Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the inclusion of sustainability in The National Standard for early years learning and childcare providers in Scotland, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of including sustainability in the inspection criteria for early year settings.
Answered by Will Quince
This is a matter for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman. I have asked her to write to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of ivory items owned by or collated by his Department.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
We have not made any estimates of the number of ivory items owned by or collated in the Department for Education or institutions owned or managed by the government.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 14 June 2021 to Question on Standing Advisory Councils on Religious Education: Finance, what recent discussions officials in his Department have had with their counterparts in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on the appropriate and equitable level of funding via the central school services block for local authorities to support their responsibilities in the delivery of the statutory obligations of their local Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The ‘Religious education in English schools: non-statutory guidance’, published in 2010, sets out advice to support the provision of high quality religious education in maintained schools in England. It also provides local authorities with information about their roles and responsibilities, particularly in relation to their local Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education. The guidance can be found here:
In the 2021/22 financial year, the central school services block (CSSB) continues to fund local authorities for the ongoing responsibilities that they have a statutory duty to deliver for all pupils in maintained schools and academies. The total funding for ongoing responsibilities is £257 million in the 2021/22 financial year and is a 3.8% increase compared to the 2020/21 financial year, in order to keep up with inflation and pupil numbers. The Department will confirm funding allocations for the CSSB in the 2022/23 financial year shortly. We do not specify what proportion of their CSSB funding local authorities should spend on specific central services - this is for local authorities' own discretion.
The introduction of the CSSB in the 2018/19 financial year followed extensive consultation with local authorities, schools, and other stakeholders. A total of 87 local authorities saw a gain in funding, as a result of the introduction of the CSSB, with local authorities also protected against losses of more than 2.5% per pupil in funding for ongoing responsibilities.
The Department’s officials regularly meet with Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government officials to discuss cost pressures on local authorities. The decision on the level of funding for the CSSB each year is then taken by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 14 June 2021 to Question 10631 on Standing Advisory Councils on Religious Education: Finance, what assessment his Department has made of the appropriate and equitable level of funding via the central school services block for local authorities to support their responsibilities in the delivery of the statutory obligations of their local Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The ‘Religious education in English schools: non-statutory guidance’, published in 2010, sets out advice to support the provision of high quality religious education in maintained schools in England. It also provides local authorities with information about their roles and responsibilities, particularly in relation to their local Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education. The guidance can be found here:
In the 2021/22 financial year, the central school services block (CSSB) continues to fund local authorities for the ongoing responsibilities that they have a statutory duty to deliver for all pupils in maintained schools and academies. The total funding for ongoing responsibilities is £257 million in the 2021/22 financial year and is a 3.8% increase compared to the 2020/21 financial year, in order to keep up with inflation and pupil numbers. The Department will confirm funding allocations for the CSSB in the 2022/23 financial year shortly. We do not specify what proportion of their CSSB funding local authorities should spend on specific central services - this is for local authorities' own discretion.
The introduction of the CSSB in the 2018/19 financial year followed extensive consultation with local authorities, schools, and other stakeholders. A total of 87 local authorities saw a gain in funding, as a result of the introduction of the CSSB, with local authorities also protected against losses of more than 2.5% per pupil in funding for ongoing responsibilities.
The Department’s officials regularly meet with Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government officials to discuss cost pressures on local authorities. The decision on the level of funding for the CSSB each year is then taken by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to Answer of 14 June 2021 to Question 10631 on Standing Advisory Councils on Religious Education: Finance, what guidance his Department has issued to local authorities to support their responsibilities in the delivery of the statutory obligations of their local Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The ‘Religious education in English schools: non-statutory guidance’, published in 2010, sets out advice to support the provision of high quality religious education in maintained schools in England. It also provides local authorities with information about their roles and responsibilities, particularly in relation to their local Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education. The guidance can be found here:
In the 2021/22 financial year, the central school services block (CSSB) continues to fund local authorities for the ongoing responsibilities that they have a statutory duty to deliver for all pupils in maintained schools and academies. The total funding for ongoing responsibilities is £257 million in the 2021/22 financial year and is a 3.8% increase compared to the 2020/21 financial year, in order to keep up with inflation and pupil numbers. The Department will confirm funding allocations for the CSSB in the 2022/23 financial year shortly. We do not specify what proportion of their CSSB funding local authorities should spend on specific central services - this is for local authorities' own discretion.
The introduction of the CSSB in the 2018/19 financial year followed extensive consultation with local authorities, schools, and other stakeholders. A total of 87 local authorities saw a gain in funding, as a result of the introduction of the CSSB, with local authorities also protected against losses of more than 2.5% per pupil in funding for ongoing responsibilities.
The Department’s officials regularly meet with Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government officials to discuss cost pressures on local authorities. The decision on the level of funding for the CSSB each year is then taken by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has received representations on the adequacy of funding for Standing Advisory Councils on Religious Education; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department has received a copy of a report produced by the National Association of Standing Advisory Councils on Religious Education (NASACRE). The report presents a summary of responses received from local authorities to Freedom of Information requests relating to funding of Standing Advisory Councils on Religious Education (SACREs).
