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  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when it was decided to reduce the bursary for post-graduate primary teacher training; and what steps she has taken to communicate that decision to potential applicants for such training.

    Nick Gibb

    Bursary incentives are reviewed every year in response to recruitment performance and the need for new teachers in the coming years.

    This year the new bursary rates were announced on 1st October 2015, and publicised subsequently through the “Get into Teaching” website and advertised on social media.

  • Sarah Wollaston – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Sarah Wollaston – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Wollaston on 2015-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has for consistent monitoring of the emotional, social and physical development of children in their early years, after the Early Years Foundation Profile becomes non-compulsory in September 2016; and if she will make a statement.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    It is important for parents and teachers to know how well a child is progressing. As such, communication and language, physical development and personal, social and emotional development are set out in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework as prime learning areas for children from birth to age five.

    As part of the wider reforms to the accountability system for primary schools and the national curriculum we have introduced the reception baseline assessment for the 2015/16 academic year.

    The reception baseline forms one part of a teacher’s wider assessments in reception and we will expect early years practitioners to continue to carry out the appropriate ongoing, formative assessment of children of reception age.

    The EYFS statutory framework will also still require early years practitioners to carry out a progress check against the three prime areas of learning at age two, and we are improving this check for parents by bringing it together with health visitor checks in the form of new Integrated Reviews.

  • Henry Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Henry Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2015-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans the Government has to meet the demand for school places in Crawley.

    Edward Timpson

    Local authorities are responsible for planning and securing sufficient school places in their area, and supporting them in doing so is one of this Government’s top priorities. We allocate basic need funding to local authorities to help create new school places where they are needed. West Sussex has been allocated £57 million of basic need funding for the period 2015-18. West Sussex also received £113 million between 2011 and 2015, helping to create 8,565 new school places between 2010 and 2014. In addition to this, the Gatwick School, an all-through free school that opened in September 2014, is due to provide 1,020 additional places once at full capacity.

    Information on basic need allocations can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/basic-need-allocations-2015-to-2018

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  • Ian Austin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Ian Austin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2015-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the estimated cost to the public purse is of her Department’s comparative studies on reception baseline assessments.

    Nick Gibb

    Costs are not yet finalised and we cannot provide the information until the study is complete.

  • Ian Austin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Ian Austin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2015-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the estimated cost to the public purse of developing the reception baseline assessment policy implemented in September 2015 (a) was in 2014-15 and (b) is expected to be in 2015-16.

    Nick Gibb

    The expenditure in 2014/15 was£82,507.81.

    Costs for 2015/16 cannot be released until finalised.

  • Ian Austin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Ian Austin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2015-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools which signed up to the reception baseline providers that were subsequently not approved by her Department will have their costs reimbursed by her Department.

    Nick Gibb

    On 3 July 2015, the Department for Education contacted schools which had selected suppliers that were not approved by the department. This communication confirmed that, should the school continue to use that supplier, no costs would be reimbursed.

  • Ian Austin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Ian Austin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2015-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if the costs to schools of administering the reception baseline assessment will be funded by her Department in each year of the current Parliament.

    Nick Gibb

    The Department for Education is currently considering all spending, as part of the ongoing spending review.

  • Vicky Foxcroft – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Vicky Foxcroft – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Vicky Foxcroft on 2015-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children aged between four and seven in (a) Lewisham, Deptford constituency, (b) the London Borough of Lewisham and (c) London received free school meals in each of the last five academic years.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    Prior to the 2014/15 academic year, the department did not collect data on the number of free school meals given out to pupils below school level. The department does not, therefore, hold information on receipt of free school meals by pupils of different ages for earlier years.

    Data from the January 2015 school census at regional and local authority level can be found in table 8e of ‘Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics: January 2015 statistics’[1]. Constituency level data can be obtained by aggregating the underlying school level data from the same publication. This is available in the ‘SFR16_2015_Schools_Pupils_UD’ file within the underlying data, which contains information on each school within constituencies and the number of infant pupils who took a free school meal on census day.

    [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2015

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  • Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps are being taken to ensure that schools in West Sussex are delivering educational excellence.

    Nick Gibb

    Provisional information on the latest Key Stage 2 results in West Sussex and other local authorities is published as part of the “National curriculum assessments: key stage 2, 2015 (provisional)” release[1].

    These indicate that 77% of pupils in West Sussex local authority achieved level 4 or above in reading, writing and mathematics, below the national average of 80%. This is down from 78% in 2013/14.

    In the same year, 21% of pupils in West Sussex local authority achieved level 5 or above in reading, writing and mathematics, below the national average of 24%. This is down from 22% in 2013/14.

    Since the phonics check was introduced in West Sussex, the proportion of children who achieve the expected standard has risen each year to 73% in 2015. This remains, however, below the national average of 77%.

    Standards in some West Sussex schools are currently too low. I have therefore written to West Sussex County Council, asking them to set out their plans to improve results, so that more children in West Sussex receive the standard of education to which they are entitled.

    This is part of our national plan to raise standards, by setting higher expectations in our curriculum and qualifications; creating a self-improving school system; and promoting strong school governance through academies and free schools. We are also committed to making sure schools are funded fairly so all pupils have access to a good education – a key part of our core mission ensure every child reaches their full potential.

    [1] 2014/15 provisional local authority level tables can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/456135/SFR30_2015_KS2_LA_Tables.xls

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  • Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of Key Stage 2 results in West Sussex.

    Nick Gibb

    Provisional information on the latest Key Stage 2 results in West Sussex and other local authorities is published as part of the “National curriculum assessments: key stage 2, 2015 (provisional)” release[1].

    These indicate that 77% of pupils in West Sussex local authority achieved level 4 or above in reading, writing and mathematics, below the national average of 80%. This is down from 78% in 2013/14.

    In the same year, 21% of pupils in West Sussex local authority achieved level 5 or above in reading, writing and mathematics, below the national average of 24%. This is down from 22% in 2013/14.

    Since the phonics check was introduced in West Sussex, the proportion of children who achieve the expected standard has risen each year to 73% in 2015. This remains, however, below the national average of 77%.

    Standards in some West Sussex schools are currently too low. I have therefore written to West Sussex County Council, asking them to set out their plans to improve results, so that more children in West Sussex receive the standard of education to which they are entitled.

    This is part of our national plan to raise standards, by setting higher expectations in our curriculum and qualifications; creating a self-improving school system; and promoting strong school governance through academies and free schools. We are also committed to making sure schools are funded fairly so all pupils have access to a good education – a key part of our core mission ensure every child reaches their full potential.

    [1] 2014/15 provisional local authority level tables can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/456135/SFR30_2015_KS2_LA_Tables.xls

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