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1129489

registered interest
date	04/06/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Free School Meals
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of changes to the criteria for free school meals eligibility in 2018; and how many students now receive free school meals compared to the number who received them before these changes took place.
tabling member printed	Lord Bassam of Brighton
uin	HL15974
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/06/2019 answer text <p>I refer the noble Lord to the answers I gave on 6 February 2019 to Question <a href="https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Lords/2019-01-24/HL13093/" target="_blank">HL13093</a> and Question <a href="https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Lords/2019-01-24/HL13094/" target="_blank">HL13094</a>. I will also refer the noble Lord to the answer I gave on 20 February 2019 to Question <a href="https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Lords/2019-02-06/HL13492/" target="_blank">HL13492</a>.</p><p> </p><p>Under the new eligibility criteria that we introduced in April 2018, we estimate that more pupils will benefit from free school meals (FSM) by 2022, compared with the previous criteria. In addition, generous transitional protections were put in place to ensure no child will lose their eligibility for FSM during the change to the new criteria.</p><p> </p><p>Under the benefits-based criteria, to be eligible to receive FSM, a pupil or their parent must be in receipt of any one of the qualifying benefits and must make a claim to the school for FSM. The qualifying criteria includes benefits for both out of work and low-earning families. The full eligibility criteria is attached and also available here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/apply-free-school-meals" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/apply-free-school-meals</a>.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 11/06/2019 13:21:03 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton attachment 1 file name HL15974_webpage.pdf title HL15974_FSM_eligibility
tabling member	3504 label Biography information for Lord Bassam of Brighton

1129490

registered interest
date	04/06/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Free School Meals
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many students receiving free school meals (1) are children of working parents, and (2) have also received food parcels from a food bank in the previous 12 months.
tabling member printed	Lord Bassam of Brighton
uin	HL15975
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2019 answer text <p>The information requested is not held centrally.</p><p> </p><p>To be eligible to receive free school meals (FSM), a pupil or their parent must be in receipt of any one of the following listed benefits and must make a claim to the school for FSM:</p><blockquote><p>Income Support</p><p>Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance</p><p>Income-related Employment and Support Allowance</p><p>Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act (1999)</p><p>The guaranteed element of Pension Credit</p><p>Child Tax Credit (provided you’re not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190)</p><p>Working Tax Credit run-on: paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit</p><p>Universal Credit: if you apply on or after 1 April 2018 your household income must be less than £7,400 a year (after tax and not including any benefits you get).</p></blockquote><p> </p><p>We do not collect or hold data on the benefit which has qualified a pupil for FSM, therefore we are unable to identify those in receipt that may be in working households. We also do not collect any data on the number of pupils who may have received a food parcel from a food bank.</p><p> </p><p>The government believes there is a need for more robust statistics in order to better understand the trend in food insecurity. Building a better understanding of household food needs will help ensure we’re targeting support to those who need it most. This is why we have worked with food insecurity experts, the Office for National Statistics, and the Scottish Government to introduce a new set of food security questions in the Family Resources Survey from April 2019.</p><p> </p><p>This means that from spring 2021, we will be able to monitor the prevalence and severity of household food insecurity at a national level, and for specific groups to better understand the drivers of food insecurity and identify which groups are most at risk.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 18/06/2019 11:28:42 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	3504 label Biography information for Lord Bassam of Brighton

1129492

registered interest
date	04/06/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Adult Education
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure that community adult learning providers are included alongside further education colleges in any future national adult education network, following the recommendation in the independent panel report to the Review of Post-18 Education and Funding.
tabling member printed	Lord Bird
uin	HL15977
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2019 answer text <p>The independent panel’s report forms an important step in the government’s Review of Post-18 Education and Funding. The government will consider the panel’s recommendations carefully and engage with stakeholders before concluding the review at the Spending Review.</p><p> </p><p>The Adult Education Budget aims to provide adults with the skills and learning that they need to equip them for work, an apprenticeship or other learning. It enables flexible tailored programmes, which may or may not require a qualification, to be made available to help eligible adults to undertake in learning programmes, build their confidence and enhance their wellbeing. This includes community learning and funding to help learners overcome barriers to learning, such as financial hardship or learning difficulties or disabilities. The department is considering adult skills more widely in preparation for the upcoming Spending Review.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton grouped question UIN HL15978 HL15979 HL15980 question first answered 18/06/2019 13:16:01 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	4564 label Biography information for Lord Bird

