Asked by: Taiwo Owatemi (Labour - Coventry North West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will review the equity of the level of university tuition fees as a result of students no longer being able to access important in-person resources under lockdown.
Answered by Michelle Donelan
This has been a very difficult time for students, and the government is working with the sector to make sure all reasonable efforts are being made to enable students to continue their studies. The Government’s clear and stated expectation is that universities should maintain the quality and quantity of tuition and seek to ensure that all students regardless of their background have the resources to study remotely. This is more important than ever at the moment with the vast majority of students studying solely online.
Universities are autonomous and responsible for setting their own fees, up to a maximum of £9,250 for approved (fee cap) institutions. The Office for Students (OfS), as regulator for higher education (HE) providers in England, has made it clear that HE providers must continue to comply with registration conditions relating to quality and academic standards, which set out requirements to ensure that courses are high-quality, that students are supported and achieve good outcomes and that standards are protected, regardless of whether a provider is delivering its courses through face-to-face teaching, remote online learning, or a combination of both.
The OfS is taking very seriously the potential impacts of COVID-19 on teaching and learning and is regularly engaging with all registered providers. It is actively monitoring providers to ensure: that they maintain the quality of their provision; that it is accessible for all; and that they have been clear in their communications with students about how arrangements for teaching and learning may change throughout the year. The OfS is also following up directly with providers where they receive notifications from students, parents or others raising concerns about the quality of teaching on offer and requiring providers to report to them when they are not able to deliver a course or award a qualification. If the OfS has concerns, it will investigate further.
Whether or not an individual student is entitled to a refund of fees will depend on the specific contractual arrangements between the provider and student. If students have concerns, there is a process in place. They should first raise their concerns with their university. If their concerns remain unresolved, students at providers in England or Wales can ask the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) for Higher Education to consider their complaint.
The OIA website is available via the following link: https://www.oiahe.org.uk/
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published guidance on consumer contracts, cancellation and refunds affected by COVID-19. This sets out the CMA’s view on how the law operates to help consumers understand their rights and help businesses treat their customers fairly. This is available via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cma-to-investigate-concerns-about-cancellation-policies-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic/the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic-consumer-contracts-cancellation-and-refunds.
The Office for Students has also published guidance on student consumer protection during the COVID-19 outbreak, which is available via the following link: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/for-students/student-and-consumer-protection-during-coronavirus/.
Asked by: Taiwo Owatemi (Labour - Coventry North West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what comparative assessment he has made of the cost to the public purse of the Erasmus scheme and proposed Turing Scheme.
Answered by Michelle Donelan
The UK is already a significant net contributor to Erasmus+. The government estimates that the UK’s notional contribution to the current (2014-2020) programme over its seven-year duration will be around €1.8 billion, whilst the UK expected to receive around €1 billion in receipts over the course of the programme.
The budget for the next programme is nearly doubling from €14 billion to €26 billion. In order to participate in Erasmus+, the EU proposed new terms of participation for the UK which included a participation fee in addition to a GDP-based contribution. The only terms on offer to the UK for Erasmus+ participation would mean that we would likely make a gross contribution in the region of £600 million per annum and pay in around £2 billion more than we would get out over the course of the next programme. We obviously respect the right of the EU to set the terms for participation in its programmes but, in this case, we did not believe those terms represented value for money for the UK taxpayer.
Therefore, as an independent and sovereign country, it is also right that we will proceed with the introduction of a new international educational exchange scheme that has a genuinely global reach. The government remains committed to international education exchanges and that is why we have committed to funding the Turing scheme.
The Turing scheme will be backed by over £100 million for the academic year. This includes the costs of administering the scheme, and I am pleased to confirm that the new scheme will be administered by the same consortium of British Council and Ecorys, which have been delivering Erasmus+ in the UK for a number of years, drawing on their experience of working with education providers across the UK, and ensuring continuity. This will fund similar levels of student outbound mobilities as under Erasmus and provide funding for around 35,000 students in universities, colleges and schools to go on study and work placements overseas, starting in September 2021.
The Turing scheme will also go further than Erasmus+ by including countries across the world, while delivering greater value for money to taxpayers.
Asked by: Taiwo Owatemi (Labour - Coventry North West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the new covid-19 variant VUI-202012/01, what plans his Department has for remote online learning for schools to protect staff and students from January 2021.
