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  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 7 March 2016 to Question 29565, what criteria will be applied to determine whether the Jobcentre Plus support for schools initiative should be rolled out more widely.

    Priti Patel

    To determine the wider roll out of Jobcentre Plus Support for Schools, DWP will undertake an evaluation of the pathfinder activity in Autumn 2016 using programme data and a qualitative research study.

    The evaluation criteria will include assessing the demand for JCP support from schools, the level of employer engagement with schools being generated, work experience opportunities being brokered through the programme and schools perceiving the programme to have value in providing a more rounded career guidance offer to pupils – in particular those at highest risk of becoming NEET.

  • 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 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many qualified teachers returned to the teaching profession in each year since 2010.

    Nick Gibb

    The full-time equivalent number of qualified teachers returning to the state funded sector in each year from 2011 to 2014 is as follows:

    2011

    2012

    2013

    2014

    Returners to publicly funded sector[1][2]

    11,710

    12,940

    13,990

    14,100

    The data can be found in Table C1b of the additional tables in the statistical first release ‘School Workforce in England, November 2014’, available at the following web link:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-2014

    [1] Entrants with prior experience of teaching in the state funded sector.

    [2] Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.

    “

  • Ivan Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Ivan Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to increase teacher recruitment in schools.

    Nick Gibb

    Ensuring there are high quality teachers in all schools is crucial to achieving our ambition of educational excellence everywhere. That is why the Government is investing over £1.3 billion to 2020 to attract new teachers into the profession. Our investment includes tax-free training bursaries worth up to £30,000 for top graduates in priority subjects in addition to grants to support new teachers who want to earn a salary whilst they train.

    We are continuing to support the expansion of the prestigious Teach First scheme which is now Britain’s largest graduate employer, and places top graduates in schools in disadvantaged areas.

    We are also offering training and support to former teachers to help them return to the classroom and have launched the National Teaching Service, which will place up to 1,500 outstanding teachers and middle leaders into the schools who need them most.

    To ensure that schools can play a leading role in selecting and training the teachers that they need, we have significantly expanded school-based routes into teaching so that over 50 per cent of trainees are now training through school-led programmes.

    Teaching continues to be a hugely popular career for top graduates and career changers, and we now have more, better-qualified teachers in our classrooms than ever before.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 7 March 2016 to Question 29565, what extra training has been provided to Jobcentre Plus staff to enable them to participate in the Jobcentre Plus support for schools initiative.

    Priti Patel

    Comprehensive training for all Jobcentre Plus staff participating in the Jobcentre Support for Schools initiative has been arranged. This includes instruction facilitated by the Careers Development Institute (experts in the careers sector) covering:

    • How careers work in schools is organised, the respective roles of different partners and how schools operate; and

    • Insights and key skills required for working with groups of learners in a classroom environment.

  • Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding her Department has made available for training teachers to undertake the new key stage 1 and key stage 2 tests.

    Nick Gibb

    Schools are provided with general funding to teach the programmes of study, as set out in the national curriculum, to their pupils and to administer the statutory tests. Teaching the curriculum provides the best possible preparation for pupils to undertake the new key stage 1 and key stage 2 tests.

  • Catherine McKinnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Catherine McKinnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of the decision not to make personal, social, health and economic education statutory on the ability of schools to teach that subject.

    Edward Timpson

    This Government wants to provide all young people with a curriculum for life, which prepares them to succeed in modern Britain. High quality teaching of PSHE is central to this.

    The Secretary of State wrote to the ESC in February 2016 stating that the Department will continue to keep the status of PSHE in the curriculum under review.

    We have asked leading head teachers and practitioners to produce an action plan for improving PSHE. We will work with these experts to identify further action we can take to ensure that all pupils receive high quality, age appropriate PSHE and SRE.

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to give young carers under the age of 16 (a) financial support and (b) other assistance to continue with mainstream education.

