The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many applicants to the Future Teaching Scholars programme to date have been (a) women and (b) men.
Nick Gibb
To date we have received applications from 27 women and 23 men. We remain confident that we will secure 110 scholars by the end of summer 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Clifton-Brown on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if the new national curriculum can be taught in primary schools to mixed-age classes.
Nick Gibb
Schools can choose to teach pupils of different year groups together.
Maintained schools are required to cover the whole of the programme of study for each national curriculum subject by the time pupils reach the end of the key stage period. In planning how best to teach the curriculum, schools should consider all relevant circumstances, including the needs of their pupils, and make decisions accordingly.
The programmes of study for primary English, mathematics and science are set out on a year-by-year basis to provide a guide as to the pace that the material should be taught in these key subjects.
The national curriculum focuses on the essential knowledge that must be taught, allowing teachers to take greater control over the wider curriculum in schools and how it is taught. Teachers are free to use their professional judgement and take account of local circumstances in deciding how best to organise their classes, including whether it would be suitable to teach mixed age pupils together. The Department has no involvement in these decisions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will require the Oxford, Cambridge and RSA Examinations board to offer GCSE and A-level Gujarati examinations beyond September 2018; and if she will make a statement.
Nick Gibb
The exam boards are independent organisations, and the department continues to work closely with them to secure the future of all the existing language GCSEs and A levels, including Gujarati.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will establish a system to permit supplementary schools and mainstream schools to bid for funding to support the professional development of staff teaching English to GCSE and A-level standard; and if she will make a statement.
Nick Gibb
Decisions relating to teachers’ professional development rightly rest with schools, headteachers, and teachers as they are in the best position to judge their own requirements.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tristram Hunt on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department has spent on (a) new IT equipment, (b) new furniture, (c) new artwork, (d) catering and events, (e) renovating its buildings and facilities, (f) new plants and shrubs and (g) special advisers’ travel expenses since May 2015.
Nick Gibb
The Department for Education has spent the amounts shown in the table below on the following list of categories from 1 May 2015 to 31 January 2016.
|
a) New IT equipment |
£868,312 |
|
b) New furniture |
£11,861 |
|
c) New artwork |
No Expenditure |
|
d) Catering and events |
£326,575 |
|
e) Renovating buildings and facilities [1] |
£9,862,679 |
|
f) New plants and shrubs |
No Expenditure |
|
g) Special Advisers’ travel expenses (including rail journeys) |
£1,555 |
[1] The figure for renovating buildings and facilities is for DfE and its Agencies and does not include expenditure on school buildings.
The figures are for the Department, its Agencies and Non-Departmental Public Bodies, Government Equalities Office, Equality and Human Rights Commission and Office of the Children’s Commissioner.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martyn Day on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the implications of a decision to leave the EU on the higher education fees status of EU students becoming classed in the same way as that for non-EU overseas students; and whether his Department plans to assess the potential effect of any such change in classification on the number of students coming from EU member states to study in the UK.
Joseph Johnson
At the February European Council, the Government negotiated a new settlement, giving the United Kingdom a special status in a reformed European Union. The Government’s position, as set out by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the House on 22 February, is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department has allocated to the Future Teaching Scholars programme for the 2016-17 cohort.
Nick Gibb
Funding for the Future Teaching Scholars programme is allocated by financial year rather than by cohort. £1.3m has been allocated for financial year 2016-17. This covers the £15,000 financial incentive to Scholars, continued marketing expenditure, and all programme delivery costs.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to encourage academies to join high-performing rather than under-performing multi-academy trusts; and if she will make a statement.
Edward Timpson
Regional Schools Commissioners (RSC) are supporting the development of high-performing multi-academy trusts (MAT). MATs enable academies to realise a wide range of benefits and provide the formal structure in which high-performing schools can support under-performing schools to improve.
Where there are concerns about the performance of an academy, the RSC may decide that the support of a new academy trust is needed to bring about the necessary improvements. In selecting a new trust, the RSC will evaluate its capacity, including the performance of the trust’s existing academies and its ability to provide the support required.
In order to move an underperforming academy to a new trust, the RSC may be able to use the termination powers set out in the academy’s funding agreement to require the academy to move without the agreement of the academy or the existing trust. The Education and Adoption Bill will give RSCs stronger, more consistent powers to do this with all failing and coasting academies.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department has spent on marketing for the Future Teaching Scholars programme to date.
Nick Gibb
The management of the Future Teaching Scholars programme is contracted to the delivery organisation, Education Development Trust. Any money spent on marketing is determined by the Education Development Trust.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 19 October 2015 to Question 11029, whether assessment of the necessary infrastructure adaptations to update the facilities at HM Naval Base Clyde and Royal Naval Armament Depot Coulport has been completed.
Mr Philip Dunne
Assessments are currently under way to inform decisions and refine programme costs of the individual projects at Her Majesty’s Naval Base Clyde and Royal Naval Armament Depot Coulport.