Asked by: Stephen McPartland (Conservative - Stevenage)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to encourage more women into apprenticeships.
Answered by Anne Milton
Women are well-represented in terms of overall apprenticeship starts. In the first half of 2018/19, 47% of apprenticeship starts were by women, which is an increase from 45.8% for the equivalent period in 2017/18.
However, we also want to make sure that more women are able to access apprenticeships in traditionally male-dominated fields as well as in fields that offer the highest returns. Starts by women in the construction, planning and the built environment sector increased by 36.7% in the first half of 2018/19, compared to the same period in 2017/18, from 790 starts to 1,080 starts.
Through the Apprenticeship Diversity Champions Network (ADCN), we are championing gender representation in apprenticeships amongst employers in industries where improvement is needed. This includes making sure that more women can access science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) apprenticeships and it is encouraging to see the progress that is being made. For example, ADCN member GlaxoSmithKline are well ahead of their aim to achieve 25% of women representation in their STEM apprenticeships. Women now make up 47% of their UK intake. The ADCN has recently published an update on its work which can be found at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/802200/ADCN-Report-2019-LR-v2.pdf.
Furthermore, we are working to raise awareness of apprenticeships and the benefits that they bring to people of all backgrounds. Our ‘Fire It Up’ communication campaign seeks to change the way that people think about apprenticeships and to demonstrate that they are an aspirational choice for anyone. ‘Fire It Up’ advertising features apprentices from a diverse range of backgrounds and showcases female apprentices in STEM occupations.
Asked by: Stephen McPartland (Conservative - Stevenage)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that schools receive equitable levels of funding under the national funding formula.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The national funding formula (NFF) will mean that, for the first time, school funding will be distributed based on the specific characteristics of every school and pupil in the country. It is directing money where it is most needed – not accidents of geography or history.
Schools are already benefitting from the gains delivered by the NFF. This year, all schools are attracting an increase of at least 1% per pupil compared to their 2017-18 baselines. Those schools that have been historically underfunded will attract up to 6% more per pupil compared to 2017-18, as we continue to address historic unfairness. Details of the NFF beyond 2019-20 are subject to the next Spending Review.
Local authorities continue to have some flexibility on how this funding is distributed locally, in consultation with schools. Flexibility allows local authorities, in consultation with their schools, to smooth the transition toward the NFF, where this represents a significant change.
Asked by: Stephen McPartland (Conservative - Stevenage)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps his Department has taken to improve the outcomes of children with special educational needs and disability.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The department is taking steps to ensure every child and young person with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) can achieve highly in education, find employment and lead happy and fulfilled lives.
We have established a SEND System Leadership Board that will focus on improving how local health, education and social care partners can plan better, commission strategically and work jointly to provide services and improve outcomes for children and young people with SEND.
Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission continue to inspect local areas to identify strengths and weaknesses in relation to children and young people with SEND. Where there are concerns, the local area is required to produce a Written Statement of Action. The area will be revisited within 18 months to ensure improvements have been made.
To support local authorities, we have provided an additional £250 million in high needs funding up to 2020 on top of the funding increases we had already committed. This brings the total allocation for high needs in 2019-20 to £6.3 billion and will help local authorities to manage the significant pressures on their high needs budgets.
Asked by: Stephen McPartland (Conservative - Stevenage)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress she has made on her plans to abolish SATs at Key Stage 1; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
In March, we published a consultation document, ‘Primary Assessment in England’, which set out a number of proposals to improve the primary assessment system. One of those proposals was that a new assessment should be introduced in the reception year, to provide a new baseline for measuring the progress that pupils make at primary school. One of the potential benefits of introducing such an assessment would be that schools could receive greater credit for the education that they provide during reception, Year 1 and Year 2.
We made it clear that, once this new baseline assessment had become established, and its data available to calculate progress measures for pupils reaching the end of Key Stage 2, we would no longer require data from statutory assessments currently administered at the end of Key Stage 1.
We sought views on whether those Key Stage 1 assessments should be made non-statutory.
