Live Education Questions House of Commons

Houses of Parliament at 11pm

tonight. First it's questions to the

Education Secretary Justine

Greening.

Number two Mr Speaker.

Thank you very much Mr Speaker, good

afternoon. The national fostering

stocktake is currently under way and

will report to ministers with

recommendations about I the earned

of the year. It is exploring a wide

range of issues, including

recruitment and retention of foster

carers, giving a better

understanding of the current

situation. The House should be aware

we have invested £900,000 supported

local authorities to find new ways

to recruit and train foster carers.

Mr Speaker, I've had the prif

Lenning of meeting some of our

Nottingham foster carers and I know

what an amazing job they do, often

for very little monetary reward.

Local authority children services

departments are under immense

pressure. We have record numbers of

young people in care and yet, some

have been forced to cut specialist

support staff. Potential foster

families are under pressure,

including from Government policies

such as the bedroom tax. I welcome

the national stocktake, but it's

long overdue. What steps is the

Government going to take to address

the urgent need to recruit

additional foster parents?

I would

certainly echo everything the

honourable lady said in terms of the

value of foster carers. Indeed 74%

have looked after children -- of

looked after children are in foster

care. The stocktake will give

minister information on which to

base future policy. I met foster

carers last week and heard the

problems they face and the support

we can give them.

Does the minister

agree with me with the care system

under increasing pressure that there

is now a need to have a root and

branch, fundamental review of the

care I gnome in England in the same

way there has been in Scotland?

Certainly the stocktake is part of

this. One of the most exciting

developments as been the way that

innovation has been brought forward

in this area. We've invested £200

million in the innovation fund. I

would recommend to honourable and

right honourable members to have a

look at the no wrong door policy,

working very well in North Yorkshire

or the mocking bird contellation

which a hub to support foster carers

dealing with the more difficult

children.

What steps is the minister

taken to address the 61% decline in

total apprenticeship starts from May

to July 2017?

THE SPEAKER:

In relation to foster

carers, I assume? Well, I think it

will have to be, well done.

The

great thing about being a foster

career is you don't need to carry

out an apprenticeship. I would

encourage thinking about applying to

do. So there is a surplus of

fostering places, one of the

problems we face is having foster

carers with the right type of home,

for example, large sibling groups

are hard to place, as indeed some

parts of the country we have lack of

sufficiency.

I would like to pay

tribute to the amazing work that

foster carers do for our looked

after children nationally in. My

experience, foster placements can be

challenging for the carers and also

the children depending on their

need. Can the minister outline what

extra training can be provided to

improve the quality of these

placements and the decision making?

Well, good local authorities do give

their foster carers the support they

need. I've mentioned the innovation

funding that has helped them do that

more effectively. There's other ways

we can help foster carers, for

example, when an allegation is made

against a foster career it's treated

in a different way than to a social

worker or a teacher. That's

something I hope that the fostering

stocktake, which is being ably run,

will address.

Number three Mr

Speaker.

Thank you Mr Speaker in.

November 2013, OFQUAL published an

assessment of the potential cost and

delivery impact of the reformed

general qualifications as part of

ongoing work they're committed to

overseeing the introduction of the

new exams and evaluating their

effectiveness. We've recently

consulted on the future of primary

assessment, setting out our plans to

establish a settled and trusted

system.

The new voctional exam

framework assessment will need to

change. If you study tree surgery

you can only fell trees in the

Autumn, harvest is seasonal and

animal husbandry assessment periods

do not match the assessment

framework. Assessments should occur

at a time when appropriate. Will the

Secretary of State relax the tight

assessment period so colleges can

assess their students so their

skills can be assessed properly?

We

have to ensure that the assessment

system is robust so that students

can be sure that their hard work is

properly recognised and that

employers understand that when

qualifications are presented to

them, they do reflect the quality of

the study and the skills that they

have acquired.

I wonder what the

minister's reflection is on the fact

that in the maths higher paper for

this year's GCSE, the pass mark was

just 18 out of 100. And whether he

thinks that pupil sitting that exam

would have been given confidence or

not to go on and do maths A-level. I

can tell him as a 16-year-old

myself, I was one of -- I was the

only girl in my sixth form college

to do further marges and A-level.

Had I sat a GCSE paper that was

actually impossible not rigorous, I

would not have chosen those

subjects.

Actually, the new GCSE is

significantly more demanding

academically and that is to ensure

that there's a better fit and

preparation for students to go on to

study maths at A-level. The

comparable outcome system ensures

that roughly the same proportion of

students achieve the grades one to

nine as achieved A star to G last

year. That's why you might get a

lower mark for a C grade or a grade

four this year, but as the students

and the schools become more used to

the new curriculum, I expect that

figure will rise in future years.

