International Women’s Day
Lord Singh of Wimbledon Excerpts(3 years, 1 month ago)
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Lord Singh of Wimbledon (CB) [V]
My Lords, the Covid pandemic has highlighted the disadvantage suffered by women in balancing the needs of childcare, home schooling and managing the home while working unsociable hours and contributing to the family income. There seems to be a curious belief that social improvement can be brought about by impressive declarations and by appointing commissions, but such displays of commitment do little to tackle the root causes of social discrimination, including continuing discrimination against women throughout the world.
Before we can cure a malady, we need to look at its cause. We should look particularly at the role of religious texts in putting forward negative attitudes towards women. Eve is blamed for the expulsion of the innocent Adam from the garden of Eden. An ayatollah in Iran suggests that women have smaller brains than men. Marriage vows remind us that women must obey. In other texts, evidence, laws and rights to property disadvantage women. Despite Sikh teachings of the full equality of women, negative subcontinental attitudes towards women percolate into some Sikh homes.
I was over the moon when, while living in India, I became the proud father of a beautiful girl. A Sikh neighbour offered congratulations, adding, “Never mind, it will be a boy next time.” I was not then the mild-mannered individual that I am today and I was almost tempted to punch him in the face. Does the Minister agree, as the noble Lord, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, did earlier in the week, that for real progress on gender equality we need to look at attitudes towards women embedded in religious texts in the context of today’s times? Although some of the negative attitudes are a distinct improvement on the society of hundreds of years ago, they are miles from full gender equality.
A Christian verse reminds us:
“New occasions teach new duties; Time makes ancient good uncouth;
They must upward still, and onward, who would keep abreast of Truth”.
In looking at religious texts in the context of today’s times, we should also look at words such as “heathen” or “kaffir”—negative attitudes towards other people and women are not the word of God.
Schools: Online Learning
Lord Singh of Wimbledon Excerpts(3 years, 3 months ago)
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Baroness Berridge (Con)
My Lord, as well as the priority of getting children back into school as soon as possible, obviously, we want them to be taking part in those kinds of activities, and physical education was a key part of the guidance. DCMS has given £16.5 million to a Youth Covid-19 Support Fund to support grass-roots and national youth organisations at this time.
Lord Singh of Wimbledon (CB) [V]
My Lords, while open discussion in the classroom motivates the majority of pupils, it can also induce reticence in slower learners. Does the Minister agree that, given the necessary resources, remote learning without the pressure of competition can help slower learners and SEN pupils to progress at their own pace? Does she also agree that, despite best efforts, tailored classes will be necessary after the lockdown to meet the catch-up needs of those who have not had full access to resources and support?
Baroness Berridge (Con)
My Lords, in relation to SEND pupils, we have given additional funding to the national Star Academies to make sure that through the peer-to-peer support for schools they have the best practice to share. Yes, the effects of remote learning are quite disparate, and there are certain pupils who may have been distracted by pupils in the classroom whom teachers report are engaging better, but it is not a standard picture. We recognise that catch-up will have to be individualised for pupils. Schools know those pupils best, which is why £650 million is going out to schools.
Covid-19: Disparate Impact
Lord Singh of Wimbledon Excerpts(3 years, 6 months ago)
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Baroness Berridge (Con)
My Lords, we are working closely with the Office for National Statistics and analysts from PHE. I will have to check with them and will write to the noble Baroness in relation to the specific data, which I have to confess I was not aware was out in that form and then not out in that form.
Lord Singh of Wimbledon (CB) [V]
My Lords, the Statement does little to address the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on minority communities. We already know that ethnic differences linked to diet and lifestyle are important, alongside other causal factors emanating from racism, including crowded housing and economic disparities, leading to a preponderance of black and ethnic minorities in poorly paid jobs in hospitals, the care sector and other overexposed front-line services. Does the Minister agree that the Government should do more to focus on already clear areas of disadvantage, rather than spend millions on more and more costly academic research into the glaringly obvious?
Baroness Berridge (Con)
My Lords, I hope that I have been clear that what is glaringly obvious is the disparities. The answer to the next question, which is why there are those disparities, is not so glaringly obvious, and we must be careful not to jump to conclusions. As I said, they are partly explained by comorbidities—pre-existing health conditions—but that does not explain them fully. Some of them are explained by socioeconomic and geographical factors. That is why we have issued guidance on multigenerational households and areas of population density where people cannot socially distance properly. However, that does not fully explain the picture. For instance, a British black African man is 2.5 times more likely to die of Covid, but a British black Caribbean man is only 1.7 times more likely to die of Covid. Therefore, unfortunately, there are still gaps in understanding, not of the fact that there are disparities but of what is causing them. Unless we know that, we cannot address them.
