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1273763

registered interest
date	06/01/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Schools: Redbridge
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reasons schools in the London Borough of Redbridge were not included in the covid-19 contingency framework implementation guidance, published on 30 December 2020.
tabling member constituency	Ilford North
tabling member printed	Wes Streeting
uin	133988
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/01/2021 answer text <p>Redbridge was inadvertently omitted from the list supplied to the Department for Education by the Department of Health and Social Care, but was added as soon as the mistake was identified.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 11/01/2021 16:16:01 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4504 label Biography information for Wes Streeting

1273772

registered interest
date	06/01/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Primary Education: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will publish the criteria used to determine which areas with primary schools were made subject to the contingency framework on Wednesday 30 December 2020.
tabling member constituency	Greenwich and Woolwich
tabling member printed	Matthew Pennycook
uin	134026
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/01/2021 answer text <p>In considering which areas may be suitable for primary restrictions under our contingency framework, the Department worked closely with Public Health England, the Joint Biosecurity Centre, NHS Test &amp; Trace and the Department for Health and Social Care using the most recent data available. We used a balanced approach, rather than simple threshold cut offs, and took all factors into account, but with particular focus on: very high rates of infection, particularly high increases in seven-day case rates, and intelligence about pressure on the NHS.</p><p>These were not easy decisions to make, but they were made according to the best clinical advice and the key indicators set out within the COVID-19 Winter Plan. More information on the COVID-19 Winter Plan can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-winter-plan" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-winter-plan</a>.</p><p>The national lockdown announced on 4 January 2021 replaced the restrictions that had been active in some primary schools under the contingency framework. We will be continually reviewing the restrictions on schools, colleges and universities to ensure that pupils and students can return to face to face education when the pressures are easing on the NHS.</p><p>These decisions do not suggest that schools and colleges are no longer safe places. Instead, limiting attendance is about reducing the number of contacts that all of us have with people in other households.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 11/01/2021 16:13:54 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4520 label Biography information for Matthew Pennycook

1274181

registered interest
date	06/01/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Educational Institutions: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will publish the latest rate of infection with covid-19 of (a) teachers, (b) teaching assistants, (c) non teaching school staff, (d) staff in registered childcare settings, (e) college staff and (f) university staff.
tabling member constituency	Sefton Central
tabling member printed	Bill Esterson
uin	133815
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/01/2021 answer text <p>The Department does not hold data on infection rates amongst (a) teachers, (b) teaching assistants, (c) non teaching school staff, (d) staff in registered childcare settings,<ins class="ministerial"> and</ins> (e) college staff<ins class="ministerial">.</ins> <del class="ministerial">and (f) university staff.</del></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">For (f) university staff, the department has asked higher education (HE) providers to share information on their staff numbers and the number of staff COVID-19 cases that have been reported to them. For the 183 HE providers which provided this information to us for the 7 days between 10 and 16 December, our estimate is that there were 56.7 confirmed cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 non-academic and academic staff in HE providers for that period.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">Estimates for more recent weeks are not available due to: i) a pause in data collection over the winter break and ii) inconsistencies arising from the effect of the national lockdown that began this month.</ins></p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Advice from the Children's Task and Finish group is that children are at very low risk of serious illness from the virus, and there is also no current evidence that staff<ins class="ministerial"> in schools and colleges</ins> are at higher risk of infection than those working in other sectors. This advice can be accessed here: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/948617/s0998-tfc-update-to-4-november-2020-paper-on-children-schools-transmission.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/948617/s0998-tfc-update-to-4-november-2020-paper-on-children-schools-transmission.pdf</a>.</p><p> </p><p>The safety and wellbeing of staff, pupils and students in education settings is always our priority. The Government is doing all it can to minimise the risks to those working and studying in our nurseries, schools, colleges, and universities in this unprecedented situation, while mitigating the impact on education.</p><p> </p><p>On 7 January, the Department published guidance to universities and students returning to higher education in the spring term. This guidance sets out how we will support higher education providers to enable students to return as safely as possible following the winter break, by staggering this process following the period of national lockdown and to facilitate testing for all. The guidance is available here: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/950367/Students_returning_to_and_starting_higher_education_in_Spring_Term_2021.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/950367/Students_returning_to_and_starting_higher_education_in_Spring_Term_2021.pdf</a>.</p><p>The Department also published ‘guidance: Actions for schools during the coronavirus outbreak’, which sets out what all schools will need to do during the COVID-19 outbreak from January 2021. The guidance is available here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak</a>.</p><p> </p><p>On 7 January, the Department published guidance for all early years settings and local authorities in England, which provides information on how the national lockdown restrictions to control the spread of COVID-19 will impact early years and childcare settings. This guidance is available here: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/950653/Education_and_childcare_settings_-_national_lockdown_from_5_January_2021_.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/950653/Education_and_childcare_settings_-_national_lockdown_from_5_January_2021_.pdf</a>.</p><p> </p><p>On 8 January, the Department published guidance on actions for further education colleges and providers during the COVID-19 outbreak: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-further-education-provision" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-further-education-provision</a>.</p><p> </p><p>The Department will continue to keep our plans under review and ensure our position is informed by the latest evidence.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 11/01/2021 17:32:00 question first ministerially corrected 25/01/2021 18:30:13 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb previous answer version 71906 answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4061 label Biography information for Bill Esterson

