Asked by: Baroness Brown of Silvertown (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of (a) vacancy levels and (b) workforce turnover rates for (i) digital lecturers and (ii) other specialist teachers at further education colleges in London on the (A) quality and (B) accessibility of courses requiring specialist instruction.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Further education (FE) teachers are pivotal to the delivery of great student outcomes and to training the next generation of skilled workers to help boost productivity and drive national economic growth.
The department works closely with the sector to continually review the evidence around the impact of workforce supply and demand. The department knows the FE sector will need to grow the overall size of its teaching workforce due to the roll-out of T Levels which require more teaching hours, delivery of maths to 18, demographic pressures and the delivery of other important skills reforms.
We are making significant investments to support the recruitment and retention of high-quality teachers, including specialist teachers. The Spending Review 2021 made an extra £1.6 billion available for 16-19 education in the 2024/25 financial year compared with 2021/22. We are investing £125 million of available funds in the2023/24 financial year for 16-19 education to increase the national funding rate by 2.2% from £4,542 to £4,642, and boost specific programme cost weightings by 10%, to support the additional costs of recruiting and retaining specialist teachers in construction, manufacturing, engineering, and digital subject areas.
In addition, Institutions in London and the South East get additional funding through an area cost uplift to address the higher costs of delivering education in this part of England. For example, FE colleges in London attract a 20% uplift (inner London) and a 12% uplift (outer London), to their 16-19 funding allocations.
The adult education budget (AEB) is devolved to the Mayor of London, acting where appropriate through the Greater London Authority. The Mayor is now responsible for the provision of AEB-funded adult education for London residents and allocation of the AEB to providers.
The department is supporting teacher recruitment in the sector through a national campaign to encourage industry professionals to become FE teachers.
We have supported the creation of new, high-quality routes into FE teaching, including a revised Level 5 Learning and Skills Teacher apprenticeship for those planning to work in the FE sector. The department is also providing bursaries worth up to £29,000 each tax-free to support FE teacher training in priority subject areas for the academic year 2023/24. The Taking Teaching Further (TTF) programme has supported around 1,000 industry professionals to train as FE teachers since 2018. In addition, the department is piloting a new £6,000 financial incentive for TTF recruits teaching in some of the most hard-to-fill subject areas, such as digital, construction and the built environment, engineering and manufacturing and maths. Finally, early career support is being offered for teachers in the form of access to a trained mentor through the Teacher Mentoring Programme which was announced in March 2023.
The department will continue to work with the sector to consider options for providing further support so that all learners are able to benefit from high-quality teaching.
Asked by: Baroness Brown of Silvertown (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the (a) quality and (b) accessibility of courses requiring specialist instruction at further education colleges in London on (i) economic growth and (ii) public services.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Further education (FE) teachers are pivotal to the delivery of great student outcomes and to training the next generation of skilled workers to help boost productivity and drive national economic growth.
The department works closely with the sector to continually review the evidence around the impact of workforce supply and demand. The department knows the FE sector will need to grow the overall size of its teaching workforce due to the roll-out of T Levels which require more teaching hours, delivery of maths to 18, demographic pressures and the delivery of other important skills reforms.
We are making significant investments to support the recruitment and retention of high-quality teachers, including specialist teachers. The Spending Review 2021 made an extra £1.6 billion available for 16-19 education in the 2024/25 financial year compared with 2021/22. We are investing £125 million of available funds in the2023/24 financial year for 16-19 education to increase the national funding rate by 2.2% from £4,542 to £4,642, and boost specific programme cost weightings by 10%, to support the additional costs of recruiting and retaining specialist teachers in construction, manufacturing, engineering, and digital subject areas.
In addition, Institutions in London and the South East get additional funding through an area cost uplift to address the higher costs of delivering education in this part of England. For example, FE colleges in London attract a 20% uplift (inner London) and a 12% uplift (outer London), to their 16-19 funding allocations.
