Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Spen Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to provide financial support to higher education establishments; what assessment he has made of the potential merits of (a) reviewing the Adult Education Budget (AEB) business case processes, (b) offering an income guarantee for colleges, (c) implementing a rate premium on priority courses and qualifications and (d) introducing a cost-increase sharing mechanism for his Department's approved capital projects.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Across the next three years, the department is investing almost £900 million of further funding into the higher education sector. This includes the largest increase in government funding in over a decade, to support students and teaching.
The department recognises the challenges providers have faced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We also know that many providers have been able to continue to deliver provision successfully throughout the pandemic and now expect them to have had the time and opportunity to adjust their learning offers to accommodate online/flexible learning in response to further COVID-19 waves. That is why for the current academic year (2021/22) we plan to maintain the Education and Skills Funding Agency’s Adult Education Budget reconciliation threshold at 97%.
The department is committed to investing in 16-19 education, ensuring that further education (FE) is financially sustainable and we have taken several steps to increase funding and bolster the FE sector.
The 2021 Spending Review has made available an extra £1.6 billion for 16-19 education in the 2024/25 financial year compared with the 2021/22 financial year. This includes an up-front cash boost which will see the rate of funding per student increase by over 8% in the 2022/23 academic year.
The significant increase to the national funding rate and the other funding increases alongside this, demonstrates our commitment to 16-19 education and will help with college income.
The department has set out details of how the additional funding will be allocated in the 2022/23 academic year. Along with increasing the national rate of funding for a Band 5 student to £4,542, we are also increasing:
o the High Value Courses Premium from £400 to £600
o disadvantage Block 2 and the Block 1 for looked after children and care leaver rates from £480 to £504
o the programme cost weightings for five subject areas (medicine and dentistry, nursing and subjects and vocations allied to medicinen transportation operations and maintenance, building and construction and urban, rural, and regional planning), to better match the cost of delivery
The department also announced on 4 April 2022, the colleges that were successful in the FE Capital Transformation Fund bidding process. Each college has received a grant offer from the department. Most colleges will also be contributing match funding. It is for colleges to manage their condition improvement project within the budget available. We will monitor progress across all college projects.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Spen Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of providing pupils who are eligible for free school meals with food vouchers during the summer holidays; and if he will make that his policy.
Answered by Will Quince
Free school meals (FSM) are an educational entitlement and intended to support children while they are learning. Pupils do not receive FSM when they are not receiving education, including during school holidays.
Children who are in receipt of FSM are eligible for a place on the holiday activities and food programme, free of charge. This is being delivered in all 152 local authorities in England and ensures that disadvantaged children have access to healthy food and enriching activities during the longer school holiday periods.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Spen Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make it his policy to publish the evidential basis used to inform any potential future decisions to amend the staff to child ratio in nursery settings.
Answered by Will Quince
The government will consult in the summer on moving to the Scottish ratios for two-year-olds, from a ratio of 1:4 (one adult to four children) to 1:5 (one adult to five children). Throughout this consultation process, the department will engage fully with the sector and parents/carers on this proposed change, and this will inform any potential future decisions which will be published via a government response to the consultation.
The department’s priority continues to be to provide safe, high quality early years provision for our youngest children.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Spen Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the importance of school play for children’s mental health and emotional development.
Answered by Will Quince
The department has not made a specific assessment related to play in schools, but the government is clear about the importance of play to children and young people.
The department recognises the important role lunchtime play and activities have in providing enriching activities which support children’s physical and mental health, as well as the development of skills and attitudes which promote their wellbeing. It can provide children with an opportunity to connect with peers, develop friendships, and be physically active, all of which may contribute to a range of outcomes including enjoyment of school, social development and learning.
The department considers supporting access to play as part of what nurseries, schools and colleges can do to support the mental wellbeing and physical, social and emotional development of children and young people. We work closely with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department of Health and Social Care counterparts on how that links into wider provision, opportunities and support for children and families.
We think it is right that decisions on how to structure a school day, including ensuring opportunities for children to engage in play, should be made by schools. However, as set out in the department’s recently published Schools White Paper, we have set a minimum expectation on the length of the school week of 32.5 hours for all mainstream state-funded schools. This will provide pupils with increased opportunities for learning, socialisation with peers and enrichment activities including chance to play.
