Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 7 March 2022 to Question 132346 on Teachers: Training, what steps his Department plans to take to help ensure that the 2021-22 geography trainee teacher cohort is not financially disadvantaged compared with their counterparts in other years following the reinstatement of the geography teacher bursary.
Answered by Robin Walker
The bursaries we offer are designed to incentivise more applications to initial teacher training (ITT) courses. As such, they are provided for the phases and subjects which have previously struggled to attract sufficient applicants. Being able to change bursary amounts gives us the flexibility to respond to the need to attract new teachers, and means we are spending money where it is needed most.
In the academic year 2020/21, we exceeded the geography postgraduate ITT target (achieving 129% of the target). The bursaries we offered for academic year 2021/22 took account of this and the continuing boost to ITT recruitment caused by the economic impact of COVID-19.
We announced the bursaries available for academic year 2021/22 on 12 October 2020, the same day that applications opened for ITT courses starting in 2021/22. This information was published on GOV.UK and promoted to applicants through our Get Into Teaching service, to ensure applicants were made aware of the financial offer before applying. As bursaries are designed to incentivise applications it would not be appropriate, or a judicious use of public money, to retrospectively award them to trainees who were not eligible when they applied.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to table 2.3 in the Levelling Up in the United Kingdom White Paper, what steps he plans to take to ensure that local authorities that fall under level 1 devolution plans are able to feed local skills needs into the development of Local Skills Improvement Plans.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The Levelling Up White Paper sets out how local areas with devolved adult education functions and the core Adult Education Budget provide input into Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs). However, we will also encourage other local authorities to share relevant local knowledge and intelligence with employer representative bodies that can inform the development of LSIPs. We will set out our expectations for engagement with stakeholders in statutory guidance.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure work placements for t-levels are available in every town in the UK.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Ensuring employers are made aware of T Levels and are well prepared to deliver high quality industry placements is key to the success of T Level delivery. We have invested over £200 million over the past 4 years to help providers build their capacity and relationships with employers, and have developed a comprehensive package of advice and guidance to support providers to deliver placements, as well as networking opportunities to share best practice.
We are engaging directly with employers of all sizes throughout England, via the department’s employer engagement teams, to promote the benefits of T Levels and of hosting industry placements. We are providing an extensive programme of employer focussed support to help ensure employers are able to deliver placements. This includes a comprehensive employer support package, which offers guidance, workshops and webinars, as well as tailored advice and direct hands-on support, to help build employer confidence, and capability and capacity to deliver high-quality industry placements. We have also implemented different delivery models to ensure placements can be delivered by employers across all industries and locations. Our T Level ambassador network is enabling employers to engage with others in their industries on T Levels and placements. Finally, we have put in place a short-term incentive fund, offering employers £1,000 per industry placement, to encourage employers to offer placements during the pandemic, which has been warmly welcomed by employers.
We will continue to monitor the delivery of placements throughout England and work closely with employers to identify what support they will need going forward to enable them to deliver high quality placements.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that young people in every region of the UK have access to STEM specific careers provision.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
We know that supporting schools to deliver science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) related careers education is important so that young people are aware of the full range of careers associated with STEM subjects.
We work with The Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC) to support schools and colleges in England to achieve the Gatsby Benchmarks of Good Career Guidance, the government’s careers framework. Gatsby Benchmark 4, linking curriculum learning to careers, is particularly relevant. STEM subject teachers should highlight the relevance of STEM subjects for a wide range of career pathways.
Gatsby Benchmark 5, encounters with employers and employees, sets out that schools should give pupils access to meaningful encounters with a range of employers and workplaces. Secondary schools are expected to provide pupils with at least one meaningful interaction with employers per pupil per year, with a particular focus on STEM employers. These interactions open young people’s eyes to a range of different career possibilities and can challenge stereotypes as well as helping to prepare them for the workplace.
The CEC provide resources to support schools and colleges including a series of STEM toolkits, a relaunched STEM careers webpage with an increased focus on department funded resources, and several Careers Hubs are currently running innovative STEM focussed careers projects.
Education is a devolved matter, and approaches to careers education may differ in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to increase the number of apprenticeships in STEM professions.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
We recognise the demand for science, technology, engineering, construction, digital and maths skills is increasing, which is why ensuring that anyone, regardless of their background, has the opportunity to pursue a career in a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) occupation is a key priority for this government.
