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
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 - Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
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 - Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
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.
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 he is taking to ensure that young people have access to a wide choice of T-Levels that meet individual (a) needs and (b) interests; and what steps he is taking to ensure that their choice is not limited to (i) their location and (ii) local industries.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
T Levels are being introduced across 11 different industry areas, from Engineering & Manufacturing and Digital, to Creative & Design and Science. The rollout of T Levels began last year with three subjects offered by 43 providers. 10 T Levels are now offered by over 100 providers. These numbers will grow year on year and over 20 T Levels will be available by 2023. This gradual introduction has meant T Levels got off to a high-quality start with feedback from both providers and students has been positive.
Current T Level providers are based across the country, and we have ensured they are represented in Opportunity Areas. As the rollout continues, coverage will increase and more students will benefit from these pioneering new qualifications. Young people will also benefit from improved, high-quality information, advice and guidance to help them make informed choices about the course that is right for them.
T Level content is designed by employers, so they will meet students’ needs by giving them the skills and knowledge needed by business. Current T Level students have been particularly enthusiastic about industry placements, which allow them to hone their technical skills in their chosen occupational specialism.
As with other education provisions, we do not expect all T Levels to be available in all post-16 providers. Providers will choose which courses to offer based on a number of factors, including their current post-16 offer and the local labour market situation. This is no different to current arrangements. The department has given extensive support to ensure providers can work with local employers to offer industry placements, and the National Apprenticeship Service is helping to match providers and employers, particularly targeting areas where there may be gaps in provision.
As part of our review of level 3 qualifications, we have set out the range of situations where we see a role for other technical qualifications to sit alongside T Levels. For 16-19 year olds this includes qualifications enabling entry to occupations not covered by T Levels. Information on reforms to post-16 qualifications at level 3 in England can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reforms-to-post-16-qualifications-at-level-3-in-england.
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 he is taking to increase the number of people working in the early years sector in England.
Answered by Will Quince
The majority of the early years’ workforce are employed in private, voluntary and independent organisations and those employers are responsible for recruiting sufficient staff in line with the requirements set out in the statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage.
The government recognises that high-quality childcare, with a well-qualified workforce, has a powerful impact on children’s outcomes and we have announced a £153 million investment in early years education to build a stronger, more expert workforce, enabling settings to deliver high quality teaching and help address the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the youngest children, particularly those in the most disadvantaged areas. Within this investment we have substantially expanded the number of places that we fund for initial teacher training in early years, to increase the supply of qualified graduates to the sector.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether T-Level students in England can resit (a) a component or (b) components of their course; and how those resits will be funded for each student.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
T Levels have several components that are required for completion. Students can re-take all elements of the T Level Technical Qualification and the timing of retakes will depend on the availability of assessments set by the T Level awarding organisation. As per study programmes for young people, retakes of components are not generally eligible for funding as the activity has already been funded. In exceptional circumstances students may be eligible for funding, and institutions will need to consider the relevant funding guidance.
T Levels require students to have achieved level 2 mathematics and English by the end of their course, either through Functional Skills or GCSEs, and students will be able to resit these throughout their course. Institutions also have the discretion to allow students to make up the required industry placements hours, up to 2 years after finishing their T Level programme, should they need to. This is the same for other T Level components.
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 he is taking to (a) support colleges to organise industry placements for T- Level students in England and (b) guarantee that all T-Level students in England can secure industry placements.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
We have provided an extensive programme of support to providers to help them to deliver high-quality industry placements. Alongside this we have invested more than £200 million over the past 4 years to help providers build their capacity and relationships with employers. Further to this, a comprehensive package of support offers providers tailored advice and support to deliver placements and networking opportunities to share best practice.
Practical industry placement delivery guidance for both providers and employers has been published and we are investing in direct support for employers to increase the number of industry placements available. This guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/t-level-industry-placements-delivery-guidance/t-level-industry-placements-delivery-guidance. We continue to engage directly with employers through the National Apprenticeship Service to provide a strong pipeline ready to offer placement opportunities, and a targeted package of support is helping employers across all industries to effectively plan and implement placements. A T Level employer ambassador network has been established in order to engage with others in their industries on T Levels and placements, and we are further developing our communications materials to continue to raise the profile of T Levels to an employer audience.
Finally, we have put in place a short-term incentive fund, offering employers £1,000 per industry placement, to encourage employer engagement in the period after the COVID-19 outbreak.