Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the guidance issued by the Government entitled COVID-19 Response: Spring 2021, on what date his Department plans to (a) announce and (b) conclude the review into the return of students in higher education that do not need to take part in practical teaching and do not require access to specialist facilities or equipment as part of their studies.
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.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
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 cancelling examinations for (a) Key Stage Two, (b) GCSE and (c) A-Level students and awarding pupils centre-assessed grades in 2020.
Answered by Nick Gibb
In light of the growth in COVID-19 rates we are seeing as a result of the newly identified strain of the virus, the Government needs to limit attendance at schools and colleges to reduce the number of contacts that we have with people in other households. This is now essential to protect the NHS. This means that we do not think it is possible or fair for examinations in the summer to go ahead as planned.
The department and Ofqual have launched a two-week consultation on how to fairly award all pupils a grade that supports them to progress to the next stage of their lives, including consulting specifically on four different approaches for private candidates to receive a grade.
The consultation can be accessed from the Ofqual website and will be open until 29 January.
The restricted attendance in primary schools has also meant primary assessments cannot continue as intended. The statutory key stage 1 and key stage 2 tests and teacher assessments planned for summer 2021, including the key stage 2 tests in reading and mathematics, will be cancelled. We remain determined to ensure that every young person, no matter their age or background, is provided with the education and opportunities they deserve despite the challenges faced by schools. We know that schools will continue to use assessment during the summer term to inform teaching, to enable them to give information to parents on their child’s attainment in their statutory annual report and to support transition to secondary school. We strongly encourage schools to use past test papers in their assessment of pupils.
Primary assessments have a crucial role in supporting pupils to grasp the basics of reading, writing and mathematics and to prepare them for secondary school. As such, these arrangements will apply for summer 2021 only, and the Department is planning for a full programme of primary assessments to take place in the 2021/22 academic year. This will include the introduction of the statutory Reception Baseline Assessment and Multiplication Tables Check as previously announced. We will confirm full details for 2021/22 primary assessments in due course.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of young people in the North West of England who are unable to engage in remote learning as a result of a lack of (a) electronic devices and (b) reliable wi-fi access.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government is investing over £400 million to support access to remote education and online social care services securing 1.3 million laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children and young people. The Department delivered 870,000 of these to schools, academy trusts and local authorities by 25 January. Data on the number of devices delivered, including by local authority, is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/laptops-and-tablets-data/2021-week-4.
The Government is providing this significant injection of devices on top of an estimated 2.9 million laptops and tablets already owned by schools before the start of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Our overall commitment of 1.3 million devices is comparable with Ofcom’s UK-wide estimate that between 1.14 million and 1.78 million children in the UK have no home access to a laptop, desktop or tablet. The Department has allocated devices based on recent data on the number of pupils eligible for free school meals.
All schools have been invited to order their full allocation of devices. Schools, academy trusts and local authorities are responsible for distributing the laptops and tablets and are best placed to know which pupils need access to a device.
The Department has also partnered with the UK’s leading mobile operators to provide free data to help disadvantaged children get online, as well as delivering 4G wireless routers for pupils without connection at home.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will meet with (a) university leaders and (b) student representatives to discuss (i) tuition fees refunds for university students who are participating in remote learning during the covid-19 outbreak and (ii) rent rebates for university students who are not able to return to university accommodation.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
This has been a very difficult time for students, and the government is working with the sector to make sure all reasonable efforts are being made to enable students to continue their studies.
On tuition fees, the government’s clear and stated expectation is that universities should maintain the quality and quantity of tuition and seek to ensure that all students regardless of their background have the resources to study remotely. This is more important than ever at the moment with the vast majority of students studying solely online. The sector has put in significant resources and worked hard to provide and prepare learning materials for this academic year and there are some fantastic and innovative approaches to delivering high-quality online learning.
Universities are autonomous and responsible for setting their own fees, up to a maximum of £9,250 for approved (fee cap) institutions. Maximum fees have been frozen for the current 2020/21 academic year and also for 2021/22, the fourth year in succession fees have been frozen. The Office for Students (OfS), as regulator for higher education (HE) providers in England, has made it clear that HE providers must continue to comply with registration conditions relating to quality and academic standards, which set out requirements to ensure that courses are high-quality, that students are supported and achieve good outcomes and that standards are protected, regardless of whether a provider is delivering its courses through face-to-face teaching, remote online learning, or a combination of both.
We continue to regularly engage the sector in discussion on this issue, including student representative groups, and I met with the National Union of Students and OfS student panel only last week. I wrote to the OfS on 13 January 2021 outlining the government’s expectations of the higher education sector following the new national lockdown. Following this, the OfS wrote to provider Accountable Officers, setting out the actions they are taking in connection with providers’ compliance to existing regulatory requirements. We expect providers to ensure that continuing and prospective students receive the clear, accurate and timely information needed to make informed decisions.
Whether or not an individual student is entitled to a refund of fees will depend on the specific contractual arrangements between the provider and student. If students have concerns, there is a process in place. They should first raise their concerns with their university. If their concerns remain unresolved, students at providers in England or Wales can ask the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) for Higher Education to consider their complaint.
With regards to accommodation, universities and private accommodation providers are autonomous and are responsible for setting their own rent agreements. The government plays no direct role in the provision of student residential accommodation.
However, we recently announced up to £20 million to help students most in need of support in these exceptional circumstances, for example those struggling to cover accommodation costs as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, in addition to an existing £256 million universities can use to help students. The government urges universities and private accommodation providers to be fair in their decisions about rent charges for this period. We welcome the news that a number of universities and large companies have already offered rent rebates for students that have been asked to stay away from their accommodation.
The OIA website is available here: https://www.oiahe.org.uk/.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published guidance on consumer contracts, cancellation and refunds affected by COVID-19. This sets out the CMA’s view on how the law operates to help consumers understand their rights and help businesses treat their customers fairly. This is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cma-to-investigate-concerns-about-cancellation-policies-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic/the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic-consumer-contracts-cancellation-and-refunds.
The OfS has also published guidance on student consumer protection during the COVID-19 outbreak, which is available here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/for-students/student-and-consumer-protection-during-coronavirus/.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what his Department’s policy is on (a) tuition fees refunds for university students who are participating in remote learning during the covid-19 outbreak and (b) rent rebates for university students who are not able to return to university accommodation.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
This has been a very difficult time for students, and the government is working with the sector to make sure all reasonable efforts are being made to enable students to continue their studies.
On tuition fees, the government’s clear and stated expectation is that universities should maintain the quality and quantity of tuition and seek to ensure that all students regardless of their background have the resources to study remotely. This is more important than ever at the moment with the vast majority of students studying solely online. The sector has put in significant resources and worked hard to provide and prepare learning materials for this academic year and there are some fantastic and innovative approaches to delivering high-quality online learning.
Universities are autonomous and responsible for setting their own fees, up to a maximum of £9,250 for approved (fee cap) institutions. Maximum fees have been frozen for the current 2020/21 academic year and also for 2021/22, the fourth year in succession fees have been frozen. The Office for Students (OfS), as regulator for higher education (HE) providers in England, has made it clear that HE providers must continue to comply with registration conditions relating to quality and academic standards, which set out requirements to ensure that courses are high-quality, that students are supported and achieve good outcomes and that standards are protected, regardless of whether a provider is delivering its courses through face-to-face teaching, remote online learning, or a combination of both.
We continue to regularly engage the sector in discussion on this issue, including student representative groups, and I met with the National Union of Students and OfS student panel only last week. I wrote to the OfS on 13 January 2021 outlining the government’s expectations of the higher education sector following the new national lockdown. Following this, the OfS wrote to provider Accountable Officers, setting out the actions they are taking in connection with providers’ compliance to existing regulatory requirements. We expect providers to ensure that continuing and prospective students receive the clear, accurate and timely information needed to make informed decisions.
Whether or not an individual student is entitled to a refund of fees will depend on the specific contractual arrangements between the provider and student. If students have concerns, there is a process in place. They should first raise their concerns with their university. If their concerns remain unresolved, students at providers in England or Wales can ask the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) for Higher Education to consider their complaint.
With regards to accommodation, universities and private accommodation providers are autonomous and are responsible for setting their own rent agreements. The government plays no direct role in the provision of student residential accommodation.
However, we recently announced up to £20 million to help students most in need of support in these exceptional circumstances, for example those struggling to cover accommodation costs as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, in addition to an existing £256 million universities can use to help students. The government urges universities and private accommodation providers to be fair in their decisions about rent charges for this period. We welcome the news that a number of universities and large companies have already offered rent rebates for students that have been asked to stay away from their accommodation.
The OIA website is available here: https://www.oiahe.org.uk/.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published guidance on consumer contracts, cancellation and refunds affected by COVID-19. This sets out the CMA’s view on how the law operates to help consumers understand their rights and help businesses treat their customers fairly. This is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cma-to-investigate-concerns-about-cancellation-policies-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic/the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic-consumer-contracts-cancellation-and-refunds.
The OfS has also published guidance on student consumer protection during the COVID-19 outbreak, which is available here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/for-students/student-and-consumer-protection-during-coronavirus/.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will seek to recoup monies paid to private catering firms for the provision of food parcels to disadvantaged young people in the event that the quality of those parcels is deemed to be inadequate.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The Department for Education does not directly contract school catering firms. These contracts are negotiated and held at school, academy trust or local authority level. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, and myself have since held a meeting with a number of catering companies, to be clear that higher standards are expected.
We know there is, understandably, concern about free school meal support during the period that schools will be restricted from opening. Schools can decide how best to support eligible free school meal pupils who are at home. We will provide extra funding to support schools to provide lunch parcels, or locally arranged vouchers. We have also reopened the national voucher scheme from the week commencing 18 January 2021.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to speed up the rollout of digital devices and wi-fi to children who are unable to access remote learning from home.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government is investing over £400 million to support access to remote education and online social care services, including securing 1.3 million laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children and young people. This includes over 750,000 laptops and tablets that were delivered to schools, trusts and local authorities by the end of last week, with 100,000 of these delivered in the first week of January alone.
