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1653235

registered interest
date	14/07/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Teachers: Conditions of Employment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had recent discussions with headteachers of secondary schools on the level of workloads for teachers in those schools; and whether she is taking steps to improve working conditions for secondary school teachers.
tabling member constituency	Hornsey and Wood Green
tabling member printed	Catherine West
uin	194232
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/07/2023 answer text <p>The Department is committed to working with head teachers and teachers to reduce unnecessary workload and minimise burdens on schools. Part of this commitment is the development of the School Workload Reduction Toolkit which provides practical resources to help reduce workload.</p><p>The Department has also conducted numerous research projects with head teachers and teachers to understand what works to reduce workload. The Department regularly surveys and engages directly with the profession to explore a range of policy measures, including working hours.</p><p>In addition, the Secretary of State recently announced that the Department will convene a Workload Reduction Taskforce. The group will be made up of experts, teaching unions and head teachers to explore how the Department can go further to support teachers and head teachers to minimise workload for teachers.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 24/07/2023 12:01:18 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4523 label Biography information for Catherine West

1653236

registered interest
date	14/07/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Non-teaching Staff: Pay
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether (a) ancillary staff and (b) teaching assistants will receive the same level of pay increase as has been awarded to teachers from September 2023.
tabling member constituency	Hornsey and Wood Green
tabling member printed	Catherine West
uin	194233
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/07/2023 answer text <p>Schools have the autonomy to make their own decisions about budgets. For most staff, including Teaching Assistants (TAs), schools have the ability to recruit according to their own circumstances and set pay and conditions.</p><p> </p><p>Many schools pay TAs according to Local Government pay scales. These are set through negotiations between the Local Government Association, which represents the employer, and Local Government trade unions (UNISON, Unite, and the GMB), which represent the employee. Central Government does not have any formal role in these matters.</p><p> </p><p>Local Government employees covered by the National Joint Council for Local Government Services pay and conditions, including most school support staff, have been offered a flat cash uplift of £1,925 from 1 April 2023. This is the same cash uplift as was agreed for the 2022/23 pay deal, which equated to 10.5% at the bottom of the pay range, to 4% at the top. The 2023/24 offer is currently under negotiation.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 24/07/2023 12:23:20 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4523 label Biography information for Catherine West

1653242

registered interest
date	14/07/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Schools: Finance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the announcement on 13 July 2023 that schoolteachers will receive a 6.5 per cent pay increase from September 2023, what assessment she has made of the potential effect on educational (a) provision and (b) outcomes of 3.5 percentage points of that pay increase being allocated from school budgets.
tabling member constituency	Hornsey and Wood Green
tabling member printed	Catherine West
uin	194234
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/07/2023 answer text <p>In November last year at the Autumn Statement, the Department announced an additional £2 billion in each of the 2023/24 and 2024/25 financial years, over and above totals announced at the 2021 Spending Review.</p><p>On 13 July 2023, the Department announced an additional £525 million this year, to support schools with the teachers’ pay award, and a further £900 million in the 2024/25 financial year.</p><p>It means overall school funding is rising by over £3.9 billion this year alone, compared to the 2022/23 financial year, on top of a £4 billion cash increase last year. Combined, that represents a 16% increase in just two years. School funding in 2024/25 will be more than £59.6 billion, the highest ever level in real terms per pupil.</p><p>This additional funding will enable head teachers to continue to invest in the areas that positively impact educational attainment, including high quality teaching and targeted support to the pupils who need it most, as well as helping schools to manage higher costs, including teacher pay awards.</p><p>Each year the Department publishes an assessment of schools’ costs and funding, which informs what pay award the Department judges to be affordable for schools from within this existing funding. In March 2023, the Department set out its calculation that schools, on average, could afford a pay award of 4% from within existing funding.</p><p>The Department decided to fund the 2023 pay award from a lower affordability figure than the 4% calculation, funding the costs of the pay award above 3.5%, on average, rather than above the 4% national affordability calculation. This is a more generous funding offer than back in March 2023, and all four unions have confirmed that this ensures the pay award is properly funded.</p><p>The Department is also providing a further up to £40 million in addition to the £525 million in the 2023/24 financial year, to support individual schools which find themselves in particular financial difficulties. This is to be allocated on a case by case basis.</p><p>Although the Department will have to make difficult decisions, the Secretary of State has been clear all frontline services will be protected. Funding for Early Years, SEND, School Conditions and Core School and College Budgets are fully protected. To help fund the pay award, the Secretary of State has also secured exceptional permission from the Treasury to keep money where there have been or will be underspends, which in normal years would have to be returned to Treasury.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 24/07/2023 16:44:27 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4523 label Biography information for Catherine West

