Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of rising inflation on the ability of schools to offer nutritious free school meals.
Answered by Will Quince
The department recognises the cost pressures that some schools and suppliers may be facing, and we are holding regular meetings with other government departments and with food industry representatives, covering a variety of issues including public sector food supplies.
Cost pressures should be seen in the wider context of funding for schools. The department received additional funding from HM Treasury for core schools funding in the 2022/23 financial year, which we distributed through a schools supplementary grant. This includes a £2.5 billion increase in mainstream school funding for 5 to 16-year-olds in the 2022/23 financial year, compared to 2021/22.
The department also spends around £600 million on Universal Infant Free School Meals each year. The per meal rate has been increased from £2.34 to £2.41, and backdated to 1 April 2022, in recognition of increased costs.
The standards for school food are set out in the Requirements or School Food Regulations 2014 and are to ensure that schools provide children with healthy food and drink options, and to make sure that children get the energy and nutrition they need across the school day. Schools have flexibility under the standards to make changes if ingredients or meals are not readily available, so long as nutritional standards are maintained.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact on the mental health of students of the 11 per cent real-terms reduction to the student maintenance support loan by 2022-23.
Answered by Andrea Jenkyns
Higher education (HE) providers are autonomous bodies independent from government and they have a responsibility to support students with mental health conditions, defined as a disability. As experts in their student population, HE providers are best placed to identify specific needs of their students.
The department considers changes to support arrangements for students in HE on an annual basis.
Maximum grants and loans for living costs were increased by 3.1% this academic year, and the department has announced that they will increase by a further 2.3% in the 2022/23 academic year.
As part of a package to support households with the rising cost of energy bills, the government is giving a council tax rebate payment of £150 to households that were living in a property in council tax bands A to D as their main home on 1 April 2022. This includes full-time students that do not live in student halls. In addition, we are making available discretionary funding of £144 million to support vulnerable people and individuals on low incomes, including students, to support those who do not pay council tax. Each council is responsible for the design of their discretionary support scheme and will publish further details on their website.
Many HE providers have hardship funds that students can apply for. Assistance and budgeting advice is available from HE providers themselves as well as from online sources such as Student Space and the Money Advice Service.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing the number of university applicants from deprived areas.
Answered by Andrea Jenkyns
Ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to access a world-class education remains a top priority and the department expects universities to do all they can to support disadvantaged students. Record numbers of high achieving students from disadvantaged backgrounds progressed into higher education (HE) last year and we want this progress to continue.
While there has been a strong focus on ensuring more disadvantaged students get into HE, there has not always been as much consideration of the value of the courses they are admitted to.
We want to ensure that courses are of genuinely high quality, with support for students to both complete their studies and develop the skills and knowledge that will lead to rewarding graduate employment or further study.
In November 2021, we tasked the Office for Students (OfS) with creating an access and participation regime that supports young people from disadvantaged backgrounds by ensuring they are equipped to make informed choices and are able to access and succeed on high-quality courses which lead to good graduate employment. We have appointed John Blake as Director for Fair Access and Participation at the OfS and he is playing a pivotal role in driving this work forward.
We have recently consulted on the design of a new National State Scholarship, worth up to £75 million, which will help the highest achieving students from disadvantaged backgrounds overcome barriers to attending and succeeding on the HE course that is right for them.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much on a per student basis universities will receive through the new funding commitment of £3 million provided for student mental health.
Answered by Andrea Jenkyns
Supporting the mental health of students requires collaboration between higher education (HE) providers and the NHS. The Office for Students (OfS) will distribute £15 million to HE providers over the 2022/23 academic year to provide students with additional mental health support. £3 million of this will be used to build on the existing work of the Student Mental Health Partnerships project and establish, on a regional basis, new partnerships between HE and NHS providers.
This is in addition to the £33 million direct funding NHS England is providing in the 2022/23 financial year to improve the quality of mental health services for young adults.
As the OfS funding is being made available to support regional projects, it is not meaningful to calculate this funding on a per student basis.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of students receiving free school meals, who are suffering from a diagnosable mental illness, in each of the last three years.
Answered by Will Quince
The department does not hold any information on the number of students receiving free school meals, who are suffering from a diagnosable mental illness.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data his Department holds on the number of A level exam results achieved by students on free school meals, separated by grade, for each of the last five academic years.
