Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2023 to Question 165185 on Free School Meals, what the complex data, systems, financial and legal implications are of a government-led rollout of automatic enrolment for all eligible children.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
As previously communicated, the department has looked at auto-enrolment and considers there to be merit in local authorities exploring initiatives to maximise take up and to better understand the barriers that prevent such take up, whilst also ensuring adherence to legal and data protection constraints, which still remain an important consideration. These include constraints around data-sharing, as well as the need for families to make a claim for free school meals to be eligible under the current process.
The department continues to engage with key stakeholders in this area, noting the methods currently being trialled across a number of local authorities to increase and maximise take up.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2023 to Question 165185 on Free School Meals, whether any complex data, systems, financial and legal implications are still a barrier to the rollout of auto-enrolment.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Maximising the take up of free school meals is important in ensuring that as many eligible children as possible benefit from a healthy and nutritious meal. The department aims to make it as simple as possible for schools and local authorities to determine eligibility.
To support this, an Eligibility Checking System has been provided to make the checking process as quick and straightforward as possible for schools and local authorities.
The department has looked at auto-enrolment and considers there to be merit in local authorities exploring initiatives to maximise take up and to better understand the barriers that prevent such take up, whilst ensuring adherence to legal and data protection constraints, which still remains an important consideration.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an estimate of the amount of physical learning time lost by pupils studying creative subjects in schools affected by RAAC in the last four months.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
An updated list of schools and colleges with confirmed cases of RAAC was published on 6 December, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reinforced-autoclaved-aerated-concrete-raac-management-information.
As of 27 November, there are 231 education settings with confirmed RAAC in some of their buildings. At the time of publication, three schools had hybrid arrangements in place, of which two are now in full time face-to-face education for all pupils and we expect the remaining school to be back in the near future. There were no education settings with confirmed RAAC where all pupils are in full-time remote learning.
Where the presence of RAAC is confirmed, responsible bodies and schools are expected to ensure that face-to-face learning continues as a priority. The department will support them to do this through dedicated caseworker teams.
Each school or college with confirmed RAAC is assigned dedicated support from a team of caseworkers, who work with schools and colleges to assess what support is needed and implement mitigation plans that are right for them. A bespoke plan is put in place to ensure that each school and college receives the support that suits its circumstances.
Where some short-term disruption is inevitable, all available measures will be taken to minimise disruption to teaching and return pupils to face-to-face teaching as soon as possible.
As all cases are different and the support each school or college receive is bespoke, identifying the number of pupils affected is not reflective of the reality for affected cases.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of RAAC in schools on the coursework results of those studying creative subjects at (a) GCSE, (b) A-level and (c) T-level.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The safety of staff and pupils is paramount, and the department has been working at pace with schools to identify RAAC and support them to minimise disruption to pupils’ education.
The department is working closely with affected schools to ensure the best possible education for pupils and taking every step possible to remove any obstacles to learning through mitigations including temporary accommodation where this is needed and in some instances use of specialist facilities in off-site accommodation.
Alongside Ofqual, the department has worked with awarding organisations to help facilitate discussions with affected schools. The department has asked awarding organisations to be as flexible as possible in agreeing longer extensions for coursework and non-examined assessment, including for creative subjects, so that schools have as much time as possible to complete this important part of pupils' learning and qualifications.
If schools and colleges are experiencing difficulties in delivering particular GCSE, A level or T Level assessments, due to certain facilities being out of use due to RAAC or have any concerns about exams and assessments themselves being disrupted, they should speak to the relevant awarding organisation. Only the relevant awarding organisation will be able to confirm what can be done in any specific context and the specific options available.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with Ofqual on the inclusion of the impact of RAAC in schools in mitigating circumstances guidelines.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The safety of staff and pupils is paramount, and the department has been working at pace with schools to identify RAAC and support them to minimise disruption to pupils’ education.
The department is working closely with affected schools to ensure the best possible education for pupils and taking every step possible to remove any obstacles to learning through mitigations including temporary accommodation where this is needed and in some instances use of specialist facilities in off-site accommodation.
Alongside Ofqual, the department has worked with awarding organisations to help facilitate discussions with affected schools. The department has asked awarding organisations to be as flexible as possible in agreeing longer extensions for coursework and non-examined assessment, including for creative subjects, so that schools have as much time as possible to complete this important part of pupils' learning and qualifications.
If schools and colleges are experiencing difficulties in delivering particular GCSE, A level or T Level assessments, due to certain facilities being out of use due to RAAC or have any concerns about exams and assessments themselves being disrupted, they should speak to the relevant awarding organisation. Only the relevant awarding organisation will be able to confirm what can be done in any specific context and the specific options available.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many new family hubs were created in each region in (a) 2022 and (b) 2023.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is collecting data on the number of family hub sites within local authorities funded by the government through the Family Hubs Transformation Fund 1 and the Family Hubs & Start for Life Programme and will publish a full list of family hub sites that are open in local authorities on the two programmes in due course.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of contracting (a) rehabilitation, (b) therapy and (c) other similar services for key workers.
