Tag: Department for Education

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 12 May 2024.

Hundreds of thousands of families set to benefit as working parents of 9-month-olds can now apply for government-funded childcare for first time.

Parents of children from 9 months old can now apply to access government-funded childcare from September 2024, as England’s largest ever childcare expansion continues.

From today (12 May 2024), eligible working parents of children who will be 9 months old by 31 August can apply to access 15 hours of funded childcare a week – set to benefit hundreds of thousands of families across the country.

This is the second step in the government’s long-term plan to support hard-working parents to balance their family and career. As the successful launch of the offer in April demonstrates, this plan is working.

Since the launch of the offer, 211,027 2-year-olds are already benefitting from government-funded places, providing parents with financial support to return to work or increase their hours and kick-starting the government’s commitment to grow the economy through affordable access to quality childcare.

Working parents whose children will be aged between 9- and 23-months old on 31 August 2024 can apply for their government-funded childcare code via the childcare service, which they then take to their chosen childcare provider to validate.

In this next stage, the historic rollout will deliver direct government support with childcare costs from the term after their child turns 9 months old, until they start school. By September 2025, support will increase to 30 government-funded hours a week, saving families an average of £6,900 per year.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:

Last year we promised the biggest ever expansion in childcare provision in history and we are delivering. Over 210,000 children have already benefited from 15 hours of government funded care and parents of 9-month-olds can apply from today.

Our full expansion will save parents an average of £6,900 a year, meaning no parent has to choose between their career and caring for their child.

This will give working families the peace of mind that they will be supported, helping to build a brighter future for families and to grow our economy.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said:

Last month, we successfully delivered on our promise to expand free childcare to 2-year-olds, with over 210,000 families now feeling the benefits.

Last year, just two thirds of local authorities felt confident they could deliver the rollout for April, but with our support, 100% have done so.

That was only the beginning, and we will continue to support the sector so that every eligible parent can access the high-quality childcare they deserve.

Parents on parental leave or starting a new job by the end of September 2024, can now apply for their childcare code 16 weeks before returning to work, extended from the original period of 31 days.

These parents are urged to apply online via the childcare service and will receive a letter in the post within one to 2 weeks, enabling them to get their code well in advance of provider deadlines.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Laura Trott said:

No parent should be forced to choose between looking after their children and having a successful career.

Backed by significant funding, we are providing hundreds of thousands of families across the country with access to high-quality childcare – making sure every child has the chance to fulfil their potential while also providing a boost to the economy.

All local authorities have reported they are currently meeting the demand from parents for childcare places, and an increase of just 1% – 15,000 places – will be needed for September.

Last year, the number of childcare places already increased by around 15,000, and the number of staff by around 13,000, before direct government interventions to increase capacity.

The government is continuing to work closely with local authorities to deliver the rollout, including allocating £100 million of capital investment and an additional £12 million of delivery support.

This will build on continued growth over the last year, driven by higher average rates paid by government for the new entitlements than those paid by parents, and a commitment to further rate increases worth up to £500m for the next 2 years – giving providers the confidence to continue expanding.

Jason Elsom, Chief Executive of Parentkind said:

As a father to a blended family of 8 children, I know only too well the sacrifices that many parents make for their children.  The cost of childcare often leads many parents to go without, or even sacrifice their careers as it simply makes no sense to put 2 children in childcare at the cost of a whole salary.

Many families will welcome the lifeline that this support offers.

Parents with a preferred provider are urged to speak to them directly about a place for September. Any who are struggling to find a place should contact their local authority, who will be able to help them find a provider in their area.

The application system requires parents to reconfirm their eligibility every 3 months, so parents new to the system, who apply before 1 June, will need to reconfirm their code prior to the offer starting in September.

Eligible parents with an existing Tax-Free Childcare account registered on the application system will be able to apply for a code at their next reconfirmation window.

To make sure every parent eligible for the September rollout can access the scheme, parents who had to reconfirm their eligibility before 12 May, and whose next application window opens on 9 June or later, will receive a letter from HMRC containing a code by 24 May.

Parents can check their eligibility before applying at gov.uk or through our online eligibility checker tool at childcarechoices.gov.uk.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 9 May 2024.

Locations announced for 16 new special free schools and trusts appointed at a further 7 schools, providing thousands of vital places across England.

New schools providing dedicated support for over 2,000 children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are to open in 16 areas across England.

From Bury to Surrey to Solihull, the schools will provide vital specialist spaces for pupils whose needs cannot be met in mainstream education. A competition for academy trusts to run the schools will be launched in the coming days.

The announcement follows investment of £105 million confirmed by the chancellor at this year’s spring budget, and is part of the government’s plan that is delivering 60,000 more special school places – the largest ever expansion in capacity. This is helping to increase capacity, following a decrease in pupils in special schools from 1997 to 2010.

It comes as a further 7 special free schools are one step closer to opening in Merton, Cambridgeshire, Kent, and Norfolk to create over 1,000 places as the trusts have now been selected to run them.

The government is sticking to the plan to ensure every child can receive the education they need to fulfil their potential and be well prepared for adulthood and employment.

