Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools are exempt from Ofsted inspections as a result of having been rated outstanding.
Answered by Robin Walker
There are no longer any schools exempt from inspection as a result of having been rated Outstanding. The exemption from routine inspection, which applied to 3,446 outstanding schools at the time, was removed in November 2020. The removal took place at a time when Ofsted’s routine inspections were suspended due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
In September 2021, Ofsted resumed its programme of routine inspections and will aim to inspect every state funded school, including previously exempt outstanding schools, by the end of summer 2025. Ofsted will continue to prioritise schools most in need of inspection, particularly those with the lowest Ofsted grades and outstanding schools that have gone the longest without a visit.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has a timetable for the re-inspection by Ofsted of schools that were previously rated outstanding.
Answered by Robin Walker
There are no longer any schools exempt from inspection as a result of having been rated Outstanding. The exemption from routine inspection, which applied to 3,446 outstanding schools at the time, was removed in November 2020. The removal took place at a time when Ofsted’s routine inspections were suspended due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
In September 2021, Ofsted resumed its programme of routine inspections and will aim to inspect every state funded school, including previously exempt outstanding schools, by the end of summer 2025. Ofsted will continue to prioritise schools most in need of inspection, particularly those with the lowest Ofsted grades and outstanding schools that have gone the longest without a visit.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure online home-learning options remain available for children who are unable to attend school for health reasons post the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Robin Walker
COVID-19 continues to be a virus that we learn to live with and the imperative to reduce the disruption to children and young people’s education remains. Our priority is for schools to deliver face-to-face, high-quality education to all pupils. The evidence is clear that being out of education causes significant harm to educational attainment, life chances, mental and physical health.
School attendance is mandatory for all pupils of compulsory school age and it is a priority to ensure that as many children as possible regularly attend school. However, the department’s current guidance for remote education states that schools affected by the remote education temporary continuity direction must provide remote education for state-funded, school-aged pupils whose attendance would be contrary to public health advice or government guidance or law relating to COVID-19 during the 2021/22 academic year.
This means that from September 2021, schools should offer remote education to pupils who test positive for COVID-19 or present with COVID-19 symptoms, where they are well enough to be educated from home.
In terms of considering home education options for children who are unable to attend school for health reasons beyond the COVID-19 outbreak, the department is carefully considering the role that remote approaches could play in the education system longer-term, recognising the opportunities that remote education has presented, alongside the challenges.
The department recognises that technology in education has been essential for continuing to teach remotely during the COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent school and college closures. We are building on the department’s significant investment in devices, platforms, training and digital services to develop a sustainable strategy for digital technology in education.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to develop an equitable system for awarding exam results for the 2020-21 academic year.
Answered by Nick Gibb
GCSE, AS and A levels
Students have worked hard in preparation for their exams this year and teachers have made tremendous efforts to provide high quality remote education. Given the ongoing disruption to education caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, we announced in January that GCSE, AS and A level exams will not go ahead as planned this summer. In ensuring our approach was developed with the sector, the Department and Ofqual launched a joint consultation in January on how to award grades in 2021 so they are robust and fair. We received over 100,000 responses from students, parents, teachers, school leaders and other stakeholders. There was widespread support for our approach.
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, confirmed in his statement on 25 February that students will receive grades determined by their teachers, with pupils only assessed on what they have been taught. Fairness to young people is fundamental to the Department and Ofqual’s decision making. We want to ensure all young people have the confidence that, despite exams not going ahead, they will receive a grade that reflects their ability and enables them to progress.
Full details on alternative arrangements to exams can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/teacher-assessed-grades-for-students.
Vocational and Technical Qualifications (VTQs)
On 25 February, the outcome of the Department for Education’s joint consultation with Ofqual on the arrangements for awarding Vocational and Technical Qualifications (VTQs) including BTECs, as well as the approach to awarding other general qualifications was also published.