Answered by Nick Gibb
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to page 204 of the White Paper on Levelling up the United Kingdom, CP604, published on 2 February 2022, how much funding she plans to provide for food technology lessons in each of the next three years; what steps she is taking to support the Government's aim of all children leaving secondary school knowing at least six recipes to support healthy living; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Government funding has been allocated to the Oak National Academy to create food and nutrition lesson content. Work is underway for this to be produced as part of their wider scheme of work in design, technology and food.
As part of this, Oak is developing support to ensure that all children are excited about cooking and experimenting with different foods and new ingredients in the classroom so that they leave school being able to cook six meals that will support healthy lifestyles. A design and technology subject expert has been appointed and Oak will begin to start their work on producing curriculum materials in the coming months.
By using an existing, established route for developing curriculum content, this will ensure coherence with the rest of the curriculum materials that Oak is developing, presenting support for schools and value for money for taxpayers.
In addition, as part of the Department’s wider support for food in schools, the Department is offering bursaries of £25,000 for design and technology teachers, including those teaching food.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 14 June 2023 to Question 187978 on Free School Meals, how her Department reviews the eligibility conditions for Free School Meals to ensure that they support those that most need them.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The provision of free school meals to children from households who are on low income or out of work is important to the Government.
Over two million pupils are currently eligible for benefits based Free School Meals (FSM). Close to 1.3 million additional infants receive free and nutritious meals under the Universal Infant Free School Meals policy.
The Department does not have plans to change the current eligibility conditions for FSM, but will continue to keep eligibility under review to ensure that these meals are supporting those who most need them. The Department continues to work with other Government Departments to monitor the consequences of the rising cost of living and the impact on disadvantaged families.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 14 September 2023 to Question 198639 on Childcare, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure the adequacy of (a) trained staff, (b) safe premises and (c) registered places in Washington and Sunderland West constituency by the start of September 2025 to offer eligible children aged nine months and above to access 30 hours a week of free childcare for 38 weeks each year until the end of the term before they start at primary school.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Having enough staff in place to deliver high-quality education and care will be key to ensuring the successful delivery of our record expansion of early years entitlements. Driving up interest in early years careers and ensuring there are enough opportunities for career development is a priority for this government.
In the government’s Spring Budget 2023, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced transformative reforms to childcare for parents, children and the economy. By 2027/28, this Government will expect to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education, helping working families with their childcare costs. This represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever.
The department is developing a range of new workforce initiatives including the launch of a new national campaign, planned for the beginning of 2024, to boost interest in the sector and support the recruitment and retention of talented staff. To increase interest in early years, we are working to remove unnecessary barriers to entering the sector as well as considering how to make early years qualifications more accessible, coordinated and relevant.
Over the summer the department launched a competition for Early Years Skills Bootcamps with a pathway to an accelerated level 3 Early Years Educator apprenticeship, and we will consider degree apprenticeship routes so everyone from junior staff to senior leaders can easily move into or indeed enhance their career in the sector. We are also working across government to boost early years career awareness by collaborating with the Department for Work and Pensions and Careers & Enterprise Company to promote the importance and value of a career in early years.
Regarding safe premises, with a growing number of staff joining the sector, the safety of our youngest children remains as important as ever. All new and existing early years providers must keep children safe and promote their welfare. The Early Years Foundation Stage statutory framework sets the standards that all early years providers in England must meet to ensure that children are kept healthy and safe. More information can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1170108/EYFS_framework_from_September_2023.pdf.
Under these requirements, all owners and managers of childcare settings have a responsibility to ensure that their premises, including overall floor space and outdoor spaces, are fit for purpose and suitable for the age of children cared for and the activities provided on the premises. All providers must also comply with the requirements of health and safety legislation, including fire safety and hygiene requirements. At all times when children are present, at least one person who has a current paediatric first aid certificate must be on the premises.
Under Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006, local authorities are responsible for ensuring that the provision of childcare is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents in their area. Part B of the Early education and childcare statutory guidance for local authorities highlights that local authorities should report annually to elected council members on how they are meeting their duty to secure sufficient childcare, and to make this report available and accessible to parents. More information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-education-and-childcare--2.
The Department has regular contact with each local authority in England about their sufficiency of childcare and any issues they are facing. Where local authorities report sufficiency challenges, we discuss what action the local authority is taking to address those issues and where needed support the local authority with any specific requirements through our childcare sufficiency support contract.