THE SPEAKER:

Nodding and shaking of

the Huddersfield head, but let's

hear the words out of the mouth of

the honourable gentleman.

Mr Speaker

I have tried for many years when he

was on my Select Committee to get

the minister to be more pragmatic

and lessise logical about these

things. On this day of all, the 25th

anniversary of Ofsted today, will he

talk to Ofsted about what's going

on? So many young people can't get

on with their lives and

apprenticeships because they can't

get the GCSE in English and maths.

Maths and English are key skills

that young people if they're going

to get on in life. There is a direct

correlation between the income young

people and adults will earn if they

have those GCSEs than if they do not

have them. What the rules say is

that those who they D or grade 3 on

GCSE are expected to continuing

studying them. Those with lower

grades can take stepping stone

qualifications in English and maths

at further education college and

that is the best preparation for a

long-term and successful career.

Number four, Sir.

Thank you, Mr

Speaker. With your permission I'll

answer question four and 19

together, if I may? Apprenticeship

starts for women have gone up from

52% to 53%, people from ethnic

backgrounds up from 11. 2 to 10. 4

to 11. 2 and for those with learn

disabilities or difficulties they're

up from 9. 9 to 10. 3. There's a

great deal of work going on to make

sure we broaden participation in the

apprenticeship, diversity champions

network and the career and

enterprise company both are doing

excellent jobs. Coy go on but I

won't try your patience, Mr Speaker.

I'm glad she agrees people with

learning disabilities can make a

valuable contribution to the work

place, she's already mentioned the

numbers, would she like to tell us

what the Government is doing to

increase the chances for those with

learning difficulties and

disabilities to access those

apprenticeships?

Yes, indeed I will.

I know my honourable friend has got

a particular interest in this. We

have said we will implement the

taskforce recommendations in full

and that includes introducing

flexibilities so that demrish and

maths requirements can be adjusted

for a defined group with a learning

difficulty or disabilities. We have

made British sign language

qualifications and alternative to

English functional skills for those

who have this as a first language

and of course, we're working closely

with, I'm working closely with my

colleagues in DWP and also BIZ.

I

welcomed the announcement made in

July for a new apprenticeship

procurement process for non-levy

employers. What assurances can the

minister give that the department is

now better placed to award

apprenticeship funding to those

employers who are so keen to train

our young people?

My honourable

friend is right that the procurement

that was launched in July will

ensure good geographical coverage

and high quality apprenticeship

training for SMEs. I accept the fact

this has been quite an unsettling

time. We're making £440 million

available over the period between

January 18 to April 19. And this is

an interim measure before employers

get onto the proper apprenticeship

system.

The social mobility

commission has recommended that

applications to apprenticeships be

better coordinated across

institutions and be made clearer and

more simple for applicants, so they

can see what courses are available

and what the outcomes are. A bit

like you do for applying for

university courses. Does the

Government intend to introduce such

a scheme?

We are looking at a number of ways,

as she rightly says, Mr Speaker, it

is really important to have clarity.

The long-awaited and eagerly

anticipated career strategy will set

out more but there is a lot of work

going on. We have to make sure that

apprenticeships are easy to apply

for and it is easy to see exactly

what it will give you at the end of

your apprenticeship.

The young

women's trust point to the gender

pay gap of 8% between women and men

apprentices. What is the government

doing to close that gap?

I would

miss an opportunity to remind

businesses that they've got until

April next year to report their

gender pay gaps. I'm pleased...

Including unions and government

departments. I'm pleased that

apprenticeship starts for women have

gone up but I recognise there are

issues around pay. The bottom line

is we want to make sure there is

access for all young women and

particularly older women as well,

often who are taking up

apprenticeships as a way of

returning to the workplace.

Thank

you, Mr Speaker. Ofsted said 37% of

apprentice providers are not of good

quality and that doesn't include the

1200 soft contractors. Should Ofsted

inspection contractors, or review

the extent of subcontracting to

ensure all apprenticeships Dominic

apprentices get the training they

deserve?

My honourable friend is

absolutely right. I know he did

excellent work when in his previous

role on this area. What matters to

me is that every pound spent

produces a pound's worth of good

high quality training. We are

looking at subcontracting, very

mindful to make sure that money goes

to where it is needed, producing

high-quality apprenticeships that

young people value and that

employers value.

Mr Speaker, if we

are looking to broaden

apprenticeship participation it

helps to have as many people as

possible starting them. Total

apprenticeship starts in three

months since the levy came in in the

spring are down by a disastrous six

to 1%. Why aren't ministers doing

anything to promote traineeships

which can be Game Changers people

accessing apprenticeships? With a

30% drop in traineeship starts for

19-24 -year-old this year and last

week's critical comments from the

educational Institute stomach

policies Institute, isn't it time

they did something?

