Asked by: Nickie Aiken (Conservative - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of universities that are continuing to run classes remotely, rather than returning to in-person learning.
Answered by Michelle Donelan
We expect all universities to continue to deliver excellent learning, in line with guidance from the Office for Students (OfS), to provide students with a full experience. The OfS, as regulator of Higher Education in England, will be monitoring to ensure this is the case, and universities should be open about what students can expect.
As autonomous institutions, it is for HE providers to determine their own provision, taking account of government guidance. However, as we have now lifted restrictions on HE, providers should not be limiting access to face-to-face teaching based on COVID-19 controls.
Online learning should only be offered to enhance the student experience, not detract from it, by making learning more accessible for students, including those who cannot yet attend face-to-face lectures. It should not be used as a cost cutting measure.
Any policies and terms, or changes to existing policies and terms, must be clearly communicated to students. If students have concerns, they should first raise them with their HE provider. If their concerns remain unresolved, students at HE providers in England or Wales can ask the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education to consider their complaint.
Asked by: Nickie Aiken (Conservative - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department has taken to encourage a higher number of universities to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's working definition of antisemitism.
Answered by Michelle Donelan
This government abhors antisemitism and has been clear that we expect universities to be at the forefront of tackling the challenge of antisemitism, making sure that higher education is a genuinely fulfilling and welcoming experience for everyone.
The government has asked all English higher education providers registered with the Office for Students (OfS) to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism. The IHRA definition is an important tool in tackling antisemitism. Adopting this widely recognised definition sends a strong signal that higher education providers take these issues seriously. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, wrote to higher education leaders most recently in October 2020 to reiterate the importance of the definition and to urge all providers to consider adopting it.
The government is pleased to report that at least 91 providers have now adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism, with many more preparing to adopt. The decision on adoption of the definition rests with individual providers, but the government will continue to urge them to adopt the definition, and ensure that higher education is a genuinely fulfilling and welcoming experience for everyone.
I am proud that so many providers have taken a positive step towards eradicating antisemitism by adopting the IHRA definition, but further progress is still needed to stamp it out. This is why, in the Secretary of State’s most recent strategic guidance letter to the OfS, the government asked the OfS to undertake a scoping exercise, to identify providers which are reluctant to adopt the definition. The letter asked them to consider introducing mandatory reporting of antisemitic incident numbers by providers, with the aim of ensuring a robust evidence base, which the OfS can then use to effectively regulate in this area.
The Secretary of State also asked the OfS to ensure that, if antisemitic incidents do occur at a provider, they should consider if it is relevant in a particular case whether the provider has adopted the IHRA definition when considering what sanctions, including monetary penalties, would be appropriate to apply.
We will continue to work across government to ensure that racism and religious hatred of any kind is not tolerated anywhere, including in our world-leading universities.
Asked by: Nickie Aiken (Conservative - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate his Department has made of the number of universities that have adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's working definition of antisemitism.
Answered by Michelle Donelan
This government abhors antisemitism and has been clear that we expect universities to be at the forefront of tackling the challenge of antisemitism, making sure that higher education is a genuinely fulfilling and welcoming experience for everyone.
The government has asked all English higher education providers registered with the Office for Students (OfS) to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism. The IHRA definition is an important tool in tackling antisemitism. Adopting this widely recognised definition sends a strong signal that higher education providers take these issues seriously. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, wrote to higher education leaders most recently in October 2020 to reiterate the importance of the definition and to urge all providers to consider adopting it.
The government is pleased to report that at least 91 providers have now adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism, with many more preparing to adopt. The decision on adoption of the definition rests with individual providers, but the government will continue to urge them to adopt the definition, and ensure that higher education is a genuinely fulfilling and welcoming experience for everyone.
I am proud that so many providers have taken a positive step towards eradicating antisemitism by adopting the IHRA definition, but further progress is still needed to stamp it out. This is why, in the Secretary of State’s most recent strategic guidance letter to the OfS, the government asked the OfS to undertake a scoping exercise, to identify providers which are reluctant to adopt the definition. The letter asked them to consider introducing mandatory reporting of antisemitic incident numbers by providers, with the aim of ensuring a robust evidence base, which the OfS can then use to effectively regulate in this area.
The Secretary of State also asked the OfS to ensure that, if antisemitic incidents do occur at a provider, they should consider if it is relevant in a particular case whether the provider has adopted the IHRA definition when considering what sanctions, including monetary penalties, would be appropriate to apply.
We will continue to work across government to ensure that racism and religious hatred of any kind is not tolerated anywhere, including in our world-leading universities.
Asked by: Nickie Aiken (Conservative - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will (a) provide access to counselling for all children in secondary schools and (b) extend access to counselling in further education colleges.
Answered by Vicky Ford
It is important for schools and colleges to have the freedom to decide what support to offer pupils based on their particular needs and drawing on an evidence base of effective practice. Our survey of mental health provision in schools and colleges in 2016 and 2017 found that 61% of schools and colleges (56% of primary schools, 84% of secondary schools and 93% of colleges) reported offering a counselling service for their pupils.
The department have published guidance on how to put in place effective school-based counselling, which schools can use to identify where further counselling support is appropriate for their pupils. The guidance is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/counselling-in-schools.
As children and young people return to school and college, staff need to be equipped to understand that some pupils may be experiencing feelings, such as anxiety, stress or low mood, as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, that these are normal responses to an abnormal situation, and how to respond.
