Asked by: Roberta Blackman-Woods (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which universities (a) Philip Augar and (b) members of the associated panel visited during the Post-18 review of education and funding.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
I refer the hon. Member for the City of Durham to the answer I gave on 26 June 2019 to Question 267762.
Asked by: Roberta Blackman-Woods (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will change the measure of disadvantage used in the Student Premium to capture individual-level socio-economic disadvantage as recommended in the May 2019 Post-18 education and funding review: independent panel report.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The government will consider the Post-18 Education and Funding Review recommendations carefully and will conclude the review at the Spending Review. The government has not yet taken decisions with regards to the recommendations put forward. Access and successful participation remain a priority for this government and is enshrined in the Higher Education (HE) and Research Act (2017). Everyone with the ability to succeed in HE should have the opportunity, regardless of their background or where they grew up.
Asked by: Roberta Blackman-Woods (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the financial effect on universities of increased contributions to the Teachers' Pension Scheme.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department is running a public consultation until 12 February 2019 to gather evidence on the impact of increased contributions to the Teachers' Pension Scheme (TPS) for all TPS employers, including universities.
Asked by: Roberta Blackman-Woods (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answers of 18 September 2017 to Questions 10212 and 10213 on Erasmus+, whether the Government will underwrite successful bids submitted for Erasmus+ for those students with a mandatory year abroad in 2019-20, including the bids that are signed after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
The Government has stated publicly that the United Kingdom (UK) is committed to continuing full participation in the Erasmus+ Programme up until we leave the European Union. We will underwrite successful bids for Erasmus+ that are submitted while the UK is still a member state, even if they are not approved until after we leave, and/or payments continue beyond the point of exit.
Bids for higher education study periods submitted before the exit date will include mobility in the 2018/19 and 2019/20 academic years. The underwrite will cover funding for those successful bids which are submitted before exit and we are encouraging participants to continue to apply for funding until we leave.
Asked by: Roberta Blackman-Woods (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the effect of student loan debt on the level of university applications and drop-out rates.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
The student finance system is financially sustainable and has enabled record numbers of students from disadvantaged backgrounds to benefit from higher education.
Latest data show that 18 year olds applied at record rates in 2017, and their application rates have increased for five years in a row. This is also true for the most disadvantaged 18 year olds.
Non-continuation rates for UK students at English Higher Education Institutions are lower than in 2009/10, including for young, mature, disadvantaged and BME students.
Asked by: Roberta Blackman-Woods (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what (a) formal and (b) informal consultation her Department conducted to inform the criteria determining which universities are awarded a (i) multi-year and (ii) single year allocation of initial teacher training places.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The criteria used to determine the allocations universities received are set out on pages 7-8 of the 2017/18 allocations methodology, published in September 2016. The National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) actively engaged with stakeholders, including relevant sector bodies, in open and constructive dialogue while building the policy on multi-year allocations. Last year the NCTL held 42 Initial Teacher Training Advisory Group (ITTAG) and regional network meetings and will continue to do so to improve the allocations process.
Asked by: Roberta Blackman-Woods (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential effect on teacher training recruitment to shortage subjects of all university providers only recruiting applicants with a 2.1 degree or higher.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Teaching is a graduate profession. We do not stipulate a minimum degree class for trainee teachers; however, initial teacher training providers have the freedom to set their own entry requirements. Through the use of bursaries, we encourage those with a higher degree class to enter teaching. Details of bursaries for those beginning courses in 2017/18 can be found here: https://getintoteaching.education.gov.uk/funding-and-salary/overview
The degree class of current postgraduate trainees is provided in Tables 2 and 2a in the Main tables section on:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/initial-teacher-training-trainee-number-census-2016-to-2017.
It includes a breakdown by subject and route.
Asked by: Roberta Blackman-Woods (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential effect on recruitment to initial teaching training courses of all university providers only recruiting applicants with a 2.1 degree or higher.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Teaching is a graduate profession. We do not stipulate a minimum degree class for trainee teachers; however, initial teacher training providers have the freedom to set their own entry requirements. Through the use of bursaries, we encourage those with a higher degree class to enter teaching. Details of bursaries for those beginning courses in 2017/18 can be found here: https://getintoteaching.education.gov.uk/funding-and-salary/overview
The degree class of current postgraduate trainees is provided in Tables 2 and 2a in the Main tables section on:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/initial-teacher-training-trainee-number-census-2016-to-2017.
It includes a breakdown by subject and route.
Asked by: Roberta Blackman-Woods (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what routes her Department recognises as providing appropriate entry into the teaching profession.
Answered by Nick Gibb
To teach in a state maintained secondary, primary, or state or non-state maintained special school you must have qualified teacher status (QTS). Routes that lead to the award of QTS, including those which assess previous teaching experience, are outlined on the Get Into Teaching website:
https://getintoteaching.education.gov.uk/explore-my-options/teacher-training-routes.
Teachers who trained outside England may be able to have their teaching qualification recognised as equivalent to QTS. To do so, such teachers must apply to the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) to be awarded QTS before they can take up a teaching post in a maintained school or non-maintained special school in England. Individuals who hold qualified teacher learning and skills (QTLS) status are also eligible to work as a qualified teacher in schools in England.
Further information on eligibility and equivalencies is available on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/qualified-teacher-status-qts.
Asked by: Roberta Blackman-Woods (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what account her Department took of the (a) location, (b) size and (c) date of the latest Ofsted inspection of university providers when awarding universities either a multi-year or single-year allocation of initial teacher training places.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The criteria used to determine eligibility for multi-year allocations are set out in the 2017-18 allocations methodology published in September 2016. For postgraduate providers, these include Ofsted grade (based on published initial teacher education inspection data) but do not refer to provider size or location.
We will publish a detailed technical methodology on how three-year allocations were determined, alongside a full list of allocations for 2017-18, in due course.