Mr Speaker, it

is disappointing when the honourable

gentleman casts dismay on

apprenticeships. Winnie could talk

apprenticeships up. I would point

out to him... I would point out to

him that there was a 47% increase

between February and April 2017. We

know there has been a fall in the

starts and it was anticipated,

because we have brought in a

brand-new system. He is absolutely

right that traineeships are an

important part of this to make sure

there is a path on which young

people can travel in order to get on

them, but I would urge him, Mr

Speaker, to speak up for

apprenticeships, to speak up for

apprentices, and to do everything he

can in his power to encourage

employers to take on apprentices.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Educational

performance in primer schools

continues to improve in England with

maths scores improving from

2011-2015, science scores

significantly improving. Japan is

amongst the highest performers in

international assessments and our

primary school pupils are

outperforming their peers in

Germany.

Given that we spend more

than Germany and Japan per pupil in

England, does it show?

He is

correct, our spending is above that

of Japan and Germany and what is

clear is that spending and

investment alone is insufficient.

What you need is the right strategy,

and that's why our work on an

improved curriculum, investment in

teacher development at new schools,

not just be in council run, these

are the key thing is lifting school

standards in England.

Stephen Twigg.

Youth unemployment in Germany has

long been significantly lower than

it is here. And what lessons is the

government seeking to learn from the

German system, particularly of

technical and practical application

Amaq education?

Youth unemployment

rose by nearly 50% under the last

Labour government and one of the

best things we can do to make sure

young people have opportunities is

have a thriving economy -- technical

and practical education. A strong

education system with a strong

technical education system is

critical and that's why we are

bringing forward reforms on T

levels/.

Youth unemployment in

Germany stands at 6.1%, Japan 5.1%,

in my constituency youth

unemployment is 1.6%, down 80% since

2010. With my Right Honourable

friend join me in congratulating the

schools in my area for getting their

pupils work ready?

I'd like to pay

tribute to those schools, they are

clearly doing an excellent job

making sure children are not only

academically attaining but also

getting the skills they need to be

successful in the workplace. I have

to say, Mr Speaker, that this is not

the case in the rest of the UK when

we look standards in Wales, where

Labour I in charge, they are

falling.

A good way to improve the

educational performance of UK

schools would be for stomach to

allow for the creation of more good

school places. Could the Secretary

of State provide clarity on the 50%

cap on new Free Schools which is

holding up a number of places in the

pipeline?

She will be aware that

since 2010 we have created 735,000

new school places and we will make

announcements in relations to the

Faith cap your course. I have to say

this contrasts against the reduction

of 100,000 school places in the last

six years of the last Labour

government.

The assessment looking

at the performance of UK, German and

Japanese schools, schools in Harrow

West I have no doubt would perform

particularly well. What headteachers

in Harrow West are saying to me is

they need to see more investment in

our schools so they don't have to

cut teaching assistants, or just

replace experienced teachers with

newly qualified teachers. What steps

can the Secretary of State offer to

the House today to suggest the

Chancellor has got that point as

well?

Welcome of course, under the

new National Funding Formula we will

see all schools get a cash prize in

their budget. The challenge as much

as anything now, Mr Speaker, is to

make sure the regional disparities

that still exist in our educational

system are finally addressed.

Number

six, please, Mr Speaker. University

Church of England Academy was judged

as inadequate by Ofsted in June 2017

by the West Midlands regional

commissioner who has been working

with the University of Chester's

Academy trust to improve standards

at the school and the educational

adviser visited in July to provide

support and they have appointed a

new CEO and chair and application

for emergency strategic school

improvement funding for support from

the local outstanding secondary

school has been submitted.

Mr

Speaker, kids in my constituency

have been let down for far too long,

with the school which has

consistently failed to reach

required standards. How long until

someone steps in?

We always take

swift action when schools or

academies fail, that's been the

hallmark of this government, which

is why today there are 1.8 million

more pupils in good or outstanding

schools than there were in 2010.

I

think the minister through his last

answer has widened its somewhat,

otherwise I was going to argue there

was a rather long distance between

Ellesmere Port and the honourable

gentleman's constituency of

Cambridge but thanks to the Minister

the honourable gentleman can

expatriate.

It is an example of

schools like this which are such a

warning to schools like Cen Phillips

primer school in my constituency

which has been forced into being

Academy, although a consultation is

going on the parents are told it is

already a foregone conclusion. What

is the opposition to parental choice

by the Secretary of State?

