Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will provide a map of school funding for England at (a) county level and (b) for each school.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The schools national funding formula (NFF) is the way the Government decides how much core funding to allocate for mainstream, state-funded schools in England.
Each year, we publish tables showing NFF funding allocations to local authorities and notional school-level allocations for the coming financial year. The latest publication was on 20 July 2020, which shows funding allocations for the 2021-22 financial year, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-funding-formula-tables-for-schools-and-high-needs-2021-to-2022.
The funding rates for local authorities determined through the NFF are multiplied by the latest pupil numbers in the autumn school census to provide final allocations to local authorities for the coming financial year, through the Dedicated Schools Grant. Final funding amounts for the 2021-22 financial year were published on 17 December 2020, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-dsg-2021-to-2022.
It should be noted that school level figures are notional because local authorities continue to set a local formula to distribute final funding to schools in their area. The actual amounts that schools attract through local formulae are also published once a year, and 2020-21 amounts are available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-funding-statistics/2020-21.
The Government will, in the coming months, put forward proposals to move to a ‘hard’ NFF in future, where schools’ budgets will be determined on the basis of the single NFF.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to help schools, colleges and universities to support students with the mental health effects of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Vicky Ford
We know that the COVID-19 outbreak and associated measures and restrictions, such as social distancing and school closures, will be impacting on the mental wellbeing of many people, including children and young people. The government has made student wellbeing and mental health a central part of our response to the COVID-19 outbreak, and the support we have already put in place for schools, colleges and universities will be critical during this time.
We worked closely with the Department of Health and Social (DHSC) on their Wellbeing and Mental Health Support Plan for COVID-19, backed by £50 million. The plan sets out the support available for individuals in the context of a second wave, and the winter months, including support for children and young people. As part of taking forward this work, the Department for Education will be convening a task force, alongside DHSC, to look at the effects on children, young people and staff in the education system. We will confirm the next steps as soon as possible.
We have ensured that schools have the flexibility to offer a place in school, as a vulnerable child, to any pupils for whom being in school will help them manage their mental health, or to access support more easily. Decisions will be informed by the school’s experience of how pupils have been affected so far.
Schools will also continue to offer pastoral support to pupils working remotely at home, informed and supported by training and expert advice that we have made available, including through the £8 million Wellbeing for Education Return scheme. Wellbeing for Education Return, a Department for Education led initiative alongside DHSC, Health Education England, Public Health England and key voluntary sector organisations, has trained local experts to provide additional advice and resources for schools and further education (FE) providers to help support pupil and student, parent and carer, and staff wellbeing, resilience, and recovery in light of the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 outbreak and lockdown. In recognition of the significant pressures on school and FE provider staff, local areas are providing training and support in a variety of ways, including via live and recorded online interactive sessions, webinars, podcasts, drop-ins and peer networks or coaching groups. Over 85% of local authority areas in England have reported they are delivering additional training and support into local schools and FE providers because of the Wellbeing for Education Return funding. Nationally, our information indicates that more than 15,000 education settings are being offered this additional training and support. The information and support made available through Wellbeing for Education Return is relevant to remote provision as well as to those attending school. Schools should make sure that parents and pupils know who to contact if they have new concerns about mental health and wellbeing, and that they understand what pastoral support is available.
This is backed up by guidance that the department has issued for schools, which includes information and sources of further advice on supporting mental health and wellbeing. This guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak .
We have also put in place a £1 billion COVID “catch-up” package, with £650 million shared across early years, schools and 16-19 providers over the 2020/21 academic year to support education settings to put the right catch-up and pastoral support in place. The Education Endowment Foundation have published a COVID-19 support guide to support schools to direct this funding, which includes further information about interventions to support pupils’ mental health and wellbeing.
For FE we are also committed to providing and signposting wellbeing guidance and support, and ensuring that specialist mental health support is available for all students and staff in FE who need it. The FE operational guidance includes a specific section on supporting the mental health of staff and students in addition to signposting providers to additional resources, such as webinars and online platforms. This is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/954814/Further_education_guidance_for_restricting_attendance_during_the_national_lockdown.pdf.
The College Collaboration Fund is a £5.4 million grant funding programme open to all statutory FE colleges, to be delivered in the 2020/21 financial year. We particularly welcomed applications that address one of 5 specific quality improvement needs. 5 of the funded projects are designed to provide remote/online mental health and wellbeing support to students and/or staff.
