Department for Education

Latest News (from Department Twitter Feed)

24 Oct 2020, 1 p.m.: Parents and carers, the deadline to apply for a secondary school place for your child next year is 31 October 2020🏫👇 https://t.co/7fI753dAgH https://t.co/n6Apl9OhlV - Link
23 Oct 2020, 5:20 p.m.: Parents and carers, the deadline to apply for a secondary school place for your child next year is 31 October 2020🏫👇 https://t.co/7fI753dAgH https://t.co/V3AyevHZb4 - Link

Department for Education Commons Appearances

Oral Answers to Questions is a regularly scheduled appearance where the Secretary of State and junior minister will answer at the Dispatch Box questions from backbench MPs

Other Commons Chamber appearances can be:

Urgent Questions where the Speaker has selected a question to which a Minister must reply that day
Adjornment Debates a 30 minute debate attended by a Minister that concludes the day in Parliament.
Oral Statements informing the Commons of a significant development, where backbench MP's can then question the Minister making the statement.

Westminster Hall debates are performed in response to backbench MPs or e-petitions asking for a Minister to address a detailed issue

Written Statements are made when a current event is not sufficiently significant to require an Oral Statement, but the House is required to be informed.

Most Recent Commons Appearances by Category

Date	Type	Title
Oct. 12	Oral Questions	Oral Answers to Questions
May. 13	Urgent Questions	Covid-19: School Reopening
Oct. 21	Westminster Hall	Schools in Kent: Covid-19
Oct. 20	Adjournment Debate	Remote Education: Self-isolating Pupils

View All Department for Education Commons Contibutions

Department for Education has not tabled any Bills during the current Session.

Department for Education - Laid Secondary Legislation

Dates	Department	Title	Type
Laid 1 Oct 2020 In Force Not stated	Department for Education	Education (Exemption from School and Further Education Institutions Inspections) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 Parliamentary Status - Text of Legislation	Draft affirmative procedure
These Regulations revoke the Education (Exemption from School Inspection) (England) Regulations 2012 (S.I. 2012/1293), with the effect that any school within scope of those Regulations ceases to be an exempt school. An “exempt school” is a school which may not be subject to routine inspections under section 5(1)(a) of the Education Act 2005 (c. 18).
Laid 28 Sep 2020 In Force Not stated	Department for Education	Higher Education (Fee Limits and Student Support) (England) (Coronavirus) (Revocation) Regulations 2020 Parliamentary Status - Text of Legislation	Draft affirmative procedure
These Regulations revoke the Higher Education (Fee Limits and Student Support) (England) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/853).

View All Department for Education Secondary Legislation

Petitions addressed by Department for Education

Current Signatures	Title	Petition Deadline
187,902 Petition Closed	School should start at 10am as teenagers are too tired Gov Responded - 22 Mar 2019 Debated on - 11 Feb 2019	4 Apr 2019 closed 1 year, 6 months ago
Teenagers are so tired due to having to wake up very early to get to school. The Government should require secondary schools to start later, which will lead to increased productivity at school.
165,932 Petition Closed	Change the GCSE English Literature exam from closed book to open book. Gov Responded - 6 Feb 2018 Debated on - 26 Mar 2018	18 Mar 2018 closed 2 years, 7 months ago
Last year, lots of students struggled with GCSE English Literature as it was a closed book exam. Because of this many failed. How can they expect us to remember quotes from 15 poems, plus how to analyse them, plus remembering the whole plot, themes, characters and quotes from another book.
148,882 Petition Closed	Review the decision to use previous data to calculate exam grades Gov Responded - 4 Sep 2020 Debated on - 12 Oct 2020	27 Sep 2020 closed 4 weeks ago
We want the Education Secretary and the Government to step in and review the exam board’s decision on how GCSE and A-Level grades will be calculated and awarded due to the current coronavirus crisis. We want a better solution than just using our previous data to be the basis of our grade.

View All Department for Education Petitions

Department for Education Select Committee

Department for Education Select Committee Home Page

Select Committees are a formally established cross-party group of backbench MPs tasked with holding a Government department to account.

At any time there will be number of ongoing investigations into the work of the Department, or issues which fall within the oversight of the Department. Witnesses can be summoned from within the Government and outside to assist in these inquiries, and the Select Committee will occasionally publish formal reports of their findings.

Open Inquiries

The impact of COVID-19 on education and children’s services Accountability hearings Adult skills and lifelong learning Left behind white pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds Home Education

Closed Inquiries

Accountability hearings Adult skills and lifelong learning Children’s social care workforce Education in the north Fourth Industrial Revolution Integrity of public examinations Knife crime Life chances Opportunity areas School and college funding Special educational needs and disabilities

Recent Select Committee Publications

Fri 06 Nov 2020 - Call for Evidence
Fri 23 Oct 2020 - Members' attendance record 2020-21
Fri 23 Oct 2020 - Letter to the Minister of State for School Standards, regarding remote learning, 23 October 2020
Fri 23 Oct 2020 - 20 October 2020
Fri 23 Oct 2020 - Letter of clarification from the Minister of State for School Standards, following his appearance before the Committee on 20 October 2020, dated 20 October 2020

Department for Education Publications

Most Recent Publications

Date	Title	Type
Oct. 23	Next stage of post-16 qualifications overhaul gets under way	News and Communications
Oct. 23	Review of post-16 qualifications at level 3: second stage	Open consultation
Oct. 23	FE Commissioner intervention: Ruskin College	News and Communications

View All Department for Education Publications

Department for Education Written Questions

Written Questions are submitted by Members of Parliament and the House of Lords to receive information or updates from a Department.

Departments are required to respond in a timely fashion and provide a response or requested information. Written Questions can compel detailed and specific information to be produced, and are frequently used as the source of news stories about the work of a Department.

Latest Written Question

Date	Title	Questioner
23 Oct 2020, 12:57 p.m.	Matt Western MP (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)	Matt Western MP (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Education: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of test and trace systems to support schools to remain open to all pupils during the covid-19 outbreak. Answered by Nick Gibb - Minister of State (Education) We are continuing to improve the testing system, including by ensuring teaching staff can get priority access when they have symptoms. The Government is scaling up testing capacity even further to 500,000 tests a day by the end of October. In order to protect schools, it is important head teachers continue to have access to timely support and advice. There is a new dedicated advice line to help schools to implement the most appropriate public health measures once a case is confirmed. A team of advisers will inform schools what action is needed in response to a positive case based on the latest public health advice, and work through a risk assessment. It is vital that children and school staff only get a test if they develop COVID-19 symptoms, with the exception of those who have specifically been asked to do so by a clinician. The NHS Test and Trace system must stay focused on testing those with true symptoms of the virus.

View All Department for Education Written Question