Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what additional support he plans to provide to schools to ensure that they can adequately plan catch-up programmes for children returning after the lockdown due to the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Vicky Ford
On 19 June, the government announced a catch-up package worth £1 billion to directly tackle the impact of lost teaching time.
The package includes a ‘catch-up premium’ worth a total of £650 million to support schools to make up for lost teaching time. Headteachers can decide how best to use their school’s premium allocation to tackle the impact of lost teaching time on their pupils, but are encouraged to spend it on evidence-driven approaches including small group or one-to-one tuition, support over the summer, or additional support for great teaching. To support schools to make best use of this funding, the Education Endowment Foundation have published a COVID-19 Support Guide for Schools with evidence based approaches to catch up for all students, which is available at:
https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/covid-19-resources/covid-19-support-guide-for-schools/#nav-covid-19-support-guide-for-schools1.
Alongside this, we have also announced a new £350 million National Tutoring Programme for disadvantaged children and young people. This will increase access to high-quality tuition, helping to accelerate their academic progress and tackling the attainment gap between them and their peers.
On 20 July, the department published further guidance on the £1 billion catch up package. This guidance outlines that, through the catch-up premium, a 1,000 pupil secondary school will receive £80,000 and a 200 pupil primary school will receive £16,000 to tackle the impact of lost teaching time on pupils as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. It also includes further detail on the £350 million National Tutoring Programme. The guidance is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-catch-up-premium.
Recognising the additional work schools will need to do to help students to catch up, this £1 billion package is on top of the £2.6 billion increase this year in school budgets that was announced last year, as part of a £14 billion three-year funding settlement.
The government’s plan is for all pupils, in all year groups, to return to school full-time from the beginning of the autumn term. On 2 July we published guidance to help schools prepare for this. The guidance is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what additional support he plans to provide to schools to ensure that the needs of children with an Education, Health and Care plan are able to safely return to school during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Vicky Ford
On 2 July, the government published detailed guidance for schools, including special education settings, to help them plan for a full return of their pupils in September. The guidance, which has been developed with medical experts from Public Health England, provides specific advice on how schools should implement a ‘system of controls’ to reduce the risk of transmission.
The guidance for special educational settings can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-for-full-opening-special-schools-and-other-specialist-settings.
The guidance for mainstream settings can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools.
Since May, as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, it has been necessary to modify Section 42 of the Children and Families Act 2014 so that local authorities and health commissioners must use their ‘reasonable endeavours’ to secure or arrange the specified special educational health care provision in education, health and care (EHC) plans. We are committed to removing these flexibilities as soon as possible so that children and young people can receive the support they need to return to school. As such, unless the evidence changes, we will not be issuing further national notices to modify the EHC duties but will consider whether any such flexibilities may be required locally to respond to outbreaks. This means that children with EHC plans will be able to receive support as usual, upon their return to school.
We know that transport arrangements for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities will be critical to ensuring a safe return. We will publish guidance for local authorities who provide dedicated school transport shortly.
We will continue to work closely with and support special educational settings, parents and carers, local authorities and other partner organisations, as they plan for the autumn term.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department has taken to promote (a) vocational qualifications and (b) apprenticeships to students and young people.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
We are introducing T levels, a high-quality technical alternative to A levels to help young people get the high-wage, high-skill jobs of the future. With longer teaching hours, higher standards and a meaningful industry placement, T levels will be more rigorous and occupationally relevant than many current vocational courses.
Alongside the introduction of T levels, we are reviewing post-16 qualifications at level 3 and below. The aim is to ensure that qualifications are necessary, have a distinct purpose, are high- quality and support progression.
Apprenticeships are a high-quality alternative path to a career for people of all ages and we are improving the quality of apprenticeships through making them longer, better, with more off-the job training and proper assessment at the end.
We have established 4 National Colleges, which are leading the way in the design and delivery of higher technical skills training, ensuring that industries and sectors which are critical to our national economic growth, have the skills they need.
We are investing up to £290 million of capital funding to enable every region in England to establish a high quality Institute of Technology. With state-of-the-art equipment and facilities, and employers in the driving seat, they will give businesses the skilled workforce they need to drive growth and productivity and get more people into rewarding jobs.
It is important that students and young people have access to high-quality information and advice about their choices, including technical options and apprenticeships.
In 2017 we introduced a new Careers Strategy, setting out a long-term plan to build a world class careers system that will help young people and adults choose the career that’s right for them. An important element of the strategy is the responsibility that schools and colleges must provide their students with a full picture of their options. This includes a new law introduced in January 2018, under which schools must allow technical education and apprenticeship providers into their schools to talk to pupils about their offer.
We have also undertaken a range of activities to make students and young people aware of the benefits an apprenticeship can offer. Our apprenticeships campaign, Fire It Up, is working to promote apprenticeships to young people, demonstrating that they are an aspirational choice for anyone with passion and energy.
We are also working with schools to promote apprenticeships to students. We have developed Amazing Apprenticeships, a website and resource portal for schools and teachers. In addition, we offer a free service to schools through the Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge (ASK) project to ensure that teachers have the knowledge and support to enable them to promote apprenticeships to their students. Last academic year the ASK programme reached over 300,000 students across 2,368 establishments and from September 2019 it has been extended to include years 7 to 9.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students in Wansbeck constituency went on to higher education in each of the last five years.