Answered by Will Quince
The table below shows A level entries and results for students aged 16 to 18 at the start of the academic year, and eligible for free school meals, for the last five years. The data corresponds to the number of entries within a single academic year and refers to students in schools and colleges in England. X grades are awarded when there is no result and Q grades are awarded when the result is pending.
| A level entries and results | ||||
Version | Provisional | Provisional | Revised | Revised | Revised |
Time Period | 2020/21 | 2019/20 | 2018/19 | 2017/18 | 2016/17 |
A* | 4,170 | 2,528 | 1,316 | 1,353 | 1,537 |
A | 8,335 | 6,106 | 4,370 | 4,168 | 4,548 |
B | 11,171 | 9,933 | 8,849 | 9,009 | 9,356 |
C | 10,289 | 10,081 | 10,629 | 10,531 | 10,747 |
D | 5,258 | 5,055 | 7,899 | 7,442 | 7,827 |
E | 2,516 | 1,864 | 3,889 | 3,575 | 3,473 |
U | 504 | 238 | 1,638 | 1,447 | 1,229 |
X3 | 157 | 103 | 201 | 177 | 123 |
Q4 | 16 | 15 | 1 | 7 | 2 |
Total Entries | 42,416 | 35,923 | 38,792 | 37,709 | 38,842 |
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data his Department holds on the number of GCSE exam results achieved by students on free school meals, separated by grade, for each of the last five academic years.
Answered by Will Quince
The attached table shows the collective entries for students on free school meals, broken down by GCSE grades, for the last five academic years.
Discounting has been applied where pupils have taken the same subject more than once. In 2019/20 and 2021/21, only one entry per subject is counted and we count the entry with the highest grade for results received in summer 2022. Previously only the first entry grade would count, and this is still the case for any results received before summer 2021. Double grades refer to GCSE combined science, which was introduced in 2017/18. Therefore, this data is unavailable for 2016/17.
By 2019/20 and 2020/21, all GCSEs in England have been reformed and use the new 9 to 1 grading system (rather than A*-G). Grade U refers to pupils' results which are ungraded or unclassified. Grade X refers to pupils who were absent or whose results are pending.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) in-school mental health counsellors and (b) mental health workers there were in schools in each year from 2010 to 2021.
Answered by Vicky Ford
Information on the number of in-school mental health counsellors and mental health workers is not collected centrally.
The department collects information on staff working in state funded schools via the annual School Workforce Census but does not directly identify in-school mental health counsellors and mental health workers. The results are published in the ‘School Workforce in England’ statistical publication: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.
Our most recent survey of mental health provision in schools and colleges published in 2017 found that 61% of schools and colleges (56% of primary schools, 84% of secondary schools and 93% of colleges) reported offering access to counselling service for their pupils.
School and college-based counselling is valuable provision which can play a particularly effective role as part of a whole-school or college approach, within which support can come from several sources. In that context, it is important that schools and colleges have the freedom to decide what support to offer to students and staff based on their needs, drawing on an evidence base of effective practice. Our ‘Counselling in schools’ guidance offers support and advice to schools on setting up and improving counselling services and how they can work together to best support pupils: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/counselling-in-schools.
We are also committed to delivering our joint green paper delivery programme with the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England, which includes introducing new Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) into schools and colleges. These teams are intended to provide early intervention on mild to moderate issues, as well as helping staff within a school or college setting to provide a ‘whole school approach’ to mental health and wellbeing.
The £79 million boost to children and young people’s mental health support that we announced in March will include accelerating the rollout of MHSTs. There are now over 280 MHSTs set up or in training, and this will grow to around 400 by April 2023, supporting nearly 3 million children across the country. This increase means that millions of children and young people will have access to significantly expanded mental health services. High level MHST breakdowns by year, region and area can be found here: https://www.england.nhs.uk/mental-health/cyp/trailblazers/mh-support-teams/.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information his Department holds on the number of university students on placements who took their own lives between in (a) 2019 and (b) 2020.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
Student mental health and suicide prevention are key priorities for this government. We continue to work closely with the higher education (HE) sector to promote good practice. Universities are not only experts in their student population, but also best placed to identify the needs of their particular student body, including those students undertaking placements as part of their studies.
Whilst it is for HE providers to determine what welfare and counselling services they need to provide to their students to offer that support, the government is proactive in promoting good practice in this area. We continue to work closely with Universities UK (UUK) on embedding the Stepchange programme within the sector. Further information can be found here: https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/stepchange. Stepchange calls on HE leaders to adopt mental health as a strategic priority and take a whole-institution approach, embedding it across all policies, cultures, curricula and practice. The Stepchange programme relaunched in March 2020 as the Mentally Healthy Universities programme. The university Mental Health Charter, announced in June 2018, is backed by the government and led by the sector. The charter, developed in collaboration with students, staff and partner organisations, aims to drive up standards of practice, including leadership, early intervention and data collection. Further information can be accessed here: https://www.studentminds.org.uk/charter.html.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, I have stressed the importance of protecting student and staff wellbeing. We recognise that many students are facing additional mental health challenges due to the disruption and uncertainty caused by the outbreak. I have engaged with universities on this issue and have written to Vice Chancellors on numerous occasions during the past year, most recently last month, outlining that student welfare should remain a priority. I have also convened a working group of representatives from the HE and health sectors to specifically address the current and pressing issues that students are facing during the COVID-19 outbreak.
My hon. Friend, the Minister for Children and Families, and I have also convened a Mental Health in Education Action Group to drive action to mitigate the impact of the outbreak on the mental health and wellbeing of children, young people and staff in nurseries, schools, colleges and universities.
