Asked by: Karl McCartney (Conservative - Lincoln)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of how the specialisms taught at University Technical Colleges can support the (a) skills needs of employers and (b) UK’s economic recovery after the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
University Technical Colleges (UTCs) are well positioned to support the skills needs of local economies, placing employers at the heart of designing their specialist curriculum, mostly in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects such as engineering and digital technologies. There are over 500 employers involved in the 48 open UTCs, including leading names such as JCB, Network Rail, Toyota, Siemens and the Royal Navy, helping to create 30,000 opportunities for young people to train as the engineers, technicians and scientists of the future.
UTCs will continue to play a role in building the skills capabilities the country needs now and in the future following COVID-19. An immediate focus for UTCs will be to help this year’s leavers use and build on their technical skills through becoming apprentices, as well as other paths to employment including progression to universities, or going straight into technical jobs.
Our latest guidance for schools and other educational settings is set out below:
These are rapidly developing circumstances; we continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.
Asked by: Karl McCartney (Conservative - Lincoln)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase the number of applications from (a) male and (b) female applicants to early years teacher training programmes.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Department will be publishing a workforce strategy in due course, which will seek to remove the barriers to attracting, retaining and developing staff.
The strategy will include a focus on what Government can do to help grow the graduate workforce.
Asked by: Karl McCartney (Conservative - Lincoln)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to announce plans for primary school on-entry assessment in 2017; and if the assessment will give the different stages of brain development experienced by boys and girls during early years.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Secretary of State’s written ministerial statement to Parliament of 19 October set out that, while we intend to consult on the best starting point to measure the progress that children make at primary school, no new types of statutory assessment will be introduced in primary schools prior to the 2018-2019 academic year. We have also confirmed that the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile will remain in place for the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 academic years.
Asked by: Karl McCartney (Conservative - Lincoln)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of early years' practitioners are male.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The most recent data held by the Department shows that from 2008 – 2013, the proportion of male staff in the early years workforce has consistently remained at 2% (Childcare Provider Survey, 2013).
The Department will be publishing a workforce strategy in 2017, which will seek to remove the barriers to attracting, retaining and developing staff.
Asked by: Karl McCartney (Conservative - Lincoln)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to prepare for the UK to leave the EU since 23 June 2016; and what further such steps her Department plans to take in the remainder of 2016.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Department for Exiting the European Union has responsibility for overseeing preparations for the withdrawal of the UK from the EU and conducting these withdrawal negotiations in support of the Prime Minister. In doing this it is working very closely with other government departments, including the Department for Education, and a wide range of other interested parties.