Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate his Department has made of the number of eligible students who are not in receipt of food support from their school.
Answered by Will Quince
The continuing provision of free school meals (FSM) to children from households that are out of work, or on low incomes, is of the utmost importance to the government. Under this government, eligibility for FSM has been extended several times and to more groups of children than any other government over the past half a century.
We want to make sure as many eligible pupils as possible are claiming FSM, and to make it as simple as possible for schools and local authorities to determine eligibility.
To support this:
We have provided around £450 million worth of food vouchers to families whilst schools were largely closed. Now schools are open again, school food provision has returned to typical delivery arrangements, with meals being provided free of charge to eligible pupils at school. If pupils who are eligible for benefits-related free school meals are required to stay at home due to COVID-19, schools should continue to work with their school catering team or food provider to offer a good quality lunch parcel.
Throughout 2021 we are investing up to £220 million in our Holiday Activities and Food programme. Taking place in schools and community venues across the country, delivery began at Easter, has run across the summer and will run in the Christmas holidays. It supports disadvantaged pupils and their families with enriching activities, providing them with healthy food, helping them to learn new things and supporting socialisation and well-being. We are also further investing with £24 million in the National Breakfast Club programme, providing breakfast clubs in schools in disadvantaged areas.
Beyond this, the Department for Work and Pension has provided £429 million through the Covid Local Support Grant. This is being run by local authorities in England to support the hardest hit families and individuals with food and essential utility costs.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the impact of child hunger on levels of lost learning.
Answered by Will Quince
We recognise that extended school and college restrictions have had a substantial impact on children and young people’s education and we are committed to helping pupils catch up as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.
The department commissioned Renaissance Learning to provide a baseline assessment of lost learning for pupils in schools in England and monitor progress over the course of the 2020/21 academic year. The latest interim findings from this research were published on 4 June: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupils-progress-in-the-2020-to-2021-academic-year-interim-report.
Since June 2020, we have announced more than £3 billion to support education recovery, including over £950 million flexible funding to schools and £1.5 billion for a national tutoring revolution. This will have a material impact in closing gaps that have emerged.
Recovery programmes have been designed to allow early years, school, and college leaders the flexibility to support those pupils most in need. This includes the most disadvantaged and will expand our reforms in two areas where the evidence is clear that our investment will have a significant impact for disadvantaged children - high quality tutoring and great teaching.
We have provided around £450 million worth of food vouchers to families whilst schools were largely closed. Now schools are open again, school food provision has returned to typical delivery arrangements, with meals being provided free of charge to eligible pupils at school. If pupils who are eligible for benefits-related free school meals are required to stay at home due to COVID-19, schools should continue to work with their school catering team or food provider to offer a good quality lunch parcel.
Throughout 2021 we are investing up to £220 million in our holiday activities and food programme. Taking place in schools and community venues across the country, delivery began at Easter, has run across the summer and will run in the Christmas holidays. It supports disadvantaged pupils and their families with enriching activities, providing them with healthy food, helping them to learn new things and supporting socialisation and well-being. We are also further investing with £24 million in the National Breakfast Club programme, providing breakfast clubs in schools in disadvantaged areas.
Beyond this, the Department for Work and Pension has provided £429 million through the Covid Local Support Grant. This is being run by local authorities in England to support the hardest hit families and individuals with food and essential utility costs.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans his Department has to help increase the number of students studying mathematics at (a) A Level and (b) Higher Education.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Mathematics remains the most popular A level subject with 19% more entries since 2010. There has been an increase in entries to both A level Mathematics and further Mathematics of 3.8% and 7.1% respectively since 2020.
The Department has reformed the curriculum for Mathematics so that it matches standards set in the highest performing jurisdictions internationally. A new, more challenging GCSE provides a better foundation to study these subjects at A level, and the reformed mathematics A levels ensure that students are prepared for higher education.
The Department funds a national network of 40 maths hubs across England to raise the standard of Mathematics education to meet the standards achieved in top-performing jurisdictions. Through a school-led model, maths hubs aim to harness Mathematics expertise within an area to develop and spread excellent practice in the teaching of Mathematics, for the benefit of all students.
The Department funds the Advanced Mathematics Support Programme (AMSP) to support schools and colleges to improve the effectiveness of level 3 Mathematics teaching and increase participation, including the provision of tailored support to schools and colleges in areas with low levels of progression.
The Government will nurture our top mathematical talent by delivering its commitment to have a 16-19 maths school in every region, 11 in total. The principal aim of maths schools is to help prepare more of our most mathematically able students to succeed in maths disciplines at top universities and pursue mathematically intensive careers.
This is part of a range of initiatives to improve maths provision, including the AMSP and additional funding via the Advanced Maths Premium to support schools to increase A level maths participation. It will also complement the work of maths hubs.
The AMSP also provides targeted support for students preparing for study in higher education.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans his Department has to help promote the study of mathematics at universities.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
Universities are autonomous bodies, independent from government, and they have control over decisions about who to admit to their courses.
The department funds the Advanced Mathematics Support Programme which aims to increase participation and attainment in level 3 mathematics through targeted support ensuring students in all 16-19 state funded schools and colleges can access AS and A level maths and AS and A level further mathematics and helping them study these subjects to a higher level.
We are working with universities and academy trusts to establish a specialist maths school in each region (and a total of 11 nationally). These aim to prepare more of our most mathematically able students to succeed in maths disciplines at top universities. They also deliver outreach work with teachers and students in schools in their surrounding areas to increase maths A level participation and attainment.