The

academies and Free Schools

programmes are increasing parental

choice because now parents have a

real choice of provider, not just

the local authority providing

schools but up to 500 new Free

Schools have been established by

parent groups, teachers, educational

charities, and they are raising

academic standards across the board.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. On the

broadening of the question, I met my

constituents at Normanton Freestone

school which has been hit by the

shocking collapse by W Cat, the

parents were promised consultation

on the future of the school because

they are worried about the future of

SEN and whether the school would

lose its name, identity or its

uniform and instead all they have

been offered is travelling miles to

another school in another town only

for a meeting where they had to book

tickets online, or they can't go.

Would he agree that is not proper

consultation of parents, that

Normanton parents need consultation

in Normanton, at Freestone, before

the consultation ends, and what he

urged the educational secretary to

honour her commitment to meet with

me and other affected colleagues

because this is very serious?

The

Wakefield city academies trust had

taken over many schools that had

been underperforming for many years

and we are happy with that

informants and that's why we have

taken swift action and why the

schools in that trust are being

re-brokered to more successful

Academy trusts such as the tower

Hittel Academy trusts, one of the

most successful multi Academy trusts

in the country. We will not stand

still while schools underperform. We

take action, read broker academies,

or turn schools into academies that

are failing.

You were in a state of

great excitement, Philip Davies.

Thank you, Mr Speaker, further to

the Honourable Lady for Normanton,

the Minister will be aware that due

to the trust, the Wakefield trust

imposing a spending moratorium on a

school in my constituency, they

built up a surplus of £276,000 and

in recent days that has been

transferred out of the school

account without the authorisation of

the school, without the prior

consent of the school and

transferred over to the trust.

Surely the government cannot stand

aside and allow £276,000 to be taken

out of that school's budget in one

of the most deprived areas in my

constituency. Will he do something

to ensure that money is reinstated

back into the school for the benefit

of the People's?

My honourable

friend is right to raise the issue,

the primary school was put into

special members Dummett measures in

June 2015 before becoming a

sponsored academy. In 2016 23% of

pupils reached expected standards of

reading, writing and maths compared

to the national average of 53%. The

school is being re-brokered to be

supported by the highly successful

educational trust. The former trust

will not be able to retain any of

the reserves it holds at the point

of dissolution. Schools will receive

the resources and support needed

including at high cracks primary

school.

The minister told me the

written answer last week that he

would not publish the report into

Wakefield city Academy trusts

because it would be obstructed to

the process of ensuring the school

plays with a new trust. Surely any

financial issues are being disclosed

to potential new trusts, so if so,

what on earth is in the report that

is so damaging to schools that it

can't be disclosed? Or is it just,

Mr Speaker, so embarrassing to

ministers that they would rather

behind excuses?

The issue of the W

Cat trust wasn't about finances, it

was about the academic standards of

the schools in the trust and that is

why we are brokering all of the

schools in the W Cat trust to other

successful multi-Academy trusts in

the area because we are concerned

not about making party political

points but by raising academic

standards in each of those schools

serving pupils in those area.

Number

seven, please, Mr Speaker.

Mr

Speaker, I have regular contact with

sector bodies such as the UK as part

of our wider engagement with the

sector. We met in October and also

September when I gave a speech to

their annual Conference entitled

embracing accountability and value

for money in higher education.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Scotland is

losing out on the recruitment of

international students because the

UK has one of the least competitive

policies on post-study work in the

English speaking world. Direct quote

from University Scotland website, to

ensure Scottish universities can

make a stronger post-study work

offered to international students?

Mr is bigger, there is no cap on the

number of international students who

can study in Scotland or any other

part of the United Kingdom and I am

sure the honourable member will

welcome the fact there has been a

24% increase in the number of

international students coming to

study at Scottish institutions since

2009-2010 -- Mr Speaker.

Thank you,

Mr Speaker. Despite any increases in

Minister may quote, the diversity of

those students has narrowed

dramatically. But higher education

depends on being able to attract and

retain talent from across the world.

The Minister will be aware that

since 1998 Canada's provincial

nominees scheme has run successfully

allowing provinces to vary

immigration policy to suit their own

requirements. I understand his

government is anti-immigration but

Scotland is not. So could he explain

to Universities Scotland what

discussions he is having with the

Home Office regarding the

reinstatement of the post study work

visa?

The government has

commissioned the migration Advisory

Committee to provide an assessment

of the benefits of international

students to the UK economy and to

our universities. As I said to her

colleague, Scottish institutions

have seen a 24% increase in the

number of international students

coming to study at Scottish

institutions since 2009-10.

It's not just the students who are

having problems. A physicist

originally from New Mexico now

lectures in Galway. In August he

arrived in Cardiff to do a science

show. Her parking pass and entry to

the festival were considered payment

in kind and she was denied entry to

the UK. We've had similar cases

documented involving academics

attending conferences. Now

ironically Dr Fairfield is in the UK

this week to receive a prize for

scientific engagement. So what

assurances can he give to academics

like Dr Fairfield, who is in

Parliament today, that the UK

remains open for conferences and

academic events?

