Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of (a) updating Initial Teacher Training to strengthen training on SEND for all teachers and (b) including deaf awareness in all Initial Teacher Training.
Answered by Robin Walker
The department is determined that all children and young people, including those who are deaf or have a hearing impairment, receive the support they need to succeed in their education.
Since September 2020, all new teachers entering the profession benefit from at least three years of evidence based professional development and support, starting with Initial Teacher Training (ITT) based on the new ITT Core Content Framework (CCF). This is followed by a new two-year induction underpinned by the Early Career Framework (ECF). Both frameworks, developed with educational experts, will equip teachers with a clear understanding of the needs of all children, including those pupils identified within the four areas of need set out in the SEND code of practice.
ITT courses must be designed so that trainee teachers can demonstrate that they meet the Teachers’ Standards at the appropriate level which includes the requirement that all teachers must have a clear understanding of the needs of all pupils. This includes those who are deaf or have a hearing impairment. All teachers in local authority-maintained schools or non-maintained special schools in England are required to hold Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), which is awarded upon successful completion of an ITT course.
In specialist settings, in addition to holding QTS, it is a legal requirement for teachers of classes of pupils who have sensory impairments to hold the relevant mandatory qualification. Providers must be approved by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education to offer these qualifications. Teachers working in an advisory role to support such pupils should also hold the appropriate qualification.
The department intends to develop a new approval process to determine providers of mandatory qualifications in sensory impairment from the start of academic year 2023/2024. Our aim is to ensure a steady supply of teachers of children with visual, hearing, and multi-sensory impairment, in both specialist and mainstream settings.
Wider decisions relating to teachers’ professional development rest with schools, headteachers, and teachers themselves, as they are in the best position to judge their own requirements, which may include further training and development.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing immediate access to full maintenance loans for medical students in line with other healthcare professional courses for the duration of their degree programme.
Answered by Will Quince
The government is committed to supporting medical students. Students attending years one to four of a standard medical degree course qualify for a fee loan to meet the full costs of their tuition, and a partially means-tested loan for living costs from Student Finance England. Students with adult or child dependants can apply for fully means-tested grants, and students who are obliged to incur additional costs while studying as a result of a disability can apply for disabled students’ allowances.
Maximum grants and loans for living costs were increased by 3.1% this academic year, and we have announced that they will increase by a further 2.3% next year. In addition, we are freezing maximum tuition fees for the 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years. By the 2024/25 academic year, maximum fees will have been frozen for seven years, meaning reduced debt for students in real terms.
We are also reforming student loans so that new borrowers starting from the 2023/24 academic year onwards will not, under the new terms, be required to repay more than they have borrowed when adjusted for inflation.
For the fifth year of a standard medical degree course, and years two to four of accelerated medical programmes, the Government pays students’ tuition fees via a non-repayable Bursary, funded by Health Education England via the NHS Business Services Authority. Every eligible student receives an NHS Bursary at a minimum of £1,000 plus a means-tested bursary of up to £3,191.
The NHS Bursary provides additional allowances including for childcare, travel and accommodation, and to help students manage shortfalls between their income and expenditure. Students eligible for bursary support for an academic year of their course can also apply for a reduced rate non-means tested loans for living costs from Student Finance England.
Where a student is struggling financially and is eligible for the NHS Bursary, the Exceptional Support Fund is available where they may be able to claim for any sum between £100 and £3,000, depending on current financial circumstances. Additionally, Travel and Dual Accommodation Expenses provides reimbursement towards travel and accommodation costs that may be incurred whilst undertaking a practice placement.
In our guidance to the Office for Students (OfS) on funding for the 2021/22 financial year, we made clear that the OfS should protect the £256 million allocation for the student premiums to support disadvantaged students and those that need additional help. The 2022/23 financial year guidance to the OfS confirms universities will continue to be able to support students in hardship through the student premium. Ministers’ Strategic Priorities Grant guidance letter to the OfS asks that the OfS looks to protect the student premium in cash terms for 2022/23.
Alongside this, the government is also making available discretionary funding of £144 million to support vulnerable people and individuals on low incomes, including students, to support those ineligible for council tax. The government recognises many households will need support to deal with rising energy costs, and has therefore announced a package of support to help households with rising energy bills, worth £9.1 billion in the 2022/23 financial year. This includes a £200 discount on energy bills this autumn for domestic electricity customers in Great Britain, which will be paid back automatically over the next five years.
