Tag: Catherine West

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-10-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to include in the proposed Education for All Bill a contractual obligation on schools to provide sex and relationships education.

Edward Timpson

We want schools to provide all young people with a curriculum that equips them for success in adult life. High-quality sex and relationship education (SRE) and personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education have a vital role to play in this.

SRE is compulsory in maintained secondary schools. Academies and free schools do not have to teach SRE, but many choose to do so as part of their statutory duty to provide a broad and balanced curriculum.

When teaching SRE, all schools, including academies through their funding agreement, must have regard to the Secretary of State’s Sex and Relationship Education guidance. The existing SRE guidance was last updated in 2000. We have received requests about updating the guidance which we will consider carefully.

Schools and teachers have the freedom to design lessons that meet their pupils’ needs, taking account of pupil and parent views. Teachers are encouraged to develop their practice with the support of specialist organisations and expert professionals. Many of these specialist organisations have produced resources that can be used and adapted by schools.

We hold regular meetings with Ofsted about a range of matters. As the Secretary of State said at the Education Select Committee hearing in September 2016, we need to look again at how schools deliver high-quality PSHE, including SRE. We are considering all the options, including the need for any statutory powers, and will come to a view soon.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-10-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what overseas visits he has made since his appointment.

Alok Sharma

Since his appointment, the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson), has visited Belgium, the United States of America, France, Germany, Austria, Slovak Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Italy, Netherlands,Turkey, Israel and Luxembourg on official business. Details of ministerial travel are published quarterly: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/minister-data.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will confirm which Minister of his Department has responsibility for (a) Akrotiri and Dhekelia and (b) Gibraltar.

Sir Alan Duncan

​The Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister responsible for Cyprus and Gibraltar is the Minister for Europe and the Americas (Sir Alan Duncan MP). The Secretary of State for Defence, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Sevenoaks (Michael Fallon) is responsible for the Sovereign Base Area of Akrotiri and Dhekelia.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-01-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many apprentices with special educational needs or disabilities have not completed their apprenticeship placements with a five per cent club employer.

Nick Boles

The table below shows this information for apprenticeship frameworks that are related to the transport Industry.

Table 1: Apprenticeship success rates for learners with a learning difficulty or disability on frameworks related to the transport industry (2013/14)

Frameworks	Overall Success Rate
Aviation Operations on the Ground	85.7%
Driving Goods Vehicles	70.7%
Rail Transport Engineering	81.0%
Road Passenger Transport – Bus and Coach	81.0%
Transport Engineering and Maintenance	96.2%
Vehicle Body and Paint Operations	58.3%
Vehicle Fitting	68.8%
Vehicle Maintenance and Repair	67.0%
Vehicle Parts Operations	72.2%

Notes

1) Frameworks with fewer than 20 leavers are excluded.

2) Figures for learning difficulties or disabilities are based on self-declaration by the learner

The Department does not collect the information required to estimate 5 per cent club or NHS apprenticeship success rates.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-01-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy that personal social health, economic and education be compulsory in all schools.

Edward Timpson

The Government wants all young people to leave school prepared for life in modern Britain. High quality personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) teaching has an important role to play in providing young people with a curriculum for life, which equips them with the skills and understanding they need to manage their lives, succeed and stay safe. We have made it clear in the introduction to the framework of the national curriculum that all schools should teach PSHE.

We have committed to improving the quality of PSHE and intend to make significant progress on this issue during this Parliament. The Department for Education is currently working with headteachers and other experts to identify how we can continue to improve the quality of PSHE for every pupil.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to make training on teaching Sex and Relationships Education mandatory for all teachers.

Edward Timpson

The Government believes that all children should have the opportunity to receive a high quality and appropriate sex and relationship education (SRE). SRE is compulsory in all maintained secondary schools and many primary schools also teach it in an age-appropriate way. The Government also expects academies and free schools to deliver SRE as part of their provision of a broad and balanced curriculum.

Any state-funded school teaching SRE must have regard to the Secretary of State’s SRE guidance (2000). The Department has received requests about updating the existing SRE guidance which we will carefully consider.

Initial Teacher Training (ITT) is currently determined by the Teachers’ Standards, which all trainee teachers must be able to demonstrate by the end of their training. The Standards set out the key principles of good subject pedagogy and the importance of subject knowledge development across the curriculum. Schools and headteachers are best placed to determine which staff learning activities will be most beneficial for their schools and we expect them to lead the personal development of their teachers to improve the quality of all round teaching.

The Department supports schools’ efforts to improve PSHE teaching by drawing schools’ attention to a range of high quality PSHE education teaching resources, including quality resources, lesson plans, a programme of study, factsheets and case studies. These resources are kite-marked by the PSHE Association to ensure that schools can trust the materials they use and improve their teaching.

Ofsted does not inspect individual curriculum subjects. However, aspects of PSHE education and SRE will inform its judgment on personal development, behaviour and welfare. Inspectors must also consider the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils. Schools have responsibility for acting upon the inspection reports they receive and any weaknesses will be considered when the school is next inspected.

We expect schools to ensure that young people, whatever their developing sexuality or identity, feel that SRE education is relevant to them and sensitive to their needs. The statutory SRE guidance is clear that schools should teach about HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. Sexually transmitted infections are also covered as part of the national curriculum for science at key stage 3.

We welcome the supplementary SRE guidance ‘SRE for the 21st Century’ produced by Brook, the PSHE Association and the Sex Education Forum, which includes guidance on ensuring that SRE is inclusive. All children and young people, regardless of background or identity, are entitled to quality SRE that helps them build confidence and stay healthy.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the rate of pay is for cleaners in his Department.

Joseph Johnson

The rates of pay for cleaners, cleaning supervisors and cleaning managers in the Department for Business Innovation and Skills are £7.93, £8.43 and £12.71 (minimum) respectively.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-02-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many emergency call handlers were employed in each year since 2010.

Jane Ellison

This information is not held centrally.

It is for individual ambulance trusts to ensure that they have a workforce capable of meeting the demands on the service, both numerically and in levels of skill.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-03-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people learn to swim.

David Evennett

Swimming is an important life skill and one which we are keen is available to as many people as possible. This is why the Government’s new sport and physical activity strategy ‘’Sporting Future: a New Strategy for an Active Nation’, (www.gov.uk/government/publications/sporting-future-a-new-strategy-for-an-active-nation) includes a commitment to ensure that every child leaves primary school able to swim.

Swimming is part of the national curriculum and Government are committed to ensuring that all children are able to meet the minimum standard of capability and confidence in swimming. Sport England is developing a number of pilot projects which aim to encourage adults to take up swimming. It is also investing £20 million between 2013-17 in the Amateur Swimming Association and in other projects, such as the innovative ‘This Girl Can Swim’, to get more people right across the country swimming. In addition, it has invested over £330 million to create modern, safe and attractive swimming pool facilities in England.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-03-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to Answer of 22 February 2016 to Question 26843, if he will publish the terms of reference for the Reaper User Group.

Penny Mordaunt

The MQ-9 Users Group is a multilateral forum for France, Italy, the UK and US. As such, the release of the Group’s Terms of Reference can only be approved if all four participating nations agree. To that end, the request for their release was highlighted at the MQ-9 User Group and individual nations will report back as soon as is practicable.