The diverse nature of VTQs and other general qualifications means that one approach to awarding cannot be taken to all these qualifications. Different approaches should be taken to three groups of VTQs. However, it is important that there is as much fairness as possible between VTQ students and students taking GCSEs, AS and A levels.
The first group are qualifications used to support progression to further or higher education, which includes many Pearson BTEC qualifications. These will be awarded through teacher assessed grades similar to those being implemented for GCSE and AS/A level awarding.
The second group are VTQs used to enter directly into employment. Exams or assessments will continue where they are critical to demonstrate occupational or professional competence and can be delivered in line with public health measures. However, where the assessment cannot take place safely it will be delayed.
The third group are smaller qualifications that are used for progression to further or higher education but are not like GCSEs or A levels in their structure, such as Functional Skills Qualifications and English for Speakers of Other Languages. Exams and assessments for these will continue in line with public health measures, including remotely, but with alternative arrangements available for those who cannot access the assessments.
Apprenticeships
Apprentices working towards mandatory qualifications as part of their apprenticeship framework or standard are assessed in the same way as students taking those same qualifications through other routes.
Additionally, apprenticeship end-point assessments can continue and should take place remotely wherever possible, in line with the guidance from the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education on the delivery of assessment. Our intention is to safeguard the quality of apprenticeships, and end-point assessment is an integral part of that. We do not consider that it would be appropriate to estimate an apprentice’s occupational competence by other means.
To support students taking qualifications used to enter directly into employment and apprentices nearing completion, face-to-face training and learning can take place in schools and colleges where it is essential to enable students and apprentices to prepare for and undertake their exams, assessments and end-point assessments. Furthermore, on 22 February it was announced that all school and further education students will be able to return from 8 March. This means that students taking qualifications which confer occupational competence and apprentices can get back to face-to-face teaching and training, which we know is important for their mental health and educational achievement.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to support help ensure an equitable approach to assessing (a) BTEC and (b) apprenticeship qualifications and (c) other courses with formal assessments in the 2020-21 academic year.
Answered by Nick Gibb
GCSE, AS and A levels
Students have worked hard in preparation for their exams this year and teachers have made tremendous efforts to provide high quality remote education. Given the ongoing disruption to education caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, we announced in January that GCSE, AS and A level exams will not go ahead as planned this summer. In ensuring our approach was developed with the sector, the Department and Ofqual launched a joint consultation in January on how to award grades in 2021 so they are robust and fair. We received over 100,000 responses from students, parents, teachers, school leaders and other stakeholders. There was widespread support for our approach.
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, confirmed in his statement on 25 February that students will receive grades determined by their teachers, with pupils only assessed on what they have been taught. Fairness to young people is fundamental to the Department and Ofqual’s decision making. We want to ensure all young people have the confidence that, despite exams not going ahead, they will receive a grade that reflects their ability and enables them to progress.
Full details on alternative arrangements to exams can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/teacher-assessed-grades-for-students.
Vocational and Technical Qualifications (VTQs)
On 25 February, the outcome of the Department for Education’s joint consultation with Ofqual on the arrangements for awarding Vocational and Technical Qualifications (VTQs) including BTECs, as well as the approach to awarding other general qualifications was also published.
The diverse nature of VTQs and other general qualifications means that one approach to awarding cannot be taken to all these qualifications. Different approaches should be taken to three groups of VTQs. However, it is important that there is as much fairness as possible between VTQ students and students taking GCSEs, AS and A levels.
The first group are qualifications used to support progression to further or higher education, which includes many Pearson BTEC qualifications. These will be awarded through teacher assessed grades similar to those being implemented for GCSE and AS/A level awarding.
The second group are VTQs used to enter directly into employment. Exams or assessments will continue where they are critical to demonstrate occupational or professional competence and can be delivered in line with public health measures. However, where the assessment cannot take place safely it will be delayed.