Under Ofsted’s inspection framework, which took effect in September 2019, inspectors will look at how the curriculum is implemented through teaching and the wider experience of pupils in school. In the early years of education, Ofsted would expect play to be part of this. Inspectors would want to look at how the wide spectrum of play develops children’s communication skills, and demonstrates how behaviour is taught and managed, and how staff identity what a child needs to learn and how to learn it, either through explicit teaching or through play. When staff are clear on what children already know and can do, and what their next steps are, they can decide effectively on the teaching activities, including play, that will help children progress. Play should not, however, be evaluated separately, but as part of the curriculum, underling its role in supporting and embedding learning.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Spen Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will add play to the ministerial responsibilities of the Children’s Minister in his Department.
Answered by Will Quince
The department has not made a specific assessment related to play in schools, but the government is clear about the importance of play to children and young people.
The department recognises the important role lunchtime play and activities have in providing enriching activities which support children’s physical and mental health, as well as the development of skills and attitudes which promote their wellbeing. It can provide children with an opportunity to connect with peers, develop friendships, and be physically active, all of which may contribute to a range of outcomes including enjoyment of school, social development and learning.
The department considers supporting access to play as part of what nurseries, schools and colleges can do to support the mental wellbeing and physical, social and emotional development of children and young people. We work closely with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department of Health and Social Care counterparts on how that links into wider provision, opportunities and support for children and families.
We think it is right that decisions on how to structure a school day, including ensuring opportunities for children to engage in play, should be made by schools. However, as set out in the department’s recently published Schools White Paper, we have set a minimum expectation on the length of the school week of 32.5 hours for all mainstream state-funded schools. This will provide pupils with increased opportunities for learning, socialisation with peers and enrichment activities including chance to play.
Under Ofsted’s inspection framework, which took effect in September 2019, inspectors will look at how the curriculum is implemented through teaching and the wider experience of pupils in school. In the early years of education, Ofsted would expect play to be part of this. Inspectors would want to look at how the wide spectrum of play develops children’s communication skills, and demonstrates how behaviour is taught and managed, and how staff identity what a child needs to learn and how to learn it, either through explicit teaching or through play. When staff are clear on what children already know and can do, and what their next steps are, they can decide effectively on the teaching activities, including play, that will help children progress. Play should not, however, be evaluated separately, but as part of the curriculum, underling its role in supporting and embedding learning.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Spen Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of updating the Ofsted education inspection framework to include quality of play in school evaluations.
Answered by Will Quince
The department has not made a specific assessment related to play in schools, but the government is clear about the importance of play to children and young people.
The department recognises the important role lunchtime play and activities have in providing enriching activities which support children’s physical and mental health, as well as the development of skills and attitudes which promote their wellbeing. It can provide children with an opportunity to connect with peers, develop friendships, and be physically active, all of which may contribute to a range of outcomes including enjoyment of school, social development and learning.
The department considers supporting access to play as part of what nurseries, schools and colleges can do to support the mental wellbeing and physical, social and emotional development of children and young people. We work closely with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department of Health and Social Care counterparts on how that links into wider provision, opportunities and support for children and families.
We think it is right that decisions on how to structure a school day, including ensuring opportunities for children to engage in play, should be made by schools. However, as set out in the department’s recently published Schools White Paper, we have set a minimum expectation on the length of the school week of 32.5 hours for all mainstream state-funded schools. This will provide pupils with increased opportunities for learning, socialisation with peers and enrichment activities including chance to play.
Under Ofsted’s inspection framework, which took effect in September 2019, inspectors will look at how the curriculum is implemented through teaching and the wider experience of pupils in school. In the early years of education, Ofsted would expect play to be part of this. Inspectors would want to look at how the wide spectrum of play develops children’s communication skills, and demonstrates how behaviour is taught and managed, and how staff identity what a child needs to learn and how to learn it, either through explicit teaching or through play. When staff are clear on what children already know and can do, and what their next steps are, they can decide effectively on the teaching activities, including play, that will help children progress. Play should not, however, be evaluated separately, but as part of the curriculum, underling its role in supporting and embedding learning.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Spen Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of rolling out a minimum statutory playtime requirement for the school day.
Answered by Will Quince
The department has not made a specific assessment related to play in schools, but the government is clear about the importance of play to children and young people.
The department recognises the important role lunchtime play and activities have in providing enriching activities which support children’s physical and mental health, as well as the development of skills and attitudes which promote their wellbeing. It can provide children with an opportunity to connect with peers, develop friendships, and be physically active, all of which may contribute to a range of outcomes including enjoyment of school, social development and learning.
The department considers supporting access to play as part of what nurseries, schools and colleges can do to support the mental wellbeing and physical, social and emotional development of children and young people. We work closely with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department of Health and Social Care counterparts on how that links into wider provision, opportunities and support for children and families.
We think it is right that decisions on how to structure a school day, including ensuring opportunities for children to engage in play, should be made by schools. However, as set out in the department’s recently published Schools White Paper, we have set a minimum expectation on the length of the school week of 32.5 hours for all mainstream state-funded schools. This will provide pupils with increased opportunities for learning, socialisation with peers and enrichment activities including chance to play.
Under Ofsted’s inspection framework, which took effect in September 2019, inspectors will look at how the curriculum is implemented through teaching and the wider experience of pupils in school. In the early years of education, Ofsted would expect play to be part of this. Inspectors would want to look at how the wide spectrum of play develops children’s communication skills, and demonstrates how behaviour is taught and managed, and how staff identity what a child needs to learn and how to learn it, either through explicit teaching or through play. When staff are clear on what children already know and can do, and what their next steps are, they can decide effectively on the teaching activities, including play, that will help children progress. Play should not, however, be evaluated separately, but as part of the curriculum, underling its role in supporting and embedding learning.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Spen Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Schools White Paper entitled Opportunity for all: strong schools with great teachers for your child, published on 28 March 2022, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of religious education on people’s understanding of each other in wider society; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Robin Walker
The government believes that religious education (RE) is an important subject, developing a pupil’s knowledge and understanding of the religions and beliefs which form part of contemporary society, and serving to inform their own values and behaviours. RE can also contribute to pupils’ personal development and wellbeing, by promoting mutual respect and tolerance in a diverse society. It is an important contributor to the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils, which schools are required to facilitate as per the Education Act 2002.
In school life, RE can develop and nuance the skills required for other parts of the school curriculum such as history, citizenship, and personal, social, health and economic education. Studying RE can serve to improve community cohesion. It provides a key context to develop young people’s understanding and appreciation of diversity, to promote shared values, and to challenge racism and discrimination.
In the Schools White Paper, ‘Opportunity for All’, the department committed to establishing a new arms-length curriculum body. We will work with thousands of teachers to co-design, create and continually improve packages of optional, free, adaptable digital curriculum resources and video lessons. Each subject, including RE, will have a choice of resources, providing variety for teachers. 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 department will continue to support the provision of high-quality RE. Subject knowledge enhancement courses remain available in cases where a School Direct lead school or initial teacher training providers identify applicants who have the potential to become outstanding teachers, but who need to increase their subject knowledge in a range of subjects. This includes an eight week RE course.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Spen Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the Schools White Paper on the means for ensuring high quality provision of Religious Education for all pupils in England; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Robin Walker
The government believes that religious education (RE) is an important subject, developing a pupil’s knowledge and understanding of the religions and beliefs which form part of contemporary society, and serving to inform their own values and behaviours. RE can also contribute to pupils’ personal development and wellbeing, by promoting mutual respect and tolerance in a diverse society. It is an important contributor to the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils, which schools are required to facilitate as per the Education Act 2002.
In school life, RE can develop and nuance the skills required for other parts of the school curriculum such as history, citizenship, and personal, social, health and economic education. Studying RE can serve to improve community cohesion. It provides a key context to develop young people’s understanding and appreciation of diversity, to promote shared values, and to challenge racism and discrimination.
In the Schools White Paper, ‘Opportunity for All’, the department committed to establishing a new arms-length curriculum body. We will work with thousands of teachers to co-design, create and continually improve packages of optional, free, adaptable digital curriculum resources and video lessons. Each subject, including RE, will have a choice of resources, providing variety for teachers. 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 department will continue to support the provision of high-quality RE. Subject knowledge enhancement courses remain available in cases where a School Direct lead school or initial teacher training providers identify applicants who have the potential to become outstanding teachers, but who need to increase their subject knowledge in a range of subjects. This includes an eight week RE course.