Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to increase the number of girls participating in STEM subjects after the age of 16.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The number of girls taking science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) A Levels has increased by 20% since 2010 and we are closing the gap between males and females in some subjects (chemistry, biology, mathematics and computing). The Department recognises that we need to do more to increase the number of girls participating in STEM subjects. The Department runs a number of projects to improve participation. For example, we are funding the Stimulating Physics Network to improve the take up of A level physics, particularly by girls. The Department announced a new Level 3 Maths Support Programme, worth £16m over two years, which will be required to raise the participation of girls in A level mathematics and further mathematics, and we continue to fund support to schools to improve the quality of teaching in mathematics, computing and science in primary and secondary schools.
The Department is taking action to improve STEM participation throughout the education pipeline. For example, in Higher Education we have seen applications from women to engineering, computer science and maths degrees rise since 2013 but, we know there is more that we can do. From the 2018/19 academic year, we are introducing maintenance loans available for part-time undergraduate students to help with living costs, which we anticipate will help widen participation.
We are raising awareness amongst children of the range of careers that science and technical qualifications offer, and providing stimulating scientific activities to increase their interest in STEM subjects. This includes the STEM Ambassadors programme, a nationwide network of over 30,000 volunteers, 42% of whom are women, from a range of employers, who work with schools across the UK.
Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate her Department has made of the proportion of the schools budget spent on supply teachers in (a) Kirklees, (b) West Yorkshire and (c) England in each of the last three years.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department does not hold information on spending specifically as a proportion of the school budget, but does hold information on the amount spent by schools on supply teaching staff (including such costs as insurance and agency fees) as a proportion of total expenditure by schools. We publish these data annually at:
Local authority maintained schools on the Department’s School and College Performance website: https://www.gov.uk/school-performance-tables, and
Academies in the Department’s Statistical First Release Income and expenditure in academies in England: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/income-and-expenditure-in-academies-in-england-2015-to-2016.
The published data are at school-level, including a filter to identify local authority such as Kirklees and those in West Yorkshire.
Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many nationals of other EU member states work in schools in (a) Kirklees, (b) West Yorkshire and (c) England.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The information requested is not collected centrally.
Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average class size was for (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in (i) Colne Valley constituency, (ii) Kirklees, (iii) West Yorkshire and (iv) England in each of the last seven years.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Average class size figures for state-funded schools are calculated and published annually in the statistical first releases available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-school-and-pupil-numbers.
A national summary of average class sizes for key stages 1 and 2 and secondary is in the link to national tables, tables 6a and 6b respectively.
A summary at local authority and regional level is only available for key stages 1 and 2 and published in the link to local authority and regional tables, table 11.
Data is not summarised by parliamentary constituency, but data for each school providing key stages 1 and 2 and secondary is available via the link to underlying tables then the file ‘…Schools_Classes_UD’.
Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of children were eligible for free school meals in (a) Kirklees and (b) England in each of the last seven years.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
Figures on the proportion of children eligible for free school meals are published, for all authorities in England, annually. The figures can be found in the statistical first releases, which are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-school-and-pupil-numbers.
Asked by: Thelma Walker (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve the retention of teachers.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The 2016 School Workforce Census shows teacher retention rates have remained stable for teachers over the first five years of their careers. We recognised the problem of unnecessary workload when we launched the Workload Challenge in 2014. Our responses to this and the 2016 Teacher Workload Survey set out comprehensive programmes of action to be taken. We continue our extensive work with the profession, teaching unions and Ofsted to support the retention of teachers.