Answered by Nick Gibb
From Wednesday 6 January, a new national lockdown came into effect and schools should already be following the new rules. Schools should only allow vulnerable children and the children of critical workers to attend face-to-face education. All other pupils are being taught remotely.
The Department knows that receiving face-to-face education is best for children’s mental health and for their educational achievement, and we will keep the restrictions on schools under review. Limiting attendance at this time is about reducing the number of contacts that people have with other households given the rapidly rising numbers of cases across the country and the intense pressure on the NHS.
Our get help with remote education portal provides information, guidance, and support on educating pupils and students remotely during the COVID-19 outbreak. The portal can be accessed here: https://get-help-with-remote-education.education.gov.uk.
Although the recently identified variant of COVID-19 appears to be more transmissible in general, there is currently no firm evidence that it disproportionately affects children and young people, nor is there evidence that the new strain causes more serious illness in either children or adults.
For those pupils and staff still attending school, the system of protective measures that we have asked schools to implement continues to mean that any risks and well managed and controlled.
Asked by: Taiwo Owatemi (Labour - Coventry North West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment the Government has made of the transmissibility of the VUI-202012/01 covid-19 variant by school-aged children; and what effect that assessment has on the return of schools in 2021.
Answered by Nick Gibb
From Wednesday 6 January, a new national lockdown came into effect and schools should already be following the new rules. Schools should only allow vulnerable children and the children of critical workers to attend face-to-face education. All other pupils are being taught remotely.
The Department knows that receiving face-to-face education is best for children’s mental health and for their educational achievement, and we will keep the restrictions on schools under review. Limiting attendance at this time is about reducing the number of contacts that people have with other households given the rapidly rising numbers of cases across the country and the intense pressure on the NHS.
Our get help with remote education portal provides information, guidance, and support on educating pupils and students remotely during the COVID-19 outbreak. The portal can be accessed here: https://get-help-with-remote-education.education.gov.uk.
Although the recently identified variant of COVID-19 appears to be more transmissible in general, there is currently no firm evidence that it disproportionately affects children and young people, nor is there evidence that the new strain causes more serious illness in either children or adults.
For those pupils and staff still attending school, the system of protective measures that we have asked schools to implement continues to mean that any risks and well managed and controlled.
Asked by: Taiwo Owatemi (Labour - Coventry North West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the new strain of covid-19, what plans his Department has for remote online learning for schools to protect staff and students in England from January 2021.
Answered by Nick Gibb
From Wednesday 6 January, a new national lockdown came into effect and schools should already be following the new rules. Schools should only allow vulnerable children and the children of critical workers to attend face-to-face education. All other pupils are being taught remotely.
The Department knows that receiving face-to-face education is best for children’s mental health and for their educational achievement, and we will keep the restrictions on schools under review. Limiting attendance at this time is about reducing the number of contacts that people have with other households given the rapidly rising numbers of cases across the country and the intense pressure on the NHS.
Our get help with remote education portal provides information, guidance, and support on educating pupils and students remotely during the COVID-19 outbreak. The portal can be accessed here: https://get-help-with-remote-education.education.gov.uk.
Although the recently identified variant of COVID-19 appears to be more transmissible in general, there is currently no firm evidence that it disproportionately affects children and young people, nor is there evidence that the new strain causes more serious illness in either children or adults.
For those pupils and staff still attending school, the system of protective measures that we have asked schools to implement continues to mean that any risks and well managed and controlled.
Asked by: Taiwo Owatemi (Labour - Coventry North West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the new strain of covid-19, whether his Department has made an assessment into the transmissibility of the virus on school-aged children; and what effect the new strain of the virus will have on the return of schools in 2021.
Answered by Nick Gibb
From Wednesday 6 January, a new national lockdown came into effect and schools should already be following the new rules. Schools should only allow vulnerable children and the children of critical workers to attend face-to-face education. All other pupils are being taught remotely.
The Department knows that receiving face-to-face education is best for children’s mental health and for their educational achievement, and we will keep the restrictions on schools under review. Limiting attendance at this time is about reducing the number of contacts that people have with other households given the rapidly rising numbers of cases across the country and the intense pressure on the NHS.
Our get help with remote education portal provides information, guidance, and support on educating pupils and students remotely during the COVID-19 outbreak. The portal can be accessed here: https://get-help-with-remote-education.education.gov.uk.