The government has already opened 108 schools as part of the special free schools programme since 2010, with a further 93 planned to open in future years.

Special schools ensure pupils with special needs such as autism, emotional and behaviour disorders, severe learning difficulties and more can flourish thanks to specially trained teachers, programmes, and equipment.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said:

Special schools can truly transform children’s lives, enabling pupils with special education needs and disabilities to thrive in environments that meet their needs.

We’re creating tens of thousands of special school places since 2010 and today’s announcement takes us one step closer to our commitment of a record 60,000 more places for children with additional needs.

I know how hard it can be for families trying to navigate the SEND system, and the creation of more brilliant special schools is just one part of our plan to make sure every family and every child get the right support, in the right place at the right time.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Laura Trott said:

Every child deserves the chance to reach their full potential.

That’s why we’re opening 200 special schools across the country, ensuring every child receives a best-in-class education.

The government is committed to reforming the SEND and alternative provision system to ensure earlier intervention, consistent high standards and less bureaucracy through its SEND and AP Improvement Plan.

The plan also committed to strengthening protections, and improving the outcomes, for children in unregistered alternative provision.

A consultation has been launched today for 8 weeks setting out proposals to use unregistered alternative provision as an intervention, not a destination, to complement the education provided in school.

It also proposes measures for providers to be subject to new, proportionate quality assurance frameworks, underpinned by national standards. The proposals build on the findings of the government’s previous call for evidence.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 23 April 2024.

The incentive is backed by £200 million investment to support schools and colleges attract and retain the excellent teachers they need in vital subjects.

From September, up to £6000 will be available for teachers working in key STEM and technical subjects such as maths, construction and engineering, as well as early years education, as part of the government’s drive to recruit and retain the best staff, the Department for Education announced.

The expansion of the levelling up premium payment scheme to those working in further education and to a wider range of subjects for the first time will support young people to progress skills that will help grow our economy. It will also double the existing Levelling Up premium payments to school teachers of maths, physics, chemistry and computing.

The incentive is part of the government’s drive to support schools and colleges to recruit and retain the talented teachers they need in the future, and ahead of the introduction of the advanced British standard – a new baccalaureate style post-16 qualification which is set to bring together the best of technical and academic education.

At the heart of the proposals for the advanced British standard are an increase in teaching time of around 200 hours over the course of the qualification, greater breadth and choice of subjects for young people and a core focus on maths and English.

Backed by an investment of around £200 million over the next 2 years, it will make sure more young people – particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds – continue to have access to the world-class education and training they need in the subjects to fulfil their potential, whilst plugging skills gap and boosting the economy.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said:

Teachers are the heart of our education system, inspiring young people and shaping future generations.

By offering incentives of up to £6,000, we’re ensuring schools and colleges can support the recruitment and retention of dedicated teachers in high priority subjects and in the areas that need them most.

This will make a real difference to schools and colleges across the country allowing them to provide world class education for all ahead of the Advanced British Standard, whilst giving businesses the skilled workers they need to drive economic growth.

This move is part of plan to deliver a world-class education system for all, where primary children are the ‘best in the west’ at reading and 90% of schools are now rated good or outstanding – up from just 68% in 2010.

The £6000 incentive is being offered through the government’s levelling up premium doubling payments introduced in 2022 to support schools in disadvantaged areas across the country to recruit and retain the teachers they need in maths, physics, chemistry and computing.

The programme is being significantly expanded to cover further education teachers teaching in vital subjects including early years, building and construction, digital, engineering, manufacturing and transport engineering and electronics.

Levelling Up Minister Jacob Young said:

Spreading opportunity is at the core of the government’s levelling up mission because while we know ability is spread evenly, opportunity is not. That includes supporting young people to thrive through a quality education as everyone deserves the best start in life.

A high-quality education relies on excellent teachers and this funding will help schools and colleges attract and retain the staff they need to equip our kids with the best possible start in life.

David Hughes, chief executive, Association of Colleges said:

This extra funding will help attract and retain key staff in colleges, so I welcome the expansion of the Levelling Up premium.

The issue of teacher recruitment is one of the most pressing challenges facing the sector, particularly in these key areas where experts working in industry are likely to earn salaries significantly beyond those of teachers.

There are record numbers of teachers working in schools – up by 27,000 since 2010. To attract the brightest and the best teachers, the government is also investing £196 million this academic year to get more teachers across key subjects.

The incentive will build on this by making sure we have more excellent school teachers as well as further education teachers in classrooms across the country so that young people have access to the world-class education and training they need to succeed.

To attract and retain the brightest and the best further education teachers, £470 million is being invested over two financial years from 2023-24 to enable providers to address key priorities, such as recruitment and retention, and providing additional support through the teach in FE campaign and the taking teaching further programme.

The advanced British standard will mean most students choose a minimum of five subjects from a menu of options to give more breadth and flexibility. The subjects will be built on A Levels and T Levels, retaining their rigour and focus on building knowledge. By increasing teaching time and the breadth of what students can study, including maths and English, the Advanced British Standard will widen students’ career options and bring England in line with major economies such as France, Germany, Japan and the USA.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 19 April 2024.

