Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with the (a) Office for Students and (b) the University of Oxford on the 50 per cent reduction in the number of EU citizens studying at the University of Oxford since the UK's exit from the EU; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Departmental officials and I meet regularly with the Office for Students to discuss a wide range of issues.
The government recognises how important international students, including those from the EU are, both culturally and economically. We are proud that for the 2020/21 academic year, we saw positive increases in the number of EU domiciled entrants by 4% compared to 2019/20.
We have demonstrated our commitment to international students through our International Education Strategy which was updated in February 2021 and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/international-education-strategy-2021-update/international-education-strategy-2021-update-supporting-recovery-driving-growth. Through this strategy, we committed to hosting at least 600,000 international higher education students studying in the UK per year. The latest data shows international enrolments increased by 9% in the 2020/21 academic year with a total of 605,130 compared with 556,625 for the previous academic year. This means we have met our international student’s ambition for the first time, around 10 years early.
In addition, the Student Route coupled with the Graduate Route means we now have a world-class student visa offer befitting our world-class higher education sector. This provides an opportunity for international students, including EU nationals, who have been awarded their degree to live and work or look for work in the UK at any skill level for two years, three for PhDs.
Through this globally competitive offer, we fully anticipate the UK continuing to be an attractive destination for students, not only for EU students but students from across the globe.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of educational psychologist provision; and what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on adequate provision of educational psychologists.
Answered by Will Quince
Local authorities are responsible for the recruitment and deployment of educational psychologists, who have statutory duties to input into educational health and care plans, as well as wider responsibilities in helping to support children and young people across the education system. The department works in partnership with local educational psychology services to ensure there is a steady flow of educational psychologists into the workforce.
Since 2020, we have increased the number of educational psychologists whose training we fund from 160 to over 200 per academic year.
The special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) Review is seeking to improve the outcomes and experience of all children and young people with SEND, within a sustainable system. The Review will publish as a green paper for full public consultation in the first 3 months of this year.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of British children born before the UK's departure from the EU and currently living in an EU country who will no longer be eligible for home fee status in the event that they apply to study at universities in the UK on courses beginning after 1 January 2028.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
UK Nationals living in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland at the end of the transition period, and who wish to study in England, will continue to be eligible for home fee status for courses starting before 1 January 2028. This 7 year offer supports children of UK nationals currently progressing through secondary school.
The department does not hold the number of British children living in the EEA or Switzerland at the end of the transition period who are under secondary school age. The department’s published Equality Analysis of the Education (Student Fees, Awards and Support) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 shows that in the academic year 2018/19, there were 4,795 EEA (excluding Ireland) and Swiss domiciled students with UK nationality studying at English higher education providers. They represent 0.2% of the 1,942,535 students studying at English providers in 2018/19. Further information is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-student-finance-2021-to-2022-equality-analysis.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has commenced a consultation with young people and families to collect evidence on the effect on them of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nick Gibb
There has been extensive engagement with a wide range of stakeholders in the development of the Department’s education recovery initiatives. This has included discussions with pupils, parents, teachers, head teachers, education specialists and charities from across the country.
The Department has also been regularly surveying parents and carers of school pupils, and secondary school pupils throughout the COVID-19 outbreak. This has helped to inform our response on a range of issues and is also helping to shape our education recovery. The reports from these surveys will be published in autumn 2021.
Through the Mental Health in Education Action Group, which was first convened in March 2021, the Department has been looking at the effect of the COVID-19 outbreak on children and young people’s mental health and is considering how to expand and improve support for those who need it. The Department plans to set up a series of sessions with children and young people in the autumn to discuss how the Department can support schools and colleges to develop effective and meaningful mental health support offers in collaboration with their pupils and students.
Ofqual has commissioned two external research firms to find out what pupils, teachers, parents, carers and other stakeholders think and feel about assessments in 2021, and about the disruption that pupils have experienced. One is running focus groups, while the other is running online surveys. Both are gathering this information on an ongoing basis, with the first interviews conducted in December 2020 and the last ones scheduled for after the publication of results in August 2021.