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1135066

registered interest
date	26/06/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Primary Education: Closures
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what criteria are used when reaching a decision on the closure of a primary school; and what role is played by (1) the Department for Education, and (2) the Secretary of State for Education specifically, in making such a decision.
tabling member printed	Lord Hannay of Chiswick
uin	HL16693
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/07/2019 answer text <p>The decision to close a local authority maintained primary school is a local decision. Neither the Department for Education nor my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, play a role in the process or decision making. Where the school is an academy, the final decision is made by the Secretary of State for Education.</p><p>When making a decision on a proposal to close a school, the decision maker (be it the local authority or the Secretary of State) will consider whether there is appropriate surplus capacity in the area to accommodate displaced pupils and any future projected increase in pupil numbers. They will also consider the impact of those likely to be affected by the closure, the balance of denominational provision, the impact on travel times for displaced pupils and any specialist provision (including sixth form provision or provision for pupils with special educational needs or disabilities).</p><p>Where the school is an academy, the Secretary of State will also consider the viability of the school under the current academy trust, including the effectiveness of any attempts to raise education and financial performance. They will also consider the availability of other academy trusts to take on the school and their capacity to drive the required improvements and the cost effectiveness of closure.</p><p>There is a presumption against the closure of rural primary schools. Where a school is designated as a rural school, the decision maker will also consider any alternatives to closure (e.g. amalgamation, federation, academy conversion or academy transfer). They will also consider the likely impact of the closure on the local community, the availability of, and likely cost of transport to alternative schools and any increase in the use of motor vehicles due to the closure and the likely impact of any increase.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 05/07/2019 11:01:22 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	2167 label Biography information for Lord Hannay of Chiswick

1135095

registered interest
date	26/06/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Pupil Exclusions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how they ensure that no children are off-rolled by schools.
tabling member printed	Lord Storey
uin	HL16722
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/07/2019 answer text <p>The department is clear that off-rolling, as defined by Ofsted, is unacceptable, and whilst the department believes this practice is relatively rare, the government is committed to continue working with Ofsted to tackle the practice of off-rolling.</p><p>Pupils leave school rolls for many reasons including: permanent exclusion, moving to another school, or changes of circumstances (such as when a pupil moves to a new area). All schools must notify the local authority when a pupil’s name is to be deleted from the admission register. There is no legal definition of ‘off-rolling’. However, the law is clear that a pupil’s name can only be deleted from the admission register on the grounds prescribed in regulation 8 of the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006, as amended.</p><p>Following media coverage of off-rolling in 2017, the department wrote to all secondary schools, reminding them of the rules surrounding exclusion.</p><p>Ofsted already considers records of children taken off roll and has recently consulted on proposals that will see a strengthened focus on this issue. From September 2019, where inspectors find evidence of off-rolling, this will be addressed in the inspection report, and where appropriate will lead to a school’s leadership being judged inadequate.</p><p>In March 2018, the government launched an externally-led review of exclusions practice, led by Edward Timpson CBE. The review explored how head teachers use exclusion, and why pupils with particular characteristics are more likely to be excluded from school. It also considered the differences in exclusion rates across primary and secondary schools in England.</p><p>The Timpson Review and government’s response were published on 7 May. The review makes 30 recommendations and highlights variation in exclusions practice across different schools, local authorities and certain groups of children. The government has accepted all 30 recommendations in principle, and the department has committed to working with education leaders over the summer to design a consultation on making schools accountable for the outcomes for permanently excluded children, to be launched in the autumn. As part of this, the department will seek views on how to mitigate the potential unintended consequences Edward Timpson has identified in his review, including the practice of off-rolling.</p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 03/07/2019 15:40:44 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	4238 label Biography information for Lord Storey

1135098

registered interest
date	26/06/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Further Education: Finance
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support an increase in the budget allocated to further education colleges to help address the UK skills gap.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL16725
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/07/2019 answer text <p>The department recognises the pressures that further education (FE) funding is under and acknowledges that funding has not kept up with costs. We are looking at this carefully ahead of the next Spending Review and are considering how effective our funding and regulatory structures are in supporting providers to deliver excellent provision for young people and adults. We have been working with the FE sector to make sure that the system can support sustainable, high quality education and effective recruitment and retention of teachers and leaders.</p><p>We welcome the publication of the Independent Panel Report: Post-18 Review of Education and Funding, attached, and will continue to work with stakeholders to deliver a post-18 system that is joined-up and supported by a funding system that works for students and taxpayers. The government will consider the panel’s recommendations carefully and will conclude the review at the Spending Review. The government has not yet taken decisions with regards to the recommendations put forward.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 08/07/2019 16:41:11 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton attachment 1 file name HL16725_Independent_panel_report_post_18_review_of_post_18_education_and_funding.pdf title HL16725_report
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1135101

