Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take during the winter period to reduce transmission of (1) SARS-CoV-2, (2) flu viruses, and (3) other respiratory, airborne diseases, in schools; and what steps they will take to encourage pupils, teachers and other staff to remain at home rather than come into the premises and spread those illnesses.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Most infectious diseases in education and childcare settings should be managed by following the advice set out in the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). The advice can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-protection-in-schools-and-other-childcare-facilities.
If a school suspects an incident or outbreak, they should review and reinforce existing measures including ensuring that any staff or students with relevant symptoms stays at home for up to five days as described in UKHSA’s guidance. This can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/people-with-symptoms-of-a-respiratory-infection-including-covid-19.
The department’s emergency planning and response guidance sets out how education and childcare settings should plan for and deal with emergencies. The guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/emergency-planning-and-response-for-education-childcare-and-childrens-social-care-settings.
The department will continue to review any emerging evidence, public health guidance and advice to help ensure that schools remain as safe as possible.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of schools attending events run by the British Association of Shooting and Conservation and Gamekeepers and Landowners, as has occurred in Sheffield; and whether this has occurred in schools in other areas throughout England.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department does not collect information on educational visits and has not, therefore, made any assessment on schools attending events run by the British Association of Shooting and Conservation and Gamekeepers and Landowners.
The decision to undertake educational visits is entirely a matter for individual schools. However, the department provides guidance to help schools understand their obligations when undertaking educational visits and other out of school activities. Among other things, this includes advice on carrying out risk assessments and on seeking consent from parents.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps, if any, they plan to take in response to the study in the journal Nutrients, published on 21 July, which found that ultraprocessed food consisted of 82 per cent of the calories in packed school lunches and 64 per cent in school meals, with calories provided by these foods being 61 per cent of primary pupils' diets and 77 per cent of secondary pupils'.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
A diet high in processed foods is often high in calories, salt, saturated fat and sugar and low in fibre, which is associated with an increased risk of developing chronic diseases. The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) is delivering a range of measures to help address the exposure and consumption of food and drink products high in saturated fat, sugar or salt, including restricting the advertising and promotions of these products, and a sugar reduction and wider reformulation programme.
Further to the work being done by OHID, the department encourages all schools to have a whole school approach to healthy eating, promoting healthy eating and providing healthy, tasty and nutritious food and drink. Compliance with the school food standards is mandatory for all maintained schools, including academies and free schools. The Requirements for School Food Regulations 2014 is available here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/1603/contents/made.
Schools may use the school food standards as a guide when writing their packed lunch policies. For example, confectionery is banned throughout the school day and foods high in salt, sugar and fat are restricted. Schools can also confiscate items that are banned by the school rules. More information is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/searching-screening-and-confiscation.
The department also wants to make it easier for parents to feel confident that they are preparing healthy, balanced lunches for their children. Further information such as recipes, tips and swap suggestions for parents are available on the Change4Life website, which is available here: https://www.nhs.uk/change4life-beta/healthier-lunchboxes.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what data they collect on the compliance of relevant secondary schools with the Requirements for School Food Regulations 2014.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department does not collect any centralised data on compliance with the school food standards in schools across England. However, the department is running a joint project with the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to design and test a new approach to help ensure compliance with the school food standards in England. This will help to build new evidence and understanding around this.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of budget cuts on access to Higher Education arts courses on (1) the UK's economy, and (2) those from (a) lower socio-economic, and (b) minority, backgrounds.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government recognises the importance of the creative arts to the economy and the UK. High-quality provision in a range of subjects is critical for our workforce and our public services. It is also culturally enriching for our society, which is why the government awarded nearly £8million directly to creative universities as part of the Culture Recovery Fund.
The Office for Students (OfS) has increased the high-cost subject funding rate per student for performing and creative arts and media studies to £125.76, a rise of 3.51% from the previous year, for the 2022/23 academic year. The department has also increased funding for world-leading specialist providers, including 11 providers specialising in the arts, by an additional £5 million in the 2022/23 financial year, on top of the increase of £10 million provided in the 2021/22 financial year. The department wants to ensure that such providers receive additional support, and that grant funding is used effectively to support students, including those with an interest in the cultural and creative sectors.
In January 2021, the former Secretary of State for Education reprioritised the Strategic Priorities Grant (SPG). This was to ensure value for money, support strategic priorities across the sector, including provision of courses vital for the economy and labour markets, and continued support for disadvantaged students and underrepresented groups. This resulted in the high-cost subject funding rate for some arts and music courses to be set at £121.50, down from £243 in 2020/21. This reallocation of grant funding amounted to about 0.05% of affected providers’ estimated total income.
