Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 25 February 2021 to Question 156534 on the 16 to 19 Tuition Fund, how much funding under the 16-19 Tuition Fund has been allocated to (a) further education colleges, (b) sixth form colleges, (c) 16 to 19 academies and free schools, (d) school and academy sixth forms and (e) other institutions for the academic year 2020-21.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
We have made up to £96 million available for the 16 to 19 tuition fund enabling schools, colleges and other 16 to 19 providers to provide small group tuition for disadvantaged students whose learning has been disrupted as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. Providers were required to opt-in to receive an allocation and need to comply with the guidance for the fund. The guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/16-to-19-funding-16-to-19-tuition-fund.
The attached table shows the data on the funding claimed and allocated. The data available shows the amounts for different kinds of academy, and for maintained schools, but does not consistently differentiate 16 to 19 only schools and academies from those with pre-16 as well as post-16 provision.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the provision of mental health services for students at university.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
Protecting student and staff wellbeing is vital during these difficult times and it is important students can still access the mental health and wellbeing support they need. We recognise that many students are facing additional mental health challenges due to the disruption and uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.
It is for higher education (HE) providers as autonomous bodies to identify and address the needs of their student body and decide what mental health and wellbeing support to put in place. HE providers have a duty of care towards their staff and students, including legal requirements under the Equality Act 2010, to take all reasonable steps to protect the health and safety and welfare of students to prevent harm. HE providers are best placed to understand and cater for their student body including providing mental health support for lower-level needs.
The Department of Health and Social Care has overall policy responsibility for young people’s mental health. We continue to work closely with them to take steps to develop mental health and wellbeing support.
The government is committed, through the NHS Long Term Plan, to investing at least £2.3 billion of extra funding a year into mental health services by financial year 2023-24. This will see an additional 345,000 children and young people, and adults, able to access support through NHS-funded services. This year the NHS will receive around an additional £500 million, to address waiting times for mental health services, give more people the mental health support they need, and invest in the NHS workforce. More detail will be provided in due course.
We have also worked with the Office for Students (OfS) to provide Student Space, which has been funded by up to £3 million by the OfS. 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. I am delighted they have extended the platform to support students for the whole 2020/21 academic year.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that school pupils who have not had access to digital devices to learn from home are fairly graded in their (a) GCSE and (b) A-levels this year.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Given the ongoing disruption to education caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, the Department announced in January 2021 that GCSE, AS and A level exams will not go ahead as planned this summer. The Department and Ofqual launched a joint consultation on 15 January on how to award grades in 2021 so they are robust and fair. We received over 100,000 responses from pupils, parents, teachers, head teachers and other stakeholders. There was widespread support for our approach. Pupils will receive grades determined by their teachers. Teachers have the flexibility to use a range of evidence, including the use of optional questions provided by exam boards, mock exams, non-examined assessment, or in-class tests set by the school which align closely with the specification.
We know there has been differential learning loss, as some pupils have suffered more disruption to their education than others. Because of this, pupils will only be assessed on the content they have been taught, and not what they have missed.
The Government is investing over £400 million to support access to remote education and online social care services, including securing 1.3 million laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children and young people. To date, over 1.2 million laptops and tablets have been delivered to schools, academy trusts, local authorities and further education providers. The Government is providing this significant injection of laptops and tablets on top of an estimated 2.9 million already owned by schools before the start of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Where remote education has been needed and pupils continued to experience barriers to digital remote education, we have expected schools and FE colleges to work to overcome these barriers. This could include distributing school or FE college-owned laptops or supplementing digital provision with different forms of remote education such as printed resources or textbooks. This should be supplemented with other forms of communication to keep pupils and students on track or answer questions about work.
Some pupils and students who have difficulty engaging in remote education may be considered to be vulnerable children and young people and therefore eligible to attend provision: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-educational-provision/guidance-for-schools-colleges-and-local-authorities-on-maintaining-educational-provision#vulnerable-children-and-young-people. It is up to the child or young person’s education provider or local authority to make this decision. The decision would be based on the needs of the child or young person and their family, and a range of other factors, as set out in the guidance.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department has taken to reassure school pupils that the grading of GCSEs and A-levels will be fair and equitable.
Answered by Nick Gibb
On 25 February 2021 the Government confirmed this year's cohort of GCSE, AS and A level students will receive grades based on teachers’ judgements of their performance based on a range of evidence, details of which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/awarding-qualifications-in-summer-2021. Fairness to young people is fundamental to the Department and Ofqual’s decision making. We want to ensure all young people have the confidence that, despite exams not going ahead, they will receive a grade that reflects their ability and enables them to progress.
Exam boards will provide teachers with a package of training and support materials in March 2021 on how to make judgements fairly. The guidance will also provide schools and colleges with support and training on how to minimise the risk of bias and malpractice.
