Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans his Department has to help improve financial literacy amongst young people.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Finance education forms part of the citizenship national curriculum, which can be taught at all key stages and is compulsory at key stages 3 and 4. More information about the content of the national curriculum can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/national-curriculum.
Financial education ensures that pupils are taught the functions and uses of money, the importance of personal budgeting, money management, and managing financial risk. At secondary school, pupils are taught about income and expenditure, credit and debt, insurance, savings and pensions, financial products and services, and how public money is raised and spent.
The mathematics curriculum, which is compulsory at key stages 1 to 4 also develops financial skills. At primary level, there is a strong emphasis on the essential arithmetic knowledge that pupils should be taught. This knowledge is vital, as a strong grasp of numeracy and numbers will underpin pupils’ ability to manage budgets and money, including, for example, using percentages. There is also some specific content about financial education, such as calculations with money.
The secondary mathematics curriculum develops pupils’ understanding and skills in relation to more complex personal finance issues, such as calculating loan repayments, interest rates and compound interest.
As with other aspects of the curriculum, schools have flexibility over how they deliver these subjects, so they can develop an integrated approach that is sensitive to the needs and background of their pupils.
The Money and Pensions Service published financial education guidance for primary and secondary schools in England on 11 November 2021, during Talk Money week. The guidance is designed to support school leaders to enhance the financial education currently delivered in their schools to make it memorable and impactful. Further information can be accessed at: https://maps.org.uk/2021/11/11/financial-education-guidance-for-primary-and-secondary-schools-in-england/.
The department and the Money and Pensions Service will deliver a series of joint financial education webinars during the 2022/23 academic year, aimed at promoting the importance of financial education, improving teacher confidence, skills and knowledge and providing a launchpad for further engagement with training and resources to support continuous improvement.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he plans to take to improve training and education for teachers on neurodiverse conditions.
Answered by Jonathan Gullis
The Department is committed to ensuring that all pupils can reach their potential and receive excellent support from their teachers. The Teachers’ Standards set clear expectations that teachers must understand the needs of all pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), which includes neurodiverse conditions. All trainees who achieve Qualified Teacher Status must demonstrate that they can adapt teaching to respond to the needs of all pupils.
Once teachers qualify and are employed in schools, Head Teachers use their professional judgement to identify any relevant, necessary further training, including specific specialisms.
To support all teachers in meeting these standards, the Department is implementing a golden thread of high-quality teacher training reforms which begins with initial teacher training and continues throughout teachers’ career progression. These reforms are designed to ensure teachers have the skills to support all pupils to succeed, including those with SEND.
In addition, the Universal Services programme will help schools and the further education workforce to identify and meet the needs of children and young people with SEND, including those with autism, earlier and more effectively.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to increase the take-up of the Holiday and Food Activities programme to ensure the maximum number of children benefit.
Answered by Brendan Clarke-Smith
The government is investing over £200 million a year in our Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme over the next three years, distributed through all local authorities in England.
The programme is targeted primarily towards children who receive benefits-related free school meals (FSM). Local authorities also have discretion to provide free or subsidised holiday club places for children who are not in receipt of FSM, but who the local authority believe could benefit from HAF provision.
Local authorities are encouraged to work with a wide range of organisations and partners across their local area and ensure schools and other services are on board with directing children and families to the programme. To support local authorities, the government has appointed a national support partner, Childcare Works, who help local authorities to use their funding as effectively as possible and to target their programme at those most in need. The government has also provided local authorities with a communication toolkit to support local promotion of the programme.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he will take to record the training provided to (a) teachers and (b) teaching assistants on (i) autism and (ii) other neuro-diverse conditions.
Answered by Will Quince
All teachers are teachers of students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The department is committed to ensuring that all pupils can reach their potential and receive excellent support from their teachers.
Consideration of SEND underpins both the Initial Teacher Training Core Content Framework and Early Career Framework.
All trainees who achieve Qualified Teacher Status must demonstrate that they can adapt teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of all pupils, including those with SEND.
