Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the total number of pupils (1) excluded, and (2) permanently excluded, from (a) primary, and (b) secondary, schools in each of the past three years.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Information on permanent exclusions and suspensions is published in the annual Permanent Exclusions and Suspensions in England national statistics, with the latest available data being from summer term 2021/22: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/permanent-and-fixed-period-exclusions-in-england.
Suspensions and permanent exclusions in state-funded primary and state-funded secondary schools in England 2018/19 to 2021/22
| 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | |
State-funded primary | Permanent exclusions | 1,067 | 739 | 392 | 758 |
Permanent exclusions (rate) | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.01 | 0.02 | |
Suspensions | 66,463 | 47,261 | 46,203 | 66,203 | |
Suspension (rate) | 1.41 | 1.00 | 0.99 | 1.42 | |
Pupil enrolments with one or more suspension | 29,771 | 23,726 | 24,418 | 31,437 | |
Pupil enrolments with one or more suspension (rate) | 0.63 | 0.50 | 0.52 | 0.68 | |
State-funded secondary | Permanent exclusions | 6,753 | 4,269 | 3,492 | 5,658 |
Permanent exclusions (rate) | 0.20 | 0.13 | 0.10 | 0.16 | |
Suspensions | 357,715 | 253,307 | 296,224 | 498,120 | |
Suspension (rate) | 10.75 | 7.43 | 8.48 | 13.96 | |
Pupil enrolments with one or more suspension | 164,214 | 125,816 | 153,006 | 214,650 | |
Pupil enrolments with one or more suspension (rate) | 4.93 | 3.69 | 4.38 | 6.02 | |
(1) For 2019/20 and 2020/21, while suspensions and permanent exclusions were possible throughout the academic year, pandemic restrictions will have had an impact on the numbers presented and caution should be taken when comparing across years. 2018/19 has been included to give the pre-pandemic year figures.
Source: School Census. https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/27c1ed1a-73aa-4909-acfd-08dbb395de42
(2) Exclusion rates are the number of permanent exclusions/suspensions/pupil enrolments with one or more suspensions as a percentage of the number of sole and dual main registered pupils on roll on January school census day.
Asked by: Keir Mather (Labour - Selby and Ainsty)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to improve children's oracy skills in Selby and Ainsty constituency.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department recognises the importance of oracy, which is why spoken language is already part of the National Curriculum for English for 5 to 16 year olds. For Early Years, the Department is investing up to £17 million in the Nuffield Early Language Intervention, improving the language skills of reception age pupils who need it most following the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the Department has secured over £28 million to support the speech and language of pupils worst affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, which are today’s 3 and 4 year olds, delivered through the new family hubs network.
In secondary schools, the GCSE English Language qualification ensures that pupils are able to listen to and understand spoken language and use spoken Standard English effectively. Provisional 2023 data published by Ofqual shows that overall entries to GCSE English Language increased by 4.9% since summer 2022. The data can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/provisional-entries-for-gcse-as-and-a-level-summer-2023-exam-series/provisional-entries-for-gcse-as-and-a-level-summer-2023-exam-series#gcse-entries.
The Department funds the National Poetry Recitation Competition, which encourages both primary and secondary schools to participate, to improve pupils’ knowledge and enjoyment of poetry and to improve oracy through poetry recitation and recall.
The £67 million English Hubs Programme, launched in 2018, is dedicated to improving the teaching of reading, with a focus on phonics, early language development and reading for pleasure. Since its launch, the English Hubs Programme has provided appropriate and targeted support to several thousand schools in England.
Selby and Ainsty's local English Hub, Outwood English hub, is working to engage and support primary schools across the region to improve the teaching of phonics, including offering showcase events especially for local schools. Outwood English Hub is planning to host a showcase at the Parsonage Hotel and Spa in Escrick later in the Autumn term.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps her Department has taken to improve children's oracy skills in Enfield North constituency.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department recognises the importance of oracy, which is why spoken language is already part of the National Curriculum for English for 5 to 16 year olds. In the early years, the Department are providing up to £17 million of funding in the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI), improving the language skills of reception age pupils who need it most following the pandemic. In addition, the Department has secured over £28 million to support the speech and language of young children worst affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, delivered to 3 and 4 year olds through the new family hubs network.
