Asked by: Wes Streeting (Labour - Ilford North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) laptop devices and (b) internet dongles were distributed to schools prior to 8 March 2021 as part of the Government's policies to support remote learning during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nick Gibb
As of Monday 8 March 2021, over 1.2 million laptops and tablets have been delivered to schools, academy trusts, local authorities and further education colleges. More information can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/laptops-and-tablets-data.
The Department publishes this data every week during term time.
Asked by: Wes Streeting (Labour - Ilford North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what arrangements he is making for (a) SATS, (b) GCSE, (c) A-level and (d) BTEC examinations in the 2021-22 academic year.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Primary assessments have a crucial role in supporting pupils to grasp the basics of reading, writing and mathematics and to prepare them for secondary school. The Department is planning for a full programme of primary assessments to take place in the 2021-22 academic year. We will confirm full details for 2021-22 primary assessments in due course.
The Government remains clear that exams are the fairest method to assess pupils. We know that pupils and teachers will be working hard in preparation for GCSE and A level exams in 2022, as well as for their vocational and technical qualification exams and assessments, including BTEC examinations. We will make sure that the interests of pupils are at the centre of our considerations.
It is important that pupils in this cohort are able to get a grade safely and fairly and we will continue to monitor the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on all pupils to ensure that those due to take exams and assessments in 2022 are supported to move to the next stage of their lives fairly. We will make further announcements in due course.
Asked by: Wes Streeting (Labour - Ilford North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when he plans to publish the data from the January 2021 school census.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The spring 2021 census date was 21 January and the window for schools to return census data closed on Wednesday 17 February. The data collection is due to close fully following data cleaning and validation in mid-March.
Spring census data is then released annually, mainly via the four national statistics publications listed below. The weblinks refer to the publications January 2020. The release schedule for January 2021 is expected to follow similar timescales.
A provisional publication schedule giving anticipated month of publication can be found in the gov.uk research and statistics publication calendar at: https://www.gov.uk/search/research-and-statistics?content_store_document_type=upcoming_statistics&order=release-date-oldest.
Asked by: Wes Streeting (Labour - Ilford North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will publish covid-19 catch up premium funding allocations for each school by (a) constituency and (b) local authority area.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department has published funding allocations for the catch-up premium which include a breakdown by local authority. We will provide details of funding arrangements for the recovery premium announced on 24 February in due course.
Asked by: Wes Streeting (Labour - Ilford North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with relevant stakeholders on funding of the Oak National Academy after the covid-19 outbreak; and if he will make statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
In order to provide rapid support to schools and families during the COVID-19 outbreak, the Government has funded the Oak National Academy to provide free video lessons and online resources in a broad range of subjects for Reception up to Year 11. Specialist content for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities is also available. Oak National Academy has delivered more than 100 million lessons since April 2020.
The Government also recently announced an immediate support package to help children and young people recover from the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak. This includes funding for secondary schools to deliver face to face, two week summer schools for pupils most in need of support. A range of high quality online resources available for all teachers and pupils, starting from the summer term and throughout summer holidays, will also be provided by Oak National Academy, to help give pupils the confidence they are ready for the next academic year. More information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-education-recovery-package-for-children-and-young-people.
The Department has recently published a prior information notice regarding a potential open procurement to create and host a range of free in-class and catch up curriculum resources to support teachers with their lesson delivery and education recovery. Further information will be available in due course.
As part of the Government’s commitment to develop a longer-term education recovery plan, the Education Recovery Commissioner, Sir Kevan Collins, is engaging extensively with teachers, school and college leaders, educational charities and families to consider the effect the COVID-19 outbreak has had on education and wellbeing, and what further action is needed to address this.
Asked by: Wes Streeting (Labour - Ilford North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much of the £700 million catch-up funding announced on 22 February 2021 is additional funding; and how much of that funding is being allocated from within his Department's existing resources.
Answered by Nick Gibb
As announced by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, the £300 million funding for tutoring represents additional funding from Her Majesty’s Treasury, including a contribution to support the academic elements of secondary level summer schools.
Elsewhere, the package makes available a further £400 million across the 2021-22 academic year. While over half of this is new funding, the Department has contributed towards the cost of this package through reprioritising funding from within the Department’s existing budgets. This includes funding from unallocated headroom where adjustments to forecasts have enabled us to release additional resources. Where we have identified additional resources, it is right that we have prioritised them to the front line.
Asked by: Wes Streeting (Labour - Ilford North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of civil servants in his Department have worked in an early years, school, college or university setting prior to joining the Department.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The information requested is not held centrally. The Department does not hold information on the previous employment of its staff.
Asked by: Wes Streeting (Labour - Ilford North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many fines have been issued for non-attendance at schools in England since September 2020.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Information on fines issued for non-attendance at school relating to the 2020/21 academic year will not be available until March 2022.
Where pupils are absent, the Department asks schools and local authorities to work with families to discuss the reasons behind the child’s absence and together agree an action plan so that the right support can be put in place to help them return to full-time attendance.
Attendance fines for parents are available to be used by schools and local authorities to improve attendance, but only as a last resort, and where there is no valid reason for the child’s absence.
Asked by: Wes Streeting (Labour - Ilford North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what criteria his Department plans to use to determine each school's allocation of covid-19 catch up premium funding.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Schools’ allocations from the Recovery Premium are calculated based on the numbers of their pupils who are eligible for the pupil premium. This will provide each mainstream school with a total of £145 for each eligible pupil and special, alternative provision, hospital schools and special units within mainstream schools, with £290 for each eligible pupil, across the 2021/22 academic year. We have applied additional weighting to specialist settings, recognising the significantly higher per pupil costs they face.
Recognising the uneven distribution of pupil premium eligible pupils, we have also ensured that no primary school will receive less than £2,000 and no secondary school will receive less than £6,000. The average primary school will receive almost £6,000 and the average secondary school just over £22,000
Asked by: Wes Streeting (Labour - Ilford North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how he plans to allocate the Government's £200 million funding for face-to-face secondary summer school provision; and if he will publish those allocations for each school by (a) constituency and (b) local authority area.
Answered by Nick Gibb
£200 million will be specifically available to secondary schools to deliver a face to face summer programme. Evidence from the Education Endowment Foundation shows that summer schools can help pupils make up 2 months’ additional progress. We are investing in summer schools as part of the targeted offer to young people who will most benefit.
Schools will be able to target provision based on pupils’ needs although we suggest they may want initially to target incoming Year 7 pupils. This is alongside wider support funded through our Holiday Activities and Food Programme across the country.
The Department will ensure that funding is available for all secondary schools that wish to run a summer school provision, including middle schools and we will apply extra weighting to fund special and alternative provision schools.
The Department will provide details of how the funds will be allocated in due course, ensuring that schools have adequate time to plan ahead for the summer provision.