Government publishes new data showing 195,355 children benefitting from government-funded childcare for 2-year-olds in successful April launch.

Hundreds of thousands of parents will be able to more easily manage their career and childcare over the next two years following the successful launch of the largest ever expansion of childcare in England’s history.

This month, eligible working parents of 2-year-olds were given 15 hours of government-funded childcare for the first time, as part of the government’s long-term plan to build a brighter future for families and help grow the economy.

Since January, applications have been open for parents to apply for an eligibility code to access the new 15 hours of childcare, which they take to their chosen childcare provider to validate.

The latest data, set to be published on Monday, will reveal that 195,355 2-year-olds are already benefitting from government-funded places. This puts the rollout on the same trajectory as the previous expansion of free childcare hours to 3- and 4-year-olds in 2017.

Today, the government has confirmed that 79% of codes issued have now been validated by providers. In 2017, 71% of codes that had been issued to parents were validated by a similar point in the rollout.

Thousands more children will have their places confirmed over the coming weeks. The government expects some eligibility codes will go unused as parents change their mind about formal childcare or were issued a code even though they didn’t need one.

All local authorities have reported they are currently meeting the demand from parents for childcare places.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said:

We are transforming childcare in this country to deliver the support that hard-working parents deserve.

As today’s figures show, our plan is working. Thousands of parents are returning to work, and tens of thousands more will be able to do so later this year and next.

Childcare expansion on this scale is unprecedented in this country, and we will continue providing maximum support to nurseries and all providers to make it a reality.

Alice Barrett, a mother from Nottingham, applied for the 15 hours from April for her son, Wyatt. Alice and her partner both work full time, and they are already seeing significant savings thanks to the new offer. She says:

The entire process for me was stress free and very well rolled out. We have recently received the breakdown of our bill for May, and we are saving up to £200 per month.

We are so grateful to be eligible for the scheme, and the additional funds we now have will help us with allowing a buffer for bills and any unexpected costs, as well as getting Wyatt back on track with his swimming and other activities he enjoys.

The government has also today published projections for the additional places and staff needed for the wider rollout, which will see eligible working parents able to access 30 hours of free childcare per week after their child turns 9 months old, until they start school. This will save families an average of £6,900 per year.

The Department for Education estimates that just 15,000 additional places – an increase of 1% – will be needed for this September, with thousands of those expected to become available this summer supported by £100 million of capital investment and additional £12 million of delivery support for local authorities.

Around 70,000 further places are likely to be needed for September 2025, when the offer expands to 30 government-funded hours for children from 9 months old to when they start school.

According to the government’s Provider Pulse Survey published today, the largest barrier identified by the sector (45% of respondents) to scaling up for 2025 was future funding certainty. To give providers the confidence to support each stage of the rollout, the Chancellor committed to £500 million of additional funding over the next 2 years, providing a level of certainty which is already unlocking tens of millions in private sector funding.

Laura Trott, Chief Secretary to the Treasury said:

Funded childcare means working parents know their children are safe and well looked after. It is such a huge weight off parent’s minds, helping them pursue careers and play a part in growing our economy.

This month’s rollout alone will help thousands of parents into work. But that is just the start, as our full investment will also mean many more parents can get into work or increase the hours they work.

Last year, the number of childcare places increased by around 15,000, and the number of staff by around 13,000, even before direct government interventions to increase capacity.

These numbers have continued to grow over the course of this year, driven by higher average rates paid by government for the new entitlements than parents would have paid and £1,000 cash incentives for new joiners. Our new recruitment campaign has already driven over 73,000 people to find out more about working in early years.

To further increase capacity, a new pilot is also beginning this summer to explore how unused school space could be repurposed to support childcare settings to offer more places.

The school space pilot this summer involves matching a small number of private, voluntary, or independent childcare providers with surplus school and college space.

If the pilot is a success, the government will roll it out widely ahead of September 2025, helping fast-track the process for schools, colleges and childcare providers.

A total of 40,000 additional staff compared with 2023 are required by September 2025. A total of 170,000 places are required, with around half already available in the system and half needed as new capacity.

Minister for Employment Jo Churchill said:

This huge expansion in free childcare means more parents can return to work, boost their earnings and ensure long-tern financial security for their family.

We have generously increased the support working parents on Universal Credit can receive towards childcare costs, helping remove barriers and allowing parents to give their children the best start in life.

Parents with a preferred provider are urged to secure their place for September now, ahead of when applications open for eligible working parents of 9-month-to-23-month-olds on 12 May.

Parents will be able to apply for codes for September until 31 August, and the government has today updated the process to make sure all eligible working parents can apply, regardless of whether they are in work or on parental leave.

A spokesperson for the National Partnership in Early Learning and Childcare, said:

We welcome the government’s increased investment in early learning and childcare and have been pleased to work closely with those across the sector to ensure a smooth rollout of the April entitlement, so families can access this vital provision.

We are committed to continued collaboration with the government, local authorities and parents, working together throughout this process to enable all children to access high-quality and exemplary early learning and childcare.

Simone Carter, Managing Director, N Family Club, said:

We welcome the enhanced funding offer and recognise the positive impact this will have on many children and their families.