Mr Speaker, we want

the UK to remain the go-to place for

scientists, tech investors and

researchers in the years post

Brexit, there are many assurances to

EU researchers (inaudible) valued,

we have every expectation that is

going to continue to be the case.

I

wonder Mr Speaker, if the minister

told universities UK how they were

funding the Prime Minister's

announcement on student finance? Can

he confirm these will cost the

department £175 million in this

Spending Review period and can he

guarantee this will not be funded by

yet more cuts to the rest of the

education budget?

Thank you Mr

Speaker. I would ask the right

honourable member to wait for the

Chancellor of the Exchequer's Budget

in a few day's time. All the details

of the funding of those

announcements will be set out at

that time.

Question eight please.

Thank you very much Mr Speaker. With

permission, I will answer question

eight with question 17. The children

and families act 2014 heralded a

transformation in support for

children and young people with

special edgeindicational needs --

educational needs. The transition

period between the old and new

systems from statements to EHC plans

will end in March 2018.

Thank you.

In my area there's a chronic

shortage of special needs school

places. In Kent nearly 7% of

students with statements or EHCPs

are not educated in a school

setting, well above the national

average. Does the minister agree

with me that every child in the UK

is entitled to a school education

and will he instruct the DFE to

support local authorities who are

struggling to meet that need?

I

would absolutely agree with her.

We're on the same page on this one.

Indeed in Kent, schools are not

seeing any reduction in high needs

top up funding for pupils for whom

they are receiving funding in the

last ack emdidic -- last academic

year.

It's over three years since

his department introduced

significant changes to the special

educational needs system. Two

reports in the past month provided

damning indictment of how these

reforms are going. Significant areas

of concern in one third of areas say

Ofsted, families suffering long

delays in getting the right support

say the local government ombudsman.

Does the minister affect these

reforms are not working? And what

does he intend to do?

I have to say

that the honourable lady must have

been looking very hard indeed to

find some who doesn't welcome these

changes. The new age is 0 to 25

where appropriate and bring together

in one place assessment and details

of planned provision for a child or

young person's education, health and

social care needs. The plans are

driven by outcomes, a strong focus

on preparation for adult life. They

include a section describing the

views asked and aspirations of the

child or young person or parents.

One child in 100 is on the autistic

spectrum and 70% of those children

will go to mainstream schools. The

Government has aproud record

supporting autism. What more can be

done to encourage best practice

across the mainstream school sector?

Well, schools receive funding as

part of their funding formula up to

£6,000 for each child. If they need

no apply for addition money that

money is forth coming. Children with

particular problem including autism

are ones we are keen to ensure are

quickly identified and get the help

they need. The new scheme does that.

Extra crick lar activities include

sport ensures a well rounded

education for all our students. This

is particularly important for those

with special educational needs.

Account minister confirm what

support schools can get in providing

those extra crick lar activities?

It's absolutely true that all

children benefit from better access

to sports provision, not only from

their physical welfare but also

academically. I'm very pleased that

we've doubled the primary sport and

PE premium using the money from the

soft drinks levy. I'm a big fan of

cadet forces. We've used £50 million

from the Libor fines to fund that.

I'd like to see more state schools

having cadets in their schools.

We

all support and recognise the need

for additional funding for high

needs grant and special needs.

However, in Stoke-on-Trent we have

received £4 million under the review

of the funding formula. The

Stoke-on-Trent City Council has writ

ton the Secretary of State asking

for £3 million of that to be clawed

back to fund high needs grants

taking it away from the schools that

you've designated it for. Will the

minister and Secretary of State meet

with my friend the honourable member

for Stoke-on-Trent central as we've

both written to you asking to retain

the money for our schools who so

desperately need it?

Well, local

authorities including authorities

like Stoke-on-Trent can apply to

disapply half a per cent of their

funding and apply it in that

particular way.

Question number nine

Mr Speaker.

Thank you very much

indeed perfect Speaker. With

permission I will answer questions

nine with question 13. The early

intelligence we are gathering about

the Autumn term is very encouraging.

Over 216,000 parents have received

elability codes for this term and

over 90% have found places. The

independent evacuation of the early

delivery areas found a quarter of

mothers and one in ten fathers had

increased their working hours.

Providers are willing and able to

deliver the offer to working

parents.

I welcome that reply. The

minister may have seen the campaign

online called champagne tarka.

Providers are struggling to provide

the 30 hours of child care that the

Government says it should. There's a

woman in my constituency rated

outstanding as a child minder as she

has faced a 32% cut in her hourly

rate from 6. 05 an hour to 4. .