Covid-19: Catch-up Premium
Lord Singh of Wimbledon Excerpts(3 years, 6 months ago)
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Baroness Berridge (Con)
My Lords, the Government already give £9 million to fund holiday activities. In relation to the catch-up fund, Teach First is one of the delivery partners which are recruiting the mentors who will go to schools in our most disadvantaged areas to provide a mentor, or maybe more than one, per school. I anticipate that Teach First will be recruiting just the type of person my noble friend outlines.
Lord Singh of Wimbledon (CB) [V]
My Lords, if properly used, the pupil premium can make a huge difference to an individual’s life chances once they are in school. Does the Minister agree that, for maximum impact, it is equally important for parents and carers to be encouraged, and helped if necessary, to boost the attendance, self-esteem and aspirations of those from disadvantaged backgrounds?
Baroness Berridge (Con)
We all know the importance of parents’ aspirations for their children. Of course, we also want to make sure that disadvantaged students are given every assistance, so £2.4 billion is given in pupil premium, but the Education Endowment Foundation also makes available to schools the best research on how to spend that money effectively.
Social Mobility
Lord Singh of Wimbledon Excerpts(3 years, 6 months ago)
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Lord Singh of Wimbledon (CB) [V]
My Lords, the report of the Social Mobility Commission usefully reminds us that widespread social disadvantage can be successfully countered by carefully tailored interventions. Does the Minister agree that a school ethos that encourages aspiration, such as that of the Guru Nanak Academy in Hayes, which has well above average results in GCSEs and A-levels, despite pupils coming mostly from a deprived background, is also important in enhancing life chances?
Baroness Berridge (Con)
My Lords, yes, the report highlights how important education is, but says that it is not the only factor, particularly in areas with great disparity in household income. I agree with the noble Lord on the ethos in schools. That is why, in addition to the opportunity areas, a specific school programme called Opportunity North East is being run by the department, focused on secondary schools in the north-east, where we see that primary school attainment is around the national average, but it drops off at secondary school, so we are intervening directly in schools as well.
Education: A-level Results
Lord Singh of Wimbledon Excerpts(3 years, 7 months ago)
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Baroness Berridge (Con)
My Lords, every Tuesday, the department publishes attendance data. As of yesterday, nearly 88% of students in state-funded schools and institutions were in school. The guidance published before the summer holidays made it clear to schools that by the end of this month they must be able to stand up remote education in the eventuality that pupils are sent home in these circumstances. We are working with Ofqual, which is looking at the arrangements for next year’s examinations.
Lord Singh of Wimbledon (CB) [V]
My Lords, the algorithm for predicting A-level results this summer was clearly too harsh, leading to overcompensation using teacher predictions and subsequent difficulty finding college and university places in subjects such as medicine. If the physical sitting of exams again proves impossible this summer, will the Minister ensure that the timetable for publishing results allows more time for the better matching of teacher and improved algorithm predictions with the availability of places in higher education?
Baroness Berridge (Con)
My Lords, on the important issue of the placing of students—particularly for A-levels, which are more often progression exams—the noble Lord will be aware that the Government, working closely with higher education institutions, lifted the cap on certain courses to raise capacity. The most recent figures are that 89% of students who received a grade increase have got their original offer, their insurance offer or an offer at an institution with the same tariff as their original offer.
Education Settings: Autumn Opening
Lord Singh of Wimbledon Excerpts(3 years, 10 months ago)
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Lord Singh of Wimbledon (CB) [V]
My Lords, while we welcome the reopening of schools, careful planning will be necessary to maximise safety. Will the Minister consider a two-shift system, with shorter hours and fewer children in a class to maximise the safety of children and teachers? Will she also ensure the safety and protection of BAME children and teachers, who have an additional risk factor and the additional risk of passing the virus on to their often-crowded families? Particular care is necessary in faith schools, where the majority of students and teachers may be from the BAME community. Will the Minister’s department consider the additional departmental guidance on social distancing and other measures to help to reduce risk? Is she or her department aware of the excellent work done in this direction by the Guru Nanak school in Hayes, which has been recognised by the local education authority?
Baroness Berridge
My Lords, the guidance outlines that full classes can be brought back in September, so it is not anticipated that schools will need to use any kind of shift system like the noble Lord outlined. The guidance talks specifically about the BAME issue. There will be other vulnerable groups, such as staff and pupils who have been shielding. The guidance on who will re-enter educational settings will change on 1 August. We entrust school leaders, who do risk assessments for many purposes in ordinary times, to carry out the risk assessments. The guidance encourages them to make appropriate changes where they can to help and to reassure those who are to be reintroduced into school. It is a pleasure in my role to have good experience of schools drawn to my attention. I had cause to write to the Nishkam Sikh school recently about its response to coronavirus.