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418413

	registered interest
	date	11/09/2015
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Classroom Assistants
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to publish the findings of her Department's review into the status and professionalism of teaching assistants announced in October 2014.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	10004
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/10/2015 answer text <p>Ministers have considered the latest evidence on the effective deployment and professional development of teaching assistants, together with a summary of the call for evidence and the draft teaching assistant standards submitted by the expert panel.</p><p> </p><p>In the light of this evidence, the Government believes that schools are best placed to decide how they use and deploy teaching assistants, and to set standards for the teaching assistants they employ. The Secretary of State has therefore decided not to publish the draft standards.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 07/10/2015 09:40:42 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb previous answer version 21854 answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

418414

	registered interest
	date	11/09/2015
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Schools: Cheshire West and Chester
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the current status is of schools placed in special measures in (a) Ellesmere Port and Neston constituency and (b) Cheshire West and Chester local authority area.
	tabling member constituency	Ellesmere Port and Neston
	tabling member printed	Justin Madders
	uin	10014
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/09/2015 answer text <p>Only one school within the relevant areas is currently in special measures; the University of Chester Academy Northwich.</p><p> </p><p>The recent Ofsted monitoring inspections of 4 March 2015 and 10 June 2015, both found the school to be making reasonable progress towards the removal of special measures.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Crewe and Nantwich answering member printed Edward Timpson question first answered 21/09/2015 09:21:30 answering member 1605 label Biography information for Edward Timpson
	tabling member	4418 label Biography information for Justin Madders

418415

	registered interest
	date	11/09/2015
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure pupils are able to share information about their backgrounds and cultures as part of personal, social and health education.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	10019
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/09/2015 answer text <p>Education is a devolved power; as such, this reply concerns schools in England only.</p><p> </p><p>It is for schools to tailor their personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE) programme to reflect the needs of their pupils. We expect teachers to understand how best to create a safe environment for PSHE, so that pupils feel able to discuss and reflect on issues that are important to them. We have provided funding to the PSHE Association to work with schools to advise them in developing their own PSHE curriculum and improve the quality of teaching. This includes signposting schools to high-quality resources.</p><p> </p><p>Department for Education guidance on promoting the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils states that pupils must be encouraged to regard people of all faiths, races and cultures with respect and tolerance. The guidance for schools is found online at: <a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/promoting-fundamental-british-values-through-smsc" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/publications/promoting-fundamental-british-values-through-smsc</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Crewe and Nantwich answering member printed Edward Timpson question first answered 21/09/2015 09:02:31 answering member 1605 label Biography information for Edward Timpson
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

418675

	registered interest
	date	14/09/2015
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Extracurricular Activities
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to encourage the extension of the school day to create more opportunities for young people to access extracurricular activities.
	tabling member constituency	Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner
	tabling member printed	Mr Nick Hurd
	uin	10206
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/09/2015 answer text <p>The government has made it easier for all schools to make changes to the length, structure and content of the school day so that every school in England has the flexibility to decide when their school day should start and finish. We trust headteachers to decide how best to structure their school day to support their pupils’ education.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 21/09/2015 13:33:17 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
	tabling member	1561 label Biography information for Mr Nick Hurd

418674

	registered interest
	date	14/09/2015
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Department for Education: Freedom of Information
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many hours her Department spent on processing freedom of information requests in each of the last 24 months.
	tabling member constituency	Aberdeen North
	tabling member printed	Kirsty Blackman
	uin	10221
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/09/2015 answer text <p>Freedom of Information (FOI) requests are dealt with by the relevant policy teams across the Department for Education as a core business function, with support from a small policy advisory team. The processing of FOI requests is accordingly an integral part of civil servants' responsibilities and the number of hours spent on this activity is not separately identifiable.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 22/09/2015 08:54:43 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
	tabling member	4357 label Biography information for Kirsty Blackman

418885

	registered interest
	date	15/09/2015
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to encourage the development of character and life skills in young people.
	tabling member constituency	Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner
	tabling member printed	Mr Nick Hurd
	uin	10235
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/09/2015 answer text <p>The Department for Education is investing £5 million to expand the capacity of schools and voluntary organisations in order to deliver character education. We are committed to ensuring that all young people develop a range of character attributes, such as resilience and grit, which underpin success in education and employment. We want to ensure all young people are prepared for life in modern Britain.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Crewe and Nantwich answering member printed Edward Timpson question first answered 21/09/2015 09:22:31 answering member 1605 label Biography information for Edward Timpson
	tabling member	1561 label Biography information for Mr Nick Hurd