registered interest
date	26/06/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Schools: Admissions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect to implement the recently-announced changes to the School Admissions Code introducing priority admission-status for inter-country adopted children.
tabling member printed	Lord Watson of Invergowrie
uin	HL16728
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/07/2019 answer text <p>As stated in the recent Children in Need review, the government will be taking forward changes to the School Admissions Code, to ensure that all children, especially the most vulnerable, can access a school place as quickly as possible.</p><p> </p><p>As part of these changes, the government will also implement the changes previously announced by my right hon. Friend, the Minister for School Standards, to ensure that children who were previously in care outside of England receive highest priority for admission into a school in England.</p><p> </p><p>All changes will be subject to the full statutory process, including a public consultation, which will be launched in the autumn.</p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 08/07/2019 11:58:45 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	1241 label Biography information for Lord Watson of Invergowrie

1134715

registered interest
date	25/06/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Pupil Premium: Adoption
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to raise awareness of the availability of Pupil Premium Plus funding for adopted children among parents and schools.
tabling member printed	Lord Watson of Invergowrie
uin	HL16682
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/07/2019 answer text <p>Eligibility for pupil premium plus (PP+) funding for adopted children relies on self-declaration by adoptive parents. We respect the rights of parents to choose whether or not to declare that their child is adopted but have worked with the sector, including through social media, to encourage parents to declare.</p><p>Statutory guidance for designated teachers requires them to help raise previously looked-after children’s parents’ and guardians’ awareness of their entitlements, including encouraging parents of eligible previously looked-after children to tell the school if their child is eligible to attract PP+ funding.</p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 04/07/2019 13:21:08 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	1241 label Biography information for Lord Watson of Invergowrie

1134716

registered interest
date	25/06/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Pupil Premium: Adoption
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the use of Pupil Premium Plus funding for adopted children is properly scrutinised.
tabling member printed	Lord Watson of Invergowrie
uin	HL16683
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/07/2019 answer text <p>For adopted children, pupil premium plus (PP+) is paid directly to their school. The school is free to use PP+ however it chooses to promote the educational outcomes of all eligible pupils. However, local authority-maintained schools must publish their strategy for using PP+ on their website and it is recommended that academies do the same.</p><p>In May 2019, Ofsted published its education inspection handbook which will apply to school inspections carried out from September 2019 under the education inspection framework. This sets out how inspectors will gather evidence of the impact of the use of PP+ and how they will consider the impact of the curriculum on previously looked-after children, including those adopted from care.</p><p>Statutory guidance for designated teachers requires them to encourage parents and guardians’ involvement in deciding how the PP+ is used to support their child and be the main contact for queries about its use.</p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 04/07/2019 13:22:28 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	1241 label Biography information for Lord Watson of Invergowrie

1134717

registered interest
date	25/06/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Academies: Standards
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent assessment they have made of the effectiveness of multi-academy trusts in delivering improvements in academic performance in schools.
tabling member printed	Lord Watson of Invergowrie
uin	HL16684
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/07/2019 answer text <p>Performance data illustrates how disadvantaged pupils in academy trusts are making more progress at GCSE level than the equivalent national average. Data for key stage 4 and academy trust performance in 2018 is attached and is available here:</p><p><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/774014/2018_KS4_main_text.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/774014/2018_KS4_main_text.pdf</a>.</p><p>In primary schools within academy trusts, disadvantaged pupils performed significantly better than the equivalent national average in writing and maths. Data for key stage 2 and academy trust performance is attached and is available here:</p><p><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/774446/KS2_Revised_2018_text_MATS_20190130.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/774446/KS2_Revised_2018_text_MATS_20190130.pdf</a>.</p><p>The ‘Academy Trust Survey’, published by the department in 2017, indicates that virtually all academy trusts surveyed (96%) with 2 or more academies believe that their structure has facilitated collaboration, and most have formal relationships with schools outside their academy trust. By working in partnership with each other, schools can benefit from sharing staff, curriculum expertise and effective pedagogy, and drive down the costs of procurement.</p><p>Our ambition is for every school that wants to, to benefit from the autonomy and freedom to innovate that academy status offers and for schools to collaborate through strong academy trusts.</p><p>The ‘Academy Trust Survey’ has been attached and is available here:</p><p><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/629779/Academy_Trust_Survey_2017.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/629779/Academy_Trust_Survey_2017.pdf</a>.</p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton attachment 1 file name HL16684_KS4_performance .pdf title HL16684_chart 2 file name HL16684_KS2_national_curriculum.pdf title HL16684_chart 3 file name HL16684_Academy_Trust_Survey_2017.pdf title HL16684_survey question first answered 05/07/2019 11:00:16 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	1241 label Biography information for Lord Watson of Invergowrie

