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1238211

registered interest
date	28/09/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Pupils: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what his Departments' policy is on measuring attendance rates at schools where children have been sent home from school due to a covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Pontypridd
tabling member printed	Alex Davies-Jones
uin	96225
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/10/2020 answer text <p>School attendance rates are based on the data collected via the termly school census. Data relating to the autumn term of the 2020-21 academic year will be collected as part of the spring 2021 census.</p><p>The Department has included an additional category ‘not attending in circumstances relating to coronavirus’ for use in situations as outlined in the following guidance: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-attendance/addendum-recording-attendance-in-relation-to-coronavirus-covid-19-during-the-2020-to-2021-academic-year" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-attendance/addendum-recording-attendance-in-relation-to-coronavirus-covid-19-during-the-2020-to-2021-academic-year</a>.</p><p>Sessions recorded under this category will not count towards normal absence in the statistical releases derived from this data.</p><p>In addition to the termly school census, the Department is monitoring data collected daily from schools who are self-reporting and manually inputting data through a web portal each day. We ask schools where children have been sent home due to a COVID-19 outbreak to provide the number of pupils and students not attending due to a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19, and those that have been requested to remain home due to a potential contact with COVID-19.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 01/10/2020 15:35:30 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4849 label Biography information for Alex Davies-Jones

1238212

registered interest
date	28/09/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Pupils: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children have been sent home from school due to a covid-19 outbreak since March 2020; if he will publish the number of those children who have been sent home who have been counted in his Department's attendance figures; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Pontypridd
tabling member printed	Alex Davies-Jones
uin	96226
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/10/2020 answer text <p>Keeping close track of suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases in schools is a priority for the Government. Public Health England (PHE) leads in holding data on infection, incidence and COVID-19 cases overall. PHE have published data on COVID-19 incidents by institution, including educational settings. This data can be found here: <br><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-covid-19-surveillance-reports" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-covid-19-surveillance-reports</a>.</p><p>The Department is currently collecting data from schools on a daily basis, as well as gathering information from local areas and following up with individual settings to confirm that procedures for requiring pupils to isolate are well understood and that necessary decisions are made on the basis of public health advice.</p><p>The Department collects data on the number of schools that have indicated that they have sent children home due to COVID-19 containment measures. We are currently looking at the quality of the data collected with a view to publishing it as part of the official statistics series. The series includes published data on school openings and attendance, which shows that at a national level approximately 93% of state-funded schools were fully open on 24 September. Of all schools that responded to the survey, 6% said they were not fully open due to suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19 on 24 September. Approximately 88% of all children on roll in all state-funded schools were in attendance on 24 September. More information is available at: <br><a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak" target="_blank">https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak</a>.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 01/10/2020 16:14:05 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4849 label Biography information for Alex Davies-Jones

1238231

registered interest
date	28/09/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking with local authorities to ensure that children’s services are not adversely affected due to the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Erith and Thamesmead
tabling member printed	Abena Oppong-Asare
uin	96213
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/10/2020 answer text <p>Ensuring that vulnerable children remain protected is a top priority for the government.</p><p>The department has been working closely with local authorities to assess the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, setting up dedicated regional teams that are in frequent contact. Bringing together expertise from across the department, these teams monitor the challenges local authorities are facing. This includes any increases in demand and can provide support and guidance where appropriate.</p><p>We are also monitoring referrals to children’s services via our regional teams and via the Vulnerable Children and Young People survey, which collects data fortnightly from local authorities in England. As well as this, as part of a phased return to routine inspection, Ofsted are making assurance visits to children’s social care providers.</p><p>The government has provided an unprecedented package of support for vulnerable children, including:</p><ul><li>£3.7 billion of additional funding to support local authorities in meeting COVID-19 related pressures, including in children’s services. This funding is un-ringfenced, recognising local authorities are best placed to decide how to meet the major COVID-19 service pressures in their local area.</li><li>£1.6 million of funding for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children to help promote and expand their national UK helpline which provides advice and guidance and support to adults reporting safeguarding concerns.</li><li>The Adoption Support Fund has £8 million to help families under pressure as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.</li><li>The Innovation Programme with more than £12 million for 14 projects tackling increased risk, including from domestic violence and supporting teenagers at risk of exploitation.</li><li>See, Hear, Respond is a £7 million partnership of national children’s charities and local organisations to provide targeted support to vulnerable children, young people and their families who are affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.</li><li>Laptops and tablets for children with social workers and care leavers to help them keep in touch with the services they need, as well as 4G internet devices for connecting to the internet.</li><li>Continuing the Social Work Together programme to match social workers to employers bringing back 8,000 former social workers onto the professional register.</li></ul><p>We have also made temporary legislative changes to help reduce pressure on the system and enable children's services to continue to support vulnerable children during these unprecedented times.</p><p>Our latest guidance on supporting vulnerable children and young people during the COVID-19 outbreak is available at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-childrens-social-care-services" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-childrens-social-care-services</a>.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 01/10/2020 16:04:54 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4820 label Biography information for Abena Oppong-Asare