It is for higher education providers, as autonomous bodies, to identify and address the needs of their student body and decide what welfare support services to put in place. We expect providers to continue to support their students, which has included making services accessible from a distance. We encourage students to stay in touch with their provider’s student support and welfare teams, as these services are likely to continue to be an important source of support. My hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Universities, wrote to Vice Chancellors in October 2020 outlining that student welfare should remain a priority, and has convened a working group of representatives from the higher education and health sectors to specifically address the current and pressing issues that students are facing during the COVID-19 outbreak.
We have worked closely with the Office for Students (OfS), providing up to £3 million to fund the mental health platform Student Space in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, and have asked the OfS to allocate an additional £15 million towards student mental health, through proposed reforms to teaching grant funding.
Student Space is a mental health and wellbeing platform designed to bridge any gaps in support for students arising from this unprecedented situation and works alongside existing services. Ensuring students have access to quality mental health support is a top priority, which is why we asked the OfS to look at extending the platform. I am delighted they have been able to extend the platform to support students for the whole 2020/21 academic year.
For students that need specialist support, the government continues to invest in and prioritise mental health for all, with additional investment of £2.3 billion a year by the 2023/24 financial year through the NHS Long Term Plan. The NHS will also receive approximately an additional £500 million this year, to address waiting times for mental health services, give more people the mental health support that they need, and invest in the NHS workforce. In the long term, we remain committed to our joint green paper delivery programme with the DHSC and NHS England, including introducing new mental health support teams for all schools and colleges, providing training for senior mental health leads in schools and colleges, and testing approaches to faster access to NHS specialist support.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure the adequacy of the quality of education received by university students during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Michelle Donelan
The government’s clear and stated expectation is that universities should maintain the quality and quantity of tuition and seek to ensure that all students, regardless of their background, have the resources to study remotely. This is more important than ever at the moment, with the vast majority of students studying solely online. The Office for Students (OfS), as regulator for higher education (HE) providers in England, has made it clear that HE providers must continue to comply with registration conditions relating to quality and academic standards. These set out requirements to ensure that courses are high quality, that students are supported and achieve good outcomes, and that standards are protected, regardless of whether a provider is delivering its courses through face-to-face teaching, remote online learning, or a combination of both.
The OfS has published information on quality and standards for providers, providing practical guidance on how best to ensure students continue to receive a high-quality academic experience in light of the COVID-19 outbreak. This sets out that providers should make all reasonable efforts to provide alternative teaching and support for students that is at least broadly equivalent to the provider’s usual arrangements. The OfS will keep this guidance under review to ensure it remains relevant to the developing circumstances of the COVID-19 outbreak.
The OfS is taking very seriously the potential impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak on teaching and learning and is regularly engaging with all registered providers. It is actively monitoring providers to ensure: that they maintain the quality of their provision; that it is accessible for all; and that they have been clear in their communications with students about how arrangements for teaching and learning may change throughout the year. The OfS is also following up directly with providers where they receive notifications from students, parents or others raising concerns about the quality of teaching on offer, and requiring providers to report to them when they are not able to deliver a course or award a qualification. If the OfS has concerns, it will investigate further.
The OfS is also monitoring the position across the sector, for instance, through polling of students' views. Where appropriate and in response to issues raised through that monitoring, it will issue further advice to the sector.
Students have rights under consumer law that they may be able to rely on if they are dissatisfied with their provider’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak. In the first instance, students should speak to their provider to see if they can resolve their issue. We expect student complaints and appeals processes to be operated flexibly, accessibly and sympathetically by providers to resolve any concerns. If a student at a provider in England or Wales is not satisfied with their provider’s final response, they should go to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education, which has published guidance on this issue.?
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to (a) improve the financial education curriculum and (b) increase delivery of that education at primary level in the context of the economic situation as a result of the covid-19 outbreak; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Education on financial matters helps to ensure that young people are prepared to manage their money well, make sound financial decisions and know where to seek further information when needed. In 2014, financial literacy was made statutory within the national curriculum for the first time, as part of the citizenship curriculum for 11 to 16 year olds.
