levels and for pupil characteristics such as disadvantage.

[HCWS928]

Academies: Financial Oversight

Nick Gibb Excerpts

Thursday 6th July 2023 Written Statements

[The Minister for Schools (Nick Gibb)]

Today, my noble Friend, The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the School System and Student Finance (Baroness Barran) has made the following statement:

The 2023 Academy Trust Handbook (ATH), published today and applicable from 1 September 2023, will introduce improvements to the financial oversight framework for academy trusts.

These improvements will maintain the rigour of the current framework, while achieving a better balance for academy trusts, including:

A more streamlined and concise ATH that more clearly describes the framework for Academy Trusts, removing unnecessary detail/prescription, with links to additional guidance for more detailed support where appropriate.

A change in the approval requirements for related party transactions (RPTs) means that from 1 September 2023 RPTs between an academy trust and a college/university, or a school which is a sponsor of the academy trust, or with other state funded schools/colleges will be required to be declared only. In addition, the approval threshold is increased from £20,000 to £40,000 and this will only apply to singular transactions of this value or above.

A range of other improvements such as cutting out duplication across financial returns; prepopulating collection tools; extending the Budget Forecast Return deadline; clarifying requirements through improved guidance are currently being prepared and delivered over the course of this year. There are then areas for action that will be delivered over a longer timescale, and we will continue to engage the sector in this process.

The changes form part of the departmental response to the commitments in the academies regulatory and commissioning review, published in March this year.

The existing framework is robust and thorough with academy trusts—as companies, charities and public sector bodies—subject to high levels of scrutiny. Standards of financial management and governance are high across the sector. In 2020-21, 99.5% of academy trust accounts received unqualified opinions and independent reporting accountants concluded that there were no regularity exceptions in trust financial statements for 92% of trusts.

The framework exists to safeguard taxpayers’ money and ensure it is being used for its intended purpose. This supports the department’s ambition to ensure every pupil is receiving an excellent education and that all young people can realise their potential.

However, we also want to ensure that the framework is appropriately balanced so that it places proportionate requirements on the sector, as well as enabling the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) and Department for Education (DfE) to fulfil their responsibilities, including the provision of assurance on its stewardship of public funds to Parliament.

In developing these changes, ESFA and DfE have worked closely with a range of representatives of the academy sector. Advisory groups were established, made up of sector experts, representative organisations and academy trusts CEOs and CFOs. The groups provided in-depth feedback on the current ATH requirements. While there was agreement about the core of the financial oversight framework and the key principles that underpin it, we heard that aspects of the current framework are either hard to understand, overly complex or excessively prescriptive.

These changes are possible because of the capability of trusts across the academy sector which has matured significantly in recent years. As the sector continues to develop, we can continue this conversation with sector representatives about the financial oversight framework, identifying further opportunities to improve and streamline.

[HCWS920]

Academies: Commissioning Guidance

Nick Gibb Excerpts

Thursday 6th July 2023 Written Statements

[The Minister for Schools (Nick Gibb)]

Today my noble Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the School System and Student Finance (Baroness Barran), has made the following statement:

Today, 6 July, the Department for Education has published the guidance document, “Commissioning High-Quality Trusts: How the Department for Education’s Regions Group takes decisions about the creation, consolidation and growth of academy trusts”.

The guidance will improve the consistency and transparency with which the Department works with the sector. It delivers the commitment made in the academies regulatory and commissioning review to publish clearer, consolidated commissioning guidance, along with finalised descriptions of trust quality.

“Commissioning High-Quality Trusts” sets out how the Department for Education’s regions group will take decisions about academy trust creation, consolidation, and growth. The guidance responds directly to calls from the sector, heard through the academies regulatory and commissioning review, for more transparency about how the department commissions trusts, including the evidence that informs decisions. The approach outlined in the guidance makes clear that the department will prioritise the quality of education offered by trusts, whilst also reflecting the priorities and needs of the local area.

