Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department has any plans to extend the 30 hours free childcare entitlement to include families where one parent is retired and one works full time.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Shadow Minister (Equalities)
The 30 hours free childcare entitlement aims to support working families with the cost of childcare and to support parents back into work or to work more hours should they wish to.
This offer is available to parents who earn at least the equivalent of 16 hours a week at the national minimum/living wage, and under £100,000 adjusted net income per year. This means that parents can be eligible if they earn from just over £167 per week or £8,670 per year. In a two-parent family, both parents must expect to meet this income criteria to be eligible for 30 hours free childcare.
The entitlement aims to support parents back into work and in order to be eligible both parents must be in work. The department is currently not planning to extend this to families where one parent is retired and the other works full-time.
All parents are eligible for 15 hours of free early education, which is available to all three- and four-year olds regardless of family circumstances.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing Muslim students to take additional time off school during Eid.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Schools must authorise a pupil’s absence if it is on a day exclusively set apart for religious observance by the religious body to which the parent belongs.
The Department does not define which specific days schools should authorise for religious observance, though generally, it may be a day when the pupil’s parents would be expected by the religious body to which they belong to stay away from their workplace to mark the occasion. The Department advises schools to seek advice from the relevant religious body if they are in doubt.
Parents may apply to the school for a leave of absence that is linked to a religious day. Unlike days that the religious body have exclusively set apart for religious observance, such leave is authorised at the discretion of the school.
Schools and Local Authorities may consider taking further steps to manage the effect of such absence, including setting term dates around days for religious observance, working with local faith groups to develop guidance on absence for religious observance, taking INSET days that coincide with religious observance days, and providing individual support for pupils who miss sessions for this reason.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when her Department plans to publish the Review of Post-18 Education and Funding.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The Review of Post-18 Education and Funding was published in May 2019.
On 24 February 2022, the department published the Higher Education (HE) Reform Consultation, setting out reforms to the student loan system to put it on a fair and sustainable footing and a package of investment into the HE sector. The department also proposed a range of reforms to improve outcomes for students as a result of their courses and help them move into high-value employment.
The HE Reform Consultation closed on 6 May 2022. The department is now considering the views received and plans to publish a response to the consultation in due course.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of child and family social workers have been trained in assessing risk in cases of domestic abuse.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Shadow Minister (Equalities)
Information on child and family social workers trained in assessing risk in cases of domestic abuse and those trained specifically in domestic abuse issues is not held centrally by the department.
Information on children and family social workers is published in the annual Children's social work workforce statistics, available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-s-social-work-workforce. The latest data for the year ending 30 September 2022 was published on 23 February 2023.
This information is based on data collected in an annual census of local authorities in England. Further information is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/childrens-social-work-workforce-census-guide-to-submitting-data.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department collects data on the number of child and family social workers trained specifically in domestic abuse issues.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Shadow Minister (Equalities)
Information on child and family social workers trained in assessing risk in cases of domestic abuse and those trained specifically in domestic abuse issues is not held centrally by the department.
Information on children and family social workers is published in the annual Children's social work workforce statistics, available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-s-social-work-workforce. The latest data for the year ending 30 September 2022 was published on 23 February 2023.
This information is based on data collected in an annual census of local authorities in England. Further information is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/childrens-social-work-workforce-census-guide-to-submitting-data.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department holds data on what percentage of Child Protection cases have domestic abuse as the predominant issue.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Shadow Minister (Equalities)
The department does not hold data on the number of children who were subject to a child protection plan where domestic abuse was the predominant issue. The data that is held shows that of the 50,920 children that were the subject of a child protection plan at 31 March 2022, 3,780 (7%) had physical abuse recorded as the initial category of abuse.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of making political education (a) a compulsory subject and (b) part of (i) personal, social, health and citizenship education and (ii) other subjects in secondary schools.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Teaching about political issues, different viewpoints, and the way in which pupils can engage in a democratic society is an essential part of a broad and balanced curriculum.
Citizenship forms a compulsory part of the National Curriculum at Key Stages 3 and 4. Within citizenship, secondary pupils in maintained schools in England are taught how Parliament functions, the importance of voting and elections, the role of police, courts and justice, free press, human rights and international law, and the governments of other countries. Pupils are taught the actions citizens can take in democratic and electoral processes to influence decisions locally, nationally and beyond. Citizenship teaching should equip pupils to explore political and social issues, to weigh evidence, to debate, and to make reasoned arguments.
Maintained primary schools and all academies are encouraged to teach citizenship as part of their duty to deliver a broad and balanced curriculum.
Teachers are also able to teach pupils about political and social movements in appropriate places within the history curriculum. This is focused on history, rather than encouraging active participation in democracy, in terms of its purpose.
