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1140382

	registered interest
	date	18/07/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Pupils: Absenteeism
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he has taken to reduce rates of absence among pupils that are (a) eligible free school meals, (b) have special educational needs and (c) are of the Irish Heritage and Gypsy/Roma ethnic groups in each London Borough.
	tabling member constituency	Feltham and Heston
	tabling member printed	Seema Malhotra
	uin	279037
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/07/2019 answer text <p>All children of compulsory school age, regardless of their circumstances, are entitled to a full-time education which is suitable to their age, ability, aptitude and any special educational needs they may have. All parents have a legal duty to ensure that if their child is of compulsory school age that they receive a full time education, either by attendance at school or otherwise.</p><p>Schools should continually monitor pupils’ absence. If a child’s absence reaches a level of concern, the school should raise this with the parents and the local authority in the best interest of the child’s education. School and local authorities should consider the individual circumstances of each case and take the appropriate course of action to ensure the child receives consistent education. This can include the use a range of parental responsibility measures to provide support or sanctions to parents when their child’s attendance at school becomes a problem.</p><p>Schools also receive pupil premium funding to support pupils who have been registered for free school meals at any point in the last six years, and have the flexibility to use it to improve attendance if this is deemed a priority.</p><p> </p><p>The Department wants all children and young people, regardless of special educational need or disability, to receive the right support to succeed in their education. and as they move into adult life. In 2014, the Department introduced significant reforms to enable schools to put the right support in place for those pupils so that they can attend school.</p><p>The Department has established a new Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) stakeholder group, chaired by the noble Baroness Whitaker. This group aims to ensure that any efforts to improve the school system take into account GRT pupils’ needs.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 24/07/2019 11:25:01 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
	tabling member	4253 label Biography information for Seema Malhotra

1606032

	registered interest
	date	21/03/2023
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Department for Education: Billing
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the proportion of invoices her Department paid to small and medium-sized enterprises within five days in the 2021-2022 financial year.
	tabling member constituency	Feltham and Heston
	tabling member printed	Seema Malhotra
	uin	170615
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/03/2023 answer text <p>All government departments publish payment performance quarterly showing the percentage of invoices paid in five days, the percentage of invoices paid in 30 days, and net debt interest liability. The Department's payment performance is available at: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1074144/Interest_Liable_BC_by_Qtrs_Publish_2021-22Q4.csv/preview" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1074144/Interest_Liable_BC_by_Qtrs_Publish_2021-22Q4.csv/preview</a>.</p><p>The Procurement Bill, currently passing through Parliament, will create a simpler and more transparent procurement regime that will further open up public procurement to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The Bill includes a new duty on contracting authorities to have regard to the particular barriers facing SMEs. Specifically, the Procurement Bill will imply 30 day payment terms into every sub contract that is substantially for the purpose of performing a public contract. This will ensure SMEs at every tier of the public supply chain can benefit from faster payments, even if 30 day terms are not explicitly written into the contract.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 29/03/2023 16:09:01 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
	tabling member	4253 label Biography information for Seema Malhotra

1349299

	registered interest
	date	21/07/2021
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Financial Services: Education
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to support the development of financial literacy skills for (a) primary school and (b) secondary school children.
	tabling member constituency	Feltham and Heston
	tabling member printed	Seema Malhotra
	uin	37475
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/09/2021 answer text <p>Education on financial matters helps to ensure that young people are prepared to manage their money well, make sound financial decisions and know where to seek further information when needed.</p><p>Finance education forms part of the citizenship national curriculum which can be taught at all Key Stages and is compulsory at Key Stages 3 and 4: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/national-curriculum" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/national-curriculum</a>. Financial education ensures that pupils are taught the functions and uses of money, the importance of personal budgeting, money management and managing financial risk. At secondary school, pupils are taught about income and expenditure, credit and debt, insurance, savings and pensions, financial products and services, and how public money is raised and spent.</p><p>The Department has introduced a rigorous mathematics curriculum, which provides young people with the knowledge and mathematical skills to make important financial decisions. In the primary mathematics curriculum, there is a strong emphasis on the essential arithmetic that pupils should be taught. This is vital, as a strong grasp of numeracy will underpin pupils’ ability to manage budgets and money, including, for example, using percentages. There is also some specific content about financial education, such as calculations with money. The secondary mathematics curriculum develops pupils’ understanding in relation to more complex personal finance issues such as calculating loan repayments, interest rates and compound interest.</p><p>The Department works closely with the Money and Pensions Service and other stakeholders such as Her Majesty’s Treasury, to consider what can be discovered from other sector initiatives and whether there is scope to provide further support for the teaching of financial education in schools.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 06/09/2021 13:53:46 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
	tabling member	4253 label Biography information for Seema Malhotra

