Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to improve the quality of education on (a) cooking and (b) budgeting.
Answered by Robin Walker
Cooking and nutrition is a discrete strand of the national curriculum for design and technology which was introduced as part of the 2014 design and technology curriculum and is compulsory for pupils from 5 to 14 years old. The curriculum aims to teach children how to cook, with an emphasis on savoury dishes, and how to apply the principles of healthy eating and nutrition. It recognises that cooking is an important life skill that will help children to feed themselves, and others, healthy and affordable food. Alongside this, a food preparation and nutrition GCSE was introduced in September 2016 which requires pupils to understand and apply the principles of food science, nutrition and healthy eating when preparing and cooking food. Furthermore, the Levelling Up White Paper confirmed the department’s focus on school food quality and food education.
On budgeting, this is covered under financial education which is part of the maths and the citizenship curricula, demonstrating the importance that the government places on this topic. The maths curriculum provides content that develops pupils’ knowledge and financial capability to make important decisions about mortgages and loan repayments. Financial literacy is also a statutory part of the citizenship curriculum for 11 to 16 year olds and pupils are taught the functions and uses of money. In both subjects, pupils are taught about topics that support personal budgeting, money management and understanding financial risk. The department wants to support schools to deliver good quality financial education and we work regularly with stakeholders to support them to do so.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will take steps to ensure that his Department leaves Stonewall's Diversity Champions scheme.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The Department for Education’s Stonewall Diversity Champions membership expired in 2022. We are considering membership options following guidance in the new Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, so we can continue to support our staff. We remain committed to supporting all our LGBTQ+ staff and ensuring we create an inclusive environment for all.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to support students whose academic performance has been adversely impacted by the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Robin Walker
Helping children and young people to catch up is a key priority for the government and overall direct investment announced for education recovery is almost £5 billion. This includes an additional £1.8 billion of funding announced in the recent Spending Review to support young people to catch up on missed learning.
We have consistently targeted recovery funding where the evidence tells us it will be most effective: on tutoring, teaching and extra time for those with the least time left. Our latest investment continues to support these interventions and to help those that need it most.
Our education recovery investment includes funding for up to 100 million tutoring hours for 5 to 19 year olds by 2024, multi-year direct funding so schools can deliver evidence-based interventions based on pupil needs, summer schools in 2021, extra time in 16 to 19 education, 500,000 training opportunities for school teachers and early years practitioners, and the opportunity for year 13 students, where it is judged beneficial, to repeat their final year in 2021/22.
Direct recovery funding comes on top of wider increases to early years, schools and college funding. Schools will receive an additional £4.7 billion in core funding in the 2024/25 financial year, including £1.6 billion in 2022/23 financial year on top of already planned increases from the 2019 Spending Review, which is equivalent to a total cash increase of £1,500 per pupil between the 2019/20 and 2024/25 financial years.
The department recognises that students taking exams this year will have experienced disruption to their education caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. That is why, together with Ofqual, we consulted on and have confirmed a range of adaptations to GCSE and A/AS level exams. Exam boards will be releasing advance information about the focus of the content of exams in most GCSE and A/AS level subjects on 7 February. Other adaptations include a choice of content or topics and the provision of exam aids in some GCSEs. Additionally, Ofqual have confirmed that 2022 will be a transition year for grading. Grades will be set around a midpoint between 2021 and pre-COVID-19 grades.
The department recognises that the extended school and college closures have had a substantial impact on children and young people’s learning. All schools should continue to teach a broad and balanced curriculum in all subjects. The optional guidance, ‘teaching a broad and balanced curriculum for education recovery’, offers suggestions to help schools decide how to prioritise elements within their curriculum for education recovery, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teaching-a-broad-and-balanced-curriculum-for-education-recovery. These suggestions are based on the good practice evident in many schools, as exemplified in the case studies.
