Asked by: Andrea Jenkyns (Conservative - Morley and Outwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of non-Halal and Kosher meat options in schools.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The government sets out the required minimum standards for school food in the School Food Standards to ensure that children are served healthy, nutritious meals at school. The standards do not specify food requirements in terms of cultural and religious needs, including the type of meat used. The relevant regulations are available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/1603/pdfs/uksi_20141603_en.pdf.
School governing boards are responsible for setting their school food policies as head teachers, governors and their caterers are best placed to make decisions about their school food policies. The government expects schools to act reasonably, providing choices that take account of cultural, religious, and special dietary needs, and to work with parents in making appropriate arrangements. Schools should consult with parents when making changes to school food provision and ensure parents have access to information on the food provided.
Asked by: Andrea Jenkyns (Conservative - Morley and Outwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that discussions of race-related issues in the curriculum and schools are politically impartial.
Answered by Nick Gibb
All schools must offer a curriculum which is balanced and broad, and which promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils and prepares them for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life. We expect all schools to promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance.
Schools play an important role in supporting pupils to understand the society in which they grow up and to be prepared for life in modern Britain. Topics relating to race can be covered in a number of areas of the curriculum, such as in citizenship; religious education; Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education, and the new subjects of Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE).
In delivering the curriculum, schools should be aware of their duties relating to political impartiality as set out under the Education Act 1996. They must:
The Department has reminded schools about the importance of political impartiality in our guidance to schools on planning their RSHE curricula, which can be accessed via this link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/plan-your-relationships-sex-and-health-curriculum#ensuring-content-is-appropriate.
Asked by: Andrea Jenkyns (Conservative - Morley and Outwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he has plans to tackle the use by universities of non-disclosure agreements for student grievances.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The government has a clear expectation that all employers, including universities, should only use non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) where appropriate and necessary. Any misuse of NDAs by universities to hide workplace discrimination or harassment or to withhold details of student complaints is completely unacceptable and not only can distress individuals but also risks bringing our world-leading higher education system into disrepute.
Although there is a range of legitimate reasons why universities may use NDAs including, for example, the protection of commercially sensitive information related to university research, we recognise their misuse is an area of concern. The government consulted on the misuse of confidentiality clauses in employer/employee relationships in 2019, and in response announced that we will legislate to prevent the misuse of NDAs in the workplace – including those being used to cover up harassment and discrimination. This will strengthen protections for individuals and create a fairer workplace for all.
The Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA) is the independent body set up to review student complaints in England and Wales. They also provide good practice guidance on resolving student complaints more generally and have published a briefing note for providers on handling complaints involving sexual misconduct and harassment.
The OIA view is that it is not normally appropriate or in the spirit of their scheme to expect a student to sign a complicated or legally binding settlement agreement, or to sign a confidentiality clause. To do so may mean that any lessons to be learned from the complaint are lost.
Sexual misconduct, discrimination and harassment are unacceptable in higher education, as elsewhere, and government expects higher education providers to have robust and appropriate policies and procedures in place to handle effectively disclosures and reports of such behaviour by students or staff.
The Office for Students (OfS) is currently consulting on its approach to regulation and its expectations for providers in addressing sexual misconduct and harassment in their institutions. This consultation closes on 27 March 2020. Government officials meet at least quarterly with both the OfS and Universities UK specifically to discuss making progress on tackling harassment in higher education.
Asked by: Andrea Jenkyns (Conservative - Morley and Outwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of educating children about violent crime in order to reduce levels of violent crime among young people.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department know that education is a strong protective factor against children’s and young people’s risk of involvement in serious violence. It is important that schools enable children to achieve, to belong and to be equipped with the skills they need to be safe and to succeed in life.
The Department is making relationships and health education compulsory in all primary and secondary schools, and relationships and sex education compulsory in all secondary schools from September 2020. The aim is to put in place the building blocks needed for positive and safe relationships of all kinds, including how to properly handle conflict and to recognise coercive relationships.
Key decisions on which subjects to include in the new curriculum were informed by a stakeholder engagement process, where the Department was contacted by over 63,000 individuals and organisations and a consultation which received over 11,000 responses. Pupils will be taught about building healthy relationships and about their mental health and wellbeing. This will enable them to make informed decisions and seek support if issues arise.
Schools will have the freedom to ensure the curriculum meets the needs of their pupils. This flexibility will allow schools to respond to local public health and community issues such as serious violence. Schools can build on the core content and discuss topics, such as healthy and unhealthy relationships, in relation to gang and criminal activity.
The Department also intends to publish the new school and college security guidance shortly. The guidance makes it clear that the curriculum offers opportunities to help schools and colleges inform young people about the dangers they may face, both in and around school and beyond, and provide pupils and students with the means to help keep themselves safe.
Asked by: Andrea Jenkyns (Conservative - Morley and Outwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the average cost to the public purse of an additional (a) school place and (b) classroom in each of the next three years.
Answered by Edward Timpson
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Andrea Jenkyns (Conservative - Morley and Outwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what representations she has received from (a) local authorities and (b) other bodies on the pressures on school places due to immigration from (i) EU and (ii) non-EU countries.
Answered by Edward Timpson
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Andrea Jenkyns (Conservative - Morley and Outwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what research her Department has (a) undertaken and (b) commissioned on the effect of immigration on the demand for school places; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Edward Timpson
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Andrea Jenkyns (Conservative - Morley and Outwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her policy is on taking account of the effect on the demand for school places caused by immigration (a) in general and (b) from nationals from other EEA countries.
Answered by Edward Timpson
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Andrea Jenkyns (Conservative - Morley and Outwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to encourage discussions between business leaders and the education sector on improving young people's readiness for work and their future employment prospects.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
The Government is taking a number of steps to encourage discussions between business leaders and the education sector.
We have provided funding for The Careers & Enterprise Company which is increasing the number and quality of links between the education and business sector. The Company’s national network of enterprise advisers is already brokering relationships in 30 LEP areas, working with schools, colleges, employers and careers and enterprise organisations. The Government’s forthcoming careers strategy will set out the additional steps we will take to encourage interaction between business leaders and the education sector to support young people to prepare for working life.
My Rt Hon Friend the Prime Minister, in his speech on life chances on 11 January, announced £70 million funding over the parliament to transform the quality of the careers education, advice and guidance offered to young people. It will include funding for The Careers & Enterprise Company to continue the excellent work it has begun. It will also include delivery of a campaign to recruit a new generation of mentors to support young people at risk of under-achieving or dropping out, many of who will be business people.
We are also planning reforms to technical education which will ensure that the skills system is simple and genuinely owned, understood and valued by employers.