Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase the study of STEM subjects by girls; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government is determined to ensure all young people have access to a range of options across a variety of subjects. This includes increasing the number of young people studying science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects post-16, and in particular the number of girls studying these subjects. While similar numbers of girls and boys take science and mathematics GCSEs, and achieve similar results, many fewer girls than boys progress to physics and mathematics A levels. For example, last summer some 130,000 students studied physics GCSE (64,000 girls and 66,000 boys), but at A level, this had dropped to just 25,000 boys and 7,000 girls.
There are some positive signs. A record number of students are now studying science A levels, with mathematics being the most popular subject. Since 2010 A level entries by female students have risen in all STEM subjects: mathematics entries have risen by 10%; physics by 16%; chemistry by 23%; and biology by 16%.
To encourage greater take up of STEM subjects among girls, we are taking a range of measures. On 7 May 2014, the “Your Life” campaign (www.yourlife.org.uk) was launched by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. “Your Life” is an independent campaign involving some of the country’s most successful entrepreneurs and leading employers. The campaign aims to increase significantly the numbers taking A level physics and maths within three years. This will enable tens of thousands more students, and in particular female students, to gain degrees in engineering, physics and maths and have successful careers in these fields.
As part of our overall drive to increase take up of STEM subjects post-16, the Government is also funding the Stimulating Physics Network and the Further Maths Support Programme. The STEM Ambassadors Programme (funded by BIS) is raising awareness among children of the range of careers that science and technical qualifications offer, and 40% of STEM ambassadors are women. The Department is also supporting programmes such as the expansion of the STEM Club network which is aimed at engaging 11- to 14-year-olds to explore and discover STEM subjects. The Big Bang science and engineering fair attracted over 60,000 people in 2013, of whom 54% were girls. To improve teaching of STEM subjects we have introduced bursaries of up to £25,000 and scholarships worth £25,000 to attract top science and maths graduates into teaching.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people with a disability work in her Department; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
As at 30 November 2014, there were 237 members of staff in the Department for Education who had declared that they had a disability. The Department recently published internally its Diversity and Equality Plan to ensure continuing progress towards developing a highly capable, diverse workforce that represents the communities we serve.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people working in her Department are over 65 years old; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
As at 30 November 2014, there were 12 staff in the Department for Education who were 65 years old and over. The Department recently published internally its Diversity and Equality Plan to ensure continuing progress towards developing a highly capable, diverse workforce that represents the communities we serve.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she has taken to insulate her departmental estate in order to improve energy efficiency; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department for Education has undertaken a number of steps to insulate its offices. All refurbishment work is compliant with the most recent building regulations, specifically the insulation requirements contained within Part L Conservation of Fuel and Power. The Department has also undertaken retrofit measures, such as draught proofing and the lagging of pipes, ducts and vessels.
The Department’s new office in Darlington, currently under construction by Darlington Borough Council, is highly insulated and expected to achieve a BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) Excellent rating. As part of the Department’s proposed relocation to the Old Admiralty building in 2017, an energy conservation and insulation assessment is being undertaken.
Parallel to work on insulation and energy conservation, the Department has implemented a more comprehensive carbon reduction programme, which has led to a 38% reduction in its greenhouse gas emissions since 2009-10. Primarily, this has been achieved through low and no cost energy efficiency measures, and operating offices more efficiently. In taking this action, the Department has reduced its annual energy bill by £1.4milion since 2009-10, and continues to work towards identifying even greater efficiencies.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the capacity of her Department's buildings for the micro-generation of renewable energy; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department for Education has assessed the feasibility of introducing renewable energy generation across its estate, and a range of micro-generation technologies have already been installed. In addition, as part of the Department’s proposed relocation to Old Admiralty Building in Central London in 2017, a renewable energy generation assessment is being undertaken.
A solar water heating system and solar photo-voltaic (PV) panels are in use at the London and Sheffield offices respectively, along with ground source heating at the Coventry office. The Department’s new office in Darlington, currently under construction by Darlington Borough Council, has also incorporated solar PV in the base-build.
The Department has also proposed that a number of its sites could be included in the Cabinet Office-led project for introducing further solar PV on the Government estate.
Parallel to work on renewable energy generation, the Department has implemented a more comprehensive Carbon Reduction programme, which has led to a 38% reduction in its greenhouse gas emissions since 2009-10. This has primarily been achieved through low and no cost energy efficiency measures, and operating offices more efficiently. In taking this action, we have reduced the annual energy bill by £1.4 million since 2009-10, and we continue to work towards identifying even greater efficiencies.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to reduce water (a) usage and (b) bills in her Department; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department for Education has made significant reductions to both its water usage and associated bills.
Total water use has been reduced by 43% since 2009-10, and the number of its offices falling within good and best practice office water benchmarks has been increased from 39% to 58% during the same period.
These improvements have primarily been achieved by: installing efficiency devices such as tap aerators; flow control valves; and leak reduction work.
In taking this action, the Department has reduced its annual water bill by £107,000 since 2009-10, and continues to work towards identifying even greater efficiencies.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of teachers in Brighton and Hove who were trained as part of the Teach First programme; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by David Laws
The Department for Education does not hold data on the schools in which Teach First participants are training or teaching. Teach First currently does not have partner schools in the Brighton and Hove area and has advised the Department that none of its former trainees are currently employed in a school in Brighton and Hove.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she had with her international counterparts on best practice for mathematics teaching; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
My Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, is committed to raising standards in maths education by learning from the leading systems in the world. However, she is yet to meet with her international counterparts specifically to discuss best practice for mathematics teaching.
The Department for Education has adopted an evidence-based approach to our reform programme by studying what works in the highest performing and most improved education systems, such as Singapore and Shanghai. We have sought to implement the essence of those policies here.
At primary, our new national curriculum for maths has been inspired by these leading East Asian nations and focuses on building firm foundations and developing fluency so that pupils are able to recall and apply their knowledge as their understanding develops.
We have launched a national network of 34 Maths Hubs, through which we are running the Mathematics Teacher Exchange Programme – England/China. This programme will develop a deep understanding of the Shanghai-style ‘mastery’ approach to maths teaching and trial its implementation within schools.
There is also clear evidence that points to the use of textbooks as a crucial element of the mastery approach. The 2011 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study - an international comparison of maths and science teaching – found that in high-performing nations like Singapore, 70% of maths teachers use a textbook as a basis for instruction, whereas in England, only 10% do. That is why, from January 2015, all Maths Hubs will be participating in a project to assess whether a mastery approach to teaching supported by a high-quality textbook can be used to drive up the quality of primary maths teaching.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure its services are available online; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
The Department is working closely with Cabinet Office’s Government Digital Services (GDS) to embed a ‘digital by default’ approach to the development of all of our services and to ensure that our services have the appropriate high-quality, cost effective support in place for those who need help to use them. In December 2014, an annual report will be published on GOV.UK outlining the progress we have made against the key 16 actions stipulated by GDS to ensure that our services are available online. We are currently refreshing our departmental digital strategy for 2015 and beyond.
The current strategy is published online at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/department-for-education-departmental-digital-strategy