We expect HE providers to continue to support their students, which has included making services accessible from a distance whilst restrictions have been in place. We encourage students to stay in touch with their provider’s welfare teams as these services are likely to continue to be an important source of support. Many providers have bolstered their existing mental health services, and adapted delivery mechanisms including reaching out to students who may be more vulnerable. Staff at universities and colleges have been proactive in supporting their students, showing resourcefulness and there are many examples of good practice.
We have worked with the Office for Students (OfS) to provide Student Space, a dedicated mental health and wellbeing platform for students, which has been funded by up to £3 million by the OfS in the 2020/21 academic year. We have also asked the OfS to allocate £15 million towards student mental health in 2021/22 through proposed reforms to Strategic Priorities Grant funding, to help address the challenges to student mental health posed by the transition to university, given the increasing demand for mental health services. This will target those students in greatest need of such services, including vulnerable groups and hard-to-reach students.
The Office for National Statistics data shows that in 2016/17 – the last year on record – there were 95 student deaths by suicide in England and Wales. Further information can be found here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/articles/estimatingsuicideamonghighereducationstudentsenglandandwalesexperimentalstatistics/2018-06-25#:~:text=The%20rate%20of%20suicide%20in,it%20difficult%20to%20identify%20statistically.
The incoming President of UUK, Professor Steve West, and I will jointly chair a new roundtable on suicide prevention in June. Through this we will develop and support the adoption of the Suicide Safer Universities framework and promote good practice in the sector, helping to make sure students are well supported during their time at university, including when undertaking placements as part of their studies.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to improve mental healthcare provision for students in the context of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
Student mental health and suicide prevention are key priorities for this government. We continue to work closely with the higher education (HE) sector to promote good practice. Universities are not only experts in their student population, but also best placed to identify the needs of their particular student body, including those students undertaking placements as part of their studies.
Whilst it is for HE providers to determine what welfare and counselling services they need to provide to their students to offer that support, the government is proactive in promoting good practice in this area. We continue to work closely with Universities UK (UUK) on embedding the Stepchange programme within the sector. Further information can be found here: https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/stepchange. Stepchange calls on HE leaders to adopt mental health as a strategic priority and take a whole-institution approach, embedding it across all policies, cultures, curricula and practice. The Stepchange programme relaunched in March 2020 as the Mentally Healthy Universities programme. The university Mental Health Charter, announced in June 2018, is backed by the government and led by the sector. The charter, developed in collaboration with students, staff and partner organisations, aims to drive up standards of practice, including leadership, early intervention and data collection. Further information can be accessed here: https://www.studentminds.org.uk/charter.html.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, I have stressed the importance of protecting student and staff wellbeing. We recognise that many students are facing additional mental health challenges due to the disruption and uncertainty caused by the outbreak. I have engaged with universities on this issue and have written to Vice Chancellors on numerous occasions during the past year, most recently last month, outlining that student welfare should remain a priority. I have also convened a working group of representatives from the HE and health sectors to specifically address the current and pressing issues that students are facing during the COVID-19 outbreak.
My hon. Friend, the Minister for Children and Families, and I have also convened a Mental Health in Education Action Group to drive action to mitigate the impact of the outbreak on the mental health and wellbeing of children, young people and staff in nurseries, schools, colleges and universities.
We expect HE providers to continue to support their students, which has included making services accessible from a distance whilst restrictions have been in place. We encourage students to stay in touch with their provider’s welfare teams as these services are likely to continue to be an important source of support. Many providers have bolstered their existing mental health services, and adapted delivery mechanisms including reaching out to students who may be more vulnerable. Staff at universities and colleges have been proactive in supporting their students, showing resourcefulness and there are many examples of good practice.
We have worked with the Office for Students (OfS) to provide Student Space, a dedicated mental health and wellbeing platform for students, which has been funded by up to £3 million by the OfS in the 2020/21 academic year. We have also asked the OfS to allocate £15 million towards student mental health in 2021/22 through proposed reforms to Strategic Priorities Grant funding, to help address the challenges to student mental health posed by the transition to university, given the increasing demand for mental health services. This will target those students in greatest need of such services, including vulnerable groups and hard-to-reach students.
The Office for National Statistics data shows that in 2016/17 – the last year on record – there were 95 student deaths by suicide in England and Wales. Further information can be found here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/articles/estimatingsuicideamonghighereducationstudentsenglandandwalesexperimentalstatistics/2018-06-25#:~:text=The%20rate%20of%20suicide%20in,it%20difficult%20to%20identify%20statistically.
The incoming President of UUK, Professor Steve West, and I will jointly chair a new roundtable on suicide prevention in June. Through this we will develop and support the adoption of the Suicide Safer Universities framework and promote good practice in the sector, helping to make sure students are well supported during their time at university, including when undertaking placements as part of their studies.