The guidance will encourage and support trusts to direct their own self-improvement activity. This supports our objective to grow capacity, capability, and choice across the system so that each school can be matched with the right high-quality trust to support the needs of its pupils and students.

The guidance consolidates existing documents relating to commissioning, so trust and school leaders will be able to understand the Department’s strategic approach to commissioning and the key processes more easily.

[HCWS918]

Local Government Pension Scheme: Academy Guarantee Extension

Nick Gibb Excerpts

Wednesday 28th June 2023 Written Statements

[The Minister for Schools (Nick Gibb)]

The Department for Education has extended the local government pension scheme academy guarantee to include academy trust outsourced contracts—for example, outsourced catering services.

This extension will help academy trusts by reducing the costs of their outsourced contracts—for example, by lowering set-up costs, simplifying administrative processes and removing the requirement for a bond.

Detailed guidance on the extension has been published on gov.uk:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/academies-and-local-government-pension-scheme-liabilities/dfe-local-government-pension-scheme-guarantee-for-academy-trusts-pensions-policy-for-outsourcing-arrangements

[HCWS888]

School Inspection

Nick Gibb Excerpts

Monday 12th June 2023 Written Statements

[The Minister for Schools (Nick Gibb)]

The Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted) has today announced a number of changes to its inspection process in England.

Ofsted will be clear that, following the completion of a school inspection, it is for the head teacher to decide which colleagues, or others, they share their provisional inspection outcome with, prior to the publication of the inspection report. As provisional outcomes can sometimes change these should not be published or shared with parents until finalised.

From September, when discussing a school’s areas of weakness, inspection reports will normally refer to “the school”, rather than to individuals. Contextual information at the end of reports will list all those with responsibility for the school.

Ofsted has today set out more information for schools on the broad timing of their next inspection. Schools will continue to receive one day’s notice of an inspection, but will now have more clarity about the year in which they are likely to be inspected. This will be of particular benefit to outstanding schools that were previously exempt from routine inspection.

Inspectors will now return more quickly—within three months—to schools graded inadequate overall due to ineffective safeguarding, but where all other judgements were good or better. If a school has been able to resolve the safeguarding concerns it is likely to see its overall grade improve. The Secretary of State will then be able to decide whether to revoke any academy order applying to the school, or withdraw any warning notice issued to an academy Where inspectors are due to return to a school in these circumstances, the timeframe for the implementation of an academy order will allow for reinspection and for the Secretary of State to revoke the order where the grade improves.

From September, Ofsted will provide schools with greater clarity about the threshold for what constitutes ineffective safeguarding through its inspection handbook and a range of other mechanisms. Inspectors will also describe ineffective safeguarding more clearly in inspection reports.

Ofsted has today launched a formal consultation on changes to its complaints system.

The Government are today confirming a significant expansion of their wellbeing support programme for school leaders. This will see a doubling of places available for this year, and will enable an additional 500 school leaders to access expert supervision and counselling.

[HCWS839]

Oral Answers to Questions

Nick Gibb Excerpts

Monday 12th June 2023 Commons Chamber

[Bob Seely (Isle of Wight) (Con)]

8. What assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of phonics teaching in Isle of Wight constituency.

[The Minister for Schools (Nick Gibb)]

There is overwhelming evidence that systematic phonics is the most effective method for teaching early reading. The English hubs programme is made up of 34 high-performing primary schools with exemplary practice in the teaching of synthetic phonics and reading. They are using their expertise to spread best practice to nearby schools, and have now reached over 1,600 primary schools. The English hub supporting the Isle of Wight has been helping 11 primary schools on the Island with their teaching of reading.

[Bob Seely]

I thank Ministers, first for the new special educational needs school for the Island—it is much appreciated—and secondly for agreeing to a phonics conference in June. The recent Islands Forum held on the Isle of Wight showed the link between education, jobs and the skills agenda and getting better opportunities for islanders, whether they are in Scotland or down on the Isle of Wight in my patch. On the phonics conference, is the Minister willing to pledge that we will get a centre of excellence for the teaching of phonics on the Island? Our nearest one, however good it is, is on the mainland in Southampton.

