Asked by: Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made on developing a new kitemark scheme for higher education, as recommended in the final report of the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care, published on 23 May 2022; and what is their assessment of how this kitemark will work alongside the National Network for the Education of Care Leavers Quality Mark.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
On 2 February 2023, the department published ‘Stable Homes, Built on Love’, our strategy for reforming children’s social care, which included a commitment to introducing a gold standard accreditation scheme for further and higher education institutions. We have established an expert advisory group, including the National Network for the Education of Care Leavers, to develop the accreditation in partnership with the sector and consider how it will work alongside existing schemes.
Asked by: Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many of the apprenticeship standards approved by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education have had fewer than 10 apprentices enrolled in any year since their approval; and for each of those apprenticeship standards, how many apprentices were signed up in each year since they were approved.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
The table attached shows the list of apprenticeship standards that have had fewer than 10 starts in any academic year since their approval, along with the associated number of starts in each academic year.
Please note that an apprenticeship standard may be approved at any point during the year, however, the starts data relate to apprenticeships that were started within an academic year (August to July), so a standard approved towards the end of the academic year will have fewer starts than if it was approved at the beginning of the year.
Asked by: Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Viscount Younger of Leckie on 11 March (HL Deb, cols 831–3), what progress has been made on discussions about a domestic alternative to Erasmus+; and what plans they have to consult with higher education organisations about any such scheme.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government values international exchange and collaboration in education and training as part of its vision for a global Britain. We are open to participation in the successor Erasmus+ scheme (2021/27) though this will ultimately be subject to wider UK-EU negotiations on the future partnership. We are considering a wide range of options with regards to the future of international exchange and collaboration in education and training, including potential domestic alternatives. As part of this process, the Department for Education (DfE) is listening to stakeholder views. We have also noted and are considering the recommendations from the recent House of Lords EU Home Affairs Sub-Committee on the future of Erasmus+.
Further to this, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and my hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Universities, Science and Innovation meet with representatives of universities regularly to discuss the DfE agenda, and that has included the question of international exchanges following the UK’s exit from the EU.
As we progress our thinking and work on our plans for the possibility of participation in the successor Erasmus+ programme or a domestic alternative, we will continue to engage with and seek the views of sector stakeholders, among others.