Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that universities protect pro-Israeli student societies from intimidation on campuses.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
This government takes anti-Semitism extremely seriously. There is no place in our society, including within higher education, for hatred or any form of harassment, discrimination or racism, including anti-Semitism.
Higher education providers (HEPs) have a clear responsibility to provide a safe and inclusive environment, and no staff or student should ever feel threatened or intimidated. It is essential that HEPs have clear policies and procedures which set out how they meet their responsibilities to ensure that all students and staff can live and work without discrimination, intimidation or harassment.
In September 2015 the government asked Universities UK (UUK) to set up a Harassment Taskforce to consider what more can be done to address harassment and hate crime on campus, including anti-Semitism. The taskforce’s report, ‘Changing the Culture’, published in October 2016, recommended a zero-tolerance approach to harassment and hate crime.
On 27 July 2017 UUK published a directory of case studies detailing the innovative projects universities addressing the taskforce’s recommendations. These included Goldsmith’s hate crime reporting centre (case study 11) which is a joint initiative with the local authority in Lewisham and Metropolitan Police to provide students and staff with a safe space to report incidents. These are published on UUK’s website: http://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/policy-and-analysis/reports/Pages/changing-the-culture-case-studies.aspx. In addition, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has provided £1.8 million for projects to improve responses to hate crime and online harassment on campus.
HEFCE is currently working with UUK to test the sector’s response to the Taskforce’s recommendations and the results of this will be published early in 2018.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to add Holocaust education to all key stages of the national curriculum.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Following the review of the national curriculum, which concluded in 2013, teaching the history of the Holocaust remained a compulsory part of the history curriculum for maintained schools at key stage 3 (age 11 – 14). There is scope for schools to teach about the Holocaust at other key stages, in an age-appropriate way.
The Department funds the ‘Lessons from Auschwitz’ programme, which aims to increase knowledge and understanding of the Holocaust for young people.
In addition, jointly with the Pears Foundation, we fund University College London’s Centre for Holocaust Education, which will provide continuing professional development for over a thousand teachers in England this year.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the remit of the Office for Students will include anti-discrimination on campus.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
The government has published a consultation on behalf of the new Office for Students (OfS) regarding the regulation of the higher education sector. It proposes that, in its regulatory approach, the OfS will look to ensure that all students, from all backgrounds can access, succeed in, and progress from higher education
Higher Education (HE) providers are autonomous organisations, independent from Government, and they already have responsibilities to ensure that they provide a safe, inclusive environment, including legal obligations under the Equality Act 2010 (the Act) to ensure that students do not face discrimination.
The OfS, like some HE providers, will also have obligations under the Public Sector Equality Duty in part 11 of the Act. This includes a requirement that the OfS, when exercising its functions, has due regard to the need to: eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and any other unlawful conduct in the Act, advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations in relation to protected characteristics.
In addition, in September 2015 the government asked Universities UK (UUK) to set up a Harassment Taskforce, composed of university leaders, student representatives and academic experts, to consider what more can be done to address harassment and hate crime on campus. The taskforce published its report, ‘Changing the Culture’, in October 2016, which sets out that universities should embed a zero-tolerance approach to sexual harassment and hate crime. This includes hate crime or harassment on the basis of religion or belief, such as antisemitism and Islamophobia. The Higher Education Funding Council for England is currently working with UUK to test the sector’s response to the Taskforce’s recommendations and the results of this will be published early in 2018.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which Government Department is responsible for collecting reports of (a) anti-Semitic, (b) Islamophobic, (c) racist and (d) homophobic bullying in the work place.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government does not systematically collect such reports but the Equality and Human Rights Commission, the independent public body sponsored by the Government Equalities Office, is responsible for monitoring the effectiveness of equality and human rights legislation.
The Commission’s report ‘How Fair is Britain?’ (2010) and follow up research report 74 (“Public authority commitment and action to eliminate targeted harassment and violence”) included data about unlawful harassment in the workplace.
The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service provides advice on employment rights and workplace disputes. Its study, ‘Seeking better solutions: tackling bullying and ill-treatment in Britain's workplaces’ (2015) looked at the latest research on workplace bullying.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential educational and literacy merits of establishing a scheme to send regular age appropriate books to looked-after children under the age of five in England.
Answered by Edward Timpson
Having access to age appropriate books is an important part of the development of all children, including those who are looked-after. It is an integral part of every local authority’s responsibilities to promote the educational achievement of the children it looks after, including through encouraging their curiosity for reading. This includes ensuring that foster carers see the value of and encourage children of all ages to enjoy reading.
In 2015, 120 local authorities took part in BookTrust’s Letterbox Club scheme (http://www.letterboxclub.org.uk/local-authorities/). As part of this scheme, looked-after children aged 5 to 13 in participating local authorities receive a colourful parcel of books, maths activities, stationery and other complementary materials once every month for six months.
To support their learning, looked-after children aged 3 and 4 attract Early Years Pupil Premium funding, which is managed by the Virtual School Head in the authority that looks after them.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to ensure that all children are taught in schools about online abuse and how they should report such abuse to the police.
Answered by Edward Timpson
E-safety is covered at all key stages in the computing curriculum since its introduction in September 2014. Children in primary schools 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, such as online abuse or other online technologies. Pupils in secondary schools are taught a range of ways to use technology safely, respectfully, responsibly and securely, including protecting their online identity and privacy, how to recognise inappropriate content, contact and conduct and how to report concerns. All schools can choose to teach children about the dangers of social media in an age-appropriate way. Schools are also able to teach pupils about e-safety in personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) lessons. The PSHE Association’s non-statutory programme of study for health and well-being includes ways of keeping physically and emotionally safe, including online.