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1470647

registered interest
date	15/06/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Pupils: Broadband and Computers
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate he has made of the number of children in (a) Feltham and Heston constituency, (b) Hounslow, (c) London and (d) England without access (i) to broadband at home and (ii) to a computer at home to support their learning.
tabling member constituency	Feltham and Heston
tabling member printed	Seema Malhotra
uin	18912
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/06/2022 answer text <p>A survey by Ofcom showed that during 2021, 94% of children (aged 0 to 17) in England had internet access and used it in the home, and figures for the UK show that almost half (47%) of children aged 3 to 17 used a laptop or netbook to go online, and 17% used a desktop. Use of more personal and portable devices was more common, with more than four in ten children (43%) saying they only used any device other than a laptop, netbook, or desktop to go online. The survey is available here: <a href="https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0024/234609/childrens-media-use-and-attitudes-report-2022.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0024/234609/childrens-media-use-and-attitudes-report-2022.pdf</a>.</p><p>The department has data on the number of devices distributed to local authorities. However, we only know where devices were shipped. The devices distributed through the department are owned by schools, trusts, local authorities or further education (FE) providers who can lend these devices to children and young people who need them the most. The department does not have visibility of how devices move or how ownership was transferred after receipt.</p><p>10,272 devices were distributed to Hounslow local authority as part of the get help with technology scheme, including 9,685 laptops or tablets and 587 4G routers.</p><p>For all London constituencies, the total number of devices distributed was 354,493, including 334,075 laptops or tablets and 20,418 4G routers.</p><p>The department does not have data for the number of devices distributed to Feltham and Heston constituency.</p><p>The department has delivered over 1.95 million laptops and tablets to schools, trusts, local authorities and further education providers for disadvantaged children and young people as part of a £520 million government investment to support access to remote education and online social care services.</p><p>The department also provided support for over 130,000 families to get online through uplifts in mobile data and 4G wireless routers. This included partnering with the UK’s leading mobile operators to provide free data to help over 33,000 disadvantaged children get online and delivering over 100,000 4G wireless routers for pupils without connection at home. The government also provided funding to support schools and FE providers in providing internet access for disadvantaged pupils whose face-to-face education is disrupted due to COVID-19.</p><p>The get help with technology service is transitioning to provide further support to schools and colleges on meeting technology standards, including in relation to connectivity and devices. This is focused now on levelling up technology in schools and other education providers rather than in homes, but the support and funding already provided should give schools the flexibility to provide remote education support and can continue to be used in the longer term.</p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker grouped question UIN 18913 question first answered 20/06/2022 16:38:27 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
tabling member	4253 label Biography information for Seema Malhotra

1470648

registered interest
date	15/06/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Pupils: Broadband and Computers
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department is taking steps to help schools give pupils from families with low incomes access to (a) broadband and (b) computers at home to support their learning.
tabling member constituency	Feltham and Heston
tabling member printed	Seema Malhotra
uin	18913
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/06/2022 answer text <p>A survey by Ofcom showed that during 2021, 94% of children (aged 0 to 17) in England had internet access and used it in the home, and figures for the UK show that almost half (47%) of children aged 3 to 17 used a laptop or netbook to go online, and 17% used a desktop. Use of more personal and portable devices was more common, with more than four in ten children (43%) saying they only used any device other than a laptop, netbook, or desktop to go online. The survey is available here: <a href="https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0024/234609/childrens-media-use-and-attitudes-report-2022.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0024/234609/childrens-media-use-and-attitudes-report-2022.pdf</a>.</p><p>The department has data on the number of devices distributed to local authorities. However, we only know where devices were shipped. The devices distributed through the department are owned by schools, trusts, local authorities or further education (FE) providers who can lend these devices to children and young people who need them the most. The department does not have visibility of how devices move or how ownership was transferred after receipt.</p><p>10,272 devices were distributed to Hounslow local authority as part of the get help with technology scheme, including 9,685 laptops or tablets and 587 4G routers.</p><p>For all London constituencies, the total number of devices distributed was 354,493, including 334,075 laptops or tablets and 20,418 4G routers.</p><p>The department does not have data for the number of devices distributed to Feltham and Heston constituency.</p><p>The department has delivered over 1.95 million laptops and tablets to schools, trusts, local authorities and further education providers for disadvantaged children and young people as part of a £520 million government investment to support access to remote education and online social care services.</p><p>The department also provided support for over 130,000 families to get online through uplifts in mobile data and 4G wireless routers. This included partnering with the UK’s leading mobile operators to provide free data to help over 33,000 disadvantaged children get online and delivering over 100,000 4G wireless routers for pupils without connection at home. The government also provided funding to support schools and FE providers in providing internet access for disadvantaged pupils whose face-to-face education is disrupted due to COVID-19.</p><p>The get help with technology service is transitioning to provide further support to schools and colleges on meeting technology standards, including in relation to connectivity and devices. This is focused now on levelling up technology in schools and other education providers rather than in homes, but the support and funding already provided should give schools the flexibility to provide remote education support and can continue to be used in the longer term.</p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker grouped question UIN 18912 question first answered 20/06/2022 16:38:27 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
tabling member	4253 label Biography information for Seema Malhotra

