Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will reverse the decision not to include speed skating as an option available in A-level PE for the current academic year.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The subject content for GCSE and A-level PE was revised in 2015 to address concerns that the previous GCSE and A level courses were not of comparable rigor to other subjects, did not provide suitable progression and had led to inequalities in assessment.
As part of these revisions, the activity list was reviewed to ensure that all activities could be assessed reliably, were of comparable demand amongst pupils, and were manageable for schools to assess. The inclusion or non-inclusion of sports does not represent a view on the legitimacy or value of the activity.
The government will review the activity list in autumn 2018, following the first examinations next summer. We will agree this process with the exam boards and announce details closer to the time.
Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when her Department plans to publish the safeguarding strategy for unaccompanied children, announced in November 2016.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 7 September 2017 to Question 6376 :
Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when her Department plans to publish the safeguarding strategy for unaccompanied children, announced in November 2016.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 7 September 2017 to Question 6376 :
Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her oral contribution on 14 December 2016, Official Report, column 797, whether the commitment to protect the pupil premium at current rates throughout the remainder of the current Parliament means protecting that premium in real terms.
Answered by Edward Timpson
We confirmed at the spending review in November 2015 that the pupil premium would be protected at current rates until 2019-20. This means for each eligible primary school pupil, schools will receive £1,320 and for each eligible secondary school pupil, schools will receive £935. More information can be found in the pupil premium conditions of grant, a published guidance document available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-conditions-of-grant-2016-to-2017/pupil-premium-2016-to-2017-conditions-of-grant.
Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of children obtained five or more GCSEs including mathematics and English at Grade A* to C at (a) non-selective schools in selective areas and (b) comprehensive schools in the latest year for which data is available.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government’s main measures of secondary school performance are now Progress 8, Attainment 8, Ebacc achievement and entry and pupils achieving a Good Pass in Maths and English. Progress 8 will be used to identify schools beneath the floor. The latest statistics are available in the ‘GCSE and equivalent results: 2015 to 2016 (provisional) in England’ National Statistics release[1].
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/gcse-and-equivalent-results-2015-to-2016-provisional
Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of pupils at grammar schools obtained five or more GCSEs including mathematics and English at Grade A* to C at in the latest year for which data is available.
Answered by Nick Gibb
In 2016, 97.1 per cent of pupils at grammar schools achieved five or more GCSEs at grade A* to C including English and mathematics.
However, the Government’s main measures of secondary school performance are now Progress 8, Attainment 8, Ebacc achievement and entry and pupils achieving a Good Pass in mathematics and English. Progress 8 will be used to identify schools beneath the floor. The latest statistics are available in the ‘GCSE and equivalent results: 2015 to 2016 (provisional) in England’ National Statistics release[1].
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/gcse-and-equivalent-results-2015-to-2016-provisional
Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of pupils at maintained comprehensive schools achieved five A*-C grade GCSEs including mathematics and English in each of the last five years.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Information on the proportion of pupils at maintained comprehensive schools achieving five A* to C grade GCSEs and five A*-C grade GCSEs including mathematics and English, is published at national level for each of the last 5 years as part of the “GCSE and equivalent results in England: statistical first release” series[1].
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-gcses-key-stage-4 (main national tables, table 3 2010/11, table 3b 2011/12-2014/15)
Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of pupils at maintained comprehensive schools achieved five A*-C grade GCSEs in each of the last five years.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Information on the proportion of pupils at maintained comprehensive schools achieving five A* to C grade GCSEs and five A*-C grade GCSEs including mathematics and English, is published at national level for each of the last 5 years as part of the “GCSE and equivalent results in England: statistical first release” series[1].
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-gcses-key-stage-4 (main national tables, table 3 2010/11, table 3b 2011/12-2014/15)
Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what arrangements are in place to ensure that the pupil premium for service children is used for its intended purposes.
Answered by David Laws
Headteachers are responsible for selecting the most appropriate interventions to support their service pupils, including pastoral support or interventions to improve attainment.
They are held accountable for the use of this additional funding in two ways. Firstly, through the Ofsted inspection framework where inspectors focus on the attainment of different groups of pupils, including those who attract the service premium. Secondly, schools are required to publish online how much service pupil premium funding they receive, how it is spent and the impact it has made.
Asked by: Lord Coaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the pupil premium is available for pre-school children from service families; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by David Laws
The pupil premium and the service children premium are additional resources provided to maintained schools and academies in England to support the education of 4-16 year-olds who meet the eligibility requirements.
The Government has announced that a new early years pupil premium, worth £50 million, will be introduced from April 2015. It will give disadvantaged three- and four-year-old children better access to quality early education which evidence shows can have a major impact on their school readiness. The Government will consult later this year on how best to implement these proposals.