    Edward Timpson

    Schools play an important part in identifying pupils who are young carers and in offering them appropriate support. That is why the Department for Education has worked with Carers Trust and The Children’s Society for many years to share tools, good practice and increase awareness in schools of young carers’ issues. Ofsted inspectors will also pay particular attention to the outcomes achieved by young carers in schools.

    We have changed the law so that, since April 2015, all young carers are entitled to an assessment of their needs for support, regardless of who they care for, what type of care they provide or how much time they spend caring.

    It is worth noting that a significant proportion, around 60%, of young carers are thought to be eligible for free school meals, and those who have been registered for free school meals at any point in the last six years will be attracting pupil premium funding to the schools that they attend.

    We are also grant-funding Suffolk Family Carers over £111,000 in 2015-16 to run a local project to raise awareness of young carers amongst teachers, non-teaching staff and school nurses, including a focus on young carers’ mental health, supporting Suffolk County Council’s strategy on young carers.

  • 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 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to (a) promote the study of creative subjects in secondary schools and (b) address the skills shortage in the UK creative industry sector.

    Nick Gibb

    All schools are required to provide a broad and balanced curriculum. The Government recognises that creative arts are an integral part of a child’s education. They develop skills that are important to our economy and help prepare children for adult life.

    The national curriculum sets out our expectations of what pupils should be taught and we have reformed GCSE and A level qualifications in a range of subjects, including art and design, music, drama, dance and design & technology. We have made significant changes in particular to design and technology, making this a better preparation for young people to progress into careers in a wide range of engineering and design fields.

    Our reforms to technical and vocational education incentivise schools and colleges to teach only those qualifications that meet rigorous quality criteria, develop the skills and knowledge that employers need and enable young people to progress into employment. For 16-18 year olds this includes qualifications in creative subjects that will equip them to apply for a range of jobs in the creative industries.

    In November, the Government announced further reforms to technical and professional education that will simplify the skills system and ensure it is understood and valued by employers. The Government will simplify and streamline the number of qualifications so that individuals have a clear set of routes which allow for progression into skilled employment. An independent panel, chaired by Lord Sainsbury, is developing proposals for these reforms and they will report to Government this spring‎.

    In December 2014, the Secretary of State announced funding for a new careers and enterprise company. This employer-led, independent company is strengthening links between employers, schools and colleges and careers and enterprise organisations to inspire young people, assisting them with taking control of their own futures and helping to address skills shortages. The provision of high-quality careers guidance for all young people is a key part of this Government’s commitment to delivering real social justice.

  • John Mann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    John Mann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the relative performance at GCSE of (a) pupils who are home schooled and (b) other pupils.

    Edward Timpson

    The Department does not hold information for pupils taking GCSEs who are home schooled. The latest information for other pupils is available from the “Revised GCSE and equivalent results in England: 2014 to 2015” statistical first release available on GOV.UK at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/revised-gcse-and-equivalent-results-in-england-2014-to-2015.

    “

  • 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 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the cost to school budgets of (a) pupil mobility, (b) staff turnover, (c) pupils not speaking English at home and (d) pupils with special educational needs.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    We recently published our consultations on national funding formulae for schools and high needs funding. A national funding formula will put an end to currently unfair arrangements where children with the same needs attract different amounts of money simply because of where they live. We believe that the national funding formula should target funding to pupils who are likely to face additional barriers in realising their potential and are proposing to include additional needs factors including for English as an additional language. For pupils with special educational needs (SEN), we propose that mainstream schools should continue to be responsible for the first £6,000 of costs in respect of each of their pupils with SEN, and receive top-up funding from the local authority for costs in excess of £6,000. Local authorities reported that they will allocate £750m to primary and secondary schools in 2015-16 in the form of top-up funding for pupils with SEN.

    Under current local funding formulae, the total amount allocated to school budgets in relation to pupil mobility is £24m for 2015-16 and for English as an additional language, it is £267m. It is for school leaders to determine how best to use their full budget so that all pupils, including mobile pupils, pupils with English as an additional language and those with special educational needs, can reach their full potential.