Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance he has provided to schools to ensure that their risk assessments do not result in reduced access to music and equipment.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The call for evidence on music education was launched on 9 February and closed on 13 March, the findings from which will inform the refreshed National Plan for Music Education. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the refresh of the plan is currently on hold but will be published in due course.
The Government has been clear in its intention to keep schools open throughout the COVID-19 outbreak and ensure all pupils get a high-quality education. Schools should undertake a COVID-19 risk assessment by following the advice set out in the Department’s guidance for full opening of schools. The guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools. There may be an additional risk of infection in environments where singing and the playing of wind or brass instruments takes place. The guidance also includes advice on how schools can teach music safely, including on musical equipment. Guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19/performing-arts.
The guidance is also clear that the curriculum should remain broad so that the majority of pupils are taught a full range of subjects over the year, including the arts. In Key Stages 4 and 5, the majority of GCSE and A-level students are expected to continue to study their examination subjects, including those who are due to take exams in music, to support them towards their preferred route to further study.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has deprioritised any Statutory Instruments in relation to the UK leaving the EU; and if he will publish the criteria his Department uses to deprioritise those Instruments.
Answered by Anne Milton
The government’s objective has always been to have a functioning statute book in place by Exit Day and to ensure the most critical secondary legislation was made by this point.
All of the Department for Education’s essential ‘no deal’ Exit Statutory Instruments (SIs) were made prior to 29 March 2019. Each Exit SI in the department was carefully considered on a case-by-case basis. Exit SIs which were deprioritised were done so because they made very minor technical changes which were not considered essential to be in force for the original Exit Day, and where there would be very little or no material impact from them not being in place for ‘day 1’.
These considerations and assessments made have meant that the government has been able to lay the critical secondary legislation required before we exit the EU. The department does expect to lay its remaining ‘no deal’ SIs, which were deprioritised ahead of 29 March, shortly. Given the extension to Article 50, the department will consider whether any further Exit SIs will need to be brought forward to amend any EU Regulations which have come into force since the original Exit SI programme was finalised, to ensure a functioning statute book ahead of a potential ‘no deal’ exit. The department will keep this under careful review.
The laying of Exit SIs allows Parliament to fulfil its essential scrutiny role. The exact nature of this scrutiny, and the steps required before an SI completes its passage, is dependent on the type of SI. The government remains confident of passing the necessary legislation required to ensure a functioning statute book by Exit Day.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department plans to provide additional funding to support nursery schools beyond April 2020.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The government is committed to supporting maintained nursery schools (MNS); they play an important role in supporting some of our most disadvantaged children.
We are providing supplementary funding of approximately £60 million a year to enable local authorities to protect maintained nursery school funding until 2019-20. This provides MNS with stability whilst we develop a long-term solution for them. An important part of this will be understanding the value for money that they offer, and new research will report on this later in the year.
Budgets after 2019-20 will be set at the next Spending Review.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of applicants have not had their 30-hours free childcare code validated.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The department published data regarding the number of 30 hours codes issued and validated for the summer term on 12 April in ’30 hours free childcare eligibility codes issued and validated: April 2018’, which is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/30-hours-free-childcare-eligibility-codes-issued-and-validated.
The publication noted that, as of 9 April 2018, 327,558 (87%) of codes had been validated for summer out of a total 377,535 codes issued prior to 31 March 2018 – the deadline for summer applications. Therefore, 49,977 (13%) of codes had not been validated at this point in time.
As has been seen in previous terms, it is expected that the number and percentage of codes validated will continue to increase during the term as parents and providers confirm their childcare arrangements.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect of the 30-hours free childcare scheme on trends in the (a) availability of childcare services, (b) proportion of well qualified childcare staff, (c) fees for non-funded hours and (d) providers' other free services.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The department is still in the first year of national delivery of 30 hours free childcare which rolled out in September 2017. 294,000 children benefited from a 30 hours place in the spring term which, representing 89% of those who received an eligibility code.