The third group are smaller qualifications that are used for progression to further or higher education but are not like GCSEs or A levels in their structure, such as Functional Skills Qualifications and English for Speakers of Other Languages. Exams and assessments for these will continue in line with public health measures, including remotely, but with alternative arrangements available for those who cannot access the assessments.
Apprenticeships
Apprentices working towards mandatory qualifications as part of their apprenticeship framework or standard are assessed in the same way as students taking those same qualifications through other routes.
Additionally, apprenticeship end-point assessments can continue and should take place remotely wherever possible, in line with the guidance from the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education on the delivery of assessment. Our intention is to safeguard the quality of apprenticeships, and end-point assessment is an integral part of that. We do not consider that it would be appropriate to estimate an apprentice’s occupational competence by other means.
To support students taking qualifications used to enter directly into employment and apprentices nearing completion, face-to-face training and learning can take place in schools and colleges where it is essential to enable students and apprentices to prepare for and undertake their exams, assessments and end-point assessments. Furthermore, on 22 February it was announced that all school and further education students will be able to return from 8 March. This means that students taking qualifications which confer occupational competence and apprentices can get back to face-to-face teaching and training, which we know is important for their mental health and educational achievement.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to support the mental health and wellbeing of school and college students during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Vicky Ford
We know that the COVID-19 outbreak, and associated measures and restrictions, such as social distancing and school closures, will be impacting on the mental wellbeing of many people, including children and young people. The government has made student wellbeing and mental health a central part of our response to the COVID-19 outbreak, and the support we have already put in place for schools, colleges and universities will be critical during this time.
The return to school for all pupils is being prioritised due to the significant and proven impact caused by being out of school, including on wellbeing. The support schools provide to their pupils as they return to face-to-face education should include time devoted to supporting wellbeing, which will play a fundamental part in supporting children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing recovery. The expectations for schools in this regard are set out clearly in the main DfE guidance to schools which also signposts further support, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak.
We are also providing support and training to schools through the £8 million Wellbeing for Education Return programme, a Department for Education-led initiative alongside the Department of Health and Social Care, Higher Education England, Public Health England and key voluntary sector organisations. It is funding local experts to provide training, advice and resources for schools and further education providers to help support pupil and student, parent and carer, and staff wellbeing, resilience, and recovery considering the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 outbreak and lockdown. Over 90% of local authority areas in England have reported that they are delivering additional training and support into local schools and further education providers because of the Wellbeing for Education Return funding and have been continuing to do so remotely.
We have also put in place a £1 billion COVID “catch-up” package with £650 million shared across early years, schools and 16 to 19 providers over the 2020/21 academic year to support education settings to put the right catch-up and pastoral support in place. The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) have published a COVID-19 support guide to support schools to direct this funding, which includes further information about interventions to support pupils’ mental health and wellbeing.
In addition to this, the return to school for all pupils from 8 March will be supported with a new £700 million package, which includes a new one-off Recovery Premium for state primary, secondary and special schools to use as they see best to support disadvantaged students. This will help schools to provide their disadvantaged pupils with a one-off boost to the support, both academic and pastoral, that has been proved most effective in helping them recover from the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. Further details are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-education-recovery-package-for-children-and-young-people.
For further education (FE) we are also committed to providing and signposting wellbeing guidance and support, and ensuring that specialist mental health support is available for all students and staff in FE who need it. The FE operational guidance includes a specific section on supporting the mental health of staff and students in addition to signposting providers to additional resources, such as webinars and online platforms. This is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-further-education-provision.
The department’s College Collaboration Fund (CCF) is a £5.4 million grant funding programme open to all statutory FE colleges, to be delivered in the financial year 2020/21. We particularly welcomed applications that address one of five specific quality improvement needs. Five of the funded projects are designed to provide remote/online mental health and wellbeing support to students and/or staff.