The consultation exercise closed on 22 June, and we will be publishing our response in due course. The consultation document is available to read at:
www.gov.uk/government/consultations/primary-assessment-in-england.
Asked by: Stephen McPartland (Conservative - Stevenage)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to publish school leaders' remuneration on school websites; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Schools are autonomous institutions, run by the head teacher, under the control of the governing body which has responsibility for staffing matters within the school. Therefore, publishing school leaders’ remuneration on school websites is a matter for individual schools.
The current School Workforce Statistical First Release (published by the Department on 22 June), however, gives the numbers of teachers, including leadership teachers and heads, who fall into salary bands and the average salary. The publication can be found here.
Asked by: Stephen McPartland (Conservative - Stevenage)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will (a) introduce legislation and (b) issue guidance requiring schools to publish details of their annual budgets on their websites.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department publishes the schools block allocations for individual maintained schools and academies in November each year. Details of the allocations for 2016 to 2017 are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/schools-block-funding-allocations-2016-to-2017.
Information on income and expenditure in local authority maintained schools (for financial years of April to March) is published in December each year and can be found on the school performance website at: https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/download-data.
Information on income and expenditure in academy schools (for academic/financial years of September to August) is published in July each year and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-local-authority-school-finance-data.
Asked by: Stephen McPartland (Conservative - Stevenage)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to increase transparency in school budgets for parents; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department publishes information annually on income and expenditure for maintained schools and academies.
Data on income and expenditure for academies is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/income-and-expenditure-in-academies-in-england-2014-to-2015
Data on income and expenditure for maintained schools is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/la-and-school-expenditure-2015-to-2016-financial-year.
We know that the way funding is distributed to schools in England is currently unfair and opaque. That is why we recently consulted on a national funding formula for schools, and why we will deliver on our commitment to make funding fairer and more transparent.
We received over 25,000 responses to the consultation, which we are analysing in detail. We are grateful to all those who expressed their views on school funding and the proposed formula as part of this process. We will publish the response to the consultation in due course.
Asked by: Stephen McPartland (Conservative - Stevenage)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many pupils have been suspended from school for having committed domestic assaults in each year since 2012; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department for Education does not hold information on exclusions linked with domestic assault.
The latest available data on exclusions, including reasons for exclusions, was published in the Statistical First Release ‘Permanent and Fixed Period Exclusions from Schools in England 2013/14’ on 30 July 2015 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/permanent-and-fixed-period-exclusions-in-england-2013-to-2014
Any violence in school is unacceptable. We encourage all schools to take reasonable and proportionate measures to ensure security. The government has also introduced a range of powers for teachers to ensure discipline, behaviour and safety are maintained. We have introduced new search powers, no-notice detentions, and have ensured that the final decision on whether to reinstate permanently excluded pupils rests with schools.
Asked by: Stephen McPartland (Conservative - Stevenage)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to (a) regulate freelance tutors and (b) ensure that such tutors have an enhanced DBS check in order to safeguard children.
Answered by Edward Timpson
It is the responsibility of any school or parent to assure themselves that they are entirely satisfied as to the suitability of any freelance tutor they might choose to employ before they engage them. Private tutors have several options open to them to enable them to obtain appropriate checks in order to provide employers with the assurances they might need. For example, employment agencies are required to process DBS checks for all tutors working with children.
It is of course a serious criminal offence to seek to work with children in regulated activity after having been barred from doing so.
Asked by: Stephen McPartland (Conservative - Stevenage)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to (a) regulate freelance sports coaches (b) ensure that such coaches have an enhanced DBS check in order to safeguard children.
Answered by Edward Timpson
It is the responsibility of a parent to assure themselves that they are entirely satisfied as to the suitability of any freelance coach they might choose to employ before they engage them. Private tutors and coaches have several options open to them to enable them to obtain appropriate checks in order to provide employers with the assurances they might need. For example, employment agencies are required to process DBS checks for all tutors working with children
It is of course a serious criminal offence to seek to work with children in regulated activity after having been barred from doing so.