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1385231

registered interest
date	06/12/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Schools: Standards
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Government plans to replace Local Authority Monitoring and Brokerage Grant funding by increasing the money allocated to schools directly in the event that the grant funding is withdrawn.
tabling member constituency	Bristol West
tabling member printed	Thangam Debbonaire
uin	87731
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/12/2021 answer text <p>The department has consulted on plans for reforming how local authorities fund their school improvement functions and will publish a government response early in the new year. The department is continuing to deliver year on year, real term per pupil increases to school funding. We are investing a further £4.7 billion by financial year 2024-25 for the core schools budget in England, over and above the Spending Review 2019 settlement for schools in financial year 2022-23.</p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker question first answered 10/12/2021 16:35:49 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
tabling member	4433 label Biography information for Thangam Debbonaire

1385286

registered interest
date	06/12/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Pupils: Internet
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support his Department is providing to schools to ensure pupils are protected and kept safe in online spaces; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Manchester, Gorton
tabling member printed	Afzal Khan
uin	87832
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/12/2021 answer text <p>This government is committed to keeping children safe both online and offline. All schools and colleges must have regard to the department's statutory guidance, Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE), when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.</p><p>This guidance provides schools and colleges with information on what they should be doing to protect pupils and students online.</p><p>The guidance is very clear on the actions a school or college should take if there are any concerns about a child’s wellbeing and/or safety. KCSIE, amongst other things, sets out that:</p><ul><li>Appropriate filters and monitoring systems should be in place to protect children when they are online using school or college IT systems. Schools and colleges should have a clear policy on the use of mobile technology which reflects that many children have unrestricted access to the internet via smart devices.</li><li>KCSIE also provides school and college staff with information about different types of abuse and harm, including online abuse.</li></ul><p> </p><p>In addition, the department has published guidance on teaching online safety in schools and, through relationships, sex, and health education (RSHE), children will be taught about rules and principles for keeping safe online.</p><p>The statutory RSHE curriculum was introduced in September 2020. In these subjects, pupils are taught about online relationships, implications of sharing private or personal data online (including images), harmful content and contact, cyberbullying, an over-reliance on social media, how to be a discerning consumer of information and where to get help and support for issues that occur online.</p><p>Where it is required, schools are also expected to offer remote education to pupils who test positive for COVID-19 or present with COVID-19 symptoms where they are well enough to learn from home. There is a wide range of resources available to support schools and colleges to meet these expectations. The ‘Get Help with Remote Education’ page on gov.uk provides a one-stop-shop for teachers and leaders, signposting to support available. This includes a self-assessment framework to help schools and colleges understand where they are with their remote education provision, help to access technology that supports remote education, peer-to-peer training and guidance on how to use technology effectively and resources, and school-led webinars to support effective delivery of the curriculum.</p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker grouped question UIN 87833 question first answered 14/12/2021 14:39:49 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
tabling member	4671 label Biography information for Afzal Khan

1385287

registered interest
date	06/12/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Pupils: Internet
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether additional guidance will be issued to supplement the existing guidance on Keeping Children Safe in Education to help schools ensure pupils are kept safe online.
tabling member constituency	Manchester, Gorton
tabling member printed	Afzal Khan
uin	87833
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/12/2021 answer text <p>This government is committed to keeping children safe both online and offline. All schools and colleges must have regard to the department's statutory guidance, Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE), when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.</p><p>This guidance provides schools and colleges with information on what they should be doing to protect pupils and students online.</p><p>The guidance is very clear on the actions a school or college should take if there are any concerns about a child’s wellbeing and/or safety. KCSIE, amongst other things, sets out that:</p><ul><li>Appropriate filters and monitoring systems should be in place to protect children when they are online using school or college IT systems. Schools and colleges should have a clear policy on the use of mobile technology which reflects that many children have unrestricted access to the internet via smart devices.</li><li>KCSIE also provides school and college staff with information about different types of abuse and harm, including online abuse.</li></ul><p> </p><p>In addition, the department has published guidance on teaching online safety in schools and, through relationships, sex, and health education (RSHE), children will be taught about rules and principles for keeping safe online.</p><p>The statutory RSHE curriculum was introduced in September 2020. In these subjects, pupils are taught about online relationships, implications of sharing private or personal data online (including images), harmful content and contact, cyberbullying, an over-reliance on social media, how to be a discerning consumer of information and where to get help and support for issues that occur online.</p><p>Where it is required, schools are also expected to offer remote education to pupils who test positive for COVID-19 or present with COVID-19 symptoms where they are well enough to learn from home. There is a wide range of resources available to support schools and colleges to meet these expectations. The ‘Get Help with Remote Education’ page on gov.uk provides a one-stop-shop for teachers and leaders, signposting to support available. This includes a self-assessment framework to help schools and colleges understand where they are with their remote education provision, help to access technology that supports remote education, peer-to-peer training and guidance on how to use technology effectively and resources, and school-led webinars to support effective delivery of the curriculum.</p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker grouped question UIN 87832 question first answered 14/12/2021 14:39:49 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
tabling member	4671 label Biography information for Afzal Khan