The adult education budget (AEB) is devolved to the Mayor of London, acting where appropriate through the Greater London Authority. The Mayor is now responsible for the provision of AEB-funded adult education for London residents and allocation of the AEB to providers.
The department is supporting teacher recruitment in the sector through a national campaign to encourage industry professionals to become FE teachers.
We have supported the creation of new, high-quality routes into FE teaching, including a revised Level 5 Learning and Skills Teacher apprenticeship for those planning to work in the FE sector. The department is also providing bursaries worth up to £29,000 each tax-free to support FE teacher training in priority subject areas for the academic year 2023/24. The Taking Teaching Further (TTF) programme has supported around 1,000 industry professionals to train as FE teachers since 2018. In addition, the department is piloting a new £6,000 financial incentive for TTF recruits teaching in some of the most hard-to-fill subject areas, such as digital, construction and the built environment, engineering and manufacturing and maths. Finally, early career support is being offered for teachers in the form of access to a trained mentor through the Teacher Mentoring Programme which was announced in March 2023.
The department will continue to work with the sector to consider options for providing further support so that all learners are able to benefit from high-quality teaching.
Asked by: Baroness Brown of Silvertown (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of resource levels for further education colleges in London on the (i) recruitment and (ii) retention of (A) digital lecturers and (B) other specialist teachers.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Further education (FE) teachers are pivotal to the delivery of great student outcomes and to training the next generation of skilled workers to help boost productivity and drive national economic growth.
The department works closely with the sector to continually review the evidence around the impact of workforce supply and demand. The department knows the FE sector will need to grow the overall size of its teaching workforce due to the roll-out of T Levels which require more teaching hours, delivery of maths to 18, demographic pressures and the delivery of other important skills reforms.
We are making significant investments to support the recruitment and retention of high-quality teachers, including specialist teachers. The Spending Review 2021 made an extra £1.6 billion available for 16-19 education in the 2024/25 financial year compared with 2021/22. We are investing £125 million of available funds in the2023/24 financial year for 16-19 education to increase the national funding rate by 2.2% from £4,542 to £4,642, and boost specific programme cost weightings by 10%, to support the additional costs of recruiting and retaining specialist teachers in construction, manufacturing, engineering, and digital subject areas.
In addition, Institutions in London and the South East get additional funding through an area cost uplift to address the higher costs of delivering education in this part of England. For example, FE colleges in London attract a 20% uplift (inner London) and a 12% uplift (outer London), to their 16-19 funding allocations.
The adult education budget (AEB) is devolved to the Mayor of London, acting where appropriate through the Greater London Authority. The Mayor is now responsible for the provision of AEB-funded adult education for London residents and allocation of the AEB to providers.
The department is supporting teacher recruitment in the sector through a national campaign to encourage industry professionals to become FE teachers.
We have supported the creation of new, high-quality routes into FE teaching, including a revised Level 5 Learning and Skills Teacher apprenticeship for those planning to work in the FE sector. The department is also providing bursaries worth up to £29,000 each tax-free to support FE teacher training in priority subject areas for the academic year 2023/24. The Taking Teaching Further (TTF) programme has supported around 1,000 industry professionals to train as FE teachers since 2018. In addition, the department is piloting a new £6,000 financial incentive for TTF recruits teaching in some of the most hard-to-fill subject areas, such as digital, construction and the built environment, engineering and manufacturing and maths. Finally, early career support is being offered for teachers in the form of access to a trained mentor through the Teacher Mentoring Programme which was announced in March 2023.
The department will continue to work with the sector to consider options for providing further support so that all learners are able to benefit from high-quality teaching.
Asked by: Baroness Brown of Silvertown (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the effect of underage vaping on children’s (a) concentration and (b) attainment at school.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Schools are required by law to have a behaviour policy that sets out what is expected of all pupils, including what items are banned from school premises.
