Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Scott Benton and Gavin Williamson(4 years, 3 months ago)
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Gavin Williamson
The hon. Gentleman is probably aware that we distributed more than 200,000 laptops, as well as more than 40,000 internet router connections, for children from the most disadvantaged communities. They went to local authorities and multi-academy trusts— [Interruption.] The hon. Gentleman says, “They never arrived.” I suggest that he takes it up with his local authority, to which they were sent directly.
The hon. Gentleman raises an important point about the continuity of education. That is why, on 2 July, we outlined our expectations of what is required of schools in terms of the delivery of continuity of education. That is why we have made an investment of a further 150,000 laptops, which will be provided for communities that are not able to provide face-to-face teaching within schools. To be absolutely clear, schools will only ever be closed as an absolute last resort. We all understand, on both sides of this House, how important it is for children to be benefiting from being in school with their teachers and learning in the school environment.
Scott Benton (Blackpool South) (Con)
Nigel Mills (Amber Valley) (Con)
The Secretary of State for Education (Gavin Williamson)
In addition to the pupil premium, the £350 million national tutoring programme will provide affordable, high-quality tuition to disadvantaged pupils in schools and colleges. The catch-up premium provides a further £650 million to schools to make up for the lost teaching time of all pupils.
Scott Benton [V]
My right hon. Friend will be aware that the recent data highlighting the learning gap between rich and poor secondary-age pupils demonstrated that the disparity is wider in Blackpool than in any other part of the country. I know the Government are determined to close the gap, so will he join me in calling for additional resources to schools in opportunity areas, such as Blackpool, that have particularly acute challenges?
Gavin Williamson
It was a great pleasure to join my hon. Friend in visiting St George’s School in Blackpool South to see the amazing work being done there to raise educational attainment in his constituency. He is right to highlight the important role that opportunity areas can play. That is why we have already invested £6 million in the Blackpool opportunity area, and why it was a pleasure to announce, just a short time ago, that we are investing another almost £2 million in the Blackpool opportunity area, on top of all the extra investment we are making in terms of schools and the covid catch-up fund.
Education Settings: Wider Opening
Debate between Scott Benton and Gavin Williamson(4 years, 6 months ago)
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Gavin Williamson
As I have said, not only through the Department for Work and Pensions but MHCLG and DEFRA, we continue to look at how we can support the families who are most vulnerable and most in need of support.
Scott Benton (Blackpool South) (Con)
It is undoubtedly the case that pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds are losing out the most while schools remain closed. Over the past 10 years, we have made fantastic progress in closing the attainment gap between children from poorer backgrounds and their more affluent peers, which has greatly improved the life chances of children in Blackpool. Does my right hon. Friend agree that we risk undermining this excellent progress if the schools that are able to reopen safely choose not to do so?
Gavin Williamson
The biggest impact that we can have on any child is making sure that schools are open and welcoming back the maximum number of pupils into their classroom to have the opportunity to be in front of their teacher and to learn from them. That is how we can help them more than anything else—more than any other intervention. But we recognise that we have to do more on top of that, and that is what we are going to do, opening the doors to schools and making sure that as many children as possible are able to go in and to learn. That is how we will close the gap, more than anything else.
Educational Settings
Debate between Scott Benton and Gavin Williamson(4 years, 9 months ago)
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Gavin Williamson
It does apply across the board. We have already written to early years settings to inform them that the funding that we have been providing for them will continue, regardless of changes in the number of children attending those settings, which gives them some stability in terms of future funding.
Scott Benton (Blackpool South) (Con)
Many voluntary groups will be keen to work with schools and parents to provide additional support for vulnerable children—for example, in breakfast clubs. Will the Secretary of State thank voluntary groups for their work and encourage schools to continue to work with them to support vulnerable children in these difficult times?
Gavin Williamson
I know that my hon. Friend is a great champion of such issues in his constituency, and it was a great privilege to be able to join him on a recent visit to one of the high schools there. Let me take this opportunity to thank the many volunteers who contribute so much to our school system. We recognise, in these unique times, that we will be turning to whole communities in supporting one another and supporting those who are most vulnerable, whether they are young or old, to help them to get through the coming weeks.