Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to support children and young people with vision impairment.
Answered by Will Quince
The Department for Education is firmly committed to ensuring that children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including those with visual impairments, receive the support they need to achieve in their early years, at school and at college.
Local authorities in England are required to publish information on the support commissioned and provided for children and young people with a visual impairment in a local offer, and on the availability of specialist services. To ensure local needs are met, they must work with children, young people, and their families to develop this.
It is a legal requirement for qualified teachers of classes of pupils who have sensory impairments to hold the relevant mandatory qualification. Providers must be approved by the Secretary of State for Education to offer these qualifications.
High needs funding, which is specifically for supporting children with more complex SEND, including those with vision impairment, will be increasing by £1 billion in financial year 2022/23, bringing the overall total of funding for high needs to £9.1 billion. This unprecedented increase of 13% comes on top of the £1.5 billion increase over the last two years.
The government recognises that the current SEND system, established through the Children and Families Act 2014, does not consistently deliver the outcomes we want and expect for children and young people with SEND, their families, or the people and services who support them. A key priority of the SEND Review is to improve the outcomes and experience of all children and young people with SEND, within a financially sustainable system. The review will be published as a green paper for full public consultation in the first 3 months of this year.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent guidance has been given to protect primary school children and staff from the Omicron variant of covid-19.
Answered by Robin Walker
COVID-19 continues to be a virus that we learn to live with and the imperative to reduce the disruption to children and young people’s education remains. The government continues to manage the risk of serious illness from the spread of COVID-19.
While it has been announced that face coverings are no longer advised for pupils, staff and visitors in classrooms, and from 27 January, face coverings are no longer advised for pupils, staff and visitors in communal areas, a range of protective measures remain in place in primary schools. Additionally, local directors of public health may temporarily advise the use of face coverings in communal areas where this is proportionate due to specific local public health concerns.
Testing remains important in reducing the risk of transmission of COVID-19 within schools. Staff should continue to test twice weekly at home, with lateral flow device (LFD) test kits. Schools are encouraged to ask all visitors to take an LFD test before entering the school.
Young people aged 5 to 18 and fully vaccinated adults who are identified as a close contact of someone with COVID-19 can take an NHS LFD test every day for 7 days and continue to attend their school or college as normal, unless they have a positive test result. People with COVID-19 in England can now end their self-isolation after 5 full days if they test negative on day 5 and day 6.
Children aged 5 to 11 years in a clinical risk group or who are a household contact of someone who is immunosuppressed are now able to get 2 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine 8 weeks apart.
We have provided carbon dioxide monitors backed by £25 million in government funding. Over 99% of eligible maintained schools, further education colleges, and the majority of early years education providers have now received a carbon dioxide monitor with over 350,000 now delivered. The government is also making available a number of funded air cleaning units for poorly ventilated teaching spaces where quick fixes to improve ventilation are not possible.
Schools should regularly review their risk assessments as well as continuing to comply with health and safety law implementing proportionate control measures in line with our guidance, such as ensuring good hygiene for everyone and maintaining appropriate cleaning regimes. All education and childcare providers should already have their own contingency plans in place in cases of outbreaks within schools, as set out in the contingency framework here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-local-restrictions-in-education-and-childcare-settings, to help break the chains of transmissions.
The evidence is clear that being out of education causes significant harm to educational attainment, life chances, mental and physical health. This harm disproportionately affects children and young people from the most disadvantaged backgrounds. Therefore, the government has made it a national priority that education and childcare providers should continue to operate as normally as possible during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to Schools Covid Operational Guidance, published in January 2022, how primary school pupils, aged five to 11 years, and school staff's positions were considered in developing that guidance.
Answered by Robin Walker
The operational guidance for each school, college and university provides details on the testing, ventilation and hygiene measures that all education and childcare provider should have in place to manage transmission of COVID-19 day to day. The department has worked closely with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA) to revise this guidance.
When developing guidance for education providers, the department regularly reviews data, analysis and advice from a number of different sources, including the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), UKHSA, and the Office for National Statistics.
We work closely with the DHSC and UKHSA, as well as local authorities and directors of public health, to inform our planning and response. The department engaged regularly with schools and their representatives in relevant planning, including primary schools.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what criteria his Department is using to determine where Government provided air purifiers are distributed to primary and secondary schools in England.
Answered by Robin Walker
The department has provided CO2 monitors to state-funded education providers, including early years, schools, and further education (FE) colleges, backed by £25 million in government funding.