Making care more affordable will allow providers the opportunity to reach more families, and enable more children to experience the lifelong benefits of quality early years education.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 29 February 2024.

Every state school in England will now share their daily attendance registers across the education sector – including with the department for education, councils, and trusts in the next stage of the government’s drive to reduce pupil absence in school.

The sharing of daily school registers will form a new world-leading attendance data set that will help schools spot and support children displaying worrying trends of persistent absence or those in danger of becoming missing in education.

Schools, trusts and councils will be able to access this data via an interactive secure data dashboard maintained by the department for education. This will allow them easy use of the data to not only spot pupils in need of support but also to understand how their attendance position compares locally and nationally so they can look at where they might need to drive improvements.

These reforms are the next phase in the government’s plan to improve attendance following the pandemic which has seen a worldwide rise in absence and persistent absence driven by broken habits of attendance, and new and exacerbated barriers like mental ill health.

The government’s plan to improve attendance has included expanding the attendance hubs programme to 32 hubs across the country, which share best practice to schools supporting more than one million pupils, plus piloting attendance mentors, who work directly with pupils to tackle their barriers to attendance alongside a national awareness campaign aimed at helping parents. Our plan is already working, with 380,000 fewer pupils persistently off school over the course of last year.

Parent fines for unauthorised absences will also be brought under a national framework to help tackle inconsistencies in their use. A fine to parents must be considered if a child misses 5 days of school for unauthorised absence. Alongside this, costs for fines will go up from £60 to £80 if paid within 21 days and from £120 to £160 if paid in 28 days which will ensure all parents are aware of when they might face a fine to ensure all councils are issuing fines appropriately.

Today the Department for Education has also announced Rob Tarn, CEO of Northern Education Trust and the founder of England’s first attendance hub, as the new national attendance ambassador. Rob will work with schools and school leaders to champion attendance, share effective practice, and support the ongoing development of the attendance hubs programme nationally.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said:

Our fantastic schools and teachers unlock children’s imagination, potential and social skills which is why improving attendance is my number one priority.

Today we are taking that next step to further boost attendance and I want to thank those who are working with us including teachers and heads.

Education standards have risen sharply across the country, with Ofsted ratings up from 68% to nearly 90% since 2010 – and pupils’ performance is ranked as some of the best globally – so it has never been more valuable to be in school.

Key guidance setting out how schools and local authorities must take a ‘support-first’ approach to help pupils and their families to tackle barriers to attendance will be made statutory from August 2024.  The working together to improve school attendance guidance sets expectations including regular meetings between schools and local authorities to agree plans for the most at-risk absent children.

It particularly emphasises the importance of support for pupils with SEND and mental ill health who often need more individual consideration due to wider barriers. It asks schools, local authorities and wider services to work together to support these pupils, encouraging early intervention and close working with families to address their individual needs.

Rob Tarn, CEO of Northern Education Trust said:

Attendance is one biggest challenges facing the school system today, so I’m pleased that the Department has announced this package of important measures including making the attendance guidance statutory.

I am also delighted to have been named as the Department for Education’s attendance ambassador. I look forward to working with attendance hub schools around the country to share effective practice and support school leaders to improve attendance locally and nationally.

Today’s announcement is the next step in the government’s national drive to improve attendance and tackle persistent absence, launched in January.

This sits alongside the national communications campaign raising awareness of the importance of attendance, which is running until Easter. Under the strapline ‘Moments Matter, Attendance Counts’ it outlines the importance of attendance for attainment, wellbeing, and development as well as signposting to advice for further support for parents and carers.

Steve Wilkinson, President of the Association of Education Welfare Management who run attendance support in local councils said:

We welcomed the opportunity to work closely with the DfE to share the vast expertise of our members with improving attendance in schools and other educational provisions.

Putting these measures on a statutory footing helps reinforce the importance of school attendance and the need to ensure families receive the support they need, when they need it, working together to ensure any barriers to attendance for children are removed.

This government is making long-term decisions to ensure all pupils have world class education. Improving attendance builds on that work which has delivered 89% of schools rated good or outstanding by Ofsted, up from just 68% in 2010.

School standards are rising across the board and England has catapulted up the international rankings for academic attainment through our multimillion-pound maths and English hubs programme and phonics screening check. Thanks to reforms introduced since 2010 England is now one of the top performing countries in the world for maths, reading and science, and the government will continue to build on this progress by delivering crucial reforms including by creating the Advanced British Standard.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 19 February 2024.

Schools will receive new guidance on prohibiting mobile phone use during the school day.

Mobile phones are set to be prohibited in schools across England as part of the government’s plan to minimise disruption and improve behaviour in classrooms.

New mobile phones in schools guidance issued today (19 February 2024) backs headteachers in prohibiting the use of mobile phones throughout the school day, including at break times.

Many schools around the country are already prohibiting mobile phone use with great results. This guidance will ensure there is a consistent approach across all schools.

By the age of 12, 97% of children have their own mobile phone, according to Ofcom. Using mobile phones in schools can lead to online bullying, distraction and classroom disruption which, in turn, can lead to lost learning time.

