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1471970

registered interest
date	21/06/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Sign Language: Curriculum
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has had discussions with the Minister for Women and Equalities on the potential merits of including basic sign language in the social skills curriculum.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	22429
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/06/2022 answer text <p>Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.</p><p> </p><p>My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has not had discussions with my right hon. Friend, the Minister for Women and Equalities, on including basic sign language in a social skills curriculum.</p><p> </p><p>The government does not set out guidance on a social skills curriculum for schools in England and there are no plans to make British Sign Language (BSL) part of the statutory curriculum. The statutory curriculum, including the national curriculum, is just one element in the wide-ranging education of every child which makes up the broader school curriculum.</p><p> </p><p>Schools are free to offer BSL as part of their wider school curriculum, to meet the needs of their pupils if they wish.</p><p> </p><p>The department is working with Ofqual and subject experts to develop subject content for a British Sign Language GCSE. We aim to consult publicly on the draft subject content in autumn 2022.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker question first answered 28/06/2022 11:08:08 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1471618

registered interest
date	20/06/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Poetry: Education
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 support poetry teaching in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	21179
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/06/2022 answer text <p>Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.</p><p>Poetry is prominent in the national curriculum for English at key stages 1, 2, 3 and 4. At different stages of their education, students should have opportunities to: develop pleasure in reading and discussing poetry, learn poetry by heart and write their own poetry. As part of the English Literature GCSE, students are taught to read and appreciate the depth and power of the English literary heritage, including studying poetry written since 1789.</p><p>The department funds an initiative called Poetry by Heart which helps to develop and support inspiring poetry teaching in schools, and to motivate pupils and teachers to explore our rich literary heritage: <a href="http://www.poetrybyheart.org.uk/" target="_blank">http://www.poetrybyheart.org.uk/</a>. Pupils choose poems from the online anthology covering 1,000 years of poetry and recite these in school-based competitions. A national final was held in Shakespeare’s Globe in June 2022 and was open to pupils in key stages 2, 3, 4 and 5.</p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker question first answered 24/06/2022 13:53:36 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1467595

registered interest
date	06/06/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Schools: Discrimination
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 help tackle discrimination in schools.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	13133
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/06/2022 answer text <p>Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.</p><p>Under the Equality Act 2010, schools must not discriminate against a pupil in a number of respects because of a characteristic protected by the Equality Act. The department has published guidance for schools on how to comply with their duties under the Equality Act 2010, available here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/equality-act-2010-advice-for-schools" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/equality-act-2010-advice-for-schools</a>.</p><p>Relationships education is now compulsory in all schools and the Relationships, Sex, and Health Education curriculum has a strong focus on equality, respect, the harmful impact of stereotyping, as well as the importance of valuing difference.</p><p>The department will also provide over £2 million of funding, between 10 August 2021 and 31 March 2023, to five anti-bullying organisations to support schools to tackle bullying. This includes projects targeting bullying of pupils who are more likely to be the victims of hate-related bullying and discrimination.</p><p>The department have also published Respectful School Communities, a self-review and signposting tool to support schools to develop a whole-school approach which promotes respect and discipline. This can help schools to combat bullying, harassment, and prejudice of any kind, including hate-based bullying.</p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker question first answered 14/06/2022 15:34:47 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1464867

registered interest
date	23/05/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Schools: Cleaning Services
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the level of shortages of cleaners in schools.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	6764
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/05/2022 answer text <p>Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.</p><p> </p><p>The department gives school and academy trust leaders the freedom to decide how they recruit and deploy their non-teaching staff in schools, including cleaners. They hold responsibility for monitoring and making decisions about their cleaners to meet their own circumstances, in addition to having autonomy to make contract decisions for externally-supplied cleaning staff.</p><p> </p><p>The department supports schools to get the best value from their resources. Support is provided through the establishment of national deals on common areas of school spending. The use of these deals for school resourcing needs is at the discretion of school and academy trust leaders. While the department encourages the use of its established deals, schools are trusted to get the best value for money when hiring their staff.</p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker question first answered 31/05/2022 16:14:49 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1455821