The Department trusts schools to use their professional judgement and understanding of their pupils to develop the right teaching approach for their school, drawing on the expertise and support of subject associations and other organisations such as UK Parliament, which offers resources, visits to Parliament, outreach sessions and workshops.
Schools can help pupils to set up their own networks or clubs to focus on political issues, where they are deemed appropriate. The Department published political impartiality in schools guidance to support teachers in tackling sensitive issues in the classroom. The guidance is clear that legal duties on political impartiality do not limit the range of political issues and viewpoints schools can teach about. This guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/political-impartiality-in-schools/political-impartiality-in-schools.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 24 October 2022 to Question 66976 on Relationships and Sex Education: Suicide, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of updating the relationships, sex and health education statutory guidance to include suicide prevention as a compulsory subject.
Answered by Nick Gibb
All pupils in schools are taught about mental health as part of the relationships, sex and health Education (RSHE) curriculum, which the Department has made mandatory in 2020 to ensure that all pupils are taught about important topics. Schools can teach older pupils about suicide in an age appropriate and sensitive way.
Ministers are aware of the interest in the inclusion of suicide prevention material in the RSHE curriculum and have written to key campaigners about this important topic.
The Department is bringing forward the review of the RSHE statutory guidance, and the revised guidance will be published in 2024. The Department is taking a comprehensive, evidence based approach in deciding what should be included and suicide prevention will be considered in the review.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support schools and pupils in (a) Year 7, (b) Year 8, (c) Year 9, (d) Year 10 and (e) Year 11 with (i) examinations, (ii) social development and (iii) pastoral care.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Schools White Paper, published in March 2022, sets out the Department’s long term vision of a school system that helps every child to fulfil their potential by ensuring that they receive the right support, in the right place, at the right time.
The White Paper sets an ambition that, in secondary schools, the national average grade in both GCSE English language and maths will increase from 4.5 in 2019 to 5 by 2030.
The Department will achieve these ambitions by delivering an excellent teacher for every child, high standards of curriculum, attendance and behaviour, targeted support for every child who needs it, and a stronger and fairer school system that works for every child.
The 2022 Autumn Statement announced significant additional core schools’ funding, increasing by £2 billion in 2023/24 and 2024/25, over and above totals announced at the 2021 Spending Review. This additional funding will bring the core schools budget to a total of £58.8 billion in 2024/25. This will enable school leaders to continue to concentrate funding in the areas that positively affect educational attainment, including high quality teaching and targeted support to the children who need it most.
It is up to schools to decide what pastoral and extracurricular support to extend to their pupils to support their social development, building on the requirements of the statutory Relationships, Sex and Health Education curriculum. It is also up to schools to decide how to support pupils to prepare successfully for examinations.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what comparative assessment her Department has made of the accessibility of study abroad for those who would have been eligible for the Erasmus scheme.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Under the Withdrawal Agreement negotiated with the EU, the UK will continue to participate fully in the 2014-2020 Erasmus+ Programme until project completion. Certain projects may continue up to 2024.
The UK government is supporting access to study abroad through the Turing Scheme. The scheme provides grant funding for education providers and organisations to offer their students, learners and pupils undertake study or work placement across the globe. Participants can study or work anywhere in the world, subject to Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office travel advice.
For the 2022/23 academic year, the Turing Scheme is providing funding for over 38,000 pupils, learners, and students across the UK to study and work in over 160 destinations across the globe. More than half of these opportunities are for participants from disadvantaged backgrounds. In the 2021/22 academic year, the Scheme provided funding for over 41,000 participants, with 48% of this for participants from disadvantaged backgrounds.
For comparison, Erasmus+ participant numbers for higher education (HE) were 15,784 in the 2015/16 academic year, 16,559 in 2016/17, 17,048 in 2017/18 and 16,596 in 2019/20. The Turing Scheme is providing funding for 23,472 HE placements in the 2022/23 academic year and provided funding for over 28,000 HE placements in 2021/22. Direct comparison across all sectors is not possible, given the data published by the European Commission for Erasmus+ doesn’t specify numbers of student participants for other education sectors. Whilst Erasmus+ included some staff mobility, the Turing Scheme is focused on student placements.
In 2019/20, UK institutions received around €134 million of funding from the Erasmus+ programme. €41,257,969 of this was for in further education (FE) and vocational education and training (VET) and €87,621,663 in HE. In 2021/22 the Turing Scheme allocated £24,819,113.40 of funding in FE and VET, £67,001,941.25 in HE, and £6,710,407.60 in schools for student mobilities and accompanying staff. The figures for 2022/23 are £36,376,335.62, £62,115,424.80, and £7,616,999.60 respectively.