Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans his Department has to ensure the quality and quantity of primary religious education training in initial teacher training and for early career teachers.
Answered by Robin Walker
One of the department’s priorities is to ensure that we continue to attract, retain, and develop the highly skilled teachers needed, as set out in our Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy in 2019. In the 2020/21 academic year, the department exceeded the postgraduate initial teacher training (ITT) target in religious education (129% of target), and in 2021/22 we met 99% of the target.
The department does not prescribe the curriculum content of initial teacher training (ITT) courses. However, courses must be designed so that teacher trainees can demonstrate that they meet all of the Teachers' Standards at the appropriate level. The ITT Core Content Framework sets out a minimum entitlement of knowledge, skills and experiences that trainees need to enter the profession in the best position possible to teach and support all children and young people. The framework is not subject specific but sets out a minimum entitlement to training that accredited ITT providers must incorporate into their primary and/or secondary ITT curricula. It is up to partnerships to make choices around curriculum and sequencing to suit the subject, phase, and age range that trainees will be teaching.
Beyond the first few years of teaching, the department’s priority is to help all teachers and school leaders to continuously develop their expertise throughout their careers. We have improved our training support offer to all schools and teachers, to ensure that they receive high quality training and development at every stage of their career, from initial teacher training and the introduction of the Early Career Framework (ECF) reforms through to leadership qualifications.
The ECF reforms were introduced to improve support for early career teachers. The ECF itself underpins what all early career teachers should learn about and learn how to do based on expert guidance and the best available research evidence. It is designed to work for all early career teachers of religious education as well as all others regardless of subject, phase and/or school.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Ofsted research review series: religious education, published on 12 May 2021, what plans his Department has to ensure access to high quality in-service training for leaders and teachers of religious education.
Answered by Robin Walker
One of the department’s priorities is to ensure that we continue to attract, retain, and develop the highly skilled teachers needed, as set out in our Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy in 2019. In the 2020/21 academic year, the department exceeded the postgraduate initial teacher training (ITT) target in religious education (129% of target), and in 2021/22 we met 99% of the target.
The department does not prescribe the curriculum content of initial teacher training (ITT) courses. However, courses must be designed so that teacher trainees can demonstrate that they meet all of the Teachers' Standards at the appropriate level. The ITT Core Content Framework sets out a minimum entitlement of knowledge, skills and experiences that trainees need to enter the profession in the best position possible to teach and support all children and young people. The framework is not subject specific but sets out a minimum entitlement to training that accredited ITT providers must incorporate into their primary and/or secondary ITT curricula. It is up to partnerships to make choices around curriculum and sequencing to suit the subject, phase, and age range that trainees will be teaching.
Beyond the first few years of teaching, the department’s priority is to help all teachers and school leaders to continuously develop their expertise throughout their careers. We have improved our training support offer to all schools and teachers, to ensure that they receive high quality training and development at every stage of their career, from initial teacher training and the introduction of the Early Career Framework (ECF) reforms through to leadership qualifications.
The ECF reforms were introduced to improve support for early career teachers. The ECF itself underpins what all early career teachers should learn about and learn how to do based on expert guidance and the best available research evidence. It is designed to work for all early career teachers of religious education as well as all others regardless of subject, phase and/or school.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans his Department has to protect school funding from the rise in electricity and gas prices.
Answered by Robin Walker
We recognise that schools face inflationary pressures, and we continue to monitor the impact of rising utility costs on schools.
Cost increases should be seen in the wider context of funding for schools. The government is delivering real terms per pupil increases to school funding with a £4 billion cash increase in the core schools budget next year, taking total funding to £53.8 billion. This includes an additional £1.2 billion for schools in the new schools supplementary grant for the 2022-23 financial year. Overall, this represents a 5% real terms per pupil boost, helping schools meet the pressures we know they are facing.
The department pays close attention to the financial health of the sector. We know that the vast majority of school expenditure is devoted to staff costs, with only about a quarter required for non-staff costs, including those related to utility bills. This means that even while costs are rising, inflation in this area would only have an impact on a small portion of a school’s overall budget.
All schools can access a range of school resource management (SRM) tools to help them get the best value from their resources to help them save on regular purchases and reduce non-teaching costs. This means schools can more effectively invest their resources into areas that improve educational outcomes for all pupils. Our SRM tools include two recommended deals for energy costs and ancillary services relating to energy, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/find-a-dfe-approved-framework-for-your-school. We have also launched the new ‘get help with buying for schools’ service, a new national service to help schools realise value for money and savings on non-staff spend, available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/buying-for-schools/get-help-with-buying-for-schools.
