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1357177

registered interest
date	21/09/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	BTEC Qualifications
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 ensure that students can continue to study BTEC qualifications in the future.
tabling member constituency	Liverpool, Riverside
tabling member printed	Kim Johnson
uin	52619
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/09/2021 answer text <p>Employers are facing a skills shortage that we must act to address. It is vital in a fast moving and high-tech economy that we close the gap between what people study and the needs of employers. This is why we are introducing over 20 T Levels and are strengthening the routes to progress into skilled employment or further study with high quality qualifications that are fit for the future. T Levels are challenging qualifications developed with 250 leading employers. They include a meaningful nine-week industry placement and will equip more young people with the skills, knowledge and experience necessary to access skilled employment or further training.</p><p>We set out the qualifications we intend to fund alongside A levels and T Levels at level 3 in July 2021. We are clear that any qualifications that are funded to be taken alongside or instead of A levels or T Levels must be high quality and lead to good outcomes. We will fund level 3 BTECs and/or other Applied General or similar qualifications where there is a clear need for skills and knowledge that T Levels and A levels cannot provide. These must meet new quality criteria to be approved for funding.</p><p>We have been clear that we expect the changes to be generally positive as students will have access to higher quality qualifications in the future, including new T Levels. This will put students in a stronger position to progress onto further study or skilled employment.</p> answering member constituency Brentwood and Ongar answering member printed Alex Burghart grouped question UIN 52620 question first answered 29/09/2021 15:00:03 answering member 4613 label Biography information for Alex Burghart
tabling member	4824 label Biography information for Kim Johnson

1357303

registered interest
date	21/09/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children: Day Care
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the findings of the survey of 20,000 parents by Mumsnet with 13 other groups, published in September 2021, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of the cost of childcare on (a) household bills and (b) the career choices of parents.
tabling member constituency	Hornsey and Wood Green
tabling member printed	Catherine West
uin	52566
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/09/2021 answer text <p>The department welcomes the contribution that Mumsnet and their partner organisations have made around this topic. However, it is important to note that this survey is unweighted, and the sample size represents a small proportion of all parents with a child or children in the early years.</p><p>Ipsos MORI conducted wave 9 of our parent poll, ‘Childcare use, perceived impact on child development, information on working from home, and awareness and use of free entitlements for families of 0-4 year-olds during COVID-19’ in July 2021, with a smaller but representative sample of 1,000 parents of children aged 0-4 in England. This is available at: <a href="https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/childcare-use-perceived-impact-child-development-information-working-home-and-awareness-and-use" target="_blank">https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/childcare-use-perceived-impact-child-development-information-working-home-and-awareness-and-use</a>.</p><p>The data has been weighted to match the population profile of parents of children aged 0-4 in England by region, social grade, and the age of the selected child.</p><p>The Parent Poll asked different questions to the Mumsnet survey but key points from the findings include:</p><ul><li>The affordability of weekly childcare costs is unchanged for just over half of parents compared to before the COVID-19 outbreak, and for 3 in 10 parents their weekly childcare costs are now easier to meet.</li><li>The majority of parents (91%) who used formal childcare before the COVID-19 outbreak, and are currently using it, say that their child is spending about the same number of hours or more in formal childcare as they did before.</li><li>More than half (56%) of parents report that their child is currently using formal childcare, this increases to 94% when looking at just those children who were receiving formal childcare before the COVID-19 outbreak.</li><li>Only 6% of parents whose child was not receiving formal childcare said they would like to use formal childcare but have not been able to find a suitable provider. This is only approximately 2% of all parents.</li><li>Nearly two thirds of parents of 0-4 year olds currently using childcare (64%) agree that the hours their child(ren) can access formal or informal childcare/school fits with the working hours of the adults in the household.</li></ul> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 29/09/2021 08:55:03 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4523 label Biography information for Catherine West