1470329

registered interest
date	14/06/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Schools: Stockton on Tees
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to fund a new (a) primary and (b) secondary school to serve Wynyard within Stockton on Tees Borough.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	17931
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/06/2022 answer text <p>The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places sits with local authorities. The department allocates capital funding through the Basic Need grant to support local authorities provide school places, based on their own forecast data.</p><p>Local authorities can use Basic Need funding to provide places in new schools or through expansions of existing schools. Where a local authority thinks there is a demographic need for a new school in its area, it must seek proposals to establish an academy. This is known as the free school presumption process.</p><p>Stockton-on-Tees was allocated just under £61.6 million of basic need grant funding between 2011 and 2021. It has not been allocated funding in subsequent allocations because its data indicates need for mainstream places up to September 2025 had already been funded in previous years.</p><p>The department also funds new schools through the central free schools route. Under this process the department has recently approved a new primary school in Hartlepool that will also serve the Wynyard area of Stockton-on-Tees.</p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker question first answered 20/06/2022 14:51:52 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1470339

registered interest
date	14/06/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Private Education: Refugees
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will issue guidance to local authorities on how they can partly or wholly fund independent school places for student refugees who have arrived under the Homes for Ukraine scheme using the same per capita funding that would be spent if they were to be educated in the state sector.
tabling member constituency	Fylde
tabling member printed	Mark Menzies
uin	17917
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/06/2022 answer text <p>The department is currently working at pace to develop the methodology and mechanism for the allocation of funding for the ‘Homes for Ukraine’ scheme. This education funding for children and young people will be distributed to local authorities. If the funding is used for a school place, it will be for state-funded schools only.</p><p>In general, there’s nothing that would stop a local authority from providing funding to an independent school, but this would be a decision for the individual local authority to make.</p><p>The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities issued guidance in March this year advising families how to apply for a school place in England. The Department for Education shared this via The Education Hub blog in April.</p><p>The Boarding Schools Association and the Independent Schools Council speak regularly to the Department for Education and the Home Office on matters relating to Ukraine and Russia.</p><p>We are grateful to those independent schools that have come forward to offer places and encourage independent schools to contact local authorities that are seeking to place children.</p><p>As school places are co-ordinated locally, schools should inform their local authorities that they are willing to offer places to Ukrainian students. It is for independent schools to determine their own criteria for creating scholarship schemes and putting local arrangements for administration in place.</p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker grouped question UIN 17918 question first answered 20/06/2022 14:21:07 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
tabling member	3998 label Biography information for Mark Menzies

1470340

registered interest
date	14/06/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Private Education: Refugees
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has issued guidance to local authorities on placements at independent schools for refugees who have arrived under the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
tabling member constituency	Fylde
tabling member printed	Mark Menzies
uin	17918
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/06/2022 answer text <p>The department is currently working at pace to develop the methodology and mechanism for the allocation of funding for the ‘Homes for Ukraine’ scheme. This education funding for children and young people will be distributed to local authorities. If the funding is used for a school place, it will be for state-funded schools only.</p><p>In general, there’s nothing that would stop a local authority from providing funding to an independent school, but this would be a decision for the individual local authority to make.</p><p>The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities issued guidance in March this year advising families how to apply for a school place in England. The Department for Education shared this via The Education Hub blog in April.</p><p>The Boarding Schools Association and the Independent Schools Council speak regularly to the Department for Education and the Home Office on matters relating to Ukraine and Russia.</p><p>We are grateful to those independent schools that have come forward to offer places and encourage independent schools to contact local authorities that are seeking to place children.</p><p>As school places are co-ordinated locally, schools should inform their local authorities that they are willing to offer places to Ukrainian students. It is for independent schools to determine their own criteria for creating scholarship schemes and putting local arrangements for administration in place.</p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker grouped question UIN 17917 question first answered 20/06/2022 14:21:07 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
tabling member	3998 label Biography information for Mark Menzies

