Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when he plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for West Lancashire of 13 January 2021 on tax-free childcare, reference ZA54965.
Answered by Nick Gibb
I can confirm that a response has been sent to the letter dated 13 January from the hon. Member for West Lancashire.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether a new module on the importance of pelvic floor health education can be introduced into the school curriculum targeting girls between the ages of 13-16.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Pupils need to know how to be safe and healthy, and how to manage their academic, personal, and social lives in a positive way. That is why we have made Health Education compulsory in all state-funded schools in England alongside Relationships Education (in primary schools) and Relationships and Sex Education (in secondary schools). Health education gives schools the opportunity to drive up the consistency and quality of pupils’ physical health knowledge by delivering clear content through evidence-based teaching. The aim of teaching pupils about physical health and mental wellbeing is to give them the information they need to make good decisions about their own health and wellbeing, recognise issues in themselves and others and, when issues arise, seek support as early as possible from appropriate sources.
The Department is committed to supporting schools in their preparations and has published non-statutory implementation guidance alongside teacher training materials. Both are designed to provide teachers with further clarity and practical advice on how to implement the Relationships, Sex and Health Education curriculum, to help all teachers increase their confidence and quality of teaching. The support is available on a one-stop page for teachers on GOV.UK. This covers all the teaching requirements in the statutory guidance including the importance of developing and maintaining good muscular and skeletal health through regular exercise; and the main changes which take place in males and females, and the implications for emotional and physical health.
As with other aspects of the curriculum, schools have flexibility over how they deliver these subjects so they can develop an integrated approach that is sensitive to the needs and background of their pupils. This could include, for example, choosing to teach about the importance of pelvic floor health education to girls between the ages of 11 and 13. The Department has provided advice on choosing resources in the non-statutory implementation guidance “Plan your Relationships, Sex and Health Curriculum”. We are working with Public Health England to make sure good quality teaching resources are available for teachers delivering health education.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether girls between the ages of 13-16 receive formal pelvic floor health education to help avoid future incontinence.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Pupils need to know how to be safe and healthy, and how to manage their academic, personal, and social lives in a positive way. That is why we have made Health Education compulsory in all state-funded schools in England alongside Relationships Education (in primary schools) and Relationships and Sex Education (in secondary schools). Health education gives schools the opportunity to drive up the consistency and quality of pupils’ physical health knowledge by delivering clear content through evidence-based teaching. The aim of teaching pupils about physical health and mental wellbeing is to give them the information they need to make good decisions about their own health and wellbeing, recognise issues in themselves and others and, when issues arise, seek support as early as possible from appropriate sources.
The Department is committed to supporting schools in their preparations and has published non-statutory implementation guidance alongside teacher training materials. Both are designed to provide teachers with further clarity and practical advice on how to implement the Relationships, Sex and Health Education curriculum, to help all teachers increase their confidence and quality of teaching. The support is available on a one-stop page for teachers on GOV.UK. This covers all the teaching requirements in the statutory guidance including the importance of developing and maintaining good muscular and skeletal health through regular exercise; and the main changes which take place in males and females, and the implications for emotional and physical health.
As with other aspects of the curriculum, schools have flexibility over how they deliver these subjects so they can develop an integrated approach that is sensitive to the needs and background of their pupils. This could include, for example, choosing to teach about the importance of pelvic floor health education to girls between the ages of 11 and 13. The Department has provided advice on choosing resources in the non-statutory implementation guidance “Plan your Relationships, Sex and Health Curriculum”. We are working with Public Health England to make sure good quality teaching resources are available for teachers delivering health education.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when he plans to respond to the letter dated 11 December 2020 from the hon. Member for West Lancashire, regarding covid-19 safety in SEN schools, reference ZA54854.
Answered by Nick Gibb
I can confirm that a response has been sent to the letter dated 11 December 2020, from the hon. Member of West Lancashire.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of schools in England have received their requested allocation of devices to support remote learning.
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. As of Monday 25 January 2021, this includes over 870,000 laptops and tablets that were delivered to schools, academy trusts and local authorities.
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 children and young people need access to a device.
Figures on the number of devices delivered are available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/laptops-and-tablets-data/2021-week-4.
The Department announced on 12 January 2021 that it is purchasing 300,000 more laptops and tablets, bringing the total number we have secured from one million to 1.3 million. The Get Help with Technology scheme will email all schools with information on the number of additional devices allocated to them, and when they will be able to order. We are 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.
Where pupils experience barriers to digital remote education, we expect schools to offer different forms of remote education such as printed resources or textbooks. This should be supplemented with other forms of communication to keep pupils on track or answer questions about work.
Where schools need additional devices, above their allocations, they should contact the Department for Education’s service team at covid.technology@education.gov.uk. They should include the number of disadvantaged children in years 3 to 11 who require support and an explanation of how they have gathered this evidence.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when his Department plans to review the free school meals eligibility criteria to include all children living below the poverty line.
Answered by Vicky Ford
We think it is important that free school meal support is targeted at those that need it most. Free school meals are an integral part of our provision for families on low incomes and our wider actions to promote social mobility.
We will consider the full recommendations set out in the National Food Strategy. The government has committed to respond formally to the National Food Strategy following publication of Part 2 of the report.
Universal Credit is an in-work benefit which reduces as household earnings increase. It is right that free school meals remain targeted at those who are out of work and on the lowest incomes.
