Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions he has had with the Association of Colleges on changes to 2021 exam season.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government has announced that, from 5 January 2021, schools and colleges have moved to remote education, except for vulnerable children and children of critical workers. In light of the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, GCSE, AS and A level exams will not go ahead this summer as planned.
The Department will continue to engage with a range of relevant stakeholders when developing plans for our policy on GCSE, AS and A level assessments in 2021, as will the exams regulator Ofqual. Along with regular, pre-existing reference groups and roundtable sessions, meetings with both the National Union of Students and the Association of Colleges, including regarding Vocational Qualifications, have taken place with the Department and/or Ofqual.
A joint consultation has launched on how to fairly award all pupils, including private candidates and students taking vocational qualifications, with a grade that ensures they can progress to the next stage of their lives. The Department has strongly encouraged our stakeholders to respond to this.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions he has had with the National Union of Students on changes to the 2021 exam season.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government has announced that, from 5 January 2021, schools and colleges have moved to remote education, except for vulnerable children and children of critical workers. In light of the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, GCSE, AS and A level exams will not go ahead this summer as planned.
The Department will continue to engage with a range of relevant stakeholders when developing plans for our policy on GCSE, AS and A level assessments in 2021, as will the exams regulator Ofqual. Along with regular, pre-existing reference groups and roundtable sessions, meetings with both the National Union of Students and the Association of Colleges, including regarding Vocational Qualifications, have taken place with the Department and/or Ofqual.
A joint consultation has launched on how to fairly award all pupils, including private candidates and students taking vocational qualifications, with a grade that ensures they can progress to the next stage of their lives. The Department has strongly encouraged our stakeholders to respond to this.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will publish data on staff absence in schools due to covid-19 infection in (a) Luton and (b) England during the 2020 autumn term.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department collects daily data from schools and colleges via the educational setting status form, which was set up to help the Government monitor the impact of COVID-19 on schools and colleges. The form was expanded to collect detailed data on reasons for staff absence from 12 October 2020 and this data was published on 19 January 2021.
The Department has published the number and proportion of i) teachers and head teachers and ii) teaching assistants and other staff absent due to a confirmed case of COVID-19, a suspected case of COVID-19 or self-isolation in state funded schools in England on each day between 12 October and 17 December 2020, excluding the October half term period. This is summarised, for each Thursday where data is available, at the following link1,2: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/2d95b3a7-77f8-4901-aade-9fa56ce88481.
The Department has also published this data for all local authorities in England, including Luton. This data is based on responding schools only and no adjustments have been made for non-response. This data is available for each Thursday between 15 October and 17 December 2020. Data for Luton is summarised at the following link1,2,3 https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/3bb923b9-1cc4-4635-8514-5f4773c249a7.
1 Data is given for Wednesday 16 December instead of Thursday 17 December due to a decrease in response rates on Thursday 17 December which make estimates for this date less reliable. Data is not given for Thursdays 22 and 29 October as this data is affected by half term.
2 This data is as reported directly by schools via the Department for Education's daily education settings survey. It is not the primary source of data on infection, incidence and COVID-19 cases overall.
3 Local authority level figures are based on responding schools only.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many school pupils were absent from school in (a) Luton and (b) England during the autumn term 2020 due to covid-19 infection.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department collects daily data from schools and colleges via the educational setting status form, which was set up to help the Government monitor the impact of COVID-19 on schools and colleges. The form was expanded to collect detailed data on the reasons for pupil absence from 12 October 2020. This data has been published at national level on a weekly basis since 20 October 2020 and was published at local authority level on 15 December 2020.
The Department has published the number and proportion of pupils absent due to a confirmed case of COVID-19, a suspected case of COVID-19 or self-isolation in state funded schools in England on each Thursday between 15 October and 17 December 2020, excluding the October half term period. These estimates are summarised in table 11,2,3.
Table 1: Estimates of the number of pupils absent in state-funded schools in England due to a confirmed case of COVID-19, suspected case of COVID-19 and self-isolation
| Number of pupils absent in state-funded schools absent due to confirmed case of COVID-19 | Number of pupils absent in state-funded schools absent due to suspected case of COVID-19 | Number of pupils absent in state-funded schools absent due to self-isolation |
15-Oct | 8,000 | 37,000 | up to 355,000 |
05-Nov | 12,000 | 22,000 | up to 301,000 |
12-Nov | 14,000 | 28,000 | up to 552,000 |
19-Nov | 18,000 | 31,000 | up to 761,000 |
26-Nov | 18,000 | 29,000 | up to 688,000 |
03-Dec | 16,000 | 28,000 | up to 569,000 |
10-Dec | 17,000 | 30,000 | up to 594,000 |
16-Dec1 | 18,000 | 38,000 | up to 679,000 |
The Department has also published this data for all local authorities in England, including Luton. This data is based on responding schools only and no adjustments have been made for non-response. This data is available for each Thursday between 15 October and 17 December 2020. Data for Luton is summarised at the following link1,2,3,4 https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/e284e1f4-5a40-4348-9f16-5b3376e7f6f9.
1 Data is given for Wednesday 16 December instead of Thursday 17 December due to a decrease in response rates on Thursday 17 December which make estimates for this date less reliable. Data is not given for Thursdays 22 and 29 October as this data is affected by half term.
2 This data is as reported directly by schools via the Department for Education's daily education settings survey. It is not the primary source of data on infection, incidence and COVID-19 cases overall.
3 Pupils self-isolating because of COVID-19 is reported as a range to account for possible double counting.
4 Local authority level figures are based on responding schools only.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the ability of schools to provide the covid-19 testing required to keep staff and students safe; and what additional funding he will provide to schools to support that testing.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The delivery model for asymptomatic testing in schools is structured around schools’ ability to deliver the necessary tasks and roles required to deliver the tests in a safe environment for staff, pupils and volunteers. New technology that allows for rapid testing means that schools can now introduce our programme of asymptomatic testing in secondary schools and colleges. This is weekly testing for the workforce and daily testing for staff or students who are identified as close contacts of a positive case from within the education setting. Daily testing of contacts will mean that they do not need to isolate and can stay in face-to-face education.
A total of £78 million has been made available to meet the costs of testing.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with representatives of BT on the provision of internet connections for disadvantaged school pupils during school closures due to the covid-19 outbreak.
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.
From June to September 2020, the Department ran a pilot in partnership with BT to provide children and young people with free access to a BT Wi-Fi hotspot. Through the pilot, 10,000 BT codes were sent to local authorities and trusts for them to pass on to families so that they could access a BT Wi-Fi connection until 31 December 2020.
This offer was not extended to schools, local authorities or trusts outside of the pilot because following testing it did not suitably meet children and young people’s needs for a reliable and consistent internet connection to access remote education.
We are grateful to BT for partnering with the Department in order to help disadvantaged children continue to access remote education in the event of local disruptions, and we are grateful for their continued support with our mobile data uplift offer.
We have already provided 4G wireless routers, with free data for the academic year, and continue to provide 4G wireless routers where children need to access remote education.
We have partnered with the UK’s leading mobile operators to provide free data to help disadvantaged children get online as well as delivering 4G wireless routers for pupils without connection at home.
We continue to invite a range of mobile network providers to support the offer.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason his Department decided to decline BT's offer of subsidised internet packages for disadvantaged school pupils during the covid-19 outbreak.
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.
From June to September 2020, the Department ran a pilot in partnership with BT to provide children and young people with free access to a BT Wi-Fi hotspot. Through the pilot, 10,000 BT codes were sent to local authorities and trusts for them to pass on to families so that they could access a BT Wi-Fi connection until 31 December 2020.
This offer was not extended to schools, local authorities or trusts outside of the pilot because following testing it did not suitably meet children and young people’s needs for a reliable and consistent internet connection to access remote education.
We are grateful to BT for partnering with the Department in order to help disadvantaged children continue to access remote education in the event of local disruptions, and we are grateful for their continued support with our mobile data uplift offer.
We have already provided 4G wireless routers, with free data for the academic year, and continue to provide 4G wireless routers where children need to access remote education.
We have partnered with the UK’s leading mobile operators to provide free data to help disadvantaged children get online as well as delivering 4G wireless routers for pupils without connection at home.
We continue to invite a range of mobile network providers to support the offer.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to allow the admission of children to schools in the UK of British Nationals (Overseas) passport holders from Hong Kong in advance of the launch of the scheme for those passport holders in 2021.
Answered by Nick Gibb
British Nationals (Overseas) ('BN(O)s') who are in the UK in advance of the new Hong Kong BN(O) route being launched in January 2021 are entitled to access a school place for their children. BN(O)s are able to apply for ‘leave outside the rules’ prior to the new route - which will give them and their family members access to work and study whilst in the UK - becoming available. This information is clearly set out on this website: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/british-nationals-overseas-in-hong-kong.
Dependent children of BN(O)s who are in the UK will also be entitled to access a school place under the new route once it is launched in January 2021.
BN(O)s may not be aware of the processes and timescales involved in applying for an English school before they move to the UK. They can find the information they need on this website: https://www.gov.uk/schools-admissions.
This website also provides links across to information on the school admission systems in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, in case they are applying for schools under the different education systems that pertain in those nations.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what additional funding he will provide to schools to support children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing during the 2020-21 academic year.
Answered by Vicky Ford
I refer the hon. Member for Luton North to the answers I gave on 21 October 2020 to Questions 104035 and 104036.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to Answer of 1 October 2020 to Question 96196 on Students: Housing, if he will publish the minutes of his discussions with representatives of Unite and Unipol at the Higher Education Taskforce.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The Higher Education taskforce was created to discuss and take quick actions on higher education (HE) admissions and acceptances and to discuss COVID-19 related challenges faced by HE providers and students.
The group consists of members from Universities UK, the Office for Students, the University and Colleges Admissions Service and several university groups. Unite and Unipol were invited, by exception, to a meeting where student accommodation was a focus of the agenda.
The taskforce is ongoing and, although we do not currently have plans to publish the read-outs from the meetings, we will review this in due course. The main items of discussion at this meeting included the increase in COVID-19 cases amongst young adults, COVID-secure practices and supporting students to remain on campus in cases of local COVID-19 outbreaks.