Tag: Sharon Hodgson

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2016-07-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many secondary schools use cashless payment systems for school meals.

Mr Sam Gyimah

Cashless payment systems can have a number of advantages, including better queue management, removing issues around pursuing payment and reducing potential stigma for those claiming free school meals. However, it is for governing boards to decide the best system for collecting payment for school lunches and the department does not collect data on how many schools use such systems. The department has produced non-statutory guidance for schools on biometric systems in general, available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/268649/biometrics_advice_revised_12_12_2012.pdf

“

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2015-11-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the contribution of art subjects to ensuring people develop the skills needed for a career in the creative digital economy.

Nick Gibb

Both the arts and STEM subjects are important in developing the skills people need for the global economy, including the creative digital economy.

The national curriculum sets the expectation that pupils study the arts subjects in Key Stages 1 to 3 and the arts are one of four "entitlement areas” at Key Stage 4. Provisional figures show that since 2012, the percentage of pupils for all schools with at least one GCSE entry in an arts subject has increased from 44.4% to 48.7% in 2015.[1] We are reforming all GCSEs and A levels, including STEM and arts subjects, to make them robust and rigorous; to match the best education systems in the world; and to keep pace with universities’ and employers’ demands.

It is important that pupils are given the information and advice to choose a combination of subjects that will open doors for their future. The Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) is an employer-led, independent organisation strengthening links between schools, colleges, employers and careers and enterprise organisations, including in the digital and technological sectors, to inspire young people and prepare them for the world of work.

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/473178/EBacc_and_non-EBacc_subject_entries_and_achievement.pdf

“

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average point score for deaf A-level students was in 2015 was.

Edward Timpson

Information regarding the attainment of students with special educational needs (SEN) in England is broken down by type of SEN and published in the “Phonics screening check and key stage 1 assessment: England 2015”[1], “National curriculum assessments at key stage 2: 2015”[2] and “GCSE and equivalent results in England: 2015”[3] statistical first releases.

A wider summary of available SEN information is provided in “Special educational needs – an analysis and summary of data sources”[4]

Information on the average points score of students with a hearing impairment or the number that achieve three A* to A grades or better at A level is not held by the Department. The Department also does not hold information on the number of students with a hearing impairment who have not achieved a level 2 qualification in English by the age of 19.

Currently, there are no plans for the Department to publish A-level data split by type of special educational need or to collect additional data on the outcomes achieved by students who have a disability but not an identified special educational need, although this is reviewed every year as part of the collection process.

[1] Phonics and KS1 assessments for 2014/15: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/phonics-screening-check-and-key-stage-1-assessments-england-2015

[2] KS2 for 2014/15: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-curriculum-assessments-at-key-stage-2-2015-revised

[3] KS4 for 2014/15: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/revised-gcse-and-equivalent-results-in-england-2014-to-2015

[4] https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/472575/Special_educational_needs-_an_analysis_and_summary_of_data_sources.pdf

“

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2016-02-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January 2016 to Question 23325, how many local authorities received advice from her Department on Education, Health and Care plans that were considered to be non-compliant with statutory requirements in 2015.

Edward Timpson

Since September 2014, Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans have been regularly monitored and reviewed. This is part of the Department’s ongoing work to support and challenge local authorities’ implementation of the reforms to the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) system. The Department also gathers information about EHC plans from parents and young people, through termly surveys of Parent Carer Forums, correspondence, and regular dialogue with parents’ and young people’s groups.

Where individual EHC plans are considered not to be fully compliant, advice on how to improve them has been provided directly to the local authorities concerned by the Department’s team of SEND advisors. Thus far, our SEND advisors have noted issues around non-compliance for 29 local authorities, all of which were subsequently given advice about improving their EHC plans in order to fulfil statutory requirements

Our advisors are currently delivering a number of workshops for local authorities on how to write high quality, legally compliant EHC plans, and to share good practice. The training resources from these workshops will be published shortly.

There are a number of places where local authorities can find guidance about EHC plans. This includes the statutory SEND Code of Practice, which clearly sets out what must be included in a plan, and provides detailed guidance on the process that must be followed to produce one. There are also examples of good quality EHC plans produced by the SEND Pathfinder local authorities.

The review of EHC plans carried out in 2014 looked specifically at EHC plan templates.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many local authorities have completed the task of transferring all statements of special educational needs to Education, Health and Care Plans to date; and what assessment she has made of whether the deadline of 2017 will be met by all local authorities.

Edward Timpson

The transition period from statements to Education, Health and Care plans (EHCPs) runs until April 2018. Every local authority has published an individual Local Transition Plan setting out the timings for transfers to the new system. We are monitoring local authority progress and published figures about transition up to January 2015, returned by local authorities, in the Special Educational Needs in England Statistical First Release of May 2015[1]. We will publish the figures up to January 2016 in May 2016.

