Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of universities that have implemented no detriment policies in each of the academic years (a) 2019-20 and (b) 2020-21; and what estimate he has made of the number of students that have been affected by those policies.
Answered by Michelle Donelan
As autonomous institutions, higher education (HE) providers are responsible for the administration of their own exams and assessments. HE students and providers have faced unique challenges as providers have had to adapt teaching, learning and assessment methods in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Some providers have put in place policies stating that students should not be awarded a degree classification below their level of academic performance prior to the COVID-19 outbreak. A ‘No detriment policy’ is designed by providers as a safety net for students to help ensure they are not unfairly impacted by these challenging circumstances. This approach may not be appropriate for all providers and we recognise that there are a number of ways to assess students which will lead to a wide variety of measures being put in place.
The government continues to work closely with the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, professional bodies and the Office for Students to ensure students continue to leave university with qualifications that have real value, reflect their hard work and allow people to progress. The professional bodies have put alternative requirements in place for graduation to maintain standards, building on similar arrangements which were made for graduation last year.
I am aware that the majority of universities adopted ‘No detriment’ policies last year. We have not made a detailed assessment, or estimate, of the extent of these policies in terms of student numbers, credits not undertaken or the impact on future employment prospects.
However, I have been clear that I expect providers to make all reasonable efforts for student achievement to be reliably assessed and for qualifications to be awarded securely. It is vital that a fair approach to exams and assessment is in place and understood by students. Any policies universities put in place to ensure students are not unfairly affected by the circumstances should continue to maintain standards – and awarding powers must be used responsibly to preserve the world-class reputation of our HE.
Providers should seek to ensure this and last years’ students are not disadvantaged in the labour market by whatever measures are taken and should provide assurances as appropriate to enable employers to have confidence in qualifications awarded.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of no detriment policies implemented by universities on the future employment prospects of students; and what steps he is taking to ensure that those employment prospects are not negatively affected by those policies.
Answered by Michelle Donelan
As autonomous institutions, higher education (HE) providers are responsible for the administration of their own exams and assessments. HE students and providers have faced unique challenges as providers have had to adapt teaching, learning and assessment methods in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Some providers have put in place policies stating that students should not be awarded a degree classification below their level of academic performance prior to the COVID-19 outbreak. A ‘No detriment policy’ is designed by providers as a safety net for students to help ensure they are not unfairly impacted by these challenging circumstances. This approach may not be appropriate for all providers and we recognise that there are a number of ways to assess students which will lead to a wide variety of measures being put in place.
The government continues to work closely with the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, professional bodies and the Office for Students to ensure students continue to leave university with qualifications that have real value, reflect their hard work and allow people to progress. The professional bodies have put alternative requirements in place for graduation to maintain standards, building on similar arrangements which were made for graduation last year.
I am aware that the majority of universities adopted ‘No detriment’ policies last year. We have not made a detailed assessment, or estimate, of the extent of these policies in terms of student numbers, credits not undertaken or the impact on future employment prospects.
However, I have been clear that I expect providers to make all reasonable efforts for student achievement to be reliably assessed and for qualifications to be awarded securely. It is vital that a fair approach to exams and assessment is in place and understood by students. Any policies universities put in place to ensure students are not unfairly affected by the circumstances should continue to maintain standards – and awarding powers must be used responsibly to preserve the world-class reputation of our HE.
Providers should seek to ensure this and last years’ students are not disadvantaged in the labour market by whatever measures are taken and should provide assurances as appropriate to enable employers to have confidence in qualifications awarded.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of providing 15 hours free childcare for three and four year olds to people who are out of work on the ability of unemployed people with children to find work; and what comparative assessment he has made of the effect of (a) that policy and (b) the provision of 30 hours free childcare for people who are in work on levels of educational attainment of the children of households with (i) higher and (ii) lower rates of unemployment.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The department offers universal 15 hours free childcare to all three- and four-year-olds in England for 38 weeks per year, regardless of parental income or employment status. The purpose of this entitlement is to provide free, high-quality early education, helping children to develop social skills and preparing them for school, with 93% of three- and four-year-olds benefitting in January 2020. 15 hours free childcare is also available for disadvantaged two-year-olds, including those from low-income households or those with special education needs or disabilities. In January 2020, approximately 143,000 children benefitted from this entitlement.
As the 15 hours policy was introduced with the primary aim of improving children’s outcomes, no evaluation has been undertaken of the impact of this policy on the ability of unemployed people with children to find work.