Apprenticeships are a great way for people to receive high quality training and begin, or progress in, a successful career in STEM. We have put employers at the heart of our apprenticeship system, empowering them to design the standards they need with the help of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education. There are over 340 employer-designed apprenticeship standards in STEM, including Cyber Security Technician at level 3, and Civil Engineer (degree) at level 6.
It is encouraging to see that in the 2020/21 academic year, there were 78,100 apprenticeship starts in STEM, making up 24% of all apprenticeship starts that year.
We are continuing to promote apprenticeships in schools through the Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge programme and are working with our Apprenticeship Diversity Champions Network of influential employers such as Siemens, Bombardier and Rolls-Royce to promote best practices in recruiting and retaining people from all backgrounds in STEM apprenticeships.
We continue to engage with other government departments, including the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, to ensure that apprenticeships continue to meet the skill needs of all industries.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to (a) reinstate or (b) increase teaching bursaries for subjects where training bursaries were reduced or suspended in 2021.
Answered by Robin Walker
For initial teacher training (ITT) courses starting in the 2022/23 academic year, the department is continuing to offer a £24,000 tax-free bursary or prestigious scholarships worth £26,000 tax-free in chemistry, computing, mathematics and physics.
In addition, the department has reinstated £15,000 tax-free bursaries for geography and design and technology that we last offered in 2020/21. We have also increased the bursary for languages from £10,000 to £15,000, and the biology bursary from £7,000 to £10,000, compared to those offered in 2021/22.
The department reviews bursaries each year to take account of a number of factors including historic recruitment, forecast economic conditions, and teacher supply need in each subject. Being able to change bursary amounts gives us the flexibility to respond to the need to attract new teachers, and means we are spending money where it is needed most.
Therefore, the department will review the need for bursaries across all subjects again, including the value of current bursaries, before announcing the offer for academic year 2023/24 this autumn.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on ensuring that local skills improvement plans contribute to the UK's net zero targets.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The government introduced an amendment to the Skills and Post-16 Education Bill which ensures that skills required in relation to jobs that support compliance with the UK net zero emissions target are considered in the development of Local Skills Improvement Plans. The Department for Education will work closely with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy as we develop statutory guidance on this to ensure we have the right skills to meet the requirements of the net zero transition.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how the Unit for Future Skills is planned to work alongside Local Skills Improvement Plans.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The Unit for Future Skills is being set up to bring together data and intelligence on skills and jobs from across government. This will be made available to local and central government, employers, the education sector and academics, and to individuals.
An early focus for its work will be to provide data and evidence to employer representative bodies and other local partners. This is so Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs) can be built on the best available skills, labour market information, and insights. The unit will be drawing on lessons learned from the trailblazer LSIPs to understand how it can best support employer representative bodies and local stakeholders when LSIPs are rolled out nationally.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will provide a breakdown of the number of additional people expected to complete high-quality skills training, as set out in the Levelling Up in the United Kingdom White Paper, in each year between 2022 and 2030.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The mission of 200,000 additional people completing high-quality skills training will focus on increasing the number of adults (those aged 19 and above) completing high quality skills training, including science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) courses and apprenticeships.
We know that successfully completing these courses improves people’s earnings and life chances and helps them get good jobs.
The department already has a range of high-quality training offers available to adults across every region of the country including Skills Bootcamps, our Free Course for Jobs offer as well as access to free courses in English, maths, and basic digital skills.
Meeting the mission will depend on national government, Mayoral Combined Authorities, local authorities, employers and skills providers working together.
The missions are rolling decade-long endeavours and will be reviewed periodically by the UK government.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, of the 200,000 additional people completing high-quality skills training referred to in the Levelling Up in the United Kingdom White Paper, how many of those people he expects to be on (a) STEM courses and (b) apprenticeships; and how many are young people up to the age of 25.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The mission of 200,000 additional people completing high-quality skills training will focus on increasing the number of adults (those aged 19 and above) completing high quality skills training, including science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) courses and apprenticeships.
We know that successfully completing these courses improves people’s earnings and life chances and helps them get good jobs.
The department already has a range of high-quality training offers available to adults across every region of the country including Skills Bootcamps, our Free Course for Jobs offer as well as access to free courses in English, maths, and basic digital skills.
Meeting the mission will depend on national government, Mayoral Combined Authorities, local authorities, employers and skills providers working together.
The missions are rolling decade-long endeavours and will be reviewed periodically by the UK government.