The department has secured up to £75 million to deliver a National Scholarship Scheme that will support high achieving disadvantaged students to reach their full potential whilst studying in higher education. This scholarship aims to address the ongoing financial barriers that can restrict high achieving, disadvantaged students from achieving their full academic potential whilst studying in higher education and is in addition to the significant sector interventions already in place.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing schools with additional ringfenced funds to cover rising energy bills.
Answered by Robin Walker
The department recognises the concern that schools will be facing cost pressures in the coming months, particularly due to the increase in energy prices. We are looking carefully at how this will impact schools and considering what additional support we can offer.
The department knows that the vast majority of school expenditure is devoted to staff costs. This means that even while energy costs are rising, inflation in this area would have an impact on a small portion of a school’s budget overall. Energy costs represented 1.3% of local authority maintained schools spending in the 2019/20 financial year and 1.4% of academy trust spending in the 2019/20 academic year. The department pays close attention to the financial health of the sector, and we are closely assessing where energy costs may more significantly impact schools’ financial health.
Cost increases should be seen in the wider context of funding for schools. The government is delivering a £4 billion cash increase in the core schools budget next year, taking total funding to £53.8 billion. This includes an additional £1.2 billion for schools in the new schools supplementary grant for the 2022/23 financial year. Overall, this represents a 7% cash terms per pupil boost, which will help schools meet the pressures we know they are facing.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing financial assistance to childminders who are unable to operate in circumstances where someone in their household has tested positive for, or has symptoms of, covid-19.
Answered by Will Quince
Since Thursday 17 March, if someone in a childminder’s household has tested positive or has COVID-19 symptoms, childminders can continue to operate at home.
Childminders are advised to follow the steps below to reduce the risk of onward transmission:
The risk assessment must demonstrate that the provision of childcare in the setting is safe, and how childminders will put into place any additional but proportionate measures. Childminders can also consider using alternative places to operate such as other childminders’ houses, where possible.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has had discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on establishing a new multi-sensory impairment (MSI) education fund in the Spring Budget 2022.
Answered by Will Quince
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has not had any such discussions. The department does not currently have plans to create funding streams for specific types of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). This is because the department believes decisions around funding for SEND provision are best taken locally.
Under the Children and Families Act 2014, local authorities and schools have the responsibility to support children and young people with SEND. They are best placed to decide how to prioritise their spending on the range of resources and activities that will best support their pupils.
The department is firmly committed to ensuring that children with SEND, including those with multi-sensory impairments, receive the support they need to succeed in their early years, at school, and at college.
High needs funding, which is specifically for supporting children with more complex SEND, including those with multi-sensory impairments, will be increasing by £1 billion in the financial year 2022/23, bringing the overall total of funding for high needs to £9.1 billion. This unprecedented increase of 13%, compared to the financial year 2021/22, comes in addition to the £1.5 billion increase over the last two years.
I also refer the hon. Member for Ealing Central and Acton to the answer I gave on 8 March 2022 to Question 133247.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of granting a second student loan to prospective veterinary studies students who have already completed an undergraduate degree in a separate subject in order to help tackle the shortage of veterinarians in the UK.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
In most cases, students who already have an equivalent or higher-level higher education qualification, compared with the one offered by their current course, will not qualify for maintenance or fee support.
However, the department recognises the need to promote access to professions by protecting the position of students who wish to retrain in the following subjects: teaching, architecture, social work, medicine, dentistry, veterinary science and healthcare. Students on these courses may qualify for some support, even when they already have an equivalent level qualification.
Students undertaking a full-time second degree in veterinary studies will qualify for maintenance support for the duration of their course.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to continue support for disabled adults whose EHCPs have ended during the covid-19 outbreak as a result of their age.
Answered by Will Quince
The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Code of Practice is clear that education, health and care plans (EHCPs) should be designed to support young people to make positive transitions to adulthood, with a clear focus on outcomes and the support a young person will need to achieve them.
The legislative and funding arrangements for EHCPs do not allow for a plan to be extended beyond the age of 25. Instead, the local authority should ensure that the appropriate adult services have the necessary transition support in place for the individual young person, including through the statutory adult care and support plan which is designed to set out the type of support you need and how this will be given, and support to enable them to secure appropriate housing or link them to employment services.