[Nick Gibb]

My hon. Friend and I have discussed education standards on the Isle of Wight on a number of occasions, and I pay tribute to him for the support he gives his schools and his determination to see standards rise in those schools. The Springhill English hub that he referred to is supporting primary schools on the Island to improve their teaching of phonics. As I said, it is already working with 11 primary schools, five of which have received intensive support, with the intention of ultimately finding a school on the Isle of Wight itself that has sufficient expertise to spread practice within the Island. That conference is taking place at the end of the month, and I hope all primary schools will be able to attend.

[Rob Butler (Aylesbury) (Con)]

9. What assessment she has made of the adequacy of technical education pathways at secondary schools.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Slough) (Lab)]

17. What steps her Department is taking to improve the recruitment and retention of teachers.

[The Minister for Schools (Nick Gibb)]

The school workforce census published last week shows that the number of teachers has increased by a further 2,800 this year. There are now more than 468,000 teachers in the state system in England. We have invested £181 million in recruitment this year, including training bursaries and scholarships worth up to £29,000, and we are delivering £30,000 starting salaries, reforming teacher training, delivering half a million training opportunities and working with the sector to address teacher workload and wellbeing.

[Kate Osborne]

The Minister mentions the data released last week, but it also highlights the unacceptable consequences of real-terms cuts to teachers’ pay and unmanageable workloads. It shows that posts without a teacher have more than doubled in the past two years. Last week, I met with NASUWT North East and the South Tyneside branch of the National Education Union, which raised concerns about the impact of the recruitment and retention crisis. When will the Minister take action to tackle this crisis by increasing teachers’ pay and reducing their workload?

[Nick Gibb]

In terms of teachers’ pay, we are waiting for the Government’s response. We have received and are looking at the School Teachers Review Body’s recommendations now, and we will respond in the normal way and on the normal timing. In terms of workload, we set up three important workload working groups, and over the years that has resulted in the working hours of teachers coming down by five hours a week, and we have pledged to do more to reduce that further.

[Mr Dhesi]

There were 44,000 leavers from the teaching profession last year. That is 9.7% of the total workforce, and the leaver rate is the highest it has been since 2018. The Government have missed their secondary teacher recruitment targets every year for the past 10 years bar one. All that is yet more evidence of how the incompetent Conservative Government have created the recruitment and retention crisis among teachers, and schools in Slough and across our country are lamenting the detrimental impact on our children’s education. Minister, what are the Government doing to urgently fix the recruitment and retention crisis?

[Nick Gibb]

If the hon. Member looks at the tables attached to the school workforce census, he will see that we have returned to pre-pandemic levels of recruitment. If he looks over a period of years, he will see that the number of teachers coming into state-funded schools and the number leaving are broadly similar.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

The abandonment of respectful address, such as “sir”, will not help, will it? Apparently it is because the female equivalent, “Miss”, is considered demeaning. Might I suggest the substitution of “ma’am”? It was good enough for Her late Majesty.

[Nick Gibb]

My right hon. Friend should not believe everything he reads in the newspapers. Behaviour in our schools is improving. We have set up behaviour hubs around the country to ensure that best practice is spread throughout the school system.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Stephen Morgan (Portsmouth South) (Lab)]

Last week, the Minister’s Department celebrated the latest teacher recruitment and retention figures, with the numbers showing that 40,000 teachers left the profession last year—the highest number since records began. Does he really think that is worth celebrating?

[Nick Gibb]

As I said earlier, if the hon. Member were to look at the tables attached to the school workforce census, he would see that the number of teachers coming into the state sector and those leaving are broadly similar, and they have a broadly similar pattern across the years. For example, the number of teachers leaving last year—44,000—compares with the 42,500 who left the profession in 2010-11. The challenge we have faced over the last 13 or 14 years is that we have created an extra 1 million school places in our schools. However, over that period, the pupil-teacher ratio in secondary schools, particularly in the last few years, has been broadly similar—it has risen slightly, but it has been broadly similar—despite the fact that we have increased the number of school places by over 1 million.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Minister for Schools (Nick Gibb)]

Well-maintained, safe school buildings are essential. The Department has supported local authorities and academy trusts to keep their schools in good condition by providing over £15 billion in condition funding since 2015. Our school rebuilding programme will also transform buildings at 500 schools, prioritising those in the poorest condition.