In 2018, Government introduced new eligibility criteria for families on Universal Credit, following a consultation in 2017. It is estimated that this will be more generous in its reach by 2022, in comparison to the legacy benefit system. Further to this we included generous protections, which mean any family transitioning to Universal Credit will continue to have access to a free school meal even if they move above the earnings threshold.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of support being provided to nurseries during the January 2021 covid-19 lockdown.
Answered by Vicky Ford
On 17 December 2020, the government announced a return to funding early years settings on the basis of attendance.
We stay in regular contact with the early years sector and have heard from them already on this subject. We will be closely monitoring both parental take-up of places and the capacity and responses of providers and will keep under constant review whether further action is needed.
Furthermore, we have provided additional support to the early years sector during the COVID-19 outbreak, making grants and loans available and ensuring early years providers can access the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) for their non-government funded income, and childminders the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS). We continue to ensure that providers can access the support available.
On 17 December, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced that both the CJRS and SEISS will be extended to April 2021. We also updated the CJRS guidance for Early Years so that all providers who have seen a drop in their overall income are able to furlough any staff (who were on payroll on or before 30 October 2020) and who are not required for delivering the government’s funded entitlements. This guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-financial-support-for-education-early-years-and-childrens-social-care/coronavirus-covid-19-financial-support-for-education-early-years-and-childrens-social-care.
Where Early Years providers are struggling financially, they may be eligible to access support from the Additional Restrictions Grant, if not eligible for the Local Restrictions Support Grant schemes. Further information on these grants is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-youre-eligible-for-the-coronavirus-additional-restrictions-grant and https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-youre-eligible-for-the-coronavirus-local-restrictions-support-grant-for-open-businesses. We will keep under constant review what further support businesses may require.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on covid-19 testing and vaccinations for nursery staff.
Answered by Vicky Ford
Rapid, regular testing for people without symptoms of COVID-19 will be made available across the country from this week, with the eligibility of the community testing programme expanded to cover all 317 local authorities. Local authorities will be encouraged to target testing at critical workers such as early years staff during the national lockdown.
We are rolling out our asymptomatic testing programme to primary schools, who will receive testing kits for staff from week commencing 18 January 2020. This includes schools-based nurseries and maintained nursery schools. The asymptomatic testing programme will offer all primary school, schools-based nursery and maintained nursery school staff home Lateral Flow Device test kits for routine testing.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) are the independent experts who advise the Government on which vaccine(s) the UK should use and provide advice on who should be offered them.
JCVI advises that the first priorities for the COVID-19 vaccination programme should be the prevention of mortality and the maintenance of the health and social care systems. As the risk of mortality from COVID-19 increases with age, prioritisation is primarily based on age.
Regarding the next phase of vaccine rollout, JCVI have asked that the Department of Health and Social Care consider occupational vaccination in collaboration with other government departments. The Department for Education will input into this cross-governmental exercise.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that university students receive the same quality of education whilst learning from home.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
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 now, with the vast majority of students studying solely online. 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.
The OfS has published information on quality and standards for providers providing practical guidance on how best to ensure students continue to receive a high quality academic experience in light of the COVID-19 outbreak. This sets out that providers should make all reasonable efforts to provide alternative teaching and support for students that is at least broadly equivalent to the provider’s usual arrangements. The OfS will keep this guidance under review to ensure it remains relevant to the developing circumstances of the COVID-19 outbreak.
The OfS is taking very seriously the potential impacts of the outbreak on teaching and learning and is regularly engaging with all registered providers. It is actively monitoring providers to ensure that they maintain the quality of their provision, that it is accessible for all, and that they have been clear in their communications with students about how arrangements for teaching and learning may change throughout the year. The OfS is also following up directly with providers where they receive notifications from students, parents or others raising concerns about the quality of teaching on offer and requiring providers to report to them when they are not able to deliver a course or award a qualification. If the OfS has concerns, it will investigate further.
The OfS is also monitoring the position across the sector for instance through polling of students' views. Where appropriate, and in response to issues raised through that monitoring, it will issue further advice to the sector.
Students have rights under consumer law that they may be able to rely on if they are dissatisfied with their provider’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak. In the first instance, students should speak to their provider to see if they can resolve their issue. We expect student complaints and appeals processes to be operated flexibly, accessibly, and sympathetically by providers to resolve any concerns. If a student at a provider in England or Wales is not satisfied with their provider’s final response, they should go to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education, which has published guidance on this issue.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment the Government has made of the adequacy of guidance provided to schools on the attendance of children of keyworkers.
Answered by Nick Gibb
During the period of national lockdown, schools should allow only vulnerable children and young people and the children of critical workers to attend. All other pupils should not attend and should learn remotely until February half term.
On 7 January, the Department published guidance that sets out what all schools will need to do during the national lockdown: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/950510/School_national_restrictions_guidance.pdf. Guidance is also available on the children of critical workers and vulnerable children who can access schools or educational settings: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-educational-provision/guidance-for-schools-colleges-and-local-authorities-on-maintaining-educational-provision.
Children with at least one parent or carer who is a critical worker can go to school if required. Schools should speak to parents and carers to identify who needs to go to school. If parents and carers who are critical workers can work from home and look after their children at the same time then they should do so.
Every school will have a different number of children of critical workers who need to attend. It is important that on site provision is provided for these pupils, and there is no limit to numbers of these pupils who may attend, and schools should not limit attendance of these groups. This is because we are reducing overall social contact across areas and the country rather than individually by each institution.
The Department will continue to review the restrictions on schools and will ensure that children and young people return to face to face education as soon as possible.