1625139

registered interest
date	02/05/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Free School Meals: Disability
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 24 April 2023 to Question 180692 on Free School Meals: Disability, if she will make an assessment of (a) the potential implications for her policies of the research by Contact entitled Free School Meals survey results, published in April 2023, on the number of eligible disabled children who do not receive free school meals and (b) whether schools are taking adequate steps to ensure that their food provision accounts for medical, dietary and cultural needs.
tabling member constituency	Hornsey and Wood Green
tabling member printed	Catherine West
uin	183521
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/05/2023 answer text <p>Schools have a duty to provide nutritious, free meals to pupils who meet the eligibility criteria, including being a registered pupil of a state funded school. Free school meal (FSM) provision should be made to eligible pupils either on the school premises or at any other place where education is being provided. The Department expects schools to act reasonably in ensuring that their food provision accounts for medical, dietary and cultural needs and has published statutory guidance, which describes steps school may take, including the establishment of individual healthcare plans which may include special diets. The statutory guidance is available at: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/803956/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions.pdf#:~:text=On%201%20September%202014%20a%20new%20duty%20came,life%2C%20remain%20healthy%20and%20achieve%20their%20academic%20potential" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/803956/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions.pdf#:~:text=On%201%20September%202014%20a%20new%20duty%20came,life%2C%20remain%20healthy%20and%20achieve%20their%20academic%20potential</a>.</p><p>Local Authorities are funded to support children with special needs, including those who are unable to attend school on a long term basis. The Department’s published guidance on this can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/illness-child-education" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/illness-child-education</a>.</p><p>The Department does not plan to expand FSM to include pupils who are home, or privately educated. The Department will continue to keep eligibility under review to ensure that these meals are supporting those who most need them.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb grouped question UIN 183522 question first answered 15/05/2023 12:05:54 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4523 label Biography information for Catherine West

1625140

registered interest
date	02/05/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Free School Meals: Disability
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will issue guidance to (a) schools and (b) local authorities on making reasonable adjustments when providing Free School Meals for eligible disabled children who (i) have medical or sensory needs and (ii) are unable to attend school due to long term medical reasons and are receiving education elsewhere.
tabling member constituency	Hornsey and Wood Green
tabling member printed	Catherine West
uin	183522
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/05/2023 answer text <p>Schools have a duty to provide nutritious, free meals to pupils who meet the eligibility criteria, including being a registered pupil of a state funded school. Free school meal (FSM) provision should be made to eligible pupils either on the school premises or at any other place where education is being provided. The Department expects schools to act reasonably in ensuring that their food provision accounts for medical, dietary and cultural needs and has published statutory guidance, which describes steps school may take, including the establishment of individual healthcare plans which may include special diets. The statutory guidance is available at: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/803956/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions.pdf#:~:text=On%201%20September%202014%20a%20new%20duty%20came,life%2C%20remain%20healthy%20and%20achieve%20their%20academic%20potential" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/803956/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions.pdf#:~:text=On%201%20September%202014%20a%20new%20duty%20came,life%2C%20remain%20healthy%20and%20achieve%20their%20academic%20potential</a>.</p><p>Local Authorities are funded to support children with special needs, including those who are unable to attend school on a long term basis. The Department’s published guidance on this can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/illness-child-education" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/illness-child-education</a>.</p><p>The Department does not plan to expand FSM to include pupils who are home, or privately educated. The Department will continue to keep eligibility under review to ensure that these meals are supporting those who most need them.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb grouped question UIN 183521 question first answered 15/05/2023 12:05:54 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4523 label Biography information for Catherine West

1623775

registered interest
date	25/04/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Teachers: Employment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data her Department holds on the number of teachers employed in state schools who deliver for-profit tutoring services.
tabling member constituency	Hornsey and Wood Green
tabling member printed	Catherine West
uin	182663
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/05/2023 answer text <p>Information on the school workforce in England, including subjects taught in state funded secondary schools, is collected as part of the annual School Workforce Census each November. Information is published in the ‘School Workforce in England’ statistical publication, available at: <a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england" target="_blank">https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england</a>.</p><p>Information on the number of teachers delivering for profit tutoring services is not collected by the Department.</p><p>There are no contractual restrictions on teachers having more than one job, as long as there is no detrimental impact on the teacher’s ability to deliver their contractual obligations and responsibilities. These would need to be negotiated between the individual teacher and their employer.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 04/05/2023 10:51:12 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4523 label Biography information for Catherine West