1357305

registered interest
date	21/09/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Pre-school Education
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the role of early years services is in the Government's Levelling Up agenda.
tabling member constituency	Blaydon
tabling member printed	Liz Twist
uin	52575
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/09/2021 answer text <p>Levelling up is at the heart of the agenda to build back better after the COVID-19 outbreak and to deliver for every part of the UK. The department takes a dual approach to disadvantage: tackling outcome inequalities nationally while tilting efforts to, and working specifically in, places of greatest need.</p><p>In education, ability is evenly spread but opportunity is not. We know that differences in outcomes start early. To really tackle our levelling up challenge, we must look at our support for children and young people at every level, from support for families and childcare, through to university, and to develop skills throughout life.</p><p>We are already making progress. On 2 June 2021 we announced an additional £1.4 billion education recovery package, which includes a £153 million investment in evidence-based professional development for early years practitioners, including through new programmes focusing on key areas such as speech and language development.</p><p>This is in addition to the £27 million which we are already investing to support children’s early language development in light of the COVID-19 outbreak:</p><ul><li>£17 million is to deliver the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI) in schools that would particularly benefit. Two thirds of primary schools have already signed up for the programme.</li><li>£10 million will support language development for pre-reception children in the next academic year.</li></ul><p>What happens outside of schools and settings is also important. The government is investing over £34 million to champion family hubs. This approach will help to support children of all ages and their families across a broad range of needs in their localities. This investment includes establishing a new national centre for family hubs, run by the Anna Freud Centre for Children and Families; a new transformation fund to open family hubs in around 10 local authorities; an evaluation innovation fund; and work with local authorities to develop data and digital products that will support the practical implementation of family hubs.</p><p>The government will publish a landmark Levelling Up White Paper later this year, setting out bold new policy interventions to improve livelihoods and opportunity in all parts of the UK.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 29/09/2021 09:10:41 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4618 label Biography information for Liz Twist

1357308

registered interest
date	21/09/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Pre-school Education: Standards
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of early years provision.
tabling member constituency	Blaydon
tabling member printed	Liz Twist
uin	52576
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/09/2021 answer text <p>High quality, accessible childcare is important in ensuring that every child has the best possible start in life. The overall quality of provision within the early years sector remains high and, as of 31 March 2021, 96% of providers on the Ofsted Early Years Register were judged good or outstanding, which is a substantial increase from 74% in 2012. Ofsted are responsible for monitoring the quality of provision.</p><p>We continue to monitor the sufficiency of childcare through regular attendance data collection and monitoring the open or closed status of providers. We also discuss sufficiency of provision in our regular conversations with local authorities. Local authorities are not currently reporting any significant sufficiency or supply issues and we have not seen any significant number of parents unable to secure a childcare place, either this term or since early years settings re-opened fully on 1 June 2020.</p><p>Ofsted data shows that as of March 2021 the number of childcare places available on the Early Years Register has remained broadly stable since August 2015.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 29/09/2021 08:51:40 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4618 label Biography information for Liz Twist

1357309

registered interest
date	21/09/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Pre-school Education: Finance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on funding for early years services.
tabling member constituency	Blaydon
tabling member printed	Liz Twist
uin	52577
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/09/2021 answer text <p>We are making our usual preparations for the imminent Spending Review, which will set departmental budgets for all financial years from 2022-23 to 2024-25.</p><p>Ministers and officials from the department will continue to have discussions with HM Treasury as the Spending Review progresses.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 29/09/2021 08:53:20 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4618 label Biography information for Liz Twist

1356857

registered interest
date	20/09/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Schools: Religion
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 ensure that pupils in Bolton South East constituency have access to a secular or community-ethos school.
tabling member constituency	Bolton South East
tabling member printed	Yasmin Qureshi
uin	51662
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/09/2021 answer text <p>The government is committed to offering parents and children a diverse education system consisting of a wide variety of schools and this includes faith schools. Within Bolton South East, 24 of the 47 primary and secondary schools are not designated as faith schools.</p><p>The vast majority of parents are offered a place at a school of their choice. For the Bolton local authority, in 2021, 97.6% of parents received an offer from one of their top three choices of primary school, while 94.4 % received an offer from one of their top three choices of secondary school.</p><p>Faith schools have played an important role in our education system for many years and are popular with parents. They have a strong track record of delivering excellent education and achieving high standards and, on average, perform better than non-faith schools. These schools, like all other schools, play a vital role in promoting integration and supporting pupils to understand different faiths and communities.</p><p>Although faith schools have greater freedom to maintain their religious ethos, they remain subject to the same obligations as other state funded schools to promote community cohesion and integration, and to teach a broad and balanced curriculum.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker question first answered 23/09/2021 12:29:06 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
tabling member	3924 label Biography information for Yasmin Qureshi

