Asked by: Lord Baker of Dorking (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many ENTHUSE bursaries were approved in the years (1) 2020–21, and (2) 2021–22 so far, in both (a) primary, and (b) secondary, schools.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
During the period 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021, 346 primary teachers and 333 secondary and post-16 teachers were supported by a Department for Education funded Enthuse bursary.
During the period 1 April 2020 to 31 July 2020, there were no Department for Education-funded Enthuse bursaries awarded to support the cost of teachers attending face-to-face Continuing Professional Development, in line with government guidance on social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the period 1 April 2021 to 18 March 2022, 685 primary teachers and 781 secondary and post-16 teachers were supported by a Department for Education-funded Enthuse bursary.
Asked by: Lord Baker of Dorking (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many young people have been recruited to skills bootcamps in the years (1) 2019–20, (2) 2020–21, and (3) 2021–22 so far; and how many of these students studied environmental sustainability.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Skills Bootcamps are short, flexible courses for adults aged 19 and over. They support adults to gain sector-specific skills. This includes skills that support sustainability and the green industrial revolution, such as retrofit construction, vehicle electrification, and woodland management.
Skills Bootcamps are very popular and there is a high demand for places. The department anticipates that approximately 16,000 Skills Bootcamps places will be provided in the 2021/22 financial year. These are backed by £43 million from the National Skills Fund. The current Wave 2 of the programme saw a number of Skills Bootcamps delivered in green sectors and jobs. We will continue to expand the programme further following the announcement of £550 million additional funding at the Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021. This expansion will include an increased delivery of Skills Bootcamps that will support adults into green jobs.
There were no Skills Bootcamps delivered in the financial year 2019/20. Between September 2020 and March 2021, over 2000 participants completed a Skills Bootcamp. Data collected as part of the evaluation of these Skills Bootcamps suggests that 22% of participants were aged 19 to 25.
The department has commissioned process and impact evaluation for wave two of Skills Bootcamps, which is currently being delivered in the 2021/22 financial year. This evaluation will provide further information about participation in Skills Bootcamps in the 2021/22 financial year.
Asked by: Lord Baker of Dorking (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) bursaries, and (2) prestigious scholarships, worth £26,000 tax free to teachers in (a) Chemistry, (b) Computing, (c) Maths, and (d) Physics, have been awarded in (i) 2019–20, (ii) 2020–21, and (iii) in 2021–22 so far.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The attached tables show the number of trainees awarded either bursaries or scholarships for postgraduate secondary chemistry, computing, mathematics, or physics courses from the 2019/20 academic year to the 2021/22 academic year. The tables also show the bursary and scholarship rates available for each year.
Figures for the 2019/20 academic year have been taken from data reconciled against accredited initial teacher training provider’s expenditure as part of our annual assurance exercise. Figures for the 2020/21 academic year have been taken from internal funding models and are currently being reconciled as part of the assurance exercise for that year. Figures for the 2021/22 academic year are the latest available and are subject to change as the academic year continues.
Bursaries and scholarships are paid to trainees in monthly instalments provided they remain active on the course. Not every trainee awarded a bursary would receive the full amount available.
Asked by: Lord Baker of Dorking (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many adults aged (1) 24–40, and (2) 41–60, have applied for the free courses in (a) A Level equivalent, or (b) higher qualifications, since April 2021.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The free courses for jobs offer, launched in April 2021, gives adults the chance to access their first level 3 qualification for free. From April 2022, any eligible adult in England earning under the National Living Wage annually (£18,525 from April 2022) or unemployed, regardless of their prior qualification level, will also be able to access the scheme.
There are over 400 level 3 qualifications on offer in areas such as engineering, social care, and accounting, alongside many others. These qualifications can support adults to gain skills to improve their wages and access new job opportunities.
There were almost 12,000 enrolments reported on the level 3 free courses for jobs programme between April to October 2021. This enrolment figure will continue to grow as providers deliver to more learners throughout the year.
The latest published data shows 6,640 24 to 40-year-olds and 3,920 41 to 60-year- olds were reported as starting on level 3 qualifications available through the free courses for jobs offer between April and October 2021.
Qualifications above level 3 are not available as part of the free courses for jobs.