The independent evaluation of our early rollout areas showed that 83% of providers who were delivering the existing entitlements were willing and able to deliver 30 hours free childcare. According to the termly statistics published by Ofsted in March 2018, the number of places offered by providers on the Early Years Register (EYR) has remained stable at approximately 1.3 million since 31 August 2017. The number of places offered by non-domestic providers has increased slightly, while the number of childminder places has fallen slightly. The department will continue to monitor childcare provision going forward, via the Ofsted statistics and engagement with the profession.
The quality of childcare has remained stable with 94% of providers on the EYR judged to be good or outstanding as at 31 December 2017 – the highest ever percentage.
The independent evaluation reports of the early implementation and early rollout of 30 hours free childcare found no substantial adverse impact on the existing free entitlements. The department’s delivery support contractor, Childcare Works, has been working with providers and local authorities to promote the continued importance of the existing entitlements within the wider 30 hours free childcare delivery context.
Data will be collected on the proportion of staff qualifications in early years settings available in the annual Survey of Childcare and Early Years Providers later in the year. In addition, the department is further enhancing its analytical programme to collect detailed research on childcare costs.
The department has commissioned an independent evaluation of the first year of national delivery of 30 hours, which will report findings in the summer. The evidence from this report will be used to inform future delivery.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department plans to increase the hourly rate to nursery providers under the 30-hours free childcare scheme.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
By 2019-20, the government will be spending £1 billion a year to deliver 30 hours of free childcare and fund the increase in rates that we introduced in April 2017.
Our average hourly funding rate to local authorities for three- and four-year olds compares very favourably with published independent research into the hourly cost of childcare. We will continue to monitor delivery costs and have commissioned new research to provide us with robust and detailed cost data from a representative sample of early years providers.
The government requires all local authorities to pass through 95% of their three and four year old funding to early years providers. The government allows 5% of funding to be held back so that authorities can meet their statutory duty to administer our entitlements and for central services such as specialist support for special educational needs provision.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has plans for all the money provided to local authorities under the 30-hours free childcare scheme to be passed on to childcare providers.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
By 2019-20, the government will be spending £1 billion a year to deliver 30 hours of free childcare and fund the increase in rates that we introduced in April 2017.
Our average hourly funding rate to local authorities for three- and four-year olds compares very favourably with published independent research into the hourly cost of childcare. We will continue to monitor delivery costs and have commissioned new research to provide us with robust and detailed cost data from a representative sample of early years providers.
The government requires all local authorities to pass through 95% of their three and four year old funding to early years providers. The government allows 5% of funding to be held back so that authorities can meet their statutory duty to administer our entitlements and for central services such as specialist support for special educational needs provision.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions he has had with local authorities to discuss their statutory responsibilities for children with disabilities.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The former Minister for Children and Families, my hon. Friend for Scarborough and Whitby (Robert Goodwill), wrote to the Directors of Children’s Services in all English local authorities on 12 September 2017 to remind them of their statutory duty to complete transfer reviews of Statements of Special Education Needs by 31 March 2018.
In addition, ministers from the Department for Education (DfE) have written to all local authorities whose areas have been inspected under the Ofsted/Care Quality Commission Special Educational Needs and Disability inspection framework, and have written again, after 12 months, to those areas identified by the inspections as having significant weaknesses. These letters follow up the key points raised in the inspection reports, including any that relate to statutory responsibilities for children with disabilities.
DfE officials, working closely with partners, including NHS England, have also engaged with local authorities, particularly those with significant weaknesses identified, to provide support and challenge on their statutory responsibilities in this area, and have seen a proactive and positive response.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her Department's plans are for investing in early years education after 2018.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 announced government investment of over £1 billion more a year in childcare and early years education for two-, three- and four-year-olds by 2019-20.
Government consulted earlier this year on proposals to ensure that early years funding is allocated efficiently and fairly across the country, and we will announce a response to the consultation shortly.
Asked by: Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the proportion of student loan borrowers who took out their loan after 2012 who have read the contract terms contained in a separate online document.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
All borrowers applying for support must sign a declaration to confirm that they have read and understood the terms and conditions that apply to their loans.