Grades must reflect what a student knows, understands, and can do, and they must be widely understood and respected. Teachers will not be asked to judge the grade a student might have achieved had the COVID-19 outbreak not occurred or to measure potential. Exam boards will also provide grade descriptors, to help teachers to make accurate and fair judgements.
There will be a process to check teachers are doing what is needed and headteachers will have to confirm this to the exam boards. Exam boards will challenge schools where grades seem too low or too high. Every student who believes their grade does not reflect their performance or has not been properly determined will have a clear route to appeal this year.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that potential discrepancy between the grading of GCSE and A-level examinations by different schools is minimised.
Answered by Nick Gibb
On 25 February 2021 the Government confirmed this year's cohort of GCSE, AS and A level students will receive grades based on teachers’ judgements of their performance based on a range of evidence, details of which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/awarding-qualifications-in-summer-2021. Fairness to young people is fundamental to the Department and Ofqual’s decision making. We want to ensure all young people have the confidence that, despite exams not going ahead, they will receive a grade that reflects their ability and enables them to progress.
Exam boards will provide teachers with a package of training and support materials in March 2021 on how to make judgements fairly. The guidance will also provide schools and colleges with support and training on how to minimise the risk of bias and malpractice.
Grades must reflect what a student knows, understands, and can do, and they must be widely understood and respected. Teachers will not be asked to judge the grade a student might have achieved had the COVID-19 outbreak not occurred or to measure potential. Exam boards will also provide grade descriptors, to help teachers to make accurate and fair judgements.
There will be a process to check teachers are doing what is needed and headteachers will have to confirm this to the exam boards. Exam boards will challenge schools where grades seem too low or too high. Every student who believes their grade does not reflect their performance or has not been properly determined will have a clear route to appeal this year.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that schools are adequately ventilated to make them covid-19-secure when school pupils return on 8 March 2021.
Answered by Nick Gibb
At each stage of the Department's response to the COVID-19 outbreak, we have listened to the latest medical and scientific advice. The Department has worked closely with other Government departments, including Public Health England (PHE) and the Department of Health and Social Care, as well as stakeholders across the sector, to ensure that our policy is based on the latest scientific and medical advice, and to continue to develop comprehensive guidance based on the PHE-endorsed ‘system of controls’ and to understand the impact and effectiveness of these measures on staff, pupils and parents.
It is important to ensure that schools are well ventilated and that a comfortable teaching environment is maintained.
Current evidence recommends that the way to control COVID-19 is the same, even with the current new variants. The PHE-endorsed ‘system of controls’ which have been in use throughout the COVID-19 outbreak set out in our published guidance, which includes ventilation, continue to be the right measures to take. These measures create an inherently safer environment for children, young people, and staff where the risk of transmission of infection is substantially reduced. PHE keeps all these controls under review, based on the latest evidence. Schools therefore need to continue to implement these controls to the fullest extent. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak.
Our guidance signposts to further advice from the Health and Safety Executive on air conditioning and ventilation during the COVID-19 outbreak. The guidance can be found here: https://www.hse.gov.uk/coronavirus/equipment-and-machinery/air-conditioning-and-ventilation.htm.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the evidential basis is for the decision to have all school pupils return on 8 March 2021 rather than a staggered approach.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government’s wider decision making is set out in the Government’s ‘COVID-19 Response – Spring 2021’ Roadmap, where the step by step plan to ease restrictions in England cautiously, starting with schools and colleges, is set out. It can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-response-spring-2021.
SAGE regularly publishes minutes and papers, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/scientific-evidence-supporting-the-government-response-to-coronavirus-covid-19. In addition, a summary of the evidence in relation to children, young people and education settings is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/evidence-summary-covid-19-children-young-people-and-education-settings.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that school pupils who are required to self-isolate due to the covid-19 outbreak do not fall behind at school.
Answered by Nick Gibb
We recognise teachers have been working exceptionally hard and making tremendous efforts to provide high quality remote education with much being achieved in recent months.
Until 8 March 2021, we continue to expect all primary and secondary schools in England to provide remote education for the majority of their pupils, with the exception of vulnerable children and young people and the children of critical workers, who can attend school in person. Where vulnerable children and young people and children of critical workers do not attend school, we expect schools to provide them with remote education.
From 8 March 2021, attendance will be mandatory for all pupils of compulsory school age. Schools affected by the remote education temporary continuity direction are still required to provide remote education for pupils where their attendance would be contrary to government guidance or legislation around COVID-19. This includes, for example, where such guidance means that a class, group or small number of pupils need to self-isolate, or that clinically extremely vulnerable children need to shield.
Where secondary schools are operating a phased return of pupils during week commencing 8 March to allow for testing, we expect schools to provide remote education for all pupils not yet expected to attend on-site.
