Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, from what date university students will be able to return to campus and resume in-person teaching.
Answered by Michelle Donelan
Following the review into when the remaining higher education students can return to in-person teaching and learning, the government has announced that the remaining students should return to in-person teaching no earlier than 17 May 2021, alongside Step 3 of the roadmap. Students and institutions will be given at least a week’s notice of any further return in accordance with the timing of Step 3 of the roadmap.
The government roadmap is designed to maintain a cautious approach to the easing of restrictions to reduce public health risks and ensure that we can maintain progress towards full reopening. However, the government recognises the difficulties and disruption that this may cause for many students and their families and that is why the government is making a further £15 million of additional student hardship funding available for this academic year 2020/21. In total we have made an additional £85 million of funding available for student hardship.
We are supporting universities to provide regular twice weekly asymptomatic testing for all students and staff on-site and, from May, at home. This will help break chains of transmission of the virus.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps his Department has taken to ensure that children with (a) autism and (b) high-functioning autism (i) have access to therapy while schools are closed and (ii) will continue to have access to that therapy once schools re-open as part of the education route map.
Answered by Vicky Ford
During periods of national lockdown, settings have remained open to vulnerable children and young people, including those with education, health and care (EHC) plans.
Our guidance clearly states that therapists and other professionals have been able to continue to visit education settings to provide therapies and support during this period. We have worked with health partners to promote collaborative working between education settings, local authorities, clinical commissioning groups and health providers to agree appropriate support throughout this period.
Where children and young people with EHC plans are not attending their education setting, multi-agency professionals should collaborate to agree how the provision set out in the EHC plan can be delivered. This may include face-to-face visits to the home, or virtual support by means of video, telephone calls or email.
When schools and colleges open more widely they should, along with the local authority and health partners, work with families to co-produce arrangements for delivering all therapies and support that would normally be in place, including for those with autism.
In addition, the Department has provided £600,000 in 2020-21 to the Autism Education Trust to deliver autism training and good practice support to the education workforce. This includes a dedicated COVID-19 information hub which contains guidance, tools and information for education staff and families.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what specific support is available for the school travel sector during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Since September 2020, the Department has allocated more than £98 million to local transport authorities (LTA) to procure additional dedicated home to school and college transport, enabling children and young people to use alternatives to public transport while social distancing remains in place. LTAs have flexibility in how they use this funding to meet the needs of local families, including hiring extra coaches. The Department is reviewing funding arrangements for the summer term.
The main central government contribution to the costs of providing school transport (special educational needs and mainstream) is currently met from the Local Government Finance Settlement, administered by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of underwriting school deposits for residential trips to provide that sector with a cashflow and help ensure it is ready to reopen as soon as conditions allow.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Schools are advised against all educational visits at this time. This advice will be reviewed in February 2021. Due to the uncertainty of when and how COVID-19 national restrictions will be lifted, at this time providing a specific date for the resumption of educational visits would be inappropriate. Further guidance for schools can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak.
Officials will continue to work across Government, with industry bodies and sector representatives to address the issues arising from the COVID-19 outbreak and will help them plan for the safe reintroduction of educational visits, including residential educational visits, when it is safe to do so.
There are no plans for underwriting of school deposits for residential trips.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when he plans to lift the ban on residential trips so that the (a) School Travel Sector Stakeholder Group and (b) other organisations can plan for reopening.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Schools are advised against all educational visits at this time. This advice will be reviewed in February 2021. Due to the uncertainty of when and how COVID-19 national restrictions will be lifted, at this time providing a specific date for the resumption of educational visits would be inappropriate. Further guidance for schools can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak.
Officials will continue to work across Government, with industry bodies and sector representatives to address the issues arising from the COVID-19 outbreak and will help them plan for the safe reintroduction of educational visits, including residential educational visits, when it is safe to do so.
There are no plans for underwriting of school deposits for residential trips.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans are being put in place for pupils who are home schooled and do not have access to a teacher-assessed exam grade.
