Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will issue guidance to (a) schools, (b) parents, and (c) insurance companies prohibiting school residential trips until after the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department currently advises against any overseas, domestic or residential visits for children under 18 organised by schools. This advice will remain under review and will be updated in line with guidance from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), the Department for Transport (DfT) and Public Health England (PHE).
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the timeframe is for the ending of the provisions in the Coronavirus Act 2020 in relation to duties on local authorities under Section 42 of the Children and Families Act 2014.
Answered by Vicky Ford
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, has issued a notice to modify temporarily the duty on local authorities and health commissioning bodies to secure or arrange the provision specified in education, health and care (EHC) plans, so that they can discharge this by using their ‘reasonable endeavours’. The modified duty applies to all local authorities and health commissioning bodies in England.
The maximum period for which a notice can be issued is a month, although the Secretary of State can issue a further notice if necessary. The current notice is in force from 1 to 30 June 2020 (inclusive), following a notice that was issued for the month of May.
We are committed to ceasing this temporary change to the duty on local authorities and health commissioning bodies to secure or arrange the provision specified in EHC plans at the earliest opportunity. We will continue to work with a range of stakeholders, including representative bodies for local authorities and parents of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and a number of specialist SEND organisations, to keep this measure under close review and to inform decisions as to whether or not further notices should be issued.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the covid-19 lockdown, if he will give discretion to independent schools to prioritise the return of Year 8 pupils due to undertake Common Entrance examinations.
Answered by Nick Gibb
As of 1 June 2020, the Government has asked primary schools to welcome back children in Nursery, Reception, year 1 and year 6, alongside priority groups.
We want to get all children and young people back into education as soon as the scientific advice allows because it is the best place for them to learn, and because we know how important it is for their mental wellbeing to have social interactions with their peers, carers and teachers. The safety of children and staff is our utmost priority.
Guidance for schools and childcare settings to prepare for wider opening from 1 June 2020 can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-educational-and-childcare-settings-to-prepare-for-wider-opening-from-1-june-2020/actions-for-education-and-childcare-settings-to-prepare-for-wider-opening-from-1-june-2020.
We expect all mainstream schools and colleges, including independent schools, to follow the same approach, to ensure national parity for children in this year group.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that home educated pupils can secure public examination grades in 2019-20.
Answered by Nick Gibb
As my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, announced to the House on 18 March, the Government has taken the difficult decision to cancel all examinations due to take place in schools and colleges in England this summer, as part of the fight to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
The Department’s priority is to ensure that students can move on as planned to the next stage of their lives, including starting university, college or sixth form courses or apprenticeships, in the autumn. For GCSE, AS and A-level students, we will make sure they are awarded a grade which reflects their work. Our intention is that a grade will be awarded this summer based on the best available evidence, including any non-examination assessment that students have already completed. Students will also have the option to sit an examination, as soon as is reasonably possible after the beginning of the academic year, if they wish to do so.
The independent regulator of qualifications, Ofqual, is working urgently with examination boards to set out proposals for how this process will work and to look at the options available in relation to external candidates, including home educated students.
Further information will be published as soon as possible.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will extend his sanitary product scheme to primary schools; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
No one should be held back from reaching their potential because of their gender or background. That is why my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in his Spring Statement on 13 March 2019 that the Department for Education will lead a scheme to provide access to free sanitary products in all secondary schools and colleges in England. The scheme will be rolled out during the next academic year. As the scheme develops, we will also consider providing free sanitary products in primary schools.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the need to make sanitary products available in primary schools to address the needs of girls who begin menstruation in primary school.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
No one should be held back from reaching their potential because of their gender or background. That is why my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in his Spring Statement on 13 March 2019 that the Department for Education will lead a scheme to provide access to free sanitary products in all secondary schools and colleges in England. The scheme will be rolled out during the next academic year. As the scheme develops, we will also consider providing free sanitary products in primary schools.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the level of asbestos in schools; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department started to collect data on asbestos management in schools in 2016. All state-funded schools in England were invited to participate in the voluntary data collection and 25% responded. In February 2017, the findings were published in a report on GOV.UK. Of those taking part, 83% reported that asbestos was present in their school estate. It should be noted, however, that as this was only a proportion of state-funded schools, the responses may not be representative of all schools,
The Department launched a second data collection, the Asbestos Management Assurance Process, in March 2018. This was launched to help the Department develop a more comprehensive understanding of asbestos management in the school estate. This data collection has just closed, and responses are being analysed. The Department intends to publish the findings from this report in spring 2019.
To help local authorities, governing bodies and academy trusts meet their legal duties and manage asbestos effectively, the Department refers to advice from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The Department also published ‘Asbestos Management in Schools’ guidance in February 2017. The HSE advice is clear that if asbestos is unlikely to be damaged or disturbed then it is best managed in situ. Although, the Department is also clear that when asbestos does pose a risk to safety and cannot be effectively managed in situ, it should be removed.
Since 2015, the Department has allocated £6 billion to those responsible for school buildings and for essential maintenance and improvements, including removing or encapsulating asbestos when it is the safest course of action to do so. In addition, through the Priority School Building Programme, the Department is rebuilding or refurbishing buildings in the worst condition in over 500 schools across the country. Asbestos was a factor in selecting buildings for the programme.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason he did not implement grant funding for Year Seven catch-up proposals.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Last autumn, the Department invited teaching schools to submit outline bids for grants to be made from an additional £500,000 funding (to be used within the 2017-18 financial year) to enable them to deliver small-scale projects to support other schools in making more effective use of their Year 7 catch up premium funding. In the event, the Department decided that awarding these grants so close to the end of the financial year would not provide best value for money and no funding was awarded.
The Department provides £50 million of funding per year directly to secondary schools through the Year 7 Catch Up Premium. This funding is for activity to help Year 7 pupils who did not meet the expected standard at Key Stage 2 catch up in mathematics and reading.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect of the equipment contribution payable by students in receipt of disabled student allowances on the number of disabled students claiming that equipment.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
The most recent data show that, for full-time undergraduate students domiciled in England, 4,600 fewer students were in receipt of equipment Disabled Students Allowances (DSAs) in 2015/16 than in 2014/15. The full data are available at http://www.slc.co.uk/official-statistics/financial-support-awarded/england-higher-education.aspx. The main reason for this fall is that the £200 student contribution to the costs of computer hardware took effect from September 2015.
We are keen to better understand the impact of DSAs on eligible students, including that of recent DSAs reforms. We have commissioned a research project to explore this and we will respond to the research findings when they are available in spring 2018.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will enable schools to teach British Sign Language to GCSE level; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government has introduced a number of recent changes to GCSEs, AS and A levels in England that will affect schools in the coming years. The Department knows that extensive changes need time to settle in to schools, and that school leaders will want stability to bring in the new qualifications. There are no plans to introduce new GCSEs, AS or A levels in this Parliament.
Schools are free to teach British Sign Language and there are existing qualifications available which schools can enter pupils into at any point of their school career. These include a Level 1 award, Level 2, 3 and 4 certificates and a Level 6 NVQ certificate. British Sign Language is also now an alternative to a Level 1 and Level 2 qualification in English when studying an apprenticeship, where British Sign Language is the apprentice’s primary language. This enables those who use British Sign Language to complete their apprenticeship without having to achieve another English qualification, such as GCSE or Functional Skills.