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 do not speak English as a first language.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department publishes information on whether a pupil’s first language is known or believed to be other than English. This data can be found in the ‘Schools, pupils and their characteristics’ publication, which is based on the January school census. The most recent figures are available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics.
A pupil is recorded to have English as an additional language if they are exposed to a language at home that is known or believed to be other than English. This measure is not a measure of English language proficiency or a good proxy for recent immigration.
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 ensure parents have (a) access to upcoming internally-prepared educational materials and (b) a mechanism to oppose the use of internally-prepared materials they do not want their children to be exposed to.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Great Yarmouth to the answer of 13 November 2024 to Question 12852.
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 ensure parents have (a) access to upcoming educational materials from outside providers and (b) a mechanism to oppose the use of materials they do not want their children to be exposed to.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Great Yarmouth to the answer of 13 November 2024 to Question 12852.
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 assessment of the potential merits of a study of the impact of the dependency of universities on international students on the level of fees paid by such students.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government remains committed to a United Kingdom that is outward looking and welcomes international students who make a positive contribution to the UK’s higher education (HE) sector, our economy and society as a whole.
The Office for Students (OfS) is the independent regulator of English HE providers. As such, it is responsible for monitoring the financial sustainability of the sector. The department works closely with the OfS to understand the impact of the sector’s changing financial landscape. In its most recent report on the financial health of the HE sector (published November 2024), the OfS assessed the risks to provider financial sustainability and overreliance on recruitment of students from particular countries was noted as a particular concern. The report models the impacts of various scenarios on provider finances, including in relation to levels of international student recruitment.
The OfS emphasised that the HE sector should be cautious of depending too much on international student fee income in their recruitment forecasts and urged institutions to have strong contingency plans to mitigate the financial risks of over-recruiting from a single country.
All providers must continue to adapt to uncertainties and financial risks. As autonomous bodies independent of government, it is for providers to decide on effective business models and to how to manage their finances. The department will continue to work closely with the OfS in order to understand the ongoing impacts and changing landscape of financial sustainability in the sector.
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 assessment of the potential merits of introducing a cap on the number of international students.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is committed to a United Kingdom that is outward looking and welcomes international students, who make a positive contribution to the UK’s higher education sector, our economy and society as a whole. Universities in England receive an estimated £12.1bn annually in tuition fee income from international students, which supports provision of places for domestic students and research and development.
Universities and other higher education providers are autonomous bodies which are independent of government. As such, they are responsible for their own admissions decisions in relation to domestic and international students.
The department is reviewing the International Education Strategy to ensure that it increases the value of education exports and reflects the priorities of education organisations and businesses. This review will also consider the department’s ambition on international student numbers.
The government remains committed to managing migration carefully, which is why my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister announced in November 2024 that we will publish a White Paper on reducing migration this year.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the cost to her Department of the proposed increase in employer National Insurance contributions for financial year 2025-26.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government will provide support for departments and other public sector employers for additional employer National Insurance contributions costs only. This funding will be allocated to departments in the usual way, in line with the approach taken under the previous government’s Health and Social Care Levy.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how data on suspected victims of grooming gangs in schools is (a) collected and (b) shared with (i) law enforcement and (ii) child protection services.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department can confirm that the statutory safeguarding guidance, ‘Keeping children safe in education’ (KCSIE), provides clear and robust guidance on how schools and colleges must report all safeguarding concerns.
It covers issues such as grooming, sexual abuse, and child sexual exploitation, ensuring that schools and colleges have the tools and guidance needed to manage safeguarding effectively.
KCSIE makes clear that all concerns, discussions, decisions made, and the reasons for those decisions must be documented in writing.
Where staff have concerns about a child, they must follow their school or college’s child protection policy and report concerns to the designated safeguarding lead (DSL) without delay. Ordinarily, it is the DSL who is then responsible for referring these concerns to the relevant local authority children’s social care team and, where appropriate, the police. When such referrals are made into children's social care, and the police, data will be captured and recorded by those agencies.
KCSIE is designed to ensure that all concerns are dealt with swiftly, effectively, and in line with local safeguarding protocols. Schools and colleges must also engage with their local safeguarding partners to ensure these processes are consistently implemented.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what protocols are in place for schools to report suspected grooming gang activities involving students.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department can confirm that the statutory safeguarding guidance, ‘Keeping children safe in education’ (KCSIE), provides clear and robust guidance on how schools and colleges must report all safeguarding concerns.
It covers issues such as grooming, sexual abuse, and child sexual exploitation, ensuring that schools and colleges have the tools and guidance needed to manage safeguarding effectively.
KCSIE makes clear that all concerns, discussions, decisions made, and the reasons for those decisions must be documented in writing.
Where staff have concerns about a child, they must follow their school or college’s child protection policy and report concerns to the designated safeguarding lead (DSL) without delay. Ordinarily, it is the DSL who is then responsible for referring these concerns to the relevant local authority children’s social care team and, where appropriate, the police. When such referrals are made into children's social care, and the police, data will be captured and recorded by those agencies.
KCSIE is designed to ensure that all concerns are dealt with swiftly, effectively, and in line with local safeguarding protocols. Schools and colleges must also engage with their local safeguarding partners to ensure these processes are consistently implemented.
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 assessment of the potential merits of introducing a programme to increase awareness of the signs of rape gang abuse for teachers in primary and secondary schools.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is everyone’s responsibility. Schools and colleges have a critical role to play in protecting children and keeping them safe.
The department has an established robust safeguarding framework in place in the form of ‘Keeping children safe in education’, which is the statutory safeguarding guidance that all schools and colleges must have regard to.
Part 1 of this guidance, which should be read by all staff who work directly with children, not only sets out the different types of abuse and harm but also makes clear that all staff should receive safeguarding training, know how to recognise abuse and know what to do if they have any concerns about a child.
The department keeps the guidance under regular review to see where it needs strengthening and to ensure it is reflective of emerging risks and issues in safeguarding.
Pupils are taught about rape, exploitation and abuse as part of compulsory relationships, sex and health education (RSHE). The RSHE statutory guidance is also clear that schools should provide pupils with the knowledge they need to recognise and report abuse, including emotional, physical and sexual abuse.
The department is currently reviewing the statutory RSHE curriculum to ensure it covers all relevant content relating to sexual violence.
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 assessment of the potential merits of introducing an awareness programme to protect primary and secondary school children from rape gang abuse.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is everyone’s responsibility. Schools and colleges have a critical role to play in protecting children and keeping them safe.
The department has an established robust safeguarding framework in place in the form of ‘Keeping children safe in education’, which is the statutory safeguarding guidance that all schools and colleges must have regard to.
Part 1 of this guidance, which should be read by all staff who work directly with children, not only sets out the different types of abuse and harm but also makes clear that all staff should receive safeguarding training, know how to recognise abuse and know what to do if they have any concerns about a child.
The department keeps the guidance under regular review to see where it needs strengthening and to ensure it is reflective of emerging risks and issues in safeguarding.
Pupils are taught about rape, exploitation and abuse as part of compulsory relationships, sex and health education (RSHE). The RSHE statutory guidance is also clear that schools should provide pupils with the knowledge they need to recognise and report abuse, including emotional, physical and sexual abuse.
The department is currently reviewing the statutory RSHE curriculum to ensure it covers all relevant content relating to sexual violence.