1238233

registered interest
date	28/09/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Teaching Excellence Framework Independent Review
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when he plans to respond to the independent review of the Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework conducted by Dame Shirley Pearce and submitted in August 2019.
tabling member constituency	Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle
tabling member printed	Emma Hardy
uin	96175
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/10/2020 answer text <p>The Higher Education and Research Act (2017) requires that the report of the independent review of the Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework should be laid before Parliament.</p><p>The reviewer, Dame Shirley Pearce, has submitted her report to ministers and we are considering the report’s evidence and recommendations. We intend to lay the report in due course, and publish it alongside the government’s response.</p> answering member constituency Chippenham answering member printed Michelle Donelan question first answered 01/10/2020 14:55:27 answering member 4530 label Biography information for Michelle Donelan
tabling member	4645 label Biography information for Emma Hardy

1238302

registered interest
date	28/09/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Foster Care: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support his Department has provided to foster carers during the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Barnsley Central
tabling member printed	Dan Jarvis
uin	96071
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/10/2020 answer text <p>The COVID-19 outbreak has brought unprecedented challenges to some foster families. Foster parents play an invaluable role, especially now, in the stability and care of some of our most vulnerable children and in our response to the outbreak. The department remains committed to taking the necessary action to ensure that foster parents receive the respect and support that they need and deserve. That is why, in June, we launched the new FosterlinePlus service, providing free access to a range of specialist one-to-one support and advice services for foster families who need additional guidance during these uncertain times.</p><p>This year, the government has issued over £3.7 billion of additional funding to support local authorities in meeting COVID-19 related pressures, including within children’s social care. Fostering services have been using this funding to provide additional resources to families, including an increase in allowances and direct support, and to maximise foster carer capacity.</p><p>As both my right hon. Friends, the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer, have made clear, the government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.</p><p>Our latest guidance for fostering services can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-childrens-social-care-services/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-local-authorities-on-childrens-social-care#fostering" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-childrens-social-care-services/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-local-authorities-on-childrens-social-care</a>.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 01/10/2020 14:42:55 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4243 label Biography information for Dan Jarvis

1238327

registered interest
date	28/09/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Schools: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when his Department plans to disburse the additional funding and grants for costs associated with the covid-19 outbreak claimed for by (a) Eversely Primary School and (b) other schools.
tabling member constituency	Enfield, Southgate
tabling member printed	Bambos Charalambous
uin	96163
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/10/2020 answer text <p>The Department is providing additional funding to schools, on top of existing budgets, to cover unavoidable costs incurred between March and July due to the COVID-19 outbreak that cannot be met from their existing resources.</p><p>Schools have been eligible to claim for: increased premises related costs associated with keeping schools open over the Easter and summer half term holidays; support for free school meals for eligible children who are not in school, where schools are not using the national voucher scheme; and additional cleaning costs required due to confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases, over and above the cost of existing cleaning arrangements.</p><p>The first claims window for the COVID-19 schools fund closed on 21 July. There will be a further opportunity in the autumn for schools to claim for exceptional costs that fell between March and July. This second claims window will be available for schools who were unable to claim in the summer and will be for the same eligible cost categories.</p><p>Schools have claimed £104 million against the standard expenditure categories in the fund, as set out above. The Department will be making further payments in the autumn term to schools who either claimed outside of the standard categories or whose claims exceeded the cost limit, following an assessment of their claims. Along with other schools who made a claim outside of the standard expenditure categories, Eversley Primary School, Enfield, will receive a payment in the autumn term which will reflect the outcome of that assessment.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 01/10/2020 16:20:17 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4610 label Biography information for Bambos Charalambous

1238338

registered interest
date	28/09/2020
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	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment his Department has made of the trends in the level of school exclusions in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Coventry North East
tabling member printed	Colleen Fletcher
uin	96085
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/10/2020 answer text <p>Statistics on exclusions are available in the National Statistics release on permanent and fixed period exclusions in England, which can be found here:<br><a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/permanent-and-fixed-period-exclusions-in-england" target="_blank">https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/permanent-and-fixed-period-exclusions-in-england</a>.</p><p>Data at national, regional and local authority level by year are available in the ‘Download associated files’ section, in the file ‘Permanent and fixed period exclusions - by geography’. The same data can also be obtained with the ‘create your own tables’ function. This data is available at: <br> <a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/4ee34700-daa5-4fb6-acc9-7d99f1d9ff0e" target="_blank">https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/4ee34700-daa5-4fb6-acc9-7d99f1d9ff0e</a>.</p><p>The Department does not hold data on the number of children found in possession of a knife at school. When a pupil is excluded, the category of the reason for exclusion is recorded, but possession of a knife is not a specific category. The categories used are available in Annex B of the exclusion statistics methodology document which can be viewed at:<br><a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/methodology/pupil-exclusion-statistics-methodology" target="_blank">https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/methodology/pupil-exclusion-statistics-methodology</a>.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb grouped question UIN 96086 question first answered 01/10/2020 16:26:58 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4378 label Biography information for Colleen Fletcher

