Asked by: William Wragg (Independent - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect of increases in contributions to the Teachers' Pension Scheme on the number of pupils transferring into the state sector from independent schools due to the closure of independent schools.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Department officials have discussed the changes to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme with all education trade unions and a number of employer representatives. Discussions with these groups will continue through the Teachers’ Pension Scheme Advisory Board.
The Department is also launching a consultation in early 2019 to seek views on the impact of the changes to employer contribution costs on state-funded schools, independent schools, further education (FE) colleges and other public-funded training organisations, and universities and other Higher Education institutions (HEI) in the Teachers’ Pension Scheme, including which sectors should receive additional funding from the Government. Once the consultation has closed, the Department will make an assessment on the viability of the scheme and the number of institutions participating in the scheme.
The Department estimates the total cost of increased employer contributions into the Teachers’ Pension Scheme to be £1.1 billion in 2019-20. This is broken down as follows: £830 million for state-funded schools, £110 million for Independent schools, £80 million for the further education sector, and £80 million for affected universities and other HEIs.
Asked by: William Wragg (Independent - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he had with the education sector before deciding the quantum of uplift in Teachers' Pension Scheme contributions.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Department officials have discussed the changes to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme with all education trade unions and a number of employer representatives. Discussions with these groups will continue through the Teachers’ Pension Scheme Advisory Board.
The Department is also launching a consultation in early 2019 to seek views on the impact of the changes to employer contribution costs on state-funded schools, independent schools, further education (FE) colleges and other public-funded training organisations, and universities and other Higher Education institutions (HEI) in the Teachers’ Pension Scheme, including which sectors should receive additional funding from the Government. Once the consultation has closed, the Department will make an assessment on the viability of the scheme and the number of institutions participating in the scheme.
The Department estimates the total cost of increased employer contributions into the Teachers’ Pension Scheme to be £1.1 billion in 2019-20. This is broken down as follows: £830 million for state-funded schools, £110 million for Independent schools, £80 million for the further education sector, and £80 million for affected universities and other HEIs.
Asked by: William Wragg (Independent - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that teaching and learning of modern foreign languages as part of EBacc is promoted and protected.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department introduced the EBacc performance measure to halt the decline in the number of pupils taking GCSEs in languages. The reformed National Curriculum now makes it compulsory for pupils in maintained schools to be taught a foreign language at Key Stage 2. The proportion of GCSE entries from pupils in state-funded schools in a modern foreign language (MFL) has increased from 40% in 2010 to 46% in 2018.
The Department offers generous financial incentives for teaching languages, including scholarships in modern languages worth £28,000, and tax-free bursaries, typically worth up to £26,000, for trainees of MFL initial teacher training.
The Department has announced £4.8 million in funding for a MFL Pedagogy Pilot, appointing lead schools and a centre for excellence, to improve uptake and attainment in languages at Key Stages 3 and 4. The Department is funding a £10 million Mandarin Excellence Programme, with 5,000 pupils on track to reach a high level of fluency in Mandarin by 2020. We have also launched a pilot project for MFL undergraduate mentoring for secondary school pupils to increase take up in the subject.
The Department has also recently published a leaflet[1] (see attachment) for parents, which explains why studying a language, as part of the EBacc, will provide their children with an insight into other cultures, opening the door to travel and employment opportunities.
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/english-baccalaureate-ebacc.
Asked by: William Wragg (Independent - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps his Department has taken to ensure that all state-funded schools are meeting their statutory obligation to teach religious education as part of a broad and balanced curriculum.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Good quality religious education can develop children’s knowledge of the values and traditions of Britain and other countries, and foster understanding among different faiths and cultures. That is why religious education remains compulsory for all state funded schools, including academies and free schools, at all key stages.
The Department does not routinely monitor schools to ensure that they meet their statutory duties, but when made aware that schools are not fulfilling their legal duties, it will investigate.
All schools are expected to publish their curriculum by subject for each academic year on their websites. Guidance on this makes specific reference to religious education.
Asked by: William Wragg (Independent - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the quality of initial and continuing teacher training in religious education for primary school teachers.
