Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the findings of the study funded by the Nuffield Foundation entitled A generation at risk: Rebalancing education in the post-pandemic era, published in April 2024.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Predicting GCSE results is very difficult as there are many drivers that can interact in unforeseen ways. However, as the Nuffield Foundation’s report indicates, the pandemic deprived children of the advantages of studying together within the safety and support of their schools.
The pandemic created a unique challenge for teachers, staff, students and families. Minimising its impact on education and tackling the challenges has been the department’s priority from the start. Almost £5 billion was made available specifically for education recovery, with support focussed on those who needed it most, while giving education providers as much flexibility as possible to tailor-make help for their own circumstances. This includes the National Tutoring Programme (NTP), which focuses on disadvantaged pupils and those who have fallen behind, and has seen nearly five million tutoring courses start since it launched in November 2020.
The department knows that disadvantaged children and pupils with a special educational need or disability were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. The department continues to take a range of steps to give priority support and deliver programmes to help them, including improving the quality of teaching and curriculum resources, strengthening the school system and providing targeted support where needed. The department is also supporting disadvantaged pupils through the pupil premium, which is rising to almost £2.9 billion in 2024/25, which is the highest in cash terms since this funding began.
Further to this, latest results from 2023 show that over 45% of pupils sitting GCSEs achieved a grade 5 or higher in both English and mathematics, which is an increase of more than two percentage points compared with pre-pandemic 2019 levels and almost three percentage points when compared with 2017.
England recently came fourth in primary reading out of 43 countries which tested pupils of the same age in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS). Despite disruption from the pandemic, England’s score remained stable and well above the international and European averages.
Furthermore, the department has committed to making schools safe, calm and supportive environments, which promote and support mental wellbeing alongside delivering an excellent education.
Enrichment activities can deepen children’s in-school experience while supporting them to develop their socio-emotional skills. The department is now delivering the vision set out in its Schools White Paper, which states that every child and young person will have access to high-quality extra-curricular provision, including an entitlement to take part in sport, music and cultural opportunities.
Monitoring and measuring wellbeing in schools strengthens this, which is why the department’s guidance on promoting a whole-school approach to pupil wellbeing includes this as one of its eight key principles. You can find out more here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/614cc965d3bf7f718518029c/Promoting_children_and_young_people_s_mental_health_and_wellbeing.pdf.
The department is supporting all state schools and colleges with a grant to train a senior mental health lead. To date 15,100 settings have claimed a grant so far, including more than 7 in 10 state-funded secondary schools.
Intervening early is critical. To expand access to early mental health support, the department is continuing to roll out Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) to schools and colleges. MHSTs deliver evidence-based interventions for mild to moderate mental health issues, support the senior mental health lead (where established) in each school or college to introduce or develop whole school or college approaches and give timely advice to school and college staff, and liaise with external specialist services, to help children and young people get the right support to stay in education. The department is extending coverage of MHSTs to cover at least 50% by the end of March 2025.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an estimate of the number of British National Overseas visa holders that are unable to access student finance.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
Under the existing student support regulations, Hong Kong British National Overseas (BNO) visa holders would not have access to student finance until they have acquired a settled status in the UK and meet the three-year ordinary residence requirement. As the BNO route only opened in January 2021, the earliest a person is likely to become settled (and have access student finance) is in January 2026. As such, all persons who have been granted leave under the BNO route, are not currently able to access student finance.
Home Office statistics show that 140,300 people have arrived in the UK on the scheme since it began. However, not all of these people will go on to study in higher education.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of trends in the number of teachers in Warwick and Leamington constituency.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Information on the school workforce, including the number of teachers in each school, is published in the ‘School workforce in England’ statistical publication, which is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.
As of November 2022, which is the latest data available, there were over 468,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) teachers in state-funded schools in England, an increase of 27,000 (6%) since 2010. This is the highest number of FTE teachers since the school workforce census began in 2010.
As of November 2019, there were 609.9 FTE teachers in state-funded schools in Warwick and Leamington constituency. This increased to 651.2 FTE teachers in state-funded schools in Warwick and Leamington constituency in November 2022. Figures for November 2023 will be published in June 2024. School workforce figures for 2024 have not yet been collected.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many teachers there were in Warwick and Leamington constituency in (a) 2019 and (b) 2024.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Information on the school workforce, including the number of teachers in each school is published in the ‘School Workforce in England’ statistical publication here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.
As of November 2022, which is the latest data available, there were over 468,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) teachers in state-funded schools in England, which is an increase of 27,000 (6%) since 2010. This makes the highest number of FTE teachers since the School Workforce Census began in 2010.
As of November 2019, there were 609.9 FTE teachers in state-funded schools in Warwick and Leamington constituency.
School workforce figures for 2024 have not been collected yet. In November 2022 there were 651.2 FTE teachers in state-funded schools in Warwick and Leamington constituency. Figures for November 2023 will be published in June 2024.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of RAAC-related school closures at the beginning of the Autumn term in 2023 on pupils taking GCSE and A-level examinations this summer.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
With thanks to the hard work of school and college leaders, all schools and colleges with confirmed RAAC are providing full time face-to-face education for all pupils. The department is supporting schools and colleges to keep any disruption to education to an absolute minimum.
