Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to improve the provision of careers advice in educational settings.
Answered by Jonathan Gullis
The Department is investing £30 million to support the improvement of careers programmes for young people across educational settings.
In primary schools, the Department is introducing a new careers programme, targeting primary schools in disadvantaged areas. The programme will seek to inspire pupils about the world of work, and help children link what they are taught in the classroom to future jobs and careers.
In secondary schools and colleges, the Department has adopted the eight Gatsby Benchmarks of Good Career Guidance, a careers framework based on rigorous national and international research. Over 4,200 schools and colleges are using the Benchmarks to develop and improve their careers programmes.
We are strengthening the underpinning legislation. On 1 September 2022, the Department commenced new legislation that extends the legal entitlement to independent careers guidance to all secondary aged pupils in all types of schools. On 1 January 2023, the Department is strengthening the law so that all pupils have the opportunity for six encounters with providers of approved technical education qualifications and apprenticeships, as they progress through school years 8 to 13.
The Department is working with The Careers & Enterprise Company to complete the national rollout of careers infrastructure that is proven to accelerate performance against the Gatsby Benchmarks: Careers Hubs, digital support, Careers Leader training and an Enterprise Adviser Network. By August 2023, 90% of schools and colleges will be part of a Careers Hub. Over 2,170 Careers Leaders have been trained since training was launched in September 2018. Around 3,750 business professionals are working as Enterprise Advisers with schools and colleges to develop their careers strategies and employer engagement plans.
The Department is strengthening quality and accountability. We strongly recommend that schools and colleges achieve external national accreditation through the Quality in Careers Standard. Ofsted inspectors assess the quality of careers education in all graded inspections.
Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress his Department has made on the introduction of emergency life saving skills lessons in schools.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Schools are now required to teach first aid as part of statutory health education. In this subject, pupils are taught how to deal with common injuries, call the emergency services, administer CPR and understand the purpose of defibrillators.
To support teachers to deliver this topic the department published a first aid teacher training module, which was produced with expert input from St John Ambulance and Resuscitation Council UK. This module is freely available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teacher-training-basic-first-aid. Many schools use organisations such as St John Ambulance, the British Heart Foundation and the British Red Cross to support delivery of the topic.
The national curriculum for physical education (PE) also sets out that schools should teach water safety skills by the end of key stage 2 alongside compulsory swimming lessons. These include a requirement for children to be able to perform safe self-rescue in a variety of water-based situations. Oak National Academy, funded by the department, have also made virtual water safety lessons available. To further support schools, the government has committed to invest £30 million over the next three financial years, which will include a specific programme to improve provision of PE, school sport and physical activity in primary schools in England, including swimming and water safety.
Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding schools in Swindon have received per pupil in each of the last 5 years.
Answered by Jonathan Gullis
The schools block funding allocated to schools from the 2018/2019 to the 2022/2023 financial year for Swindon local authority is as follows:
Swindon Local Authority | Primary funding per pupil | Secondary funding per pupil |
2018-19 | £3,735.80 | £4,894.86 |
2019-20 | £3,789.21 | £5,042.79 |
2020-21 | £3,986.98 | £5,259.99 |
2021-22 | £4,345.79 | £5,702.33 |
2022-23 | £4,460.37 | £5,872.04 |
Further information on school funding statistics can be found here:
https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-funding-statistics.
Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to encourage more women to take up STEM qualifications.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
To ensure a strong pipeline of qualified students into science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) areas, the department has committed substantial spending on mathematics, digital and technical education. This includes funding the Stimulating Physics Network which provides tailored support to schools to increase rates of progression to physics A level and funding an Inclusion in Schools project, delivered by the Association for Science Education, which is designed to increase the uptake of A level physics from students in underrepresented groups, including girls. The department has also funded an £84 million programme to improve computing teaching and participation at GCSE and A level, particularly amongst girls.
Additionally, the department has funded research programmes to investigate ways to tackle gender balance in STEM subjects, including the Improving Gender Balance national research trial for physics and the Gender Balance in Computing Programme. The computing research, led by the Raspberry Pi Foundation, has now concluded and its findings will be published in due course.