1611745

registered interest
date	18/04/2023
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, whether his Department plans to take into consideration the historic under-recruitment of subject-specialist teachers in the future allocation of teacher training bursaries.
tabling member constituency	Hornsey and Wood Green
tabling member printed	Catherine West
uin	181289
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/04/2023 answer text <p>When deciding the bursaries for Initial Teacher Training (ITT), the Department takes a number of factors into account including historic recruitment, forecast economic conditions and teacher supply need in each subject.</p><p>The unprecedented increase in new entrants to ITT seen in 2020/21 has declined over the past two years. The graduate labour market became more competitive and pay has risen in competing sectors.</p><p>To respond to this challenge, the Department announced an ITT financial incentives package worth up to £181 million for 2023/24, which is a £52 million increase on the previous year. This includes bursaries worth £27,000 tax free and scholarships worth £29,000 tax free, to encourage talented trainees to teach in key subjects such as mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 26/04/2023 16:20:41 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4523 label Biography information for Catherine West

1610559

registered interest
date	14/04/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Free School Meals: Disability
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of updating the national guidance on Free School Meals to include reference to the duty to make reasonable adjustments for eligible disabled children who are unable to access meals due to dietary or sensory requirements.
tabling member constituency	Hornsey and Wood Green
tabling member printed	Catherine West
uin	180692
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/04/2023 answer text <p>The Education Act 1996 places a duty on maintained schools and academies to provide nutritious, free meals to pupils that meet the eligibility criteria, and are attending school during term time. These meals must meet the standards for school food as laid out in ‘The Requirements for School Food Regulations 2014’, which can be found here: <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/1603/contents/made" target="_blank">https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/1603/contents/made</a>.</p><p>The Department expects schools to act reasonably in ensuring that their food provision accounts for medical, dietary, and cultural needs.</p><p>It is important that the Department that the guidance on free school meals meets the needs of pupils. As such, this guidance is kept under review.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 24/04/2023 14:29:56 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4523 label Biography information for Catherine West

1608221

registered interest
date	28/03/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children: Swimming
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 17 March 2023 to Question 161361 on Children: Swimming, what proportion of Year 6 pupils in London met the three swimming and water safety National Curriculum expectations in each of the last three years.
tabling member constituency	Hornsey and Wood Green
tabling member printed	Catherine West
uin	175574
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/04/2023 answer text <p>The Department does not collect data on the percentage of pupils in Year 6 in London who met each of the three swimming and water safety National Curriculum expectations.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 04/04/2023 15:39:00 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4523 label Biography information for Catherine West

1607834

registered interest
date	27/03/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Religion: Education
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help ensure that recruitment targets for religious education teachers are met.
tabling member constituency	Hornsey and Wood Green
tabling member printed	Catherine West
uin	174390
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/04/2023 answer text <p>As at the last school workforce census (November 2021, published in June 2022), the number of teachers remains high, with over 465,500 full time equivalent teachers working in state funded schools across the country.</p><p>In the 2020/21 academic year the Department exceeded the postgraduate initial teacher training target for religious education (RE). 129% of the target was achieved (660 new entrants recruited), whilst in the 2021/22 academic year performance against the target fell to 94% (442 new entrants recruited) and in 2022/23, 76% of the target was achieved (341 new trainees) in RE.</p><p>The Department is concentrating funding in attracting the best teachers where they are needed the most, through its teaching marketing campaign, support services for prospective trainees, and competitive starting salary.</p><p>To make it easier for people to become teachers, the Department has launched its new digital service, ‘Apply for teacher training’, enabling a more streamlined, user-friendly application route.</p><p>The Teaching marketing campaign provides inspiration and support to explore a career in teaching and directs people to the ‘Get Into Teaching’ service. Through a new website, prospective trainees can access support and advice through expert one to one Teacher Training Advisers, a contact centre and a national programme of events.</p><p>The Department has recently raised starting salaries outside London by 8.9% to £28,000 and remains committed to the Government’s ambition of delivering £30,000 starting salaries to attract people to teaching.</p><p>The Department is delivering 500,000 teacher training and development opportunities by the end of 2024, giving all teachers and headteachers access to world-class, evidence-based training and professional development at every stage of their career.</p><p>The Department’s reforms are aimed at increasing teacher recruitment and at ensuring teachers across England stay and thrive in the profession in all subjects, including RE.</p><p>To support retention in the first few years of teaching, the Department has rolled out the Early Career Framework nationally, providing the foundations for a successful career in teaching. This is backed by over £130 million a year in funding.</p><p>The Department has also launched a new and updated suite of National Professional Qualifications for teachers and headteachers at all levels, from those who want to develop expertise in high quality teaching practice to those leading multiple schools across trusts.</p><p>The Department has published a range of resources to help address staff workload and wellbeing. This includes the Education Staff Wellbeing Charter, which the Department is encouraging schools to sign up to as a shared commitment to promote staff wellbeing. The Department has also published the workload reduction toolkit, developed alongside headteachers to help reduce workload, and resources to support schools to implement effective flexible working practices.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 04/04/2023 13:11:27 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4523 label Biography information for Catherine West