Asked by: Paul Flynn (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will set out the reasons for the requirement for year five children in schools in England to learn the meaning of fronted adverbials.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Accurate spelling, punctuation and grammar are the cornerstones of effective written communication.
The new national curriculum, introduced in 2014, sets higher expectations supporting pupils to realise their potential in an increasingly competitive global market.
The new programmes of study for English aim to ensure that all pupils acquire a wide vocabulary, a good understanding of grammar, and proper knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and written language. Explicit teaching of grammar is fundamental to this.
For children from homes where parents read and share books with the family, it may be possible over time to assimilate grammatical forms such as modal verbs and fronted adverbials. For a great number of children, however, the easiest way for a teacher to explain to their pupils the rules that govern our language is to establish a shared vocabulary of grammatical terms.
We have increased the range of grammar and punctuation that should be taught and the terminology that pupils should learn – the meta-language. The aim and the emphasis, however, is not on naming grammatical terms but on being able to use the grammar to be able to speak and write for a full range of purposes.
Asked by: Paul Flynn (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the speech given by the Prime Minister on 20 July 2015, on extremism, what her policy is on extending the 50 per cent cap on faith-based allocation of school places to all faith schools.
Answered by Edward Timpson
We are committed to retaining the 50 per cent cap for faith free schools and have no plans to extend the 50 per cent cap on faith-based allocation of school places.
Asked by: Paul Flynn (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the cost to the public purse of doubling the free childcare allowance for three and four year olds to 30 hours per week will be by 2020; and from which areas of departmental expenditure this will be funded.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
The cost of the new childcare entitlement of 30 hours per week for working families will be considered as part of the normal Budget and Spending Review process.
Asked by: Paul Flynn (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on who authorised EDF Energy to give presentations in schools on working in the nuclear energy sector in Somerset.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government wants to see more schools and employers working together to help young people understand the world of work. This expectation has been set out in statutory guidance underpinning schools’ duty to secure independent careers guidance. Beyond the requirements set out in this document, it is at the discretion of each school as to how to configure their careers programme and which employers they choose to engage.
Asked by: Paul Flynn (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what policies contained in the 2010 Coalition Agreement and falling under her Department's responsibilities have not yet been implemented; and what the reasons are for each such policy's non-implementation.
Answered by Nick Gibb
All the commitments made in the 2010 Coalition Agreement that relate to the current remit of the Department for Education have been implemented or are currently being implemented.
Asked by: Paul Flynn (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the findings of research by the London School of Economics and Political Science and the universities of Manchester and York entitled the Coalition's Social Policy Record: Policy, Spending and Outcomes 2010-2015 relating to families with children under five years of age.
Answered by David Laws
We look with interest at all relevant research.
This Government has taken a range of actions to help improve the prospects of families with children, including those under five years of age.
Work is the best route out of poverty – and under this Government employment has increased by more than 1.75 million. Further, this Government’s reforms to the welfare system through Universal Credit will lift up to 300,000 children out of poverty and increase the rate of childcare support from 70% to 85%. The Government has also introduced Tax-Free Childcare, which will provide 20% support for childcare costs up to £10,000 per year for each child and increased the child element of Child Tax Credits so that it remains higher than if it had been uprated by the consumer price index (CPI) in each year of this Parliament.
There is strong evidence that good quality early years education has a positive, lasting impact on children. That is why in England we have made a substantial investment at a time of fiscal tightening – £2.9 billion in 2014-15 to provide 15 hours of early years education a week for all three- and four-year-olds, and to 40% of the most disadvantaged two-year-olds. Additionally, from April 2015 we will introduce an early years pupil premium for three- and four-year-olds which will provide additional funded support to the most disadvantaged children.