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Written Question
Universities: Admissions
Monday 13th February 2023

Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of barriers for young white males from poorer backgrounds in securing places at university.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Access to higher education (HE) should be based on a student’s attainment and their ability to succeed, rather than background.

In November 2021, the department issued guidance to the Office for Students (OfS), asking it to refocus the access and participation regime to create a system that supports young people from disadvantaged backgrounds throughout their education. This includes white working-class boys who continue to see lower entry rates than students from other ethnic groups, and from higher income households.

The OfS is working closely with providers to ensure a focus on delivering social justice by making getting on at university as important as getting in, and specifically on activities which have a direct impact on student attainment. Providers are also being encouraged to offer a greater array of pathways into HE, including more vocational and technical courses, and degree apprenticeships, so that more students can identify opportunities that match career ambitions, and so that employers can access the skills they need.

A large number of HE providers have drafted variations to their current access and participation plans to be implemented from September 2023. This will be followed by a full rewrite of their plans in line with these new priorities.


Written Question
Overseas Students: Ukraine
Thursday 22nd December 2022

Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what guidance they have issued to (1) universities, and (2) colleges, on what help they provide to Ukrainian students in their studies.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department is grateful to the higher and further education sectors for their extremely positive response in offering significant support to Ukrainian students and universities.

The Office for Students, the higher education regulator in England, has published information for providers on the crisis in Ukraine, which can be found here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/regulation/information-for-providers-on-the-crisis-in-ukraine. The department has also published guidance for colleges, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/helping-ukrainian-students-in-schools.

The department continues to work closely with the Ukrainian Ministry of Education and Science, and universities and colleges in England to ensure that students who are affected by the war in Ukraine are supported, and have a range of options available to them during this difficult time.


Written Question
Service Industries: Apprentices
Monday 24th October 2022

Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the standards of degree apprenticeships being provided for students in the service industries.

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 her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses when it is available.


Written Question
Universities
Monday 25th October 2021

Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the tables published by different UK organisations ranking universities, and (2) the availability of independent oversight or verification of the accuracy of such tables.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

There is a variety of ranking systems and information sources which are published independently of government which are not verified. The Higher Education Statistics Agency (the designated data body for England), collects and makes openly available standardised data about UK higher education providers, so that it can be re-used by third parties.

The government’s focus is on ensuring all higher education providers deliver a high-quality academic experience. ‘Discover Uni’ is owned and operated by the UK higher education funding and regulatory bodies and is an official, reliable source of information to guide student choices. The Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework is the Office for Student’s scheme for rating the quality of higher education in England, as part of its wider quality regime to help ensure all students benefit from high-quality provision.


Written Question
Teachers: Training
Monday 25th January 2021

Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment, if any, they have made of new religious teachers across different faith groups in England and Wales being assessed and trained through internal monitoring; and whether they consider this self-regulation adequate.

Answered by Baroness Berridge

Providing the best possible initial teacher training (ITT) is at the heart of the government’s drive to improve teaching standards. In order to be awarded qualified teacher status (QTS) for all subjects and phases, including Religious Education, trainees must demonstrate that they have met the Teachers’ Standards (2011), which include a requirement that they demonstrate good subject and curriculum knowledge, and do not undermine fundamental British values, such as tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.

It is for accredited ITT providers who deliver teacher training to use their professional judgement to design and deliver the courses, but they must ensure that the content, structure, and assessment of programmes are designed to enable trainee teachers to meet all the Teachers’ Standards for QTS across the age range of training. This includes Religious Education. The mandatory ITT criteria sets out the requirements that ITT providers must adhere to in order to remain compliant, this can be accessed here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/initial-teacher-training-criteria/initial-teacher-training-itt-criteria-and-supporting-advice#c21-programmes.

Accredited ITT providers have full discretion in assessing trainee ability to meet the Teachers’ Standards and recommending QTS. ITT providers must ensure that no trainee teacher is recommended for the award of QTS until they have met all the standards. Furthermore, Ofsted is responsible for testing the quality of teacher training and currently 100% of ITT providers are rated good or outstanding.

