Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent guidance her Department has provided to (a) schools and (b) other educational institutions on food (i) labelling and (ii) allergens.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The department provides statutory guidance for schools, ‘Supporting pupils with medical conditions’, which makes clear that schools should ensure they are aware of any pupils with allergies and have processes in place to ensure these can be well managed. The guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3. Further information is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-food-standards-resources-for-schools/allergy-guidance-for-schools.
In early years settings, the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework sets the standards that all registered early years providers must meet for the learning, development and care of children from birth to age five. The framework is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-framework--2.
The EYFS states that before a child is admitted to the setting the provider must also obtain information about any special dietary requirements, preferences and food allergies that the child has, and any special health requirements.
The EYFS signposts to the Department of Health and Social Care document ‘Example menus for early years settings in England’ which includes guidance on menu planning, food safety, managing food allergies and reading food labels, which staff preparing food will find helpful in ensuring that children are kept safe. The guidance is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/658870/Early_years_menus_part_1_guidance.pdf.
The ‘Help for early years providers’ online platform, owned by the department, has a food safety page which also signposts to resources on allergies. This page is available at: https://help-for-early-years-providers.education.gov.uk/safeguarding-and-welfare/food-safety#allergies. The department is also developing nutrition content for the platform which will have a section on allergies and resources such as a common allergies table.
Higher education (HE) institutions and further education institutions are autonomous and it is the responsibility of individual HE institutions to implement and adhere to relevant guidelines with regards to labelling and allergens.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) promotes its resources including information on allergen labelling and management to all food business operators including schools, nurseries, colleges, and other institutional caterers.
The FSA has published guidance relevant to schools and other educational institutions including sector specific guidance in July 2021 for new allergen labelling legislation which came into force in October 2021. Guidance for institutional caterers (including schools) has been on the FSA website since at least 2017. This has links to training courses offered by allergy charities. In September 2020, the FSA also launched free allergen training which has had over 530,000 users to date, with nearly 75,000 of these being from the education sector.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to support (a) further education and (b) skills development in less economically productive regions.
Answered by Robert Halfon
This government has introduced long-term structural reforms and investment, which is designed to give people the skills they need to get good jobs and boost productivity across the country, including in less economically productive areas.
Last year HM Treasury launched a public sector productivity review which found that the department has a crucial role to play in driving up productivity in the economy as a whole. Skills are responsible for a third of productivity growth between 2001 and 2019. As a result of its efforts to drive up education standards since 2010, the department has improved pupil and learner outcomes and thus contributed to wider productivity gains. The department also contributes to wider productivity in other ways, such as through support with childcare costs that helps new parents to take up jobs that fully utilise their skills. Moreover, the education sector is one of the UK’s largest construction customers, representing around 17% of total construction output.
Last year, the government also published its Levelling Up White Paper aimed at tackling geographical inequality and skills gaps. The department’s skills mission is for 200,000 more people to successfully complete high-quality training each year in England by 2030, with 80,000 more in the lowest skilled areas. Achieving this will require strong and dynamic local leadership.
The department has committed to devolving core adult education budget (AEB) to every new area of England that wants a devolution deal by 2030. The department has already devolved over 60% of the AEB to ten areas, with new deals agreed with a further eight areas. This enables devolved authorities to use the AEB to shape education and skills provision in a way that best fits the needs of their residents and local economy, including in disadvantaged areas.
In summer 2023, 38 local skills improvement plans (LSIPs) were rolled out across all areas of the country. These employer-led, locally-owned plans have galvanised and brought together businesses, providers, local leaders and stakeholders everywhere, to help better align provision of post-16 technical education and training with local labour market needs.
In disadvantaged areas and communities, LSIPs are also supporting the identification and removal of specific local barriers. For example, in some rural areas, the LSIP has reviewed ways that local and regional stakeholders can collaborate to leverage funding to help resolve the impact of a lack of accommodation and transport on the recruitment and retention of employees, tutors and students. The department has also made it clear in statutory guidance that LSIPs should add value to relevant local strategies and effectively join-up with other parts of the local skills system, including universal credit claimants via Job Centre Plus. This will mean that any new proposed skills provision is also suitable for people who may encounter additional barriers to gaining the skills needed to fill local job vacancies and ensure all learners are able to unlock their full potential and progress in work.
The department has provided a £165 million local skills improvement fund to help respond to the skill needs identified in the LSIPs. LSIF funded projects will enable learners and employers across all areas of the country to access new innovative technology and industry standard teaching and facilities, with allocations to each area taking account of existing attainment and productivity levels. LSIF projects were announced in November 2023 and include training to plug key skills gaps identified by employers through the local skills improvement plans as priorities. Together, LSIPs and LSIF are a great tool to spread opportunity across the country and boost local economies to the benefit of all.