We have worked closely with the Office for Students (OfS), providing up to £3 million to fund the mental health platform Student Space in response to COVID-19, and have asked the OfS to allocate an additional £15 million towards student mental health, through proposed reforms to Teaching grant funding. Student Space is a mental health and wellbeing platform designed to bridge any gaps in support for students arising from this unprecedented situation and works alongside existing services. Ensuring students have access to quality mental health support is a top priority, which is why we asked the OfS to look at extending the platform. I am delighted they have been able to extend the platform to support students for the whole 2020/21 academic year.
For students that need specialist support the government continues to invest in and prioritise mental health. The NHS will receive around an additional £500 million this year, to address waiting times for mental health services, give more people the mental health support they need, and invest in the NHS workforce.
The department and the Department of Health and Social Care have convened a Mental Health in Education Action Group. The purpose of the Action Group is to look across the age ranges at the impact of COVID-19 on children, young people and staff in nurseries, schools, colleges, and universities.
Furthermore, my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, appointed Dr Alex George (an A&E Doctor) as Youth Mental Health Ambassador to advise the government and raise the profile of mental health education and wellbeing in schools, colleges, and universities. As Youth Mental Health Ambassador, he will use his clinical expertise and personal experience to champion the government’s work on children’s and young people’s mental health and shape policy on improving support for young people in schools, colleges, and universities.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to tackle the digital divide in access to remote learning for school and college students.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department is providing over £400 million to support access to remote education and online social care. We have secured 1.3 million laptops and tablets and have already delivered over 1.2 million of these to schools, colleges, trusts, local authorities, and further education providers to support disadvantaged children and young people who would not otherwise have access to a digital device.
The Department are making deliveries all the time and expect to achieve our overall commitment of delivering 1.3 million devices by the end of the spring term. The Government is providing this significant injection of laptops and tablets on top of an estimated 2.9 million already owned by schools before the start of the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Department has extended support to disadvantaged 16-to-19 year olds, including those in further education. Schools with sixth forms, colleges and other further education institutions are being invited to order laptops and tablets to further support disadvantaged students to access remote education.
The Department has partnered with mobile operators to provide free data to help disadvantaged children go online as well as delivering over 70,000 4G wireless routers for pupils without connection at home.
The Department is grateful to EE, Lycamobile, O2, Sky Mobile, Smarty, Tesco Mobile, Three, Virgin Mobile, BT Mobile, Vodafone, iD Mobile and giffgaff for supporting the mobile data offer. We are currently engaged with additional mobile network operators and continue to invite a range of mobile network providers to support the offer.
Four major mobile network operators, Vodafone, O2, Three and EE, have also committed to working together to make access to Oak National Academy free for school children. Additionally, the Department is grateful to BT and EE, who have made access to BBC Bitesize resources free from the end of January 2021.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to support the mental health and wellbeing of school and college staff during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department recognises the pressure that teachers and leaders in schools and colleges are under, and is enormously grateful to them for their efforts, resilience, and service as we continue to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Department has worked in partnership with the sector and mental health experts to provide a range of support for mental health and wellbeing. This includes improving access to resources and the development of the first ever wellbeing charter for staff which the Department intends to publish in the coming months.
The Department has taken action to respond to the mental health needs of school leaders as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak by launching a £95,000 pilot led by Education Support to provide online support and telephone supervision from experts to around 250 school leaders. This service has now been extended until March 2021. The outcome of the pilot will inform future wellbeing support. More information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/extra-mental-health-support-for-pupils-and-teachers.
The £8 million Wellbeing for Education Return training programme continues to support staff in schools and colleges to respond to the additional pressures children and young people may be feeling as a direct result of the COVID-19 outbreak, as well as to any emotional response they or their teachers may be experiencing. Additional support can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/supporting-pupils-wellbeing. The Government has also provided over £10 million funding to mental health charities – including Mind, the Samaritans, Young Minds, and Bipolar UK to help them adapt, expand, and reach those who are most vulnerable.
