Tag: Nic Dakin

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2015-10-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what (a) guidance she provides and (b) information her Department holds on the admissions arrangements for the Sevenoaks Annexe of Weald of Kent Grammar School, recently approved by her Department.

Edward Timpson

Departmental advice for academies wishing to make a change to their existing arrangements is available on GOV.UK.

The new annexe will serve the same age range as the existing site of Weald of Kent Grammar School, which is 11-19. The admission arrangements apply across the whole school. It is the responsibility of the academy trust as the admission authority to ensure that admission arrangements are compliant with The School Admissions Code.

The newly expanded school will better meet the needs of school-age people in the community that it serves, with over 41% of students at the existing site already travelling from the Sevenoaks area.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2015-11-18.

To ask the Leader of the House, what steps his Office has taken to embed the family test into its policy making.

Chris Grayling

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by the Minister for the Cabinet Office, my right hon. Friend the Member for West Suffolk (Matt Hancock) on 16 November 2015, to Question UIN 15373.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-01-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Higher Education Funding Council for England plans to permit universities and higher education providers to re-offer a place to applicants for PGCE courses in 2016-17 if applicants with offers decide to withdraw their application or choose an alternative offer.

Nick Gibb

The National College for Teaching and Leadership is responsible for the management of initial teacher training places and national teacher recruitment.

Data on allocations to universities and higher education providers for 2015/16 can be found online in table A2b: www.gov.uk/government/publications/initial-teacher-training-itt-recruitment-controls

We have introduced a new system for postgraduate ITT recruitment for the 2016/17 academic year. Full information has been published on GOV.UK: www.gov.uk/government/publications/initial-teacher-training-itt-recruitment-controls

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, on which dates the relevant (a) regional schools commissioner and (b) chief executive of the local enterprise partnership have attended steering group meetings of the area reviews of post-16 education and training in (i) Birmingham and Solihull, (ii) Greater Manchester, (iii) Sheffield City Region, (iv) Tees Valley, (v) Sussex, (vi) Solent and (vii) West Yorkshire; and if she will make a statement

Nick Boles

There are a range of ways in which Regional Schools Commissioners (RSCs) and members of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) contribute to area reviews, for instance through the Area Review Advisory Group.

All Wave 1 Area Reviews have held a number of local steering group meetings, and RSCs and LEPs are members. In terms of specific attendance, an RSC may attend in person, or may instead send a representative. The area review guidance published in September 2015 does indicate that the LEP should be a member of the local steering group, but it does not require a particular representative to attend. LEPs do not usually have chief executives.

RSC and LEP representatives have attended various steering group meetings in Birmingham and Solihull, Greater Manchester, Sheffield City Region, Tees Valley, Sussex, Solent and West Yorkshire from September 2015 to the present.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what duties are placed on regional school commissioners to consult with local authorities on school place planning.

Edward Timpson

Local authorities are responsible for ensuring there are sufficient school places in their local area.

The RSCs are responsible for approving the sponsors of new free schools and intervening in underperforming academies and free schools in their area. The RSCs consider basic need when making decisions on proposed changes to academies, and must consider any representations from local authorities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-03-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she has taken to ensure that adequate ring-fenced funding is provided to local authorities so they can successfully deliver the Government’s childcare provision targets.

Mr Sam Gyimah

We have already announced over £1bn more for the early years entitlements within the ring-fenced Dedicated Schools Grant by 2019-20, which includes £300m to uplift the funding rate to providers. The increase to the funding rate is based on robust evidence from the Review of the Cost of Childcare. We have made clear our commitment to maximise the amount of this funding which reaches front line childcare providers, and will consult on proposals for achieving this as part of our consultation on early years funding reform later this year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what evidence her Department holds on the relationship between the A-level grades achieved by prospective teachers and their later performance in the classroom.

Nick Gibb

Evidence, including a seminal McKinsey study from 2007 (How the world’s best-performing schools come out on top), shows that teacher quality and impact cannot be predicted by a single factor such as A-Level grades, but result from a complex combination of factors including academic achievement combined with characteristics and attributes such as communication skills, willingness to learn and motivation to teach.

The Teachers’ Standards, developed by a group of leading teachers and heads, clearly define the core elements of effective teaching – including strong subject knowledge and the promotion of scholarship, as well as skills such as classroom management. All new teachers must demonstrate that they are meeting the standards at the end of their initial training.

It is important that providers of initial teacher training are able to select and recruit candidates on the basis of their potential and their academic achievement to date; this is why we are giving schools much greater say in recruiting and training candidates who can be successful in the classroom. This year, over half of all postgraduate trainees are coming through school-led routes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-05-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to ensure that proposed Ofsted local area inspections include a requirement that Local Offers should contain clear information about local play opportunities and entitlements.

Edward Timpson

The Children and Families Act 2014 requires local authorities to develop and publish a Local Offer setting out the support they expect to be available for children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities in their local area. The Local Offer must include information about leisure activities which may include information about play opportunities.

The Ofsted and Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspections will consider how effectively the local area identifies, meets the needs of and improves the outcomes of the wide range of different groups^[1] of children and young people who have special educational needs or disabilities as defined in the Act and described in the Code of Practice.

Ofsted and CQC will draw on a range of sources, including the local offer, to identify key lines of enquiry and to support assessment of the effectiveness of the local area.

Ofsted and CQC will publish an inspection report that will outline the evidence that inspectors reviewed and provide a summary of key findings including the local area’s strengths and areas requiring further development.

The inspection framework and handbook are available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-area-send-inspection-framework

[1] These groups of children and young people are detailed in Part 2 of the ‘Handbook for the inspection of local areas’ effectiveness in identifying and meeting the needs of children and young people who have special educational needs and/or disabilities’.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-05-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she still plans to introduce compulsory resit tests in (a) English reading and (b) mathematics for year 7 pupils who do not reach the required standard at the end of key stage 2.

Nick Gibb

The Secretary of State has already announced the Government’s plans to introduce resits in Year 7. This announcement can found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/nicky-morgan-no-tolerance-of-areas-where-majority-of-pupils-fail.

We have been clear that the resits will not be implemented in the next academic year and that we will engage with the education sector to make sure the tests are introduced in a way that works for schools. Further information will be provided in due course.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-09-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the report of the Decision Support Unit commissioned by NICE, Assessing technologies that are not cost-effective at zero price, published in July 2014, what progress has been made on the appraisal of combination medicines; and how policy for dealing with such medicines has changed as a result of that report.

Nicola Blackwood

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has advised that it is actively exploring with colleagues in the pharmaceutical industry what policy responses could be developed to deal with the issues that have been raised.