418886

	registered interest
	date	15/09/2015
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Extracurricular Activities
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of (a) young people's access to extracurricular activities designed to help their personal development and (b) opportunities for increasing the availability of such activities.
	tabling member constituency	Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner
	tabling member printed	Mr Nick Hurd
	uin	10236
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/09/2015 answer text <p>The Department is committed to implementing measures to support schools to build character, resilience and grit in their pupils. Participating in extracurricular activities is one aspect of building character in young people.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We are supporting head teachers to decide the activities they offer and how best to structure the school day in the best interests of their pupils. We are investing £5 million to expand character education, which includes funding projects that offer extracurricular activities that help prepare children for successful adult life. We have also made it easier for all schools to make changes to the length, structure and content of the school day so that they can expand the range of activities that they offer where it would benefit their pupils.</p> answering member constituency Crewe and Nantwich answering member printed Edward Timpson question first answered 21/09/2015 09:23:21 answering member 1605 label Biography information for Edward Timpson
	tabling member	1561 label Biography information for Mr Nick Hurd

418887

	registered interest
	date	15/09/2015
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Care Leavers
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps is the Government taking to ensure that young people in children's homes have the option of receiving support until the age of 21, as children in foster care currently do.
	tabling member constituency	Halifax
	tabling member printed	Holly Lynch
	uin	10322
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/09/2015 answer text <p>All care leavers receive support from a personal adviser until age 21; this extends to age 25 if a care leaver remains engaged in education or training. All care leavers also receive a leaving care grant to help with the costs of setting up home; and those attending further and higher education receive financial support to meet the costs associated with engaging in education in the form of further education and higher education bursaries. Each care leaver has a pathway plan setting out the support they will receive from the local authority in order to meet their goals.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The department recognises that the transition into adulthood can often be difficult for care leavers because they may not receive the same level of support as young people who live with their families. This is what prompted us to introduce the ‘staying put’ duty in 2014, which requires local authorities to support young people to continue living with their former foster carers up to age 21, if both they and their foster carer are happy with this arrangement.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Our statutory guidance makes clear that local authorities should have a range of semi-independent and independent accommodation options for all those leaving care. The government is also looking at what more can be done to improve support for care leavers, building on the first ever cross-government care leaver strategy which was introduced in October 2013, with the aim of giving all care leavers, whatever their care experience, a good start to adulthood.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Crewe and Nantwich answering member printed Edward Timpson question first answered 21/09/2015 09:00:53 answering member 1605 label Biography information for Edward Timpson
	tabling member	4472 label Biography information for Holly Lynch

418888

	registered interest
	date	15/09/2015
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Vocational Guidance: Internet
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps are being taken to ensure the impartiality of the online careers advice service recommended in the Department's statutory guidance to schools.
	tabling member constituency	Halifax
	tabling member printed	Holly Lynch
	uin	10323
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/09/2015 answer text <p>The statutory guidance for schools on careers guidance and inspiration, published by the Department for Education, underpins the duty on schools to secure independent careers guidance for pupils in years 8-13. Organisations and careers services named throughout the statutory document and the accompanying non-statutory document are provided as examples of good practice and are not specifically endorsed by government. It is for schools to decide how best to fulfil their legal requirements in accordance with the needs of their pupils, and online careers advice services may form part of their independent careers provision.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>As stated in the statutory guidance, the National Careers Service offers information and professional advice about education, training and work to adults and young people aged 13 years and over. Pupils and their parents can access support via a website, helpline and web chat. The National Careers Service contractors, website and helpline advisers all hold and adhere to the government’s Matrix Standard, the recognised national quality standard for information, advice and guidance services. Award of the Standard is contingent on the provision of an impartial, professional service.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Surrey answering member printed Mr Sam Gyimah question first answered 22/09/2015 09:36:04 answering member 3980 label Biography information for Mr Sam Gyimah
	tabling member	4472 label Biography information for Holly Lynch

418411

	registered interest
	date	11/09/2015
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Pre-school Education
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that children develop good early language skills before they reach primary school.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	9973
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/09/2015 answer text <p>The government recognises a key part of raising the standard of education for all children is to ensure they receive a good level of development in literacy and numeracy before they start school. The government has taken the following steps to ensure children are developing good early language skills before they reach primary school:</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Early Years Foundation Stage sets the prime areas of learning which early years providers must follow. This includes a focus on communication and language. The Early Years Foundation Stage requires providers to understand the needs of every child and support them as necessary to make progress. The Early Years Foundation stage is available online at:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/335504/EYFS_framework_from_1_September_2014__with_clarification_note.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/335504/EYFS_framework_from_1_September_2014__with_clarification_note.pdf</a></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The numeracy and literacy skills of staff working with our youngest children are key to supporting children’s progression. We have improved early years qualifications and encouraged high-quality entrants with good numeracy and literacy skills into the profession through setting clear criteria for level 3 training courses and introducing early years initial teacher training.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The government has invested over £50 million funding through the Early Years Pupil premium, an additional £5.3 million to sector organisations under the VCS grants and a one off grant of £5 million to teaching schools and their childcare provider partners to support staff development. Many of the projects funded through departmental grants are supporting staff to develop strong pedagogical approaches to language development and early literacy.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Surrey answering member printed Mr Sam Gyimah question first answered 16/09/2015 14:12:34 answering member 3980 label Biography information for Mr Sam Gyimah
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham