Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she expects the School Teachers Review Body 2023 report to be published.
Answered by Nick Gibb
As part of the normal process, the independent School Teachers’ Review Body has submitted its recommendations on teacher pay for the 2023/24 academic year to the Government. The Department will be considering the recommendations and will publish its response in the usual way, in due course.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has had recent discussions with groups representing parents and guardians on schools requiring the purchase of uniforms directly from schools without the option of using retail providers.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department engaged with key stakeholders, including representatives of parents and guardians, ahead of the statutory guidance on the cost of school uniforms being published in November 2021. In addition, in May 2022, the Department attended an online meeting with parents and schools organised by the Children’s Society.
The guidance came into force in September 2022 and is available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/cost-of-school-uniforms.
Schools must have regard to this guidance when they are developing and implementing their uniform policy. The guidance is clear that parents should be able to purchase generic items of uniform from a range of retailers, giving them choice and value for money.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending free school meals to all families receiving Universal Credit.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Since 2010, the number of pupils receiving a free school meal (FSM) has increased by more than two million. This increase in provision is due to the introduction of Universal Infant Free School Meals and protections put in place as benefit recipients move across to Universal Credit. Over a third of pupils in England now receive FSM, compared with one in six in 2010.
The Department believes that the current eligibility threshold level, which enables pupils in low income households to benefit from FSM while remaining affordable and deliverable for schools, is the right one. The Department does not have plans to change the current eligibility conditions for FSM. The Department continues to keep eligibility under review to ensure that these meals are supporting those who most need them. The Department also continues to monitor the consequences of the rising cost of living and is working with other Government Departments to provide support to disadvantaged families.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the funding allocation to schools in Northumberland by the school rebuilding programme.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department has provisionally allocated 400 of the 500 available places on the School Rebuilding Programme (SRP), prioritised on the basis of their condition. Of these, two are in Northumberland. A list of these schools and the detailed methodology used to select them is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-rebuilding-programme-schools-in-the-programme.
The funding for each project will depend on the works being undertaken and will be determined when the scope and delivery plans for each project are developed.
In addition to the SRP, the Department also allocates annual condition funding to schools and those responsible for school buildings to maintain and improve the condition of the school estate. Local Authorities receive condition funding through an annual School Condition Allocation (SCA). For the 2022/23 financial year, Northumberland County Council has been allocated £5,851,788 in SCA funding to prioritise across its maintained schools. Academies and voluntary aided (VA) schools in Northumberland will either receive SCA funding through their trust or VA group, or will be instead able to bid into the Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) for their condition need.
Further detail on condition funding can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/school-capital-funding.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing additional funding to schools for school trips and residential visits during the cost of living crisis.
Answered by Will Quince
Schools have the flexibility to make their own decisions on how to prioritise their spending to invest in a range of resources and activities that will best support their staff and pupils, which may include school trips and residential visits. There is no specific funding allocation provided to schools for the purpose of school trips or residential visits. Any costs incurred by the school must be funded from their own budget.
The department continues to monitor schools’ financial health and we recognise that schools are facing cost pressures. This government continues to deliver year on year increases to school funding, with the total core school budget increasing to £56.8 billion by the 2024/25 financial year. This is a £7 billion cash increase compared with the 2021/22 financial year.
Increases in funding have been frontloaded to rapidly get money to schools, so that in the 2022/23 financial year alone, core schools funding is increasing by £4 billion compared to the 2021/22 financial year. This means that the total funding allocated to schools is seeing a 7% cash terms per pupil boost in the 2022/23 financial year, compared to the 2021/22 financial year, helping schools to meet the cost pressures that we know they are facing.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of supporting parents and carers with the rising cost of school bus transportation in the context of the increase in fuel prices.
Answered by Will Quince
The department’s home-to-school transport policy aims to ensure that no child is unable to access education because of a lack of transport. Local authorities must provide free transport for children of compulsory school age who attend their nearest school and would not be able to walk there because of the distance, because of their special educational needs or disability, or because the route is unsafe. There are additional rights to free transport for low-income families aimed at helping them exercise school choice. More detail is outlined in the home-to-school travel and transport guidance. This is available here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-to-school-travel-and-transport-guidance.
The department does not have plans for specific additional support for families with the cost of school buses.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of training for (a) teachers, (b) school staff, and (c) sports coaches to support children with their emotional and mental wellbeing.