Schools have the autonomy to decide which items should be banned from their premises, and these can include e-cigarettes or vapes. School staff can search pupils for banned items, as outlined in the Department’s ‘Searching, screening and confiscation at school’ guidance, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/searching-screening-and-confiscation.
The relationships and sex education and health education statutory guidance states that, in both primary and secondary school, pupils should be taught the facts about legal and illegal harmful substances and associated risks, including smoking, alcohol use, and drug-taking.
To support schools to deliver this content effectively, the Department has published a suite of teacher training modules, including one on drugs, alcohol and tobacco, which makes specific reference to e-cigarettes and vaping.
Asked by: Baroness Brown of Silvertown (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of facilitating access to home student finance to support UK national students who have been evacuated from Sudan and who are unable to continue higher education that they had been pursuing in that country to continue their higher education at UK institutions.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The department knows that UK national students will be concerned about any disruption to their education as a result of the conflict in Sudan.
British nationals are considered settled in the UK and will be eligible to apply for home fee status and student support once they hold three years ordinary residence in the UK prior to the start of any higher education (HE) course. This requirement ensures that the support provided by the taxpayer is targeted at those who have a substantial and recent connection with the UK.
There is no discretion to waive the three-year ordinary residence requirement. Student Finance England will consider on a case-by-case basis whether a period of absence affects a person’s ordinary residence.
To allow flexibility in dealing with the circumstances of individual applicants, HE providers can waive or reduce fees where they consider it appropriate to do so. The onus would be on individual applicants to provide a compelling and persuasive case to their individual university which would warrant the exercise of this discretion in their favour.
Asked by: Baroness Brown of Silvertown (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what comparative assessment her Department has made of the impact of the 16 to 19 Bursary Fund with the Educational Maintenance Allowance on social mobility.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) ceased in England a number of years ago. The government made the decision to discontinue the EMA as evidence showed that it was poorly targeted and wasteful in supporting financially disadvantaged young people to stay in education beyond the age of 16. The EMA was paid to 45 per cent of all 16 to 18-year-olds in further education, but survey evidence found that only around one in ten of those who received EMA said that they would not be able to participate without it.
The 16 to 19 Bursary Fund targets those young people most in need of financial support to stay on in further education and training. The bulk of the funding is allocated to institutions who are responsible for ensuring that these funds go to those who need them. Bursaries of up to £1,200 per year are also available to specific vulnerable groups.
An independent impact evaluation looking at the change from the EMA to the 16-19 Bursary Fund was commissioned by the government and published in 2015. This can be found at:: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/evaluation-of-the-16-to-19-bursary-fund-year-1-report.
For the 2022/23 academic year the department has increased the Bursary Fund by over £9 million from £134,352,473 to £143,691,863. This will help with the increasing costs of attending education, and we are keeping this situation under review.
Asked by: Baroness Brown of Silvertown (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of abolishing the Educational Maintenance Allowance on social mobility.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) ceased in England a number of years ago. The government made the decision to discontinue the EMA as evidence showed that it was poorly targeted and wasteful in supporting financially disadvantaged young people to stay in education beyond the age of 16. The EMA was paid to 45 per cent of all 16 to 18-year-olds in further education, but survey evidence found that only around one in ten of those who received EMA said that they would not be able to participate without it.
The 16 to 19 Bursary Fund targets those young people most in need of financial support to stay on in further education and training. The bulk of the funding is allocated to institutions who are responsible for ensuring that these funds go to those who need them. Bursaries of up to £1,200 per year are also available to specific vulnerable groups.
An independent impact evaluation looking at the change from the EMA to the 16-19 Bursary Fund was commissioned by the government and published in 2015. This can be found at:: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/evaluation-of-the-16-to-19-bursary-fund-year-1-report.
For the 2022/23 academic year the department has increased the Bursary Fund by over £9 million from £134,352,473 to £143,691,863. This will help with the increasing costs of attending education, and we are keeping this situation under review.