Young people who have previously had an EHCP and have reached the age of 25 may also be eligible for funding through the Adult Education Budget (AEB). The AEB fully funds or co-funds skills provision for eligible adults aged 19 and above from pre-entry to level 3, to help them gain the skills they need for work, an apprenticeship or further learning.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Ceramics pathway for the Craft and Design T-Level, what estimate he has made of the number of ceramics studios able to offer industry placements to cover all regions of England.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
T Levels are based on the same occupational standards as apprenticeships and the outline content is designed by panels of employers, industry experts and education providers, working with the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education. In developing the outline content for the Craft and Design T Level, which is rolling out in September 2023, the T Level panel took account of a number of factors when determining the occupational specialisms of jewellery making and ceramics making, including deliverability and likely demand from employers and students.
The department is investing in direct support to employers and providers to increase the number of industry placements available for all T Levels, across all regions. We have invested over £200 million since the 2018/19 academic year to help providers build their capacity and networks with employers, and we are engaging directly with employers through the National Apprenticeship Service to develop a pipeline of industry placements. We are also working with key intermediaries to develop innovative ways to stimulate the small and mid-size enterprises market, which includes targeting specific industries and geographical regions, and we have established a T Level employer ambassador network to engage with others in their industries on T Levels and industry placements.
There is also a comprehensive package of support available for employers, which offers online guidance, webinars and direct hands-on support to help them prepare for industry placements, and we are further developing our communications materials to continue to raise the profile of T Levels to employers. We will continue to monitor the availability of industry placements across the country to ensure that all T Level students have a high-quality placement.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, in the context of the Jewellery making pathway for the Craft and Design T-Level, what assessment he has made of the number of jewellery makers able to offer industry placements to cover all regions of England.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
T Levels are based on the same occupational standards as apprenticeships and the outline content is designed by panels of employers, industry experts and education providers, working with the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education. In developing the outline content for the Craft and Design T Level, which is rolling out in September 2023, the T Level panel took account of a number of factors when determining the occupational specialisms of jewellery making and ceramics making, including deliverability and likely demand from employers and students.
The department is investing in direct support to employers and providers to increase the number of industry placements available for all T Levels, across all regions. We have invested over £200 million since the 2018/19 academic year to help providers build their capacity and networks with employers, and we are engaging directly with employers through the National Apprenticeship Service to develop a pipeline of industry placements. We are also working with key intermediaries to develop innovative ways to stimulate the small and mid-size enterprises market, which includes targeting specific industries and geographical regions, and we have established a T Level employer ambassador network to engage with others in their industries on T Levels and industry placements.
There is also a comprehensive package of support available for employers, which offers online guidance, webinars and direct hands-on support to help them prepare for industry placements, and we are further developing our communications materials to continue to raise the profile of T Levels to employers. We will continue to monitor the availability of industry placements across the country to ensure that all T Level students have a high-quality placement.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing breakfast provisions in schools for children in poverty.
Answered by Will Quince
The department knows that it is important for pupils to start the day with a nutritious breakfast. Between March 2018 and July 2021, the National School Breakfast Programme for schools in disadvantaged areas has supported up to 2,450 schools to establish and develop breakfast clubs, and to sustain them in the longer term. We are now investing up to £24 million in a new two year contract to continue our support for school breakfast provision until July 2023.
The department recognises that healthy breakfast clubs can play an important role in ensuring children from all backgrounds have a healthy start to their day so that they enhance their learning potential. An independent evaluation by the Institute of Fiscal Studies, published by the Education Endowment Foundation, found that supporting schools to run a free of charge, universal breakfast club before school delivered, on average, 2 months of additional progress for pupils in key stage 1 with moderate to low security. The evaluation is available here: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/projects-and-evaluation/projects/magic-breakfast. A 2017 evaluation commissioned by the department also found that schools perceived important benefits from having a breakfast club, including improving concentration and behaviour in class. This is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/breakfast-clubs-in-high-deprivation-schools.
Throughout the current contract, the department will be working with our provider, Family Action, to monitor different aspects of the current programme, including the benefits the programme is having on pupils who are attending. We will consider the best opportunities to share information on the programme as it progresses.