1278110

	registered interest
	date	19/01/2021
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Primary Education: Remote Education
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what additional steps his Department plans to take to support remote learning in primary schools during the covid-19 outbreak.
	tabling member constituency	Feltham and Heston
	tabling member printed	Seema Malhotra
	uin	140094
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/01/2021 answer text <p>Given the critical importance of ensuring that all children and young people continue to learn during the national lockdown, the Department has updated the expectations for schools to clarify and strengthen what is expected during the period of restricted attendance and draws on our evolving understanding of best practice in remote education: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak#section-5-contingency-planning-for-outbreaks" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak#section-5-contingency-planning-for-outbreaks</a>.</p><p>With most pupils now having to learn remotely, and schools and colleges having made huge progress in developing their remote education provision, it is right that we increase the expectations on what remote education they receive. Schools are now expected to provide remote education that includes either recorded or live direct teaching alongside time for pupils to work independently to complete assignments that have been set. Online video lessons do not necessarily need to be recorded by teaching staff at the school. Oak National Academy lessons, for example, can be provided in lieu of school led video content.</p><p>The number of hours expected for different age groups has also changed. Hours include both direct teaching and time for pupils to complete tasks or assignments independently. Primary schools are now expected to provide, as a minimum:</p><ul><li>3 hours a day for Key Stage 1, on average across the cohort with less for younger children.</li><li>4 hours a day for Key Stage 2</li></ul><p>Primary schools are also expected to have a system in place for checking on a daily basis whether pupils are engaging actively with their work, and learning. Primary schools will need to work with families to identify swiftly where pupil engagement is a concern and find effective solutions.</p><p>The Department recognises that different expectations are appropriate for younger and older age groups when learning remotely. We expect schools to consider the remote education expectations in relation to pupils’ age, stage of development or special educational needs. The number of hours of remote education we expect schools to deliver also varies according to pupil stage.</p><p>We also recognise that younger children in Key Stage 1 or Reception often require high levels of parental involvement to support their engagement with remote education, which makes digital provision a particular challenge for this age group. We do not expect that solely digital means will be used to teach these pupils remotely.</p><p>There is a wide range of resources available to support schools to meet the expectations we have set.</p><p>Get Help with Remote Education provides a one stop shop for teachers, signposting the support package available: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/get-help-with-remote-education" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/get-help-with-remote-education</a>. This includes helping primary schools to access technology that supports remote education, as well as peer to peer training and guidance on how to use technology effectively. It also includes practical tools, a good practice guide and school led webinars to support effective delivery of the curriculum. Information is also available on issues such as safeguarding, statutory duties and expectations, supporting pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and recovery and catch up to stop pupils falling behind. We worked with some of the demonstrator schools and colleges to help develop a self-assessment framework, to help schools review and improve their approach to remote education through technology. This has now been launched as the Review your Remote Education Provision framework: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-your-remote-education-provision" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-your-remote-education-provision</a>.</p><p>The Government is investing over £400 million to support access to remote education and online social care, including securing 1.3 million laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children and young people. This includes over 800,000 laptops and tablets that were delivered to schools, academy trusts and local authorities by 17 January. All schools, trusts and local authorities have now been given the opportunity to order their full current allocation of devices.</p><p>The Department has also made £4.84 million available for Oak National Academy both for the summer term of the academic year 2019-20, and then for the 2020-21 academic year, to provide video lessons in a broad range of subjects for Reception up to Year 11. Specialist content for pupils with SEND is also available. Since the start of the spring term 2021, 4.1 million users have visited the Oak National Academy platform and 28 million lessons have been viewed, as of 17 January 2021. Oak National Academy will remain a free optional resource for 2020-21.</p><p>The BBC has adapted their education support for the spring term 2021 and will be making educational content available on the television. This will help to ensure all children and young people can access curriculum based learning from home. Starting on Monday 11 January, each week day on CBBC will see a three hour block of primary school programming from 9am. Bitesize Daily primary and secondary will also air every day on BBC Red Button as well as episodes being available on demand on BBC iPlayer. This TV offer is in addition to the BBC’s online offer, which parents, children and teachers can access when and where they need it.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 25/01/2021 17:48:49 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
	tabling member	4253 label Biography information for Seema Malhotra

1603725

	registered interest
	date	13/03/2023
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Educational Institutions: Ventilation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential need for HEPA filters in early years educational settings.
	tabling member constituency	Feltham and Heston
	tabling member printed	Seema Malhotra
	uin	163871
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/03/2023 answer text <p>Good ventilation is associated with improved alertness and concentration. Letting fresh air into indoor spaces can also help remove air that contains virus particles and other airborne contaminants, and is important in reducing the spread of airborne infections, including COVID-19 and flu.</p><p>Over the last two years, the Department has provided CO2 monitors to every state funded school and childcare provider, including early years providers, in England to help identify poorly ventilated spaces across their estates and help manage the need for ventilation and thermal comfort. Feedback from these suggests that, in most schools and childcare providers, existing ventilation measures are sufficient.</p><p>For the very few schools and childcare providers where maintaining good ventilation is not possible, the Department has supplied High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) air cleaning units. All state funded early years providers were eligible, including private, voluntary and independent providers, and childminders who work together in groups of four or more and are registered as operating childcare on domestic premises. All eligible applications received during the previous roll out have been fulfilled and the Department is currently working through this year’s applications. Air cleaning units are not a substitute for ventilation and are not necessary in spaces that are adequately ventilated.</p><p>This approach is in keeping with SAGE’s Environmental Modelling Group advice. This states that air cleaning devices, including HEPA Filtration and ultraviolet technology have limited benefit in spaces that are already adequately ventilated and should only be considered where the ventilation is inadequate and cannot be easily improved.</p><p>Both the Health and Safety Executive and the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers use a CO2 threshold of 1500ppm to indicate poor ventilation. This is the threshold the Department has used as criteria for the supply of air cleaning units.</p><p>The Department has published guidance in the Building Bulletin 101 (BB101), which provides guidelines on indoor and outdoor air quality in new and refurbished schools, this also provides helpful guidance to early years providers: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-bulletin-101-ventilation-for-school-buildings" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-bulletin-101-ventilation-for-school-buildings</a>. BB101 guidance promotes best practice in controlling pollutants and setting maximum standards for levels of pollutants indoors.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 17/03/2023 14:08:17 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
	tabling member	4253 label Biography information for Seema Malhotra

