Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an estimate of the number and proportion of schools that will offer GCSE qualifications in modern foreign languages in each of the next five years in (a) Oxford, (b) Oxfordshire, (c) the South East and (d) England.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The department does not produce future trends of the number of students taking specific qualifications, or future trends in the number of schools or colleges offering specific qualifications.
The department recognises the importance of the study of languages in Britain and is taking steps to increase the number of pupils studying languages at GCSE level and beyond. This is particularly important given that languages were made non-mandatory in 2004. The department’s Language Hubs programme is comprised of 15 lead hub schools across England, all of which will work with other schools in their area to improve standards of language teaching, in line with recommendations of the Teaching Schools Council’s 2016 modern foreign languages pedagogy review.
Managed by the National Consortium for Languages Education, the programme provides high-quality teacher Continuing Professional Development and includes improving transition from key stage 2 to key stage 3, increasing opportunities among disadvantaged pupils to study languages, and increasing the access to home, heritage, and community languages.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many teachers of modern foreign languages (MFL) have been recruited by maintained (1) secondary schools, and (2) primary schools, as a result of the inclusion of MFL teachers on the Shortage Occupation List announced on 4 March 2021.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department does not hold data on the number of Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) secondary level teachers recruited as a result of the inclusion of MFL on the Shortage Occupation List (SOL). Primary level MFL teachers are not included on the SOL.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has altered its targets for trainee (a) modern foreign language and (b) religious education secondary school teacher recruitment for 2022-23, in the context of levels of recruitment of teachers for those subjects in previous years.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The table below shows the percentage of the postgraduate Initial Teacher Training (ITT) target achieved in religious education and modern foreign languages for the years shown.
Academic Year | 2017/18 | 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2021/22 |
Religious Education | 62% | 58% | 94% | 94% |
Modern Foreign Languages | 91% | 88% | 62% | 69% |
Source: DfE ITT Census statistical publications
To note:
The Department estimates the number of postgraduate ITT trainees required to meet teacher demand in England each year using the teacher workforce model. The model includes an adjustment to build in any impacts of recruitment being below target for the two previous ITT recruitment rounds, for both primary, and each secondary subject.
The model uses ITT recruitment data, ITT completion and post-ITT employment rates to estimate the number of newly qualified teachers (NQTs) entering the workforce having trained via all forms of ITT in the two most recent ITT cycles.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what percentage of trainee (a) religious education and (b) modern foreign language secondary school teachers were recruited against the cumulative targets between 2017-2018 and 2021-2022, excluding the 2020-21 recruitment year.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The table below shows the percentage of the postgraduate Initial Teacher Training (ITT) target achieved in religious education and modern foreign languages for the years shown.
Academic Year | 2017/18 | 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2021/22 |
Religious Education | 62% | 58% | 94% | 94% |
Modern Foreign Languages | 91% | 88% | 62% | 69% |
Source: DfE ITT Census statistical publications
To note:
The Department estimates the number of postgraduate ITT trainees required to meet teacher demand in England each year using the teacher workforce model. The model includes an adjustment to build in any impacts of recruitment being below target for the two previous ITT recruitment rounds, for both primary, and each secondary subject.
The model uses ITT recruitment data, ITT completion and post-ITT employment rates to estimate the number of newly qualified teachers (NQTs) entering the workforce having trained via all forms of ITT in the two most recent ITT cycles.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage the uptake of the learning of foreign languages in schools.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government remains committed to increasing the proportion of pupils who choose to study a language up to GCSE and beyond, as well as to improving the quality of language teaching at both primary and secondary schools.
In March 2023, the department announced a new £14.9 million Language Hubs programme, including a distinct German Promotion Project. The programme will be comprised of up to 25 lead hub schools, all of which will work with partner schools to improve standards of language teaching across the country, in line with recommendations of the Teaching Schools Council’s 2016 modern foreign languages pedagogy review.
Since 2016, the department has funded the £20 million Mandarin Excellence Programme, which supports schools and teachers to deliver intensive Mandarin study to increase the quality of Mandarin lessons and to increase uptake in the subject. The programme provides professional development and teaching resources for teachers in participating schools across England.
From September 2024, teaching of the revised subject content for French, German, and Spanish GCSEs will begin. The new content is intended to encourage more students to take up these important subjects, making them more accessible to all pupils.
To ensure high standards of modern foreign language teaching, language curriculum materials and associated resources will be developed by Oak National Academy, as part of its second tranche of procurement. The first materials will be available from autumn 2024, and full curriculum packages by autumn 2025. This will ensure that high quality, optional lessons are available nationwide, benefitting both teachers and pupils.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps she has taken to ensure all schools have access to reading books produced in different languages.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department knows that all pupils deserve to be taught a knowledge rich curriculum which promotes the extensive reading of books and other kinds of texts both in and out of school. School libraries complement public libraries in allowing pupils to do this.
Pupils should be taught to maintain positive attitudes towards reading and to develop an understanding of what they read by increasing their familiarity with a wide range of books, including myths, legends and traditional stories, modern fiction, fiction from the UK’s literary heritage and books from other cultures and traditions. Teachers have flexibility in which books to teach within the context of the curriculum.
The Autumn Statement 2022 announced that funding for mainstream schools and high needs is £3.5 billion higher in 2023/24 as compared to 2022/23. That is on top of the £4 billion, year on year increase provided in 2022/23, which is an increase of £7.5 billion, or over 15%, in just two years. It is for headteachers to decide how best to manage their budgets, including investment in resources such as library provision and reading books produced in different languages.
