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  • Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the financial effect of the provision of the Childcare Bill on primary schools with nursery provision.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The Childcare Bill delivers the government’s election manifesto commitment to give families where parents are working an entitlement to 30 hours of free childcare for their three- and four-year olds. Alongside other providers, primary schools, including free schools and academies, will play an important role in the delivery of this new entitlement from September 2017.

    Getting the funding right is essential for successful delivery. Together with the funding announced at Summer Budget, we will be investing over £1 billion per year by 2019-20 to fund this manifesto pledge. The funding includes £300 million for a significant uplift to the rate paid for the two-, three- and four-year old entitlements. We are also investing at least £50 million of capital funding to create additional places in nurseries and estimate a further 4,000 places will be created through new Free Schools.

    The government acknowledges that not all schools will be able to offer the full 30 hours entitlement themselves. Where that is the case, partnerships between schools and other providers, such as childminders, will allow parents to access their entitlement through their school. Partnerships like this already exist, and we will be drawing out lessons learned and good practice from them in order to help others to establish their own partnerships for the delivery of the 30 hours entitlement.

  • 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 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what training on mental health awareness is provided to foster carers.

    Edward Timpson

    The statutory framework is clear that fostering services must provide carers with the training, information and support necessary in the interests of children placed with them.

    The Training, Support and Development (TSD) Standards provide a national post-approval training framework for what foster carers should know and understand. This includes knowing what ‘healthy care’ means for the mental health of young people, and how children develop relationships. My Department’s expectation is that fostering services should ensure that foster carers complete the training within 12-18 months of approval. The TSD Standards form part of the National Minimum Standards for foster care.

  • 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 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what extra support is provided to foster carers receiving children who have experienced multiple placement breakdowns.

    Edward Timpson

    The statutory framework is clear that fostering services must provide carers with the necessary training, information and support, in the interests of children placed with them.

    Through the Children’s Services Innovation Programme, the Government continues to support the roll out of interventions such as KEEP (Keeping Foster and Kinship Carers Safe and Supported) and the Mockingbird Project. The Children’s Services Innovation Programme has £100m worth of funding and supports 53 programmes in the development, testing and spreading of more effective ways of supporting children and families who need help from children’s social care services. KEEP is a training programme for foster carers and part of the National Implementation Service, which has £4.1m worth of funding. The Mockingbird Project supports groups of ten foster carers around a ‘hub’ which provides support. This is part of the Fostering Network, which has £1.6m worth of funding. Both projects aim to increase the positive parenting skills of foster and kinship carers in responding to children’s difficulties. They seek to build resilience, improve placement stability and enable young people to thrive as children and adults.

  • 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 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many state playing fields were sold in each year since 2010.

    Edward Timpson

    This government will only give local authorities and schools permission to dispose of school playing fields if the sports and curriculum needs of the school can continue to be met. All proceeds of any sales must be put back into improving sports or educational facilities

    It is not the government or the department that instigates the disposal of school playing fields. It is the schools themselves and their local authorities that propose to convert these often surplus or unused fields to invest in school sport or education.

    Details of school playing field sales are not held centrally. Schools and local authorities only need to seek consent from the department to dispose of a school playing field. Disposal includes leasing to a third party provider. We have published a list of departmental decisions on applications for consent to dispose of school playing field land since May 2010, which can be found on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-land-decisions-about-disposals

    “

  • 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 2016-02-10.

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

    Nick Gibb

    In the academic year 2013 to 2014 (the latest available), there were 1,443 initial teacher trainees on physical education courses in their final year. Further information is detailed in the table below.

    Physical education ITT trainees in their final year:

    Academic year

    Total

    Awarded QTS

    2010/11

    1,557

    1,487

    2011/12

    1,385

    1,321

    2012/13

    1,366

    1,243

    2013/14

    1,443

    1,368

    (Excludes Teach first)

  • Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which academies and academy chains employ trustees and directors who are paid salaries in excess of £142,500.

    Edward Timpson

    The information is available about each academy trust in the notes to their financial statements which are published online by the Department for Education and at Companies House.

    “

  • Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) trustees and (b) directors of academies and academy chains are paid salaries in excess of £142,500.

    Edward Timpson

    The information is available about each academy trust in the notes to their financial statements which are published online by the Department for Education and at Companies House.

    “

  • Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many staff in her Department and non-departmental public bodies receive (a) home to work travel allowance, (b) a car allowance and (c) subsidised health insurance.

    Nick Gibb

    The Department for Education (which includes the Education Funding Agency, National College for Teaching and Leadership and the Standards and Testing Agency) does not offer any of the above allowances to its staff. We do not hold information in relation to non-departmental public bodies.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her Department’s rationale was for allocating £30,000 to provide training or recruitment of teachers with protected characteristics.

    Nick Gibb

    School workforce census data continues to show under-representation of particular groups of individuals within leadership positions (in particular for Black and Minority Ethnic and female leaders).

    The Leadership Equality and Diversity Fund supports teachers from under-represented groups (as measured by the protected characteristics in the Equality Act 2010) to prepare for leadership positions.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what representations she has received from civil society organisations on the admissions criteria of faith schools; and if she will make a statement.

    Nick Gibb

    It is the role of the Schools Adjudicator, not the Secretary of State, to consider concerns about school admission arrangements. Where a person or body has concerns that a school’s admission arrangements do not comply with the School Admissions Code, they may refer an objection to the Adjudicator. The Adjudicator must consider whether the arrangements comply with the Code and the law relating to admissions.

    It has been possible for groups such as civil society organisations to refer objections since 2012. Since then, the Adjudicator has received objections from a range of groups or organisations about the admission arrangements of faith schools.