The Department also introduced a rigorous mathematics curriculum, which provides young people with the knowledge and financial skills to make important financial decisions. The Government has published statutory programmes of study for mathematics and citizenship that outline what pupils should learn about financial education from key stages one to four.
In the primary mathematics curriculum, there is a strong emphasis on the arithmetic that pupils should have. This knowledge is vital, as a strong understanding of numeracy and numbers will underpin the pupils’ ability to manage budgets and money, including, for example, percentages. There is also some specific content about financial education such as calculations with money.
We trust schools to use their professional judgement and understanding of their pupils to develop the right teaching approach for their students, drawing on the expertise of subject associations and organisations such as Young Money.
The Department will continue to work closely with the Money and Pension Service and HM Treasury to consider how to provide further support for the teaching of financial education in schools.
Schools should have resumed teaching an ambitious and broad curriculum in all subjects from the start of the autumn term. This means that all pupils will be taught a wide range of subjects so they can maintain their choices for further study and employment. The latest guidance on teaching to support children is set out here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools.
The Government has made £650 million of catch-up funding available, as part of a wider £1 billion COVID-19 catch-up package, to be shared across schools over the 2020-21 academic year. Details of the catch-up package are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/billion-pound-covid-catch-up-plan-to-tackle-impact-of-lost-teaching-time.
The Education Endowment Fund has published a COVID-19 support guide to support schools to use this funding effectively.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to allocate additional funding to schools to cover costs they have incurred in responding to the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department is providing additional funding to schools, on top of existing budgets, to cover unavoidable costs incurred between March to July due to the COVID-19 outbreak that cannot be met from their existing resources.
Schools have been eligible to claim for: increased premises related costs associated with keeping schools open over the Easter and summer half term holidays; support for free school meals for eligible children who are not in school, where schools are not using the national voucher scheme; and additional cleaning costs required due to confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases, over and above the cost of existing cleaning arrangements. The Department has published detailed guidance on the fund at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-financial-support-for-schools.
The first claims window for the fund closed on 21 July. All claims for funding within the published cost categories and up to the maximum limit have already been paid. The Department is assessing all other claims, which will be paid later in the year if approved.
There will also be a further opportunity in autumn for schools to claim for exceptional costs they faced between March to July. This second claims window will be available for schools who were unable to claim in the summer and will be for the same eligible cost categories.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing financial education in schools for 7 to 11 year olds.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Education on financial matters helps to ensure that young people are prepared to manage their money well, make sound financial decisions and know where to seek further information when needed. In 2014, for the first time, financial literacy was made statutory within the National Curriculum as part of the citizenship curriculum for 11 to 16 year olds.
The Department also introduced a rigorous mathematics curriculum, which provides young people with the knowledge and financial skills to make important financial decisions. The Government has published statutory programmes of study for mathematics and citizenship that outline what pupils should learn about financial education from Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 4.
In the primary mathematics curriculum, there is a strong emphasis on the essential arithmetic knowledge that pupils should have. There is also some specific content about financial education, such as calculations with money.
The Department trusts schools to use their professional judgement and understanding of their pupils to develop the right teaching approach for their particular school, drawing on the expertise of subject associations and organisations such as Young Money.
For the longer term, the Department will continue to work closely with The Money and Pension Service and HM Treasury, to consider how to provide further support for the teaching of financial education in schools.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that children with special educational needs are able to access support services close to home.
Answered by Michelle Donelan
Most children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) are able to access support locally. Local authorities must publish a Local Offer of services that they expect to be available in their area to meet the education, health and social care needs of children and young people who have SEND, which should be kept under review. In September 2019, we launched a major cross-government review of the SEND system, to look at how we can improve support for children and young people with SEND. We have announced major investment in education, including an additional £780 million for children and young people with the most complex needs, bringing total high needs funding to over £7 billion. In our recent manifesto we have committed to delivering more school places for children with complex SEND and have allocated £365 million capital funding to local authorities from 2018 to 2021 for them to increase number of places available locally and enhance facilities.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
What steps he is taking to ensure that children with special educational needs are able to access support services close to home.
Answered by Michelle Donelan
Most children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities access support in their local area. We have allocated £365 million capital funding to local authorities from 2018 to 2021 for them to enhance the facilities and the number of places available locally to those with SEND.