1469903

registered interest
date	13/06/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Academies: Curriculum
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 current flexibility of academy schools in setting the criteria for the curriculum they teach.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	16832
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/06/2022 answer text <p>Academies have the autonomy to set their own school curriculum. However, they are required to teach a broad and balanced school curriculum, including maths, English and science, that is comparable in breadth and ambition to the national curriculum as a piece of statutory guidance.</p><p>For academies, the national curriculum acts as a benchmark for a high-quality, knowledge-rich school curriculum. Many academy schools choose to deliver the full national curriculum, but this is not a requirement. With their freedom, multi-academy trusts have been at the forefront of curriculum innovation, and they have led the development of evidence-based, subject-level teacher development programmes, resources, and research.</p><p>Ministers have no intention of using regulatory reforms to interfere in the day-to-day management of academies, other than in cases of failure. Ministers have no intention to restrict the freedoms that enable academies to collaborate, innovate, and organise themselves to deliver the best outcomes for pupils.</p><p>All schools are held accountable for delivering a broad and balanced curriculum through their performance in tests and exams and Ofsted inspections. Ofsted aims to reduce curriculum narrowing through the implementation of the 2019 education inspection framework, available at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/education-inspection-framework" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/education-inspection-framework</a>. This framework evaluates the intent, implementation, and impact of each school's curriculum.</p><p>Oak National Academy was created in April 2020 as a rapid response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Teachers and colleagues from leading education organisations came together to support schools’ efforts to keep children learning. This included several multi-academy trusts who contributed to the development of lessons and online resources and continue to work with Oak as curriculum partners.</p><p>Building on the success of Oak National Academy’s work in the pandemic, the department announced in the Schools White Paper that we will establish a new arms-length curriculum body. It will work with thousands of teachers to co-design, create and continually improve packages of optional, free, adaptable digital curriculum resources and video lessons. These optional resources will be available across the UK, helping teachers deliver a high-quality curriculum. This sector-led approach will draw on expertise and inputs from across the country, involving teachers, schools, trusts, subject associations, national centres of excellence and educational publishers.</p><p>The resources are to be optional, non-Ofsted endorsed and intended to exemplify high-quality curriculum design to improve system curriculum thinking and support teachers across the country with their lesson planning and teaching.</p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker grouped question UIN 16833 question first answered 20/06/2022 16:58:56 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1469907

registered interest
date	13/06/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Academies: Curriculum
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will take steps to improve the ability of academy schools to (a) set the curriculum they teach and (b) amend the current national curriculum within their own institutions.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	16833
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/06/2022 answer text <p>Academies have the autonomy to set their own school curriculum. However, they are required to teach a broad and balanced school curriculum, including maths, English and science, that is comparable in breadth and ambition to the national curriculum as a piece of statutory guidance.</p><p>For academies, the national curriculum acts as a benchmark for a high-quality, knowledge-rich school curriculum. Many academy schools choose to deliver the full national curriculum, but this is not a requirement. With their freedom, multi-academy trusts have been at the forefront of curriculum innovation, and they have led the development of evidence-based, subject-level teacher development programmes, resources, and research.</p><p>Ministers have no intention of using regulatory reforms to interfere in the day-to-day management of academies, other than in cases of failure. Ministers have no intention to restrict the freedoms that enable academies to collaborate, innovate, and organise themselves to deliver the best outcomes for pupils.</p><p>All schools are held accountable for delivering a broad and balanced curriculum through their performance in tests and exams and Ofsted inspections. Ofsted aims to reduce curriculum narrowing through the implementation of the 2019 education inspection framework, available at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/education-inspection-framework" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/education-inspection-framework</a>. This framework evaluates the intent, implementation, and impact of each school's curriculum.</p><p>Oak National Academy was created in April 2020 as a rapid response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Teachers and colleagues from leading education organisations came together to support schools’ efforts to keep children learning. This included several multi-academy trusts who contributed to the development of lessons and online resources and continue to work with Oak as curriculum partners.</p><p>Building on the success of Oak National Academy’s work in the pandemic, the department announced in the Schools White Paper that we will establish a new arms-length curriculum body. It will work with thousands of teachers to co-design, create and continually improve packages of optional, free, adaptable digital curriculum resources and video lessons. These optional resources will be available across the UK, helping teachers deliver a high-quality curriculum. This sector-led approach will draw on expertise and inputs from across the country, involving teachers, schools, trusts, subject associations, national centres of excellence and educational publishers.</p><p>The resources are to be optional, non-Ofsted endorsed and intended to exemplify high-quality curriculum design to improve system curriculum thinking and support teachers across the country with their lesson planning and teaching.</p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker grouped question UIN 16832 question first answered 20/06/2022 16:58:56 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1469266