1385298

registered interest
date	06/12/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	National Tutoring Programme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what training in (a) special educational needs and disabilities and (b) speech, language and communication tutors receive as part of the National tutoring programme.
tabling member constituency	Swansea West
tabling member printed	Geraint Davies
uin	87551
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/12/2021 answer text <p>A free online training course focusing on best practice tutoring is available to all school staff who are nominated as tutors by their school leaders. The training is mandatory for any staff who do not hold Qualified Teacher Status.</p><p>The curriculum covers core topics including how to adapt tutoring for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).</p><p>When selecting tuition partners for the current academic year, the programme is inviting applications from providers with relevant experience in working with children with SEND in both mainstream and specialist settings, so that as many pupils as possible can be supported. In total, 26 of the current 41 tuition partners specialise in supporting students with SEND, with more providers being asked to apply as part of the second round of applications. We will be looking to accredit more tuition partners with special needs expertise throughout this year.</p><p>Additional weighting has been applied to the funding of special schools and units in recognition of the higher per pupil costs they face for tutoring. For these schools, the department has estimated that a 15 hour package of tuition will cost £705 per pupil, which averages £47 per hour per pupil. The department will subsidise 75% of this, with special schools and units funding the remaining 25% through other budgets.</p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker question first answered 09/12/2021 12:36:51 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
tabling member	155 label Biography information for Geraint Davies

1385515

registered interest
date	06/12/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Educational Visits
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of the shortage of public service vehicle drivers on the ability of schools to arrange educational trips.
tabling member constituency	Ellesmere Port and Neston
tabling member printed	Justin Madders
uin	87707
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/12/2021 answer text <p>The department has not undertaken any assessment of the potential effect of the shortage of public service vehicle drivers on the ability of schools to arrange educational visits.</p><p>The department is aware of the pressure placed on the school travel sector and the wider travel industry as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak and has worked directly, and on behalf of the school travel sector, to raise these issues with other government departments, including the Department for Transport.</p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker question first answered 10/12/2021 16:40:59 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
tabling member	4418 label Biography information for Justin Madders

1385565

registered interest
date	06/12/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Schools: Sefton Central
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for School Standards of 6 December 2021, which schools in the Sefton Central constituency are included in the New Rebuilding Programme.
tabling member constituency	Sefton Central
tabling member printed	Bill Esterson
uin	87658
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/12/2021 answer text <p>Earlier this year, the department announced the first 100 schools in the new School Rebuilding Programme as part of a commitment to 500 projects over the next decade. There is one school in the Sefton Central constituency: Deyes High School. We are currently in the procurement, design, and planning stage, with a planning application submission currently scheduled for spring 2022. One school in the constituency, Maghull High School, has benefited from the Priority School Building Programme.</p><p>The department will publish details of how schools will be prioritised for future places in the programme following a review of the results from our recent consultation, which closed on 8 October 2021.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker question first answered 09/12/2021 16:32:06 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
tabling member	4061 label Biography information for Bill Esterson