1238339

registered interest
date	28/09/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Schools: Knives
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of children found in possession of a knife at school in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Coventry North East
tabling member printed	Colleen Fletcher
uin	96086
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/10/2020 answer text <p>Statistics on exclusions are available in the National Statistics release on permanent and fixed period exclusions in England, which can be found here:<br><a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/permanent-and-fixed-period-exclusions-in-england" target="_blank">https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/permanent-and-fixed-period-exclusions-in-england</a>.</p><p>Data at national, regional and local authority level by year are available in the ‘Download associated files’ section, in the file ‘Permanent and fixed period exclusions - by geography’. The same data can also be obtained with the ‘create your own tables’ function. This data is available at: <br> <a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/4ee34700-daa5-4fb6-acc9-7d99f1d9ff0e" target="_blank">https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/4ee34700-daa5-4fb6-acc9-7d99f1d9ff0e</a>.</p><p>The Department does not hold data on the number of children found in possession of a knife at school. When a pupil is excluded, the category of the reason for exclusion is recorded, but possession of a knife is not a specific category. The categories used are available in Annex B of the exclusion statistics methodology document which can be viewed at:<br><a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/methodology/pupil-exclusion-statistics-methodology" target="_blank">https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/methodology/pupil-exclusion-statistics-methodology</a>.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb grouped question UIN 96085 question first answered 01/10/2020 16:26:58 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4378 label Biography information for Colleen Fletcher

1238375

registered interest
date	28/09/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Students: Housing
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions his Department has had with (a) universities who operate student accommodation and (b) private providers of student accommodation on their response to the covid-19 outbreak since March 2020.
tabling member constituency	Luton North
tabling member printed	Sarah Owen
uin	96196
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/10/2020 answer text <p>The department is in frequent contact with representatives of the higher education sector, having regular interactions at both official and ministerial level with key parties, including Universities UK and the Office for Students. Officials have also been in frequent contact with representatives of private providers of accommodation, including Unipol, who operate the national codes of practice for private student accommodation providers.</p><p>I have spoken with representatives of Unite and Unipol at the Higher Education Taskforce, which the government convened in August. The Taskforce continues to work with the sector on the challenges universities, colleges and their students are facing due to the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak.</p><p>On 10 September, the government issued updated guidance for providers on reopening campuses and buildings to help providers make informed decisions about their provision, which is available at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reopening-buildings-and-campuses/higher-education-reopening-buildings-and-campuses" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reopening-buildings-and-campuses/higher-education-reopening-buildings-and-campuses</a>.</p><p>This guidance builds on the advice provided in June, and updated in July, which universities have been using to plan for a safe return. Policies are kept under review as the situation evolves, based on the latest advice from Public Health England and evidence of the effectiveness of interventions and support for students and providers. The guidance reflects the latest scientific advice from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies.</p><p>The department has worked with universities to ensure that they all have outbreak plans. These have been developed in conjunction with local public health teams and all have been or are being agreed with local directors of public health. The plans should cover a range of scenarios, including outbreaks in accommodation, both on and off campus.</p><p>The government has published guidance for landlords and tenants who may be affected by current events, available at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-and-renting-guidance-for-landlords-tenants-and-local-authorities" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-and-renting-guidance-for-landlords-tenants-and-local-authorities</a>.</p> answering member constituency Chippenham answering member printed Michelle Donelan question first answered 01/10/2020 14:34:59 answering member 4530 label Biography information for Michelle Donelan
tabling member	4777 label Biography information for Sarah Owen

1238422

registered interest
date	28/09/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	National Tutoring Programme: Travellers
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will allocate ring-fenced funding as part of the National Tutoring Programme to children from Gypsy, Roma and Irish Traveller communities.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
uin	96202
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/10/2020 answer text <p>The National Tutoring Programme (NTP) will provide additional, targeted tutoring support for disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils who need the most help to catch up. It is important that decisions about what support pupils receive are made locally by those who understand their needs. Schools are encouraged to direct NTP support to those pupil premium pupils who have been hardest hit by the disruption to their education. However, they are able to exercise their professional judgement to include other disadvantaged and vulnerable children who are most in need of support.</p><p>As well as the NTP, the Department is also providing £650 million for a catch-up premium for all schools to help make up for lost teaching time. Schools can prioritise support based on individual needs, including pupils from deprived backgrounds and pupils facing other challenges, such as young carers, those working with a social worker, and those with mental health needs. Schools are free to use this funding to meet the needs of their pupils, including, for example, intervention programmes, extra teaching capacity or access to technology.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 01/10/2020 16:15:52 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana