Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that businesses that wish to establish secure transportation services for children and young people have in place behavioural management policies that set out (1) how children and young people’s human rights can be protected; (2) the conditions for the use of restraint during transportation; and (3) the official reporting procedures that are in place in case of restraint being used.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The most recent Prisoner Escort and Custody Services (PECS) procurement process, which covers securely moving both adults and children, commenced in August 2020 and runs for ten years. This contract covers a range of services including secure transportation between prisons, police stations and other named places of detention and courts as well as transportation of prisoners between prison establishments and includes transition moves from the youth to adult estate.
The Criminal Justice Act 1991 (as amended) and section 12 and Schedule 2 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 as amended by the 2007 offender management act, covers staffing requirements for moving children. All suppliers must demonstrate their technical and professional ability to deliver services, including compliance with the Equality Act 2010, as well as a sound economic and financial standing during any procurement process.
Requirements for the supplier to implement behavioural management policies are included within the PECS contract outlines and cover Human rights, where use of restraint may be applicable and a requirement that any use is reported. There is an expectation that mechanical restraints would not be routinely used for children unless a risk assessment confirms they are necessary.
The PECS suppliers are required to adhere to Prison Service Instructions covering the use of restraint, and their Standard Operating Procedures, training and supervision will be structured around these policy documents. Further to this the PECS contract requires suppliers to have a programme of development and refresher training for their staff which includes training for dealing with young people. Suppliers are also required to review any use of force and ensure that any appropriate lessons are learned, shared and implemented.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what official regulatory requirements must be met and demonstrated before an organisation can operate secure transportation services for children and young people.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The most recent Prisoner Escort and Custody Services (PECS) procurement process, which covers securely moving both adults and children, commenced in August 2020 and runs for ten years. This contract covers a range of services including secure transportation between prisons, police stations and other named places of detention and courts as well as transportation of prisoners between prison establishments and includes transition moves from the youth to adult estate.
The Criminal Justice Act 1991 (as amended) and section 12 and Schedule 2 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 as amended by the 2007 offender management act, covers staffing requirements for moving children. All suppliers must demonstrate their technical and professional ability to deliver services, including compliance with the Equality Act 2010, as well as a sound economic and financial standing during any procurement process.
Requirements for the supplier to implement behavioural management policies are included within the PECS contract outlines and cover Human rights, where use of restraint may be applicable and a requirement that any use is reported. There is an expectation that mechanical restraints would not be routinely used for children unless a risk assessment confirms they are necessary.
The PECS suppliers are required to adhere to Prison Service Instructions covering the use of restraint, and their Standard Operating Procedures, training and supervision will be structured around these policy documents. Further to this the PECS contract requires suppliers to have a programme of development and refresher training for their staff which includes training for dealing with young people. Suppliers are also required to review any use of force and ensure that any appropriate lessons are learned, shared and implemented.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what additional support they are providing to further education colleges to assist with meeting the costs associated with the increased number of students who will resit GCSE English and maths in 2023–24 as a result of the return to 2019 standards in the 2023 summer exams.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The higher pass rate of GCSEs in 2020 and 2021 led to a reduction in the proportion of young people required to re-sit English and mathematics in post-16 education in 2020/21 and 2021/22. The department recognised that this did not necessarily mean they had a reduced need for support, in fact they might require additional help in those subjects. The 16-19 Tuition Fund will have helped provide that support. It made available around £420 million additional funding between 2020/21 and 2023/24, with tutoring targeted towards students with low prior attainment and disadvantaged students.
In 2023, GCSE grading returned to pre-pandemic standards, which meant the proportion of 16-year-olds achieving a GCSE grade 4 and above in 2023 was similar to pre-pandemic levels.
The reduction in instances of low prior attainment arising from the GCSE results in 2020 and 2021 has fed into instances of funding for institutions to support low prior attaining students (Disadvantage Block 2) in 2022/23 and 2023/24. To address this issue, the department has increased the Disadvantage Block 2 rate for students with low prior attainment in mathematics or English from £480 in 2021/22, to £504 in allocations for the 2022/23 academic year and £559 for the 2023/24 academic year. This will mean that colleges have significantly more disadvantage funding to support these students than they would otherwise have received.
For the 2023/24 academic year the department has allocated a total of £592 million of disadvantage funding to eligible 16-19 institutions, to support students from disadvantaged economic backgrounds and those who have not yet attained a grade 9 to 4 GCSE or equivalent in mathematics and/or English.
In addition, for 2023/24 the department has allocated £41 million to support the delivery of mathematics and English to those students on substantial level 3 study programmes (including T Levels) who have not yet attained a grade 9 to 4 GCSE or equivalent in either or both of these subjects. In October 2023 the department announced that in future, students retaking English and mathematics GCSE while studying at level 2 or below will attract the same funding as those studying at level 3. This will significantly increase the funding available to institutions to support young people needing to continue with English and mathematics in 2024/25.
The funding to support disadvantage and English and mathematics is in addition to the January 2023 announcement that £125 million would be invested in 16-19 education for 2023/24 financial year, along with the July 2023 announcement of a further investment of £185 million in the 2023/24 financial year and £285 million in the 2024/25 financial year to drive forward skills delivery in the further education sector. These increases will help institutions to manage pressures during this year.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to update the information on their 'Capital funding for free schools, UTCs and studio schools' webpage; and why the webpage has not been updated since February 2020.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department publishes capital costs for all free schools on GOV.UK once all works have been completed and costs are finalised. Given that these can be large and complex projects, this can take some time between first opening and publication. A further batch of costs will be published in due course.