Last year, Unesco called for smartphones to be banned from schools as evidence showed it was linked to reduced educational performance and that excessive screen time had a negative impact on children’s wellbeing.

Schools will be supported to prohibit mobile phone use with examples of different approaches including banning phones from the school premises, handing in phones on arrival at school, and keeping phones securely locked away at school.

The guidance will respond to concerns from parents about mobile phones, with the latest data from ParentKind’s National Parent Survey, revealing that 44% of parents are concerned about the amount of time their children spend on electronic devices, rising to 50% of parents of secondary school children.

Driving high expectations of behaviour is a priority for the government, building on our £10 million investment in behaviour hubs which will support up to 700 schools over 3 years, as well as existing behaviour in schools guidance.

We are making long-term decisions to ensure all pupils have world class education. This guidance builds on that work which has delivered 89% of schools rated good or outstanding by Ofsted, up from just 68% in 2010.

Our plan is working with school standards rising across the board. England has catapulted up the international rankings for academic attainment through our multimillion-pound maths and English hubs programme and phonics screening check. We are now one of the top performing countries in the Western world for maths and reading and the government will continue to build on this progress by delivering crucial reforms including by creating the Advanced British Standard.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said:

Schools are places for children to learn and mobile phones are, at a minimum, an unwanted distraction in the classroom.

We are giving our hard-working teachers the tools to take action to help improve behaviour and to allow them to do what they do best – teach.

Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan said:

Growing up in today’s digital world provides immense opportunities but this should not come at the expense of our children’s wellbeing or education. That is why we have passed world leading legislation to make the UK the safest place in the world for young people to be online.

Today’s announcement will support parents and educators further, helping give the next generation the best chance to realise their potential.

Lead behaviour advisor to the department Tom Bennett said:

Mobile phones may be ubiquitous, but we have a strong and growing understanding of how damaging they can be for a child’s social and educational development. And it’s the least advantaged who suffer most. Many schools already have some kind of policy on phones, but this guidance provides a clear steer for everyone, including parents, about what’s right and what’s not for the wellbeing of the child.

Heads can know that they’ll be backed in their attempt to build safe and nurturing cultures, and they’ll find advice about how to make schools a phone-free environment.  And when that happens, everyone wins.

Chief executive of Parentkind Jason Elsom said:

The government is right to be taking decisive action on the use of phones in schools with our research indicating that 44% of parents are concerned about the amount of time their children spend on electronic devices and more than three quarters of parents support a ban on phones in schools. This is the number one concern for parents, according to the National Parent Survey.

Society has sleepwalked into a position where children are addicted to harmful ‘electronic drugs’, and have no-escape from their digital dealers, not even within the relatively safe grounds of their schools.

The latest government data finds around a third (29%) of secondary school pupils reported mobile phones being used when they were not supposed to in most, or all, lessons.

Schools have seen success in prohibiting mobile phones through tactics such as introducing lockers with charging points for students to ensure they don’t come into classrooms.

One school referenced in the guidance introduced this change and saw a positive impact overnight and within one year the whole culture of the school had changed. Without access to mobile phones, pupils have the headspace and calm environment to learn, and staff have the quiet and focus to teach in.

The move will bring England in line with steps taken by other countries who have restricted mobile phone use including France, Italy and Portugal.

Our behaviour hubs enable schools across the country with exemplary positive behaviour cultures to work closely with schools that want and need to turn their behaviour around.

Alongside this, we have taken steps to improve behaviour through the appointment of a behavioural taskforce led by DfE’s behaviour tsar Tom Bennett, with the aim of improving behaviour culture and spread good practice across the country.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 8 February 2024.

Schools and colleges to receive funding to permanently remove reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.

Measures to permanently remove Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) from all affected schools and colleges, have today been confirmed by the Government (Thursday 8th February).

A final list of schools and colleges with confirmed cases of RAAC in schools and colleges in England has been published today. There are 234 education settings, out of 22,000, with confirmed RAAC in some areas of their buildings – around 1%.

119 of these schools will have one or more buildings rebuilt or refurbished through the School Rebuilding Programme where works to remove RAAC are more extensive or complex.

Additionally 110 schools and colleges will benefit from grant funding to remove RAAC from their buildings where works will typically be smaller in scale.

5 schools and colleges, with support from the Department, have alternative arrangements in place to address the removal of RAAC, for example the building will not be part of the school or college estate over the longer term.

Those responsible for affected school and college buildings are today receiving direct confirmation from the department on how the RAAC removal will be funded.

Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan, said:

Nothing is more important to me than the safety of every child and member of staff in school.

We will continue to work closely with schools and colleges as we take the next step to permanently remove RAAC from affected buildings.

I want to thank all schools, colleges and local authorities who have worked tirelessly with the department to ensure all children remain in face-to-face education.

The Department’s RAAC Identification programme is now complete as 100% of schools and colleges with blocks built in the target era have responded to the questionnaire.

All schools or colleges that advised us they suspect they might have RAAC have had a survey to confirm if RAAC is present.

