Asked by: Lord Baker of Dorking (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many students at (1) secondary schools, (2) sixth forms, and (3) University Technical Colleges, did not attend in the week ending 2 October because they were isolating or quarantined; and how many of those students had access to a computer and an internet connection to facilitate remote learning.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
Keeping close track of suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases in schools is a priority for the government. Public Health England (PHE) leads in holding data on infection, incidence and COVID-19 cases overall. PHE have published data on COVID-19 incidents by institution, including educational settings. This data can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-covid-19-surveillance-reports.
The department is currently collecting data from schools on a daily basis, as well as gathering information from local areas and following up with individual settings to confirm that procedures requiring pupils to isolate are well understood and that necessary decisions are made on the basis of public health advice.
The department collects data on the number of schools that have indicated that they have either sent children home due to COVID-19 containment measures or have staff shortages due to COVID-19 related absences, and have attendance data for schools that have done so. We are currently looking at the quality of that data with a view to publishing it as part of the official statistics series. The series includes published data on school openings and attendance, which shows that at a national level approximately 93% of state-funded schools were fully open on 1 October. Of all schools that responded to the survey, 7% said they were not fully open due to suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19 on 1 October. Equivalent estimates have not been made at phase level. Approximately 90% of all children on roll in all state-funded schools were in attendance on 1 October. More information is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak.
During the summer term, the department delivered over 220,000 laptops and tablets, and over 50,000 4G wireless routers, for disadvantaged children in year 10, as well as children with a social worker and care leavers who would not otherwise have had online access, as part of over £160 million invested to support remote education and access to online social care.
The department is now supplementing this support by making 250,000 additional laptops and tablets available in the event that face-to-face schooling is disrupted as a result of local COVID-19 restrictions and children become reliant on remote education. This scheme is intended to enable schools to support disadvantaged children in years 3 to 11 who cannot afford their own laptops and tablets. Schools will also be able to order laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children across all year groups who are shielding as a result of official or medical advice, all year groups who attend hospital schools and those completing their key stage 4 at a further education college.
Asked by: Lord Baker of Dorking (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many GCSE entrants there were in (1) art, (2) music, (3) dance, and (4) drama, in (a) the 2010, and (b) the 2020, academic years.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
This information is not yet available for 2019/20. It will become available once we release our provisional publication between December and January 2021 at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/announcements/entries-for-gcse-november-2020-exam-series.
The number of pupils in all schools in England at the end of key stage 4 who entered music, art, drama or dance at GCSE level (including equivalents) is published each year (including 2010 onwards) in the ‘subject time series data’ table at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/key-stage-4-performance-2019-revised.
Asked by: Lord Baker of Dorking (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many primary schools taught computer coding in the current academic year.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
The computing curriculum in England was introduced in 2014 across key stages 1 to 4 to ensure it better reflects employers’ needs and the increasing demand for digital skills. There are over 10,000 state-funded primary schools in the academic year 2019/20 which are all required to teach the computing curriculum from key stage 1, with England being one of the first G20 countries to introduce teaching of coding in primary schools. Other schools, such as academies and free schools, have freedom to design their own school curriculum, but are required to offer a broad and balanced curriculum to their pupils, with many using the computing curriculum as an exemplar.
To strengthen the teaching of the computing curriculum and GCSE/A Level computer science, and to improve take up of computing qualifications, we are investing over £80 million in the National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE). The NCCE is providing free high quality continuing professional development (CPD) and teaching resources for both primary and secondary teachers, as well as overseeing a network of 34 computing hubs to support schools across the country. Support from the NCCE includes resources specifically mapped against the whole primary and secondary computing curriculum up to and including key stage 4, a Computer Science Accelerator Programme for GCSE teachers that includes programming-specific CPD elements, and the Isaac Computer Science A level online platform which provides resources for teachers and student workshops.
Computing science is one of the fastest growing subjects at GCSE with over 77,000 pupils sitting the exam in 2019.
Asked by: Lord Baker of Dorking (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) primary, and (2) secondary, schools have installed a 3D printer.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
The information requested is not held centrally by the Department.
Asked by: Lord Baker of Dorking (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) laptops, and (2) other computers, have been distributed to disadvantaged students under their digital devices and internet access scheme.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
The department is providing laptops and tablets to vulnerable and disadvantaged children who would otherwise not have access and are preparing for examination in Year 10, receiving support from a social worker, including pre-school children, or are a care leaver. Where care leavers, children with a social worker at secondary school and children in Year 10 do not have internet connections, we are providing 4G wireless routers.
The department has also partnered with BT to give 10,000 young people free access to BT Wi-Fi hotspots, who do not have access to good internet by other means.
Local authorities and academy trusts are best placed to identify and distribute the laptops, tablets and 4G wireless routers to children and young people who need devices. The department invited local authorities to order devices for the most vulnerable children first - children with a social worker and care leavers.
Devices are being delivered to local authorities daily and will continue to be distributed throughout June.
Asked by: Lord Baker of Dorking (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many home school inspections were made in the 2017–18 academic year.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
There is no power for local authorities or any other bodies to conduct inspections of the education being provided by parents who elect to educate children at home. Local authorities are under a duty to make arrangements to identify, so far as possible, children who are not attending school and are not receiving a suitable education. In order to do this, a local authority can seek information from parents about home education provision and with parental consent, this process can include visiting the family home to observe the education being provided and assess its suitability for the child concerned. No central record is kept of the number of such visits.
Asked by: Lord Baker of Dorking (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many GCSE entries were made for students who were home educated in the 2017–18 academic year.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
Data on the number of children educated at home are not collected centrally. Local authorities may collect such data, but as there is no obligation upon parents to register children as being educated at home, such data will not be complete.
Asked by: Lord Baker of Dorking (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many primary schools have introduced the teaching of coding in (1) the 2016–17 academic year, and (2) the current academic year.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The new national curriculum for computing, which now includes coding from key stage 1 to key stage 4, was introduced in September 2014. The national curriculum is compulsory in all state-maintained schools, and academies and free schools can use it as a benchmark. The department does not collect information about the individual topics primary schools teach, and therefore does not hold data on how many primary schools have introduced coding.
The department is committed to strengthening the teaching of computing in schools. £84 million of new funding is being introduced over the next four years to deliver a comprehensive programme of continuing professional development and other support to teachers, including primary school teachers, to improve the teaching of computing.
Asked by: Lord Baker of Dorking (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, given their commitment to improving technical education, what steps they will take to arrest the decline in the number of students taking GCSEs in Design and Technology.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
Design and technology is an important part of a broad and balanced curriculum. The Department have reformed the design and technology curriculum for GCSEs and A levels, with input from key organisations such as the James Dyson Foundation. This will align qualifications with high-tech industry practice and support students to progress into further study and employment.
The new curriculum and qualifications have been updated with a strong focus on iterative design processes, which are at the core of contemporary practice. The new design and technology curriculum was introduced in 2014, and the GCSE and A level introduced in September 2017 with the first examinations in 2019.
The Department continue to provide bursaries of up to £12,000 to attract more graduates into design and technology teaching.