The department also publishes details of all free school construction contracts awarded over £10,000 on Contracts Finder at: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search. In addition, information relating to sites and buildings acquired as part of the free schools programme can be found on the Land Registry. This includes the acquisition and sale price.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government which (1) age group, and (2) other demographic groups, left the teaching profession in the greatest numbers in each of the past five years.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Information on the school workforce in England, including the number and characteristics (age, gender, ethnicity, working pattern and post) of teachers joining and leaving service nationally, is published in the ‘School Workforce in England’ statistical publication, available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.
Leavers are defined as qualified teachers leaving the state funded sector in England, for example due to a change of career or joining other UK education sectors, and those leaving on career breaks such as maternity leave or secondments outside of the school sector. Some of these teachers may rejoin a state funded school in England at a later date.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that (1) teachers, and (2) schools, are supported to enable them to benefit from the provisions of the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Department is taking action to ensure that both teachers and head teachers are supported to benefit from the provisions of the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023.
The Department has published a collection of flexible working resources on GOV.UK, including non-statutory guidance and case studies. This collection will undergo development and the Department will ensure that resources are updated to provide practical support when the provisions of the Act take effect.
The Department is also funding support for teachers and head teachers. A culture change programme is being delivered, focusing on embedding flexible working in schools and multi-academy trusts. This includes the delivery of supportive webinars targeting both teachers and head teachers. The webinars include content focused on preparing for the legislative changes and on how to make a statutory request for flexible working. As part of this programme, the Department is also funding flexible working ambassador schools and multi-academy trusts to provide bespoke peer support to leaders in education. In June, seven new ambassadors were appointed and are currently in the process of recruiting more, building on the work of a previous cohort of ambassador schools.
The Department continues to work closely with the sector to identify and share examples of best practice and to determine how we can best target future support.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what (1) support, and (2) guidance, they are offering to schools to enable them to maximise teacher retention.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Department’s reforms are aimed not only at increasing teacher recruitment in key subjects and areas, through an attractive pay offer and financial incentives such as bursaries, but also at ensuring teachers stay and succeed in the profession.
There are now over 468,000 full time equivalent (FTE) teachers in state funded schools in England, which is an increase of 27,000 (6%) since 2010. This makes it the highest FTE of teachers since the School Workforce Census began in 2010.
The Department accepted in full the School Teachers’ Review Body’s recommendations for the 2023/24 pay award for teachers and head teachers, resulting in a pay award of 6.5%. This is the highest for teachers in over thirty years.
To support retention in the first few years of teaching, the Department has rolled out the Early Career Framework nationally, providing the foundations for a successful career in teaching, with over £130 million a year in funding. Beyond these first few years, the Department’s priority is to help all teachers and head teachers to continuously develop their expertise throughout their careers so every child in every classroom in every school has the best start in life.
The Department has therefore launched a new and updated suite of National Professional Qualifications (NPQs) for teachers and head teachers at all levels, from those who want to develop expertise in high quality teaching practice to those leading multiple schools across trusts. Since autumn 2021, eligible teachers and head teachers have been able to access scholarships to undertake fully funded NPQs.
These measures will create a golden thread running from Initial Teacher Training through to school leadership and rooting teacher and head teacher development in the best available evidence.
The Department has also published a range of resources to help address teacher workload and wellbeing, and therefore support retention, including the Education Staff Wellbeing Charter, which schools are being encouraged to sign up to as a shared commitment to promote staff wellbeing. Developed in partnership with the education sector and mental health experts, the Charter can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/education-staff-wellbeing-charter.
Additionally, a workload reduction toolkit has been developed for schools alongside head teachers and has been published here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/school-workload-reduction-toolkit. On 13 July 2023, the Department also announced that it will convene a Workload Reduction Taskforce to explore how it can go further to support trusts and head teachers to minimise workload for teachers and head teachers by building on previous successes.
The Department is also taking action to promote flexible working in schools. The Department has published supportive resources on GOV.UK, including non statutory guidance and case studies: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/flexible-working-resources-for-teachers-and-schools#guidance-for-flexible-working.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government which applications for foundation body status made under the Education (Foundation Body) (England) Regulations 2000 have not resulted in the establishment of a foundation body.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Department is only aware of one foundation body established under Section 21 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. The Bourne Foundation was established as a body corporate in July 1999 under the Foundation Body Regulations 1999, which were in operation at the time. The Bourne Foundation was subsequently dissolved by Statutory Order, which came into force on 5 January 2017. There have been no applications for foundation body status made under the Education (Foundation Body) (England) Regulations 2000, which replaced the earlier 1999 regulations.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government which foundation bodies established under section 21 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 have now closed.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Department is only aware of one foundation body established under Section 21 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. The Bourne Foundation was established as a body corporate in July 1999 under the Foundation Body Regulations 1999, which were in operation at the time. The Bourne Foundation was subsequently dissolved by Statutory Order, which came into force on 5 January 2017. There have been no applications for foundation body status made under the Education (Foundation Body) (England) Regulations 2000, which replaced the earlier 1999 regulations.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government which foundation bodies have been established under section 21 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Department is only aware of one foundation body established under Section 21 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. The Bourne Foundation was established as a body corporate in July 1999 under the Foundation Body Regulations 1999, which were in operation at the time. The Bourne Foundation was subsequently dissolved by Statutory Order, which came into force on 5 January 2017. There have been no applications for foundation body status made under the Education (Foundation Body) (England) Regulations 2000, which replaced the earlier 1999 regulations.