Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the report by the OECD entitled, Building Skills for All: A Review of England, published in February 2016, whether her Department has taken steps in response to that report to increase levels of literacy and numeracy in England.

The Government is taking action at every tier of education and every level of ability to improve literacy and numeracy.

The national curriculum places a strong emphasis on every child achieving secure literacy and numeracy. In English, children are taught to read well and read widely, and write with accuracy and confidence. The new English language GCSE places greater emphasis on demonstration of accurate, spelling, punctuation and grammar. Students must be able read a wide range of texts fluently, write effectively, and demonstrate sound use of Standard English. There is a much stronger emphasis across the mathematics curriculum on fundamental mathematics and numeracy. Children must be fluent in written and mental arithmetic by the end of primary school and the new mathematics GCSE offers greater assurance that all students master the numeracy required for work and life.

In the upper secondary phase, since 2014 we have required every 16-19 year old yet to achieve a C grade or higher in GCSE English and mathematics to continue to study towards them. This has significantly increased the numbers of students successfully resitting their mathematics and English GCSEs. This summer, over 51,200 GCSE mathematics exams sat by students aged 17 and over were graded A*-C, up from 30,000 in 2012 before the requirement was in place. For English, the equivalent figures were 34,500 in 2016, up from 21,100 in 2012.

To ensure those who leave school without having achieved a good pass at GCSE get a second chance, we have embedded English and mathematics into the heart of all our major programmes, including apprenticeships and traineeships. We strengthened apprenticeship requirements in 2014 so that all apprentices study Level 2 English and/or mathematics if they already have a Level 1 in those subjects prior to starting their apprenticeship. Alongside reforms to general qualifications, we are reforming functional skills to make mathematics and English rigorous and relevant to employer needs.

We also fully fund all adults to achieve their first English and mathematics GCSE, as well as other qualifications that help them attain that level, and we continue to invest in research to determine which interventions deliver the best results for different groups of learners. In 2014, we set up the Behavioural Research Centre for Adult Skills and Knowledge with the Behavioural Insights Team to better understand the often complex blend of motivations and barriers to adults developing basic skills. Early trials are showing promising results. For example, a simple text messaging intervention can reduce mid-term drop out amongst basic skills learners in college by 36% and can increase students passing all their exams by 12%.