Category: Education

  • Grant Shapps – 2021 Comments on Training HGV Drivers

    Grant Shapps – 2021 Comments on Training HGV Drivers

    The comments made by Grant Shapps, the Secretary of State for Transport, on 10 December 2021.

    The government has worked tirelessly to tackle the driver shortage caused by coronavirus and years of undervalued wages. We have now introduced 32 actions to help get more HGV drivers on the road. It is good to see that these measures are clearly working, with the haulage industry reporting a significant increase in tests carried out and licenses issued. Now these training camps will provide a further boost for the sector as we work together towards its recovery.

  • Nadhim Zahawi – 2021 Comments on Training HGV Drivers

    Nadhim Zahawi – 2021 Comments on Training HGV Drivers

    The comments made by Nadhim Zahawi, the Secretary of State for Education, on 10 December 2021.

    HGV drivers are vital to keeping this country moving. It’s brilliant to see the first people with their hands on the steering wheel as they head towards new well-paid careers in the industry.

    To help even more people get the training they need to be road ready, we’re expanding our HGV Skills Bootcamps to support more than 11,000 people to gain the skills they need to progress in the industry, and to help those with previous experience refresh their skills so they can get back on the road.

  • Stephen Morgan – 2021 Comments on Ventilation in Schools

    Stephen Morgan – 2021 Comments on Ventilation in Schools

    The comments made by Stephen Morgan, the Shadow Schools Minister, on 9 December 2021.

    It is outrageous that because of the Government’s incompetence schools are being left with no option but to open windows as temperatures plummet and heating bills rise just to get adequate ventilation. Schools and local authorities are working incredibly hard to support children, but the government is again treating them as an afterthought.

    The Government should have had a proper plan in place to stop a third year of Covid disruption to education but their chaotic, last-minute approach is leaving children bearing the brunt of the pandemic once again.

    It is already cold. In a month’s time it will be colder. Ministers must get ahead of this virus now and put in place the ventilation systems which Labour, teachers and parents have been calling for many months. Schools are having to spend money on energy bills which they should be spending on our children.

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2021 Comments on OFSTED Report

    Bridget Phillipson – 2021 Comments on OFSTED Report

    The comments made by Bridget Phillipson, the Shadow Education Secretary, on 7 December 2021.

    As this report makes clear, children have needed the government’s support and protection as they faced untold disruption throughout the pandemic, but they have been let down.

    Boris Johnson promised to prioritise children’s recovery but threw out his own catch-up chief’s proposals to help children bounce back.

    Labour has set out an ambitious children’s recovery plan which prioritises every child’s wellbeing, with new activities promoting social development, as well as their learning.

    The Conservatives have simply not risen to the scale of the challenge. The Education Secretary must get a grip and match Labour’s ambition by finally delivering a comprehensive recovery plan which will ensure every child can reach their potential.

  • Robin Walker – 2021 Comments on Pupil Absence

    Robin Walker – 2021 Comments on Pupil Absence

    The comments made by Robin Walker, the Schools Minister, on 26 November 2021.

    It has been fantastic to see how through a combination of data, proactivity and a focus on children’s wellbeing, a school like the London Academy has driven up attendance and reduced persistent absence. Every lesson that we can prevent a child from missing is another building block to their life chances, development and wellbeing.

    My department is channelling all its efforts to provide support and guidance to help schools, local authorities and multi-academy trusts take action to increase attendance, and I ask that everyone working with children does everything in their power to help break down any barriers to them attending school.

    I recognise that Covid is still with us and causing some unavoidable absence – but this is all the more reason that we must all take action to address every avoidable reason for a child not being in school.

  • Nadhim Zahawi – 2021 Statement on School Uniforms

    Nadhim Zahawi – 2021 Statement on School Uniforms

    The statement made by Nadhim Zahawi, the Secretary of State for Education, in the House of Commons on 19 November 2021.

    The Department for Education will today publish statutory guidance on the cost of school uniforms. This guidance is issued under the Education (Guidance about Costs of School Uniforms) Act 2021. This Act requires the appropriate authorities of relevant schools to have regard to this guidance when developing and implementing their school’s uniform policy.

    Through creating a common identity amongst all pupils, regardless of background, a school uniform can act as a social leveller, but to do so it must be affordable. No school uniform should be so expensive as to leave pupils or their families feeling unable to apply to, or attend, a school of their choice.

