Asked by: Simon Baynes (Conservative - Clwyd South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to support pupils’ mental health during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Vicky Ford
We have been working closely with partners to provide resources and guidance to support and promote children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing during the COVID-19 outbreak. This includes signposting to resources on supporting and promoting mental wellbeing among the list of resources to help children to learn at home, which are available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-online-education-resources.
We have encouraged schools to focus on pastoral support as more pupils return to school this term. Children in Reception, year 1 and year 6 are now able to return to primary school, and year 10 and year 12 pupils are able to receive face-to-face support at secondary school. Primary schools with capacity can bring back additional groups, in line with existing protective measures. We have also given schools the flexibility to have face-to-face ‘check-ups’ with all pupils during the summer term.
The return to school is a key part of supporting the mental health and wellbeing of pupils, as in addition to providing more opportunities for physical activity, attendance at school allows social interaction with peers, carers and teachers, which benefits wellbeing. The department has now published detailed plans for all children and young people to return to full-time education from September. The guidance for schools is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools.
We are working with the Department of Health and Social Care to put in place further specific support for school staff to understand the issues that pupils will face with their mental wellbeing. This includes training for teachers, such as a new module developed with clinical experts on how to teach about mental health in health education. More information is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/teaching-about-mental-wellbeing.
Access to mental health support is more important than ever during the COVID-19 outbreak. NHS services remain open. Leading mental health charities are being supported to deliver additional services through the £5 million Coronavirus Mental Health Response Fund. During Mental Health Awareness Week, the government also announced that a further £4.2 million will be awarded to mental health charities, including the Samaritans, Young Minds, and Bipolar UK.
All NHS mental health trusts have been asked to ensure that there are 24/7 open access telephone lines to support people of all ages. Public Health England and Health Education England have also developed advice and guidance for parents and professionals on supporting children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing, which is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-on-supporting-children-and-young-peoples-mental-health-and-wellbeing.
In addition, children and young people can access free confidential support anytime from government-backed voluntary and community sector organisations either by texting SHOUT to 85258, or by calling Childline on 0800 1111 or The Mix on 0808 808 4994. Children and young people can also find online information on COVID-19 and mental health on the Young Minds website, which is available here:
https://youngminds.org.uk/about-us/reports/coronavirus-impact-on-young-people-with-mental-health-needs/.
Asked by: Simon Baynes (Conservative - Clwyd South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress he is making on the reopening of schools during the covid-19 outbreak for eligible year groups.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government’s plan is for all pupils, in all year groups, to return to school full-time from the beginning of the autumn term. On 2 July we published guidance to help schools prepare for this. The guidance can be viewed at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools.
From the 1 June, we have asked primary schools to welcome back children in nursery, Reception, year 1 and year 6, alongside the children of critical workers and vulnerable children of all ages. Where primary schools have capacity, they have the flexibility to choose to welcome back additional pupils. It is up to schools to decide which pupils to welcome back, based on their knowledge of their children and communities
From 15 June, secondary schools have been able to invite year 10 and year 12 pupils (years 10 and 11 for alternative provision schools) back into school for some face-to-face support with their teachers to supplement their remote education.
Primary and secondary schools also have the flexibility to invite pupils in other year groups in for a face-to-face meeting before the end of this term, where it would be beneficial. We have asked schools to ensure this happens in line with wider protective measures guidance, and guidance on the numbers of pupils permitted on-site at any one time.
The daily national figures for the proportion of schools open to eligible year groups can be found at the following publication:
The data is collected from individual education establishments and the published figures include estimates for non-response.
Asked by: Simon Baynes (Conservative - Clwyd South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on the numbers of overseas students of the difference in tuition fees for British nationals living in Britain and those who have lived overseas for longer than three years.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
To qualify for home fee status in England, a person must have settled status or a recognised connection to the United Kingdom and meet the relevant ordinary residence requirements. Most persons must have been ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom and Islands or, in some cases, the European Economic Area or Switzerland for the 3 years prior to the first day of the first academic year of their course, excluding periods of temporary absence.
No assessment has been made of the number of British nationals who do not qualify for home fee status in England by virtue of their residence.
Asked by: Simon Baynes (Conservative - Clwyd South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure schools provide casual directly employed workers with the same level of financial support as casual agency workers during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Supply staff who are directly employed by schools, including supply staff employed on a casual basis, are able to receive financial support during the COVID-19 outbreak at the same level as casually employed agency staff.
We expect schools to ensure any employees funded by public money continue to be paid from their existing staff budgets, and not to furlough staff, in line with the HMRC guidance to public sector organisations: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme.
The support available for casual directly employed staff is outlined in the ‘actions for schools during the coronavirus outbreak’ guidance: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-school-closures/guidance-for-schools-about-temporarily-closing#should-schools-continue-to-pay-contingent-workers-that-they-directly-employ-on-a-zero-hours-or-casual-basis.
Asked by: Simon Baynes (Conservative - Clwyd South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to encourage the use of online interactive taught lessons during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nick Gibb
As both my right hon. Friends, the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer, have made clear, the Government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID-19.
Since 23 March, in line with the scientific advice, nurseries, schools and colleges have remained open to children of critical workers and vulnerable children. The Department is committed to ensuring that all children can continue to learn at home in these very difficult circumstances, including vulnerable pupils who do not attend school. It is up to each school to determine how to deliver education to its pupils and we recognise that many schools have already shared resources for children who are at home. Our latest guidance on remote education during COVID-19 outbreak is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/remote-education-during-coronavirus-covid-19.
This includes an initial list of free online resources identified by educational experts and teachers. Many suppliers have also helpfully made their resources available for free.
Leading state schools collaborated to open The Oak National Academy, which was launched online on 20 April. This initiative is led by 40 teachers who have assembled video lessons and resources for any teacher in the country to make use of if they wish to do so. 180 video lessons will be provided each week, across a broad range of subjects, for every year group from Reception through to Year 10. The Oak National Academy’s role is to supplement, not to replace, existing provision.
Additionally, the BBC has developed resources for families as part of a comprehensive new education package, which is now available on TV via the red button, on iPlayer and online at BBC Bitesize.
The Government has also committed over £100 million to boost remote education. This includes providing devices and internet access for vulnerable children who need it most, ensuring every school that wants it has access to free, expert technical support to get set up on Google for Education or Microsoft’s Office 365 Education, and offering peer support from schools and colleges leading the way with the use of education technology. Provision of internet access, and technical support, will continue to be available to schools during the phased return of children and young people. Devices will be owned by schools and organisations and will benefit children’s education long after schools have opened to all pupils.
Asked by: Simon Baynes (Conservative - Clwyd South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that employers and employees have the skills they need after the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
The further education (FE) sector is vital to providing the highly skilled workforce that we need to support economic recovery following the Covid-19 outbreak.
We have therefore provided an extensive range of support to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 and retain capacity within the FE sector. This is in addition to the series of wider measures to support employers and employees set out by my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on 3 April.
Our latest guidance on Covid-19 for the FE sector and all other educational settings is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-schools-and-other-educational-settings.