We know that every school’s circumstances are different, and where schools are in serious financial difficulty, they should contact their local authority or the Education and Skills Funding Agency.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the level of funding that will be allocated to agricultural colleges in (a) 2021, (b) 2022, (c) 2023 and (d) 2024.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
In common with all other types of provider, funding allocations to agricultural colleges for the 2021/22 academic year for 16-19 students have yet to be finalised. While we have now issued allocations to individual schools and colleges, we are still considering business cases from providers. Until this process is complete, funding allocations are still subject to change.
Providers in receipt of the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) Adult Education Budget (AEB), including agricultural colleges, will receive an allocation for the 2021/22 academic funding year which is the same as it was in 2020/21, with any necessary adjustments for the impact of devolution and to remove allocations that were for one year only. In areas where the AEB has been devolved, Mayoral Combined Authorities and the Greater London Authority are responsible for making provider allocations.
Allocations beyond the 2021/22 academic year for both 16-19 funding and the AEB are subject to the outcome of the Spending Review.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding the Government allocated to agricultural colleges in (a) 2017, (b) 2018, (c) 2019 and (d) 2020.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
Allocation values are supplied for institutions specified as Agricultural and Horticultural Colleges and includes the institution name and UK Provider Reference Number as the identifier in the accompanying excel document.
Allocations are on an academic year basis (August to July) and therefore span multiple years. We have provided the values from August 2016 to July 2021, where this is not the case it is caveated in the notes.
The data does not contain information relating to:
Each year will have policy changes which are not detailed in the notes.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether dormitory rooms at outdoor education centres in England and Wales will be subject to individual occupancy restrictions once overnight residentials are permitted from 17 May 2021 as covid-19 restrictions are eased.
Answered by Nick Gibb
In line with the Government’s roadmap, the Department advises against domestic residential educational visits until at least step 3, no earlier than 17 May 2021: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-response-spring-2021/covid-19-response-spring-2021 and https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/schools-coronavirus-covid-19-operational-guidance#educational-visits.
The Department will update guidance in line with the timetable set out in the roadmap, including advice on educational visits.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how portable apprenticeships will operate.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
We are committed to supporting greater use of apprenticeships in sectors where flexible working practices are commonplace, including short periods of project-based employment.
To support these sectors, we are launching a £7 million fund to support the creation and expansion of apprenticeship training agencies which offer portable apprenticeships, enabling apprentices to move between different host employers as they complete their training.
We continue to work closely with the creative and agricultural industries in increasing the portability of apprenticeships and will set out further details in due course.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how portable apprenticeships will be defined.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
We are committed to supporting greater use of apprenticeships in sectors where flexible working practices are commonplace, including short periods of project-based employment.
To support these sectors, we are launching a £7 million fund to support the creation and expansion of apprenticeship training agencies which offer portable apprenticeships, enabling apprentices to move between different host employers as they complete their training.
We continue to work closely with the creative and agricultural industries in increasing the portability of apprenticeships and will set out further details in due course.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Government's Covid-19 Response: Spring 2021 roadmap, on what date Outdoor Education services are expected to open for (a) day visits and non-residential activities and (b) overnight residential stays.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Schools are advised against all educational visits at this time. The Department will issue advice to schools on the planning and booking of residential trips when it is safe to do so and in line with the Government’s roadmap to recovery, as set out in: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-response-spring-2021/covid-19-response-spring-2021.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many electronic devices have been (a) issued to (i) children and (ii) schools and (b) requested by schools to support children during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government has provided laptops and tablets to disadvantaged children who would otherwise not have access and are preparing for examinations in year 10, receiving support from a social worker or are a care leaver. Where care leavers, children with a social worker at secondary school and children in year 10 do not have internet connections, the Government has provided 4G wireless routers.
The Department has delivered laptops, tablets and 4G wireless routers to local authorities and academy trusts based on the Department’s estimates of the number of eligible children that do not have access to a device. Local authorities and academy trusts are best placed to identify children and young people who need devices and prioritise their needs.
The Department has published information about how many laptops, tablets and 4G wireless routers have been delivered or dispatched to local authorities and academy trusts in total, which can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/laptops-tablets-and-4g-wireless-routers-progress-data.
As of the end of June, over 202,000 laptops and tablets and over 47,000 4G wireless routers had been delivered or dispatched to local authorities and academy trusts. Where local authorities and academy trusts provided evidence of a need for eligible children that is greater than their initial allocation, the Department has been working with them to provide additional devices.