    This guidance will provide a framework to schools to help them keep the costs of uniform affordable for parents. The guidance sets out the key principles which schools should consider when setting their uniform policy and is based on views from members of both Houses, feedback from stakeholders and our own research. Throughout the guidance we encourage schools to take a holistic approach to the cost of school uniform, therefore the guidance covers a range of issues such as branded items, supply arrangements and second-hand uniform.

    Schools will not be expected to make sudden, drastic, changes to their uniform policy. We want schools to implement changes in a timely and considered manner to ensure it works effectively but in doing so we would want to ensure that parents do not incur additional costs from sudden uniform changes. However, we would like parents to see the benefits of the guidance as soon as possible. The guidance provides more information to schools on how they can be compliant with the guidance and when any changes need to be made by.

    I will place a copy of the cost of school uniform guidance in the Libraries of both Houses.

  • Nadhim Zahawi – 2021 Comments on School Uniforms

    Nadhim Zahawi – 2021 Comments on School Uniforms

    The comments made by Nadhim Zahawi, the Secretary of State for Education, on 19 November 2021.

    School uniform provides a sense of identity and community for children and young people, and should be a real source of pride. But it must never be a burden for parents or a barrier to pupils accessing education.

    This new binding guidance will help to make uniforms far more affordable for families by driving costs down as we work hard to level up the country.

  • Robin Walker – 2021 Statement on Education Staff Wellbeing

    Robin Walker – 2021 Statement on Education Staff Wellbeing

    The statement made by Robin Walker, the Minister for School Standards, in the House of Commons on 17 November 2021.

    We recognise the incredible efforts of schools and colleges to maintain the safety and wellbeing of staff, students and pupils and we are grateful to them for what they are doing.

    Supporting the wellbeing and mental health of staff is a crucial element of our commitment to help create a supportive culture in schools and colleges. We have worked in partnership with the education sector and mental health experts to inform and deliver the commitments announced in May 2020 to protect and promote staff mental health and wellbeing.

    I am today announcing a new £760,000 mental health support scheme for school leaders to be delivered by the charity Education Support from this autumn until March 2023. The programme will provide one-to-one counselling and peer support to around 2,000 school leaders, helping those at deputy head level and above with their mental wellbeing.

    It builds on the pilot involving over 350 school leaders which was launched in response to the challenges brought about by the pandemic. Eligible school leaders will be able to access the programme from today through the Education Support website.

    Along with this announcement, this week, we are launching the education staff wellbeing charter for schools to sign up to. The charter sets out commitments from the Government, Ofsted, schools and colleges to promote and protect the mental health of the education workforce.

    Through the charter, the Department pledges to work with the sector to drive down unnecessary workload, improve access to wellbeing resources, and champion flexible working, among a range of actions to support staff wellbeing. We are now encouraging all state funded schools and colleges to sign up to the charter to create a united approach to supporting staff wellbeing.

  • Nadhim Zahawi – 2021 Statement on Contingency Arrangements for GCSEs and A/AS Levels 2022

    Nadhim Zahawi – 2021 Statement on Contingency Arrangements for GCSEs and A/AS Levels 2022

    The statement made by Nadhim Zahawi, the Secretary of State for Education, in the House of Commons on 15 November 2021.

    The Government’s policy is that GCSE and A/AS level exams will go ahead in 2021-22, with adaptations to take account of the disruption to education that students have experienced. These include providing a choice of topics or content in some GCSE subjects, advance information on the focus of the content of exams to support students’ revision, and support materials in some GCSE exams. These adaptations, along with our support for education recovery, public health measures and the approach to grading that Ofqual has announced, will help to ensure exams can proceed safely and fairly next summer.

    However, there remains a small risk that further disruption due to the covid-19 pandemic will mean it is not possible for exams to go ahead safely or fairly. On 30 September the Department for Education and Ofqual therefore set out our intention to use Teacher Assessed Grades (TAGs) for GCSES, AS and A-levels in 2022 in the unlikely event that it proves necessary to cancel exams, and published a joint consultation.

    The consultation outlined proposals on how teachers should collect evidence over the rest of this academic year to support the awarding of TAGs, if necessary, including arrangements for private candidates. The consultation also sought views on improvements to the 2021 arrangements for quality assurance and appeals.

    On 11 November, the Department and Ofqual published the decisions taken following analysis of the responses to the consultation.

    The proposals that were set out in the consultation received broad support and Ofqual has now published guidance for schools, colleges and other exam centres on collecting evidence that would be used to assess students’ performance if exams were cancelled. The guidance takes a proportionate approach and is being published now so that teachers know how to collect evidence from their students in advance of any decision to cancel exams. Ofqual has confirmed that, where possible, centres should use their existing assessment plans.

