Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to prevent the teaching of gender ideology in schools.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Compulsory relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) should help pupils to understand that society consists of a diverse range of people. By the end of their secondary education, pupils are taught about equality and the law relating to protected characteristics, which includes sex and gender reassignment. It is important that the content schools teach is factual, age-appropriate and presents political issues in a balanced way.
The department is currently reviewing the RSHE statutory guidance. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has been clear that children’s wellbeing must be at the heart of both the RSHE and gender questioning guidance for schools. The government is looking carefully at the public consultation responses for both sets of guidance and discussing with stakeholders. We will consider all the relevant evidence, including the Cass Review which has since been published, before setting out next steps.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many teachers have had their employment terminated, broken down by reason, for each year in the last five years.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Information on the school workforce is published in the ‘School Workforce in England’ statistical publication, accessible here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.
The attached table provides details of the reported reason teacher contracts were terminated in the 2018/19 to 2022/23 academic years, which reflects the latest data available.
Teachers may have more than one contract, therefore individuals may be counted more than once. Figures for ‘Other reasons’ includes teachers who had a change of contract but remained at the school. Figures differ to the published number of teachers leaving service, which are based on the full-time equivalent number of qualified teachers who are not employed in a state-funded school the following year.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many complaints have been received by Ofsted from parents on teaching practices in schools in each of the last five years broken down by reason.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
This is a matter for His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver. I have asked him to write to the hon. Member for Great Yarmouth directly and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an estimate of the number of children who are (a) irregular migrants and (b) were on school rolls on 4 December 2024 broken down by age.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The information requested is not held centrally.
All children of compulsory school age living in England, including foreign national children, are required by law to receive a suitable full-time education. As such, the department does not collect, or hold, information on the migration status of school pupils.
Guidance on school access rights for foreign national students is published on GOV.UK and can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/schools-admissions-applications-from-overseas-children.
The guidance sets out how local authorities and admissions authorities in England should process applications from families living outside of England and foreign national families.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many international (a) air miles and (b) flights have been completed by (i) Ministers and (ii) officials in their Department since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Data on Ministers’ overseas travel and on senior civil servants’ business expenses is published on a quarterly basis. This can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dfe-business-expenses-and-hospitality-for-senior-officials.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to ensure that Bovaer is not used within the school supply chain.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Food Standards Agency has advised milk from cows given Bovaer, an authorised feed additive that is used to reduce methane emissions, is safe to drink. Bovaer has undergone a rigorous safety assessment and is approved for use in Great Britain.
The School Food Standards defines the foods and drinks that must be provided, those which are restricted, and those which must not be provided. Beyond this, schools are responsible for the provision of school meals and how they source their food.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of people who took an English for Speakers of Other Languages class claimed Universal Credit in the last 12 months; and what the cost to the public purse was of the provision of those classes in the same period.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The information requested is not held centrally and is therefore not readily available.
The department does hold data on the number of people who took an English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) qualification, but this only includes learners funded through the adult skills fund (ASF), therefore excluding learners in devolved areas and those who studied ESOL courses funded through tailored learning. In 2023/24 145,730 people studied an ESOL qualification funded through the ASF.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many teachers have formally raised concern about the age of irregular migrant students in each of the last five years.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Concerns of this nature would be raised with the individual local authority children’s services team which has responsibility for the unaccompanied asylum-seeking child, therefore the department does not hold data on this.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the total amount of fines collected for taking children out of school during term time was in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department collects information from local authorities on penalty notices issued for unauthorised absence, including numbers of penalty notices issued, paid within 21 days, paid within 28 days, and other outcomes. This is published in the statistical release ‘parental responsibility measures’ and can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/parental-responsibility-measures.
The amount payable was £60 if paid within 21 days of receipt, rising to £120 if paid between 22 and 28 days. From August 2024, the fine for school absences is £80 if paid within 21 days, or £160 if paid within 28 days. In the case of repeated fines, if a parent receives a second fine for the same child within any three-year period, this will be charged at the higher rate of £160.
The number of penalty notices issued, paid within 21 days, paid within 28 days, and other outcomes, by local authorities and for England, can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/3d370ede-53eb-454f-f8ae-08dd0adc50ad.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what consultations her Department is holding with public schools in relation to the removal of VAT exemptions.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government carried out a technical consultation from 29 July to 15 September 2024 and published a response alongside a tax information and impact note on 30 October. The documents are published on GOV.UK and are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-on-private-school-fees-removing-the-charitable-rates-relief-for-private-schools.
The government received over 17,000 written responses during the consultation period, all of which were carefully considered.
During the consultation period, the government also held a series of meetings with stakeholders who represent private schools. As the regulator of private schools, the department will continue to have regular meetings with representatives of private schools.