Answered by Nick Gibb
In light of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, the Department has decided that exams cannot be held in a way which is fair. We have therefore announced that GCSE, AS and A level exams will not go ahead this summer as planned.
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has asked the interim Chief Regulator of Ofqual, Simon Lebus, to find a clear and accessible route for private candidates, and those not in school this year, to be assessed and receive a grade. The Department and Ofqual have launched a two-week consultation on how to fairly award all pupils a grade that supports them to progress to the next stage of their lives, including consulting specifically on four different approaches for private candidates to receive a grade.
The consultation can be accessed from the Ofqual website and will be open until 29 January 2021. The Department and Ofqual strongly encourage all our stakeholders, including private candidates and their parents, to respond. We will continue to engage with a range of relevant stakeholders when developing plans for our policy on GCSE, AS and A level assessments in 2021, as will the exams regulator Ofqual.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what financial and other support is available for clubs that support vulnerable children and provide essential childcare for key worker families.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The government recognises the value of before and after-school clubs, not only toward economic recovery in enabling parents and carers to return and continue to work, but also in providing enriching activities and development opportunities to children and young people, particularly those who are vulnerable. Therefore, we have ensured that these settings have been able to continue to stay open in the new lockdown for all vulnerable children, and for children of critical workers where it is to support critical workers to work, seek work, undertake education or training, or attend a medical appointment or to address a medical need. We have also ensured that essential youth services, such as 1-1 youth work and support groups have been able to continue for the duration of the national lockdown, to ensure vulnerable children and young people continue to have access to these valuable services.
We are acutely aware of the impact that COVID-19 has had on young people and the vital role our childcare and youth services play. That's why more than £60 million of the unprecedented £750 million package for the voluntary and charity sector has been directed towards organisations supporting children and young people. More recently a £16.5 million Youth Covid-19 Support Fund has been announced, which will protect the immediate future of grassroots and national youth organisations across the country. This is on top of £200 million government investment in early intervention and prevention support initiatives to support children and young people at risk of exploitation and involvement in serious violence, through the Youth Endowment Fund.
In addition, the Youth Investment Fund remains a manifesto commitment for transformative levelling up across the country over the course of the parliament. In the recently announced Spending Review, £30 million of this was committed as capital investment for 2021-22. This will provide a transformational investment in new and refurbished safe spaces for young people, so they can access support youth workers, and positive activities out of school, including sport and culture.
We also recognise the financial pressures currently facing providers offering before, afterschool or holiday provision for children, as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. It is for this reason we are strongly encouraging local authorities to support these providers using grants that have been made available to assist businesses that have been adversely impacted by COVID-19 restrictions.
The Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy has introduced support for small businesses in response to COVID-19 through grant schemes administered by local authorities this financial year (2020-21). Since the introduction of national restrictions on 5th January 2021, local authorities can use the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) Addendum from 5 January 2021 onwards to support businesses impacted by restrictions but not required to close. This scheme is an extension of the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) scheme but has been adapted for the period of national restrictions. The principal feature is that the payment period is initially extended to 42 days from 5 January 2021 rather than the 14-day payment cycle in tiers.
We have also encouraged all local authorities to consider what local grants could be used to bolster this part of the childcare sector in their areas, to safeguard sufficient childcare provision for children of critical workers and vulnerable children. This includes funding streams such as the Holiday Activities and Food Programme, aimed to support vulnerable children. The expanded programme, which comprises a £220 million fund to be delivered through grants to local authorities, will be expanded to reach all local authority areas over the Easter, summer, and Christmas holidays in 2021.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether it is his policy to differentiate between holiday and school clubs and clubs that care for vulnerable children; and whether he plans to provide specific support to those clubs.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The government recognises the value of before and after-school clubs, not only toward economic recovery in enabling parents and carers to return and continue to work, but also in providing enriching activities and development opportunities to children and young people, particularly those who are vulnerable. Therefore, we have ensured that these settings have been able to continue to stay open in the new lockdown for all vulnerable children, and for children of critical workers where it is to support critical workers to work, seek work, undertake education or training, or attend a medical appointment or to address a medical need. We have also ensured that essential youth services, such as 1-1 youth work and support groups have been able to continue for the duration of the national lockdown, to ensure vulnerable children and young people continue to have access to these valuable services.
