Category: Education

  • Kate Green – 2021 Comments on Funding for Breakfast Clubs

    Kate Green – 2021 Comments on Funding for Breakfast Clubs

    The comments made by Kate Green, the Shadow Secretary of State for Education, on 15 March 2021.

    This is a pitiful response to Labour’s call for a universal breakfast club offer for every child. This funding is likely to provide breakfast club support to just four per cent of children which is simply not good enough.

    Labour is calling for breakfast clubs to be available to support every child to recover the learning and social development they have lost during the pandemic.

    From providing a measly 43p per child per day for educational catch-up to offering no additional funding for schools in the Budget, the Conservatives have shown they are simply not ambitious about children’s recovery from this pandemic.

  • Kate Green – 2021 Comments on Overcrowded Classrooms

    Kate Green – 2021 Comments on Overcrowded Classrooms

    The comments made by Kate Green, the Shadow Secretary of State for Education, on 9 March 2021.

    The Conservatives have turned back the clock on education, reversing twenty years of progress to reduce class sizes and ensure every child gets the dedicated teacher attention they need.

    Under the Conservatives the gap in learning between disadvantaged pupils and their peers had not narrowed for five years even before the pandemic. These Conservative choices are holding back children’s education.

    Labour has launched our Bright Future Taskforce to tackle the damage done by these policies ensuring every child can recover from the pandemic and achieve their potential.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2021 Comments on Funding Changes for Nurseries

    Tulip Siddiq – 2021 Comments on Funding Changes for Nurseries

    The comments made by Tulip Siddiq, the Shadow Minister for Children and Early Years, on 2 March 2021.

    Nurseries and childminders have provided an incredible service remaining open to all children in lockdown, yet the Government is rewarding them with funding changes that could force a quarter of all providers to close their doors for good.

    Early years providers need targeted support to survive this crisis, not to have the rug pulled from under their feet at the height of the pandemic.

    There is a real danger that the childcare sector will collapse unless the Government rethinks these funding changes, with young children, working parents and our economy paying the price.

  • Gavin Williamson – 2021 Statement on Support for Education Recovery

    Gavin Williamson – 2021 Statement on Support for Education Recovery

    The statement made by Gavin Williamson, the Secretary of State for Education, in the House of Commons on 24 February 2021.

    The pandemic and associated restrictions have had a substantial impact on children and young people’s learning. To address this challenge, the Government have committed to work with parents, teachers and education providers to develop a long-term plan to make sure pupils have the chance to make up their learning over the course of this Parliament. We have also appointed Sir Kevan Collins as education recovery commissioner to advise on this work and review how evidence-based interventions can be used to address the impact the pandemic has had on learning.

    More immediately, we are putting in place a range of additional measures to help children and young people across England. The package of measures gives early years settings, schools and providers of 16-19 education the tools they need to target support to their students, tailored to the differing impact the pandemic has had on each individual.

    New measures include:

    A new, one-off £302 million recovery premium for state primary and secondary schools, building on the pupil premium, to further support pupils who need it most. The average primary school will receive around £6,000 extra, and the average secondary school around £22,000 extra. This will help schools to bolster summer provision for their students, for example laying on additional clubs and activities, or for evidence-based approaches for supporting the most disadvantaged pupils from September.

    £200 million will fund:

    – An expansion of the national tutoring programme for primary and secondary schools, to allow more pupils to benefit from the power of regular tutoring, which has been shown to boost catch up learning by much as 3-5 months at a time.

    – An extension of the 16-19 tuition fund for a further year to support more students in English, maths and other vocational and academic subjects.

    – Support for early language development in the early years, supporting a critical stage of child development.

    £200 million will be available to secondary schools to deliver face-to-face summer schools. Schools will be able to target provision based on pupils’ needs but as evidence suggests that incoming year 7 pupils may be in particular need of support, schools will want to consider their needs in particular. These schools will operate alongside wider summer support funded across the country through our holiday activities and food programme.

    A range of high-quality online resources will be available for all teachers and pupils, starting from the summer term and throughout summer holidays, provided by Oak National Academy, to help give pupils the confidence they are ready for the next academic year.

    This £700 million package incorporates the £300 million announced by the Prime Minister on 27 January and will build on the £1 billion support package that was announced in June 2020. This forms part of the wider response to help pupils make up their learning over the course of this Parliament.

  • Gavin Williamson – 2021 Comments on Catch-Up Education Funding

    Gavin Williamson – 2021 Comments on Catch-Up Education Funding

    The comments made by Gavin Williamson, the Secretary of State for Education, on 24 February 2021.