The 30 hours free childcare policy was introduced in September 2017 and is an entitlement for working parents of three- and four-year-olds, benefitting around 345,700 children in January 2020. It aims to help working parents with the costs of childcare so they can take up paid work if they want to or can work additional hours. To be eligible, parents must earn the equivalent of 16 hours a week at national minimum wage and less than £100,000 per year.
The evaluation of the national rollout of 30 hours free childcare, published in 2018, found that 27% of those using 30 hours at the time reported they were working more hours as a result of the policy. Further detail is available in the report here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/30-hours-free-childcare-final-evaluation-of-the-national-rollout.
The government is tracking the impact of early education on children’s outcomes via the Study of Early Education and Development (SEED). There is mixed evidence from SEED on how the number of childcare hours used by children at ages three to four impacts their educational attainment. There is no clear evidence of an optimal number of hours for child development as the type of setting used, the quality of the setting, the starting age in childcare and the child’s home learning environment are also important factors influencing the child’s educational development.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the potential effect on graduate teaching assistants of reductions in university funding as a result of the covid-19 outbreak in the academic year 2020-21.
Answered by Michelle Donelan
This continues to be an incredibly difficult time, and our entire higher education (HE) sector has a key role to play during these unprecedented times. I wrote to HE providers on 26 March 2020, asking that they pay particular attention to the additional financial hardships that are being faced by hourly paid and student staff who have been reliant on income from campus-based jobs at this time.
In the letter, I was clear that I expected that in most circumstances universities would continue paying staff as usual but, where this is not the case, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) had been developed as part of a package of support from Her Majesty's Treasury to help pay staff wages and keep people in employment.
However, HE providers are independent, autonomous bodies and are responsible for decisions about who they employ and the terms and conditions of employment they offer. HE providers should make decisions according to their own operational needs and the needs of their wider staff and student community. This includes decisions about whether to access the range of government support on offer, including the CJRS. We expect universities to comply with their obligations under the Equality Act 2010 and the way their employment practices affect different sections of their communities and staff at different stages of their careers.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the covid-19 outbreak on the provision of course modules at universities being delivered as advertised.
Answered by Michelle Donelan
I have been clear throughout the COVID-19 outbreak that consumer law continues to apply, and statements by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) confirm this. Providers need to ensure they have regard to guidance about their consumer protection obligations.
This has been a very difficult time for students, and the government is working with the sector to make sure that all reasonable efforts are being made to enable students to continue their studies. The sector has put in significant resources and worked hard to provide and prepare learning materials for this academic year and there have been some fantastic and innovative approaches to delivering high-quality learning.
I welcome the huge amount of resource universities and higher education (HE) providers have given to ensuring blended teaching is of the high-quality expected by the government and the Office for Students (OfS). 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.
I wrote to the OfS on 13 January, outlining the government’s expectations of the HE sector following the new national lockdown. Following this, the OfS wrote to providers’ Accountable Officers, setting out the actions that they are taking in connection with providers’ compliance with 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. This letter is available here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/media/928ddbfc-7d48-4a7b-853e-411c34d6202f/ao-letter-regulation-during-the-current-phase-of-pandemic-14-jan-2021.pdf.
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. Due to the individualised nature of student contracts and student circumstances, the process which is in place ensures that institutions have the opportunity to consider student complaints effectively and offers them an opportunity for early resolution of complaints with students. This is particularly important in situations where remedies other than refunds would be more helpful or beneficial to a student.
If there are concerns, the OfS has the powers to act. It is an OfS registration condition that providers must deliver well-designed courses that provide a high-quality academic experience for all students and enable a student’s achievement to be reliably assessed.
The OfS does not get involved in individual student complaints, that is for the relevant HE provider and potentially the OIA. Students can, however, notify the OfS of issues that may be of regulatory interest to it. These are called ‘notifications’. The OfS uses this information as part of its regulatory monitoring activity and keeps HE providers under review to ensure that they comply with the ongoing conditions of registration. The OfS has produced a guide for students to support them in this process. This is available via the following link: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/for-students/ofs-and-students/notifications/. The OIA website is available via the following link: https://www.oiahe.org.uk/.
The CMA has published guidance on consumer contracts, cancellation and refunds affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. 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 via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases/consumer-protection-review-of-higher-education. This includes publishing a restatement on 30 November 2020 on their views on Consumer Protection Law. This is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5fc4bab98fa8f5474e63ab0b/HE_restatement_.pdf.