In addition, the performance of Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) is assessed frequently throughout their induction period. The Appropriate Body (AB) has the main quality assurance role within the induction process and makes the final decision as to whether an NQT continues to meet the Teachers’ Standards (based on the headteacher / principal’s recommendation). Further information about ABs and the induction period for NQTs is set out at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/923070/Statutory_Induction_Guidance_2019.pdf.


Written Question
Coventry University
Tuesday 14th January 2020

Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the benefits to Coventry University of having, in addition to the vice-chancellor, five deputy vice-chancellors, eight pro-vice-chancellors and seven assistant pro-vice-chancellors.

Answered by Baroness Berridge

Effective management of a university and meeting the demands of high-quality teaching, research and delivering quality outcomes for students is a complex task. Decisions on the structure of leadership teams or the job titles within any institutional hierarchy are an issue of institutional autonomy. However, students and taxpayers all contribute to our higher education system, and rightly expect value for money. We have set up the regulator, the Office for Students (OfS), to regulate the higher education sector and ensure it is delivering real value for money. Where issues with senior staff pay lead to concern, the OfS has power to carry out independent reviews of a provider’s governance to ensure that these arrangements are fit for purpose.


Written Question
Universities: USA
Thursday 25th April 2019

Asked by: Lord Patten (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 29 March (HL14665), whether they have had, or intend to have, discussions with the government of the United States about the possible effects of incidents of cash-for-student places at United States colleges on the mutual standing of higher education institutions between the UK and the United States.

Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

In order to support the standing of our higher education institutions, the UK government regularly engages with other countries to aid the mutual recognition of qualifications. To support this objective, the UK National Recognition Information Centre (UK NARIC) provides expert advice on behalf of the UK government on the comparability of international qualifications with those of the UK. They have close links with their counterparts in countries around the world, including in the US. Our universities and colleges are supported by the UK NARIC service in making decisions on the eligibility of applicants for places in their courses.


Written Question
Universities: USA
Friday 29th March 2019

Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have made any assessment of the impact of cash-for-student-places granted by the University of Southern California and other major US colleagues on the mutual recognition of qualifications and standards with equivalent UK institutions.

Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The UK has a robust system for the recognition of international qualifications. The UK National Recognition Information Centre (UK NARIC) provides expert advice on behalf of the government on the comparability of international qualifications with those of the UK. Our universities and colleges are supported by the UK NARIC service in making decisions on the eligibility of applicants for places in their courses.


Written Question
Faith Schools: Admissions
Wednesday 14th February 2018

Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - 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 23 January (HL4568), why the Department for Education has not collected data about the preferences of parents from different faiths in relation to the schools they choose for their children.

Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton

Schools designated with a religious character are permitted to collect information about parents’ faith in a supplementary application form. Schools that do not have a religious character will not require information about parents’ religious beliefs or practice as this will be irrelevant to their choice of school. Only schools with a religious character might hold this data and so, if collected by the department, this would not provide an accurate picture across all schools.

We do, of course, keep this general approach to the collection of data under constant review.


Written Question
Church Schools: Catholicism
Tuesday 13th February 2018

Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - 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 23 January (HL4566), whether it is their policy to ensure that all Catholic parents are able to educate their children in Catholic schools; and if not, why not.

Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton

The government’s focus is on ensuring we have a diverse education system, which meets the needs of parents and comprises a variety of high performing schools, including Church and faith schools. It will not always be possible, or an effective use of public funds, to meet every parent’s individual needs.

Data published by the Catholic Education Service indicates that pupils in Catholic schools come from a wide variety of backgrounds and in particular include a significant proportion of non-Catholics. See Table 2.2.5 on page 16 of the attached Catholic Education Service’s Digest of 2017 Census Data for Schools and Colleges in England, which is also available at: http://catholiceducation.org.uk/images/CensusDigestEngland2017.pdf.