Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the secondary school attainment of children in (a) Tameside and (b) Denton.
Answered by Robin Walker
The department publishes a wide range of GCSE attainment data for pupils at the end of key stage 4 in state-funded secondary schools in England. The latest information can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/key-stage-4-performance-revised/2020-21.
The latest data, for the academic year 2020/21, shows that the average Attainment 8 score for pupils in state-funded schools in Tameside is 48.5 and in Denton is 48.8. These are lower than the national average of 50.9.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress his Department has made on urgent improvements to Russell Scott Primary School in Denton and Reddish constituency; and whether officials from his Department have met with officers from Tameside Council.
Answered by Robin Walker
We are aware of the condition issues at Russell Scott Primary School and officials within the department have been engaging with Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council to understand and advise on these issues. The department has committed to review and discuss evidence from any further investigative work or surveys undertaken.
The department provides local authorities with an annual School Condition Allocation (SCA) to invest in improving the condition of their maintained schools. We expect local authorities to effectively prioritise this funding on what they identify to be the most urgent priorities across the school estate, ensuring schools are kept safe and operational.
For the financial year 2021-22, Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council has been allocated £1,328,013 in SCA funding. Allocations for the financial year 2022-23 will published in due course.
In addition to annual condition funding, the department has launched a ten-year School Rebuilding Programme. We have announced the first 100 schools that will benefit from the programme as part of a commitment to 500 projects over the next decade.
We recently consulted on how to prioritise future places on the programme. We plan to set out our response to the consultation and details of further rounds of the programme early this year.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on parents.
Answered by Will Quince
The department recognises that the COVID-19 outbreak has been challenging for pupils and their families. The department has been regularly surveying parents and carers of school pupils throughout the COVID-19 outbreak. This has helped to inform our response on a range of issues and is also helping to shape our education recovery. The reports from these surveys were published on 29 October 2021 on gov.uk and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/parent-and-pupil-panel-omnibus-surveys.
The department also commissioned a bespoke sub-study as part of the Study of Early Education and Development (SEED) which explored the experiences of the children and their parents during the COVID-19 outbreak. This has helped to inform our response on a range of issues. It is important to note that while this report documents the experiences of children and their parents in the SEED study covered by the COVID-19 outbreak, the department cannot conclude from these analyses that their experiences were as a direct consequence of the COVID-19 outbreak. Additionally, these findings cannot be used to evaluate specific government policies including those in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The report from this survey was published on 29 October 2021 on gov.uk and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-education-and-development-coronavirus-covid-19-study.
Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak the department has worked to help parents support their children’s education. The department has published guidance that sets out what they need to know about early years providers, schools and colleges. This guidance is updated regularly and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/what-parents-and-carers-need-to-know-about-early-years-providers-schools-and-colleges-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak. The guidance includes links to online resources to aid parents in supporting their child’s mental health and wellbeing as the department acknowledges that some children may be experiencing feelings of anxiety, stress or low mood as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.
During periods of restricted attendance, schools have remained open to both vulnerable children and young people and the children of critical workers, ensuring that those parents who work in key sectors could continue to provide vital services. For those pupils learning from home the department recognises the challenges this has presented to parents and have published guidance which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/supporting-your-childrens-education-during-coronavirus-covid-19. To support access to remote education, the department has distributed over 1.35 million laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children and young people as part of a £400 million investment. The department has ensured that children who usually receive benefits-related free school meals have had access to this support during periods of restricted attendance and provided a National Voucher Scheme to support eligible pupils required to stay at home. Over £450 million of voucher e-codes had been redeemed into supermarket gift cards for families during this period. The department has continued to ensure that eligible pupils are offered good quality lunch parcels when they are required to stay home.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the accessibility of support services available to parents.
Answered by Will Quince
The government has prioritised support for children and families in the Spending Review. The government has announced a £300 million package to transform services for parents and babies, carers and children in half of local authorities in England, helping to deliver our levelling up ambitions.
It includes funding to create a family hub network, for each local authority to publish their Start for Life offer, support for breast feeding, parent-infant relationships and parenting programmes. It also includes a smaller number of pilots to trial and evaluate innovative workforce models needed to support babies and families.
Family hubs are a way of joining up locally to improve access to services, the connections between families, professionals, services, and providers, and putting relationships at the heart of family help.
£50 million will be available for parenting support. The department will ensure online parenting programmes are available to new parents in the 75 selected local authorities, alongside additional targeted support to families most in need. The department will set out more detail in due course, including on which parenting programmes will be available in the selected local authorities.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans his Department has to ensure that parents are part of the Government’s levelling up agenda.
Answered by Will Quince
The government has prioritised support for children and families in the Spending Review. The government has announced a £300 million package to transform services for parents and babies, carers and children in half of local authorities in England, helping to deliver our levelling up ambitions.