Answered by Brendan Clarke-Smith
To support schools and colleges to introduce effective approaches to mental health and wellbeing, the department has committed to offer all state schools and colleges a grant to train a senior mental health lead by 2025. Over 8,000 schools and colleges, have taken up the offer so far and we have recently confirmed £10 million in grants this financial year, to offer training to two thirds of schools and colleges by March 2023.
The department has accelerated the delivery of a new training module for teachers on mental wellbeing to help all schools increase their confidence and the quality of their relationships, health and sex education (RSHE) teaching practice, details for which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/teaching-about-mental-wellbeing.
In autumn 2021, the department launched National Professional Qualifications (NPQs) to support teachers and leaders who want to develop their knowledge and skills in specialist areas of teaching practice. The NPQ in Leading Behaviour and Culture supports teachers in how they can affect and improve the wellbeing, motivation, and behaviour of pupils in the classroom. Full details of this NPQ can be accessed here: https://nsc.northerneducationtrust.org/cpd-offers/national-professional-qualifications/npq-in-leading-behaviour-and-culture-npqlbc/#:~:text=The%20National%20Professional%20Qualification%20in%20Leading%20Behaviour%20and,or%20roles%20with%20other%20pastoral%20responsibilities.%20Modules%20include.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 17 May 2022 to Question 256 on Schools: Digital Technology, what factors are used to determine a priority area; and if he will publish further details on the work being undertaken by his Department with commercial providers to accelerate gigabit capable broadband rollout to schools.
Answered by Will Quince
Up to £150 million will be invested in our Connect the Classroom programme to upgrade schools that fall below our Wi-Fi connectivity standards in priority areas. At this time these are educational establishments within our 55 Education Investment Areas (EIAs), which include the places where attainment is currently weakest.
The qualifying criteria within these areas is:
More information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/education-investment-areas-selection-methodology.
Further details on the government’s separate programme to accelerate the rollout of gigabit-capable broadband to schools can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/thousands-of-rural-primary-schools-to-get-huge-broadband-upgrade.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department plans to support mental health and wellbeing education in secondary and primary schools on (a) self-harm, (b) suicide, (c) addiction and (d) eating disorders.
Answered by Brendan Clarke-Smith
Relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) is now a compulsory part of the curriculum. The statutory guidance can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education.
The RSHE curriculum has a strong focus on mental wellbeing. The aim is to give pupils the information they need to make good decisions about their health and wellbeing, and to recognise the early signs of mental wellbeing concerns, including common types of mental ill health.
Pupils are taught where and how to seek support and whom in school they should speak to if they are worried about their own or someone else’s mental wellbeing.
These subjects have been designed to support the development of pupils’ self-control and their ability to self-regulate. Body image and mental wellbeing are explicitly covered in the RSHE curriculum. At secondary level, teachers may choose to discuss issues such as self-harm, addiction and suicide when teaching these topics.
To support schools to deliver this content effectively, the department has produced teacher training modules which are free to download. The mental wellbeing module contains key information to help inform teachers what they must teach. The module can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/teaching-about-mental-wellbeing.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make it his policy to increase annual capital expenditure on schools in order to fund the removal of all dangerous asbestos from school buildings within 40 years.
Answered by Robin Walker
The department expect all local authorities, governing bodies and academy trusts to have robust plans in place to manage asbestos in school buildings effectively, in line with their legal duties.
The department has followed expert advice from the Health and Safety Executive, that, if asbestos-containing materials are in good condition, well protected, and unlikely to be damaged or disturbed, it is usually safer to manage them in place. We have noted the recommendations in the Work and Pensions Committee’s report on the management of asbestos and the government will respond in due course.
The department has allocated over £13 billion since 2015 to improve the condition of school buildings, including £1.8 billion committed for the 2022/23 financial year. Asbestos is often removed as part of wider routine works or upgrades to school buildings. Where asbestos can no longer be managed safely in situ, it should be removed or encapsulated.
In addition, the new School Rebuilding Programme will rebuild or significantly refurbish buildings in the poorest condition at 500 schools over the next decade. The nomination process for the next round closed in March 2022. Evidence of severe need and safety issues was able to be submitted for consideration by the programme, including extensive asbestos that can no longer be safety managed in situ, and needs a rebuilding project to resolve.
The department has taken significant steps to support the school sector in strengthening asbestos management and meeting their legal duties, including publishing updated guidance on effective management of asbestos in autumn 2020 and launching the Asbestos Management Assurance Process in March 2018. The assurance process found no indication of systemic failures in the management of asbestos across the state-funded school estate.