Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of SEND provision in schools in (a) Portsmouth and (b) England.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
It is the responsibility of local authorities to ensure that there are sufficient school places for all pupils in a local area in mainstream schools and settings for pupils with high needs including special schools and alternative provision (AP).
The department works closely with Portsmouth City Council and Multi Academy Trusts in the area to ensure high-quality provision. In Portsmouth there are five special schools. Of these schools three are rated as outstanding by Ofsted, one is a new school yet to be inspected and one is inadequate, and the department is working with the trust to secure rapid improvement. Several mainstream schools in the city also provide education to children with special educational needs through special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) units and resourced provision.
The last local area SEND inspection by Ofsted and Care Quality Commission for Portsmouth was in July 2019, and the inspection found that professionals across Education, Health, and Care work well in a joined-up way to promote inclusive practice.
Last year the department published the SEND and AP Improvement Plan. This set out the department's plans to establish a new national SEND and AP system that delivers timely, high-quality services and support in mainstream settings, alongside swift access to more local state specialist settings, where required.
The department is investing £2.6 billion since 2022 to deliver new specialist and AP places and improve existing provision. Together with ongoing delivery of new special and AP free schools, this funding supports local authorities to deliver over 60,000 new specialist places and improve the suitability and accessibility of existing buildings.
The department is also increasing high needs revenue funding for children and young people with complex needs to over £10.5 billion this financial year 2024/25 (up 60% over the last five years). Within this total Portsmouth City Council will receive a high needs allocation of over £37 million, which is a cumulative increase of 36% per head over the three years from 2021/22. The extra revenue funding will help with the increasing costs of supporting SEND provision in schools.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to reduce waiting times for SEND services in schools.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
It is the responsibility of local authorities to ensure that there are sufficient school places for all pupils in a local area in mainstream schools and settings for pupils with high needs including special schools and alternative provision (AP).
The department works closely with Portsmouth City Council and Multi Academy Trusts in the area to ensure high-quality provision. In Portsmouth there are five special schools. Of these schools three are rated as outstanding by Ofsted, one is a new school yet to be inspected and one is inadequate, and the department is working with the trust to secure rapid improvement. Several mainstream schools in the city also provide education to children with special educational needs through special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) units and resourced provision.
The last local area SEND inspection by Ofsted and Care Quality Commission for Portsmouth was in July 2019, and the inspection found that professionals across Education, Health, and Care work well in a joined-up way to promote inclusive practice.
Last year the department published the SEND and AP Improvement Plan. This set out the department's plans to establish a new national SEND and AP system that delivers timely, high-quality services and support in mainstream settings, alongside swift access to more local state specialist settings, where required.
The department is investing £2.6 billion since 2022 to deliver new specialist and AP places and improve existing provision. Together with ongoing delivery of new special and AP free schools, this funding supports local authorities to deliver over 60,000 new specialist places and improve the suitability and accessibility of existing buildings.
The department is also increasing high needs revenue funding for children and young people with complex needs to over £10.5 billion this financial year 2024/25 (up 60% over the last five years). Within this total Portsmouth City Council will receive a high needs allocation of over £37 million, which is a cumulative increase of 36% per head over the three years from 2021/22. The extra revenue funding will help with the increasing costs of supporting SEND provision in schools.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve standards in (a) reading, (b) writing and (c) maths in Portsmouth schools.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
This government is committed to raising standards in literacy and numeracy, the foundations for children’s success in education and beyond.
The department has delivered a range of measures to improve the teaching of English. The department has published a Reading Framework, providing guidance on the teaching of reading in primary schools, launched the National Professional Qualification for Leading Literacy to train existing teachers to become literacy experts, and is conducting a review into best practice in writing teaching.
This has been backed by investment. In 2018, the department launched a £67 million English Hubs Programme to improve the teaching of reading, with a focus on phonics, early language development and reading for pleasure. Currently, 14 schools are receiving intensive support from Springhill Hub in the Portsmouth Local Authority District. This is in addition to the two schools that have already graduated from the programme.
Similarly, in 2014, the department introduced a national network of 40 Maths Hubs, to help local schools improve the quality of their teaching. Maths Hubs deliver the department’s Teaching for Mastery programme, which is bringing teaching practice from high performing East Asian jurisdictions to primary and secondary schools across England. The Solent Maths Hub covers Portsmouth as well as Hampshire, Southampton and the Isle of Wight.