It includes funding to create a family hub network, for each local authority to publish their Start for Life offer, support for breast feeding, parent-infant relationships and parenting programmes. It also includes a smaller number of pilots to trial and evaluate innovative workforce models needed to support babies and families.
Family hubs are a way of joining up locally to improve access to services, the connections between families, professionals, services, and providers, and putting relationships at the heart of family help.
£50 million will be available for parenting support. The department will ensure online parenting programmes are available to new parents in the 75 selected local authorities, alongside additional targeted support to families most in need. The department will set out more detail in due course, including on which parenting programmes will be available in the selected local authorities.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on securing funding for parental support services in the 2021 Spending Review.
Answered by Will Quince
The government has prioritised support for children and families in the Spending Review. The government has announced a £300 million package to transform services for parents and babies, carers and children in half of local authorities in England, helping to deliver our levelling up ambitions.
It includes funding to create a family hub network, for each local authority to publish their Start for Life offer, support for breast feeding, parent-infant relationships and parenting programmes. It also includes a smaller number of pilots to trial and evaluate innovative workforce models needed to support babies and families.
Family hubs are a way of joining up locally to improve access to services, the connections between families, professionals, services, and providers, and putting relationships at the heart of family help.
£50 million will be available for parenting support. The department will ensure online parenting programmes are available to new parents in the 75 selected local authorities, alongside additional targeted support to families most in need. The department will set out more detail in due course, including on which parenting programmes will be available in the selected local authorities.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department plans to expand its support services for parents.
Answered by Will Quince
The government has prioritised support for children and families in the Spending Review. The government has announced a £300 million package to transform services for parents and babies, carers and children in half of local authorities in England, helping to deliver our levelling up ambitions.
It includes funding to create a family hub network, for each local authority to publish their Start for Life offer, support for breast feeding, parent-infant relationships and parenting programmes. It also includes a smaller number of pilots to trial and evaluate innovative workforce models needed to support babies and families.
Family hubs are a way of joining up locally to improve access to services, the connections between families, professionals, services, and providers, and putting relationships at the heart of family help.
£50 million will be available for parenting support. The department will ensure online parenting programmes are available to new parents in the 75 selected local authorities, alongside additional targeted support to families most in need. The department will set out more detail in due course, including on which parenting programmes will be available in the selected local authorities.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department plans to expand the Government's online support services for parents.
Answered by Will Quince
The government has prioritised support for children and families in the Spending Review. The government has announced a £300 million package to transform services for parents and babies, carers and children in half of local authorities in England, helping to deliver our levelling up ambitions.
It includes funding to create a family hub network, for each local authority to publish their Start for Life offer, support for breast feeding, parent-infant relationships and parenting programmes. It also includes a smaller number of pilots to trial and evaluate innovative workforce models needed to support babies and families.
Family hubs are a way of joining up locally to improve access to services, the connections between families, professionals, services, and providers, and putting relationships at the heart of family help.
£50 million will be available for parenting support. The department will ensure online parenting programmes are available to new parents in the 75 selected local authorities, alongside additional targeted support to families most in need. The department will set out more detail in due course, including on which parenting programmes will be available in the selected local authorities.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of Action for Children’s online Parent Talk resource for parents.
Answered by Will Quince
The government has prioritised support for children and families in the Spending Review. The government has announced a £300 million package to transform services for parents and babies, carers and children in half of local authorities in England, helping to deliver our levelling up ambitions.
It includes funding to create a family hub network, for each local authority to publish their Start for Life offer, support for breast feeding, parent-infant relationships and parenting programmes. It also includes a smaller number of pilots to trial and evaluate innovative workforce models needed to support babies and families.
Family hubs are a way of joining up locally to improve access to services, the connections between families, professionals, services, and providers, and putting relationships at the heart of family help.
£50 million will be available for parenting support. The department will ensure online parenting programmes are available to new parents in the 75 selected local authorities, alongside additional targeted support to families most in need. The department will set out more detail in due course, including on which parenting programmes will be available in the selected local authorities.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of Action for Children’s research entitled Parenting through the Pandemic, published on 21 October 2021.
Answered by Will Quince
The government has prioritised support for children and families in the Spending Review. The government has announced a £300 million package to transform services for parents and babies, carers and children in half of local authorities in England, helping to deliver our levelling up ambitions.
It includes funding to create a family hub network, for each local authority to publish their Start for Life offer, support for breast feeding, parent-infant relationships and parenting programmes. It also includes a smaller number of pilots to trial and evaluate innovative workforce models needed to support babies and families.
Family hubs are a way of joining up locally to improve access to services, the connections between families, professionals, services, and providers, and putting relationships at the heart of family help.
£50 million will be available for parenting support. The department will ensure online parenting programmes are available to new parents in the 75 selected local authorities, alongside additional targeted support to families most in need. The department will set out more detail in due course, including on which parenting programmes will be available in the selected local authorities.