registered interest
date	30/03/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Curriculum
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has held discussions with schools on the potential merits of including in the curriculum learning on veganism, fast fashion and climate change.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	150164
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/04/2022 answer text <p>Education has a critical role to play in giving all children and young people the knowledge and skills they need to create a greener, more sustainable world, and to tackle both the causes and impact of climate change.</p><p>The national curriculum framework sets out the minimum content that schools are expected to teach in each subject. Topics relating to climate change are already taught in subjects such as geography, science and citizenship. Teachers have the flexibility to cover topics in greater depth where they deem it appropriate, including topics such as veganism and fast fashion.</p><p>Pupils are taught about healthy eating through the statutory health education curriculum. They should know what constitutes a healthy diet, the characteristics of a poor diet, and risks associated with unhealthy eating, including for example, obesity and tooth decay. Schools are free to teach about the benefits of a vegan diet if they wish to do so.</p><p>Healthy eating and opportunities to develop pupils’ cooking skills are also covered in the design and technology (D&amp;T) curriculum. Cooking and nutrition is a discrete strand of the D&amp;T curriculum and is compulsory in maintained schools for key stages 1 to 3. The curriculum aims to teach children how to cook, with an emphasis on savoury dishes, and how to apply the principles of healthy eating and nutrition. We have also introduced a new food preparation and nutrition GCSE to provide pupils with practical cookery experience and teach them about the underlying scientific concepts of nutrition and healthy eating.</p><p>As with other aspects of the curriculum, schools have flexibility over how they deliver these subjects, and are able to go into further depth into subjects such as veganism should they wish. Schools can develop an integrated approach that is sensitive to the needs and background of their pupils.</p><p>The department has established a unit devoted to climate change and sustainability, and at COP26, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education presented a draft Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy for the Education and Children’s Services. This strategy set out key action to drive excellence in climate education including professional development for science teachers, a model Primary Science Curriculum, and free access to quality teaching resources.</p><p>While refining this strategy for publication in April 2022, the unit engaged widely with young people, expert bodies, teachers, and unions. The inclusion of topics connected to climate change and sustainability across the curriculum has been discussed with relevant parties at length. The finalised version of this strategy was published on 21 April 2022.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker question first answered 25/04/2022 12:05:19 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1455268

registered interest
date	29/03/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	School Libraries: Finance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of funding for school libraries.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	149254
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/04/2022 answer text <p>The department believes that all pupils deserve to be taught a knowledge rich curriculum that promotes the extensive reading of books and other kinds of texts, both in and out of school. School libraries complement public libraries in helping pupils to do this.</p><p>Schools in England have the flexibility to make their own decisions on how to prioritise their spending to invest in a wide range of activities and resources that will best support their staff and pupils. It is for individual schools to decide how best to provide and maintain a library service for their pupils, including whether to employ a qualified librarian. Many head teachers recognise the important role school libraries play in improving literacy and encouraging pupils to read for pleasure, and ensure that suitable library facilities are provided.</p><p>The government continues to deliver year on year, real terms per pupil increases to school funding in England. The total core school budget is increasing to £56.8 billion by the 2024/25 financial year, a £7 billion cash increase compared with 2021/22. Future increases in funding have been frontloaded to rapidly get money to schools, so that in 2022/23 alone, core schools funding will increase by £4 billion compared to 2021/22. This total includes a £2.5 billion increase in mainstream school funding for 5 to 16 year olds in 2022/23, compared to 2021/22. This is equivalent to an average 5.8% cash increase, or £300, per pupil, with each local authority forecast to see at least a 4.7% increase per pupil.</p><p>Responsibility for funding school libraries is devolved in Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland Executive receive funding through the Barnett formula in line with the principles set out in the Statement of Funding Policy. It is for the Northern Ireland Executive to allocate their funding in devolved areas as they see fit.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker question first answered 05/04/2022 14:23:39 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1441282

registered interest
date	15/03/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Special Educational Needs: Teachers
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 help ensure that there are sufficient numbers of specialist teachers to support children with special educational needs and disabilities.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	140438
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/03/2022 answer text <p>Education is a devolved matter, and the response will outline the information for England only.</p><p>The department is committed to ensuring that all pupils can reach their potential and receive excellent support from their teachers. The reformed initial teacher training core content framework (ITT CCF) and the new early career framework (ECF), both developed with sector experts, will equip teachers with a clear understanding of the needs of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).</p><p>All teachers are teachers of SEND. ITT courses must be designed so that trainee teachers can demonstrate that they meet the teachers’ standards at the appropriate level. This includes the requirement that all teachers must have a clear understanding of the needs of all pupils, including those with SEND.</p><p>Consideration of SEND underpins both the ITT CCF and ECF, which were both produced with the support of sector experts. The ECF is designed to support all pupils to succeed and seeks to widen access for all.</p><p>The department is determined that all children and young people receive the support they need to succeed in their education. It is a legal requirement for qualified teachers of classes of pupils with sensory impairments to hold the relevant mandatory qualification, referred to as an MQSI. The department’s aim is to ensure a steady supply of teachers for children with visual, hearing, and multi-sensory impairments, in both specialist and mainstream education providers.</p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker question first answered 21/03/2022 14:00:05 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1416546