Asked by: Lord Baker of Dorking (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many members of the Board of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education have themselves undertaken an apprenticeship.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This is a matter for the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education. I have asked its Chief Executive, Jennifer Coupland, to write to my noble Friend and a copy of this reply will be placed in the libraries of both Houses when it is available.
Asked by: Lord Baker of Dorking (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which state secondary schools have been selected to take part in the Department for Education pilot scheme to extend the teaching of Latin.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department intends to run a Latin Excellence Programme, commencing in September 2022 with the objective of improving pupils’ attainment via increased access to, and uptake of, GCSE in Latin, whilst contributing to pupils’ broader Classics education. State-funded schools in England teaching key stage 3 and key stage 4 pupils rated either Good or Outstanding by Ofsted and with an EBacc entry of or above the national entry rate (40%) will be eligible to apply for the programme. The procurement process for this programme is still ongoing, therefore no state secondary schools have yet been able to apply to take part in the programme. The application process to join the programme is expected to be announced soon.
Asked by: Lord Baker of Dorking (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, if there are surplus school places available in the Education Investment Areas, new specialist sixth form free schools will be allowed to be established there.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department publishes school place planning estimates as part of the school capacity official statistics publication, available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-capacity.
This contains estimates of future school place shortfalls and surpluses. This data was last published in May 2019 and covered the place planning estimates for mainstream school places in year groups from reception to year 11. The department will be publishing updated school capacity official statistics at the end of March 2022.
Identification of forecast need is carried out at planning area level. This means that within a local authority there may be planning areas forecasting a surplus and others forecasting a need for additional places. Based on the data published in May 2019, an estimated 53,000 primary places and 77,000 secondary places were needed across England to meet demand for academic year 2023/24. Around 17,000 of these primary places and 25,000 of these secondary places are in Education Investment Areas.
The need for places will be an important consideration in determining whether new free schools will be approved and opened. The department will set out more details on the future free school programme in due course.
Asked by: Lord Baker of Dorking (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many of the 55 Education Investment Areas have surplus school places.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department publishes school place planning estimates as part of the school capacity official statistics publication, available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-capacity.
This contains estimates of future school place shortfalls and surpluses. This data was last published in May 2019 and covered the place planning estimates for mainstream school places in year groups from reception to year 11. The department will be publishing updated school capacity official statistics at the end of March 2022.
Identification of forecast need is carried out at planning area level. This means that within a local authority there may be planning areas forecasting a surplus and others forecasting a need for additional places. Based on the data published in May 2019, an estimated 53,000 primary places and 77,000 secondary places were needed across England to meet demand for academic year 2023/24. Around 17,000 of these primary places and 25,000 of these secondary places are in Education Investment Areas.
The need for places will be an important consideration in determining whether new free schools will be approved and opened. The department will set out more details on the future free school programme in due course.
Asked by: Lord Baker of Dorking (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what were the levels of student absenteeism in secondary schools in England for each week in the current academic year.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department publishes official absence figures on a termly basis. There is no equivalent available on a weekly basis. However, data is published on pupil on-site attendance in schools and COVID-19-related absences split by phase of education. Data since the start of the academic year can be found on the ‘Explore education statistics’ GOV.UK page here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/explore-education-statistics.
In the attached file, overall on-site attendance and COVID-19-related absence for secondary schools is provided. Figures are given for the Thursday of each week (excluding holiday dates) since the start of the academic year in line with figures published in the fortnightly publication, ‘Attendance in education and early years settings during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic’, which is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak.
Asked by: Lord Baker of Dorking (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many students were studying T Levels in the academic years beginning in (1) 2020, and (2) 2021.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Data from the Individualised Learner Record and School Census suggests that the number of students taking T Levels in the 2020/21 academic year was around 1,300. The department does not yet have confirmed student numbers for the 2021/22 cohort, but providers report that recruitment levels are positive. We expect to publish indicative student numbers for the 2021/22 academic year before the end of this year.
The department are introducing T Levels in a phased approach. The number of providers and courses will increase year on year, and we expect student numbers to grow significantly in line with the rollout. This managed introduction has meant T Levels got off to a high-quality start in 2020. Feedback from both providers and students has been positive.