Tag: Lord Watson of Invergowrie

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Watson of Invergowrie on 2015-12-16.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, under the proposed definition of a coasting school in the Education and Adoption Bill, an academy cannot be found to be coasting until the fourth year after it has been established despite three years of performance data being available.

Lord Nash

An academy will be subject to the same coasting definition as a maintained school. Our proposed definition would identify a school as coasting where data shows that it is failing to fulfil its pupils’ potential over a three year period. As long as the academy has three years of validated results, which may date from before the school converted to an academy, it may be notified it is coasting before the fourth year of its operation as an academy.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Watson of Invergowrie on 2015-12-16.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect the validated results for 2016 (1) Key Stage 2 assessments, and (2) GCSE and equivalent qualifications, to be available in order to calculate whether a school will need to be notified that it is coasting.

Lord Nash

The 2016 key stage 2 results will be published in December 2016 on GOV.UK. These results will be used to identify coasting schools, in conjunction with corresponding data from 2014 and 2015.

The 2016 key stage 4 (GCSE and equivalent) results will be published in January 2017 on GOV.UK. These will also be used to identify coasting schools, in conjunction with corresponding data from 2014 and 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Watson of Invergowrie on 2015-12-16.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to publish monthly information on those academies that have transferred from one academy trust to another, together with an explanation as to why those transfers have taken place.

Lord Nash

Information on the current academy trust is in the public domain through Edubase.

The Department has no plan to publish such information on a monthly basis. The Department regularly publishes a variety of information.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Watson of Invergowrie on 2015-12-16.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will publish in their list of academies the trust identification number for each academy and that trust’s Companies House registration number.

Lord Nash

Information on current open academies and their trust name is published on Edubase online. The trust name can be used to search for the trust’s Companies House registration number on the Companies House website.

The Department has no plan to publish in its list of open academies the trust identification number for each academy and the trust’s Companies House registration number. The Department regularly publishes a variety of information.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Watson of Invergowrie on 2015-12-16.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will publish in their list of sponsors of academies the sponsor identification number for each sponsor, and the trust identification number for each academy trust that the sponsor is sponsoring.

Lord Nash

The Department has no plan to publish in its list of sponsors of academies the sponsor and trust identification number for each sponsor and trust. The Department regularly publishes a variety of information.

Information on current open academies, together with their sponsor and trust name, can be found on Edubase online.

Sponsor information is also available within the Department’s monthly list of open academies and academy projects in development, which can be found on GOV.UK.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Watson of Invergowrie on 2016-02-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they intend to take in response to the skill shortages and consequent unfilled vacancies highlighted in the UK Commission for Employment and Skills Survey 2015 published on 28 January.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

We are investing in apprenticeships to meet identified skill needs across all sectors. We are committed to reaching 3 million apprenticeship starts in England by 2020 and will ensure they deliver the skills employers and the economy need for growth. We have also announced plans for ground-breaking reforms to technical and professional education, working in direct partnership with employers to ensure the new system provides the skills most needed for the 21st century. Together with creating 5 National Colleges, supporting a new network of Institutes of Technology and rolling out more degree and higher level apprenticeships, we are helping to equip people with the higher and technical level skills that are in demand.

Our aim is for all local areas to take a leading role in skills provision to ensure it is responsive to local economic priorities and devolution deals with areas around the country are a big step towards this ambition so that they can secure the training and skills that local employers need.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Watson of Invergowrie on 2016-02-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of those who started with Teach First in August 2013 were still teaching in state-funded schools in England in September 2015.

Lord Nash

The Teach First programme aims to raise levels of pupil attainment in challenging schools. Since it was founded, Teach First has trained over 5,000 teachers in England, with a further 1,622 starting training in 2015, covering every region of the country.

Figures supplied to the Department by Teach First show that 1,206 trainees started the two-year leadership development programme in schools in September 2013. Of those, 544^[1] are known to be still teaching in state-funded schools in England in September 2015.

Additionally, the Teach First programme has acted as a positive springboard for participants to continue their commitment to the education sector; a number of trainees from this cohort have remained in the education industry in wider roles including outside the classroom, in charities and overseas. Data provided by Teach First in December 2015 shows that 69%^[1] of the participants who had completed the two-year programme are known to be in teaching or in these wider educational roles.

[1] Only participants that choose to become Ambassadors for Teach First are tracked in relation to future employment. A total of 1,041 participants completed the two year programme; of these 981 chose to become Ambassadors for Teach First, and by doing so, were tracked in relation to future employment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Watson of Invergowrie on 2016-02-04.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many academies and free schools have a clause in their funding agreement requiring the teaching of sex and relationship education.

Lord Nash

All academies and free schools are required through their funding agreement to teach a broad and balanced curriculum and to have regard to the statutory guidance issued under the Education Act 1996, as if the academy were a maintained school. The Secretary of State’s statutory guidance (2000) makes clear that sex and relationship education is essential for children’s development and preparation for responsible adult life – and that it should be taught appropriately to children’s age and maturity.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Watson of Invergowrie on 2016-04-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the BBC’s proposal to provide every child in Year 7 with the micro:bit codeable computer.

Lord Nash

The Government welcomes this initiative from the BBC that will provide every child in year 7 with a free micro:bit codeable computer.

The national curriculum in computing, which was introduced in 2014, includes coding at all key stages. At primary school pupils are taught about algorithms and how to design and write codes to accomplish specific goals, using sequencing, selection and repetition. This is extended at secondary school where pupils are taught to use at least two coding languages to solve a variety of computational problems.

We want every student to have the opportunity actively to create new technology products. Our reformed programme of study for computing in the national curriculum emphasises the academic discipline of computer science. Through studying topics such as computational logic, algorithms and data representation, pupils are obtaining insight into how the digital technologies that they use every day work and understand how these technology products result from rational design processes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Watson of Invergowrie on 2016-04-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many Studio Schools currently exist in the UK; how many of those schools are standalone; and how many of those schools have closed.

Lord Nash

40 studio schools are currently open. Of these nine are standalone academies.

Seven studio schools have closed since 2013, of which three were standalone and the remainder were in multi-academy trusts.