Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Gibb and David Nuttall

Monday 19th December 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr David Nuttall (Bury North) (Con)]

One cause of the underperformance in northern schools that the report identifies is the challenge of teacher supply. Does the Minister agree that one way of improving that would be to recruit more former members of the armed forces into our teaching profession?

[Mr Gibb]

Yes, I do, and we have a scheme that does just that. As the years go by, it is recruiting increasing, albeit small, numbers of highly qualified, experienced ex-military personnel.

Key Stage 2 Tests

Debate between Nick Gibb and David Nuttall

Tuesday 10th May 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gibb]

As the hon. Lady will know, this process of testing 600,000 pupils is complex. We use contractors, and, on this occasion, an error was made in uploading that material on to a secure website. We took action swiftly when we discovered that error, as we did when the spelling test was put online three weeks ago. It is how a Government react to these issues that determines their competence, and we acted swiftly on both occasions. This whole approach to testing our six and seven-year-olds and our 10 and 11-year-olds does require an element of trust in those people engaged in the process. We must test and develop the test. A huge number of professionals see the content of these tests many weeks before they go live, and we have to trust those professionals to do their job properly and with integrity. On this occasion, one such professional decided not to act with integrity. I hope that the hon. Lady will take the same view that we do about professionals who act in that inappropriate way.

[Mr David Nuttall (Bury North) (Con)]

I entirely agree with my hon. Friend that testing forms an important and crucial part of our education system. If proof were needed that testing is important, one need look no further than the text of the statement that has been circulated in the Chamber today. It says:

“Although this is a serious breech—”.

Unfortunately, the word “breach” is spelled incorrectly.

[Mr Gibb]

Yes, well, I am grateful to my hon. Friend for pointing out that error, and I will make sure that it is corrected for Hansard.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Gibb and David Nuttall

Monday 30th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gibb]

These are the issues that the Prime Minister is tackling, and we will debate them in due course.

[Mr David Nuttall (Bury North) (Con)]

Further to that point, does my hon. Friend agree that if schools use propaganda provided by the European Union, teachers must make certain that both sides of the argument on our membership of the European Union are fairly and properly put to pupils?

[Mr Speaker]

Order. The question is about learning outcomes.