1274289

registered interest
date	06/01/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	National Curriculum Tests
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department plans for Key Stage 2 SATs to proceed as scheduled in 2021.
tabling member constituency	Rotherham
tabling member printed	Sarah Champion
uin	133870
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/01/2021 answer text <p>The Department recognises that due to the further disruption caused by the move to restricted attendance in schools, primary assessments cannot continue as intended. The Department has cancelled the statutory key stage 2 tests and teacher assessments planned for summer 2021, including the key stage 2 tests in reading and mathematics, and statutory key stage 1 tests and teacher assessments.</p><p>Schools are expected to continue to use assessment during the summer term to inform teaching, to enable them to give information to parents on their child’s attainment in their statutory annual report and to support transition to secondary school. The Department strongly encourages schools to use past test papers in their assessment of pupils.</p><p>These arrangements will apply for summer 2021 only, and the Department is planning for a full programme of primary assessments to take place in the 2021/22 academic year. This will include the introduction of the statutory Reception Baseline Assessment and Multiplication Tables Check as previously announced. We will confirm full details for 2021/22 primary assessments in due course.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 11/01/2021 16:16:23 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4267 label Biography information for Sarah Champion

1274322

registered interest
date	06/01/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children: Computers
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether recipients of laptops for remote education will incur a financial penalty if those laptops are stolen or damaged.
tabling member constituency	Portsmouth South
tabling member printed	Stephen Morgan
uin	134085
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/01/2021 answer text <p>The Government is investing over £300 million to support access to remote education and online social care services, including securing over one million laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children and young people. This includes over 560,000 laptops and tablets that have already been delivered to schools, trusts and local authorities in 2020.</p><p>The laptops and tablets are the property of the school, local authority or academy trust, and they should assume responsibility for their ongoing maintenance and support as part of this. The Department will not apply financial penalties for devices that are lost or stolen and schools – academy trusts and local authorities should manage devices reported as lost or stolen, in line with their organisational policies.</p><p>If a device develops a fault that is not caused by a user, the school, local authority or academy trust that owns it can request a free replacement.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 11/01/2021 17:11:00 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4653 label Biography information for Stephen Morgan

1274392

registered interest
date	06/01/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children: Computers
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, by what date he estimates children who require laptops to assist them with home learning will receive them.
tabling member constituency	Sefton Central
tabling member printed	Bill Esterson
uin	133818
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/01/2021 answer text <p>The Government is investing over £300 million to support access to remote education and online social care services, including securing over one million laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children and young people.</p><p>This includes over 560,000 laptops and tablets that have already been delivered to schools, trusts, and local authorities in 2020.</p><p>Laptops and tablets are owned by schools, trusts, or local authorities who can lend these to children and young people who need them most, during the current COVID-19 national restrictions.</p><p>From Saturday 2 January, all secondary schools have been able to order their full allocation of devices. As a result of orders placed since then, we dispatched over 100,000 laptops to schools by the end of last week.</p><p>By the end of this week, we expect to have delivered three quarters of a million devices.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 11/01/2021 17:26:37 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4061 label Biography information for Bill Esterson