Local authorities are allocated funding through the central school services block (CSSB) for a range of duties that they must meet for all pupils in maintained schools and academies, such as establishing and maintaining a SACRE. In financial year 2021/22, the total funding for ongoing responsibilities in the CSSB is £257 million, a 3.8% increase compared to 2020/21, to keep up with inflation and pupil numbers.
The Department does not specify what proportion of this money should be attributed to different services or duties. It is up to each local authority to decide this for itself. We expect that a SACRE should be sufficiently resourced to meet its statutory duties. If a SACRE is unable to do this, it should first raise a complaint locally about the issue. If it has done this unsuccessfully, the issue can be escalated to the Department’s School Complaints Unit.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether schools are required to include the teaching of RE in the education recovery plans of pupils that have lost learning during the covid-19 outbreak; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Religious education (RE) is not an optional subject for state funded schools. They must teach RE to all pupils throughout all Key Stages up to age 18. Teaching a broad and balanced curriculum is important to the academic, social, and personal development of young people. These requirements have not changed because of the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Department is working with a broad range of stakeholders to develop a range of short, medium, and long term options to ensure all young people recover their education over the term of this Government.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the most recently published School Workforce Census, how many schools with an outstanding Ofsted rating reported zero hours of religious education teaching in year 11; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
In November 2019, 2,958 state funded secondary schools returned full curriculum information to the Department via the School Workforce Census. This represents 86% of all state funded secondary schools in England.
Of these 2,958 schools, 984 reported no teaching of religious education (RE) or philosophy teaching to Year 11 pupils during the week of the workforce census. One school reported teaching RE or philosophy in mixed year groups, which may include Year 11 pupils.
Of the 984 schools, 144 were judged outstanding in their last Ofsted full inspection. The last full inspection may have been several years prior to 2019. It is therefore not possible to draw any meaningful correlation between information about teaching time on these subjects during the census week and a school’s Ofsted rating.
The information above is based on the number of hours of dedicated RE or philosophy teaching recorded by each school for Year 11 pupils. It is possible that other general teaching within the school may include elements of RE, ethics, or philosophy.
State funded schools in England have a duty to teach RE to all pupils aged 5 to 18 years. While academies, free schools and most maintained schools designated as having a religious character may design and follow their own curriculum, all other maintained schools must follow their area’s locally agreed syllabus for RE.
Any concerns that a school may not be complying with the requirement to teach RE should, in the first instance, be raised via the school’s complaints procedure. If the complaint is not resolved, then the issue can be escalated to the Department’s School Complaints Unit.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to improve ventilation in schools.
Answered by Nick Gibb
In 2018, the Department published Building Bulletin 101, which is guidance for school design on ventilation, thermal comfort and indoor air quality. This guidance sets out the World Health Organisation’s air quality guidelines and Air Quality Standards Regulation 2010 for indoor air quality.
The Department has worked closely with other Government departments, including Public Health England (PHE) and the Department of Health and Social Care, as well as stakeholders across the sector, to ensure that our policy is based on the latest scientific and medical advice, to continue to develop comprehensive guidance based on the PHE-endorsed ‘system of controls’ and to understand the impact of these measures on staff, pupils and parents.
The PHE-endorsed ‘system of controls’ have been in use throughout the COVID-19 outbreak and continue to be the right measures to take. Current evidence suggests that the way to control COVID-19 is the same, even with the new variants. These measures create a safer environment for children, young people, and staff where the risk of transmission of infection is substantially reduced. PHE keeps all these controls under review, based on the latest evidence. Schools therefore need to continue to implement these controls to the fullest extent. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak.
The Department's guidance signposts further advice from the Health and Safety Executive on air conditioning and ventilation during the COVID-19 outbreak. The guidance can be found here: https://www.hse.gov.uk/coronavirus/equipment-and-machinery/air-conditioning-and-ventilation.htm.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, from what date all university students will be able to return to campus and resume in-person teaching.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
Following the review into when the remaining higher education students can return to in-person teaching and learning, the government has announced that the remaining students should return to in-person teaching no earlier than 17 May 2021, alongside Step 3 of the roadmap. Students and institutions will be given at least a week’s notice of any further return in accordance with the timing of Step 3 of the roadmap.
The government roadmap is designed to maintain a cautious approach to the easing of restrictions to reduce public health risks and ensure that we can maintain progress towards full reopening. However, the government recognises the difficulties and disruption that this may cause for many students and their families and that is why the government is making a further £15 million of additional student hardship funding available for this academic year 2020/21. In total we have made an additional £85 million of funding available for student hardship.
We are supporting universities to provide regular twice weekly asymptomatic testing for all students and staff on-site and, from May, at home. This will help break chains of transmission of the virus.