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  • Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to tackle hate crime through education in schools.

    Edward Timpson

    Our vision is to ensure that pupils develop the knowledge, skills and understanding to succeed academically; protect themselves from harm; and play a full and active part in society. Schools play an important role in preventing hate crime by empowering young people to question and tackle the underlying beliefs of prejudice and intolerance that can lead to hatred and bigotry.

    Schools are required to promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs. This includes challenging prejudice and promoting tolerance. Schools are also subject to the Equality Act and to the Public Sector Equality Duty which require schools to have regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between communities. There are a variety of approaches that schools can adopt in meeting these duties and in raising issues relating to hate crime, including:

    • using teaching materials which help pupils to understand and build knowledge of the diverse cultures and faiths in modern Britain.
    • encouraging classroom debate, and giving pupils the opportunity to discuss topical issues, to challenge each other and themselves, and to build the resilience and critical thinking skills they need to challenge views which are unacceptable.
    • teaching in Citizenship to include preparing pupils to take their place in society as responsible citizens.
    • ensuring pupils are taught about safeguarding through teaching and learning opportunities as part of a broad and balanced curriculum – this may include covering relevant issues through personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE).

    In equipping pupils for life in modern, multi-cultural Britain, the Department wants to ensure that schools have access to good quality resources to support them. In January 2016, we launched the Educate Against Hate[1] website to provide practical advice to parents, teachers and school leaders on how to protect children from extremism and promote fundamental British values. The website includes resources to assist teachers to explore hatred and its consequences with their pupils and to develop their respect for diversity in their own cultural and religious traditions and in others. It also includes the Crown Prosecution Service’s resource packs for schools on hate crime.

    [1] http://educateagainsthate.com/

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  • Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to release local authority children’s services departments from their safeguarding children responsibilities.

    Edward Timpson

    There are no plans to release local authority children’s services departments from their safeguarding responsibilities. The Children and Social Work Bill proposes a power for local authorities to test different ways of working. This power is not about questioning the fundamentals of what local authorities need to do in relation to children’s safeguarding, but about exploring how things could be done better. We are seeking to create a controlled, time-limited space to test new ways of working before seeking to make any wider changes to the legislative framework. Accountability for safeguarding will remain the same even if exemptions are being tested.

  • Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the implications of the provisions in clause 15 of the Children and Social Work Bill for strengthening safeguarding responsibilities.

    Edward Timpson

    Clause 15 of the Children and Social Work Bill is key to bringing about the changes proposed by Alan Wood in his review of the role and function of Local Safeguarding Children Boards. The review’s recommendations, which we accepted, were to replace the existing Local Safeguarding Children Board structure with a stronger but more flexible framework for multi-agency working in local areas. We believe that this stronger framework and flexibility, as set out in clause 15, will improve outcomes for children and their families and enable the effective sharing of information which is so fundamental to safeguarding children.

  • Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effect on uptake at secondary schools of (a) art, (b) drama, (c) music and (d) other arts subjects at GCSE of the introduction of the Ebacc target for GCSE attainment.

    Nick Gibb

    The numbers and percentages of pupils in English state-funded schools entering GCSEs in art, drama, music and other arts subjects each academic year are published as part of the GCSE and equivalent results statistical first release.[1]

    Whilst JCQ exam entry data[2] shows a fall in GCSE entries to arts subjects this year, entries to arts subjects increased between 2013 and 2015.[3] The proportion of pupils in state-funded schools entering at least one GCSE in an arts subject has increased since the EBacc was first introduced, rising from 45.8% in 2011 to 49.6% in 2015.[4]

    On average, pupils in state-funded schools enter nine GCSEs and equivalent qualifications, rising to ten for more able pupils.[5] As the EBacc covers seven GCSEs, or eight for those pupils taking triple science, there continues to be room to study other subjects.

    [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-gcses-key-stage-4

    [2] http://www.jcq.org.uk/examination-results/gcses

    [3] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-gcses-key-stage-4

    [4] https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/473178/EBacc_and_non-EBacc_subject_entries_and_achievement.pdf

    [5] https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/schools-by-type?step=phase&geographic=all&region=0&phase=secondary&for=Key%20stage%204%20performance&basedon=Exam%20entries&show=All%20pupils&&schoolTypeFilter=allSchools

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  • Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, in which secondary school subjects her Department has been unable to recruit enough trainee teachers to fill the number of training places allocated in each of the last five years for which data is available.

    Nick Gibb

    The Department’s teacher recruitment targets for each academic year are calculated on an annual basis and take into account changes in the overall workforce from the previous year and wider economic changes that impact on retention and recruitment. Therefore the absolute targets change each year.

    The statistics at the following link show new entrants to initial teacher training (ITT) as a proportion of the targets, for each subject, for academic years 2011/12 to 2015/16. Proportions above 100 per cent represent an over recruitment and proportions below 100 per cent represent a shortfall in recruitment against the target in the year in question.

    The relevant statistics are available in Table 1c of the ‘Initial Teacher Training: trainee number census 2015 to 2016’, available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/initial-teacher-training-trainee-number-census-2015-to-2016

    Equivalent statistics for academic year 2016/17 are due to be published in November.

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  • Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to introduce a government-run website for the purpose of advertising teacher vacancies so as to reduce the cost for schools of advertising such vacancies.

    Nick Gibb

    In the March 2016 white paper, ‘Educational Excellence Everywhere’, the Department announced the following intention: “To reduce costs of recruitment for schools in a more challenging labour market, we will create simple web tools to enable schools to advertise vacancies more easily and a new, free national teacher vacancy website so that aspiring and current teachers can find posts quickly and easily – transforming the current system and reducing the burden on schools when budgets are tight”.

    Following the white paper publication, the Department has begun to deliver this in the way that meets the needs of schools and teachers and offers best value for money for the taxpayer.

  • Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her policy is on the pupil premium; and what potential effect the national funding formula for schools once implemented will have on that policy.

    Edward Timpson

    The Pupil Premium was introduced in 2011 to provide additional resources to mainstream schools to improve the attainment of disadvantaged pupils aged 5-16. The Government has committed to maintaining the Pupil Premium at current per-pupil rates for the remainder of this parliament. As a separate grant to schools, the Pupil Premium will not be affected by the introduction of a national funding formula.

  • Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it policy to adopt a national assessment framework at Key Stage 3 in order to remove from schools the need to spend time writing their own assessment guidelines.

    Nick Gibb

    The Government removed the system of ‘levels’ used to report children’s attainment in September 2014 and has no plans to replace it. At Key Stages 1, 2 and 3, schools are expected to implement assessment systems that meet the needs of their pupils and takes account of their curriculum.

    Levels were only ever intended to be used for end of Key Stage statutory assessment but, over time, they came to dominate all assessment and have a damaging impact on teaching practice. Removing levels has put assessment back in the hands of schools and restored its real purpose of helping teachers to evaluate pupils’ understanding of curriculum content and plan lessons to support their progress. The removal of levels should also help to alleviate teacher workload over time by reducing the tracking burdens that levels encouraged.

    In order to support schools so that they can make the most of the freedoms created by the removal of levels, we set up the Commission on Assessment Without Levels. In 2015, the Commission published guidance for schools, which includes examples of best practice. This guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/commission-on-assessment-without-levels-final-report

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  • Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to introduce the national funding formula for schools in England; and what plans she has for how that formula will be implemented.

    Nick Gibb

    We recently announced that the new national funding formulae for schools and high needs will apply from 2018-19. We are determined to introduce this landmark reform and to get it right. It is important that there is wide and full consultation with schools and the education sector. We will bring forward proposals for full consultation in the autumn and we will work closely with the education sector over the coming months to understand their views and priorities for the national funding formula.

    The written Ministerial statement from the Secretary of State for Education is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/schools-funding

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  • Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what effect the change in eligibility criteria for free school meals has had on schools funding in Hounslow in 2016-17.

    Edward Timpson

    There has not been a change in the eligibility criteria for free school meals (FSM) since 2013 when Universal Credit was added to the list of qualifying benefits. Nationally, the proportion of pupils eligible for FSM has continued to fall across all age groups due to improvements in the economy over recent years.

    FSM rates are used to determine pupil premium funding, and are targeted to each pupil who has been registered for FSM at any point in the last six years. FSM rates can also be used to determine a school’s core budget. Local authorities devise their own formulae through which they distribute the Dedicated Schools Grant to schools in their locality. They must include a deprivation factor, and can allocate this funding on the basis of FSM status, an area level measure of deprivation, or both. The core schools budget has been protected in real terms for the duration of this Parliament.