1273200

registered interest
date	30/12/2020
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, with reference to the more transmissible strain of covid-19, if he will review the mandatory requirement for parents and guardians to send children to school in the case that someone in the household is extremely clinically vulnerable.
tabling member constituency	Sheffield, Hallam
tabling member printed	Olivia Blake
uin	133309
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/01/2021 answer text <p>From Wednesday 6 January a new national lockdown came into effect. Schools should only allow vulnerable children and the children of critical workers to attend face to face education. All other pupils will learn remotely.</p><p>Parents will not be penalised for not sending their children to school during this period.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 11/01/2021 16:43:27 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4864 label Biography information for Olivia Blake

1273419

registered interest
date	30/12/2020
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 discussions he has had with (a) school leaders and (b) the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the timetable for covid-19 vaccinations for teachers and school staff.
tabling member constituency	Feltham and Heston
tabling member printed	Seema Malhotra
uin	132923
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/01/2021 answer text <p>The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) are the independent experts who advise the Government on which vaccine/s the UK should use and provide advice on who should be offered them.</p><p>JCVI advises that the first priorities for the COVID-19 vaccination programme should be the prevention of mortality and the maintenance of the health and social care systems. As the risk of mortality from COVID-19 increases with age, prioritisation is primarily based on age.</p><p>Regarding the next phase of vaccine rollout, JCVI have asked that the Department of Health and Social Care consider occupational vaccination in collaboration with other Government departments. The Department for Education will input into this cross governmental exercise.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb grouped question UIN 132889 question first answered 11/01/2021 15:56:41 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4253 label Biography information for Seema Malhotra

1273460

registered interest
date	30/12/2020
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 plans he has to ensure that staff in schools are given the highest priority for the covid-19 vaccine.
tabling member constituency	Sefton Central
tabling member printed	Bill Esterson
uin	132889
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/01/2021 answer text <p>The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) are the independent experts who advise the Government on which vaccine/s the UK should use and provide advice on who should be offered them.</p><p>JCVI advises that the first priorities for the COVID-19 vaccination programme should be the prevention of mortality and the maintenance of the health and social care systems. As the risk of mortality from COVID-19 increases with age, prioritisation is primarily based on age.</p><p>Regarding the next phase of vaccine rollout, JCVI have asked that the Department of Health and Social Care consider occupational vaccination in collaboration with other Government departments. The Department for Education will input into this cross governmental exercise.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb grouped question UIN 132923 question first answered 11/01/2021 15:56:41 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4061 label Biography information for Bill Esterson

1272167

registered interest
date	17/12/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Educational Exchanges: EU Countries
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 help schools to continue making arrangements for pupil exchanges with EU Member States after 1 January 2021: and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	New Forest West
tabling member printed	Sir Desmond Swayne
uin	131162
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/01/2021 answer text <p>School exchanges provide pupils with the chance to experience different cultures, improve their language skills and to build their independence. It is for individual schools to choose where and how they might wish to run a school exchange, including whether they use the support of third-party companies and organisations such as the British Council.</p><p>The Department funds the British Council-delivered International School Exchange programme, which provides opportunities for young people, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, to take part in an international exchange and visit partner schools around the world, including in EU Member States. It is hoped to restart the programme in the latter part of 2021.</p><p>The newly announced Turing scheme, which replaces the UK’s participation in Erasmus+, will allow thousands of students to study and take part in work placements in the EU and beyond. The Turing scheme will be backed by over £100 million, providing funding for around 35,000 students in universities, colleges and schools to go on placements and exchanges overseas, starting in September 2021.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 11/01/2021 13:32:54 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	55 label Biography information for Sir Desmond Swayne