    Our package of measures will deliver vital support to the children and young people who need it most, making sure everyone has the same opportunity to fulfil their potential no matter their background.

    I know that longer-term support over the length of this parliament will be vital to ensure children make up for lost learning. Our Education Recovery Commissioner, Sir Kevan Collins, will be engaging with teachers, school and college leaders and families over the coming weeks and months to develop our longer term plans.

  • Boris Johnson – 2021 Comments on Catch-Up Education Funding

    Boris Johnson – 2021 Comments on Catch-Up Education Funding

    The comments made by Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, on 24 February 2021.

    Teachers and parents have done a heroic job with home schooling, but we know the classroom is the best place for our children to be.

    When schools re-open and face to face education resumes on 8 March, our next priority will be ensuring no child is left behind as a result of the learning they have lost over the past year.

    This extensive programme of catch-up funding will equip teachers with the tools and resources they need to support their pupils, and give children the opportunities they deserve to learn and fulfil their potential.

  • Gavin Williamson – 2021 Statement on Freedom of Speech and Academic Freedom

    Gavin Williamson – 2021 Statement on Freedom of Speech and Academic Freedom

    The statement made by Gavin Williamson, the Secretary of State for Education, in the House of Commons on 22 February 2021.

    Last week the Department for Education laid the “Higher education: free speech and academic freedom” Command Paper in Parliament and then published it more widely. This sets out how Government propose to deliver on their 2019 manifesto commitment to strengthen academic freedom and freedom of speech in universities in England.

    This Government have always been clear in their commitment to strengthen academic freedom and ensure that our universities are places where free speech can thrive. Without action to counter attempts to discourage or even silence unpopular views, intellectual life on campus for both staff and students may be unfairly narrowed and diminished.

    Despite protections which are currently in place, a body of research has shown evidence of a “chilling effect” on students and staff, who report feeling unable freely to express their views within the law without fear of repercussion. This is emphasised by a small number of high-profile incidents in which staff or students have been threatened with negative consequences, sometimes successfully, confirming that the fear of repercussion is not always unfounded. The Government therefore consider it necessary to take action, including by amending legislation.

    This Command Paper identifies key limitations of the current framework and proposes a clear way forward, to clarify and strengthen the legislation on freedom of speech and academic freedom, and thereby ensure that the aforementioned “chilling effect” is effectively dealt with. Freedom of speech and academic freedom are fundamental principles of university life, and it is our duty to afford the necessary protections where these are found to be lacking. The Government intend to take action after carefully considering and discussing the options laid out in this paper with stakeholders. We will announce further steps in due course.

    I will place copies of the Command Paper in the Libraries of both Houses.

  • Kate Green – 2021 Comments on the Education Policy Institute Report

    Kate Green – 2021 Comments on the Education Policy Institute Report

    The speech made by Kate Green, the Shadow Education Secretary, on 18 February 2021.

    The Conservatives have treated children as an afterthought throughout this pandemic and should be far more ambitious for their recovery.

    Enabling all young people to catch-up on lost learning and time with friends must be central to rebuilding our country after this pandemic.

  • Gavin Williamson – 2021 Comments on Provision of Devices to Disadvantaged Children

    Gavin Williamson – 2021 Comments on Provision of Devices to Disadvantaged Children

    The comments made by Gavin Williamson, the Secretary of State for Education, on 16 February 2021.

    I know what a challenging period this has been for pupils, teachers and parents – but it has been nothing short of inspiring to see schools and staff going above and beyond, as they always have done, to give our pupils the very best education possible.

    Online access has been an important part of this work and will continue to be as we help young people catch-up after the disruption caused by the pandemic, which is why the delivery of these one million laptops is so vital. They represent one million children who will not let their education be overcome by this virus.

    I want parents to know that we’ll continue to do everything we can to protect our children’s education at this unprecedented time and ensure they have the tools they need to get on with and make the most of their lives.

  • Kate Green – 2021 Comments on Half-Term Food Support

    Kate Green – 2021 Comments on Half-Term Food Support

    The comments made by Kate Green, the Shadow Secretary of State for Education, on 15 February 2021.

    A decade of Conservative Government had eroded families’ safety nets with poverty rates rising even before the pandemic.

    The last year has shone a light on the impacts of poverty on health, wellbeing and learning. As we rebuild after this pandemic, we must deliver a transformation in support for families, starting with cancelling the planned cut to Universal Credit and guaranteeing provision of free school meals across all school holidays this year.