1356858

registered interest
date	20/09/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children in Care
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 6 September 2021 to Question 41094 on Children in Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of conducting research into the long-term outcomes for children placed across borders.
tabling member constituency	Denton and Reddish
tabling member printed	Andrew Gwynne
uin	51628
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/09/2021 answer text <p>The department has not made an assessment in this area. Where possible, local authorities should provide accommodation that is within their local area as moving a child away from their home area is not a decision to be taken lightly. There are clear statutory requirements in place to safeguard young people, and it is the responsibility of the placing local authority and Directors of Children’s Services who must approve all distant placements.</p><p>Statistically, the department collects data on placement type, reason for placement change and three separate pieces of information in relation to the locality of placements. The location data includes:</p><ul><li>information about the distance the child is placed away from their home postcode</li><li>whether the placement is located inside or outside their responsible local authority</li><li>the country of the placement (England, UK or otherwise).</li></ul><p>Figures on placements, distance from the home placement and the location of the placement, inside or outside the council boundary, were published in the underlying data ‘National - children looked after at 31 March by placement type, distance of placement and locality of placement’ of the statistical release ‘Children looked after in England including adoption: 2019 to 2020’ at: <a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions/2020" target="_blank">https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions/2020</a>.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 23/09/2021 16:27:53 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	1506 label Biography information for Andrew Gwynne

1356861

registered interest
date	20/09/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Pre-school Education: North West
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 impact of the covid-19 outbreak on the accessibility of early years services in the North West region.
tabling member constituency	Worsley and Eccles South
tabling member printed	Barbara Keeley
uin	51659
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/09/2021 answer text <p>High quality, accessible childcare is important in ensuring that every child has the best possible start in life. As of 31 March 2021, 96% of providers on the Ofsted Early Years Register were judged Good or Outstanding, a substantial increase from 74% in 2012. Ofsted are responsible for monitoring the quality of provision.</p><p>The department continues to monitor the sufficiency of childcare through regular attendance data collection and monitoring the open or closed status of providers. We also discuss sufficiency of provision in regular conversations with local authorities. Local authorities are not currently reporting any significant sufficiency or supply issues and we have not seen a significant number of parents unable to secure a childcare place, either this term or since early years settings re-opened fully on 1 June 2020. The department provides support to local authorities with low take up of the entitlements.</p><p>All 3 and 4 year olds are entitled to 15 hours free childcare each week, providing children with high-quality early education. Take-up of this entitlement is high, with 90% of 3 and 4 year olds registered for a 15 hours per week free early education place in January 2021. Eligible working parents of 3 and 4 year olds are entitled to an additional 15 hours to help them with the additional costs associated with childcare. Households on a low income of under £15,400 (or £16,190 if receiving child tax credits) can qualify for 15 hours free childcare for 2 year olds.</p><p>In addition to free early education entitlements, the government offers Tax-Free Childcare for children from 0 to 11 years old, or up to 16 if disabled. For every £8 parents pay into their Tax-Free Childcare account, the government will pay £2, up to a maximum of £2,000 per child per year. For disabled children, the maximum is £4,000 per year. In total, 308,000 families used Tax-Free Childcare for 364,000 children in June 2021.</p><p>Working parents on a low income may also be eligible for help with up to 85% of their childcare costs (for children under 16) through Universal Credit Childcare. This is subject to a monthly limit of £646 for one child or £1108 for two or more children, payable in arrears.</p><p>As part of the COVID-19 education recovery strategy we are investing £180 million for training for early years staff to support the very youngest children’s learning and development. This includes Nuffield Early Language Intervention, improving the language skills of reception age children who need it most during COVID-19. Two thirds of eligible primary schools have signed up and we estimate 90,000 reception age children will get extra support with their speech and language development. Further detail on the additional training will be made available in due course.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 51582 51660 51661 question first answered 23/09/2021 16:34:43 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	1588 label Biography information for Barbara Keeley