The Prime Minister also recently announced more investment in mathematics, as part of the new Advanced British Standard qualification, including some £60 million over two years to improve mathematics education.
In addition to support provided through the department’s hubs programmes, Portsmouth is receiving further dedicated support as one of 24 Priority Education Investment Areas identified in the Schools White Paper. Portsmouth will receive £1.8 million as part of a national investment of around £40 million of additional funding for bespoke interventions, including in literacy and numeracy, to address local needs. The aim is to address entrenched underperformance, in areas with some of the highest rates of disadvantage in the country.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help reduce cases of (a) anti-Semitism and (b) Islamophobia on university campuses.
Answered by Robert Halfon
This government condemns in the strongest possible terms any form of racial or religiously motivated harassment or violence. In the context of the conflict in the Middle East, there have been unprecedented rises in antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents, which are abhorrent on every level. Universities should be welcoming and inclusive environments and higher education (HE) providers have a responsibility to take a zero tolerance approach to any form of racial or religious harassment. They have clear responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to adopt robust policies and procedures that enable them to investigate and swiftly address reports of racism.
The Community Security Trust has reported an unprecedented rise in antisemitic incidents, which is totally unacceptable.
To support Jewish students, the Secretary of State for Education and I wrote to all universities on 11 October 2023, urging them to respond swiftly to hate-related incidents and actively reassure Jewish students that they can study without fear of harassment or intimidation. I wrote again to Vice Chancellors on 16 November 2023, emphasising that they must use disciplinary measures wherever appropriate, highlighting the importance of police engagement, and reiterating that student visas could be suspended where a foreign national is found to have committed or incited acts of racial hatred. This was one of the key actions set out in the five-point plan for tackling antisemitism in HE, which was published on 5 November 2023. The plan also involves:
On 22 November 2023, the government announced in the Autumn Statement an additional £7 million over three years to tackle antisemitism in education. The Quality Seal will be the cornerstone of this package for universities, providing a framework of measures that will make clear what good practice is in tackling antisemitism in HE, and making sure that universities are a safe and welcoming space for Jewish students and staff, as for all students and staff.
Anti-Muslim hatred is equally abhorrent and has no place in our society. No one should ever be a victim of hatred because of their religion or belief and the government is continuing to work with police and community partners to monitor and combat it.
This government is proud to have funded Tell MAMA, a service that supports victims of anti-Muslim hatred, with over £6 million since their inception in 2012. Tell MAMA’s work has been recognised internationally as a good practice model in recording and monitoring anti-Muslim hate. The organisation has documented 2,010 Islamophobic incidents in the UK between 7 October 2023 and 7 February 2024. This represents a steep rise from the 600 it recorded for the same period the year previously. The government will not tolerate religious hatred towards Muslims and that is why the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities put in place an extra £4.9 million of protective security funding for Muslim mosques, faith schools and communities.
The new Protective Security for Mosques Scheme provides physical protective security measures (such as CCTV, intruder alarms and secure perimeter fencing) in both mosques and associated Muslim faith community centres. Protective security measures are also available to Muslim faith schools. Headteachers of eligible schools were contacted directly by the Home Office in January 2023 to register their interest.
Lastly, as my right hon. Friend, Minister Buchan stated on 4 March 2024, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities plan to appoint a new independent adviser on anti-Muslim hatred, and it will update the house shortly.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that (a) young people and (b) adults have access to a range of high quality training pathways.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The government is committed to creating a world-leading skills system which is employer-focused, high-quality and fit for the future. The department’s reforms are strengthening higher and further education to help more people get good jobs and upskill and retrain throughout their lives. The department’s reforms are backed with an additional investment of £3.8 billion over the course of this Parliament to strengthen higher and further education. These reforms will help equip people with the education, training and skills that employers demand both in the public and private sector.
Apprenticeships are for people of any age and are crucial in driving growth and social mobility. To support growth, the department is increasing investment in apprenticeships to £2.7 billion by 2024/25, encouraging more employers across the country to recruit new apprentices.
The department has introduced employer-designed T Levels which are equipping thousands of young people with the skills, knowledge, and experience to access employment or further study in some of the most in-demand skills areas. 18 T Levels are now available, which are being delivered through over 250 providers across all regions of the country.