£4.10 despite claims that no

provider will be more tan 10% worse

off. What discussions has the

minister had to ensure this policy

is adequately funded for the Budget?

And if there haven't been

discussions where would there be?

THE SPEAKER:

I was going to advise

you to have an adjournment matter

but then realised we'd just had.

We

increased the funding to 4. 94 from

4. £4.56. I have met with a number

of nurseries who seem to be outlying

and unable to deliver for that

price. We've asked for detailed

information why that is. Is it

because they're not working to the

ratios that others are? Is it

because they have high property

costs? We'd be keen to see that

detailed information to find out why

they are outliers and work with them

to make sure they can deliver with

the majority of the other providers

doing so within the money.

Constituents of mine who use or work

in nursery facilities on both sides

of England and Wales border report

the same capacity issue that my

honourable friend has just

mentioned. When the minister says

90% have placed. How many of that

90% have the full 30 hours?

It's

certainly up to them and indeed the

evidence that I get as I visit

nurseries up and down the country is

that many parents are taking extra

hours and paying for wrap around

hours. When I was in Wolverhampton

two weeks ago, the parents I met

there told me that they already had

the children in the nursery and

they're having trouble finding the

funding for that. In January when

their children turn three they will

get the access to 30 hours' funding.

The vast majority of parents are

accessing the full 30 hours. They

can fix and match between child

minders, nurseries or voluntary

sector providers.

Last week, I met

with Cheryl Hadland, the MD of tops

day nurseries, to discuss this 30

hours of free child care for

nurseries. Recruitment and retention

of nursery workers is the ongoing

challenge with 70% of cost staff

related, related to the minimum wage

and living wage. I applaud this

Government's commitment to the 30

hours of free child care. It's

welcomed by parents. But would the

minister just be mindful that any

increases in the living wage and the

minimum wage are taken into account

so that nurseries can deliver this

service successfully?

THE SPEAKER:

The honourable lady's

eloquence has ensured that Taunton

Dean makes wafer tree look like a

model of pitiness.

Yes, of course,

we are well aware of cross-pressures

that may fall upon nurseries and

we're keen to work with them to

address some of the business

management decisions they might need

to make to live within the funding

that we're making available. I could

point out that the mean cost of

funding as we discovered is 3.

£3.72. Our funding is 4. £4.94 which

allows for adequate funding as the

evidence has shown.

Nearly 200,000

children in Britain have already

fallen behind by the age of five.

While one Children's Centre closes

every single week. Does the minister

believe that in order to improve

life chances, funding for Sure Start

should be ring-fenced and closures

stopped?

Well, local authorities

themselves make decisions on how to

best to address the needs of

children from under privileged

backgrounds. Indeed, a lot has

changed since 2010, for example, we

have the early years pupil premium

and we have the 15 hours free child

care for those who qualify for free

school meals. It's up to local

authorities to decide how best to

deliver that. One of the issues

raised with me for my own Sure Start

centre, is many children that should

be there in the centre aren't there.

That's a role for those going out to

mentor people in their communities.

The minister's colleague, the

honourable member for Suffolk coast,

wrote to a constituent stating that

the funding of the 30-hour

entitlement is based on the premise

that 15 hours was for educational

provision and the additional 15

hours was for just general care,

without an educational focus. But

his party has always promised high

quality early education. So was his

colleague correct or not?

No, she

wasn't correct. Indeed, she'd made

that clear when I spoke to her about

it. She had misheard something that

was said to her. I'm afraid the

honourable lady is, keeping falling

into this trap of not letting the

facts get in the way of a good

story. She's lured some journalists

into that particular trap as well.

Will she finally admit this policy

is working, parents are receiving

the child care they need and it's a

successful policy.

Number Ten.

We're

reforming GCSEs and A-levels to be

more knowledge based and

academically rigorous to match the

best education systems in the world

and to keep pace with universities

and employers' demands. The reforms

are intended to ensure that these

qualifications in which

qualifications in which pupils

employers (inaudible) can have

confidence.

A teacher came to my

surgery on Saturday to say while she

was determined to provide the best

teaching of the history course for

the tougher exam, she was finding it

hard to do that when asked by the

school to cover for a colleague on

maternity leave that they didn't

feel they could replace. Is there

any help that can be given to

schools as they face the challenges

of pressure on their budgets at the

same time introducing a completely

new history course.

There is help

available. While core school funding

is protected in real terms, we

understand that schools face cost

pressures, from higher national

insurance contribution, higher

contributions to keepers' pensions

and we'll continue to work

delivering the initiatives set out

in the schools buying strategy to

help schools get the best value for

their non-staff expenditure, such as

through regional purchasing hubs. We

will support schools in managing

their staff, managing work load,

implementing flexible working and

the effective deployment of support

staff.