1384607

registered interest
date	03/12/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Teachers: Training
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 ensure that Ofsted inspections of initial teacher training are consistent with previous inspections in (a) rigour and (b) even handedness.
tabling member constituency	Alyn and Deeside
tabling member printed	Mark Tami
uin	86535
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/12/2021 answer text <p>Ofsted are a non-ministerial government department who are independent and report directly to Parliament.</p><p>Ofsted held a public consultation on their revised Initial Teacher Education (ITE) inspection handbook, following work on the Initial Teacher Training (ITT) core content framework. This was published by the department in November 2019.</p><p>Department officials work regularly with Ofsted counterparts on Ofsted’s plans to deliver ITT inspections. The revised ITE inspection handbook found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/initial-teacher-education-ite-inspection-framework-and-handbook" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/initial-teacher-education-ite-inspection-framework-and-handbook</a>. This sets out that Ofsted inspectors will check that providers of ITT leading to Qualified Teacher Status, have incorporated the ITT Core Content Framework into their course offering.</p><p>Inspection provides assurance to the public and to government that:</p><ul><li>Minimum standards for educating trainee teachers are being met.</li><li>Where relevant, public money is being spent well.</li><li>Arrangements for safeguarding are effective.</li></ul><p> </p><p>Ofsted can be contacted directly through their home page at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted</a>.</p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker question first answered 10/12/2021 16:30:51 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
tabling member	1383 label Biography information for Mark Tami

1384260

registered interest
date	02/12/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Schools: Internet
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 schools with internet connectivity.
tabling member constituency	Woking
tabling member printed	Mr Jonathan Lord
uin	86092
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/12/2021 answer text <p>The department wants all schools in the country to have access to fast internet. We are committed to continued investment, ensuring that every school has access to modern internet connectivity in the classroom and benefiting thousands more children and teachers.</p><p>Recognising the importance of broadband infrastructure in education, we are working with industry and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to accelerate the full-fibre internet connectivity rollout to all schools in England. Children in more than 1,000 schools are now enjoying next generation internet speeds thanks to government investment, with around a further 2,000 to be connected by 2025. Most schools in the UK are in urban or suburban areas which already have access to fast full fibre broadband, so this government investment is focused on mostly rural or hard-to-reach areas, to ensure they do not miss out on next-generation speeds.</p><p>The government remains committed to investing £5 billion to bring gigabit coverage to the hardest to reach areas and will continue to work with suppliers to accelerate this investment, taking account of industry capacity to bid for, and deliver, contracts to build in uncommercial areas alongside their commercial plans. GigaHubs is one of the programmes DCMS is using to deliver the government’s ambition of gigabit capabilities across the UK by 2030. As part of the wider Project Gigabit, GigaHubs will use up to £110 million to connect public buildings such as rural schools, doctors’ surgeries, and libraries to gigabit broadband. This will allow whole classes of schoolchildren to be online, at once, with no interruptions.</p><p>Ensuring good connectivity is just the first step. The actual internet speed experienced is also affected by the technology and Wifi arrangements in place within institutions. We have published a suite of resources to help steer schools, colleges and other providers through the key questions and issues to consider when implementing technology infrastructure, including broadband and local infrastructure issues. To ensure investment made in fast broadband carries through into a high-quality experience in the classroom, we have also set up the ‘connect the classroom’ pilot programme, which is investing up to £30 million to upgrade Wifi for around 1,000 schools.</p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker question first answered 08/12/2021 12:22:07 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
tabling member	4090 label Biography information for Mr Jonathan Lord