In secondary schools, the GCSE English Language qualification ensures that students are able to listen to and understand spoken language and use spoken standard English effectively. Provisional 2023 data published by Ofqual shows that overall entries to GCSE English Language increased by 4.9% between summer 2022 and summer 2023. This data can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/provisional-entries-for-gcse-as-and-a-level-summer-2023-exam-series/provisional-entries-for-gcse-as-and-a-level-summer-2023-exam-series#gcse-entries.
The Department funds the national poetry recitation competition. This encourages both primary and secondary schools to participate to improve pupils’ knowledge and enjoyment of poetry, and to improve oracy through poetry recitation and recall. The competition provides an opportunity for pupils to enjoy sharing poems aloud.
The £67 million English hubs programme, launched in 2018, is dedicated to improving the teaching of reading, with a focus on phonics, early language development and reading for pleasure. Since its launch, the programme has provided appropriate and targeted support to several thousands of schools across England.
Enfield North’s local English hub, New Wave, is working to engage and support primary schools across the region to improve the teaching of phonics, including offering showcase events especially for local schools. 10 schools in Enfield have received intensive support from the New Wave English hub, excluding new partner schools who have joined the programme this year. A further five schools received resource funding from the hub in the 2022/23 academic year.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the reported increase in (1) poor mental health of students, and (2) the risk of teenage suicide, whether they plan to introduce a level 2 qualification in mental health awareness and suicide prevention as a mandatory part of the PSHE curriculum in schools and colleges for 11–18 year olds.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Health education became a statutory part of the school curriculum in September 2020 for all pupils in state-funded schools of compulsory school age.
The aim of teaching pupils about physical health and mental wellbeing is to give them the information they need to make good decisions about their own health and wellbeing, recognise issues in themselves and others and, when issues arise, seek support as early as possible from appropriate sources.
At primary school, pupils will learn to recognise and talk about their emotions, the benefits of exercise and simple self-care techniques. At secondary school, pupils will learn about common types of mental ill-health and how to recognise the early signs of mental wellbeing concerns. Schools can teach older pupils about suicide prevention in an age appropriate and sensitive way.
The department has brought forward the review of the relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) statutory guidance, which will include working with a range of stakeholders and experts over the summer to consider the evidence for making suicide prevention a part of the statutory RSHE curriculum. As part of this, the department will work closely with Three Dads Walking, following their meeting with the Secretary of State for Education on 22 May. In addition, a workshop was held with teachers and roundtable meetings with a panel of experts and families have also taken place.
A full public consultation on an amended draft of the statutory guidance will take place in the autumn with a view to publishing the final version in 2024.
The statutory nature of the subjects means that all pupils will be taught this content during their time at school. The government does not have any plans to introduce qualifications linked to the content of the RSHE curriculum.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of recent trends in child poverty in Portsmouth South constituency.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The department has evaluated the impact of poverty on educational outcomes. The evidence shows that disadvantaged pupils and those with additional needs are more likely to fall behind and need extra support to reach their full potential. That is why the department has a range of support in place to support pupils, families, and schools.
The Schools White Paper set out a long-term vision for a school system that helps every child to fulfil their potential by ensuring that they receive the right support, in the right place, at the right time. This is founded on achieving world-class literacy and numeracy. We are also investing in 55 Education Investment Areas (EIAs), including Portsmouth, where outcomes in literacy and numeracy are the poorest. In these areas, we will implement a package of measures to drive school improvement and improve pupil outcomes. Portsmouth is also one of the 24 Priority Education Investment Areas (PEIAs) where the department will make more intensive investment on top of the significant support available to all EIAs. PEIAs are a subset of EIAs that have particularly low attainment and high rates of disadvantage.
More widely, the government is committed to closing the disadvantage gap. This government’s work for the ten years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic showed that progress can be made to narrow the gap, and that the department’s policies and programmes are making an impact. We will continue to monitor progress and to deliver programmes designed to help disadvantaged pupils, for example through the Pupil Premium, introduced in 2011, and worth over £2.9 billion in 2023/24.
Thanks to the measures brought in by this government, we have driven up school standards across the country. 88% of schools are now rated ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’. The rate of improvement has been even greater in Portsmouth, where there has been an increase in schools reaching this high bar of 36% over the course of this government.