Where it is needed, both now and after 8 March, schools are expected to offer pupils 3 to 5 hours of remote education that includes time for independent study and also either recorded or live direct teaching. This includes either recorded or live direct teaching alongside time for pupils to work independently to complete assignments that have been set. Online video lessons do not necessarily need to be recorded by teaching staff at the school. Oak National Academy lessons, for example, can be provided in lieu of school-led video content.
Schools are expected to have a system in place for checking on a daily basis whether pupils are engaging actively with their work. Schools will need to work with families to swiftly identify where pupil engagement is a concern and find effective solutions. A comprehensive package of support continues to be available to schools to help them meet these expectations. Schools can find further support via the Get Help with Remote Education page on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/get-help-with-remote-education.
In January 2021, my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, committed to working with parents, teachers and schools to develop a long-term plan to help support pupils make up their learning over the course of this parliament.
We also recognise that extended restrictions on attendance at schools and colleges have had a substantial impact on children and young people’s education. The Department has appointed Sir Kevan Collins as Education Recovery Commissioner, to advise on this plan and will say more on this in due course. More immediately, we are making available £700 million to put in place a range of additional measures to give nurseries, schools and colleges the tools they need to target support to their pupils.
In addition, we announced a catch-up package on 24 February 2021 which will build on the £1 billion catch up package announced in June 2020 and form part of the wider response to help pupils make up their lost learning over the course of this Parliament.
Finally, a range of high-quality online resources will be available for all teachers and pupils, starting from the summer term and throughout summer holidays, provided by Oak National Academy, to help give pupils the confidence they are ready for the next academic year.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many dongles has been provided to primary school children who are learning from home and require internet access in (a) Kingston upon Hull North, (b) Hull City, (c) Yorkshire and the Humber and (d) nationally.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government is investing over £400 million to support access to remote education and online social care services, including securing 1.3 million laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children and young people.
As of Monday 8 February 2021, this includes over 980,000 laptops and tablets that were delivered to schools, academy trusts and local authorities.
Laptops and tablets are owned by schools, academy trusts or local authorities, who can lend these to children and young people who need them most during the current COVID-19 restrictions.
The Government is providing this significant injection of devices on top of an estimated 2.9 million laptops and tablets already owned by schools before the start of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Figures on the number of devices already delivered are available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/laptops-and-tablets-data. This includes 1,749 delivered to the City of Hull local authority. The Department have also delivered devices to academy trusts, including schools in Yorkshire and the Humber, which are not included in this figure.
Regional figures for delivery of devices are currently not available for the period requested and figures by Parliamentary constituency are also not available.
Where schools need additional devices to support disadvantaged children, they should contact the Department for Education’s service team at covid.technology@education.gov.uk. They should include the number of pupils in Years 3 to 13 who require support and an explanation of how they have gathered this evidence.
To support access to the internet, the Department have partnered with the UK’s leading mobile operators to provide free data to help disadvantaged children get online, as well as delivering 4G wireless routers for pupils without connection at home. The Department are grateful to EE, O2, Sky Mobile, Smarty, Tesco Mobile, Three, Virgin Mobile, Vodafone, BT Mobile and Lycamobile for their collaboration. We are currently engaged with additional mobile network operators and continue to invite a range of mobile network providers to support the offer.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate he has made of the number of digital devices provided for secondary school pupils who are learning from home in (a) Kingston upon Hull North, (b) Hull City, (c) Yorkshire and the Humber and (d) nationally.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government is investing over £400 million to support access to remote education and online social care services, including securing 1.3 million laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children and young people.
As of Monday 8 February 2021, this includes over 980,000 laptops and tablets that were delivered to schools, academy trusts and local authorities.
Laptops and tablets are owned by schools, academy trusts or local authorities, who can lend these to children and young people who need them most during the current COVID-19 restrictions.
The Government is providing this significant injection of devices on top of an estimated 2.9 million laptops and tablets already owned by schools before the start of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Figures on the number of devices already delivered are available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/laptops-and-tablets-data. This includes 1,749 delivered to the City of Hull local authority. The Department have also delivered devices to academy trusts, including schools in Yorkshire and the Humber, which are not included in this figure.
Regional figures for delivery of devices are currently not available for the period requested and figures by Parliamentary constituency are also not available.
Where schools need additional devices to support disadvantaged children, they should contact the Department for Education’s service team at covid.technology@education.gov.uk. They should include the number of pupils in Years 3 to 13 who require support and an explanation of how they have gathered this evidence.
To support access to the internet, the Department have partnered with the UK’s leading mobile operators to provide free data to help disadvantaged children get online, as well as delivering 4G wireless routers for pupils without connection at home. The Department are grateful to EE, O2, Sky Mobile, Smarty, Tesco Mobile, Three, Virgin Mobile, Vodafone, BT Mobile and Lycamobile for their collaboration. We are currently engaged with additional mobile network operators and continue to invite a range of mobile network providers to support the offer.