A small number of schools and colleges are carrying out additional checks for further assurance in some spaces. The Department is working with responsible bodies to support them to complete these additional checks as quickly as possible.

In addition to the 119 schools with confirmed RAAC included in the School Rebuilding Programme, the Department has today confirmed that a further 8 schools without RAAC have also been added to the programme. The projects announced today take the total number of schools in the programme to 513. The ten-year School Rebuilding Programme is continuing to prioritise school buildings with the highest condition need across England through rebuilding or significantly refurbishing buildings.

The Government has already confirmed it will fund schools and colleges for the costs of work needed to mitigate the presence of RAAC. Today’s announcement provides certainty for individual schools or colleges in England on how the Government will support the removal of RAAC from their buildings.

Our priority will always be to ensure the safety of pupils and staff, which is why we took a cautious approach for schools and colleges. Although the technical advice does not recommend removal in all cases where it is present, we have taken a precautionary approach for the education estate in England to remove RAAC.

£1.8 billion has already been committed in capital funding this year to support schools to stay in good working order, as part of £15 billion allocated since 2015. The School Rebuilding Programme will transform over 500 schools over the next decade.  A further £1.5 billion has been made available for colleges through the further education capital transformation fund.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 4 February 2024.

New teacher degree apprenticeship will support schools to recruit and retain the excellent teachers they need in vital subjects including maths.

A new teaching apprenticeship will launch this autumn revolutionising the way schools recruit teachers while supporting more people to earn while they study for a degree.

The teacher degree apprenticeship will offer a high-quality, alternative route for people to become qualified teachers. This includes people who may not be able to take time out to study full-time for a degree such as teaching assistants or staff already working in schools, to access this route to a rewarding profession.

Trainees on the new teacher degree apprenticeship will spend around 40 per cent of their time studying for their degree with an accredited teacher training provider, gain qualified teacher status and all tuition fees are paid for, so trainees won’t be saddled with the student debt.

The announcement coincides with national apprenticeship week. Apprenticeships are a brilliant way for people of all ages and backgrounds to build successful careers in a huge range of professions from nursing to medical doctors and space engineering to fusion technology, with opportunities available at all levels up to a degree level.

Since 2010, over 5.7 million people have started their apprenticeship journey and the government is increasing investment in apprenticeships to £2.7 billion by 2024-25, ensuring businesses have a pipeline of talent to grow the economy.

Apprenticeships are a cornerstone of the government’s plans to provide people with an excellent route into some of the best careers and contributing to a high-skill, high-productivity economy.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan, said:

The teacher degree apprenticeship will open up the profession to more people, from those who want a career change to those who are looking for an earn and learn route without student debt.

It will be a game-changing opportunity for schools to nurture and retain talent from the ground up, helping apprentices to gain the knowledge and skills they need to teach future generations.

There are record numbers of teachers working in schools – up by 27,000 since 2010. To attract the brightest and the best teachers, the government is investing £196 million this academic year to get more teachers across key subjects.

The TDA will build on this by diversifying the route into teaching and ensuring schools across the country can continue to recruit the teachers they need so young people have access to the top teaching talent they need to succeed. There are almost 400,000 individual teaching assistants in state funded schools in England. The TDA will provide a new route for teaching assistants who do not have an existing degree to train to become a teacher and continue their career progression in the classroom.

By the end of 2022 almost 90 per cent of 16-17 year olds were in education or apprenticeships. The latest figures show an 11% increase in the number of young people starting their apprenticeship journey compared to the same point last year, with young people continuing to make up over half of all apprenticeship starts.

As the government prepares to introduce the new advanced british standard, which will see all young people study some form of English and maths to the age of 18, it will be more important than ever for schools to attract and retain teachers in these vital subjects.

To support schools to offer the new apprenticeship, the government will launch a pilot scheme working with a small number of schools and teacher training providers to fund up to 150 apprentices to work in secondary schools to teach maths. Training providers will bid to partake in the pilot and trainees will be recruited from this autumn and start their training the following year.

Degree level apprenticeships have grown in popularity in recent years with a wide range of opportunities already available including construction, accounting and law.

The Department for Education and the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) are working with an employer-led trailblazer group to develop the teacher degree apprenticeship to ensure it is high quality and meets the needs of schools.

The South Farnham Educational Trust, the chairs of the trailblazer group, said:

The TDA presents an ideal opportunity for talented professionals without a degree to pursue their dream of teaching.

The opportunity to gain QTS and a degree through the new TDA would enable our Trust to invest in talented individuals early in their career and grow them into outstanding teachers of the future.

The TDA allows individuals to earn a salary while completing their teacher training, supporting those who may not have the financial means to pursue a traditional university-based teacher training programme.

The Stoke and Staffordshire Teacher Education Collective, together with Staffordshire University, said:

This new route to qualification will offer a potentially powerful combination of reflective and on the job learning within and for our local communities.

It will enable us to widen opportunities for people committed to the transformative role that education plays in society.

Jennifer Coupland, chief executive of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE), said:

Having this alternative quality route into teaching should make a big difference with encouraging people from wider backgrounds into the profession, helping with social mobility and making sure schools get all the talented teachers they need.