1134718

registered interest
date	25/06/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children's Centres
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect to receive the Early Intervention Foundation's review Children's centres and beyond: understanding the changing face of integrated local early years support.
tabling member printed	Lord Watson of Invergowrie
uin	HL16685
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/07/2019 answer text <p>We have commissioned the Early Intervention Foundation (EIF) to review research and practice evidence with the aim of developing tools to help local authorities make informed choices about their children’s centre provision.</p><p>EIF funding runs to March 2020, as part of the Department for Education’s wider local government programme, and we expect EIF’s work to conclude by then or shortly after.</p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 03/07/2019 15:29:09 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	1241 label Biography information for Lord Watson of Invergowrie

1134331

registered interest
date	24/06/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Construction: Skilled Workers
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps, if any, they are taking to address a reported shortage of skilled workers in the construction industry due to Brexit uncertainty.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL16616
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/07/2019 answer text <p>As we prepare to leave the EU, we continue to contribute to the work with the Home Office on future migration arrangements.</p><p> </p><p>The government’s role is to make the skills system more responsive to demand. We are reforming the technical education system to be more responsive to the needs of employers. These reforms sit alongside our now-established programme of apprenticeship reforms.</p><p> </p><p>60 apprenticeship standards for construction routes are now approved for delivery, with more in development. We are also running pilots across the country to raise the profile of apprenticeships in disadvantaged areas, to improve access to apprenticeships in key sectors such as engineering, manufacturing and construction.</p><p> </p><p>In the Construction Sector Deal, the construction industry has committed to raising the number of apprenticeship starts to 25,000 starts per year by 2025.</p><p> </p><p>Construction is also one of the first routes for T level delivery, with the Design and Planning pathway launching in 2020. The Onsite Construction and Building Engineering pathways are expected to launch in 2021.</p><p> </p><p>The construction industry has shown that it values T Levels and has committed through the Construction Sector Deal to offering 1000 work placements from 2020. This will enable all Construction T level students to access a high quality, real-life experience which will help make sure that they are ‘site-ready’ on completion of their course.</p><p> </p><p>Collectively, these reforms will improve the supply of new entrants to the construction sector. Officials estimate that these changes will increase the number of new sector entrants by approximately 25% by the mid-2020s.</p><p> </p><p>For adults already in the labour market, construction offers a range of high quality job opportunities. The Construction Skills Fund is a cross-government programme with industry and is underway to address the current skills shortages in the sector. The department was allocated £24 million to support the development of on-site construction training hubs across England in 2018-19 and 2019-2020. The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) are allocating this fund and have committed to delivering more than 20 hubs that will train 13,000 employment-ready learners by March 2020.</p><p> </p><p>The CITB provides a wide range of services and initiatives to mitigate the current skills shortages, including paying grants to employers to carry out training to improve standards, adopting modern methods of construction (MMC), improving careers advice and improving site readiness and transitions from study to work, including through a new “boot camp” pilot scheme initiative.</p><p> </p><p>Lastly, the government is encouraging the expansion of MMC, which presents the opportunity to greatly reduce the level of skilled workers needed on building sites using these methods.</p><p> </p><p>The department has built 57 schools using MMC and, this financial year, we plan to open another 21 schools. The department has announced a new procurement framework with a value of up to £3 billion for MMC solutions in schools. This framework is due to go live by November 2019.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 08/07/2019 15:19:20 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1134339

registered interest
date	24/06/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	English Language: Education
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister of State for Apprenticeships and Skills on 18 March (232096), when they expect to publish plans for the additional funding they will make available to support their English language strategy beyond the current English Language Coordination Fund.
tabling member printed	Lord Watson of Invergowrie
uin	HL16624
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/07/2019 answer text <p>The department is currently in the process of developing the strategy for English for speakers of other languages and we are carefully considering the available evidence on resources and funding for English language provision. The department plans to publish the strategy in Autumn 2019.</p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 03/07/2019 12:29:10 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	1241 label Biography information for Lord Watson of Invergowrie