Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what additional support he is providing to further education colleges that plan to continue teaching year 11 and year 13 pupils beyond May 2021.

It is critical that support to year 11 and year 13 students who are completing their programme of study should continue to be supported to progress after May half term this year, as set out in government guidance.

The government is working closely with colleges, schools and universities to ensure that students are supported in the transition between education phases. Many institutions have already established excellent practice in this area, which we intend to extend more broadly.

Additional new support for young people to catch up includes the 16-19 Tuition Fund, which is £96 million this year – providing 15 hours of small group tuition for young people, targeted at those with lower attainment. We have announced that the fund will increase to £102 million next year.