[Helen Morgan]

I recently visited the Corbet School in my constituency, a small, rural, academy trust secondary school. It is very well run, but 25% of its teaching space is in old demountable buildings. How can small rural schools with only 750 pupils on the roll better access funding to improve the buildings the pupils are taught in, to give them the same opportunities as pupils in more urban areas?

[Nick Gibb]

We take into account the condition of any school’s buildings in the capital funding we give either to the local authority or to the trust or diocesan group, and it is up to those bodies to decide how best to distribute that funding to meet local needs. All schools, including rural schools, have the opportunity to be nominated for the latest round of the school rebuilding programme, which is rebuilding and refurbishing school buildings across the country.

[Sir Jake Berry (Rossendale and Darwen) (Con)]

It would be remiss of me not to thank the Department for the huge rebuilding programme it is undertaking, particularly in Rossendale—not least the brand-new school in Whitworth and huge investment in Haslingden High and All Saints’ schools. However, a school I was previously a governor at, the Valley Leadership Academy, which is part of the Star chain of academies, is suffering terribly from under-investment. The estate is not fit for purpose, and I hope that when the next round of funding happens, my right hon. Friend will look favourably on the Valley Leadership Academy, and also the other Star Academies schools which are delivering brilliant quality education against the state of their school buildings.

[Nick Gibb]

I take on board what my right hon. Friend is saying. The condition data collection is a thorough nationwide assessment of the condition of every school in the country, and that is the data on which decisions are based when deciding how to fund capital funding.

[Dame Meg Hillier (Hackney South and Shoreditch) (Lab/Co-op)]

Many schools up and down the country still have asbestos in them and are getting to a dangerous state. It is all very well telling governing bodies to identify the asbestos, but there is not much incentive if there is no special or directed funding available to remove it and that is beyond the budget of an individual school. What is the Minister going to do to make sure asbestos is removed from our school buildings?

[Nick Gibb]

Asbestos management in school buildings is, as the hon. Lady will know, regulated by the Health and Safety Executive. The Department follows its advice and works closely with it. The DFE published detailed guidance on asbestos management for schools in 2020. When asbestos is a problem in a school, that is a major factor taken into account when deciding to rebuild schools under the school rebuilding programme.

[Simon Jupp (East Devon) (Con)]

Children and staff at Tipton St John Primary School had to be rescued by the fire service after it flooded recently. The safety of children and staff must come first as sites for a new school are assessed by the Department in the coming weeks. Will my right hon. Friend meet me to discuss the urgent need to build a school in a safe location?

[Nick Gibb]

Yes, I will. I was sorry to hear about the flash flooding and its impact on the school and the local community. Tipton St John Primary School was selected in December for the school rebuilding programme, which will ensure a long-term solution for the school, protecting children and staff from flooding in the future. Officials are working with the diocese of Exeter, Devon County Council and my hon. Friend to identify and secure a new site for the school. I thank him for his support to help make that happen as quickly as possible.

[Darren Henry (Broxtowe) (Con)]

14. What steps she plans to take with the higher education sector to reduce the suicide rate for students.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mohammad Yasin (Bedford) (Lab)]

18. What recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of funding for schools.

[The Minister for Schools (Nick Gibb)]

We are committed to providing world-class schools. Total funding for both mainstream schools and special schools and alternative provision will total £58.8 billion by 2024-25: the highest ever level per pupil in real terms. That assessment has been confirmed by the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

[Mohammad Yasin]

Liam, a teacher in my constituency, described the Government’s pay offer as akin to

“a mouldy carrot dangled in front of us to lead us back to the despair of the classroom.”