registered interest
date	25/01/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Holocaust: Education
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 increase teaching of the events of the Holocaust in UK schools.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	111581
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/02/2022 answer text <p>The government has supported Holocaust education for many years and is fully committed to continuing this support.</p><p>In recognition of its importance, the Holocaust is the only historic event which is compulsory within the national curriculum for history at key stage 3. This ensures that young people from every background can continue to learn about the Holocaust and its relevance today. Effective teaching about the Holocaust can support pupils to learn about the possible consequences of antisemitism and extremism, to understand how society can prevent the repeat of such a catastrophe.</p><p>The department further supports school pupils’ and teachers’ understanding of the Holocaust by providing funding for several programmes. This includes £500,000 in the 2021/22 financial year for University College London’s Centre for Holocaust Education which is match funded by the Pears Foundation, and £2.126 million in the 2021/22 financial year for the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Lessons from Auschwitz project. The latter has been provided on an online basis during the COVID-19 outbreak and has therefore had the capacity to reach more pupils. These programmes help reach all types of schools and help to develop high-quality teaching across the school sector.</p><p>Education is a devolved matter, and approaches to Holocaust education may differ in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland.</p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker question first answered 02/02/2022 12:43:19 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1383869

registered interest
date	01/12/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Teachers: Private Life
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information his Department holds on the number of incidents of teachers having relations with students in each of the last three years.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	85271
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/12/2021 answer text <p>Education is a devolved matter, and the response will outline the information for England only. English law is clear that it is an offence for a person who is in a position of trust and is over the age of 18 to engage in a sexual relationship with a person under the age of 18. Such activity is also likely to lead to barring by the Disclosure and Barring Service and, where the individual is a teacher, prohibition by Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA). The TRA, an executive agency of the Department for Education, operates the teacher misconduct arrangements on behalf of the Secretary of State as regulator of the teaching profession in England. The TRA considers allegations of the most serious cases of misconduct to decide whether a teacher should be prohibited from teaching work in England.</p><p>Teachers are expected to demonstrate consistently high standards of personal and professional conduct within and outside school, which includes observing proper boundaries appropriate to a teacher’s professional position. Whilst we do not hold the data requested, we do hold data, shown in the table below, on the number of teachers prohibited from the teaching profession for sexual misconduct in England. This data includes cases involving children and/or adults, as well as students.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>2018-19</p></td><td><p>2019-20</p></td><td><p>2020-21</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Total Prohibited for Sexual Misconduct in England</p></td><td><p>7</p></td><td><p>8</p></td><td><p>6</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker question first answered 09/12/2021 13:02:45 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1356168

registered interest
date	16/09/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Organs: Donors
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will bring forward legislative proposals on the teaching of organ donation in post-primary education settings.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	50665
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/09/2021 answer text <p>The national curriculum includes content that can be used by teachers as an opportunity to inform pupils about organ donation. For example, pupils are taught about this as part of the Key Stage 4 science curriculum. The national curriculum is compulsory in state-maintained schools and is often used as a benchmark by academies and free schools.</p><p>Since September 2020, it has been compulsory for schools to teach relationships education to primary school-aged pupils, relationships and sex education to secondary school-aged pupils and health education to all pupils in state-maintained schools. The statutory guidance on relationships, sex and health education sets out that by the end of secondary school, pupils should know about the science relating to blood, organ and stem cell donation.</p><p>The department has published teacher training modules, including online modules for primary and secondary teachers containing key knowledge and facts to help teachers understand what they must teach in relation to the new requirements. This can be done flexibly and can include teaching about organ donation.</p><p>As with other aspects of the curriculum, schools continue to have flexibility over how they deliver important topics and use their autonomy and local community knowledge to do this.</p><p>Health education in schools in Northern Ireland are matters for the Department of Education for Northern Ireland.</p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker question first answered 24/09/2021 13:54:04 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon