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  • Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what interim milestones he has set for the armed forces to improve their response time to complaints to the target level of 90 per cent closed within 24 weeks.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Secretary of State for Defence has set no interim milestones. The single Services continually monitor and assess the performance of the service complaints system to learn lessons, and to understand what might be causing Service personnel to make complaints. Where it is identified that there are issues that are causing undue delay in the resolution of complaints, action can be taken to prevent this from occurring in the future.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has developed proposals that enable academies to be re-brokered with a new sponsor or multi academy trust on the initiative of parents of children in those academies.

    Edward Timpson

    Our White Paper Educational Excellence Everywhere set out the Government’s intention to engage Multi Academy Trusts (MATs), sponsors, academies, dioceses and the wider schools sector to ensure that the academies legal framework for the future can achieve the right balance of intervention, review and stability. This included a commitment to consider how parents at individual schools might be able to petition Regional Schools Commissioners (RSCs) for their school to move to a different MAT where the school or its MAT is underperforming or in other exceptional circumstances.

    We will be testing and consulting on proposals for the future legal framework with a wide range of stakeholders, including parents, in due course. This engagement will assess the implications of different legal framework models and ensure that any options which are taken forward are fit for purpose.

    RSCs already take action to move academies to new trusts where necessary and parents should continue to escalate any concerns they have about academies to RSCs where the academy trust has not responded sufficiently to their concerns.

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Sharon Hodgson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2016-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to adjust the pupil premium funding for schools to take account of the additional responsibilities proposed in the Children and Social Work Bill in its current form.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The Children and Social Work Bill proposes a new duty on schools to appoint a designated teacher to promote the educational achievement of previously looked after children.

    The pupil premium plus is additional funding for schools to support the educational needs of looked-after children and those who were previously looked after but who have left care through an adoption, Special Guardianship or Child Arrangements Order. The Spending Review confirmed that the pupil premium will be protected at current rates over the course of this Parliament. This protection applies to the pupil premium plus, which will continue at £1,900 per pupil.

    Pupil premium plus funding for pupils who were previously looked after is allocated directly to schools and it is for the head teacher to decide how best to use it to support the needs of these pupils.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effect of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership agreement on (a) academy chains and (b) the ability of US or European companies to establish academy chains in the UK.

    Edward Timpson

    The Government remains committed to academies and providing the best quality education for all children and young people. The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) will not change this. The Government of the day will always set the rules governing how the education system is run.

    We have protected public services, including education, in all of our trade agreements and will continue to do so in the EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). This is non-negotiable.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many agency staff were contracted to cover classes in primary and secondary schools in England and Wales in the latest period for which figures are available.

    Nick Gibb

    The Department collects details of all teachers working in state funded schools through the annual School Workforce Census. However, this census does not separately identify agency teachers.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans the Government has to increase the number of teachers in training.

    Nick Gibb

    The Government is investing heavily in the future of our teaching profession. Between now and 2020, we have committed to spending more than £1.3bn on initiatives aimed at attracting more people into the profession.

    Teaching remains a profession that is attracting the brightest and best new graduates as well as career changers. We achieved 94% of our postgraduate ITT target for 2015/16, of which 7% was additional recruitment beyond the target in primary, English, history and PE. Although we recognise that teacher recruitment remains challenging, particularly in some priority subjects and in certain areas of the country, we are nevertheless confident that overall recruitment to ITT remains strong.

    We have already put in place a number of measures aimed at attracting more top graduates into teaching, particularly in the core academic subjects that help children reach their full potential. We are continuing to offer generous financial incentives, including prestigious scholarships, worth up to £30,000 tax-free for trainees with top degrees in priority subjects.

    In March 2015, the Prime Minister announced a package of up to £67m to recruit an additional 2,500 maths and physics teachers and to train 15,000 existing non-specialist teachers in those subjects over the term of this Parliament.

  • Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 8 June 2016 to Question 38739, whether her Department has made an estimate of the number of children who were receiving School Action or School Action Plus who subsequently would not be expected to meet the criteria for an Education, Health and Care plan.

    Edward Timpson

    Where a pupil is identified as having Special Educational Needs (SEN), schools should take action to remove barriers to learning and put effective special educational provision in place. This system of ‘SEN Support’ has replaced the School Action and School Action Plus categories. We expect schools to make robust judgements about who should receive SEN Support; and that these judgements should be informed by an understanding of good practice.

    Different arrangements apply where a child has more complex SEN. Under the Children and Families Act 2014, the legal test of when a child requires an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan remains the same as that for a statement of SEN under the Education Act 1996. The EHC assessment and planning process allows for closer inter-agency working and greater involvement for the child and their family. This helps the local authority to identify and put in place the most effective provision for the child.

  • William Wragg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    William Wragg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her policy is on taking account of the effect on demand for school places of immigration (a) in general and (b) from nationals from other EEA countries.

    Edward Timpson

    I refer the Hon. Member to the answers provided for PQs 33106 and 33107 on 18 April 2016.

  • William Wragg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    William Wragg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what research her Department has (a) undertaken and (b) commissioned on the effect of immigration on demand for school places; and if she will make a statement.

    Edward Timpson

    I refer the Hon. Member to the answers provided for PQs 33106 and 33107 on 18 April 2016.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to improve teacher retention.

    Nick Gibb

    It is vital for schools to be able to retain good teachers – that is why we have made policy interventions in the areas that teachers tell us matter most, such as improving pupil behaviour and reducing unnecessary workload.

    We have appointed behaviour expert Tom Bennett to lead a review to ensure new teachers are fully trained in managing behaviour in 21st century schools.

    In response to our Workload Challenge, we set up three independent review groups to address unnecessary workload in the key areas of marking, planning and data management. The groups reported early this year, and set out clear principles about what should happen in schools to reduce unnecessary workload in these areas. The Government has accepted all the relevant recommendations made by the groups, and we will continue to work with the teaching profession to make sure they have the ongoing support they need to continue reducing unnecessary teacher workload.

    We have recently conducted the first biennial Teacher Workload Survey, which will allow us to track teacher workload over the coming years. The results of the first survey will be published later this year.

    Approximately 90 per cent of all teachers are in service in state-funded schools the year after they qualify, and 72 per cent of those who qualified in 2009 were still in teaching five years later. Over the longer term, over 60 per cent of teachers remain in service 10 years after qualifying.