Over 99% of eligible maintained schools, FE colleges, and the majority of early years providers have now received a CO2 monitor, with over 353,000 delivered. Special schools and alternative provision were prioritised to receive their monitors first, given their higher-than-average numbers of vulnerable pupils. Final deliveries are due to made during February.
Applications for air cleaning units from all providers were assessed based on need, using the eligibility criteria we have set out in guidance. Please note that applications are now closed.
In total, 1,265 settings that applied for Department for Education funded air cleaning units were eligible for air cleaning units. This mirrors published summary findings from the department’s survey of the use of CO2 monitors, which show that only 3% of providers using CO2 monitors reported sustained high carbon dioxide readings that could not otherwise be addressed. These findings are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/co2-monitor-survey-and-applications-for-air-cleaning-units.
The total number of air cleaning units that providers have applied for was just over 8,000. Up to an additional 1,000 units have now been ordered, bringing the total number of units available up to 9,000, allowing all eligible applications to be fulfilled. Those providers who applied but will not receive units did not meet the eligibility criteria set out in our guidance.
The eligibility criteria included:
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many CO2 monitors have been provided to publicly-funded education settings, as recommended in the Government’s Schools Covid-19 Operational Guidance, as of 18 January 2022.
Answered by Robin Walker
The department has provided CO2 monitors to state-funded education providers, including early years, schools, and further education (FE) colleges, backed by £25 million in government funding.
Over 99% of eligible maintained schools, FE colleges, and the majority of early years providers have now received a CO2 monitor, with over 353,000 delivered. Special schools and alternative provision were prioritised to receive their monitors first, given their higher-than-average numbers of vulnerable pupils. Final deliveries are due to made during February.
Applications for air cleaning units from all providers were assessed based on need, using the eligibility criteria we have set out in guidance. Please note that applications are now closed.
In total, 1,265 settings that applied for Department for Education funded air cleaning units were eligible for air cleaning units. This mirrors published summary findings from the department’s survey of the use of CO2 monitors, which show that only 3% of providers using CO2 monitors reported sustained high carbon dioxide readings that could not otherwise be addressed. These findings are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/co2-monitor-survey-and-applications-for-air-cleaning-units.
The total number of air cleaning units that providers have applied for was just over 8,000. Up to an additional 1,000 units have now been ordered, bringing the total number of units available up to 9,000, allowing all eligible applications to be fulfilled. Those providers who applied but will not receive units did not meet the eligibility criteria set out in our guidance.
The eligibility criteria included:
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many primary school (a) children and (b) teachers and staff have been diagnosed with covid-19 in each month in (i) 2020 and (ii) 2021.
Answered by Robin Walker
The department does not hold the primary data source of COVID-19 cases. This is accessible from the ‘Coronavirus in the UK’ dashboard. COVID-19 case data can be found here: https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/?_ga=2.91108568.335840232.1603021384-1347302696.1578321854.
The department publishes daily school attendance data on a fortnightly basis. This helps with the monitoring of the COVID-19 impact on school attendance. Absence due to suspected and confirmed cases of COVID-19 is available from the 23 May 2020 to 6 January 2022 and information can be found on Explore Education Statistics. The most recent national, regional and local authority data can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic-23-march-2020-to-6-january-2022.
National level pupil data can be found in Table 1B of the underlying data files, whilst teacher data can be found in Table 1D. For dates where any local authority is on half term, a holiday methodology is applied and the national data for both pupil and teachers can be found in Table 1A.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the reasons for poorer pupils having missed more school days in autumn 2020 compared with their better off counterparts; and what plans his Department has to tackle that discrepancy.
Answered by Robin Walker
Regular attendance is vital for children’s education, mental health and long-term development.
The national statistics release on pupil absence in schools in England during the autumn term includes information on absence by free school meals (FSM) and is published here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/pupil-absence-in-schools-in-england-autumn-term. For pupils eligible for FSM, the overall absence rate was 7.8% and for pupils not eligible, the overall absence rate was 3.8%.
From the autumn term 2020 data, for pupils eligible for FSM, the three biggest reasons by percentage of sessions missed were illness (43.4%), unauthorised absence for no specified reason (34.9%) and authorised absence for no specified reason (10.4%).