In 2018, the department launched the £60 million English Hubs Programme. The 34 English Hubs are primary schools which are rated outstanding at teaching early reading. Since its launch, the English Hubs Programme has provided appropriate and targeted support to several thousands of schools across England. Schools supported as partner schools outperformed non-partner schools by around 7 percentage points, when comparing the change in year 1 phonics screening check results between pre-COVID-19 pandemic and 2022.
Portsmouth’s local English Hub, Springhill English Hub, is working hard to engage and support primary schools across Portsmouth to improve the teaching of phonics, including offering showcase events especially for Portsmouth schools. The Hub has supported four schools in the city, with another six expected to become partner schools in September 2023.
Schools within Portsmouth are also supported by Solent Maths Hub. Maths Hubs aim to raise the standard of mathematics education from reception through to A level, and harness mathematics leadership and expertise within an area to develop and spread excellent practice, for the benefit of all students. Maths Hubs use their networks to deliver a range of Continued Professional Development in mathematics to schools in their geographical patch.
In April 2023, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, announced plans to extend the £100 million Teaching for Mastery programme to reach 75% of primary schools and 65% of secondary schools by 2025. This was accompanied by plans to provide more intensive Maths Hubs support to schools that need it most, including in Priority Education Investment Areas, to continue driving up the quality of mathematics teaching in schools.
Outcomes, as measured by international comparison studies, show improvements in key subjects like reading and maths. Most recently, England came fourth out of the 43 countries that tested children of the same age, in the Progress in International Literacy Study (PIRLS), with an average score of 558.
Providing support for vulnerable children and young people is a priority for this government. We recognise the strain that families are under and will continue to work collaboratively with local areas to ensure children, young people, and families have access to the support they need, for instance to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and in support of cost of living pressures. Many of the department’s recovery programmes, including the Recovery Premium, are especially focused on helping the most disadvantaged. Funding for the National Tutoring Programme is also allocated on the basis of disadvantage. The department’s guidance to schools highlights the help to those students in particular.
The government spends over £1 billion annually delivering free school meals (FSM) to pupils in schools, as the provision of nutritious food ensures pupils are well nourished, develop healthy eating habits, and can concentrate and learn. In addition, the department has extended the National School Breakfast programme for another year until July 2024. Overall, we are investing up to £30 million in the programme, covering the period from July 2021 to July 2024. This funding will support up to 2,500 schools in disadvantaged areas, meaning that thousands of children from low-income families will be offered free nutritious breakfasts to better support their attainment, wellbeing, and readiness to learn.
This Government has extended FSM eligibility several times and to more groups of children than any other government over the past half a century. The department provides free meals for 2 million disadvantaged pupils through the benefits-related criteria. Combined with almost 1.3 million infant pupils who also receive an FSM through the Universal Infant Free School Meal policy, this accounts for over one third of all pupils in school, compared to one sixth of pupils in 2010.
This year, the department is again investing over £200 million in the Holiday Activities and Food programme, with all local authorities in England delivering in the Easter, summer, and Christmas holidays. The programme provides healthy meals, enriching activities and free childcare places to children from low-income families, benefiting their physical and mental health and wellbeing.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of her policies aiming to reduce child poverty.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The department has evaluated the impact of poverty on educational outcomes. The evidence shows that disadvantaged pupils and those with additional needs are more likely to fall behind and need extra support to reach their full potential. That is why the department has a range of support in place to support pupils, families, and schools.
The Schools White Paper set out a long-term vision for a school system that helps every child to fulfil their potential by ensuring that they receive the right support, in the right place, at the right time. This is founded on achieving world-class literacy and numeracy. We are also investing in 55 Education Investment Areas (EIAs), including Portsmouth, where outcomes in literacy and numeracy are the poorest. In these areas, we will implement a package of measures to drive school improvement and improve pupil outcomes. Portsmouth is also one of the 24 Priority Education Investment Areas (PEIAs) where the department will make more intensive investment on top of the significant support available to all EIAs. PEIAs are a subset of EIAs that have particularly low attainment and high rates of disadvantage.