Answered by Nick Gibb
It is for Initial Teacher Training (ITT) providers to determine the content and structure of courses, but they must be designed so that trainees can demonstrate that they meet all Teachers' Standards to an appropriate level. To be awarded Qualified Teacher Status trainees must “have a secure knowledge of the relevant subject(s) and curriculum areas” and “demonstrate a critical understanding of developments in the subject and curriculum areas.” This includes Religious Education for primary school teachers.
Ofsted inspects ITT programmes for compliance against the ITT Criteria, and for the quality of ITT teaching and trainee outcomes. At the end of June 2017 99% of all ITT partnerships inspected by Ofsted were judged either good or outstanding. In the 2017 Newly Qualified Teacher Survey, more than 80% of newly-qualified teachers surveyed rated the overall quality of their training as 7-10 out of 10, with 32% rating it as 9-10 out of 10. The full ITT Criteria can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/initial-teacher-training-criteria.
Once qualified, decisions relating to teachers’ professional development rest with schools, head teachers, and teachers themselves, as they are in the best position to judge their own requirements.
The Government has a number of initiatives to ensure that all teachers have access to high-quality professional development.
Asked by: William Wragg (Independent - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of capability procedures used in schools in (a) Hazel Grove constituency, (b) Stockport local authority area and (c) England in each of the last five years resulted in a teacher (a) being dismissed, (b) being retained and (c) receiving additional training.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The information requested is not held centrally. Responsibility for capability procedures in schools is primarily a matter for local employers.
The regulations on teacher appraisal are mandatory for maintained schools and local authorities. They give schools and local authorities the freedom to design appraisal policies that suit their own individual circumstances. The regulations can be found here:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/115/contents/made.
Asked by: William Wragg (Independent - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what reasons may be cited by schools as justification for the commencement of capability procedures; and what the most common three such reasons have been cited by schools in (a) Hazel Grove constituency, (b) Stockport local authority area and (c) England in each of the last five years.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The information requested is not held centrally. Responsibility for capability procedures in schools is primarily a matter for local employers.
The regulations on teacher appraisal are mandatory for maintained schools and local authorities. They give schools and local authorities the freedom to design appraisal policies that suit their own individual circumstances. The regulations can be found here:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/115/contents/made.
Asked by: William Wragg (Independent - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools in (a) Hazel Grove constituency, (b) Stockport local authority area and (c) England have implemented capability procedures on one or more of their teachers in each of the last five years.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The information requested is not held centrally. Responsibility for capability procedures in schools is primarily a matter for local employers.
The regulations on teacher appraisal are mandatory for maintained schools and local authorities. They give schools and local authorities the freedom to design appraisal policies that suit their own individual circumstances. The regulations can be found here:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/115/contents/made.
Asked by: William Wragg (Independent - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education,what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of alternative provision for children with behavioural conditions aged (a) 0 up to 4 years (b) 4 up to 11 years and (c) 11 to 16 years in each of the last five years.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Funding for alternative provision (AP) comes from the dedicated schools grant (DSG). Local authorities provide place funding of £10,000 for each AP place in a pupil referral unit or AP academy from their high needs budget within the DSG.
In addition, top up funding for costs in excess of the £10,000 place funding may be required depending on the needs of the individual pupil. Where the local authority is responsible for a pupil in AP, the top up funding is paid from the local authority’s high needs budget. Where a school is responsible, the top up funding is paid from the school’s delegated budget share. Local authorities can also spend their DSG on other AP services.
The following table shows how much local authorities have reported that they have spent on AP in the last three years. Comparable data for 2013-14 and 2017-18, data on how much schools have spent on AP, and data held by age or need are not available. The figures below reflect the amount local authorities have chosen to spend on AP specifically, from their high needs budgets. Overall high needs funding has increased from £5 billion in 2013-14 to a record high of £6 billion this year, giving every local authority a cash increase in funding.
Financial Year | AP Expenditure |
2014-15 | £627,847,551 |
2015-16 | £616,523,970 |
2016-17 | £648,593,976 |
Asked by: William Wragg (Independent - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to provide funds for a further increase in the number of grammar schools.
Answered by Justine Greening
There was no education bill in the Queen’s Speech, and therefore the ban on opening new grammar schools will remain in place.