Answered by Gavin Williamson
The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service publishes data on the proportion of 18 year olds entering full-time undergraduate higher education by parliamentary constituency.
The entry rates for the last 5 years for Wansbeck constituency are shown in the table below.
18-year-old entry rates to full-time higher education
Year | 2014/15 | 2015/16 | 2016/17 | 2017/18 | 2018/19 |
Entry Rate | 26.9 | 30.3 | 31.1 | 32.5 | 26.7 |
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of students from Wansbeck constituency who went on to study higher education did so (a) at a university outside of the North East region and (b) at a local university in each of the last five years.
Answered by Gavin Williamson
Information on students enrolled in UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) is collected and published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). More information is available at: https://www.hesa.ac.uk.
The number of undergraduate higher education entrants who were domiciled in the Wansbeck constituency prior to study in each year between 2013/14 and 2017/18 has been provided in the table, as has whether these students joined an HEI located local to the North East region or not.
Undergraduate entrants domiciled in Wansbeck constituency prior to study
UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs)
Academic years 2013/14 to 2017/18
Source: DfE analysis of the Higher Education Statistics Agency’s (HESA) Student Record
Academic Year | Undergraduate entrants from Wansbeck constituency | |||||
| Count of entrants | Share of entrants (%) | ||||
| North East | Other | Total | North East | Other | Total |
2013/14 | 420 | 255 | 670 | 62% | 38% | 100% |
2014/15 | 425 | 265 | 690 | 61% | 39% | 100% |
2015/16 | 370 | 260 | 630 | 59% | 41% | 100% |
2016/17 | 335 | 270 | 605 | 55% | 45% | 100% |
2017/18 | 370 | 240 | 605 | 61% | 39% | 100% |
Notes:
1) Figures are based on the HESA standard registration population.
2) Figures are rounded to the nearest 5.
3) Parliamentary constituency is derived from the student's postcode prior to study.
Statistics for the 2018/19 academic year will come available in January 2020.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate his Department has made of the number of teaching staff currently signed-off from work with a stress-related illness in (a) England, (b) the North East, and (c) Northumberland in the latest period for which figures are available.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The information requested is not held centrally.
The overall number of teachers taking any sickness absence up to the 2017/18 academic year has been published in the school workforce in England statistics, which are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-2018.
National figures are provided in table 16 of the main tables and subnational figures in the regional, local authority and school tables. The information is not broken down by the type of illness.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of living in poverty on the school attendance record of students.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The information requested is not held centrally. The department has not made an assessment of the effect of living in poverty on the school attendance record of students.
Absence data by income deprivation affecting children index and free school meal eligibility is available in the National Statistics release “Pupil absence in schools in England 2017 to 2018”: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/pupil-absence-in-schools-in-england-2017-to-2018.
All children of compulsory school age, regardless of their circumstances, are entitled to a full-time education which is suitable to their age, ability, aptitude and any special educational needs they may have.
Schools should continually monitor pupils’ absence. If a child’s absence reaches a level of concern, the school will wish to raise this with the parents and the local authority in the best interest of the child’s education. Schools have a duty to inform the local authority of any child who fails to attend school regularly. School and local authorities should consider the individual circumstances of each case and take the appropriate course of action to ensure the child receives consistent education.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reasons there has been an increase in the number of (a) looked-after children, (b) child protection plans and (c) children in need since 2010.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Due to discontinuity in methods used for some of the data collected, we only look at trends in these numbers starting from 2013. I therefore refer the hon. Member for Wansbeck to the answer I gave on 17 December 2018 to Question 202744 raised by the hon. Member Stephen Lloyd.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many local authorities overspent on children’s services in the last 12 months; and how much additional investment for children’s services is planned for the 2019-20 financial year.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Local authorities are required under section 251 of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 to submit education and children’s social care budget and expenditure statements. This data is published in statistical releases annually. The most recent release shows 135 local authorities had a difference in 2017-18 when their planned spend is compared to their actual spend.
Funding for children’s services is made available through the Local Government Finance Settlement which gives local authorities flexibility to target spending according to local needs and to fulfil their statutory responsibilities, including services for children and families. Through the settlement, the government has made available over £200 billion across the five-year spending period. For 2019-20 this means an increase in core spending power from £45.1 billion in 2018-19 to £46.4 billion.
At Autumn Budget my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced an extra £410 million to address pressures on adult and children social care services, along with £84 million over 5 years to support up to 20 local authorities to improve their social work practice and decision-making, enabling them to work more effectively with the most vulnerable children and their families.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that local government has the resources it needs to deliver services to children and families.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Local authorities are required under section 251 of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 to submit education and children’s social care budget and expenditure statements. This data is published in statistical releases annually. The most recent release shows 135 local authorities had a difference in 2017-18 when their planned spend is compared to their actual spend.
Funding for children’s services is made available through the Local Government Finance Settlement which gives local authorities flexibility to target spending according to local needs and to fulfil their statutory responsibilities, including services for children and families. Through the settlement, the government has made available over £200 billion across the five-year spending period. For 2019-20 this means an increase in core spending power from £45.1 billion in 2018-19 to £46.4 billion.
At Autumn Budget my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced an extra £410 million to address pressures on adult and children social care services, along with £84 million over 5 years to support up to 20 local authorities to improve their social work practice and decision-making, enabling them to work more effectively with the most vulnerable children and their families.