Although the recently identified variant of COVID-19 appears to be more transmissible in general, there is currently no firm evidence that it disproportionately affects children and young people, nor is there evidence that the new strain causes more serious illness in either children or adults.
For those pupils and staff still attending school, the system of protective measures that we have asked schools to implement continues to mean that any risks and well managed and controlled.
Asked by: Taiwo Owatemi (Labour - Coventry North West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to help safeguard (a) staff and (b) pupils from rising cases of covid-19 infection in schools and colleges.
Answered by Nick Gibb
At each stage of its response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Government has listened to and acted on the latest medical and scientific advice. As the prevalence of COVID-19 across the country and our communities changes, the Government has always been clear that it will not hesitate to take swift and decisive action to control the COVID-19 outbreak and save lives.
The Department has worked closely with Public Health England to publish comprehensive guidance based on a ‘system of controls’ which, when implemented in line with a revised risk assessment, create an inherently safer environment for staff, pupils and students where the risk of transmission of the infection is substantially reduced. This provides a framework for schools and colleges to put in place proportionate protective measures to manage risk effectively. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/safe-working-in-education-childcare-and-childrens-social-care/safe-working-in-education-childcare-and-childrens-social-care-settings-including-the-use-of-personal-protective-equipment-ppe.
To safeguard the health of the teaching workforce and keep as many staff and pupils in school and college as possible, we will be making rapid-result COVID-19 tests available to schools and colleges in the new year. This will help identify asymptomatic cases, which make up a third of all cases, limiting the spread of the virus. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-asymptomatic-testing-in-schools-and-colleges/coronavirus-covid-19-asymptomatic-testing-in-schools-and-colleges.
In addition to the asymptomatic testing programme, from 4 January 2021, all secondary schools and colleges will also be able to offer staff and pupils a round of free COVID-19 testing, helping deliver the national priority of keeping as many staff and pupils as possible in school and college and fighting the spread of COVID-19.
We continue to provide information to schools and colleges on our guidance, and any changes to it, through regular departmental communications.
Asked by: Taiwo Owatemi (Labour - Coventry North West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the evidential basis is for keeping schools open a week before they break up for the Christmas period; and what the basis is for potential Government legal action against schools that wish to resume remote learning for the final week of term.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Returning to school full time has been vital for children’s education and for their wellbeing. The leaders and staff of schools have been doing an extraordinary job to remain open, keep schools safe and provide education. Schools have implemented a range of protective measures to minimise risk of transmission. The risk to children themselves of becoming severely ill from COVID-19 is low and there are negative health impacts of being out of school. Senior clinicians, including the Chief Medical Officers of all four nations, still advise that school is the very best place for children to be.
Our approach, including advising schools to consider making Friday 18 December a non-teaching day, has been informed by advice from Public Health England and seeks to balance the asks on schools to help in the national effort to limit the spread of COVID-19 with the important need for staff need to rest and recharge over the Christmas break.
Under Schedule 17 of the Coronavirus Act 2020 the Secretary of State may make a direction to require schools to enable all pupils to attend full time. If a school fails to comply with a direction the Act enables the Secretary of State to seek an injunction from the court in order to enforce the direction.
Asked by: Taiwo Owatemi (Labour - Coventry North West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has assessed the effect of remote schooling during the covid-19 outbreak on levels of student learning.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department is continuing to do everything in its power to ensure that children and young people can continue to attend school and college safely, as this is the best place for them to be for their education, development, and wellbeing. However, we recognise that for some pupils and students, remote education will be an essential component in the delivery of the school curriculum this year, alongside on-site teaching. The Department’s guide to remote education good practice is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/remote-education-good-practice/remote-education-good-practice.
Understanding the impact of COVID-19 disruption on attainment and progress is a key research priority for the Government, and we have commissioned an independent research and assessment agency to consider catch up needs and monitor progress over the course of this academic year. The ongoing research is based on a large sample of pupils from Years 1-11, and will allow the Department to understand how best to support the sector and identify which groups of pupils have been most affected by time out of school – including the most disadvantaged. This research is based on assessments that schools are already choosing to use this year, so adds no additional burden on schools and does not require pupils to sit any additional assessments.
The Department has also commissioned a mixed-methods research study that will examine schools’ recovery approaches to lost time in education as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.