The department has invested £300 million to establish 21 Institutes of Technology across England to significantly increase the number of learners with higher level technical skills, offering an alternative route to high paid jobs. They bring education and industry together to deliver world class technical education and training in key STEM subjects aligned to the skills needs of the local economy they serve.
The department is delivering reforms to increase the profile, prestige, and uptake of higher technical education. Central to these reforms is the introduction of Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs), which are Level 4/5 qualifications approved against employer-developed standard and quality marked by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education. This means students and employers can have the confidence that HTQs provide skills employers need. To date, 172 qualifications have been approved as HTQs across seven occupational routes and over 140 providers are approved to deliver HTQs.
The Adult Education Budget (AEB) of £1.34 billion this year funds skills provision for adults to help them gain the skills they need for work, an apprenticeship or further learning. This includes entitlements to free first qualifications at Level 2 and 3 and English, mathematics and digital qualifications for those adults who do not have them. Community Learning plays a vital role within AEB provision by supporting those furthest from the workplace. It is an important stepping stone for learners who are not ready for formal accredited learning, or who would benefit from learning in a more informal way.
In addition, the department has introduced the Free Courses for Jobs scheme, which enables eligible adults to gain a high value qualification for free and Skills Bootcamps. These Bootcamps are free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks, giving people the opportunity to build up sector-specific skills and fast-track to an interview with an employer.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help ensure the availability of high-quality childcare.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is delivering the largest expansion of childcare in England’s history. Latest projections show that more than 150,000 children will benefit by early April. The department expects that number to grow in the coming months and years. The department continues to support the sector’s expansion with £400 million additional funding to uplift hourly rates next year and a guarantee that rates will increase in line with cost pressures for the 2025/26 and 2026/27 financial years.
By the financial year 2027/28, this government expects to be spending more than £8 billion every year on free hours and early education, helping families with pre-school children with their childcare costs. This represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever.
Alongside increasing funding rates, government is allocating £100 million in capital funding to local authorities in financial year 2023/24 to support the expansion of childcare places for eligible working parents and to increase the supply of wraparound care in primary schools. The funding is anticipated to deliver thousands of new places across the country.
The department is also taking steps to support the early years workforce. Following the consultation on changes to the Early Years Foundation Stage framework, the department has introduced flexibilities that aim to make things easier for providers, as well as continuing to explore how to support the sector to deliver the additional places that will be required.
On 2 February 2024, the department launched ‘Do something Big, Work with small children’ a new national recruitment campaign to support the recruitment and retention of talented staff to support the expansion of the 30 hours offer. This campaign will raise the profile of the sector, support the recruitment of talented staff, and recognise the lifelong impact those working in early years and childcare have on children and their families. The department is also providing £1,000 to eligible joiners and returners to the workforce as part of a financial incentives pilot and are supporting childminders through a £7.2 million start-up grant scheme, open to all new childminders who registered on or after 15 March 2023.
The department is ensuring a phased implementation of the expansion to the 30 hours offer to allow the market to develop the necessary capacity. The department will continue to monitor the sufficiency of childcare places across the sector. The department’s Childcare and Early Years Provider Survey shows that both the number of places available and the workforce have increased since 2022.
Local authorities are responsible for ensuring that the provision of childcare is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents in their area. Where local authorities report sufficiency challenges, the department and the local authority discuss what action they are taking to address those issues and where needed support the local authority with any specific requirements through our childcare sufficiency support contract.
The department continues to work closely with the sector on the implementation of these reforms as it delivers this substantial expansion.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of trends in the number of apprenticeship completions.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Since 2015 the department has transformed apprenticeships so that they are higher quality and better meet the needs of employers and individuals. The department has replaced apprenticeship frameworks with employer-designed apprenticeship standards which are more robust and harder to achieve, and raised the bar on duration, time to learn off the job and quality of assessment.
It is important that every apprentice gets the maximum value from their apprenticeship. and the department has focused its efforts on supporting apprentices to stay on their programme and achieve. The department is investing £7.5 million in a workforce development programme for teachers and trainers of apprentices. In addition, the department has increased the apprenticeship funding rate for English and mathematics by 54%, providing targeted support to employers and Ofsted are inspecting all apprenticeship providers by 2025.