There is no single model for

rigorous assessment. I recently held

a series of meetings with Y12 and

Y13 students in school across my

constituency and one of the issues

that concerned them all was the move

away from coursework to closed

exams. Believing it provides an

incomplete assessment of their

abilities, discriminates those who

are unwell on the day of an exam and

is a contributory pressure for

growing mental health problems.

Would the minister agree to look at

their concerns?

Well, we did look

carefully at this issue. What was

happening with controlled assessment

is that it was consuming vast amount

of teaching time. There was a

culture of resits that was taking up

more teaching time. OFQUAL said that

the controlled assessment system is

not the most reliable way of

assessing pupils.

Number 11, Sir.

Thank you Mr Speaker. We've been

very clear with the additional 1.

£1.3 billion that we're investing in

our schools, overall funding would

be maintained in real terms per

pupil for the next two years. The

independent Institute for Fiscal

Studies has confirmed that. If

parents want to check the actual

funding for their school, they can

see it on the Department for

Education's website, which has to

comply with ONS standards, unlike

some of the websites putting

inaccurate data on

I'd like to thank my Right

Honourable friend for that answer.

Wilshere acknowledged the additional

£3.7 million secured for the schools

will ensure there are no cuts in

Shropshire and will she do more to

ensure that the websites are

confronted for the erroneous

information they are putting out

because it causing is a lot of

concern amongst parents.

It is

scaremongering. The DfE published

formula illustrations show

Shropshire schools gaining an

additional £3.7 million extra by

2019-20. Of that, 2.6 million will

be allocated in 2018-19. The

websites are fundamentally

misleading. There are claims based

on flawed calculation is, they say

money to schools is being cut when

it is going up. They say teacher

numbers are going down when they

will go up and these are contrary to

the claims made by the Leader of the

Opposition last week, because the

National Funding Formula provides

cash games for every school.

Yesterday it was revealed that in

the Times on just one day in January

there were over 50 classes of 50

pupils. The head of one of the

schools affected said it had come

about because of trying to save

money on supply teachers because of

huge budget cuts. Does the Secretary

of State agree with that headline?

It was a story based on misleading

facts. Some of the classes related

to were things like choirs where you

would have expected to have more

Georgian, or indeed some PE classes

that had been restructured. -- more

Georgian. The average class size is

0.7 pupils higher than in 2010

despite 600,000 more primary school

pupils and the average secondary

school class size in 2018 will be

around 0.3 other people higher than

what it was in 2010. In other words

these are broadly stable figures in

spite of the fact we have had many

more pupils in the system and we are

making places available for them.

Number 12, Mr Speaker.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. My department

has been working to identify the

efficiency savings which will

ultimately result in a cash boost

for schools and put £1.3 billion

directly into the hands of head

teachers. This means that across the

country funding will be maintained

in real terms per pupil over the

next two years.

I can't say that was

a terribly revealing answer, Mr

Speaker. The schools minister did

better in a recent letter where he

said that over three years they are

going to cut about £1 billion from

the Free Schools programme he was

lauding a second ago, 37% from the

schools healthy living Project. Is

that how the Secretary of State is

trying to compensate for the cuts

she has made in the core schools

programme?

I have to say I think

most parents would be staggered that

he is so against me looking across

my department to make sure that I

challenge my officials and my

departments to work as efficiently

as we are now challenging schools. I

think that's quite right. But I'm

able to do is put the fruits of that

initiative into the hands of head

teachers and provide them with more

money on the front line and making

effective savings and that's the way

to get more money out of our

education budget.

Thank you, Mr

Speaker. Can the Secretary of State

confirm that the National Audit

Office assessment, the 2.7 billion

has already been cut from the

schools budget since 2015? But that

the 1.3 billion she mentioned

earlier will only protect budgets

until 2020. After that she will

either need new money from the

Treasury, or to simply deliver

another cut to school funding.

As she should know the next Spending

Review process is yet to get under

way. School budgets alongside every

other budget across government will

be agreed as part of that. I have to

say, we had a question earlier, Mr

Speaker, that the fact that money

and results are not necessarily

correlated and I have to say that if

there is one part of our United

Kingdom where the government is

failing its children it is where

Wales where Labour is in charge and

not in England.

Number 14, Mr

Speaker.

The free school academies

programme are helping pupils from

all backgrounds to achieve their

potential, pupils in converter

academies are achieving top GCSE

results and together with pupils in

Free Schools are making more

progress on average than pupils in

other types of schools, secondary

sponsored academies have also

improved, often through difficult

circumstances with more pupils

achieving more than the GCSEs in

English and maths this year.