The department has committed to supporting freeports in England, which are special areas within the UK’s borders where different economic regulations apply aimed at stimulating growth. The department will do this through establishing linkages between key partners and freeports to strengthen the skills offer available to freeports, championing joint working between freeports, local colleges and institutes of technology and raising the profile of freeports and investment zones, when established, with relevant provider sector bodies.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she plans to take to expand digital literacy programs in (a) rural and (b) remote areas.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Digital and computing skills are critical to achieving the department’s science and technology superpower ambitions, which were set out in the UK Science & Technology Framework in March 2023. Programmers, data scientists, and software engineers will help deliver the department’s ambitions for critical technologies like artificial intelligence, but their importance is not limited to these technologies. These roles are fundamental across the labour market, with 60% of businesses believing their reliance on advanced digital skills will increase over the next five years.
The importance of digital skills goes far beyond supporting specific growth industries. They are increasingly a foundation for the economy and society, as essential to employability and participation in society as English and mathematics. That is why the department has developed an ambitious skills agenda, backed by an additional £3.8 billion in further education and skills over the lifetime of this Parliament.
The department’s essential digital skills offer plays an important role in both the wider department digital offer, which will equip people with the right digital skills to progress into rewarding careers or higher-level technical study, and the department’s wider support for the government’s new Digital Strategy, led out of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, which sets out the vision for harnessing digital transformation, accelerating growth, and building a more inclusive, competitive and innovative digital economy for the future.
Through the Adult Education Budget (AEB), the department has introduced a new legal entitlement in August 2020 to fully fund adults (19+) with low digital skills to undertake an Essential Digital Skills Qualification, up to Level 1. The department has further enhanced the offer by introducing Digital Functional Skills qualifications in August 2023. These qualifications were developed against employer supported National Standards and provide learners with the essential digital skills they need to participate actively in life, work and society.
The department has also taken steps to embed essential digital skills training as part of study programmes for 16–19-year-olds. Where students are identified as having low levels of digital skills, education providers integrate essential digital skills development, where it is needed, into their learning programme.
Formal qualifications are not appropriate for everyone, which is why the department also funds community learning and other non-regulated learning, such as building confidence in essential digital skills, through the AEB. Many local authorities and other further education providers are already delivering these courses that help equip adults with the essential digital skills they need for work, life and further learning.
The department is investing in employer-led technical skills and education, with courses and training in digital subjects often at the forefront of our reforms, from digital literacy to skills for advanced digital roles. These are key in expanding our offer and providing alternative routes, as the department is aware that the traditional route does not suit everyone or every community. For example:
Through the skills reforms, the department is continuing to ensure learners are supported, including those who need the most support, to train, retrain and upskill so they can climb the ladder of opportunity towards better jobs, better wellbeing and better options for the future.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help improve digital skills in underrepresented communities.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Digital and computing skills are critical to achieving the department’s science and technology superpower ambitions, which were set out in the UK Science & Technology Framework in March 2023. Programmers, data scientists, and software engineers will help deliver the department’s ambitions for critical technologies like artificial intelligence, but their importance is not limited to these technologies. These roles are fundamental across the labour market, with 60% of businesses believing their reliance on advanced digital skills will increase over the next five years.
The importance of digital skills goes far beyond supporting specific growth industries. They are increasingly a foundation for the economy and society, as essential to employability and participation in society as English and mathematics. That is why the department has developed an ambitious skills agenda, backed by an additional £3.8 billion in further education and skills over the lifetime of this Parliament.
The department’s essential digital skills offer plays an important role in both the wider department digital offer, which will equip people with the right digital skills to progress into rewarding careers or higher-level technical study, and the department’s wider support for the government’s new Digital Strategy, led out of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, which sets out the vision for harnessing digital transformation, accelerating growth, and building a more inclusive, competitive and innovative digital economy for the future.
Through the Adult Education Budget (AEB), the department has introduced a new legal entitlement in August 2020 to fully fund adults (19+) with low digital skills to undertake an Essential Digital Skills Qualification, up to Level 1. The department has further enhanced the offer by introducing Digital Functional Skills qualifications in August 2023. These qualifications were developed against employer supported National Standards and provide learners with the essential digital skills they need to participate actively in life, work and society.
The department has also taken steps to embed essential digital skills training as part of study programmes for 16–19-year-olds. Where students are identified as having low levels of digital skills, education providers integrate essential digital skills development, where it is needed, into their learning programme.
Formal qualifications are not appropriate for everyone, which is why the department also funds community learning and other non-regulated learning, such as building confidence in essential digital skills, through the AEB. Many local authorities and other further education providers are already delivering these courses that help equip adults with the essential digital skills they need for work, life and further learning.