The department is now seeing the positive impact of these actions. There were 162,320 achievements reported for the 2022/23 academic year, which represent the highest number since 2018/19, up 18.3% compared to the 2021/22 academic year. Furthermore, 37,400 people have achieved their apprenticeship so far this academic year, up by 22% compared to the same period last year.
On 21 March, the department will be publishing the apprenticeship national achievement rates for 2022/23 academic year as well as the latest data on the number of achievements so far this year. This will be accessible through the apprenticeships statistical publication found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase the number of primary school children meeting expected standards in maths.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Since 2010, the department has overseen a transformation in the way mathematics is taught in schools, based on the best available international evidence. Reform of the mathematics curriculum and testing system was accompanied by the introduction of a national network of 40 Maths Hubs in 2014 and overseen by the National Centre of Excellence in Teaching Mathematics, to help local schools improve the quality of their teaching.
Maths Hubs deliver our Teaching for Mastery programme, which is bringing teaching practice from high performing East Asian jurisdictions to primary and secondary schools across England. The programme aims to reach 75% of primary schools by 2025. Maths Hubs also run the Mastering Number programme which helps children in the first years of primary school master the basics of arithmetic, including number bonds and times tables.
The percentage of pupils meeting the key stage 2 expected standard in mathematics in the 2022/23 academic year was 73%, up from 71% in 2021/22. Pre-pandemic, England achieved its highest ever mathematics score in the 2019 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study international test for year 5 pupils. Although the study was affected by the pandemic, analysis of the Programme for International Student Assessment 2022 results for 15 year olds showed that England had risen in the rankings, from seventeenth for mathematics in 2018, to eleventh. Ofsted recently found a “resounding, positive shift in primary mathematics education”.
All eligible year 4 pupils in England are required to take the Multiplication Table Check, which is an on screen assessment testing pupils' ability to fluently recall their knowledge of multiplication tables up to 12x12. 29% of eligible children scored full marks in 2023, up from 27% in 2022, and the average attainment score in 2023 was 20.2, up from 19.8 in 2022.
The department has introduced a new national professional qualification (NPQ) in Leading Primary Mathematics (LPM) to help schools provide pupils with the foundational mathematics knowledge and skills they need for future attainment and employment. The NPQ LPM enables teachers and leaders to draw upon the best available evidence on how to teach mathematics to primary pupils. The NPQ is aimed at those who already have a secure understanding of mastery approaches and will build their leadership capability to enable them to improve mastery teaching of mathematics across a school.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her planned timetable is for completing RAAC remedial works in all (a) schools and (b) colleges.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Well-maintained, safe school buildings are a priority for the department to support a high-quality education for all children. The department has allocated over £15 billion since 2015 for keeping schools safe and operational, including £1.8 billion in the 2023/24 financial year. In addition, the School Rebuilding Programme is transforming poor condition buildings at over 500 schools.
The government is funding the removal of RAAC present in schools and colleges either through grants, or through the school rebuilding programme. A list of education settings with confirmed RAAC and the funding route to remove RAAC was published on 8 February, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reinforced-autoclaved-aerated-concrete-raac-management-information.
The longer-term requirements of each school or college will vary depending on the extent of the issue and nature and design of the buildings. Permanently removing RAAC may involve refurbishment of existing buildings or rebuilding affected buildings. For schools joining the School Rebuilding Programme, schools will be prioritised for delivery according to the condition need of their buildings, readiness to proceed, and efficiency of delivery. For schools and colleges receiving grants, we are working with the responsible bodies to support them through the grants process as they undertake the buildings works to remove RAAC permanently.
In some cases, this may involve undertaking technical assessments to inform the design of building works and in other cases the removal or RAAC is already underway and will be completed in the coming months. The department is working with responsible bodies to take forward this work as quickly as possible.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the impact of trends in the number of international students on higher education institutions.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The government keeps under review the number of international students attending our universities.
The government is proud of the UK’s world class higher education (HE) sector and recognises the contribution made by international students to our universities. The department is proud to have met its international student recruitment ambition, as set out in the International Education Strategy in each of the past two years.
The Office for Students (OfS), as the independent regulator of HE in England, is responsible for monitoring and reporting on the sustainability of HE providers. The department works closely with the OfS to understand the impact of international student recruitment.