1129493

registered interest
date	04/06/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Adult Education
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how they will support adult learning at entry level and pre-qualification level to help those who want to develop the skills and confidence to progress to higher level qualifications, as recommended in the independent panel report to the Review of Post-18 Education and Funding.
tabling member printed	Lord Bird
uin	HL15978
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2019 answer text <p>The independent panel’s report forms an important step in the government’s Review of Post-18 Education and Funding. The government will consider the panel’s recommendations carefully and engage with stakeholders before concluding the review at the Spending Review.</p><p> </p><p>The Adult Education Budget aims to provide adults with the skills and learning that they need to equip them for work, an apprenticeship or other learning. It enables flexible tailored programmes, which may or may not require a qualification, to be made available to help eligible adults to undertake in learning programmes, build their confidence and enhance their wellbeing. This includes community learning and funding to help learners overcome barriers to learning, such as financial hardship or learning difficulties or disabilities. The department is considering adult skills more widely in preparation for the upcoming Spending Review.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton grouped question UIN HL15977 HL15979 HL15980 question first answered 18/06/2019 13:16:01 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	4564 label Biography information for Lord Bird

1129494

registered interest
date	04/06/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Adult Education
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they (1) make, and (2) plan to make, available to adult learners who wish to study without the intention of obtaining a qualification.
tabling member printed	Lord Bird
uin	HL15979
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2019 answer text <p>The independent panel’s report forms an important step in the government’s Review of Post-18 Education and Funding. The government will consider the panel’s recommendations carefully and engage with stakeholders before concluding the review at the Spending Review.</p><p> </p><p>The Adult Education Budget aims to provide adults with the skills and learning that they need to equip them for work, an apprenticeship or other learning. It enables flexible tailored programmes, which may or may not require a qualification, to be made available to help eligible adults to undertake in learning programmes, build their confidence and enhance their wellbeing. This includes community learning and funding to help learners overcome barriers to learning, such as financial hardship or learning difficulties or disabilities. The department is considering adult skills more widely in preparation for the upcoming Spending Review.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton grouped question UIN HL15977 HL15978 HL15980 question first answered 18/06/2019 13:16:01 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	4564 label Biography information for Lord Bird

1129495

registered interest
date	04/06/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Education: Disadvantaged
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their strategy to reduce inequality in education; and how any strategy will include adult community learning providers who already provide support to disadvantaged and vulnerable communities.
tabling member printed	Lord Bird
uin	HL15980
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2019 answer text <p>The independent panel’s report forms an important step in the government’s Review of Post-18 Education and Funding. The government will consider the panel’s recommendations carefully and engage with stakeholders before concluding the review at the Spending Review.</p><p> </p><p>The Adult Education Budget aims to provide adults with the skills and learning that they need to equip them for work, an apprenticeship or other learning. It enables flexible tailored programmes, which may or may not require a qualification, to be made available to help eligible adults to undertake in learning programmes, build their confidence and enhance their wellbeing. This includes community learning and funding to help learners overcome barriers to learning, such as financial hardship or learning difficulties or disabilities. The department is considering adult skills more widely in preparation for the upcoming Spending Review.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton grouped question UIN HL15977 HL15978 HL15979 question first answered 18/06/2019 13:16:01 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	4564 label Biography information for Lord Bird

1129500

registered interest
date	04/06/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Design: Education
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of students taking subjects linked to design at (1) primary, (2) secondary, and (3) tertiary level, in each year since 2009; and what steps they are taking to increase the uptake of those subjects.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury
uin	HL15985
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2019 answer text <p>The number and percentage of students taking design and technology (D&amp;T) and art and design qualifications is set out in the attached tables.</p><p>The government believes that both art and design and D&amp;T are important subjects. All state maintained secondary schools must teach art and design and D&amp;T to pupils aged 5-14. There is also a statutory entitlement for every pupil aged 14-16 to take D&amp;T and an arts subject, if they wish to do so.</p><p>Like maintained schools, academies must provide a broad and balanced curriculum. Ofsted’s new inspection arrangements, which will be introduced in September, place a renewed focus on schools ensuring all pupils receive a broad, balanced and ambitious curriculum.</p><p>The arts are an essential part of a broad and balanced education and high-quality arts education should not be the preserve of the elite, but the entitlement of every single child. Between 2016-20, we are spending almost £500 million on a range of arts and cultural education programmes.</p><p>At primary school, data from the Teacher Voice Omnibus 2016 survey revealed that the average amount of time spent teaching art and design and D&amp;T was broadly similar to the amount of time spent teaching history and geography. GCSE art and design remains a popular choice and 2019 Ofqual provisional GCSE data shows the proportion of pupils taking this subject has increased since 2018.</p><p>The department has worked closely with organisations such as the James Dyson Foundation and Royal Academy of Engineering to strengthen the new D&amp;T curriculum and GCSE. The new GCSE will be taken for the first time in summer 2019. To improve the quality of teaching D&amp;T in schools, the department offers D&amp;T graduates bursaries of up to £12,000 to enter the profession.</p><p>Both art and design and D&amp;T GCSEs count towards the progress and attainment 8 secondary accountability measures, which is the headline measure of secondary school performance.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 18/06/2019 15:36:04 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton attachment 1 file name HL15985_Qualifications.pdf title HL15985_table
tabling member	3699 label Biography information for Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury

1129505

registered interest
date	04/06/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Languages: GCSE
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the reduction in the number of pupils taking a modern language GCSE as a result of their school compressing Key Stage 3 into two years and making languages optional after the age of 13.
tabling member printed	Baroness Coussins
uin	HL15990
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2019 answer text <p>Languages are now compulsory at key stage 2, and since the introduction of the English Baccalaureate in 2010, language take-up at GCSE has increased from 40% to 46% last year. Ofqual’s recent provisional data for the summer 2019 exam series showed that overall entries to modern foreign languages (MFL) summer GCSE exams increased by 4% compared to last year.</p><p>Under Ofsted’s new framework, which will be introduced in September, inspectors will be alert to signs of curriculum narrowing at key stage 3. If a school has a shortened key stage 3, inspectors will look to see that the school has made provisions to ensure that pupils still have the opportunity to study a broad range of subjects, commensurate with the national curriculum, in years 7-9.</p><p>The department is supporting schools to increase the number of pupils taking GCSEs in languages through several programmes. These include the £4.8 million MFL pedagogy programme, an undergraduate digi-mentoring scheme, the £10 million Mandarin Excellence Programme, and targeted communications activity at key points in the school year to encourage pupils to study languages.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 18/06/2019 13:10:38 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	3829 label Biography information for Baroness Coussins

1129510

registered interest
date	04/06/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Languages: Qualifications
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the level of difficulty in examinations and severe grading on the take-up of modern languages at GCSE and A-level.
tabling member printed	Baroness Coussins
uin	HL15995
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2019 answer text <p>Ofqual is the regulator of qualifications, examinations and assessments in England. Ofqual is conducting a comprehensive review of grading standards in GCSE French, German and Spanish to see if there is a compelling case for an adjustment to grading standards in these subjects. Ofqual’s review will consider statistical evidence, contextual data including trends in the numbers taking these subjects, and the quality of students’ work through looking at how GCSE grades relate to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Ofqual is also gathering the views of subject experts and other stakeholders. Ofqual is due to report on this work in the autumn.</p><p>Ofqual has examined this issue in relation to grading standards in A level French, German and Spanish (and A level biology, chemistry and physics). Ofqual considered a significant body of evidence – published in 2018 in the form of 2 technical reports – and determined that there was not a compelling case to adjust grading standards in these qualifications. This can be found here and as attached:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/inter-subject-comparability" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/inter-subject-comparability</a>.</p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 18/06/2019 13:18:10 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton attachment 1 file name HL15995_Inter-subject_comparability_technical_report_science.pdf title HL15995_report
tabling member	3829 label Biography information for Baroness Coussins

1129552

registered interest
date	04/06/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Special Educational Needs
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the announcement of new school places for special educational needs children on 11 March, how the Department for Education is working with local authorities to ensure that new schools are built where demand for places is highest.
tabling member printed	Lord Porter of Spalding
uin	HL16037
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2019 answer text <p>Every child in this country, whatever their background, should have the opportunity to get a world class education, giving them knowledge and skills that set them up for life. This includes children with special educational needs and disabilities. To help achieve this ambition, the department has opened 34 new special free schools through the free schools programme, with a further 91 approved to open in the future.</p><p>The department’s experience of opening special free schools has shown that the commitment from local authorities is important so that new schools compliment the local education offer and are a close match for what families need. That is why in the recent round, we asked local authorities to set out their case for why a new special free school would benefit their area, including how the new school would help them manage their high needs budget.</p><p>This process does not replace the free school presumption process and does not replace a local authority’s duty to secure sufficient appropriate education for children and young people.</p><p>If there is significant basic need in an area, the local authority should decide whether a free school presumption competition is needed and if so, they must seek proposals to establish a free school through the presumption process.</p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 18/06/2019 13:15:02 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	4555 label Biography information for Lord Porter of Spalding