The OfS consulted on the proposals and published its conclusions on their website. The consultation responses were carefully analysed. The issues raised were considered by both the OfS and the former Secretary of State in reaching their respective decisions about the allocation of the SPG in 2021/22.
The department considers that access to higher education should be based on a student’s attainment and their ability to succeed, rather than their background. In 2021, 18-year-olds from disadvantaged backgrounds were 82% more likely to go to university than in 2010. There are also more disadvantaged students at university today than at any other point in our history.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the comparative (1) happiness, and (2) mental distress, experienced by pupils in (a) community schools, (b) foundation schools, (c) voluntary schools, (d) free schools, (e) academies, and (f) grammar schools.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department does not hold the specific data on the happiness and mental wellbeing of pupils in different types of schools.
Pupil mental health and wellbeing are a priority for the government and the department gets data and information from a wide range of sources and bring those together into regular State of the Nation reports. Our most recent State of the Nation report, published in February 2022, found that following a reduction in measures of wellbeing in 2020 there were some signs of recovery in the last academic year, responding to improvements in pandemic conditions. However, it also reports data that shows while rates of mental health problems in children and young people have not continued to increase from 2020, they remained at elevated levels in 2021.
The report also supported the value of being in school for supporting wellbeing. Older children and young people, females, those with existing mental health needs and for some measures those with disadvantaged backgrounds or special educational needs were more likely to show greater impacts.
The full report can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/state-of-the-nation-2021-children-and-young-peoples-wellbeing.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of rising energy prices on (1) nurseries, (2) primary schools, (3) secondary schools, and (4) colleges; and what plans they have to assist in covering these costs.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
We recognise that schools, colleges and nurseries are facing inflationary pressures, and we continue to monitor the impact of rising energy costs on education providers, paying close attention to financial health of the sector. Cost increases should be seen in the wider context of funding across these providers, and investments secured at the 2021 Spending Review.
The department has announced additional funding for the early years entitlements worth £160 million in financial year 2022/23, £180 million in 2023/24 and £170 million in 2024/25, compared to the current year. This is for local authorities to increase hourly rates paid to childcare providers for the government’s free childcare entitlement offers and reflects cost pressures as well as anticipated changes in the number of eligible children.
The core schools budget, for pupils aged 5-16 and 0-25 in the case of high needs funding, will see a £4 billion cash increase in the core schools budget next year, taking total funding to £53.8 billion. Overall, this represents a 5% real terms per pupil boost, helping schools meet the pressures we know they are facing. We know that the vast majority of school expenditure is devoted to staff costs. This means that even while energy costs are rising, inflation in this area would have an impact on only a small portion of a school’s budget overall.
The department has made available an extra £1.6 billion for 16-19 education in 2024/25 compared with the 2021/22 financial year. This includes an up-front cash boost which will see the rate of funding per student increase by over 8% in the 2022/23 academic year. We are simplifying funding, removing the separate Teacher’s Pay Grant for schools’ post-16 provision and using this funding to increase the national rate of funding for a Band 5 student to £4,542. We will match this increase for other providers, including colleges to help with pressures across the further education sector. The very significant increase to the national funding rate and the other funding increases alongside this demonstrates our commitment to 16-19 education and will help with college income. We are also continuing to invest in education and skills training for adults through the Adult Education Budget, £1.34 billion in financial year 2021/22.
All schools can access a range of School Resource Management (SRM) tools to help them get the best value from their resources. Our SRM tools include two recommended deals for energy costs and ancillary services relating to energy, which can be accessed via the 'Find a DfE-approved framework for your school' service on GOV.UK.
We know that every school’s circumstances are different, and where schools are in serious financial difficulty, they should contact their local authority or the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA). Where colleges are at risk of running out of cash, emergency funding is considered by the ESFA on a case-by-case basis and based on a thorough assessment of each college's circumstances and the minimum funding needed to minimise disruption to students.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of private for-profit groups acquiring nurseries in England on (1) the stability of the nursery sector, and (2) the quality of provision.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
65% of early years childcare places in England are provided by private, voluntary, and independent group-based providers in a market-based system. The key measure of market health monitored by the department is whether the supply of available places is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents and children. This is monitored rather than whether changes occur in the number and type of providers, which is typically a feature of a healthy, competitive market.