From September, the government is investing £8 million to launch the new Wellbeing for Education Return training programme, which will provide schools and colleges all over England with the knowledge and practical skills they need to support teachers, students and parents, to help improve how they respond to the emotional impact of the COIVD-19 outbreak. The programme is providing £8 million to local authorities to enable schools and colleges in England to have access to training during the autumn and spring terms, and expert advisers who will be able to support schools and colleges and can make links to available local authority provision, including counselling.
We have worked hard to ensure that all pupils and learners were able to return to a full
high-quality education programme in September. Our £1 billion COVID-19 catch-up package, with £650 million shared across schools over the 2020-21 academic year, is supporting education settings to put the right catch-up and pastoral support in place.
In further education, the department has provided £5.4 million of competitive grant funding to certain colleges through the College Collaboration Fund. Five of the projects funded support student and staff mental health and wellbeing through online programmes and remote support.
Outside of school and college, access to mental health support has been more important than ever during the COVID-19 outbreak. Leading mental health charities are being supported to deliver additional services through the £5 million Coronavirus Mental Health Response Fund. During Mental Health Awareness Week, the government also announced that a further
£4.2 million will be awarded to mental health charities, including the Samaritans, Young Minds, and Bipolar UK.
All NHS mental health trusts have ensured that there are 24/7 open access telephone lines to support people of all ages. Public Health England and Health Education England have also developed advice and guidance for parents and professionals on supporting children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing, which is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-on-supporting-children-and-young-peoples-mental-health-and-wellbeing.
In the long-term, we remain committed to our joint green paper delivery programme with the Department of Health and Social Care and the NHS England. This includes introducing new mental health support teams linked to schools and colleges, providing training for senior mental health leads in schools and colleges, and testing approaches to faster access to NHS specialist support.
Asked by: Nickie Aiken (Conservative - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to help support home schooled pupils who were due sit exams in summer 2020 in the event that those pupils are unable to provide a sufficient level of evidence for exam centres to allocate assessment grades and rankings for those pupils unable to sit those exams as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Not all external candidates will be able to be awarded a calculated grade this summer because some will not have been in a position to provide sufficient evidence to enable their exam centre to include them in their centre assessment grades and rankings. The Department has therefore announced that there will be an opportunity for these and other students to sit exams in the autumn. Following Ofqual’s consultation on this autumn series, it has been confirmed that students will be able to sit exams in all subjects at A, AS level and GCSE.
Ofqual has also asked university and college representatives associations to consider the steps that universities and colleges could take when making admissions decisions this summer for any external candidates who do not receive a grade. They have said that they believe institutions will consider a range of other evidence and information for these students to allow them to progress wherever possible.
Asked by: Nickie Aiken (Conservative - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to promote community cohesion in (a) local authority schools, (b) free schools and (c) academies; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Schools are at the heart of our communities and they have a crucial role to play in promoting integration and bringing families from all walks of life together. All schools must promote community cohesion; and are required to actively promote our shared values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance for those of different faiths and beliefs. These values are an important part in ensuring our children and young people understand how, as citizens, they can play a positive role in shaping cohesive and integrated communities; and providing them with the skills, and knowledge that will prepare them for life in a modern, diverse Britain.
Promotion of these values is part of Ofsted’s inspection framework, and the Department has published guidance to schools on promoting these important values as part of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. In 2016, the Department also launched the Educate Against Hate website, through which we continue to provide free resources for teachers and school leaders to support their promotion of these values. This includes the Department’s Respectful School Communities toolkit; a self-review and signposting tool to support schools to develop a whole- school approach which promotes respect and discipline, helping to combat bullying, harassment and prejudice of any kind.
The Department is also introducing compulsory relationships education for all primary aged pupils, relationships and sex education for all secondary aged pupils, and health education for all pupils in state funded schools from September 2020. These subjects are designed to give pupils the knowledge they need to lead happy, safe and healthy lives and to foster respect for other people and for difference.
As part of our commitments in the Government’s Integrated Communities Action Plan, the Department has also funded an expanded national school linking programme, which seeks to encourage meaningful social mixing between different types of schools, and foster understanding of those with different backgrounds, faiths and beliefs. In the last year, The Linking Network has worked with over 540 schools, leading to over 22,500 pupils taking part in activities to support integration and community cohesion.
As part of this same package, the Department has also strengthened expectations for all new free schools on the promotion of community cohesion and integration, to make sure they are doing all that they can to ensure children and young people are able to participate fully in life in modern Britain. To support this, the Department has introduced updated application criteria, and as part of our assessment process are considering the potential impact on integration and community cohesion, including the intake of neighbouring schools, before approving a new school.
Asked by: Nickie Aiken (Conservative - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding his Department has allocated to the national schools linking programme in each year since the establishment of that programme; what plans he has for the maintenance of that funding in each of the next five years; and whether he has made an assessment of the effectiveness of that programme.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Together with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), we have provided £1,339,240 to the Linking Network, since September 2016, to support their national school linking programme. The Department’s contribution to the programme over each year is as follows:
2016-17: £0
2017-18: £153,188
2018-19: £197,401
2019-20: £247,000
This has supported the Linking Network to expand their work into more areas and reach more pupils – with sustained linking programmes now taking place in 28 local areas; and in the last year, over 540 schools taking part leading to over 22,500 pupils participating in activities supporting integration.