registered interest
date	10/06/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	GCSE: Assessments
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what comparative assessment his Department has made of the equity of the number of examinations mandated for individual GCSE syllabuses.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	15721
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/06/2022 answer text <p>This is a matter for the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) and I have asked its Chief Regulator, Jo Saxton, to write directly to the Honourable Member. A copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.</p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker question first answered 16/06/2022 11:30:14 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1469277

registered interest
date	10/06/2022
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 his Department is taking to help ensure equity in the initial teacher education accreditation process for students.
tabling member constituency	Twickenham
tabling member printed	Munira Wilson
uin	15771
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/06/2022 answer text <p>The department’s teacher recruitment campaigns are targeted at audiences of students, recent graduates, and potential career changers regardless of their identity or background. We take every effort to ensure that our advertising is fully reflective of this across the full range of marketing materials we use. New ‘Bring It’ creative materials, introduced in January 2022 also strongly reflect the diversity of our young target audiences and the fact that this generation value diversity and want reassurance that teaching is for people like them.</p><p> </p><p>Last year, Apply for Teacher Training, our new application service for initial teacher training (ITT) in England,  was rolled out nationally. Apply has been designed to be as user-friendly as possible and has been extensively tested with a diverse range of potential applicants to ensure it helps remove barriers to great teachers applying for ITT courses.</p><p> </p><p>Apply for Teacher Training will also allow the department to collect more data, giving us greater insight into candidate behaviour and the behaviour of teacher training providers so that we can identify barriers and work to address them. The department will continue to work closely with ITT providers to explore, design and test new interventions to ensure teaching is an inclusive career that is open to candidates from all backgrounds.</p><p> </p><p>This year, the department produced specific guidance for providers on how to treat candidates fairly during recruitment. This guidance is published here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/treating-candidates-fairly-when-you-recruit-trainee-teachers" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/treating-candidates-fairly-when-you-recruit-trainee-teachers</a>.</p><p> </p><p>As recommended by the independent review of the ITT market, all existing and new providers of ITT courses are required to undergo an accreditation process to demonstrate that, from September 2024, they will be able to meet the standard set by the new ITT Quality Requirements. The accreditation process is ongoing and the second application round will close on 27 June. All organisations that submit an application for accreditation as a provider of ITT are treated equitably, with applications assessed through an impartial process, by trained assessors.</p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker grouped question UIN 15772 question first answered 15/06/2022 16:14:09 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
tabling member	4776 label Biography information for Munira Wilson

1469280

registered interest
date	10/06/2022
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, if he will issue guidance to initial teacher education accreditation providers to ensure that students are given the same information after submitting their application.
tabling member constituency	Twickenham
tabling member printed	Munira Wilson
uin	15772
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/06/2022 answer text <p>The department’s teacher recruitment campaigns are targeted at audiences of students, recent graduates, and potential career changers regardless of their identity or background. We take every effort to ensure that our advertising is fully reflective of this across the full range of marketing materials we use. New ‘Bring It’ creative materials, introduced in January 2022 also strongly reflect the diversity of our young target audiences and the fact that this generation value diversity and want reassurance that teaching is for people like them.</p><p> </p><p>Last year, Apply for Teacher Training, our new application service for initial teacher training (ITT) in England,  was rolled out nationally. Apply has been designed to be as user-friendly as possible and has been extensively tested with a diverse range of potential applicants to ensure it helps remove barriers to great teachers applying for ITT courses.</p><p> </p><p>Apply for Teacher Training will also allow the department to collect more data, giving us greater insight into candidate behaviour and the behaviour of teacher training providers so that we can identify barriers and work to address them. The department will continue to work closely with ITT providers to explore, design and test new interventions to ensure teaching is an inclusive career that is open to candidates from all backgrounds.</p><p> </p><p>This year, the department produced specific guidance for providers on how to treat candidates fairly during recruitment. This guidance is published here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/treating-candidates-fairly-when-you-recruit-trainee-teachers" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/treating-candidates-fairly-when-you-recruit-trainee-teachers</a>.</p><p> </p><p>As recommended by the independent review of the ITT market, all existing and new providers of ITT courses are required to undergo an accreditation process to demonstrate that, from September 2024, they will be able to meet the standard set by the new ITT Quality Requirements. The accreditation process is ongoing and the second application round will close on 27 June. All organisations that submit an application for accreditation as a provider of ITT are treated equitably, with applications assessed through an impartial process, by trained assessors.</p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker grouped question UIN 15771 question first answered 15/06/2022 16:14:09 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
tabling member	4776 label Biography information for Munira Wilson