Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the progress of the scheme to provide vulnerable children with free places in state and independent boarding schools.
Answered by Lord Nash
As reported by the media, Buttle UK announced on Friday 3 February that they have had to cancel their research project, which was aiming to measure the educational and well-being outcomes of using boarding, due to lack of referrals from local authorities.
However, we continue to believe that boarding can have great benefits for the right children, and want to see more vulnerable and disadvantaged children able to take advantage of the high quality provision that boarding schools provide.
We will continue to work with the sector to encourage more local authorities to consider boarding as an alternative where it is right for the child.
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they plan to announce the results of their consultation on the English Baccalaureate which closed in January.
Answered by Lord Nash
We will publish the Government response to the consultation on the implementation of the English Baccalaureate policy in due course.
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether sales of school playing fields are increasing; and if so, whether they will take steps to curb such sales.
Answered by Lord Nash
Local authorities and schools must by law seek consent from the Secretary of State to dispose of playing field land. The department has a strong policy presumption against the disposal of school playing fields and only provides consent to dispose of playing field land if the criteria set out in the departmental guidance are met; which includes an expectation that proceeds from sales are reinvested in sports and education facilities. The department publishes a list of department decisions on applications for consent to dispose of school playing field land.
It would neither be practical or desirable to artificially curb the sale of school playing fields, when such disposals may represent the most effective use of public assets. Often changes are made to education provision, such as school closures or mergers, which mean it is no longer necessary to retain playing fields for school use. In such cases it is only right that local communities are able to benefit from space that otherwise would not be used. Converting surplus or unwanted assets to invest in school grounds has benefits that extend far beyond the school gates. No operating school has disposed of its entire playing field.
It is therefore right that schools should continue to determine what is suitable for their individual circumstances; subject to strong statutory protections including the Secretary of State’s consent and the application of rigorous criteria for what is best for pupils’ education and wider school and community life.
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the total amount of land that has been disposed of by schools which have sold their playing fields since 2010.
Answered by Lord Nash
Local authorities and schools must by law seek consent from the Secretary of State to dispose of playing field land. The department has a strong policy presumption against the disposal of school playing fields and only provides consent to dispose of playing field land if the criteria set out in the departmental guidance are met; which includes an expectation that proceeds from sales are reinvested in sports and education facilities. The department publishes a list of department decisions on applications for consent to dispose of school playing field land.
It would neither be practical or desirable to artificially curb the sale of school playing fields, when such disposals may represent the most effective use of public assets. Often changes are made to education provision, such as school closures or mergers, which mean it is no longer necessary to retain playing fields for school use. In such cases it is only right that local communities are able to benefit from space that otherwise would not be used. Converting surplus or unwanted assets to invest in school grounds has benefits that extend far beyond the school gates. No operating school has disposed of its entire playing field.
It is therefore right that schools should continue to determine what is suitable for their individual circumstances; subject to strong statutory protections including the Secretary of State’s consent and the application of rigorous criteria for what is best for pupils’ education and wider school and community life.
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the total volume of milk supplied to schools in (1) 1986, and (2) 2015.
Answered by Lord Nash
Information on the total volume of milk supplied to schools in 1986 and 2015 is not held centrally.
The School Food Standards require that milk is made available to all pupils. Where milk is served as part of lunch, it is provided free to all pupils in reception, year 1 and year 2 and to pupils of all ages who are eligible for free school meals.
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest assessment of the extent of homophobic bullying in schools.
Answered by Lord Nash
All forms of bullying, including homophobic bullying, are completely unacceptable. In order to tackle homophobic bullying in schools we are providing £2 million this financial year to fund projects designed to build schools’ knowledge and capacity to prevent and tackle homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying in schools.
While evidence points to a high level of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender young people being subjected to bullying, it also indicates that thanks to the efforts of teachers and charities it is falling. Research undertaken by Stonewall shows that homophobic bullying has reduced in recent years - 55% of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual secondary school pupils reported experiencing homophobic bullying at school in 2012, a drop from 65% in 2007 (Stonewall School Report, 2007 and 2012). The Stonewall Report of 2014 also indicated that homophobic bullying has fallen. The number of secondary school teachers who said their pupils are often or very often the victim of homophobic bullying had almost halved, from 25 per cent in 2009 to 13 per cent in 2014 (Stonewall Teacher Report, 2014 and 2009).
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the sale of the playing fields of over 100 schools since 2010 on the physical fitness of young people.
Answered by Lord Nash
The Government does not approve the sale of playing fields but assesses applications from schools and local authorities to dispose of them. A disposal can include a lease of the playing fields to a third-party commercial organisation with the fields, following investment and improvement, continuing to be used by the school.
It is neither the government nor the Department for Education that instigate the disposal of playing fields. It is the local authorities, academies or schools that seek consent to convert these often surplus or un-used fields to enable them to invest in school sport or education. However, there is strict control in place which requires an assessment of the facilities available to pupils. The government will only give permission to dispose of school playing fields if it is clearly demonstrated that they are surplus to requirements and the sports and curriculum needs of the school and its neighbouring schools will continue to be met.
Since any approved disposal would not impact on the provision of the sports curriculum at the school/s, no follow up studies on the sale of playing fields has been undertaken.
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the written answer by Lord Nash on 4 June (HL94), when they expect Ofqual's work with awarding organisations on the future of the relevant community languages to be completed and a decision to be taken on whether to launch a consultation.
Answered by Lord Nash
The Department for Education, Ofqual and awarding organisations continue to consider and discuss potential approaches to securing these qualifications. The government is keen to ensure reformed qualifications in community languages will be available for first teaching in 2017. If no course of action can be agreed by Ofqual and awarding organisations the department will consult more widely on potential approaches and seek to ensure this timeline is adhered to.
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that Modern Greek remains available as an A-level subject.
Answered by Lord Nash
The Department for Education is currently considering what further support and encouragement can be provided to awarding organisations to enable as wide a range of languages as possible to be maintained at GCSE and A level, including Modern Greek.
The government has been clear that it wants to see all pupils provided with the opportunity to take a core set of academic subjects, including modern foreign languages. The number of pupils entering for a modern language GCSE has increased by 20% since 2010 due to the introduction of the English Baccalaureate. There are considerable benefits to learning a second language and the government is keen to see the range of languages at GCSE and A level preserved. To this end, the Secretary of State wrote to exam boards during the pre-election period in April to express her concern about their decision to stop awarding qualifications in some languages. She asked awarding organisations to work with Ofqual on the future of these qualifications and committed, if there is no further action, to launching a consultation on how best to secure the future of these qualifications.
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that Polish remains available as an A-level subject.
Answered by Lord Nash
The Department for Education is currently considering what further support and encouragement can be provided to awarding organisations to enable as wide a range of languages as possible to be maintained at GCSE and A level, including Polish.
The government has been clear that it wants to see all pupils provided with the opportunity to take a core set of academic subjects, including modern foreign languages. The number of pupils entering for a modern language GCSE has increased by 20% since 2010 due to the introduction of the English Baccalaureate. There are considerable benefits to learning a second language and the government is keen to see the range of languages at GCSE and A level preserved. To this end, the Secretary of State wrote to exam boards during the pre-election period in April to express her concern about their decision to stop awarding qualifications in some community languages. She asked awarding organisations to work with Ofqual on the future of these qualifications and committed, if there is no further action, to launching a consultation on how best to secure the future of these qualifications.