We strongly believe effective careers guidance and advice is key to supporting young people in their education and career choices, to undertake learning and develop skills in the areas employers are looking for.
The government’s Careers Strategy sets out a long-term plan to build a world class careers system to achieve this ambition. We are increasing the information available to students to ensure they can make informed choices about what and where to study. The delivery of the Careers Strategy also ensures that science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) encounters, such as with employers and apprenticeships, are built into school career programmes.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions his Department has had with Vice Chancellors on the promotion and protection of pure mathematics (a) teaching and (b) research at UK universities.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The department funds the Advanced Mathematics Support Programme (AMSP) which aims to increase participation and attainment in level 3 mathematics. The AMSP targets ensuring students in all 16-19 state-funded schools and colleges can access AS/A level mathematics and AS/A level further mathematics and helps them study these subjects to a higher level.
With AS and A level mathematics, 100% of the course is prescribed, but with AS and A level further mathematics, 50% of the content is a prescribed pure mathematics core. For the remaining 50% of the content, different options are available. These options vary between specifications and may include mechanics, statistics, discrete/decision mathematics and additional pure mathematics.
In May, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), published the research and development budget for financial year 2021/22, outlining how his department will allocate £11.35 billion.
BEIS is investing more money than ever before in core research, which will include pure mathematics. At the Spending Review in November 2020, BEIS announced that the government will increase investment in core UK Research and Innovation and National Academy funded research by more than £1 billion by 2023/24.
The government announced up to an additional £300 million for mathematical sciences in January 2020. This was new investment for research projects, fellowships and doctoral awards where the research focus is in mathematical sciences, as well as providing additional funding to the Heilbronn Institute to support PhD students and research, and to the Isaac Newton Institute and International Centre for Mathematical Sciences to enable increased participation.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support his Department is providing to universities on promoting and protecting the (a) teaching and (b) research of pure mathematics.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The department funds the Advanced Mathematics Support Programme (AMSP) which aims to increase participation and attainment in level 3 mathematics. The AMSP targets ensuring students in all 16-19 state-funded schools and colleges can access AS/A level mathematics and AS/A level further mathematics and helps them study these subjects to a higher level.
With AS and A level mathematics, 100% of the course is prescribed, but with AS and A level further mathematics, 50% of the content is a prescribed pure mathematics core. For the remaining 50% of the content, different options are available. These options vary between specifications and may include mechanics, statistics, discrete/decision mathematics and additional pure mathematics.
In May, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), published the research and development budget for financial year 2021/22, outlining how his department will allocate £11.35 billion.
BEIS is investing more money than ever before in core research, which will include pure mathematics. At the Spending Review in November 2020, BEIS announced that the government will increase investment in core UK Research and Innovation and National Academy funded research by more than £1 billion by 2023/24.
The government announced up to an additional £300 million for mathematical sciences in January 2020. This was new investment for research projects, fellowships and doctoral awards where the research focus is in mathematical sciences, as well as providing additional funding to the Heilbronn Institute to support PhD students and research, and to the Isaac Newton Institute and International Centre for Mathematical Sciences to enable increased participation.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans his Department has to mark the contribution of pure mathematics as part of the 80th anniversary of the breaking of the Enigma code.
Answered by Nick Gibb
It is for schools, colleges, and universities to decide how or if they choose to celebrate this important anniversary.
The Department remains committed to encouraging more students to study advanced mathematics so they can follow in the footsteps of those men and women whose brilliant grasp of mathematics led to the breaking of the Enigma code.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if his Department will publish data on the take-up of free school meals from children from families with No Recourse to Public Funds during the temporary extension period.
Answered by Vicky Ford
We have temporarily extended our eligibility for free school meals during the COVID-19 outbreak to include children of Zambrano carers, families with leave to remain under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, families receiving Section 17 support who also have a no recourse to public funds condition and to families receiving Section 4 support.
The department does not plan to publish data regarding the take-up of free school meals from children from families with no recourse to public funds during the temporary extension.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, on what date university students will be able to return to their campus and resume face-to-face teaching.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
Following the review into when the remaining higher education students can return to in-person teaching and learning, the government has announced that the remaining students should return to in-person teaching no earlier than 17 May 2021, alongside Step 3 of the roadmap. Students and institutions will be given at least a week’s notice of any further return in accordance with the timing of Step 3 of the roadmap.
The government roadmap is designed to maintain a cautious approach to the easing of restrictions to reduce public health risks and ensure that we can maintain progress towards full reopening. However, the government recognises the difficulties and disruption that this may cause for many students and their families and that is why the government is making a further £15 million of additional student hardship funding available for this academic year 2020/21. In total we have made an additional £85 million of funding available for student hardship.
We are supporting universities to provide regular twice weekly asymptomatic testing for all students and staff on-site and, from May, at home. This will help break chains of transmission of the virus.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending free school meals eligibility to undocumented children.
Answered by Vicky Ford
We are continuing to work with departments across government to evaluate access to free school meals for families with no recourse to public funds. In the meantime, the temporary extension of eligibility will continue until a decision on long-term eligibility is made.
Once the review is complete, we will update our guidance accordingly. Our current guidance regarding the extension can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance/guidance-for-the-temporary-extension-of-free-school-meals-eligibility-to-nrpf-groups.
At present, data is not available regarding the take-up of free school meals from children from families with no recourse to public funds during the temporary extension.