Following my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education’s announcement on 13 January 2021, the Department is also convening a new Mental Health in Education Action Group, chaired by my hon. Friend, the Minister for Children and Families, and my hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Universities. This group will look at how we support young people and staff with their wellbeing as they return to school and university. On 4 February my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister appointed Dr Alex George as Youth Mental Health Ambassador to advise government and raise the profile of mental health education and wellbeing in schools, colleges and universities. He will be joining the new Mental Health in Education Action Group.
As well as providing additional COVID-19 specific mental health advice and support for children and young people, our Relationships, Health and Sex Education curriculum includes mental health and wellbeing. We have a host of online training materials and implementation guides, which give inclusive advice to schools and staff on how best to support pupils’ mental health, available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/teaching-about-mental-wellbeing.
The Government remains committed to long term improvements to support children and young people’s mental health, set out in the government’s response to its green paper and NHS Long Term Plan. This includes rolling out new Mental Health Support Teams to work with a fifth to a quarter of schools and colleges across the country by academic year 2023/24, offering training for a senior mental health lead in every state school in the country, and Link Programme training for all schools and colleges to help frontline health and education professionals work together effectively.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department plans to take to help replace the provision of educational and skills training offered under the Union Learning Fund after the Government ceases its funding of that Fund.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
The Union Learning Fund (ULF) only rarely directly provides learning, as its main role has been to link individuals to training that is funded and provided elsewhere, for example via the adult entitlement to fund adults to gain English and Maths qualifications at level 2 and basic digital skills (level 1).
Adult skills are key in supporting the economy and tackling disadvantage and so we are continuing to invest in education and skills training for adults through the Adult Education Budget (AEB) (£1.34 billion in 2020/21). The AEB fully funds or co-funds skills provision for eligible adults aged 19 and above from pre-entry to level 3, to support adults to gain the skills they need for work, an apprenticeship or further learning and training up to level 2 for unemployed people aged 19 and over.
The AEB supports 4 statutory entitlements to full funding for adult learners:
o English and maths, up to and including level 2, for individuals aged 19 and over, who have not previously attained a GCSE grade A* - C or grade 4, or higher, and/or
o First full qualification at level 2 for individuals aged 19 to 23, and/or
o First full qualification at level 3 for individuals aged 19 to 23.
o Specified digital skills qualifications for adults with no or low digital skills (came into effect from 1 August 2020).
The fourth statutory entitlement to fully fund specified digital skills qualifications for adults, aged 19+, with no or low digital skills came into effect from 1 August 2020. This will ensure adults, aged 19 and over, can study for specified qualifications in basic digital skills free of charge to get the skills and capabilities they need to get on in life and work. These statutory entitlements apply in devolved and non-devolved areas.
Instead of continuing to support the ULF, the funding will be used to support larger and wider initiatives in adult education. The National Skills Fund and the Skills Recovery Package will expand the funding and support open to all. As announced by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, in September as part of his Lifetime Skills Guarantee, this includes for adults who do not currently have a level 3 qualification, fully funding their first full level 3, focusing on the valuable courses that will help them get ahead in the labour market.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to ensure that teachers are offered priority access to a covid-19 vaccine.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) are the independent experts who advise the Government on which vaccines the UK should use and provide advice on who should be offered them. The JCVI advises that the first priorities for the COVID-19 vaccination should be the prevention of mortality and the maintenance of the health and social care systems, and as the risk of mortality from COVID-19 increases with age, prioritisation is primarily based on age.
Under the priority groups for the first phase of vaccine rollout, those over 50 years of age, and all those 16 years of age and over who are clinically extremely vulnerable or have certain underlying health conditions, are eligible for vaccination within the first phase of the programme. This captures almost all preventable deaths from COVID-19 and will include thousands of those in the education and childcare workforce.
In the next phase of the vaccine rollout, the JCVI have asked that the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) consider occupational vaccination in collaboration with other Government departments. The Department for Education is working with DHSC and Public Health England to ensure that the education and childcare workforce is considered for prioritisation in the rollout of the vaccine.