I think it’s also really important that this will provide extra support for brilliant teaching assistants and other people working in schools, who want to be teachers, to make that next step.

The teacher degree apprenticeship is a four-year training programme and will be available for people to train as primary or secondary teachers. It will build on the postgraduate teaching apprenticeship (PGTA) by offering a work-based route to attaining degree and qualified teacher status (QTS).

The teacher degree apprenticeship grant funding pilot will be a one-cohort pilot and evidence will be used to inform the future of the programme. Providers and employing schools will be able to develop and run teacher degree apprenticeship courses without additional funding within the same timeframes as the pilot.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 2 February 2024.

Brand new recruitment campaign for early years workers launches today across TV, cinema, online, radio and out of home advertising.

A major new national recruitment campaign has been launched by the Department for Education today (2 February 2024) alongside a trial of £1,000 cash sign-on bonuses, to give nurseries and early years providers the workers they need and offer more childcare places for parents.

The recruitment drive comes as the latest data shows that 102,480 children have been registered on the system, reflecting the strength of demand across the country before the first phase of the largest ever expansion in free childcare kicks in from April.

The rollout is set to save working parents using the full 30-hour entitlements up to £6,500 a year, doubling down on this government’s commitment to deliver a brighter future for Britain and improve economic security and opportunity for everyone.

Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan said:

Parents shouldn’t have to choose between a career and a family and our expanded childcare offer is going to make sure of that.

From April, hundreds of thousands of parents of 2 year olds will get 15 funded hours. This is good for families and good for the wider economy – ultimately putting more money in parents’ pockets at the end of the month.

The fantastic nurseries, childminders and professionals across the childcare sector are central to the success of this rollout and our new recruitment campaign will support them in continuing to deliver the flexible and high-quality childcare parents need.

The “Do Something Big” recruitment campaign is to encourage people to start a career working with small children – one part of this government’s ongoing sector support to ensure providers are in the best position to deliver the places parents need from April and September this year and next.

The campaign will look to boost recruitment across the sector by highlighting the vast array of childcare career routes and progression opportunities offering on-the-job training, flexible hours, and, most importantly, the chance to shape and support young lives.

A £1,000 sign-on bonus for childcare workers is also being launched today to increase capacity, tackle unemployment, and offer more childcare places.

The trial – which will cover 20 local authorities across the UK – will give new-starters and returners a tax-free cash payment shortly after they take up post.

Supporting with the cost of childcare and delivering a sustainable childcare sector is just one part of wider government efforts to grow the economy and reduce debt, with inflation falling from 11.1% to 4% and National Insurance by 2% in the last year alone.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Laura Trott said:

Due to the difficult decision this government has taken, and by sticking to our plan, inflation has fallen and the economy is beginning to turn a corner. But the cost of childcare remains a major barrier for parents who want to work.

That’s why we are delivering the biggest investment ever in childcare in England, which will save a working parent using 30 hours a week an average of £6,500. This recruitment campaign will ensure the sector is ready to deliver.

This comes as new research finds half (51%) of Brits would consider working with pre-school children, and 2 in 5 (39%) agreed they would be more likely to do so if given £1,000 cash after joining.

The survey highlighted just how influential early years professionals are in a child’s development, with 97% of parents agreeing an early years professional had an impact on their child’s development, and two thirds (66%) agreeing they are one of the most important people in their child’s life.

Rebecca Mabey, Development Lead at a non-profit in Essex, has received her code from the Childcare Service and will be taking up 30 government-funded hours a week for her 3-year-old boy from April:

I work 4 days a week, and the cost of nursery fees means my partner and I have only been able to afford a limited time there, often relying on immediate family for childcare support over the last few years.

The new hours will mean we can increase the time our little boy spends learning and socialising at nursery, give us more flexibility at work and take some of the pressure off our family who have helped so much already.

Our second child is due in June, so the next stage of rollout will be a huge help when baby number 2 comes along!

Liam Erens, who works at a nursery in London as part of the London Early Years Foundation (LEYF), nearly let misconceptions about working in early years stop him pursuing a career he now loves. Liam joined LEYF 2 years ago as part of an all-male cohort of apprentices, and now works full-time as a qualified practitioner. He urges anyone considering a career in the sector to pursue it:

I’ve always had an interest in childcare but I was concerned about how people may judge me […] At first, my friends commented on how I was “just” looking after children but there is so much more to the role than that.

We are keeping children safe, nurturing them, scaffolding their learning and building the foundations for their life. An inclusive ethos is an important part of this.

The government has also today taken steps to provide greater funding certainty to nurseries and childcare providers. Each year, the government sets out funding rates in the autumn, to take effect in the following financial year. A window – likely to be 8 weeks – will be introduced, within which local authorities have to confirm rates, after the point the department announces local authority rates. We will work with the sector in the coming weeks to finalise the approach.

The government has also made clear to all local authorities that they should confirm local funding rates that come into force from 1 April no later than the end of February.

Clare Roberts, Kids Planet CEO said:

Many parents already recognise how amazing early years and childcare professionals are, but it’s time that everyone else does too, and that the sector is given the recognition and importance it deserves in the valuable job it does to shape future generations.