The majority of eligible two, three, and four-year-olds have continued to access free childcare despite the challenges faced throughout the COVID-19 outbreak. Local authorities are not reporting any substantial sufficiency or place supply issues that they are unable to manage locally. The department has not seen a substantial number of parents saying that they cannot secure a childcare place, either this term or since early years environments re-opened fully on 1 June 2020.
97% of early years childcare providers are rated good or outstanding by Ofsted.
The department continues to evaluate the sufficiency and quality of childcare provision. It also endeavours to help local authorities, parents, and early years providers to ensure the sustainability of the sector.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the FE Week article 'Confused and frustrated: Most universities reject first cohort of T Level students', published on 14 January, what steps they are taking to ensure that T Level qualifications are accepted by universities, both this year and in future years.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
We have undertaken an extensive programme of activities to encourage universities to consider the suitability of T Levels for entry to higher education (HE). As well as agreeing the allocation of UCAS tariff points, we have delivered numerous briefings to universities, collectively and individually, to explain the benefits of the programme and to answer their questions. We have also made available materials that will allow them to compare the content of T Levels with other established qualifications, such as A levels. We recently published a list of HE providers that will accept T Levels, which currently includes 74 universities and we expect this to continue to grow.
However, universities are autonomous institutions that set their own entry requirements. At this stage, their decisions are likely to be based on the first three T Level subjects, which will necessarily restrict the institutions and courses for which a T Level is suitable. As the remaining T Levels are rolled out, we will continue with our targeted engagement until all HE providers have had the opportunity to make an informed decision about the suitability of T Levels for their institution.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of classrooms that have windows that cannot be opened; what steps they are taking to address this; and what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of air filtration units in classrooms that do not have a source of fresh air.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
During the autumn term, the department provided over 350,000 CO2 monitors to all state-funded education settings, including early years, schools, and further education providers, backed by £25 million in government funding. Feedback suggests that schools are finding the monitors helpful to manage ventilation and, in the majority of education providers, existing ventilation measures are sufficient.
Where an area of poor ventilation has been identified that cannot be resolved through simple measures such as opening doors and windows, schools are advised to explore what remedial works may be required to improve ventilation.
The department does not hold data on the number of classrooms that have windows that cannot be opened. Maintaining adequate ventilation remains the responsibility of individual education providers. The law says employers, including education and childcare providers, must make sure there is an adequate supply of fresh air (ventilation) in enclosed areas of the workplace. This has not changed during the COVID-19 outbreak. Health and Safety Executive provides more information at: https://www.hse.gov.uk/coronavirus/equipment-and-machinery/air-conditioning-and-ventilation/index.htm. Schools, colleges, and universities are expected to plan and prioritise any necessary remedial works within existing budgets. For more substantial capital works, education providers and those responsible for buildings have access to funding to improve the condition of buildings through different routes depending on their size and type.
Where it is not possible to maintain adequate ventilation, it may be appropriate for education providers to consider the use of an air cleaning unit while the underlying ventilation issue is addressed.
On 2 January, we announced that we are supplying up to a total of 8,000 air cleaning units to providers. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, is making a new commitment to fulfil all eligible applications from education settings for air cleaning units, and will make up to an additional 1,000 units available to do so. Our decision to make air cleaning units available for poorly ventilated spaces in education providers was informed by advice from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) and external consultation with specialists. We have closely monitored the evidence and reviewed the scientific literature, including evidence from SAGE and the Environmental Modelling Group on the application of air cleaning units to manage the transmission of COVID-19. This evidence is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/939173/S0867_EMG_Potential_application_of_air_cleaning_devices_and_personal_decontamination_to_manage_transmission_of_COVID-19.pdf.When used properly, air cleaning units can help reduce airborne contaminants in a poorly ventilated space, including viruses like COVID-19. Air cleaning units are not a substitute for ventilation and should never be used as a reason to reduce ventilation. They are not necessary in spaces that are adequately ventilated. We will continue to develop our policy and guidance on ventilation in line with the latest scientific advice and in consultation with industry-wide experts.
Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, we have emphasised the importance of ventilation and provided guidance to schools, colleges and universities on ventilation requirements. In addition to our existing guidance on ventilation, we have provided education providers with guidance on how to use the air cleaning units, as well as how to order a unit via the online marketplace. This marketplace is available at: https://s107t01-webapp-v2-01.azurewebsites.net/list/air-cleaning.