More widely, the government is committed to closing the disadvantage gap. This government’s work for the ten years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic showed that progress can be made to narrow the gap, and that the department’s policies and programmes are making an impact. We will continue to monitor progress and to deliver programmes designed to help disadvantaged pupils, for example through the Pupil Premium, introduced in 2011, and worth over £2.9 billion in 2023/24.
Thanks to the measures brought in by this government, we have driven up school standards across the country. 88% of schools are now rated ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’. The rate of improvement has been even greater in Portsmouth, where there has been an increase in schools reaching this high bar of 36% over the course of this government.
In 2018, the department launched the £60 million English Hubs Programme. The 34 English Hubs are primary schools which are rated outstanding at teaching early reading. Since its launch, the English Hubs Programme has provided appropriate and targeted support to several thousands of schools across England. Schools supported as partner schools outperformed non-partner schools by around 7 percentage points, when comparing the change in year 1 phonics screening check results between pre-COVID-19 pandemic and 2022.
Portsmouth’s local English Hub, Springhill English Hub, is working hard to engage and support primary schools across Portsmouth to improve the teaching of phonics, including offering showcase events especially for Portsmouth schools. The Hub has supported four schools in the city, with another six expected to become partner schools in September 2023.
Schools within Portsmouth are also supported by Solent Maths Hub. Maths Hubs aim to raise the standard of mathematics education from reception through to A level, and harness mathematics leadership and expertise within an area to develop and spread excellent practice, for the benefit of all students. Maths Hubs use their networks to deliver a range of Continued Professional Development in mathematics to schools in their geographical patch.
In April 2023, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, announced plans to extend the £100 million Teaching for Mastery programme to reach 75% of primary schools and 65% of secondary schools by 2025. This was accompanied by plans to provide more intensive Maths Hubs support to schools that need it most, including in Priority Education Investment Areas, to continue driving up the quality of mathematics teaching in schools.
Outcomes, as measured by international comparison studies, show improvements in key subjects like reading and maths. Most recently, England came fourth out of the 43 countries that tested children of the same age, in the Progress in International Literacy Study (PIRLS), with an average score of 558.
Providing support for vulnerable children and young people is a priority for this government. We recognise the strain that families are under and will continue to work collaboratively with local areas to ensure children, young people, and families have access to the support they need, for instance to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and in support of cost of living pressures. Many of the department’s recovery programmes, including the Recovery Premium, are especially focused on helping the most disadvantaged. Funding for the National Tutoring Programme is also allocated on the basis of disadvantage. The department’s guidance to schools highlights the help to those students in particular.
The government spends over £1 billion annually delivering free school meals (FSM) to pupils in schools, as the provision of nutritious food ensures pupils are well nourished, develop healthy eating habits, and can concentrate and learn. In addition, the department has extended the National School Breakfast programme for another year until July 2024. Overall, we are investing up to £30 million in the programme, covering the period from July 2021 to July 2024. This funding will support up to 2,500 schools in disadvantaged areas, meaning that thousands of children from low-income families will be offered free nutritious breakfasts to better support their attainment, wellbeing, and readiness to learn.
This Government has extended FSM eligibility several times and to more groups of children than any other government over the past half a century. The department provides free meals for 2 million disadvantaged pupils through the benefits-related criteria. Combined with almost 1.3 million infant pupils who also receive an FSM through the Universal Infant Free School Meal policy, this accounts for over one third of all pupils in school, compared to one sixth of pupils in 2010.
This year, the department is again investing over £200 million in the Holiday Activities and Food programme, with all local authorities in England delivering in the Easter, summer, and Christmas holidays. The programme provides healthy meals, enriching activities and free childcare places to children from low-income families, benefiting their physical and mental health and wellbeing.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps has he taken to address suicide as part of the national curriculum.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Health education became a statutory part of the National Curriculum in September 2020 for all pupils in state funded schools of compulsory school age.
The aim of teaching pupils about physical health and mental wellbeing is to give them the information they need to make good decisions about their own health and wellbeing, recognise issues in themselves and others and, when issues arise, seek support as early as possible from appropriate sources.
At primary school, pupils will learn to recognise and talk about their emotions, as well as the benefits of exercise and simple self care techniques. At secondary school, pupils will learn about common types of mental ill health and how to recognise the early signs of mental wellbeing concerns. Schools can teach older pupils about suicide in an age appropriate and sensitive way.
