Asked by: Gloria De Piero (Labour - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the consultation, Home Education - Call for Evidence and revised DfE guidance, what plans her Department has to consult the with home education community in the development of guidelines for home education.
Answered by Anne Milton
The consultation referred to, which ran from 10 April 2018 to 2 July 2018, included draft guidance on elective home education which is intended to replace that currently published by the department. It was open to any member of the public, including parents educating their children at home, and the responses received are currently being considered before the new guidance document is published in its final form.
Asked by: Gloria De Piero (Labour - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when he plans to respond to the letter of the hon. Member for Ashfield of 8 June 2018 on a safeguarding concern at an Ashfield school of a constituent.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Unfortunately, the department did not receive your letter. Departmental officials have been in contact with your constituency office, who have resent this. A reply will be sent to you in due course.
Asked by: Gloria De Piero (Labour - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what additional support his Department offers to areas with low university attendance to encourage young people to take apprenticeships of NVQ level 3 or above.
Answered by Anne Milton
Our reforms continue to improve the quality of apprenticeships at all levels, providing the skills that employers need. We have already seen the numbers of starts at higher levels (level 4 and above) rise by 12.5 per cent so far this year, compared to the same period last year. We are seeing a healthier balance across all levels, helping people of all ages progress to higher skills.
We provide funding to support all young people access apprenticeships. To encourage the employment of young apprentices, the government provides £1,000 payments to both employers and providers when taking on a 16 to 18 year old apprentice. The government also pays 100 per cent of the cost of training for small employers (fewer than 50 employees) who take on a 16 to 18 year old apprentice. This also applies to 19 to 24 year olds who were in care or who have an Education, Health and Care plan. In addition, from August 2018, we are introducing a bursary for care leavers starting apprenticeships. This bursary will be £1,000, available to all care leavers aged 16 to 24 year olds and paid direct to them.
Apprenticeships disproportionately benefit people from lower socio-economic backgrounds – delivering more, better quality, apprenticeships will ensure that more people from these backgrounds are enabled to gain the skills and training they need to build successful careers. We provide additional funding support for individuals from disadvantaged areas, by providing a cash payment to providers for training apprentices on frameworks who live in the top 27 per cent of deprived areas.
We are increasing the take up of degree apprenticeships through the Degree Apprenticeship Development Fund, by funding projects that include encouraging participation of under-represented groups in disadvantaged areas.
To promote apprenticeships and encourage take up at all levels, we are targeting employers, parents and young people using proven channels: radio adverts, digital advertising, social media and telemarketing activity. The latest phase of our ‘Get in Go Far’ marketing campaign will launch shortly. We are also taking specific actions to increase starts in the 16 to 18 age group; undertaking sales and marketing activities, targeting employers most likely to offer apprenticeships to this group, and working with organisations that provide careers advice.
The National Apprenticeship service has developed the ‘Amazing Apprenticeships’ website and apprenticeship resource portal for schools and teachers. It also offers a free service to schools through the Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge project to ensure that teachers have the knowledge and support to enable them to promote apprenticeships to their students.
Asked by: Gloria De Piero (Labour - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people in Ashfield constituency have started apprenticeships with (a) levy paying and (b) non-levy paying employers in each of the last three academic years.
Answered by Anne Milton
Apprenticeship achievement rates are published in our annual national achievement rates tables by local authority district. Tables for the 2016 to 2017 academic year are published here.
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-achievement-rates-tables-2016-to-2017.
The table attached provides the cohort numbers and proportions achieving the advanced Level 3 apprenticeship for Ashfield constituency, Nottinghamshire, Nottingham local authority district and England for the 2016 to 2017 academic year and show that Ashfield outperform the local area and the country. Figures are based on learner home postcode. We do not hold data for the United Kingdom, but for England only.
The apprenticeship levy was introduced in April 2017. We do not hold the information on apprenticeship employers that pay/do not pay the levy, but do hold information on apprenticeship service (AS) accounts that hold levy funds, which can be used to fund an apprenticeship. Apprenticeship starts (including those that are levy supported) in the Ashfield constituency are shown in the attached table.
Asked by: Gloria De Piero (Labour - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of apprenticeships in (a) Ashfield constituency, (b) Nottinghamshire and (c) the UK achieve NVQ level 3.
Answered by Anne Milton
Apprenticeship achievement rates are published in our annual national achievement rates tables by local authority district. Tables for the 2016 to 2017 academic year are published here.
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-achievement-rates-tables-2016-to-2017.
The table attached provides the cohort numbers and proportions achieving the advanced Level 3 apprenticeship for Ashfield constituency, Nottinghamshire, Nottingham local authority district and England for the 2016 to 2017 academic year and show that Ashfield outperform the local area and the country. Figures are based on learner home postcode. We do not hold data for the United Kingdom, but for England only.