The Department does not collect information on the number of children who are home educated. Some local authorities choose to maintain registers so that parents can voluntarily register children being educated at home.

The number and proportion of school pupils who had a Statement of Special Educational Needs or an EHCP in each of the last five years is as follows:

x	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
Pupils with statements or EHCPs	224,210	226,125	229,390	232,190	236,165
Pupils on roll	8,123,865	8,178,200	8,249,810	8,331,385	8,438,145
Incidence (%)	2.8	2.8	2.8	2.8	2.8[2]

The number of permanent and fixed period exclusions received by pupils with a Statement of Special Educational Needs in each of the last five years for which data is available is as follows:

x	2009/10	2010/11	2011/12	2012/13	2013/14
Fixed period exclusions	37,140	36,740	35,640	32,210	33,190
Permanent exclusions	420	430	380	330	330[3]

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-special-educational-needs-sen

[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england-january-2015

[3] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-exclusions

“

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2016-09-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, when he plans to meet with UK automotive sector representatives to discuss that sector’s role in future trade deals.

Mark Garnier

The UK has a highly successful automotive industry. I and the government are determined to ensure that success continues.

Ministers will be seeking input on future trade deals from the UK automotive sector through regular dialogue with individual companies and the Automotive Council.

The Government will engage fully with a wide range of stakeholders over the coming weeks and months as we prepare for the negotiation with the EU and beyond.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2015-10-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 27 October 2015 to Question 13005, whether the decrease in the take-up of free school meals includes children now entitled to universal infant free school meals.

Mr Sam Gyimah

The figures provided in response to Question 13005 include all benefits-related claims for free school meals. The figures include infants for whom a claim for benefits-related free school meals has been made, but do not include other infants.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2015-11-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a computer games studies qualification within the education curriculum.

Nick Gibb

We are reforming qualifications to make them more rigorous so that they better equip students for further academic study and the world of work.

The new computing curriculum was introduced into schools in September 2014. The 2011 “Next Gen” report from leading figures in the creative industries informed the development of the new computing programmes of study. The report made a compelling case to replace the old ICT curriculum with a new curriculum that would give young people the skills to become makers rather than consumers, opening up careers in video games or other digital arts.

Students who wish to go on to further study can develop specialisms in information science before progressing to higher education or employment, including technical certificates and tech levels to develop the knowledge and skills that enable entry to employment.

We have no plans to make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a computer games studies qualification at GCSE or A level.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many deaf students had not achieved a level 2 qualification in English by the age of 19 in 2015.

Edward Timpson

Information regarding the attainment of students with special educational needs (SEN) in England is broken down by type of SEN and published in the “Phonics screening check and key stage 1 assessment: England 2015”[1], “National curriculum assessments at key stage 2: 2015”[2] and “GCSE and equivalent results in England: 2015”[3] statistical first releases.

A wider summary of available SEN information is provided in “Special educational needs – an analysis and summary of data sources”[4]

Information on the average points score of students with a hearing impairment or the number that achieve three A* to A grades or better at A level is not held by the Department. The Department also does not hold information on the number of students with a hearing impairment who have not achieved a level 2 qualification in English by the age of 19.

Currently, there are no plans for the Department to publish A-level data split by type of special educational need or to collect additional data on the outcomes achieved by students who have a disability but not an identified special educational need, although this is reviewed every year as part of the collection process.

[1] Phonics and KS1 assessments for 2014/15: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/phonics-screening-check-and-key-stage-1-assessments-england-2015

[2] KS2 for 2014/15: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-curriculum-assessments-at-key-stage-2-2015-revised

[3] KS4 for 2014/15: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/revised-gcse-and-equivalent-results-in-england-2014-to-2015

[4] https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/472575/Special_educational_needs-_an_analysis_and_summary_of_data_sources.pdf

“

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2016-02-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January 2016 to Question 23325, whether the data that her Department plans to draw on to determine whether the special educational needs and disabilities provisions of the Children and Families Act 2014 have improved outcomes for children will include data on outcomes achieved by disabled children.

Edward Timpson

Local area inspections will begin in May 2016 and will be completed over the next five years. For this financial year of 2015-16, the Department has allocated £349,087 of funding to Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission to meet the costs of developing this new type of inspection. We intend to provide Ofsted with funding to support this activity over the next five years.

The data we will draw on to determine whether the special educational needs and disabilities provisions of the Children and Families Act have improved outcomes for children with special educational needs or a disability will include data on outcomes achieved by disabled children.