Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans his Department has to provide support for (a) GCSE and (b) A-Level students that are required to self-isolate as a result of having covid-19 symptoms.
Answered by Nick Gibb
As my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, announced to the House on 18 March, the Government has taken the difficult decision to cancel all examinations due to take place in schools and colleges in England this summer, as part of the fight to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
The Department’s priority is to ensure that students can move on as planned to the next stage of their lives, including starting university, college or sixth form, a job or an apprenticeship in the autumn. For GCSE, AS and A-level students, we will ensure they are awarded a grade which reflects their work. A calculated grade will be awarded this summer based on the best available evidence, including any non-examination assessment that students have already completed. The qualifications regulator, Ofqual, is working urgently with examination boards to set out proposals for how this process will work and more information will be provided as soon as possible.
We recognise that many schools have already shared resources for children who are at home and are grateful for this.
The Department is working with the BBC and other partners to provide advice and support directly to parents, including online resources they can access for their children at home.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has plans to provide support for disadvantaged students that may find it difficult to study at home during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department is ensuring that the most vulnerable children, including those who have a social worker or an Education, Health and Care Plan, are able to continue attending school during the COVID-19 outbreak, as school is a well-recognised protective factor.
We recognise that many schools have already started sharing resources for students who are at home and are grateful for this. We are working with the BBC and other partners to provide advice and support directly to schools, parents and carers including online resources parents can access for their children at home.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to educate young people on the Holocaust.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department is fully committed to Holocaust education. Every young person should learn about the Holocaust and the lessons it teaches us today, which is why it is unique in being the only subject named as a compulsory part of the history curriculum.
The Department further supports pupils’ and teachers’ understanding of the Holocaust by providing funding for the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Lessons from Auschwitz project - £2,126,437 in 2019-20 and £2,193,675 in 2020-21 and to the UCL Institute of Education’s Centre for Holocaust Education - £500,000 in both 2019-20 and 2020-21, match funded by the Pears Foundation. Additionally, £1.7 million for the 2019-20 financial year is being provided for the Bergen-Belsen Commemoration Programme to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to support the mental well-being of primary school students undertaking Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 examinations.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department’s aim is for all children to leave primary school feeling that they have worked hard and achieved all that they can. We do not want assessments to worry pupils and impact their self-esteem or mental wellbeing.
In response to the consultation on the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Green Paper, published July 2018, the Government has made several commitments to help safeguard the mental wellbeing of primary school children. We confirmed our commitment to take forward three core proposals which will transform support for children and young people by: putting in place Mental Health Support Teams for schools; incentivising every school to have a Designated Senior Lead for mental health; and the piloting of a four-week waiting time standard for NHS Children and Young People’s mental health services.
The Government has also committed to mental health awareness training for a member of staff from all state funded primary schools by 2022, providing further support for schools to help promote mental wellbeing for all children.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure supply teachers are sufficiently trained in the subjects they teach.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Headteachers use their professional judgement to decide the structure of the school’s workforce, including recruiting and deploying staff in a way that best meets the needs of their school and pupils. Schools, academies, and local authorities are responsible for the recruitment of their supply teachers, which includes deciding whether to use private supply agencies to fill temporary posts and teacher absences, and the level of training required to teach those subjects.
The Education (Specified Work) (England) Regulations 2012 set out the qualifications for teachers employed by schools, including supply teachers. In maintained schools, teachers must hold Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), except those who satisfy the requirements for non-qualified teachers to carry out specified work set out in the Education (Specified Work) (England) Regulations 2012, for example, instructors with special qualifications or experience.
Academies and Free Schools can employ teaching staff without the automatic requirement for them to hold QTS. This applies equally to supply teachers and teachers employed by schools. The Education (Specified Work) (England) Regulations 2012 are available here: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/762/introduction/made.
To be awarded QTS, a teacher must demonstrate that they meet all of the Teachers’ Standards at the appropriate level, including those relating to subject knowledge. The Teachers’ Standards are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teachers-standards.
The Department has launched a new deal in conjunction with the Crown Commercial Service to improve agency practices and support schools with getting value for money when hiring agency workers. Agencies on the deal must be open with schools and staff about the rates they charge, conduct consistent, rigorous background screening checks, and adhere to strict controls around the charging of temp-to-perm fees. Information on the guidance included in the deal is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/deal-for-schools-hiring-supply-teachers-and-agency-workers.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has of the effect of people accessing the adult education budget on employment outcomes.
Answered by Anne Milton
Government funding for adult skills provision is prioritised where its impact is greatest, focussing on young adults, those with low skills and unemployed people who are actively seeking work. The principal purpose of the adult education budget is to help adults aged 19 and over get the skills and learning they need to equip them for work, an apprenticeship or further learning.
There are many benefits to gaining a further education qualification, including an increase in earnings, an increase in the chance of being employed and a reduced chance of claiming benefits. These are highlighted in the report ‘Estimation of the labour market returns to qualifications gained in English further education’, particularly on page 12. This report can be found at:
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information his Department holds on the socio-economic characteristics of people who have applied for Advanced Learner Loans in the most recent period for which figures are available.
Answered by Anne Milton
Data published by the Student Loans Company for the full 2017/18 academic year shows that 70% of recipients of Advanced Learner Loans were female. In total, 23% were aged 19 to 23, 28% were aged 24 to 30, 29% were aged 31 to 40, 15% were aged 41 to 50 and 5% were aged 50 or over. This data is available at the following link - https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fe-data-library-further-education-and-skills.
Data published by the Student Loans Company in March 2019 for August to January in the 2018/19 academic year shows that 93% of applicants declared themselves to be UK-domiciled.
This data is available at the following link - https://www.slc.co.uk/media/10220/slcosp022019.pdf.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of the adult skills budget was spent on (a) level 2, (b) level 3, (c) level 4 and (d) level 5 qualifications in each of the last five years for which information is available.
Answered by Anne Milton
The information is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Below is the proportion of the adult education budget (excluding apprenticeships) spent on level 2 aims (excluding maths, English, English for speakers of other languages - ESOL - and traineeships) in each of the last 3 years:
Below is the proportion of the adult education budget (excluding apprenticeships) spent on level 3 aims (excluding maths, English, ESOL and traineeships) in each of the last 3 years:
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of the adult skills budget is spent on short course programmes.
Answered by Anne Milton
In 2017-18, 19% of the adult education budget was spent on entry and level 1 learning aims (excluding maths, English, ESOL – English for speakers of other languages - and traineeships). In addition, 18% of the adult education budget was spent on community learning. These low-level aims and community learning aims tend to be of shorter duration.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information his Department holds on the number of (a) employers and (b) organisations that offer retraining programmes that are funded by the adult skills budget.
Answered by Anne Milton
In 2017-18, there were 650 providers that delivered level 2 learning aims and qualifications through the adult education budget (excluding apprenticeships). The majority of the level 2 qualifications delivered are to learners who already have a level 2 or equivalent qualification.