1384262

registered interest
date	02/12/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Teachers: Labour Turnover
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 (a) recruit and (b) retain teachers.
tabling member constituency	Woking
tabling member printed	Mr Jonathan Lord
uin	86093
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/12/2021 answer text <p>The number of teachers remains high, with over 461,000 (full-time equivalent) working in schools across the country, 20,000 more than in 2010.</p><p>The department aims to continue attracting and retaining the highly skilled teachers that every child needs. To do this, we are taking action to improve teacher recruitment and retention by transforming the training and support we provide, not only to attract more people into teaching, but to encourage them to stay and thrive in the profession.</p><p>The department is creating an entitlement to at least three years of structured training, support and professional development for all new teachers, to bring teaching into line with other prestigious professions such as law, accountancy and medicine. Underpinning this is the new Initial Teacher Training (ITT) Core Content Framework and the Early Career Framework. Together, these ensure that new teachers will benefit from at least three years of evidence-based training, across ITT and into their induction.</p><p>Beyond the first few years of teaching, our priority is to help all teachers and school leaders to continuously develop their expertise throughout their careers so every child in every classroom in every school gets the best start in life. Teachers and school leaders at all levels can now benefit from an updated suite of National Professional Qualifications. Aimed at those who want to develop expertise in high-quality teaching practice, to those leading multiple schools across trusts, these professional development programmes are now free to access for those eligible to apply.</p><p>These measures will create a golden thread running from ITT through to school leadership, rooting teacher and leader development in the best available evidence.</p><p>To support recruitment and retention of specialist teachers in subjects that are harder to recruit for, we have put in place a range of measures, including bursaries worth £24,000 tax-free and scholarships worth £26,000 tax-free. This will encourage talented trainees for key subjects such as chemistry, computing, mathematics and physics. Additionally, we have announced a Levelling Up Premium worth up to £3,000 tax-free for maths, physics, chemistry and computing teachers in years 1 to 5 of their careers.</p><p>The deparment remains committed to increasing teacher starting salaries to £30,000 to make teaching an attractive graduate option. We are continuing our efforts to support teacher wellbeing, including by launching the education staff wellbeing charter, and driving down unnecessary burdens and reducing teacher workload though the use of our workload reduction toolkit. Further information on the staff wellbeing charter and workload reduction toolkit are available here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/education-staff-wellbeing-charter" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/education-staff-wellbeing-charter</a> and <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/school-workload-reduction-toolkit" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/school-workload-reduction-toolkit</a>.</p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker question first answered 08/12/2021 12:40:26 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
tabling member	4090 label Biography information for Mr Jonathan Lord

1384288

registered interest
date	02/12/2021
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, what steps he is taking to reduce covid-19 transmission in schools (a) nationally and (b) in Liverpool West Derby constituency.
tabling member constituency	Liverpool, West Derby
tabling member printed	Ian Byrne
uin	86208
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/12/2021 answer text <p>The government continues to manage the risk of serious illness from the spread of COVID-19. We do not yet know how Omicron’s mutations will change the behaviour of the COVID-19 virus with regards to vaccines, treatments and transmissibility. Omicron remains a variant of COVID-19 and can be tackled using the same mitigations that have proven effective against previous variants. This includes vaccination, testing, hand hygiene, ventilation and other measures. There is no current evidence to suggest that we need to change our approach to managing variants, including Omicron.</p><p>All eligible staff and students aged 12 and over are encouraged to take up the offer of the vaccine, including boosters. Vaccines are the best defence against COVID-19. They help protect young people and adults, and benefit those around them. Vaccination makes people less likely to catch COVID-19 and less likely to pass it on.</p><p>The government’s testing strategy continues to help to break the chains of transmission of COVID-19 in schools and colleges by identifying asymptomatic positive cases quickly so that those who test positive can self-isolate. This helps to reduce transmission of COVID-19, keeping pupils and students in face-to-face education.</p><p>The department has asked all secondary schools to prepare to test their pupils once on-site on return in January. We understand that this is a significant additional ask but testing continues to play a vital role in keeping COVID-19 out of schools. Testing all pupils in school boosts testing participation and will help reduce transmission after a period of social mixing over the school holidays.</p><p>In primary schools and early years settings, the department recommends that face coverings should be worn by staff and visitors in communal areas. In secondary schools and out-of-school settings, the department recommends that face coverings are now worn by all pupils (children who were aged 11 on 31 August 2021), staff and visitors in communal areas unless they are exempt.</p><p>The department has started to provide CO2 monitors to state-funded education settings, including early years, schools and colleges, backed by £25 million in government funding. Letting fresh air into indoor spaces can help remove air that contains virus particles and is important in preventing the spread of COVID-19. The new monitors enable staff to identify areas where ventilation needs to be improved and provide reassurance that existing ventilation measures are working, helping balance the need for good ventilation with keeping classrooms warm.</p><p>The contingency framework gives directors of public health a range of flexible options for advising temporary measures in certain situations: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-local-restrictions-in-education-and-childcare-settings" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-local-restrictions-in-education-and-childcare-settings</a>. In all cases, directors of public health should weigh any benefits in managing transmission against any educational drawbacks.</p><p>The department expects schools to follow the control measures set out in the guidance, continuing to comply with health and safety law. Schools must regularly review and update their risk assessments.</p><p>The measures outlined above apply nationally. There are no additional measures that apply to Liverpool West Derby.</p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker question first answered 07/12/2021 11:33:22 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
tabling member	4831 label Biography information for Ian Byrne