The Department also recognises that schools can face additional challenges when they have pupils on roll who have limited or no English language skills. The Department has allocated funding to schools through the English as an additional language (EAL) factor in the National Funding Formula for schools. This funding is based on the number of pupils who are classed as having a first language other than English and who have started in the state funded education system in England in the last three years.
Allocations are made on the basis of data collected through the October school census and equate to an additional £580 per primary school pupil and £1,565 per secondary pupil in the current financial year. Schools have the flexibility to use this funding based on the needs of their pupils, such as by providing reading books produced in community languages.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many hours of (a) mathematics, (b) English, (c) sciences and (d) modern foreign languages were taught in secondary schools in Colne Valley constituency by teachers who had neither a relevant A-level or higher level qualification in the last full year for which data are available.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Information on the school workforce in England, including subjects taught in state funded secondary schools, is collected as part of the annual School Workforce Census each November. Information is published in the ‘School Workforce in England’ statistical publication, available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.
The total number of hours taught for each subject are available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/38de2951-c92c-46e4-39fb-08db371965b6.
The proportion of those hours that were taught by teachers without a relevant A level or higher level qualification are available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/ee831a35-e304-4821-bb6a-08db371944c7.
Timetabled teaching is reported for a typical week in November, as determined by the school. It does not cover an entire year of teaching. If there are variations in timetabling across the year, this is not covered in the data available to the Department. To reduce the burden during the COVID-19 pandemic, schools and Local Authorities were not required to provide information on teacher qualifications in the 2020 census.
Data on the subject taught is only collected from secondary schools that use electronic timetabling software that can produce data in the format required. Data is then weighted to provide national totals. Breakdowns by Local Authority and parliamentary constituency are, therefore, not available.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many hours of (a) mathematics, (b) English, (c) sciences and (d) modern foreign languages were taught in secondary schools in Lincoln constituency by teachers who had neither a relevant A-level or higher level qualification in the last full year for which data are available.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Information on the school workforce in England, including subjects taught in state funded secondary schools, is collected as part of the annual School Workforce Census each November. Information is published in the ‘School Workforce in England’ statistical publication, available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.
The total number of hours taught for each subject are available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/38de2951-c92c-46e4-39fb-08db371965b6.
The proportion of those hours that were taught by teachers without a relevant A level or higher level qualification are available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/ee831a35-e304-4821-bb6a-08db371944c7.
Timetabled teaching is reported for a typical week in November, as determined by the school. It does not cover an entire year of teaching. If there are variations in timetabling across the year, this is not covered in the data available to the Department. To reduce the burden during the COVID-19 pandemic, schools and Local Authorities were not required to provide information on teacher qualifications in the 2020 census.
Data on the subject taught is only collected from secondary schools that use electronic timetabling software that can produce data in the format required. Data is then weighted to provide national totals. Breakdowns by Local Authority and parliamentary constituency are, therefore, not available.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many hours of (a) mathematics, (b) English, (c) sciences and (d) modern foreign languages were taught in secondary schools in Heywood and Middleton constituency by teachers who had neither a relevant A-level or higher level qualification in the last full year for which data are available.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Information on the school workforce in England, including subjects taught in state funded secondary schools, is collected as part of the annual School Workforce Census each November. Information is published in the ‘School Workforce in England’ statistical publication, available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.
The total number of hours taught for each subject are available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/38de2951-c92c-46e4-39fb-08db371965b6.
The proportion of those hours that were taught by teachers without a relevant A level or higher level qualification are available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/ee831a35-e304-4821-bb6a-08db371944c7.
Timetabled teaching is reported for a typical week in November, as determined by the school. It does not cover an entire year of teaching. If there are variations in timetabling across the year, this is not covered in the data available to the Department. To reduce the burden during the COVID-19 pandemic, schools and Local Authorities were not required to provide information on teacher qualifications in the 2020 census.
Data on the subject taught is only collected from secondary schools that use electronic timetabling software that can produce data in the format required. Data is then weighted to provide national totals. Breakdowns by Local Authority and parliamentary constituency are, therefore, not available.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many hours of (a) mathematics, (b) English, (c) sciences and (d) modern foreign languages were taught in secondary schools in Northampton South constituency by teachers who had neither a relevant A-level or higher level qualification in the last full year for which data are available.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Information on the school workforce in England, including subjects taught in state funded secondary schools, is collected as part of the annual School Workforce Census each November. Information is published in the ‘School Workforce in England’ statistical publication, available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.
The total number of hours taught for each subject are available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/38de2951-c92c-46e4-39fb-08db371965b6.
The proportion of those hours that were taught by teachers without a relevant A level or higher level qualification are available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/ee831a35-e304-4821-bb6a-08db371944c7.
Timetabled teaching is reported for a typical week in November, as determined by the school. It does not cover an entire year of teaching. If there are variations in timetabling across the year, this is not covered in the data available to the Department. To reduce the burden during the COVID-19 pandemic, schools and Local Authorities were not required to provide information on teacher qualifications in the 2020 census.
Data on the subject taught is only collected from secondary schools that use electronic timetabling software that can produce data in the format required. Data is then weighted to provide national totals. Breakdowns by Local Authority and parliamentary constituency are, therefore, not available.