The department is investing in employer-led technical skills and education, with courses and training in digital subjects often at the forefront of our reforms, from digital literacy to skills for advanced digital roles. These are key in expanding our offer and providing alternative routes, as the department is aware that the traditional route does not suit everyone or every community. For example:
Through the skills reforms, the department is continuing to ensure learners are supported, including those who need the most support, to train, retrain and upskill so they can climb the ladder of opportunity towards better jobs, better wellbeing and better options for the future.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the effectiveness of digital skills training initiatives in bridging skills gaps in the technology sector.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Digital and computing skills are critical to achieving the department’s science and technology superpower ambitions, which were set out in the UK Science & Technology Framework in March 2023. Programmers, data scientists, and software engineers will help deliver the department’s ambitions for critical technologies like artificial intelligence, but their importance is not limited to these technologies. These roles are fundamental across the labour market, with 60% of businesses believing their reliance on advanced digital skills will increase over the next five years.
The importance of digital skills goes far beyond supporting specific growth industries. They are increasingly a foundation for the economy and society, as essential to employability and participation in society as English and mathematics. That is why the department has developed an ambitious skills agenda, backed by an additional £3.8 billion in further education and skills over the lifetime of this Parliament.
The department’s essential digital skills offer plays an important role in both the wider department digital offer, which will equip people with the right digital skills to progress into rewarding careers or higher-level technical study, and the department’s wider support for the government’s new Digital Strategy, led out of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, which sets out the vision for harnessing digital transformation, accelerating growth, and building a more inclusive, competitive and innovative digital economy for the future.
Through the Adult Education Budget (AEB), the department has introduced a new legal entitlement in August 2020 to fully fund adults (19+) with low digital skills to undertake an Essential Digital Skills Qualification, up to Level 1. The department has further enhanced the offer by introducing Digital Functional Skills qualifications in August 2023. These qualifications were developed against employer supported National Standards and provide learners with the essential digital skills they need to participate actively in life, work and society.
The department has also taken steps to embed essential digital skills training as part of study programmes for 16–19-year-olds. Where students are identified as having low levels of digital skills, education providers integrate essential digital skills development, where it is needed, into their learning programme.
Formal qualifications are not appropriate for everyone, which is why the department also funds community learning and other non-regulated learning, such as building confidence in essential digital skills, through the AEB. Many local authorities and other further education providers are already delivering these courses that help equip adults with the essential digital skills they need for work, life and further learning.
The department is investing in employer-led technical skills and education, with courses and training in digital subjects often at the forefront of our reforms, from digital literacy to skills for advanced digital roles. These are key in expanding our offer and providing alternative routes, as the department is aware that the traditional route does not suit everyone or every community. For example:
Through the skills reforms, the department is continuing to ensure learners are supported, including those who need the most support, to train, retrain and upskill so they can climb the ladder of opportunity towards better jobs, better wellbeing and better options for the future.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help ensure schools provide a safe and supportive environment for transgender students.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The Secretary of State for Education has worked closely with the Minister for Women and Equalities on draft guidance for schools and colleges when a child is questioning their gender.
On 19 December 2023, the department published the draft gender questioning guidance for schools and colleges. The consultation will remain open until 12 March 2024.
The draft and the consultation document are available at: https://consult.education.gov.uk/equalities-political-impartiality-anti-bullying-team/gender-questioning-children-proposed-guidance/.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle poor pupil behaviour.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Pupil behaviour is a priority for the government. All schools should be calm, safe and supportive environments where all pupils and staff can work in safety and are respected.
The department has an ambitious programme of work on improving behaviour in schools which aims to provide clarity and support for school leaders and staff. This includes the recently updated suite of guidance: ‘Behaviour in Schools’, ‘Suspension and Permanent Exclusion’, and ‘Searching, Screening and Confiscation’. These are practical tools to help schools create environments which young people want to attend.
New non-statutory guidance will also provide advice to head teachers on how to develop a policy that prohibits the use of mobile phones throughout the school day, to ensure an environment that is conducive to teaching and learning.
The National Professional Qualification (NPQ) in Leading Behaviour and Culture is relevant for teachers, leaders and non-teaching staff who want to develop their understanding of contemporary practice and research around promoting and supporting positive behaviour. £184 million has been invested into providing fully funded NPQs for teaching staff across the country to deliver 150,000 NPQs up until the 2023/24 academic year.
The department is also investing £10 million through the Behaviour Hubs programme to support schools. 49 lead schools and 10 lead multi-academy trusts work with schools that want and need to turn around their behaviour, alongside a central offer of support and taskforce of advisers. The programme will support up to 700 partner schools during the three years it is scheduled to run.