Oak National Academy was created in April 2020 as a rapid response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Teachers and colleagues from leading education organisations came together to support schools’ efforts to keep children learning through the provision of remote education. Since its launch, more than 40,000 free online learning resources and video lessons in a broad range of subjects have been developed across 35 subjects from early years to key stage 4. Specialist content for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities is also available.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress has been made on the Government's School Rebuilding Programme.
Answered by Robin Walker
The School Rebuilding Programme was announced in 2020 with a commitment to deliver 500 rebuilding and refurbishment projects over the next decade. The department announced the first 100 projects this year at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-rebuilding-programme. The most advanced projects started construction in September 2021.
A consultation on the approach to prioritising schools for future places in the programme closed on 8 October 2021. We plan to publish the response and details of the future prioritisation process in early 2022.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that pupils can return to full-time education in the 2021-22 academic year without interruption or risk of losing in-school teaching days during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department’s priority is for schools to deliver face to face, high quality education to all pupils. The evidence is clear that being out of education can cause significant harm to educational attainment, life chances, and mental and physical health.
To reduce transmission, the Department is keeping some measures in place across nurseries, schools and colleges to enable us to provide as normal an experience as possible as schools welcome pupils back in larger numbers. This will be supported by our ability to respond swiftly and consistently to any exceptional circumstances should it prove necessary and may include reintroducing additional control measures for a limited period to deal with outbreaks. These are set out in the contingency framework: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-local-restrictions-in-education-and-childcare-settings.
The Department has worked closely with the Department of Health and Social Care and Public Health England to revise guidance for schools from Step 4: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak. The Department’s aim is to balance the risks associated with COVID-19 whilst moving to a position that minimises both the burden of implementing a system of controls on schools and the impact those measures have on young people’s educational experience.
Schools are no longer asked to keep children and young people in consistent groups (‘bubbles’). As well as enabling flexibility in curriculum delivery, this means that assemblies can resume, and schools and colleges no longer need to make alternative arrangements to avoid mixing at lunch. Nurseries, schools and colleges should continue to ensure good hygiene for everyone, maintain appropriate cleaning regimes, keep occupied spaces well ventilated and follow public health advice on testing, self isolation, and managing confirmed cases of COVID-19.
Face coverings are no longer advised for pupils, staff, and visitors either in classrooms or in communal areas. The Government has removed the requirement to wear face coverings but expects and recommends that they are worn in enclosed and crowded spaces where pupils or staff may come into contact with people they do not normally meet. This includes public transport and dedicated transport to school or college.
The Department will continue to keep these measures under review, in partnership with health experts and informed by the latest scientific evidence and advice.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that children and young people develop financial knowledge.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Education on financial matters helps to ensure that young people are prepared to manage their money well, make sound financial decisions and know where to seek further information when needed. In 2014, for the first time, financial literacy was made statutory within the National Curriculum as part of the citizenship curriculum for 11 to 16 year olds.
We also introduced a rigorous Mathematics curriculum, which provides young people with the knowledge and financial skills to make important financial decisions. The Government has published statutory programmes of study for mathematics and citizenship that outline what pupils should learn about financial education from Key Stages 1 to 4.
In the primary Mathematics curriculum, there is a strong emphasis on the essential arithmetic knowledge that pupils should have. This knowledge is vital, as a strong understanding of numeracy and numbers will underpin the pupils’ ability to manage budgets and money, including, for example, percentages. There is also some specific content about financial education such as calculations with money.
Finance education forms part of the citizenship curriculum which can be taught at all key stages and is compulsory at Key Stages 3 and 4: https://www.gov.uk/national-curriculum. Financial education ensures that pupils are taught the functions and uses of money, the importance of personal budgeting, money management and managing financial risk. At secondary school, pupils are taught about income and expenditure, credit and debt, insurance, savings and pensions, financial products and services, and how public money is raised and spent.
The Department works closely with the Money and Pensions Service and other stakeholders such as Her Majesty’s Treasury, to consider what can be discovered from other sector initiatives and whether there is scope to provide further support for the teaching of financial education in schools.