Asked by: Diane Abbott (Independent - Hackney North and Stoke Newington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he has taken to review (a) guidance and training for teachers and school staff and (b) guidelines on child safeguarding in relation to strip and intimate searches undertaken by police officers on school grounds.
Answered by Robin Walker
The department is currently reviewing the ‘searching, screening and confiscation at school’ guidance. As part of this review, officials are engaging with teaching unions, the third sector and other government departments, including the Home Office, to gather views on changes for consideration, including the roles of parents, the police and teachers in these challenging situations.
The department will aim to publish revised guidance in the summer, alongside the recently consulted on ‘behaviour in schools’ guidance, and the ‘keeping children safe in education’ guidance. This will ensure that all schools are clear on their duties relating to safeguarding and protecting the welfare of all pupils. This co-ordinated approach will enable the department to take a comprehensive view of what improvements can be made across our school safeguarding advice and guidance, and whether changes are needed to the ‘working together to safeguard children’ statutory guidance.
Asked by: Diane Abbott (Independent - Hackney North and Stoke Newington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to take specific steps to promote and encourage teachers to undertake training on racial bias, discrimination and anti-racism.
Answered by Robin Walker
Racism has no place in education and providers have a responsibility to ensure they take a zero-tolerance approach to all forms of racism towards staff and students. All educational institutions should be inclusive and welcoming for students and staff from all backgrounds.
To be awarded qualified teacher status, trainees must demonstrate all of the Teachers’ Standards at the appropriate level, including Teacher Standard One, which requires teachers to have a clear understanding of the needs of all pupils and set goals that stretch and challenge young people of all backgrounds and abilities. Section 2 of the Teachers’ Standards’ is also clear that teachers must treat all pupils with dignity, building relationships rooted in mutual respect; and show tolerance and respect for the rights of others.
Once teachers pass initial teacher training, they enter into two years of funded support through the Early Career Framework, which requires early career teachers to be trained and supported to develop their understanding of maintaining fair and inclusive school environments. This is supplemented by a reformed suite of National Professional Qualifications (NPQs) to provide training and support for teachers and school leaders at all levels to improve outcomes for young people, including a specialist NPQ in Leading Behaviour and Culture that focuses upon the skills and knowledge required to have a positive impact on the wellbeing, motivation and behaviour of their pupils and create a school culture of high-expectations.
Beyond training, school leaders are responsible for ensuring their workforce has appropriate training to meet the needs of all pupils, which is in line with the department’s position on school autonomy and school leaders being best placed to assess the needs of their pupils and workforce.
The Public Sector Equality Duty also requires public bodies, including maintained schools and academies to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination and other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act 2010; advance equality of opportunity for people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it; and foster good relations across all characteristics. The department has published guidance for schools on how to comply with their duties under the Equality Act 2010 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/equality-act-2010-advice-for-schools.
Asked by: Diane Abbott (Independent - Hackney North and Stoke Newington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to introduce a legal requirement for schools to inform the parents or guardians of children before a police officer initiates a strip search or intimate search of a child.
Answered by Robin Walker
The department is clear that any use of strip searching must be carried out in accordance with the law and with full regard for the dignity and welfare of the individual being searched, particularly if the individual being searched is a child.
The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) Code C, Annex A, paragraph 11 (c) is clear in stating that an ‘appropriate adult’ must be present in circumstances where a child is to be strip searched. Code C, paragraph 1.7 (a) (i) of the act is equally clear that in the case of a juvenile, an ‘appropriate adult’ means the parent or guardian of the child in the first instance. Other options are available if attendance by the parent or guardian is not possible.
The department is urgently reviewing the ‘searching, screening and confiscation at school’ guidance. This will include consideration of when it is appropriate to inform parents before a search takes place. The review is taking place alongside the ongoing consultation on the ‘behaviour in schools’ guidance. The department will decide its next steps based on the results of this review and the consultation.