We are acutely aware of the impact that COVID-19 has had on young people and the vital role our childcare and youth services play. That's why more than £60 million of the unprecedented £750 million package for the voluntary and charity sector has been directed towards organisations supporting children and young people. More recently a £16.5 million Youth Covid-19 Support Fund has been announced, which will protect the immediate future of grassroots and national youth organisations across the country. This is on top of £200 million government investment in early intervention and prevention support initiatives to support children and young people at risk of exploitation and involvement in serious violence, through the Youth Endowment Fund.
In addition, the Youth Investment Fund remains a manifesto commitment for transformative levelling up across the country over the course of the parliament. In the recently announced Spending Review, £30 million of this was committed as capital investment for 2021-22. This will provide a transformational investment in new and refurbished safe spaces for young people, so they can access support youth workers, and positive activities out of school, including sport and culture.
We also recognise the financial pressures currently facing providers offering before, afterschool or holiday provision for children, as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. It is for this reason we are strongly encouraging local authorities to support these providers using grants that have been made available to assist businesses that have been adversely impacted by COVID-19 restrictions.
The Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy has introduced support for small businesses in response to COVID-19 through grant schemes administered by local authorities this financial year (2020-21). Since the introduction of national restrictions on 5th January 2021, local authorities can use the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) Addendum from 5 January 2021 onwards to support businesses impacted by restrictions but not required to close. This scheme is an extension of the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) scheme but has been adapted for the period of national restrictions. The principal feature is that the payment period is initially extended to 42 days from 5 January 2021 rather than the 14-day payment cycle in tiers.
We have also encouraged all local authorities to consider what local grants could be used to bolster this part of the childcare sector in their areas, to safeguard sufficient childcare provision for children of critical workers and vulnerable children. This includes funding streams such as the Holiday Activities and Food Programme, aimed to support vulnerable children. The expanded programme, which comprises a £220 million fund to be delivered through grants to local authorities, will be expanded to reach all local authority areas over the Easter, summer, and Christmas holidays in 2021.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of per pupil funding in primary schools.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department is increasing core schools funding by £2.6 billion this year, and £4.8 billion and £7.1 billion by 2021-22 and 2022-23 respectively, compared to 2019-20. This investment has enabled us to increase funding for primary schools by 3.2% more per pupil through the schools national funding formula (NFF) next year, 2021-22, compared to this year.
Every primary school will receive at least £4,000 per pupil next year, up from at least £3,750 per pupil this year. On top of that, all schools, will receive additional funds to cover additional teachers’ pay and pension costs, adding a further £180 to the minimum per pupil amount.
We are also increasing the extra support the NFF provides to small, rural primary schools by increasing the maximum amount they can attract through the sparsity factor to £45,000, a significant increase from £26,000 this year. This has contributed to small and remote primary schools attracting 5.1% more per pupil through the NFF next year compared to this. This is the first step towards further expanding the support the NFF offers small and remote schools from 2022-23.
We keep school funding under review on an ongoing basis and the NFF is designed to respond to changes in need, in order for us to target funding where evidence indicates it is most needed.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether EU students studying at UK universities, who started their 2020-21 university course online as a result of the covid-19 pandemic, will need to arrive in the UK before 31 December 2020 to be eligible for a student loan and home student status.
Answered by Michelle Donelan
EU nationals and their family members who start courses in England in the 2020/21 academic year will remain eligible for undergraduate and postgraduate financial support from Student Finance England for the duration of their course, provided they meet the existing residency requirement.
It is expected that EU students will travel to England to study if it is safe and sensible to do so. However, where eligible students are prevented, due to the COVID-19 outbreak, from residing in England whilst studying on a designated course, they will be considered temporarily absent and, therefore, resident here. This will allow them to access financial student support and qualify for home fee status. This includes students who have never resided in England, but intended to travel here to undertake a designated course of study during the 2020/21 academic year.