Every school or college with confirmed RAAC has been assigned dedicated support from the department’s team of caseworkers. Each case is unique, and schools and colleges are being supported to put in place a bespoke plan based on their circumstances. In a matter of months, the department has completed its RAAC identification programme and announced funding to remove RAAC from schools and colleges for good.
Schools and colleges concerned about the potential impact of RAAC-related school closures on pupils due to take GCSE and A level exams in the summer should speak to the relevant awarding organisation. Only the relevant awarding organisation will be able to confirm what can be done in any specific context and the specific options available. Awarding organisations could, for example, offer a longer extension for coursework and non-exam assessment, so that schools and colleges have as much time as possible to complete this important part of pupils' learning and qualifications.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of students came from a sixth form or college within 15 miles of their university in the period between 2015 and 2023.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The information is not readily available or held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of trends in the level of funding for subject knowledge enhancement programmes for (a) primary maths, (b) design and technology, (c) English, (d) biology and (e) religious education on the future recruitment of student teachers in those subjects.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The department reviews all policies, including subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) courses, on a regular basis to adapt its approach to attracting new teachers where needed and to ensure that interventions are focused where they will have the most positive impact for children and young people.
When reviewing the SKE package for the remainder of the 2023/24 academic year, factors including teacher supply needs, the volume of SKE participants associated with each subject and the relative recruitment to Initial Teacher Training (ITT) were all taken into account to ensure that the department is targeting funding where it is needed most.
The department remains committed to recruiting the teachers it needs. The ITT financial incentives package for the 2024/25 recruitment cycle is worth up to £196 million, which is a £15 million increase on the last cycle. Tax free ITT bursaries continue to be available in design and technology, English, biology and religious education for ITT 2024. The department will continue to review the SKE programme on a regular basis to ensure that its funding is targeted as effectively as possible.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the maximum value of a student maintenance loan (a) was in 2018 and (b) is as of 4 March 2024; and if she will make an estimate of the real-term change in that value since 2018.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The maximum maintenance loan for an undergraduate student living away from parents outside London in the 2023/24 academic year is £9,978. The equivalent maximum maintenance loan was £8,430 in the 2017/18 academic year. This is a 13.9% reduction in the real-terms value of the maximum loan. This figure has been derived by using the Retail Price Index (RPIX) measure of inflation, applied at Quarter 1 in each academic year throughout this time period, as published by the Office for Budget Responsibility in November 2023, which can be found here: https://obr.uk/efo/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-november-2023/.
The government has continued to increase maximum loans and grants for living and other costs each year. Maximum support has been increased by 2.8% for the 2023/24 academic year with a further 2.5% increase announced for 2024/25.
The government recognises the additional cost of living pressures that have arisen this year and that are impacting students. The department has already made £276 million of student premium and mental health funding available for the 2023/24 academic year to support successful outcomes for students including disadvantaged students.
The department is now making a further £10 million of one off support available to support student mental health and hardship funding. This funding will complement the help universities are providing through their own bursary, scholarship and hardship support schemes.
Over the period between 2022/23 to 2024/25, the government will have provided support worth £104 billion to help families throughout the UK with the cost of living including to meet increased household energy costs. This is an average of £3,700 per household. This will have eased some of the pressure on family budgets and so will in turn enable many families to provide additional support to their children in higher education to help them meet increased living costs.
The department has also frozen maximum tuition fees for the 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years to deliver better value for students and to keep the cost of higher education under control. By 2024/25, maximum fees will have been frozen for seven years.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress she has made with Cabinet colleagues on implementing the International Education Strategy, published on 16 March 2019.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The department has been implementing a whole of government approach and working closely with Cabinet departments including the Department for Business and Trade, Home Office, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and other government departments to implement the International Education Strategy published on 16 March 2019. This includes ministerial and official attendance from across government at the Education Sector Advisory Group meetings, a valued forum that convenes three times per year and enables sector representatives to engage with the government to implement the strategy.
The department remains committed to the International Education Strategy and has published regular updates, most recently in May 2023: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/international-education-strategy-2023-update. This sets out progress to date, including total UK revenue from education related exports and transnational education activity estimated to be £25.6 billion in 2021 and meeting the international student ambition for both 2020/21 and 2021/22.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the impact of increases in energy prices on university students living in private rented accommodation.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The Student Income and Expenditure Survey 2021/22 suggests that a third of students live in privately rented accommodation with friends. Over the period 2022/23 to 2024/25, the government will have provided support worth £104 billion to help families throughout the UK with the cost of living including to meet increased household energy costs. This will have eased the pressure on family budgets and so will in turn enabled many families to provide additional support to their children in higher education to help them meet increased living costs.
Students in private rented accommodation who are provided energy through a commercial entity may also benefit from the Energy Bills Discount Scheme (EBDS), which provides a baseline discount on energy bills for non-domestic users locked into high fixed price tariffs. Any non-domestic user who benefits from the EBDS must ensure the benefit is passed through to the end user, such as students in private rented accommodation.
More information on students’ expenditure on housing can be found in the 2021/22 Student Income and Expenditure Survey which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/student-income-and-expenditure-survey-2021-to-2022.