Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to ensure that students on T-level work placements are (a) paid for their labour in line with the national living wage and (b) have opportunities to develop relevant skills and experience on such placements.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The department is committed to ensuring students have access to high quality T Level industry placements. Industry placements provide young people with the knowledge and experience needed to open the door into skilled employment, further study, or a higher apprenticeship.
T Level industry placements are about providing students with high-quality, meaningful training, rather than providing job roles. As the placement is forming part of a course of further education, there is no legal requirement or expectation to pay students on industry placements. However, employers can optionally choose to pay students, or fund students’ travel and subsistence, if they would like to.
The department has provided an extensive programme of employer and provider support to help with the delivery of high-quality placements where students can develop relevant skills and experiences for their T Level and beyond. The support offers providers and employers tailored advice, guidance, and hands-on support to deliver high-quality placements at scale. We have invested over £240 million over the past 4 years to help providers build their capacity and relationships with employers and have developed a comprehensive package of advice and guidance to support providers to deliver placements, as well as networking opportunities to share best practice.
To provide a strong pipeline of employers across all sectors and areas of the country, the department is engaging directly with employers of all sizes throughout the UK, via the department’s employer engagement teams, to promote the benefits of T Levels and of hosting industry placements. We have a T Level Ambassador Network that is continuing to recruit T Level advocates across key industries to inspire engagement in the T Level programme, and in January this year we launched our ‘Join the Skills Revolution’ campaign, which promotes government’s training and employment schemes, including T Levels, to employers.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Independent Provider of Special Education Advice's submissions to the SEND review: right support, right place, right time, if he will publish a response to that organisation's questions and recommendations on the SEND Green Paper.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Shadow Minister (Equalities)
The department is aware of the submission from the Independent Provider of Special Education Advice (IPSEA) and the recommendations it sets out for the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system, including strengthening accountability measures to ensure that every child and young person has access to support that meets their needs.
The SEND and alternative provision (AP) green paper set out our proposals for how the department will improve the SEND system, so that it delivers better outcomes, improved experiences, and financial sustainability.
The department received extensive feedback on these proposals during the consultation period and we will publish a SEND and AP Improvement Plan that will set out the consultation feedback and our next steps.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the increased rate of inflation and rising food prices, (a) on what basis the rate paid to schools for providing free school meals is calculated, (b) when she next plans to review that rate, (c) what recent assessment she has made of the impact of the increased price of food on (i) the ability of schools to provide free school meals and (ii) overall school budgets, (d) if she will make it her policy to increase the rate in line with inflation and (d) if she will make it her policy to extend free school meal provision to all pupils in order to help prevent a rise in food poverty.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Schools pay for the provision of free school meals (FSM) from their core funding allocations. Overall, core schools funding, including funding for both mainstream schools and high needs, is increasing by £4 billion in 2022/23 compared to the previous year, representing a 7% increase in cash terms per pupil.
The core allocations schools attract through the national funding formula (NFF) include funding in respect of the FSM factor. The FSM factor is intended to broadly reflect the costs schools face in providing school meals. Following extensive consultation when the NFF was first introduced, schools attracted £440 per pupil through the FSM factor in 2018/19 and 2019/20.
Each year, the department has set the NFF factor values to be used in the forthcoming funding year. Since the introduction of the NFF, the per pupil FSM rate has increased in line with forecast inflation in every year, as measured by the latest GDP deflator at the time.
The FSM factor is worth £470 per eligible pupil in 2022/23. This will increase to £480 in 2023/24. The factor values for each year are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-funding-formula-for-schools-and-high-needs. In reviewing future FSM rates, many factors will be taken into consideration, including cost of living pressures and inflation.
The department also spends around £600 million on Universal Infant Free School Meals each year. The per meal rate has been increased from £2.34 to £2.41, and backdated to 1 April 2022, in recognition of increased costs.
The department continues to monitor the situation surrounding the rising cost of living whilst working with other government departments on support surrounding this issue. The department thinks it is right that provision is aimed at supporting the most disadvantaged, those out of work or on the lowest incomes. We do not have any plans to extend universal provision, but we will continue to review FSM eligibility to ensure that these meals are supporting those who most need them.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of phasing out BTEC qualifications on the number of (a) young people and (b) young people from (i) working class and (ii) marginalised backgrounds choosing to begin further education; and whether it is taking steps to address concerns on phasing out those qualifications raised by the Protect Student Choice campaign.
Answered by Andrea Jenkyns
Qualifications such as BTECs continue to play an important role for 16 to 19-year-olds and adults. The qualifications review will ensure that these qualifications are approved for funding, where there is a clear need for skills and knowledge that A levels and T Levels cannot provide, and where they meet new quality standards.
An assessment of the potential equalities impacts of the removal of funding for level 3 qualifications, which includes some BTECs, was carried out as part of the impact assessment published alongside the July 2021 policy statement on level 3 qualifications. This is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reforms-to-post-16-qualifications-at-level-3-in-england. Overall, the department expects the impact of our reforms to be positive. Students will have clearer choices and access to higher quality qualifications in future, including new T Levels. This will put students, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds, in a stronger position to progress into further study or skilled employment.
The department is committed to supporting students to progress onto level 3 qualifications in future. This is why we have launched the T Level Transition Programme for those who are not yet ready to progress to a T Level, but have the potential to succeed on it after some further preparation. Additionally, in our recent consultation on qualifications at level 2 and below, the department confirmed our intention to pilot an Academic Progression Programme to support students who may have the potential to take an academic programme at level 3, but who are not ready to do so when entering post-16 education.
We expect to publish the government response to the consultation in due course.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the National Deaf Children’s Society policy briefing on the SEND review, published on 4 July 2022, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department’s policies of that briefing's findings and proposals.
Answered by Will Quince
Over the course of the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Review, and throughout the consultation period on the department’s SEND and Alternative Provision (AP) Green Paper, the department has spoken to many children and young people, their families, and those working in the SEND sector to understand more about the challenges facing the system. This includes meetings with the National Deaf Children’s Society.
The consultation on the Green Paper has recently closed and the department is carefully considering the responses we have received. This includes considering reports such as the one from the National Deaf Children’s Society. The department has committed to publishing the department’s response to the consultation alongside a national SEND and AP implementation strategy later this year.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of (a) SATs and (b) statutory testing on pupil mental health and wellbeing; and if he will make it his policy to pause such testing to allow for a profession-led review of the potential impact of the current assessment system in primary schools on pupil wellbeing.
Answered by Robin Walker
Schools should support a culture of wellbeing amongst staff and pupils. The department understands that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people, and that this will have an impact in the longer-term. Although schools should encourage all pupils to work hard and achieve well in primary assessments, the department does not recommend that they devote excessive time to preparation, and certainly not at the expense of pupils’ mental health and wellbeing.
Assessments are a crucial part of a child’s schooling and are fundamental in a high-performing education system. Statutory assessments at primary school are an essential part in ensuring that all pupils master the basics of reading, writing, and maths to prepare them for secondary school. Assessment data also enables parents, schools, and the department to understand the impact of lost time in education and recovery initiatives.
In 2017, the government carried out a consultation into primary assessment in England. The consultation received over 4,000 responses from a diverse range of backgrounds and specialisms, providing a broad and informed range of views that informed policy on the current primary assessment system. Additionally, the department engages with teachers, parents and their representatives on a regular basis to understand their views on primary assessment.
The department has no current plans to undertake further major reform of assessments.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department plans to facilitate British national students studying medicine and other degrees in Ukraine, who have had to leave their studies due to the war in that country, to transfer to the same courses at UK universities.
Answered by Michelle Donelan
Unfortunately, it is not possible for British Nationals who were studying in Ukraine to transfer automatically into medical and dental courses in England. However, I have urged institutions in England to consider students' circumstances sensitively and show as much flexibility as possible when considering students' applications to UK courses.
The number of places available to study medicine and dentistry is regulated by the government and controlled through intake targets operated by the Office for Students. These places are quality assured by the General Medical Council to ensure the availability of sufficient provision of high-quality education, training, and clinical placements and therefore have all been allocated for this coming academic year. There are also complex issues surrounding transferring students whose prior learning has taken place overseas directly onto medical places here in the UK.
However, the department is continuing to work closely with the education sector and across Government to ensure that students are supported and have a range of options available to them during this difficult time. These options include:
Separately I can confirm the Student Loans Company will treat students who were living in England before leaving to study in Ukraine, and who join a course on return to the UK, as being temporary absent when assessing the requirement for three years’ ordinary residence in the UK or Crown Dependencies prior to study. Students should contact Student Finance England (or other relevant funding body if you lived in one of the Devolved Administrations prior to study in Ukraine) for further details.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if his Department will take steps to meet Sense's call for a £34.3 million multi-sensory impairment (MSI) education fund to ensure that children who need a trained MSI teacher have access to one.
Answered by Will Quince
The department is committed to ensuring that children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including those with multi-sensory impairments, receive the support they need to succeed in their early years, at school, and at college.
High needs funding, which is specifically for supporting children with more complex SEND, including those with multi-sensory impairment, is increasing by £1 billion in the 2022/23 financial year, bringing the overall total funding for high needs to £9.1 billion. This unprecedented increase of 13%, compared to the 2021/22 financial year, comes as well as the £1.5 billion increase over the last two years.
The department has no current plans to create a new funding stream specifically for the education of children with multi-sensory impairment. Under the Children and Families Act 2014, local authorities and schools have responsibilities for supporting all children and young people with SEND, including those with multi-sensory impairments. As a result, they are best placed to decide how to prioritise their spending on the range of resources and activities that will best support their pupils.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 21 September 2021 to Question 49129, on Students: Loans, when his Department plans to publish the conclusion to the Post-18 education and funding review.
Answered by Michelle Donelan
Further to the Interim Conclusion to the Review of Post-18 Education and Funding published in January of this year, we continue to consider the recommendations made by the independent panel that reported to the review, and plan to conclude it in full in due course.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of commissioning an independent review of childcare funding and affordability in the UK.
Answered by Will Quince
The department’s officials are in regular discussions with Her Majesty's Treasury, and as we prepare for the forthcoming Spending Review settlement for the 2022-23 financial year and beyond, we will continue to press the importance of the early years sector across government. We will not be launching an independent review of childcare at this time.
This issue was debated in Westminster Hall on 13 September pursuant to e-petition 586700, and I refer the hon. Member for Coventry South to the transcript of this debate available here: https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2021-09-13/debates/55E6BB12-54B7-4C08-8D68-00140DFFB5B1/Childcare.