Asked by: Diane Abbott (Independent - Hackney North and Stoke Newington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he is taking steps to (a) support, (b) retain and (c) support the promotion of Black and Asian teachers.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Apply for Teacher Training is a new application service for initial teacher training (ITT). To support recruitment, Apply has been designed to be as simple and user friendly as possible and it has been extensively tested with a diverse range of potential applicants. Currently, Apply is in public beta, running alongside the existing application service for teacher training. As we roll the service out further, we will continue to develop and test interventions to support people from diverse backgrounds to become teachers.
The Department’s ‘Teaching – Every Lesson Shapes A Life’ recruitment campaign is targeted at audiences of students/recent graduates and potential career changers of all races and backgrounds, and we take every effort to ensure that our advertising is fully reflective of this across the full range of marketing materials we use.
Alongside a focus on recruitment, it is important we retain people from diverse backgrounds. From September 2021, all new trainee teachers will be entitled to at least three years of evidence-based professional development and support. This starts with ITT, based on the new ITT Core Content Framework, which sets out a core minimum entitlement for all trainees, describing the fundamental knowledge and skills that ITT providers must draw upon when designing and delivering their programmes.
Following on from their training, all new teachers will be entitled to two years of funded high quality professional development, including the support of a dedicated mentor, through the Early Career Framework reforms. Schools will receive additional funding so new teachers can spend time away from the classroom for this extra training and mentoring. Together, these reforms will ensure that all new teachers will develop the expertise and confidence they need to thrive in the classroom.
Our new suite of National Professional Qualifications, available from September 2021, will make sure that we continue to develop our best teaching and leadership talent, whatever their background.
Asked by: Diane Abbott (Independent - Hackney North and Stoke Newington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to take specific steps to increase the recruitment of Black and Asian teachers.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Apply for Teacher Training is a new application service for initial teacher training (ITT). To support recruitment, Apply has been designed to be as simple and user friendly as possible and it has been extensively tested with a diverse range of potential applicants. Currently, Apply is in public beta, running alongside the existing application service for teacher training. As we roll the service out further, we will continue to develop and test interventions to support people from diverse backgrounds to become teachers.
The Department’s ‘Teaching – Every Lesson Shapes A Life’ recruitment campaign is targeted at audiences of students/recent graduates and potential career changers of all races and backgrounds, and we take every effort to ensure that our advertising is fully reflective of this across the full range of marketing materials we use.
Alongside a focus on recruitment, it is important we retain people from diverse backgrounds. From September 2021, all new trainee teachers will be entitled to at least three years of evidence-based professional development and support. This starts with ITT, based on the new ITT Core Content Framework, which sets out a core minimum entitlement for all trainees, describing the fundamental knowledge and skills that ITT providers must draw upon when designing and delivering their programmes.
Following on from their training, all new teachers will be entitled to two years of funded high quality professional development, including the support of a dedicated mentor, through the Early Career Framework reforms. Schools will receive additional funding so new teachers can spend time away from the classroom for this extra training and mentoring. Together, these reforms will ensure that all new teachers will develop the expertise and confidence they need to thrive in the classroom.
Our new suite of National Professional Qualifications, available from September 2021, will make sure that we continue to develop our best teaching and leadership talent, whatever their background.
Asked by: Diane Abbott (Independent - Hackney North and Stoke Newington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department is planning to take specific steps to support the educational experiences and outcomes of Caribbean heritage students, other than the measures that his Department is taking to support disadvantaged pupils generally; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government is focused on raising education standards for all pupils, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds. The Department does not design education policy to exclusively target certain groups of pupils based on ethnicity.
The Department recognises that the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak has been felt most heavily by disadvantaged children and young people.
In June 2020, the Department announced a £1 billion catch up package, which includes £350 million for the National Tutoring Programme to increase the availability of high quality tuition for the most disadvantaged children and young people, helping to accelerate their education and tackle the attainment gap.
In February 2021, the Department committed to funding of £700 million for summer schools, expansion of our tutoring programmes and a Recovery Premium for the next academic year. The £302 million Recovery Premium for state funded primary and secondary schools, builds on the Pupil Premium, to further support pupils who need it most.