To deliver the government’s expansion of childcare and for it to be successful, we need to see significant growth across the sector, and what better way than to spotlight the incredible people already supporting and shaping our children.

I welcome the launch of this campaign and would urge anyone interested in pursuing a career in childcare to take that first step and start exploring the opportunities available.

Minister for Employment, Jo Churchill said:

Our Back to Work Plan is extending help for over a million people to find, stay and succeed in work. We know just how essential accessible childcare is for working parents, which is why we’ve increased the amount parents on Universal Credit are able to claim from £1,108 to £1,630 a month for 2 or more children.

The government’s expanded childcare offer also presents new opportunities in the sector, and we know how a career in childcare can be incredibly rewarding. Our Jobcentre teams stand ready to support those interested in early years work.

With the expansion of free childcare, parents across the country – including those on Universal Credit – can return to work, extend their hours or look for new opportunities confident that their children are well taken care of.

In October last year, the government allocated local authorities their share of £289 million to support the expansion of wraparound childcare, so that every parent of a primary school-aged child could access childcare from 8am to 6pm by September 2026.

Today, 4 areas have confirmed they will be rolling out expanded wraparound provision from April 2024 – 5 months ahead of the national programme launch in September. Central Bedfordshire, the bi-borough of Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire will begin expanding provision – increasing access to flexible childcare for local working parents as part of a test and learn phase to strengthen the delivery of national rollout.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 30 January 2024.

The Department for Education has today (30 January) announced a new framework which will help ensure high quality teaching and improve pupil outcomes.

The new initial teacher training and early career framework (ITTECF) combines and updates the initial teacher training core content framework (CCF) and the early career framework (ECF). It will ensure that all new teachers receive three or more years of training underpinned by the best available evidence.

The frameworks were designed to help trainee and early career teachers succeed at the start of their teaching careers and combining them will mean teachers will get a more joined up development journey beyond initial training into the early years of their career.

Schools Minister Damian Hinds said:

Great teaching is key to securing academic success and improving pupil outcomes, which is why it is so important we continue to support teachers with high-quality, evidence-based training.

Today, we have announced a new combined framework to provide trainee and early career teachers with the knowledge and skills they need in those crucial first years in the classroom.

It’s thanks to the hard work of teachers and leaders that education standards have risen significantly since 2010. That is why we will continue to invest in competitive pay and high-quality training, improving teacher wellbeing and easing workload pressures.

Working with experts across the education sector, the framework has been updated to ensure it’s based on the latest evidence, including new and updated content on how teachers should support pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), high quality oral language, and early cognitive development and children’s mental health.

Later this year, the Department for Education will be procuring updated training programmes for early career teachers (ECTs) based on this new framework. They will be designed after an evaluation of the national ECF reforms since September 2021.

The updated programmes, to be rolled out from September 2025, will be better designed to take ECTs’ learning from initial teacher training into account, provide more tailoring based on their level of development, subject and context, and streamline the training and support for mentors so they can better focus on supporting their ECTs.

The framework is a central part of the government’s teacher recruitment and retention strategy and is supported by the £130 million invested annually into the ECF.

The reforms to support trainees and ECTs builds on the government’s action to boost teacher recruitment, with £196 million invested this academic year to fund scholarships, bursaries and salary grants to help thousands of candidates through their initial teacher training.

Margaret Mulholland, ASCL SEN & Inclusion Policy Specialist said:

We must equip new teachers with the confidence and competence to know they can support every child. Whilst there are no ‘quick fixes’ for teachers or children, an Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework that gives more specific focus to developing the knowledge and skills to support pupils that need the most help is welcomed.

Professor Becky Francis, CEO of the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), said:

Like all great professions, teaching deserves to be built upon a core body of knowledge and skills that describe best practice and are drawn from robust research. By setting out what trainee and early career teachers should be entitled to know and do, today’s updated framework is an important step to realising this.

By independently assessing and endorsing the framework, we’ve made sure the claims it makes accurately reflect the evidence from which they were drawn. Our hope is that providers will be able to translate the framework into practically relevant programmes, balancing the need to cover core content alongside the holistic needs of their participants.

Last year, the government delivered on the manifesto commitment to give every new teacher a starting salary of at least £30,000 – alongside the highest pay award for teachers in over 30 years.

In strengthening the focus on helping teachers to support children and young people with SEND, we are building on wider government reform through the SEND and AP improvement plan, which outlines plans to reform the system, ensuring every child has access to a high-quality, fulfilling education.

The SEND system is underpinned by increased investment in the high needs budget, which will have risen by over 60 percent since 2019 to 2020 to over £10.5 billion in 2024 to 2025.

Supporting teachers’ development will continue to improve pupils’ outcomes. With thanks to the hard work of teachers already, standards of education have risen sharply since 2010, with 89 percent of school rated good or outstanding by Ofsted, up from just 68 percent in 2010.

Also, pupils in England have risen up the international rankings for maths, placing England as one of the top performing countries in the western world.

This built on existing international success, with England coming fourth for primary reading proficiency, out of 43 countries that tested children of the same age in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study.