He works in a school that has had to make redundancies due to insufficient budgets. Does the Minister understand the impact that Government cuts to school budgets are having on children’s futures? Can he honestly say that he is giving all children equal opportunities?

[Nick Gibb]

The hon. Member will have seen that, in recent international surveys, standards are rising in our schools. We increased school funding by £4 billion last year, and this year it has increased by £3.5 billion. Taken over those two years, that is a 15% increase in school funding. Those of us on the Government side of the House want to have a well rewarded, well motivated teaching profession, because that is how we will ensure that standards continue to rise in our schools.

[Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)]

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

--- Later in debate ---

[Gareth Bacon (Orpington) (Con)]

T3. I welcome the relationships, sex and health education curriculum review. The Secretary of State herself has said that she shares concerns about inappropriate lessons being taught in schools. Can she reassure my Orpington constituents that the review will strengthen the ability of parents to view teaching materials, so that some teachers are no longer able to push unilaterally their own views on politics and gender to impressionable young people?

[The Minister for Schools (Nick Gibb)]

As my hon. Friend knows, the Secretary of State has written to all schools to emphasise that schools can and should share RSHE teaching materials with parents. The Department will consider, as part of the review of the statutory guidance, whether any further changes are needed to reinforce that and to ensure that all resources that teachers use to teach RSHE are age-appropriate.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Secretary of State.

--- Later in debate ---

[Anna Firth (Southend West) (Con)]

T8. I applaud the Government’s commitment to recruiting record numbers of teachers and the fact that there are 27,000 more now in our classrooms than in 2010. I recently met all of Southend’s secondary heads. Their concern was retention, but they had a number of interesting and innovative ideas. Will the Secretary of State meet me and them to discuss those ideas? Perhaps, when she visits our local employer, Adventure Island, she could make it a whole team awayday.

[Nick Gibb]

I am sure that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will visit, but if she cannot then I certainly will. Teacher retention is key to ensuring effective teacher supply and quality. We are taking action to support teachers so that they can stay in the profession and succeed. The Department has published a range of resources to help schools address teacher workload issues, prioritise staff wellbeing and introduce flexible working.

[Mike Amesbury (Weaver Vale) (Lab)]

Despite the introduction of my private Member’s Bill to help reduce the cost of school uniforms, which is now law, far too many schools still require a plethora of branding and logos. What will Ministers do to ensure that those schools apply the law?

[Nick Gibb]

It was a pleasure to work with the hon. Member on that important legislation to put the guidance on the cost of school uniform into statutory form. I congratulate him on the Act. Ultimately, these are matters for headteachers but the guidance is there, and if parents are concerned that schools are not abiding by the guidance, each one has a formal complaints procedure.

[Mark Pawsey (Rugby) (Con)]

I often hear from parents whose children remain in mainstream education despite their school not being able to meet the child's special educational needs. Despite Rugby having received some additional SEN places recently, I have had such an email from a constituent in the last few hours. What is being done to make certain that more such spaces are made available?

--- Later in debate ---

[Sir Julian Lewis (New Forest East) (Con)]

If and when parents get sight of what their children are being taught about relationships and sex education, will they have the right to withdraw their children from such lessons if they deem the materials to be inappropriate?

[Nick Gibb]

My right hon. Friend raises an important point about the appropriateness of materials being used in schools to teach relationships, health and sex education. We have been concerned about reports on that, which is why my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State wrote to all schools to remind them of their duty to share teaching materials with parents, and why we brought forward the review of the RHSE guidance. There is no right to withdraw children from relationships education, but there is a right for parents to withdraw their children from sex education in the RHSE curriculum.

[Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)]

Since 1985, girls and boys from nursery age to right up to pre-university have been educated at the King Fahad Academy in East Acton. Imagine the shock of parents, pupils and staff to be told last month that none of them are coming back in September because the Saudi Government, who fund it, are pulling the plug. Could the Secretary of State urgently intervene, at least to provide some basic certainty to a stunned community? Even the road layouts around there were conceived around the school. It could mean 500 kids left in the lurch after summer.