Ensuring that the most disadvantaged children and young people regularly attend school to be able to catch-up on any lost education is a top priority for the department. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has established an alliance of national leaders from education, children’s, and allied services to work together to raise school attendance. The Attendance Action Alliance, which includes amongst others Dame Rachel De Souza, the Children’s Commissioner, Isabelle Trowler, the Chief Social Worker for Children and Families and Amanda Spielman, Ofsted Chief Inspector, have pledged to take a range of actions to remove barriers preventing children attending school. This also includes work by Rob Tarn, CEO of the Northern Education Trust, a multi academy trust serving areas with high levels of disadvantage, who will work with other trust leaders to identify and disseminate best practice across schools. A webinar on the Northern Education Trust’s approach to attendance took take place on 14 December and has been recorded for all schools to view.
The department recognises that the COVID-19 outbreak has affected all students, but especially disadvantaged students. That is why we are investing nearly £5 billion in education recovery, which will be targeted at those that need help most. This includes an additional £1.8 billion of funding announced in the recent Spending Review to support young people to catch up on lost education. This is on top of a strong core funding settlement, which will see funding rise by £4.7 billion by the 2024-25 financial year compared to existing plans.
The department continues to make clear that schools can and should use their additional recovery and pupil premium funding to support strong improved attendance for disadvantaged children where this is identified as an issue.
The Government’s Supporting Families programme continues to work closely with families where absence is an issue, to support better attendance. More information on this programme is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/supporting-families.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children in local authority care are EU citizens that were born in the UK; and what proportion have applied to the EU Settlement Scheme.
Answered by Will Quince
The information requested relating to children looked after by English local authorities is not held centrally. Information for Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland is a matter for the devolved administrations.
From 4 October to 30 November 2021, the Home Office undertook the most recent in a series of surveys of local authorities in England, Wales and Scotland and of Health and Social Care Trusts in Northern Ireland to provide an update on the estimated number of looked after children and care leavers eligible to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme. The figures were published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/eu-settlement-scheme-home-office-looked-after-children-and-care-leavers-survey-2020/eu-settlement-scheme-home-office-looked-after-children-and-care-leavers-survey-november-2021.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of including CPR as a compulsory part of secondary education.
Answered by Nick Gibb
All state-funded schools in England are required to teach first aid, including CPR, as part of Health Education, which is statutory alongside Relationships Education for primary school aged pupils and Relationships and Sex Education for secondary school aged pupils.
The statutory requirements, which came into force in September 2020, include basic first aid for primary school children, for example dealing with common injuries such as head injuries. Pupils in secondary schools are taught further first aid, for example how to administer CPR and the purpose of defibrillators.
The statutory guidance can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education.
To support schools further, the Department’s teacher training modules cover all the teaching requirements in the statutory guidance. This includes online modules for primary and secondary teachers, containing key knowledge and facts to help teachers understand what they must teach in relation to basic first aid. The Teaching Basic First Aid training module for secondary school teachers aims to increase teachers’ knowledge and skills, develop strategies to deal with questions, and help them feel more confident teaching about basic first aid. More information about the training module is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teacher-training-basic-first-aid.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of home schooling and social distancing during the covid-19 outbreak on children's language skills.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government recognises that extended school and college restrictions have had a substantial impact on children and young people’s education. On 4 June updated findings based on assessments taken in the autumn and spring terms were published. These show that primary pupils were, on average, behind expectations on their return to the classroom in the spring, by a similar amount as they were in September 2020. For reading, this is around 2 months behind.
The Government believes that spoken language underpins the development of reading and writing. The quality and variety of language that pupils hear and speak is vital for developing their vocabulary, grammar, reading, and writing. Attaining proficient standards in language development and the reading and writing of standard English are key to unlocking the rest of the curriculum. They are also key indicators for future success in further education, higher education, and employment.
Research findings from the Social Distancing and Development Study show that babies and toddlers from disadvantaged backgrounds have been missing out on activities to support their development. Programmes to support language development include:
The Department launched a £26.3 million English Hubs programme in 2018, dedicated to improving the teaching of reading. The 34 English Hubs in the programme are primary schools which are excellent at teaching early reading. The Department has since provided a further £17 million for this school to school improvement programme, which focuses on systematic synthetic phonics, early language, and reading for pleasure. Since its launch, the English Hubs programme has provided appropriate and targeted support to several thousands of schools across England. Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, English Hubs have continued to offer support and training to schools across the country by bringing much of their offer online. This has involved opening up virtual training and professional development events to a wider pool of schools and distributing materials targeted specifically at remote education and recovery.