Asked by: Alex Chalk (Conservative - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress the Government has made on providing additional funding to support sport and exercise in primary schools from the soft drinks levy.
Answered by Edward Timpson
We want all pupils to be healthy and active. That is why through the primary PE and sport premium, the Government has invested over £600million of ring-fenced funding to primary schools to improve PE and sport since 2013.
But we know there is more to do, which is why I am pleased that revenue from the soft drinks industry levy will be used to double the primary PE and sport premium to £320million a year from September 2017, enabling schools to further improve the quality and breadth of PE and sport that they offer.
We continue to work with the sector to determine how the funding should be allocated and further details will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Alex Chalk (Conservative - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress the Government has made on providing additional funding to expand breakfast clubs provision in schools from September 2017 from the soft drinks levy.
Answered by Edward Timpson
Work is ongoing to design the new programme, which will be ready for September 2017. Further details will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Alex Chalk (Conservative - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the process is to access the additional funding to extend secondary school hours with the inclusion of additional sports and physical education from the soft drinks industry levy.
Answered by Edward Timpson
The previous chancellor announced his intention that funding from the sugar levy would help up to 25% of secondary schools provide a longer school day, to include a range of activities including sport. The Department is currently determining the details of how the funding will be allocated. We will provide further details in due course so that schools have sufficient time to apply for the funding and implement their plans.
Asked by: Alex Chalk (Conservative - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress the Government has made on providing additional funding to enable the extension of secondary school hours with the inclusion of additional sports and physical education from the soft drinks levy.
Answered by Edward Timpson
The previous chancellor announced his intention that funding from the sugar levy would help up to 25% of secondary schools provide a longer school day, to include a range of activities including sport. The Department is currently determining the details of how the funding will be allocated. We will provide further details in due course so that schools have sufficient time to apply for the funding and implement their plans.
Asked by: Alex Chalk (Conservative - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to educate parents and teachers of primary school-age children on the potentially damaging effect of social media on child and adolescent mental health.
Answered by Edward Timpson
Children and young people’s mental health is a priority for the Department and we recognise the importance of supporting parents and schools to help children use social media safely.
To provide information to parents who are concerned about mental health the Department funded MindEd to set up a new site, MindEd for Families, which was launched earlier this year (http://minded.e-lfh.org.uk/families/index.html). This provides free on-line advice on a range of mental health issues affecting children and young people and includes a section on social media. Teachers can also find advice and training on mental health issues from the main MindEd site, which was funded by the Department of Health (https://www.minded.org.uk/). We are also continuing to provide funding to the YoungMinds parents helpline, a national service providing free, confidential online and telephony support, information and advice, to any parent/carer concerned with the emotional problems, behaviour or mental health of a child or young person up to the age of 25.
One of the risks to mental health from social media use is cyberbullying. The Department has produced guidance for parents and teachers on cyberbullying, which can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preventing-and-tackling-bullying. These contain advice and signpost further sources of detailed information and support – including for talking to children about social media use. We have also recently announced £4.4 million in funding for 10 projects to tackle bullying in schools. One of these is developing an online approach for reporting bullying to schools, including cyberbullying on social media.
To reflect the importance of keeping children safe online, e-safety is covered at all key stages in the computing curriculum. Children are taught: how to use technology safely and respectfully; how to keep personal information private; and where to go for help and support when they have concerns about content or contact on the internet, or other online technologies. Schools are also able to teach pupils about the use of social media and to learn strategies for keeping physically and emotionally safe, including safety online, as part of their Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education programme of study.
The Department has issued statutory guidance ‘Keeping children safe in education’, which flags the potential safeguarding issues that school staff should be aware of, including online safety. The guidance clearly sets out the role all school staff have in safeguarding children and the actions staff should take if they have a concern about a child. As part of their induction all school staff should be provided safeguarding training, which should be regularly updated.