Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of non-curriculum activities on the teaching of the core curriculum in state schools in England.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The department has made no specific assessment on this matter as it is up to schools themselves to decide how to organise curricular and non-curricular activities.
All schools have to provide a broad and balanced curriculum. Ofsted is currently consulting on proposals for a new inspection framework which has a strong emphasis on curriculm, alongside a focus on pupils’ personal development and extra-curricular opportunities.
The attached table, taken from the School workforce in England 2017 publication, indicates that in state funded secondary schools the proportion of all teaching time spent on core subjects has increased.
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the Prime Minister’s comments at the PinkNews Awards on 18 October, what steps they are taking to ensure that “LGBT issues are taught well” in English schools; and at what age groups such lessons will be aimed.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
Schools are bound by the Equality Act 2010, including the Public Sector Equality Duty 2011, to ensure that teaching is accessible to all children and young people, including those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender.
All schools should make provision for high quality, age appropriate personal, social, economic and health education, which includes Relationships and Sex Education (RSE). When teaching RSE, all secondary schools, including academies through their funding agreement, must have regard to the Sex and Relationship Education guidance attached.
The government is making the teaching of Relationships Education in primary schools and RSE in secondary schools mandatory through regulations. The department has begun a process of engagement and will be working with teachers, parents, safeguarding experts and others to develop age-appropriate subject content for all key stages. This process will support the development of the regulations and guidance, both of which are subject to public consultation next year.
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
Her Majesty's Government whether schools or local authorities have the legal power to fine parents of children who are late for school and if so, whether there is the right of appeal through the courts.
Answered by Lord Nash
Schools and local authorities have had the power to issue penalty notices since 2004.
Every local authority must draw up a Code of Conduct for issuing penalty notices, in consultation with governing bodies and head teachers in their area. The Code will set out the occasions when it will be appropriate to issue a penalty notice. This can for example include circumstances where a pupil is persistently late to school without a valid reason. A penalty notice must be issued in accordance with that Code.
There is no formal appeals process where a parent is issued with a penalty notice and they deem this to be incorrect; however, parents can discuss their situation with the local authority and ask for the penalty notice to be withdrawn. If the penalty notice has not been paid in full by end of the 28 day period allowed for payment and if the local authority has not commenced prosecution of the parent and is not contemplating doing so, it must withdraw the penalty notice.
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Nash on 24 November (HL3233) concerning EU information to schools and other educational establishments, what action they plan to take to monitor and enforce the requirement for balanced treatment in educational establishments of political issues, including the UK's membership of the EU.
Answered by Lord Nash
All schools are required to teach about political issues in a balanced way. Sections 406 and 407 of the Education Act 1996 require maintained schools to prevent political indoctrination and ensure the balanced treatment of political issues. Academies have parallel requirements through their funding agreements, and independent schools have parallel requirements through the independent school standards.
As part of Ofsted school inspections, inspectors will consider the breadth and balance of a school’s curriculum, the quality of teaching and how the school promotes pupils’ acceptance and engagement with the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance for those with different beliefs. If inspectors identify that provision for pupils is unbalanced, including in relation to political matters, this will be reflected in the outcome of the inspection.
If anyone has a concern that a schools is failing in a duty they can take this up through the school’s complaints procedure and if they are not satisfied, escalate the complaint to the Secretary of State who has powers to intervene if schools are failing to comply with legal requirements.
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Nash on 9 November (HL2741), whether they intend to provide schools and other educational establishments with information about the benefits of Brexit.
Answered by Lord Nash
The Department for Education does not send political material to schools: it is up to schools to decide what teaching material to use, tailored to their pupils’ needs. Schools are required by the Education Act 1996 to ensure the balanced treatment of political issues, including the UK’s membership of the European Union.
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, following the vote to leave the EU, what action they are taking to ensure that for so long as EU information continues to be provided to schools and other educational establishments it is properly balanced in accordance with statutory requirements.
Answered by Lord Nash
Sections 406 and 407 of the Education Act 1996 require schools to prevent political indoctrination and ensure the balanced treatment of political issues, including the UK’s membership of the European Union. Schools are aware of these requirements, and it is up to schools to understand their pupils’ needs and tailor their teaching accordingly.
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to examine material provided by the EU to UK schools and other educational establishments to ensure that it is appropriate in the light of Brexit.
Answered by Lord Nash
Sections 406 and 407 of the Education Act 1996 require schools to prevent political indoctrination and ensure the balanced treatment of political issues, including the UK’s membership of the European Union. Schools are aware of these requirements, and it is up to schools to understand their pupils’ needs and tailor their teaching accordingly.
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Nash on 17 March concerning the number of male teachers in state schools (HL6877), what evidence they have of the effect of the ratio of male teachers in primary and secondary schools on male students, specifically on deprived white male students.
Answered by Lord Nash
Research published by the Department for Education and Skills in 2007 suggests that the gender of the teacher does not have a measurable impact on pupils’ educational outcomes. This publication is attached and available at: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130401151715/http://www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/00389-2007BKT-EN.pdf
The Government’s recent White Paper, Educational Excellence Everywhere, sets out our proposed reforms to teacher training and recruitment to ensure there are enough good teachers in every school, with the focus being on building a talented and diverse workforce.
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress they are making to increase the number of male teachers in state primary and secondary schools; and whether the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 are being observed in all teaching appointments to those schools.
Answered by Lord Nash
The Government values diversity in the workforce and we want the best and brightest people in the classroom, regardless of their gender. The quality of teaching is the single most important factor in determining how well pupils achieve and we want to see more great teachers in England’s schools.
Between 2011/12 and 2014/15, the number of male teachers (FTE) has increased from 115,000 to over 119,000. In 2014/15, 26 per cent of teachers in publicly funded schools in England were male; this proportion has remained broadly stable over time.
The proportion of entrants to primary postgraduate initial teacher training (ITT) in 2015/16 that are male is 22 per cent, an increase of 2 percentage points since 2010/11. The proportion of entrants to secondary postgraduate ITT courses in 2015/16 that are male is 40 per cent, an increase of 2 percentage points since 2010/11. 34 per cent of entrants to School Direct (salaried) scheme in 2015/16 are male.
It is the responsibility of schools and employers to comply with the requirements of the Equality Act 2010.
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 10 February (HL5715), whether they now intend to legislate to allow heterosexuals to form civil partnerships, and if not, why not.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
The Noble Lord wrote to me on this topic previously (HL5715). As I previously said:
In 2014, after the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 was passed, the government carried out a review of the operation and future of the Civil Partnership Act 2004, including a thorough public consultation on potential changes to civil partnership. Views were invited on three options: Abolishing, or phasing out civil partnerships; or extending them to opposite sex couples.
The review found that there was no clear consensus on the future of civil partnerships. A majority of respondents to the consultation were against extending civil partnerships to opposite sex couples and several important organisations thought it was too soon to consider making changes to civil partnerships until the impact of extending marriage to same sex couples is known. Given the lack of any consensus the Government has no current plans to make changes to the Civil Partnership Act 2004.
On 29 January 2016 the High Court dismissed a legal challenge to the lack of availability of civil partnerships to opposite sex couples. The Court ruled unequivocally that the current regime of marriage and civil partnership does not disadvantage anyone nor does it infringe anyone’s right to family or private life. We also welcome the Court’s view that it is entirely reasonable for the Government to wait to see the impact of extending marriage to same sex couples before deciding on the way forward.