The department has introduced T Levels as a high-quality technical alternative to A levels. The current T Levels in Science and Digital, as well as the upcoming T Levels in Engineering and Manufacturing, will provide opportunities for all students to study STEM-related subjects. To challenge stereotypes which may hold young people back, including gender stereotypes, we are using T Level ambassadors to showcase a wide range of voices from those already studying T levels, including girls taking STEM-related T Levels.
Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps the Government has taken to encourage young people to take up STEM qualifications.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
To ensure a strong pipeline of qualified students into science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) areas, the department has committed substantial spending on mathematics, digital and technical education. This includes funding the Stimulating Physics Network which provides tailored support to schools to increase rates of progression to physics A level and funding an Inclusion in Schools project, delivered by the Association for Science Education, which is designed to increase the uptake of A level physics from students in underrepresented groups, including girls. The department has also funded an £84 million programme to improve computing teaching and participation at GCSE and A level, particularly amongst girls.
Additionally, the department has funded research programmes to investigate ways to tackle gender balance in STEM subjects, including the Improving Gender Balance national research trial for physics and the Gender Balance in Computing Programme. The computing research, led by the Raspberry Pi Foundation, has now concluded and its findings will be published in due course.
The department has introduced T Levels as a high-quality technical alternative to A levels. The current T Levels in Science and Digital, as well as the upcoming T Levels in Engineering and Manufacturing, will provide opportunities for all students to study STEM-related subjects. To challenge stereotypes which may hold young people back, including gender stereotypes, we are using T Level ambassadors to showcase a wide range of voices from those already studying T levels, including girls taking STEM-related T Levels.
Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to help make school uniforms more affordable.
Answered by Jonathan Gullis
The ‘Cost of school uniform’ guidance, which was published in November 2021 and came into force at the start of September, requires schools to ensure that their uniform is affordable and secures best value for money for parents. It requires schools to:
Headteachers know their school communities best and can make decisions on the branded items that are most appropriate to their school. Branded items create a sense of common identity and prevent pupils from competing against one another in the latest fashion trends. The guidance requires school leaders to carefully consider the overall cost implications of their chosen approach, including whether requiring a branded item is the most cost-effective way of achieving the desired result for their uniform. To ensure that school uniform acts as a social leveller, optional branded items should be kept to a minimum.
The guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cost-of-school-uniforms/cost-of-school-uniforms.
Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to recruit adequate numbers of computing teachers in schools.
Answered by Jonathan Gullis
In 2021, there were almost 6,600 computing teachers in state-funded secondary schools in England, which is 520 more than in 2020.
Recruitment to computing is supported by tax free scholarships of £26,000 and bursaries of £24,000 for postgraduate trainees, as it is considered a high priority subject.
The teaching marketing campaign provides inspiration and support to explore a career in teaching and directs people to the Get Into Teaching service. Prospective trainees can access support and advice through expert one-to-one Teacher Training Advisers, a contact centre and a national programme of events.
Additionally, the Get School Experience digital service arranges school experience placements between prospective candidates and schools. Get Into Teaching is also developing innovative activities to ensure future interest in teaching, with a focus on shortage subjects, such as teaching internships for computing, physics and maths undergraduates.
Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking with local authorities to help ensure that school facilities are available for use by local communities.
Answered by Jonathan Gullis
The Department encourages all schools to take an active part in their local communities with many schools already opening up their facilities to support local groups. These include sports teams using school pitches, or community groups using school halls in the evening. For academies, the Department has also taken steps to ensure community use through the funding agreement which states that academy trusts ‘must ensure that each of its academies is at the heart of its community, promoting community cohesion and sharing facilities with other schools and/or other educational institutions and the wider community.’
The Department announced in October 2021 that it will invest nearly £30 million per year to open up school sport facilities in England, as well as to improve the teaching of Physical Education in primary schools. The Department is currently procuring phase 3 of the Opening School Facilities programme, which will provide further support to schools to open their sport and leisure facilities in the evenings, at weekends and during the school holidays.