We have already sent over 50,000 4G wireless routers, with free data for the academic year, to schools, so that children have access to remote education.
The Department has also partnered with some of the UK’s leading mobile network operators to provide free data to disadvantaged families, which will support access to education resources, including Oak National Academy, and other websites.
Families will benefit from this additional data until July 2021. Schools are able to request free mobile data uplifts via the Get Help with Technology service.
A number of mobile network providers are also progressing the zero-rating of educational resources, such as Oak Academy and BBC Bitesize.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department plans to provide (a) resources and (b) advice to (i) schools and (ii) further education providers that are due to hold vocational examinations in January 2021 to help ensure the safety of students and staff.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
The NHS and the department have published the Schools and Colleges handbook, offering guidance on how to conduct rapid testing of staff and students: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/950515/Schools_Colleges_Testing_Handbook_revised_04012021.pdf.
To support this, a total of £78 million has been made available for schools and colleges, which will be paid retrospectively. The amount of funding available will depend on the school’s or college’s size, as this will affect the number of additional staff or additional staff hours required to conduct testing.
We will publish a replacement workforce planning tool that will illustrate the levels of funding available. For colleges with significant financial difficulties, support arrangements (including short-term emergency funding), are in place.
The Department for Health and Social Care and Public Health England have published guidance on shielding and protecting people who are clinically extremely vulnerable from COVID-19: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19.
The department has published guidance on restricting attendance during the national lockdown, which includes detailed advice on minimising COVID-19 risks when delivering exams and assessments in January 2021: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/950706/January_2021_FE_operational_guidance_FINAL.pdf. This publication builds on existing guidance on safely implementing the phased return to face-to-face education for schools and FE colleges.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he had with university leaders on the adequacy of the support available to students with mental ill-health.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
Protecting student and staff wellbeing is vital - these are difficult times and it is important students can still access the mental health and wellbeing support they need. We recognise that many students are facing additional mental health challenges due to the disruption and uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.
It is for higher education providers as autonomous bodies to identify and address the needs of their student body and to decide what mental health and wellbeing support to put in place. At the start of, and throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, I have asked universities to prioritise mental health support, and continue to support their students, which has included making services accessible from a distance. We encourage students to stay in touch with their provider’s student support and welfare teams, as these services are likely to continue to be an important source of assistance. Many providers have bolstered their existing mental health services, and adapted delivery mechanisms including reaching out to students who may be more vulnerable.
In October I wrote to Vice Chancellors outlining that student welfare should remain a priority. I have convened a working group of representatives from the higher education and health sectors, specifically to address the current and pressing issues that students are facing during the COVID-19 outbreak.
We have also worked with the Office for Students (OfS) to provide Student Space, which has been funded by up to £3 million by the OfS. Student Space is a mental health and wellbeing platform designed to bridge any gaps in support for students arising from this unprecedented situation and works alongside existing services. Ensuring students have access to quality mental health support is my top priority, which is why we asked the OfS to look at extending the platform. I am delighted they have been able to extend the platform to support students for the whole 2020/21 academic year.
Students struggling with their mental health can also access support via online resources from the NHS, Public Health England via the Better Health - Every Mind Matters website, and the mental health charity Mind.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with university leaders on the steps they are taking to ensure that students learning remotely continue to have access to adequate mental health support.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
Protecting student and staff wellbeing is vital - these are difficult times and it is important students can still access the mental health and wellbeing support they need. We recognise that many students are facing additional mental health challenges due to the disruption and uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.
It is for higher education providers as autonomous bodies to identify and address the needs of their student body and to decide what mental health and wellbeing support to put in place. At the start of, and throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, I have asked universities to prioritise mental health support, and continue to support their students, which has included making services accessible from a distance. We encourage students to stay in touch with their provider’s student support and welfare teams, as these services are likely to continue to be an important source of assistance. Many providers have bolstered their existing mental health services, and adapted delivery mechanisms including reaching out to students who may be more vulnerable.
In October I wrote to Vice Chancellors outlining that student welfare should remain a priority. I have convened a working group of representatives from the higher education and health sectors, specifically to address the current and pressing issues that students are facing during the COVID-19 outbreak.
We have also worked with the Office for Students (OfS) to provide Student Space, which has been funded by up to £3 million by the OfS. Student Space is a mental health and wellbeing platform designed to bridge any gaps in support for students arising from this unprecedented situation and works alongside existing services. Ensuring students have access to quality mental health support is my top priority, which is why we asked the OfS to look at extending the platform. I am delighted they have been able to extend the platform to support students for the whole 2020/21 academic year.
Students struggling with their mental health can also access support via online resources from the NHS, Public Health England via the Better Health - Every Mind Matters website, and the mental health charity Mind.