The Department has brought forward the review of the relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) statutory guidance, which will include working with a range of stakeholders and experts over the summer.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of funding for the summer schools programme.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Summer Schools programme was a demand-led initiative for summer 2021, as part of the £5 billion COVID-19 pandemic recovery response. The Summer Schools programme supported almost 340,000 pupils across 2,800 schools in England to access some of the fundamental teaching and enrichment activities that are vitally important to child development.
The research findings for the summer schools programme, assessing the effectiveness of the programme, were published on 31 March 2022 and the report is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1065682/Summer_schools_research_final_report_March_2022.pdf.
The research found that Department funding had been central in maximising the support that schools could offer to pupils in transitioning between primary and secondary.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department allocated to Enfield Council through the Summer Schools Grant in each of the last ten years in real terms.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The department has made available almost £5 billion for education recovery packages to support children and young people of all ages in catching up on missed education and development. Funding was made available for demand-led summer schools in summer 2021 so that children, particularly in transition years between primary and secondary, could access some of the fundamental teaching and enrichment activities that are so vitally important to development.
The allocations made available to each eligible secondary school, by local authority in England, can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-summer-schools-programme-funding.
Enfield London Borough Council was allocated a maximum of £232,830 for its maintained schools. This funding was demand-led and, overall, claims for actual costs were less than that allocated.
Maintained schools received their funding via the local authority and academies received their funding directly in the October/November 2021 funding round.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment the Government has made of the impact of covid-19 on the (a) health and (b) education of this year's cohort of (i) GCSE and (ii) A Level students; and what steps the Government is taking to help ensure that this year's (A) GCSE and (B) A-level exams reflect that impact.
Answered by Nick Gibb
GCSE, AS and A level exams in England have largely returned to pre-pandemic arrangements this summer. These arrangements are the best and fairest way of assessing what students know and can do. There will be some support in place for pupils in recognition that they have experienced some disruption to their education as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ofqual has confirmed a return to pre-pandemic grading in 2023, but with protection in place for GCSE and A level cohorts because of the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Where national performance is found to be lower than it was prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, senior examiners will make allowances when setting grade boundaries.
GCSE mathematics, physics and combined science students have been provided with formulae and equation sheets, to support them in these subjects. The GCSE, AS and A level exam timetable has been designed to space out exam papers in the same subject. This will give pupils more time to revise between papers than before the COVID-19 pandemic.
As part of the almost £5 billion made available to support children and young people to catch up on missed education, we are providing £1 billion through the Recovery Premium in 2022/23 and 2023/24 to allow schools to continue to focus on evidence based approaches and activities that support pupils, including those in exam cohorts. The Department has nearly doubled the premium rate for mainstream secondary schools to £276 per eligible pupil, reflecting evidence of need.
The National Tutoring Programme (NTP) is central to the Department’s £5 billion education recovery programme, which includes up to £1.5 billion on tutoring. This support is especially focused on helping the most disadvantaged, vulnerable or those with the least time left in education, wherever they live. The NTP makes available subsidised tutoring to boost progress of pupils who most need to catch up on education lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There is extensive evidence that tutoring is one of the most effective ways to accelerate academic progress. Since November 2020 over 3 million courses have been started through the programme.
The Department has set the subsidy rate for the NTP for the next academic year at 50%. This change is in response to schools’ concerns over previously announced funding arrangements, which included a 25% subsidy rate. The 50% subsidy rate announced on 23 May means that schools now need to contribute less of their core funding to provide tutoring.
From September 2022, full time students in 16 to 19 education will be entitled to an average of 40 additional hours of education. A proportionate increase in hours will be offered to part time students. This is to ensure those with the least time left in education catch up on the vital education they missed during the pandemic. The Department has allocated over £800 million until 2024/25 to fund this.
Regarding student health, the Department publishes annual State of the Nation reports, which draw together the best available published evidence on the wellbeing of children and young people aged 5 to 24. The findings from this series of reports inform work across government to support young people's wellbeing. The most recent report was published in February 2023 and can be accessed at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1134596/State_of_the_nation_2022_-_children_and_young_people_s_wellbeing.pdf.