Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans, if any, they have to review the English Baccalaureate following the recommendations from two former Ofsted Chief Inspectors that it should be discontinued.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The department want all pupils to have opportunities to succeed, irrespective of their background. The English Baccalaureate (Ebacc) is an important part of this.
Research published in August 2017 by the Centre for Longitudinal Studies found that EBacc students had a greater probability of progression to all post 16 educational outcomes. In 2010, just 22% of pupils studied the EBacc at GCSE.
We have made progress, with the proportion of pupils taking the EBacc increasing to 38%, and very significant increases in the take up of science, history and geography. The department is working to increase take-up, especially of languages, by introducing a range of programmes including, for example: the £4.8 million modern foreign languages pedagogy programme, an undergraduate digi-mentoring scheme, and the £10 million Mandarin Excellence Programme. We are encouraged by a 2018 Department for Education survey that found that 73% of parents would advise their child to take a language at GCSE.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether future funding for music education hubs will take account of inflation as well as changes to teachers' pay and pension contributions.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The government believes that music is an important subject and that all pupils should receive a high quality music education, at least up to the age of 14. The subject is compulsory in the national curriculum, and the government is providing funding of over £300 million for music education hubs between 2016 and 2020.
Music education hubs have done excellent work to ensure there is more equitable access to music education. Funding for music education hubs beyond March 2021 will be subject to the 2020 Spending Review.
The department is proud of our National Plan for Music Education, setting an ambitious vision for music education for every child, regardless of their background. We are working to refresh the plan and an announcement on this will be made in due course.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to increase annual funding for music education hubs to £100 million.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The government believes that music is an important subject and that all pupils should receive a high quality music education, at least up to the age of 14. The subject is compulsory in the national curriculum, and the government is providing funding of over £300 million for music education hubs between 2016 and 2020.
Music education hubs have done excellent work to ensure there is more equitable access to music education. Funding for music education hubs beyond March 2021 will be subject to the 2020 Spending Review.
The department is proud of our National Plan for Music Education, setting an ambitious vision for music education for every child, regardless of their background. We are working to refresh the plan and an announcement on this will be made in due course.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what provision is being made for the future of music education hubs; and when plans for the (1) future funding of, and (2) a long-term strategy for, such hubs will be published.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The government believes that music is an important subject and that all pupils should receive a high quality music education, at least up to the age of 14. The subject is compulsory in the national curriculum, and the government is providing funding of over £300 million for music education hubs between 2016 and 2020.
Music education hubs have done excellent work to ensure there is more equitable access to music education. Funding for music education hubs beyond March 2021 will be subject to the 2020 Spending Review.
The department is proud of our National Plan for Music Education, setting an ambitious vision for music education for every child, regardless of their background. We are working to refresh the plan and an announcement on this will be made in due course.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risks for schools of a no-deal Brexit.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The Department is considering all aspects of how exiting the EU might affect schools in England and has well-developed plans for leaving the EU without a deal.
The Department has issued guidance for schools on how to prepare for EU exit, which has been attached and is available from:
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what preparations they have made to ensure that schools are not adversely affected by a no-deal Brexit.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The Department is considering all aspects of how exiting the EU might affect schools in England and has well-developed plans for leaving the EU without a deal.
The Department has issued guidance for schools on how to prepare for EU exit, which is available from:
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made, with Ofsted, in the implementation and training of Her Majesty's Inspectors who are subject specialists.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
This is a matter for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman. I have asked her to write to my noble friend and a copy of her reply will be place in the Libraries of both Houses.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the timeline for the review of the National Plan for Music Education, which currently runs until 2020.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
We have begun preparatory work on the refresh of the National Plan for Music Education, which will be published by 2020.
We are grateful to the many music stakeholders who have already submitted reports and proposals, and are reviewing these closely. A further public announcement will be made soon, setting out our plans to ensure that everyone with an interest in music has the opportunity to contribute.
The government believes that music is an important subject and that all pupils should receive a high quality music education, at least up to age 14. That is why the subject is compulsory in the national curriculum and why the government is providing funding of over £300 million for music education hubs between 2016 and 2020. The national curriculum does not apply in academies, but all state-funded schools have to provide a broad and balanced curriculum.
In order to ensure all pupils are able to enjoy a high quality music education, we are also developing and publishing a non-statutory model music curriculum for key stages 1 to 3. This will expand on the statutory programmes of study and act as a benchmark for all schools.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Viscount Younger of Leckie on 3 December 2018 (HL11550), what further discussions have taken place between the Department for Education and the Russell Group of universities regarding adding music to their list of facilitating subjects; and what progress has been made in that regard.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
This government recognises the importance of arts subjects, including music. Universities are autonomous from government and consequently control the criteria used to determine admissions. We are aware that the Russell Group, which comprises 24 of the UK’s leading universities, publish guidance designed to assist applicants in identifying the A level subjects most likely to facilitate entry to one of their member universities. From engagement with the Russell Group, we understand they are currently reviewing their guidance.
The ability for students to make informed choices is at the heart of our recent reforms to higher education. We are increasing the information available to students to ensure they can make informed choices about what and where to study.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of GCSE pupils (1) entered, and (2) passed, the English Baccalaureate in (a) 2014, and (b) 2018.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The proportion of pupils entered for the English Baccalaureate (EBacc), and the proportion of pupils who achieved all components, can be found in the table below.
Proportion of pupils entered for the English Baccalaureate (EBacc), and the proportion of pupils who achieved all components | ||||
| Pupils at end key stage 4[1] (All schools[2]) | Pupils at end key stage 4[2] (State-funded schools[3]) | ||
| 2013/14 | 2017/18[4] | 2013/14 | 2017/18[5] |
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Number of pupils | 618,437 | 583,617 | 558,432 | 523,626 |
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|
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Percentage of pupils entered for the EBacc[5]: | 36.3% | 35.2% | 38.7% | 38.4% |
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Percentage of pupils who achieved all | 22.9% | 22.2% | 24.2% | 24.1% |
Source: Key stage 4 and multi-academy trust performance 2018 (revised) series.[7]
[1] Including entries and achievements in previous academic years.
[2] All schools includes state-funded schools, independent schools, independent special schools, non-maintained special schools, hospital schools, pupil referral units and alternative provision. Alternative provision includes academy and free school alternative provision.
[3] State-funded schools include academies, free schools, city technology colleges, further education colleges with provision for 14 to 16 year-olds and state-funded special schools. They exclude independent schools, independent special schools, non-maintained special schools, hospital schools and alternative provision. Alternative provision includes academy and free school alternative provision.
[4] Figures for 2017/18 are revised, all other figures are final.
[5] As a percentage of pupils at the end of key stage 4.
[6] In 2013/14, where the English language and English literature option was chosen in EBacc English, exams in both had to be taken and a C grade or above achieved in English language. From 2017, following the introduction of the reformed 9 to 1 GCSEs in English, exams in both English Language and English Literature had to be taken and a grade 4 or above achieved in either subject. Further 9 to 1 reforms in New GCSEs in other EBacc subjects were phased in from September 2016.
[7] The full Key stage 4 and multi-academy trust performance 2018 (revised) series can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/772852/2018_National_tables.xlsx.