The apprenticeship levy was introduced in April 2017. We do not hold the information on apprenticeship employers that pay/do not pay the levy, but do hold information on apprenticeship service (AS) accounts that hold levy funds, which can be used to fund an apprenticeship. Apprenticeship starts (including those that are levy supported) in the Ashfield constituency are shown in the attached table.
Asked by: Gloria De Piero (Labour - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect of the 2017 changes to apprenticeship funding on the (a) number of employees and (b) level of funding of further education colleges with a role as partner providers for apprenticeships.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
No specific assessment has been made of the impact of the apprenticeship reforms upon individual further education (FE) colleges, or other providers. However, we are actively considering the efficiency and resilience of the FE sector, and will be assessing how far current funding and regulatory structures meet the costs of high quality, world-class provision. Funding to FE colleges to deliver apprenticeships and the key role they play in the wider further education system will be considered as part of this assessment.
Asked by: Gloria De Piero (Labour - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the most recent average point score per entry was for students of A-levels and equivalent qualifications in (a) Ashfield, (b) Nottinghamshire and (c) England who were (i) eligible and (ii) not eligible for free school meals aged 15.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The average point score per entry for A level students[1], [2] in (a) Ashfield, (b) Nottinghamshire and (c) England who were (i) eligible and (ii) not eligible for FSM at the end of Key Stage 4 for 2016/17[3] are in the attached table.
[1] Student characteristics, such as ethnicity and free school meal eligibility are not routinely or consistently collected at 16-18. Characteristics information as recorded for students at the end of key stage 4 are used in this analysis.
[2] Covers students aged 16-18 who were at the end of advanced level study and entered for at least one A/AS level, applied single A/AS level, applied double A/AS level or combined A/AS level during 16-18 study.
[3] Based on final data and may differ from previously published figures.
Asked by: Gloria De Piero (Labour - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average Attainment 8 score was per pupil who was (a) eligible and (b) not eligible for free school meals in (i) Ashfield, (ii) Mansfield and (iii) Rushcliffe in 2017.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The average Attainment 8 score of pupils, at the end of key stage 4[1] in state-funded schools[2], split by eligibility for free school meals (FSM)[3] in each requested parliamentary constituency[4] for 2016/17[5] is in the attached table.
[1] Pupils are identified as being at the end of key stage 4 if they were on roll at the school and in Year 11 at the time of the January school census for that year. Age is calculated as at 31 August for that year, and the majority of pupils at the end of key stage 4 were age 15 at the start of the academic year. Some pupils may complete this key stage in an earlier or later year group.
[2] State-funded schools include academies, free schools, city technology colleges, further education colleges with provision for 14- to 16-year-olds and state-funded special schools. They exclude independent schools, independent special schools, non-maintained special schools, hospital schools and alternative provision.
[3] Eligibility for FSM is taken from the school census for that year. Pupils whose FSM status is unknown are included as ‘all other pupils’.
[4] Figures are based on the parliamentary constituency of the pupil’s postcode and not the school’s postcode, therefore they will not match the published data from the ‘pupil residency and school location tables’ located here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/revised-gcse-and-equivalent-results-in-england-2015-to-2016.
[5] Figures are based on revised data.
Asked by: Gloria De Piero (Labour - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many apprenticeship starts there have been in (a) Nottinghamshire and (b) the East Midlands at every level offered in each of the last four quarters.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
The attached tables provide the number of apprenticeship starts in each of the last four academic year quarters for a) Nottingham unitary authority and b) the East Midlands region broken down by each level.
For additional geographical and level breakdowns please see the Apprenticeships Geography tools in the Further Education data library:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fe-data-library-apprenticeships.
Asked by: Gloria De Piero (Labour - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many apprenticeships starts there were in the East Midlands; and what the level was of each of those starts in each of the last five years.
Answered by Anne Milton
These figures are published in our Further education and skills geography data tool: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fe-data-library-further-education-and-skills.
The number of apprenticeship starts in the East Midlands in the last five years, split by level are in the public domain and are as follows:
Apprenticeship level | 2012/13 | 2013/14 | 2014/15 | 2015/16 | 2016/17 |
Intermediate (Level 2) | 28,500 | 26,770 | 29,880 | 28,510 | 26,160 |
Advanced (Level 3) | 19,610 | 12,730 | 16,370 | 17,280 | 18,270 |
Higher (Level 4+) | 890 | 790 | 1,810 | 2,280 | 3,110 |
All apprenticeship starts | 49,010 | 40,290 | 48,060 | 48,080 | 47,540 |
Figures rounded to the nearest 10