    Ofqual will only publish guidance on how to determine TAGs, and centres would only be required to develop policies for awarding TAGs, if exams are cancelled.

    Ofqual has also confirmed that it will not take decisions at this point about the quality assurance arrangements that would be used for TAGs in 2022, or how student appeals would work. These are both dependent on the timing of any decision to cancel exams and the reason for that decision, including any public health restrictions in place at the time.

    If it proves necessary to cancel exams in some parts of England, exams will be cancelled for all students and the TAGs approach will be implemented nationally.

  • Michelle Donelan – 2021 Statement on Higher Education Student Finance

    Michelle Donelan – 2021 Statement on Higher Education Student Finance

    The statement made by Michelle Donelan, the Minister for Further and Higher Education, in the House of Commons on 21 October 2021.

    I am announcing details of student finance arrangements for higher education students undertaking a course of study in the 2022-23 academic year starting on 1 August 2022.

    The Government announced in the “Interim Conclusion of the Review of Post-18 Education and Funding” in January that maximum tuition fees would be frozen for a further academic year to deliver better value for students and to keep the cost of higher education under control.

    I can confirm today that maximum tuition fees for the 2022-23 academic year in England will be maintained at the levels that apply in the 2021-22 academic year, the fifth year in succession that fees have been frozen. This means that the maximum level of tuition fees for a standard full-time course will remain at £9,250 for the 2022-23 academic year.

    Maximum undergraduate loans for living costs will be increased by forecast inflation (2.3%) in 2022-23. And the same increase will apply to maximum disabled students’ allowance for students with disabilities undertaking full-time and part-time undergraduate courses in 2022-23. Maximum grants for students with child or adult dependants who are attending full-time undergraduate courses will also increase by forecast inflation in 2022-23.

    We are also increasing support for students undertaking postgraduate courses in 2022-23. Maximum loans for students starting master’s degree and doctoral degree courses from 1 August 2022 onwards will be increased by forecast inflation (2.3%) in 2022-23. And the same increase will apply to the maximum disabled students’ allowance for postgraduate students with disabilities in 2022-23.

    I am confirming today that current and former employees of the UK Government and their family members that have been relocated from Afghanistan to the UK under the Home Office’s relocation and assistance scheme will qualify for student support and home fee status in relation to new higher education courses from 1 August 2022 onwards if they have been resident in the UK and islands since the grant of such leave. They will also qualify for advanced learner loans for further education courses. Students who are in this category will not need to demonstrate three years’ ordinary residence in the UK and islands before the start of a course.

    I am also confirming today that home fee status and tuition fee loans will be extended to the family members of all persons settled in the UK, subject to three years residence in the UK and islands immediately before the start of the course. Currently only the family members of UK nationals are eligible under this residency category.

    I am announcing today that persons who have settled status on arrival in the UK, who come to the UK from specified British overseas territories and who are starting full-time and part-time undergraduate courses in 2022-23 will be eligible for tuition fee loans. To qualify, persons resident in the British overseas territories will need to satisfy the three-year ordinary residence requirement in the UK, islands or specified British overseas territories. Eligible persons in Gibraltar may continue to satisfy the three-year ordinary residence requirement in the UK, Gibraltar, the EEA or Switzerland to qualify for student support for courses starting on or before 31 December 2027.

    UK nationals and their family members in the British overseas territories already benefit from access to home fee status if they meet the residency requirement of three years in the UK, islands and British overseas territories immediately before the start of the course. Family members of all persons settled when in the UK will now have access to home fee status.

    Corresponding changes will be made in respect of students in the above categories who are starting postgraduate master’s degree courses and postgraduate doctoral degree courses in 2022-23 who will qualify for postgraduate loans and those starting further education courses in 2022-23 who will qualify for advanced learner loans.

    The changes set out above demonstrate our commitment to supporting economic development in the British overseas territories and enabling those who wish to study at one of our world-class education providers to be able to do so.

    Further details of the student support package for 2022-23 are set out in the document available as an attachment online: https://questions-statements.parliament. uk/written-statements/detail/2021-10-21/HCWS339.

    I expect to lay regulations implementing changes to student finance for undergraduates and postgraduates for 2022-23 in November. These regulations will be subject to parliamentary scrutiny.

    The Government continue to consider the recommendations made by the Augar panel carefully. We plan to set out a full response to the review of post-18 education and funding in due course.