The National Behaviour Survey runs termly to track experiences and perceptions of pupil behaviour in schools. The most recent data available is for the 2021/22 academic year, and is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-behaviour-survey-reports.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has plans to provide enhanced (a) financial and (b) other support to local authorities in the South East where children's services require improvement.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
In the South East, there are currently no local authorities judged inadequate by Ofsted, however, the department offers a universal support package for all local authorities, including access to a dedicated departmental Regional Improvement and Support Lead, funding for Regional Improvement and Innovation Alliances, and department-funded Local Government Association leadership support.
The department provides targeted support for those local authorities that need it most, including expert improvement advisers, the sector-led improvement programme of local authority to local authority peer support, and improvement grant funding for invest-to-save initiatives.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to reduce absence rates of pupils in (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Improving attendance is one of the department’s top priorities. The department has published guidance encouraging all schools and local authorities to adopt the practices of the most effective schools. The ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-improve-school-attendance.
All schools are now expected to publish an attendance policy and appoint an attendance champion. Local authorities are expected to meet termly with schools to agree individual plans for at risk children. The department’s attendance hubs now support 800 primary, secondary and special schools benefiting over 400,000 pupils.
The department has also launched a £2.32 million attendance mentor pilot which aims to deliver intensive one to one support to persistently and severely absent pupils in 5 Priority Education Investment Areas.
To help identify children at risk of persistent absence, and to enable early intervention, the department has established a timelier flow of pupil level attendance data through the daily attendance data collection. 87% of state-funded schools subscribe to the tool to spot at risk pupils.
Across all phases, around 380,000 fewer pupils were persistently absent or not attending school in 2022/23 than in 2021/22. Daily data for 2022/23 show secondary school absence of 9.3%, down from 10.0% absent or not attending school for Covid related reasons in 2021/22. For primary schools, daily data for 2022/23 show absence of 6.0%, down from 7.0% absent or not attending school for Covid related reasons in 2021/22.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 14 September 2023 to Question 198639 on Childcare, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure the adequacy of (a) trained staff, (b) safe premises and (c) registered places in Slough constituency by the start of September 2025 to offer eligible children aged nine months and above to access 30 hours a week of free childcare for 38 weeks each year until the end of the term before they start at primary school.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Having enough staff in place to deliver high-quality education and care will be key to ensuring the successful delivery of our record expansion of early years entitlements. Driving up interest in early years careers and ensuring there are enough opportunities for career development is a priority for this government.
In the government’s Spring Budget 2023, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced transformative reforms to childcare for parents, children and the economy. By 2027/28, this Government will expect to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education, helping working families with their childcare costs. This represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever.
The department is developing a range of new workforce initiatives including the launch of a new national campaign, planned for the beginning of 2024, to boost interest in the sector and support the recruitment and retention of talented staff. To increase interest in early years, we are working to remove unnecessary barriers to entering the sector as well as considering how to make early years qualifications more accessible, coordinated and relevant.
Over the summer the department launched a competition for Early Years Skills Bootcamps with a pathway to an accelerated level 3 Early Years Educator apprenticeship, and we will consider degree apprenticeship routes so everyone from junior staff to senior leaders can easily move into or indeed enhance their career in the sector. We are also working across government to boost early years career awareness by collaborating with the Department for Work and Pensions and Careers & Enterprise Company to promote the importance and value of a career in early years.
Regarding safe premises, with a growing number of staff joining the sector, the safety of our youngest children remains as important as ever. All new and existing early years providers must keep children safe and promote their welfare. The Early Years Foundation Stage statutory framework sets the standards that all early years providers in England must meet to ensure that children are kept healthy and safe. More information can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1170108/EYFS_framework_from_September_2023.pdf.
Under these requirements, all owners and managers of childcare settings have a responsibility to ensure that their premises, including overall floor space and outdoor spaces, are fit for purpose and suitable for the age of children cared for and the activities provided on the premises. All providers must also comply with the requirements of health and safety legislation, including fire safety and hygiene requirements. At all times when children are present, at least one person who has a current paediatric first aid certificate must be on the premises.
Under Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006, local authorities are responsible for ensuring that the provision of childcare is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents in their area. Part B of the Early education and childcare statutory guidance for local authorities highlights that local authorities should report annually to elected council members on how they are meeting their duty to secure sufficient childcare, and to make this report available and accessible to parents. More information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-education-and-childcare--2.
The Department has regular contact with each local authority in England about their sufficiency of childcare and any issues they are facing. Where local authorities report sufficiency challenges, we discuss what action the local authority is taking to address those issues and where needed support the local authority with any specific requirements through our childcare sufficiency support contract.