Schools are given the freedom to train teaching assistants according to their needs. Teaching assistants can take a level three apprenticeship, which teaches apprentices how to support pupils with special educational needs and emotional vulnerabilities. Data for the number of starts can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-sector-apprenticeship-target. The department does not ask schools to collect data and report it back to us.
In February 2022 the department announced funding which includes nearly £12 million for the new Universal Services programme, to deliver SEND-specific continued professional development to the school workforce. This will help schools to support children and young people with SEND, including autism, and includes specific support on the needs of autistic children and young people.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when he will next review the eligibility thresholds for free school meals.
Answered by Will Quince
The department has extended the eligibility for free school meals (FSM) several times and has also introduced universal infant free school meals and further education free school meals.
We have also permanently extended eligibility to children from all groups with no recourse to public funds.
Schools fund benefit-related FSM from their core funding, which they receive through the schools block of the dedicated schools grant. This is derived from the national funding formula (NFF). For the 2022/23 financial year, the funding schools attract through the FSM factor in the NFF is increasing to £470 per eligible pupil.
The department is committed to aiming provision at supporting the most disadvantaged, those out of work, or those on a low income. The department will continue to keep all FSM eligibility under review, to ensure that these meals are supporting those who most need them.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what language assistance he is providing to (a) schools and (b) colleges to assist them in serving the needs of (i) Afghan and (ii) Ukrainian children.
Answered by Robin Walker
Schools are responsible for ensuring that all of their pupils, including those who are classed as having a first language other than English, can access the full curriculum and have opportunity to achieve their potential.
Through the English as an additional language (EAL) factor in the national funding formula (NFF), schools are allocated funding for pupils who are classed as having EAL and who have started in the state-funded education system in England within the last three years. This equates to an additional £565 per primary school pupil and £1,530 per secondary school pupil in the 2022/23 financial year. The NFF will distribute a total of £410 million through the EAL factor in the current financial year. Schools have flexibility over how they use their overall funding budget to support their EAL pupils, as they are best placed to understand and respond to the particular needs of their pupils.
Ukrainians aged 16 to 19 living in the UK under the Ukraine Family Scheme, and the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme (Homes for Ukraine) are eligible to enrol as a student in 16 to 19 education providers, although providers may ask to see evidence of their eligibility.
Afghans aged 16 to 19 recognised as having a legal right to reside in UK are immediately entitled to 16 to 19 funding and are therefore able to enrol at 16 to 19 education providers.
16 to 19 education providers include further education colleges, sixth form colleges and school sixth forms. 16 to 19 study programmes can include English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) courses or other English tuition, depending on the needs of the student.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department collects data on the number of (a) teachers and (b) teaching assistants in each constituency who have undergone autism-related training.
Answered by Will Quince
The department does not collect data on the number of teachers and teaching assistants in each constituency who have undergone autism-related training.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of using audiobooks to engage wider participation in reading to support the Levelling Up agenda.
Answered by Robin Walker
The department wants children to develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information. Research suggests that reading for pleasure is more important for children’s educational development than their parents’ level of education. The national curriculum states that teachers are expected to encourage pupils to develop the habit of reading widely. It emphasises the importance of pupils listening to, discussing, and as their fluency increases, reading for themselves a wide range of stories, poems, plays and information books. The department has not undertaken research on the specific contribution or role of audiobooks, however, welcomes their use alongside other formats of books.
In March, the department published the Schools White Paper. This sets out our long-term vision for a school system that helps every child to fulfil their potential by ensuring that they receive the right support, in the right place, at the right time.
At its heart is the Government’s Levelling Up mission. This aims that by 2030, 90% of children will leave primary school having achieved the expected standard in reading, writing and maths. As part of this, the department is committed to continuing to raise literacy standards, ensuring all children can read fluently and with understanding. Further information on the Schools White Paper can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/schools-white-paper-delivers-real-action-to-level-up-education.