Asked by: Lord Bird (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Agnew of Oulton on 19 December 2017 (HL3873), what assessment they have made of the World Economic Forum report, The Future of Jobs: Employment, Skills and Workforce Strategy for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, that "social skills, such as persuasion, emotional intelligence and teaching others, will be in higher demand across industries than narrow technical skills, such as programming or equipment operation and control".
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The department is carefully considering the World Economic Report.
We expect all schools to offer a broad and balanced education consisting of an academically rigorous, knowledge-based curriculum, which is supported by the development of essential life skills such as confidence, teamwork and resilience.
Schools are also encouraged to offer extra-curricular activities aimed at developing these skills through after-school clubs and through programmes such as the National Citizen Service (NCS) and the Cadet Expansion Programme (CEP). The government will be investing over £1 billion during the next four years to make NCS a rite of passage for many 16 and 17 year olds.
The government has committed £50 million of LIBOR funding to the CEP to deliver 500 cadet units in schools across the UK by April 2020. Cadet units in schools provide extraordinary opportunities for career and personal development for pupils and staff alike. In October 2017, the department announced a £22 million Essential Life Skills programme in the 12 ‘Opportunity Areas’. It will enable schools to offer extra-curricular activities, aimed at developing the non-cognitive skills of disadvantaged pupils living in areas where social mobility is low.
Asked by: Lord Bird (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what changes they intend to make to the (1) education, and (2) qualification, systems, including early years, secondary, and further education, to ensure that young people are at the forefront of the fourth industrial revolution.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The government has a number of interventions in place to help promote and support digital skills. The Early Years Foundation Stage statutory framework includes a section titled ‘Understanding the world’. This involves children understanding the physical world and community through opportunities to explore, observe, and find out about their broader environment, including the technology within their environment.
In primary and secondary education, the 2014 key stage 1-4 computing curriculum, together with reformed GCSEs and A levels, represents a significant step-change from the previous out-dated approach, and include new challenging content such as coding, Boolean logic, and algorithms.
The government is investing £84 million of new funding over the next five years to improve the teaching of computing and drive up participation in computer science qualifications, particularly amongst girls. This will include increasing the expertise of up to 8,000 existing computer science teachers and a new National Centre for Computing Education.
We are investing £500 million in reforming the technical education system, which includes the development of a specialist digital route with a clear pathway to employment. The government has also introduced new digital degree apprenticeships, which are employer accredited and have seen a growing number of employers and universities come together to create high quality curricula. In addition, the government has supported the creation of Ada, the National College of Digital Skills, which will teach up to 5,000 students over the next seven years for a wide range of digital careers.
Asked by: Lord Bird (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the publication in November of the Social Mobility Commission report, State of the Nation 2017: Social Mobility in Great Britain, what steps they intend to take to ensure that every person has the opportunity to build a good life for themselves, regardless of their family background.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
We welcome the Social Mobility Commission’s 2017 State of the Nation report, which draws important attention to how the family and the community you were born in can disproportionately shape your educational and career outcomes.
Tackling social mobility is one of the department’s priorities. We want all young people, regardless of their background or where they grow up, to get the best start in life and have every chance to go as far as their talents and ambition will take them.
We are putting more money into the early years than ever before, spending a record £6 billion per year on childcare and early education support by 2019/20. 1.9 million more children are in good or outstanding schools than in 2010, and the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers has narrowed since we introduced the Pupil Premium in 2011 – now worth around £2.5 billion per year. We will introduce T levels with first teaching in September 2020; young pupils from disadvantaged areas are entering universities at record rates; and we are investing over £70 million this year to support young people and adults to get high quality careers provision.
We know that there is more to do, and we are focusing on areas of the country with the greatest challenges and fewest opportunities, including investing £72 million in 12 Opportunity Areas.
‘Unlocking Talent, Fulfilling Potential’, published on 14 December 2017, is the department’s national strategy for tackling social mobility through education. It sets out our key ambitions to improve outcomes at every life phase and across the whole country to ensure opportunity for everyone. ‘Unlocking Talent, Fulfilling Potential’, attached, can also be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/improving-social-mobility-through-education.
Asked by: Lord Bird (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
Her Majesty's Government how many, and what proportion of, schools in the UK have a library; and how they assess the quality of such libraries and their staff.
Answered by Lord Nash
School libraries play an important role in encouraging pupils to read for pleasure. We believe that it should be for schools to decide whether to provide and maintain a library service for their pupils.
Head teachers do recognise the role libraries can play in improving young people’s literacy, and ensure that suitable library facilities are provided. It is also up to schools to decide how they run their library. While many head teachers, especially those in secondary schools, choose to employ a qualified librarian, this is not a statutory requirement.
We do not collect data on school library provision. However, the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) indicated in 2011 that 92% of pupils in Year 5 in England were attending a school where there was a library. This was above the international average of 86%.
Asked by: Lord Bird (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
Her Majesty's Government whether they will ensure that every school has an adequate library with qualified staff.
Answered by Lord Nash
School libraries play an important role in encouraging pupils to read for pleasure. We believe that it should be for schools to decide whether to provide and maintain a library service for their pupils.
Head teachers do recognise the role libraries can play in improving young people’s literacy, and ensure that suitable library facilities are provided. It is also up to schools to decide how they run their library. While many head teachers, especially those in secondary schools, choose to employ a qualified librarian, this is not a statutory requirement.
We do not collect data on school library provision. However, the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) indicated in 2011 that 92% of pupils in Year 5 in England were attending a school where there was a library. This was above the international average of 86%.