The Department is also considering the education recommendations from the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities.
Asked by: Diane Abbott (Independent - Hackney North and Stoke Newington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the proportion of the Education Recovery Package fund that will be allocated to supporting the needs of Black and Asian children and students.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government is focused on raising education standards for all pupils, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds. The Department does not design education policy to exclusively target certain groups of pupils based on ethnicity.
The Department recognises that the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak has been felt most heavily by disadvantaged children and young people.
In June 2020, the Department announced a £1 billion catch up package, which includes £350 million for the National Tutoring Programme to increase the availability of high quality tuition for the most disadvantaged children and young people, helping to accelerate their education and tackle the attainment gap.
In February 2021, the Department committed to funding of £700 million for summer schools, expansion of our tutoring programmes and a Recovery Premium for the next academic year. The £302 million Recovery Premium for state funded primary and secondary schools, builds on the Pupil Premium, to further support pupils who need it most.
The Department is also considering the education recommendations from the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities.
Asked by: Diane Abbott (Independent - Hackney North and Stoke Newington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which (a) institutions and (b) stakeholders he has met with recently to discuss diversifying the curricula.
Answered by Nick Gibb
As part of a broad and balanced curriculum, pupils should be taught about different societies, and how different groups have contributed to the development of Britain.
The Department regularly engages with teachers and other stakeholders on the curriculum, including on diversity and inclusion. There is already a wide range of high-quality teaching resources on culturally diverse curriculum content throughout the curriculum, including those produced by education publishers, voluntary organisations and subject associations, and remote education resources from the Oak National Academy.
The Government is currently considering the recommendations in the report by the Commission for Race and Ethnic Disparities, including on curriculum resources, and assessing the next steps for future policy. In recognition of the extensive scope of recommendations, my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, has established a new Inter Ministerial Group to review recommendations. The group will be chaired by my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
Asked by: Diane Abbott (Independent - Hackney North and Stoke Newington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what policies his Department is consideing in relation to diversifying the curricula.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department is committed to an inclusive education system which recognises and embraces diversity and supports all pupils to tackle racism and have the knowledge and tools to do so. As part of the statutory curriculum, pupils should be taught about different societies and how different groups have contributed to the development of Britain.
The Government is currently considering the recommendations in the report by the Commission for Race and Ethnic Disparities (CRED), including on curriculum resources, and assessing the next steps for future policy. In recognition of the extensive scope of recommendations, my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, has established a new Inter Ministerial Group to review recommendations. The group will be chaired by my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
The report recommendation is for curriculum resources and is not a change in the statutory curriculum. In particular, the report calls for resources that complement and enhance the content and quality of lessons taught in all schools, so that all children can are taught about the UK and the evolution of our society.
As the report highlights, there is a wide range of high quality teaching resources on black history or other culturally diverse curriculum content throughout the curriculum, including those produced by education publishers, voluntary organisations and subject associations, and remote education resources from the Oak National Academy.
The Government will publish its response to CRED later this year.
Asked by: Diane Abbott (Independent - Hackney North and Stoke Newington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what consultation his Department has undertaken with (a) schools, (b) teachers and (c) relevant stakeholders on diversifying curricula.
Answered by Nick Gibb
As part of a broad and balanced curriculum, pupils should be taught about different societies, and how different groups have contributed to the development of Britain.
The Department regularly engages with teachers and other stakeholders on the curriculum, including on diversity and inclusion. There is already a wide range of high-quality resources on teaching a culturally diverse curriculum content, including those produced by education publishers, voluntary organisations, subject associations, and remote education resources from the Oak National Academy.
The Government is considering the recommendations in the report by the Commission for Race and Ethnic Disparities, including on curriculum resources, and assessing the next steps for future policy. In recognition of the extensive scope of recommendations, my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, has established a new Inter Ministerial Group. The group will be chaired by my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.