[Nick Gibb]

I am happy to meet the hon. Lady to discuss this issue in more detail.

[Lia Nici (Great Grimsby) (Con)]

I have constituents who have been studying at the University of Lincoln for the last three years, but the classification of their degree and their graduation are being prevented because lecturers who are union members are boycotting marking their final dissertations. Can my right hon. Friend advise me and my constituents of what they should do to push through and get the qualifications that they have worked so hard for?

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

On Saturday, I attended an inspiring conference hosted by Bootham Quaker School, where about 120 year 12 students from across the world had come together to determine the purpose and future of education. Does the Secretary of State agree with them that we need a renewed vision for education, taking into account what education achieves for communities, countries and the planet we share, rather than just its personal benefits?

[Nick Gibb]

The hon. Lady raises a number of important points. First, sustainability is an important part of the curriculum. Secondly, we want our young people to be able to succeed. In a global jobs market—a global trading market—they need to have the best education possible. Our schools are rising in the international league tables for maths and reading standards in PISA, PIRLS and TIMMS—the programme for international student assessment, the programme in international reading literacy study and the trends in international mathematics and science study.

[Steve Brine (Winchester) (Con)]

I met a group of headteachers in Chandler’s Ford, in my constituency, on Friday, and it is clear that they feel they are currently subsidising the surplus in places from falling school rolls, and particularly in universal infant free school meals. The Minister and I discussed this in my recent Westminster Hall debate, and he said he was “actively looking” at the issue. Since then, the Hampshire school meals provider has put up the price again. Will the Minister give me an update?

[Nick Gibb]

I am happy to discuss this further with my hon. Friend. As I said in the Westminster Hall debate, we have been looking at this issue carefully and have increased the price per pupil of the universal infant free school meal, backdated to April. We understand the cost pressures that schools and suppliers of catering to schools are facing because of higher food prices.

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[Jonathan Gullis (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Con)]

Improving educational outcomes in places like Stoke-on-Trent North, Kidsgrove and Talke relies on retaining the skills of highly qualified teachers. One way we can go about doing that is by changing levelling-up bonus payments in education investment areas, so that money can be given to teachers regardless of how many years of service they have. Will the Minister consider that action?

[Nick Gibb]

Having served as Schools Minister at the Department for Education for a period of time, my hon. Friend will be aware that we have levelling-up premium payments for teachers to teach maths, physics and computer science in disadvantaged schools, in order to encourage teachers in those subjects into the schools that need them the most.

Education

Nick Gibb Excerpts

Wednesday 7th June 2023 Ministerial Corrections

The following are extracts from the Opposition day debate on the Safety of Schools Buildings on Tuesday 23 May 2023.

[Nick Gibb]

Despite the shadow Minister’s grudging mention of a successful bid to the £450 million condition improvement fund announced yesterday, I congratulate Farringdon Community Academy in her constituency on its successful £1.5 million bid.

[Official Report, 23 May 2023, Vol. 733, c. 228.]

Letter of correction from the Minister for Schools, the right hon. Member for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton (Nick Gibb):

An error has been identified in my response to the speech of the hon. Member for Houghton and Sunderland South (Bridget Phillipson).

The correct information should have been:

[Nick Gibb]

Despite the shadow Minister’s grudging mention of a successful bid to the £450 million condition improvement fund announced yesterday, I congratulate Eppleton Academy Primary School in her constituency on its successful bids.

[Nick Gibb]

Last December, I had the chance to visit Guiseley School in Yorkshire, where I saw for myself the transformative effect that the new, modern buildings being provided will make to the entire school community. That was under the school rebuilding programme.

[Official Report, 23 May 2023, Vol. 733, c. 230.]

Letter of correction from the Minister for Schools, the right hon. Member for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton (Nick Gibb):

An error has been identified in my speech.

The correct information should have been:

[Nick Gibb]

Last December, I had the chance to visit Guiseley School in Yorkshire, where I saw for myself the transformative effect that the new, modern buildings being provided will make to the entire school community. That was under the priority school building programme.