Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans his Department has to increase the take-up of apprenticeships through university technical colleges.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The University Technical College (UTC) programme has an important role to play in equipping young people with the skills businesses need and getting them into employment and apprenticeships.
The most recent sustained destinations data shows that during 2016-17, 21% of pupils who studied in key stage 5 at a UTC in the previous year, progressed into apprenticeships. This is double any other institution type, and well above the national average of 6%. Three quarters of the UTC apprenticeship cohort progress into apprenticeships at Level 3 or above, compared to half of the national cohort. At key stage 4, 9% of pupils studying at UTCs progressed into apprenticeships, compared to 5% nationally.
We want to see this encouraging performance continue, with UTCs working with the help of their employer sponsors to ensure that pupils are equipped with the skills that they need in their companies. Strong involvement from employers can demonstrate to pupils how attending the UTC can lead to a successful career, and will ensure that UTCs continue to prove successful in getting pupils into apprenticeships.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that maintenance loans are available to all students.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
Eligible full-time students attending full-time undergraduate higher education courses qualify for maintenance loans. All such students, regardless of their income, qualify for a minimum loan with additional support for disadvantaged students.
For the current academic year, 2018/19, students on family incomes of £25,000 or less who are living away from the parental home and studying outside London qualify for a maintenance loan of £8,700, increasing to £8,944 for the 2019/20 academic year. Higher rates of loan are available for students living away from home and studying in London.
Since August 2018, new students attending part-time degree level courses have also qualified for partially means-tested maintenance loans. Information on student support for undergraduate students, including maintenance loans, can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/get-undergraduate-student-loan.
The government’s review of post-18 education and funding is looking at how we can ensure that the education system for those aged 18 years and over is accessible to all. The review’s focus includes how disadvantaged students and learners receive maintenance support, both from government and from universities and colleges.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps is he taking to ensure that young people with a visual impairment receive appropriately adapted national tests and exam papers, including past papers.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Standards and Testing Agency (STA) develops modified versions of national curriculum tests in enlarged print (key stage 2 only), modified large print and braille (key stages 1 and 2). They are primarily designed for pupils with visual impairments, although they may be suitable for pupils with other needs. Schools can request permission from STA to open key stage 2 tests up to 5 days early if they need to make further adaptations to the test materials to meet a pupil’s specific needs. Past versions of the modified tests are available so that schools can help pupils prepare and to ensure the materials meet their needs.
Ofqual is the regulator of qualifications, examinations and assessments in England. As well as requiring regulated awarding organisations to comply with Equalities Law, Ofqual’s General Conditions of Recognition require awarding organisations to monitor their qualifications for any feature which could disadvantage a group of students who share a particular protected characteristic, including those who have a disability due to visual impairment. Under the Equality Act 2010, awarding organisations are required to make reasonable adjustments to assessments for disabled students. Awarding organisations can – and do – make a wide range of adjustments to their assessments, including modifying exam papers (e.g. producing large-print or braille versions).
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that every young person with vision impairment has access to the same learning materials as their sighted peers, adapted to their reading needs.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
All schools have duties under the Equality Act 2010 towards individual disabled children and young people. They must make reasonable adjustments, including the provision of auxiliary aids and services for disabled children, to prevent them being put at a substantial disadvantage. This would include ensuring that pupils with visual impairment have access to appropriate reading materials.
Schools must publish accessibility plans and local authorities must publish accessibility strategies setting out how they plan to increase access for disabled pupils to the curriculum, the physical environment and to information. Schools also have wider duties to prevent discrimination, to promote equality of opportunity and to foster good relations.
The Department for Education is providing £3.4 million funding over 2018-2020, for the Special Educational Needs and Disabilitiies (SEND) schools’ workforce contract, which will be delivered by the Whole School SEND consortium, led by nasen. The SEND schools’ workforce contract aim is to embed SEND into school led approaches to school improvement in order to equip the workforce to deliver high quality teaching across all types of SEND, including children and young people with vision impairment.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
What recent discussions he has had with directors of children’s services on their ability to fulfil their statutory duties.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I regularly meet Directors of Children’s Services (DCS), and we have full and frank conversations on the delivery of children’s services. For example, just last week we met DCSs from Yorkshire and London. I understand the challenges facing the sector and I will continue to work with local government colleagues, particularly in advance of the next Spending Review.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how often (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have held meetings with (i) Ministers and (ii) officials in the Department of Work and Pensions on skills gaps and needs; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Anne Milton
Ministers in the department meet regularly with ministers of other government departments to discuss interrelated policy areas, including skills needs. The department’s officials also have regular engagement with the Department of Work and Pensions on a range of skills issues. This includes discussions on the National Retraining Scheme, which will give adults the skills they need to thrive as the economy changes, and Skills Advisory Panels, which will bring together local representatives to identify and address local skills gaps.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the use of artificial intelligence on skills and training; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Anne Milton
Automation and modernisation will have a significant impact on the jobs market over the next 10-20 years, bringing new challenges and opportunities. The National Retraining Scheme, announced in the 2017 Autumn Budget, is an ambitious and far-reaching programme to drive adult retraining. The Scheme will help those most at risk and in precarious employment to gain the skills they need to thrive as the economy changes.
In addition, the government has committed up to £30 million to develop innovative ways to use education technology and artificial intelligence in education to deliver improved learning outcomes. This funding takes effect from 2019-20 onwards and further details will be announced shortly.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to make assisted technology more affordable and accessible for disabled students.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
We recognise that there is increasing pressure on high needs budgets, and funding is rising to meet this. High needs funding has risen from £5 billion in 2013 to £6 billion this year, the highest level on record. In 2018-19, Dudley will receive £30.5 million in high needs funding. A full list of allocations is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-dsg-2018-to-2019.
We are working with the British Educational Suppliers Association on a ‘lending library’ designed to support schools to make decisions about technology. Once live, the library will have an area focussed on assistive technologies.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Government has made an assessment as to whether the measures taken by King's College London as a result of violent disruption of meetings on its campus meet its statutory requirements.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
It is the responsibility of each individual institution to ensure that it is meeting statutory requirements and following its own codes of practice.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of students leaving a free school pursued a STEM subject at university in each year since 2015; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
The department does not hold information on the subject of higher education qualifications pursued by pupils leaving free schools. We do published information on pupil destinations, which includes a breakdown of the types of destination that pupils move on to after key stage 5.
The full publication is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/destinations-of-ks4-and-ks5-pupils-2016.