The OfS has also published guidance on student consumer protection during the COVID-19 outbreak, which is available via the following link: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/coronavirus/provider-guide-to-coronavirus/student-and-consumer-protection/.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the answer of 31 March 2021 to Question 174230, on Hate Crime: Young People, when his Department last undertook an assessment of the efficacy of its policies on the prevention and reporting of hate crimes in schools.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government, alongside schools and teachers, is committed to supporting children and young people to thrive and reach their potential in a safe and respectful environment. Schools continue to play an important role in preparing children and young people for life in modern Britain, supporting them to understand the society in which they are growing up and teaching about respect for other people and tolerance.
We continue to work with colleagues across Government, as well as those in the school sector and communities to better understand issues around discrimination, hatred, and prejudice on an ongoing basis. For example, the Department has provided funding to anti-bullying organisations to support schools to tackle bullying, including projects targeting bullying of particular groups, such as those who are victims of hate related bullying. These grants ended in March 2021, and grant holders are currently working to finalise independent evaluations of their programmes, which will be published in due course. The Department has considered next steps for anti-bullying support in schools, working closely with external stakeholders, and will shortly be running a procurement exercise to fund activity in 2021-22.
Having supported the creation and delivery of the Government’s hate crime action plan (2016-2020), officials from the Department continue to work with Home Office officials on the development of the Government’s next strategic response to hate crime. We are also currently considering recommendations from the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities on education in detail.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how external candidates who have no one to prepare an assessment of their progress or ability will be awarded grades in the context of examinations being cancelled.
Answered by Nick Gibb
In light of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, the Government considers that exams cannot be held in a way which is fair. We have therefore announced that GCSE, AS and A level exams will not go ahead this summer as planned.
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has asked the interim Chief Regulator at Ofqual to find a clear and accessible route for private candidates, and those not in school this year, to be assessed and receive a grade. To ensure our approach is developed with the sector, the Department and Ofqual have now concluded 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.
We have consulted on the following options:
We are working at pace to provide further clarity to the sector and will publish the results of the consultation by the end of February 2021.
The Department and Ofqual have strongly encouraged all our stakeholders, including private candidates and their parents, to respond to the consultation. We will continue to engage with a range of relevant stakeholders when developing plans for our policy on GCSE, AS and A level assessments in 2021, as will the exams regulator, Ofqual.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether students are exempt from the restrictions on travel between areas in different covid-19 tiers.
Answered by Michelle Donelan
The safety and wellbeing of staff and students in higher education (HE) is always our priority. The government is doing all it can to minimise the risks to those working and studying in our HE institutions in this unprecedented situation, whilst mitigating the impact on education.
To help bring the new variant under control and while the vaccine programme is rolled out, our aim is to minimise the number of students and staff returning to campuses and accessing university facilities.
In practical terms, this means that students doing medical, clinical and healthcare related subjects, including nursing, social care, dentistry and veterinary studies are being prioritised and can return at the start of the spring term, as planned.
Those on teacher training courses and students who must complete externally-accredited examinations, which cannot be completed remotely, can also return to in-person teaching at the beginning of term.
All other students should access learning online until at least mid-February and remain at their current address in line with national measures. Universities will tell students when to return for the spring term.
On an exceptional basis, universities should support students returning for other reasons (for example, students who do not have access to appropriate accommodation, facilities, studying space or who need to return for health reasons). In these circumstances, students may return to campus, but their courses should not resume face-to-face teaching.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will publish guidance for medical students on placements on (a) how and (b whether they can return home for the Christmas holiday period during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Michelle Donelan
The government is committed to ensuring that students who wish to return home for the winter break, are able to do so. It is essential that measures are put in place to ensure this can happen as safely as possible for students, staff and the communities that they return to.
On 11 November, the department published guidance for providers on plans for the end of the autumn term. This guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reopening-buildings-and-campuses/student-movement-and-plans-for-the-end-of-autumn-2020-term.
As outlined in the guidance, published on 11 November, many healthcare students who are on placements are considered essential workers and such placements can continue until the end of term. We will shortly be issuing further detailed guidance on how the end of term guidance applies to all students on placements, including courses where placements may continue.
The Office for Students (OfS), the regulator of higher education in England, also issued a FAQ for students on going home for the end of term, available at: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/coronavirus-end-of-term. This will also be updated shortly, to address questions students may have about their placements.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance his Department has published for (a) schools and (b) agencies on supply teachers claiming statutory sick pay if self-isolating during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nick Gibb
As both my right hon. Friends, the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer?have made clear, the Government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID 19.
The Government has provided guidance on Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) for all employers, which includes specific information on when an employee is off work because of COVID-19. This guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/employers-sick-pay.
Employers must pay an employee SSP if they are self-isolating and off work for at least 4 days and any of the following apply:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/meeting-people-from-outside-your-household-from-4-july