1143003

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Schools: Costs
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect of the cost of agency fees on schools.
	tabling member constituency	Feltham and Heston
	tabling member printed	Seema Malhotra
	uin	284551
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 09/09/2019 16:55:36 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
	tabling member	4253 label Biography information for Seema Malhotra

1143004

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Teachers: Vacancies
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the performance of the Teaching Vacancies service.
	tabling member constituency	Feltham and Heston
	tabling member printed	Seema Malhotra
	uin	284554
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 09/09/2019 16:57:34 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
	tabling member	4253 label Biography information for Seema Malhotra

1143005

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Schools: Costs
	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 to reduce the cost to schools of teacher recruitment agency fees.
	tabling member constituency	Feltham and Heston
	tabling member printed	Seema Malhotra
	uin	284557
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 09/09/2019 16:41:53 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
	tabling member	4253 label Biography information for Seema Malhotra

1201378

	registered interest
	date	08/06/2020
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Remote Education: ICT
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what representations he has received from (a) children’s charities and (b) schools on the effect on learning of a lack of access to school online classrooms during the covid-19 outbreak.
	tabling member constituency	Feltham and Heston
	tabling member printed	Seema Malhotra
	uin	55985
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/06/2020 answer text <p>It is up to each school to determine how to deliver education to its pupils and we recognise that many schools have been regularly sharing resources with pupils. This could be in the form of online learning as well as high quality printed resources where needed.</p><p>The Government has committed over £100 million to support vulnerable and disadvantaged children in England to access remote education, including by providing laptops, tablets and 4G routers.</p><p>The Department has also partnered with BT to give 10,000 young people free access to BT WiFi hotspots, who do not have access to good internet by other means.</p><p>We are providing laptops and tablets to disadvantaged children who would otherwise not have access and are preparing for examinations in Year 10, receiving support from a social worker or are a care leaver. Where care leavers, children with a social worker at secondary school and disadvantaged children in Year 10 do not have internet connections, we are providing 4G routers.</p><p>We are committed to ensuring that all children can continue to learn remotely in a number of ways during these very difficult circumstances, and are supporting sector-led initiatives such as the Oak National Academy. This brand-new enterprise has been created by 40 teachers from schools across England. It will provide 180 video lessons for free each week, across a broad range of subjects, for every year group from reception through to Year 10. By 24 May, over 2.3 million users had visited the Oak Academy site and over 10.7 million lessons had been accessed.</p><p>Schools can also utilise the many resources which have been made by publishers across the country.</p><p>The Department has published an initial list of high quality online educational resources, which have been identified by some of the country’s leading educational experts to help pupils learn at home.</p><p>Schools and families will also be able to draw on support from the BBC which is broadcasting lessons on television. Some of the BBC educational content is offline, via the red button, which disadvantaged pupils without digital devices or connectivity will still be able to access.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 16/06/2020 16:43:04 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
	tabling member	4253 label Biography information for Seema Malhotra

1173727

	registered interest
	date	27/01/2020
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Alternative Education: Scotland
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in the Scottish Government on the effectiveness of nuture groups in Scotland.
	tabling member constituency	Feltham and Heston
	tabling member printed	Seema Malhotra
	uin	8306
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/01/2020 answer text <p>Ministers at the Department for Education have not discussed nurture groups with their counterparts in the Scottish Government.</p><p>I met with Nurture UK in January 2020 to discuss the use of nurture groups in schools and the evidence they have collected.</p><p>In 2018, the Department published updated Mental Health &amp; Behaviour in Schools Guidance, which can be accessed here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mental-health-and-behaviour-in-schools--2" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mental-health-and-behaviour-in-schools--2</a>. The purpose of this guidance is to help schools to identify pupils whose behaviour may be a result of an underlying mental health difficulty, and to understand when and how to put in place support. It includes links to further sources of practice and advice, including Nurture UK. It is for schools to decide whether a nurture group might be of benefit, based on the evidence of impact and the needs of their pupils.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 30/01/2020 16:14:41 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
	tabling member	4253 label Biography information for Seema Malhotra