Asked by: Karen Lumley (Conservative - Redditch)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that all 18 year olds leaving school have the skills to prepare a high quality CV.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
The Department publishes statutory guidance (for schools which sets a clear framework for the provision of careers advice and guidance. The guidance, which is available at www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/440795/Careers_Guidance_Schools_Guidance.pdf sets out how every school should engage with local employers and professionals to ensure real-world connections are in place to prepare young people for working life. These activities could include speakers from the world of work, mentoring, workplace visits or help with basic career management skills like CV writing.
The Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) continues to make excellent progress. Its Enterprise Adviser Network is brokering links between schools, colleges and employers in 36 Local Enterprise Partnership areas; with 60 Enterprise Coordinators and 400 Enterprise Advisers working with schools and colleges to support their careers and enterprise provision. In March 2016 The CEC announced 33 successful bidders to its £5m careers and enterprise fund. This £5m investment from government will boost provision for nearly 250,000 young people across England in 75% of the areas the company has identified as ‘cold spots’. In addition, the company is working to create a new generation of high-quality mentors to help teenagers fulfil their potential.
Asked by: Karen Lumley (Conservative - Redditch)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the extent of changes in the workload of teachers arising from the new Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 testing regime.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The removal of unnecessary workload is a priority for this Department and is considered carefully when introducing any significant change for schools. Our primary assessment reforms have been designed to put arrangements for the majority of classroom assessment back into the hands of the school and to reduce the tracking burdens that national curriculum levels previously encouraged. We believe schools are best placed to decide how to assess pupils in line with their curriculum and that over time this should lead to a reduction in workload for teachers.
Following the introduction of the new national curriculum and the removal of levels, we have developed new forms of statutory assessment at the end of Key Stages 1 and 2. The duty to report assessment at these points remains unchanged from previous years. We do recognise, however, that in this first year of the new forms of assessment teachers will be adapting their approach. Significant reforms like take time to embed and the best way to prepare pupils remains to focus on teaching the core knowledge set by new national curriculum, which schools have been doing since September 2014.
Throughout the introduction of our important reforms to primary assessment, we have worked closely with teachers and head teachers and continue to listen to the concerns of the profession as the details of the new arrangements are finalised. We are working constructively with the teaching profession and their representatives to find solutions to some of the remaining issues.
Asked by: Karen Lumley (Conservative - Redditch)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what provision is made in schools for young adults to learn about money management.
Answered by Edward Timpson
In September 2014, financial literacy was made statutory for the first time as part of the curriculum for citizenship education for 11 to 16 year olds. Pupils are taught the functions and uses of money, the importance of personal budgeting, money management and the need to understand financial risk.
The government has recently introduced a Core Maths qualification that may be taken by post-16 students to prepare students for a variety of mathematical contexts they will encounter in future study, employment and life. This includes managing their personal finances.
We have also strengthened the national curriculum for mathematics to give pupils aged 5 to 16 the necessary mathematical skills they need to make important financial decisions about mortgages and loan repayments.
The programme of study for citizenship and mathematics can be found online: www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-curriculum.
Asked by: Karen Lumley (Conservative - Redditch)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential benefits of a national funding formula for early years education.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
The government understands the importance of funding that secures the effective and efficient delivery of early years education. We are aware that there are historical inconsistencies and inefficiencies with the current funding system for the three- and four-year entitlement. The government is committed to early education funding which is simple, transparent and maximises funding reaching the front line. Our long term objective is to make funding truly fair.
Asked by: Karen Lumley (Conservative - Redditch)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools currently teach water safety education.
Answered by Edward Timpson
The Government is fully committed to ensuring young people learn to swim and stay safe in water. In reforming the national curriculum, the new physical education (PE) programme of study, including the specifications for swimming and water safety, were developed through consultation with subject experts and teachers. The draft programme of study was subject to statutory consultation from 7 February to 16 April 2013.
Swimming and water safety is compulsory for primary-aged children in maintained schools; the national curriculum specifically states that pupils should be taught to perform safe self-rescue in different water-based situations. The programme of study for PE is available online here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-physical-education-programmes-of-study.
Asked by: Karen Lumley (Conservative - Redditch)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the feasibility of teaching water safety education in schools as a distinct topic from the national curriculum requirement for schools to teach children to swim.
Answered by Edward Timpson
The Government is fully committed to ensuring young people learn to swim and stay safe in water. In reforming the national curriculum, the new physical education (PE) programme of study, including the specifications for swimming and water safety, were developed through consultation with subject experts and teachers. The draft programme of study was subject to statutory consultation from 7 February to 16 April 2013.
Swimming and water safety is compulsory for primary-aged children in maintained schools; the national curriculum specifically states that pupils should be taught to perform safe self-rescue in different water-based situations. The programme of study for PE is available online here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-physical-education-programmes-of-study.
Asked by: Karen Lumley (Conservative - Redditch)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many of the Philips HeartStart FRx devices on which her Department negotiated a discounted price have been sold to which schools.
Answered by David Laws
As of 23 January 2015, 124 confirmed orders had been placed for a total of 168 automated external defibrillators (AEDs). The list of schools as provided by NHS Supply Chain is as follows:
School name | Number of devices purchased |
Aquinas College | 1 |
Archbishop Holgate’s School | 1 |
Aylesford Primary School | 1 |
Belgrave St Bartholomew’s Academy | 1 |
Bishop Wordsworth’s School | 1 |
Bishopshalt School | 1 |
Bordesley Green Girls’ School and Sixth Form, Birmigham | 1 |
Bourne Westfield Primary Academy | 1 |
Brighton, Hove & Sussex Sixth Form College (BHASVIC) | 2 |
Brockhill Park Performing Arts College | 1 |
Brookfields School, Reading | 1 |
Bure Park Primary School, Bicester | 1 |
Buxton School | 1 |
Canada Hill Community Primary School | 1 |
Carmel College, Darlington | 5 |
Carshalton Boys Sports College | 2 |
Castle Batch Community Primary School | 1 |
Charter Academy, Southsea | 1 |
Chesham Grammar School | 1 |
Cheshunt School | 1 |
Chesswood Middle School | 1 |
Christ Church (Erith) C of E Primary School (part of Trinitas Academy Trust) | 1 |
Cirencester Deer Park School | 1 |
Clements Community Primary School, Suffolk | 1 |
Cloughwood Academy | 1 |
Colebourne Primary School and Beaufort School, Birmingham | 1 |
Darlington School of Mathematics and Science | 1 |
Dean Field Community Primary School | 1 |
Downsway Primary School | 1 |
Downsway Primary School | 1 |
Elmlea Junior School | 1 |
Energy Coast UTC, Workington | 1 |
Fair Furlong Primary School, Bristol | 1 |
Francis Baily Primary School | 1 |
Greasley Beauvale Primary School | 1 |
Great Torrington School, Devon | 1 |
Greig City Academy, Hornsey | 2 |
Grey Court School | 1 |
Gunnersbury Catholic School, Middlesex | 2 |
Hadrian Academy, Dunstable | 1 |
Harris Academy Battersea | 1 |
Harris Academy South Norwood | 2 |
Harris Primary Academy Benson | 1 |
Harris Primary Academy Crystal Palace | 1 |
Harris Primary Academy Kenley | 1 |
Hawkes Farm Primary School | 1 |
Hayes Park School | 1 |
Hayes School, Bromley | 1 |
Highfield Primary School, Leeds | 1 |
Holy Cross RC Primary School, Nottingham | 1 |
Holy Trinity Primary School, Calderdale | 1 |
Invicta Grammar School | 1 |
Kesgrave High School | 1 |
Kingsdale Foundation School | 3 |
Kirk Hallam Community Academy | 3 |
Lakey Lane Primary School | 1 |
Lancaster and Morecambe College | 1 |
Langmoor Primary School | 1 |
Linwood School | 2 |
Little Mead Primary Academy | 1 |
Long Toft Primary School | 1 |
Longfield Academy Trust, Darlington | 2 |
Moor Park High School and Sixth Form | 1 |
New Charter Academy, Ashton | 2 |
Newlaithes Infant School | 1 |
Nonsuch High School for Girls | 2 |
Oakwood Primary School | 9 |
Ormiston Sandwell Community Academy | 1 |
Ormiston Sudbury Academy | 1 |
Outwood Grange Academies Trust | 11 |
Park Primary School, Doncaster | 1 |
Parson Street Primary School | 1 |
Pennine Way Junior Academy | 1 |
Queen Mary’s School, Thirsk | 1 |
Rednock School, Gloucestershire | 1 |
Robert Sandilands Primary School and Nursery | 1 |
Rushcliffe School | 1 |
Rye Hills School | 1 |
Ryefield Primary School | 1 |
Sandhurst Junior School | 1 |
Sandroyd School | 1 |
Shoeburyness High School | 1 |
Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School | 1 |
Sir Herbert Leon Academy, Milton Keynes | 1 |
Sir Robert Geffery’s School | 1 |
South Molton Community College | 1 |
South Wilts Grammar School for Girls | 1 |
Springfields Academy | 1 |
St Agatha’s Catholic Primary School | 1 |
St Aloysius’ College, London | 1 |
St Augustine of Canterbury CofE Primary School (part of Trinitas Academy Trust) | 1 |
St Crispin’s School, Wokingham | 1 |
St James’ Catholic Primary School, Birmingham | 1 |
St Joseph’s College, Staffs | 4 |
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Bishop’s Stortford | 1 |
St Margaret’s Academy | 1 |
St Mary and St John Catholic Primary School | 1 |
Stanhope Primary School, Tyne and Wear | 1 |
Stanley Park Infants’ School | 1 |
Stewards Academy | 2 |
Summerlea Community Primary School | 1 |
The Bishop of Winchester Academy, Bournemouth | 1 |
The Bromfords School and Sixth Form College | 1 |
The Bulmershe School | 1 |
The Education Village | 3 |
The Hollington Primary Academy | 1 |
The John Fisher School | 2 |
The Latimer Primary School, Leicestershire | 1 |
The Rydale Academy, Darlington | 1 |
The Skinners’ School | 1 |
Thomas Estley Community College | 1 |
Tong High School | 1 |
Treviglas Community College | 1 |
Vyners School | 2 |
Waterloo Primary Academy, Blackpool | 2 |
West Twyford Primary School | 1 |
Westdale Junior School | 1 |
Whitburn Church of England Academy | 1 |
Wingfield Academy | 1 |
Witham St Hughs Academy | 1 |
Woodbridge High School | 1 |
Woodford Primary School | 1 |
Woodville CofE Junior School | 1 |
Wyvern College, Eastleigh | 1 |
To help schools in considering whether to purchase these potentially life-saving devices, the Department for Education has also published advice on installing and maintaining AEDs on school premises. This advice is available online at:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/automated-external-defibrillators-aeds-in-schools.
Between 26 November 2014 and 25 January 2015, the download page for this document was viewed 4,858 times.
Asked by: Karen Lumley (Conservative - Redditch)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the role of schools in encouraging pupils to consider apprenticeships post-16.
Answered by Nick Boles
Schools are legally required to secure independent careers guidance for 12- to 18-year-olds that includes information on the full range of education and training options, including apprenticeships.
In 2013, Ofsted’s study of the early implementation of this duty found that apprenticeships were rarely promoted effectively, especially in schools with sixth forms.
The Government has published new statutory guidance and departmental advice on careers guidance and inspiration, informed by the Ofsted study, which is effective from September 2014. This provides a clear framework and practical support for schools to help them inspire their pupils about the options open to them. The guidance is clear that schools should give employers and other providers delivering apprenticeships the opportunity to inform pupils directly about what they offer. It emphasises that apprenticeships and university offer two equally effective routes to a successful career.
Ofsted is now giving careers guidance a higher priority in school inspections and we will work with them to monitor carefully the impact of the statutory guidance and the wider improvements that the Government has put in place.
Asked by: Karen Lumley (Conservative - Redditch)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many middle schools there are in England; and how many of those schools are academies.
Answered by David Laws
There are 190 schools in England that are recorded on Edubase, the Department's database of education providers, as being middle schools. Of these, 59 are converter academies and three are sponsored academies.
Asked by: Karen Lumley (Conservative - Redditch)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many applications his Department has received from academies seeking to change their admissions policies; and how many such applications his Department accepted.
Answered by Edward Timpson
Academies can only change their admission arrangements following the procedures set out in the School Admissions Code.
During the 2013/14 academic year the Education Funding Agency has received requests to change admissions arrangements for 8 academies. Of these, 7 were approved and 1 was withdrawn by the academy trust.
These figures do not include applications to change admissions arrangements that form part of a request for a wider change to an academy's funding agreement, for example extending the age range, as this data is not recorded centrally.