1356862

registered interest
date	20/09/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Pre-school Education
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 consistency of early years services for children up to five years old across the UK.
tabling member constituency	Worsley and Eccles South
tabling member printed	Barbara Keeley
uin	51660
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/09/2021 answer text <p>High quality, accessible childcare is important in ensuring that every child has the best possible start in life. As of 31 March 2021, 96% of providers on the Ofsted Early Years Register were judged Good or Outstanding, a substantial increase from 74% in 2012. Ofsted are responsible for monitoring the quality of provision.</p><p>The department continues to monitor the sufficiency of childcare through regular attendance data collection and monitoring the open or closed status of providers. We also discuss sufficiency of provision in regular conversations with local authorities. Local authorities are not currently reporting any significant sufficiency or supply issues and we have not seen a significant number of parents unable to secure a childcare place, either this term or since early years settings re-opened fully on 1 June 2020. The department provides support to local authorities with low take up of the entitlements.</p><p>All 3 and 4 year olds are entitled to 15 hours free childcare each week, providing children with high-quality early education. Take-up of this entitlement is high, with 90% of 3 and 4 year olds registered for a 15 hours per week free early education place in January 2021. Eligible working parents of 3 and 4 year olds are entitled to an additional 15 hours to help them with the additional costs associated with childcare. Households on a low income of under £15,400 (or £16,190 if receiving child tax credits) can qualify for 15 hours free childcare for 2 year olds.</p><p>In addition to free early education entitlements, the government offers Tax-Free Childcare for children from 0 to 11 years old, or up to 16 if disabled. For every £8 parents pay into their Tax-Free Childcare account, the government will pay £2, up to a maximum of £2,000 per child per year. For disabled children, the maximum is £4,000 per year. In total, 308,000 families used Tax-Free Childcare for 364,000 children in June 2021.</p><p>Working parents on a low income may also be eligible for help with up to 85% of their childcare costs (for children under 16) through Universal Credit Childcare. This is subject to a monthly limit of £646 for one child or £1108 for two or more children, payable in arrears.</p><p>As part of the COVID-19 education recovery strategy we are investing £180 million for training for early years staff to support the very youngest children’s learning and development. This includes Nuffield Early Language Intervention, improving the language skills of reception age children who need it most during COVID-19. Two thirds of eligible primary schools have signed up and we estimate 90,000 reception age children will get extra support with their speech and language development. Further detail on the additional training will be made available in due course.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 51582 51659 51661 question first answered 23/09/2021 16:34:43 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	1588 label Biography information for Barbara Keeley

1356864

registered interest
date	20/09/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Pre-school Education
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans his Department has to promote and improve access to early years services.
tabling member constituency	Worsley and Eccles South
tabling member printed	Barbara Keeley
uin	51661
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/09/2021 answer text <p>High quality, accessible childcare is important in ensuring that every child has the best possible start in life. As of 31 March 2021, 96% of providers on the Ofsted Early Years Register were judged Good or Outstanding, a substantial increase from 74% in 2012. Ofsted are responsible for monitoring the quality of provision.</p><p>The department continues to monitor the sufficiency of childcare through regular attendance data collection and monitoring the open or closed status of providers. We also discuss sufficiency of provision in regular conversations with local authorities. Local authorities are not currently reporting any significant sufficiency or supply issues and we have not seen a significant number of parents unable to secure a childcare place, either this term or since early years settings re-opened fully on 1 June 2020. The department provides support to local authorities with low take up of the entitlements.</p><p>All 3 and 4 year olds are entitled to 15 hours free childcare each week, providing children with high-quality early education. Take-up of this entitlement is high, with 90% of 3 and 4 year olds registered for a 15 hours per week free early education place in January 2021. Eligible working parents of 3 and 4 year olds are entitled to an additional 15 hours to help them with the additional costs associated with childcare. Households on a low income of under £15,400 (or £16,190 if receiving child tax credits) can qualify for 15 hours free childcare for 2 year olds.</p><p>In addition to free early education entitlements, the government offers Tax-Free Childcare for children from 0 to 11 years old, or up to 16 if disabled. For every £8 parents pay into their Tax-Free Childcare account, the government will pay £2, up to a maximum of £2,000 per child per year. For disabled children, the maximum is £4,000 per year. In total, 308,000 families used Tax-Free Childcare for 364,000 children in June 2021.</p><p>Working parents on a low income may also be eligible for help with up to 85% of their childcare costs (for children under 16) through Universal Credit Childcare. This is subject to a monthly limit of £646 for one child or £1108 for two or more children, payable in arrears.</p><p>As part of the COVID-19 education recovery strategy we are investing £180 million for training for early years staff to support the very youngest children’s learning and development. This includes Nuffield Early Language Intervention, improving the language skills of reception age children who need it most during COVID-19. Two thirds of eligible primary schools have signed up and we estimate 90,000 reception age children will get extra support with their speech and language development. Further detail on the additional training will be made available in due course.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 51582 51659 51660 question first answered 23/09/2021 16:34:43 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	1588 label Biography information for Barbara Keeley