Asked by: Janet Daby (Labour - Lewisham East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Schools White Paper published on 28 March 2022, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the proposals in that White Paper on Standard Advisory Councils on Religious Education and Agreed Syllabus Conferences as the existing bodies used to determine the locally agreed syllabus for religious education.
Answered by Robin Walker
The Schools White Paper, Opportunity for All, sets out the department’s long-term vision for the school system. Religious education (RE) remains a core part. The government believes that RE is an important subject, developing an individual’s knowledge and understanding of the religions and beliefs which form part of contemporary society, as well as serving to inform their own values and behaviour. RE can also contribute to pupils’ personal development and well-being by promoting mutual respect and tolerance in a diverse society.
RE will continue to form an essential part of a school’s curriculum following the publication of the Schools White Paper. It remains a compulsory subject that must be taught in all state funded schools, including academies, to all pupils up to the age of 18.
In the Schools White Paper, the department committed to establishing a new arms-length curriculum body. It will work with teachers to co-design, create, and continually improve packages of optional, free, and adaptable digital curriculum resources and video lessons for all subjects, including RE at key stages 1-4. This will help teachers deliver a high-quality curriculum informed by the best available evidence. This sector-led approach will draw on expertise and inputs from across the country, involving teachers, schools, trusts, subject associations, national centres of excellence, and educational publishers.
The Schools White Paper sets out the department’s long-term vision for a school system that helps every child to fulfil their potential. However, there is still more technical work to be done along the way to realise this vision. The department recognises the important role that Standing Advisory Councils on Religious Education (SACRE) play in supporting the provision of RE in maintained schools. The department is aware that the ambition for a fully trust-led system will have an impact on SACREs. This is something that will be considered as we move towards greater academisation.
Asked by: Janet Daby (Labour - Lewisham East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Schools White Paper published on 28 March 2022, what plans he has to ensure that religious education remains a critical part of the school curriculum despite not being an EBacc subject.
Answered by Robin Walker
The Schools White Paper, Opportunity for All, sets out the department’s long-term vision for the school system. Religious education (RE) remains a core part. The government believes that RE is an important subject, developing an individual’s knowledge and understanding of the religions and beliefs which form part of contemporary society, as well as serving to inform their own values and behaviour. RE can also contribute to pupils’ personal development and well-being by promoting mutual respect and tolerance in a diverse society.
RE will continue to form an essential part of a school’s curriculum following the publication of the Schools White Paper. It remains a compulsory subject that must be taught in all state funded schools, including academies, to all pupils up to the age of 18.
In the Schools White Paper, the department committed to establishing a new arms-length curriculum body. It will work with teachers to co-design, create, and continually improve packages of optional, free, and adaptable digital curriculum resources and video lessons for all subjects, including RE at key stages 1-4. This will help teachers deliver a high-quality curriculum informed by the best available evidence. This sector-led approach will draw on expertise and inputs from across the country, involving teachers, schools, trusts, subject associations, national centres of excellence, and educational publishers.
The Schools White Paper sets out the department’s long-term vision for a school system that helps every child to fulfil their potential. However, there is still more technical work to be done along the way to realise this vision. The department recognises the important role that Standing Advisory Councils on Religious Education (SACRE) play in supporting the provision of RE in maintained schools. The department is aware that the ambition for a fully trust-led system will have an impact on SACREs. This is something that will be considered as we move towards greater academisation.
Asked by: Janet Daby (Labour - Lewisham East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to his recently published Schools White Paper, what steps he is taking to ensure all children receive high-quality provision of religious education.
Answered by Robin Walker
The Schools White Paper, Opportunity for All, sets out the department’s long-term vision for the school system. Religious education (RE) remains a core part. The government believes that RE is an important subject, developing an individual’s knowledge and understanding of the religions and beliefs which form part of contemporary society, as well as serving to inform their own values and behaviour. RE can also contribute to pupils’ personal development and well-being by promoting mutual respect and tolerance in a diverse society.
RE will continue to form an essential part of a school’s curriculum following the publication of the Schools White Paper. It remains a compulsory subject that must be taught in all state funded schools, including academies, to all pupils up to the age of 18.
In the Schools White Paper, the department committed to establishing a new arms-length curriculum body. It will work with teachers to co-design, create, and continually improve packages of optional, free, and adaptable digital curriculum resources and video lessons for all subjects, including RE at key stages 1-4. This will help teachers deliver a high-quality curriculum informed by the best available evidence. This sector-led approach will draw on expertise and inputs from across the country, involving teachers, schools, trusts, subject associations, national centres of excellence, and educational publishers.
The Schools White Paper sets out the department’s long-term vision for a school system that helps every child to fulfil their potential. However, there is still more technical work to be done along the way to realise this vision. The department recognises the important role that Standing Advisory Councils on Religious Education (SACRE) play in supporting the provision of RE in maintained schools. The department is aware that the ambition for a fully trust-led system will have an impact on SACREs. This is something that will be considered as we move towards greater academisation.
Asked by: Janet Daby (Labour - Lewisham East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of allocating additional funding to schools to strengthen health and safety measures against infection from covid-19.
Answered by Robin Walker
Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, the government has balanced education and public health considerations, weighing the impact of these measures on teaching, educational attainment, the health and wellbeing of children, pupils, students and staff and the functioning of nurseries, schools and colleges, against the risks posed by COVID-19. The situation has now fundamentally changed due to the success of the vaccination programme.
The 2019 Spending Round committed to significant additional investment in schools of £2.6 billion in the 2020-21 financial year, £4.8 billion in 2021-22 and £7.1 billion in 2022-23, compared to 2019-20. At the same time, schools are benefitting from a substantial recovery package to tackle the impact of lost teaching time, including over £3 billion in additional support. Decisions on future funding will be made as part of this year’s Spending Review.
Schools have the flexibility to make their own decisions on how to prioritise their spending to invest in a range of resources that will best support their staff and pupils. Schools continue to be able to access existing support for financial issues, including a wide range of school resource management tools, and, in serious circumstances, additional funding or advances from local authorities for maintained schools, or the Education and Skills Funding Agency for academy trusts.
All schools have a range of measures in place to manage COVID-19 transmission day to day. This includes ventilation and hygiene measures for schools and testing for pupils in Year 7 and above.
Schools must continue to comply with health and safety law and put in place proportionate control measures, such as keeping occupied spaces well ventilated. Schools must regularly review, update and monitor their risk assessments, outlining what they would do if children or staff test positive and how they would operate if measures needed to be stepped back up to break chains of transmission.
The government is committed to ensuring the safety of all pupils, which is why CO2 monitors have begun to be provided to state-funded early years, schools and further education providers. This has been backed by £25 million in government funding.
A director of public health or a local health protection team may give schools and colleges advice reflecting the local situation. In areas where rates are high, this may include advice that local circumstances mean that the thresholds for extra action can be higher. If they judge that additional action should be taken, they might advise the school or college to take some, or all, of the measures described in the contingency framework guidance: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-local-restrictions-in-education-and-childcare-settings/contingency-framework-education-and-childcare-settings#other-measures.