I thank

the Minister for his response. In my

constituents of willed and we have

the best school in East Sussex. And

is in the top 3% of the country with

77% of pupils achieving five or more

passes at GCSE. The head teacher

Anna Robinson has taken his academy

to the top of the league tables.

Wilderness to join me in

congratulating the headteacher and

students for doing a great job? Is

this another example of this

government's education policies

enabling children to reach their

full potential?

I am delighted to

join my honourable friend in

congratulating Beacon Academy on its

GCSE results this year. The

provisional 2017 figures show that

56% of students are entered for the

increasingly important EBAC at that

school and pupil's progress at the

school puts it in the top 12%

nationally on the basis of that

measure.

I have been independently

advised and can confirm myself both

questions and answers are notably

long.

Catherine West. Mr Speaker,

the member for Wealden mentioned

children of all backgrounds. What is

the funding allocation for the

academic year for counselling

services and help for transgender

children which Stonewall, the

charity, describes as being in a

seriously bad state currently?

The

government equalities office has

allocated £3 million for an anti-HBT

bullying programme and already that

programme is in 1200 schools

up-and-down the country and is very

successful.

Thank you, Mr Speaker.

As the government rightly continues

to push local authorities to make

provision for more housing, the need

for additional places at Free

Schools and academies will increase.

In my constituency this makes the

case for a new school in Borehamwood

all the more pressing. What steps is

the government is taking to

coordinate between local authorities

and the Department for Education in

planning for those new school

places?

One of the first things we

did when we came into office in 2010

was double the amount of capital on

basic need funding compared with

what Labour was spending previously.

Basic need funding for school places

is based on local authorities' own

data so we fund every place the

council say they need to create and

local authority forecasts include

key drivers of increased pupil

numbers, including rising birth

rates and housing developers.

Hertfordshire has already received

£197 million for new places between

2011-17 and allocated a further £57

million for the next three years.

Number 15, Mr Speaker. Pressing

ahead with our engagement process

with relevant groups and interested

individuals, including

parliamentarians over the coming

months and also seeking the views of

young people and parents. As just

announced Ian Balcombe, the CEO of a

trust and executive headteacher will

advise on this work, he has

considerable experience that will

help ensure schools teach a quality

curriculum and following engagement

will consult on draft regulations

and guidance before a debate and

vote on the regulations in

Parliament.

Mr Speaker, I don't

think anybody in this place would

now disagree that the last couple of

weeks have shown the power of

teaching our young people to respect

each other and to treat each other

with respect. But with 25 assaults,

sexual assaults reported in our

schools every single day, will the

Secretary of State please fast-track

the policy on what schools should do

if a report is made to them which

was promised months and months ago,

now urgently? I have a case in my

own constituency and I know of

others and it's too important to

wait.

We will be issuing interim

guidance this term but she is quite

right that if we are going to make a

longer term change in the sort of

attitude is that drive the kind of

behaviour in workplaces that is

totally unacceptable, then we have

to make a start in schools and

that's why we are now updating the

relationships and sex education

guidance for the first time since

2000. We recognise the need and we

will approach it in a responsible

way.

Topical question from Doctor

Paul Williams.

Number one, please,

Mr Speaker.

In October I had the

pleasure of being able to go back to

Rotherham to visit my former school,

now oak-wood high school and it was

inspiring to me, the students who

are there now, as I was many years

ago. I also helped to launch the new

DFE supported Institute for teaching

in Manchester, which will be helping

to drive up standards and produce

excellent teachers. And recently we

have a flexible working summit at

the DFE to ensure teaching is a

profession which has a modern

workplace to drive recruitment and

retention.

Questions and answers in

topical is from now on must be much

shorter, they have become

increasingly long over a period and

it's not helpful to the House and

two numbers. Doctor Paul Williams.

A

survey published today by the sixth

form colleges Association shows

funding cuts have caused one third

of providers to drop causes in Stem

subjects and we know colleges are

dropping vocational qualifications

also. Does the Secretary of State

agree this months Dummigan month's

budget must increase budgets for

colleges in six forms to put all

forms of 16-19 education on an equal

footing?

I am always bidding for

additional funding to come into

education across the board to

dinking technical education. He will

welcome the fact maths is the most

popular A level now.

Would the

Secretary of State join me in

celebrating the opening of Newark's

Free Schools in the first new school

in the town in a generation aiming

to reverse the poor standards of

education in Newark and a brilliant

example of Conservative Party policy

transforming the lives of young

people in my constituency?

Indeed

there are now almost 400 Free

Schools and I very much congratulate

the educational trust in opening

this school. The chair of governors

will ensure that school provides

young people in his constituency

with an excellent education.

Two

years ago the government promised

legal action on the exorbitant costs

of school uniform. When will the

Minister keep her promise?

We have

got clear guidance to schools that

school uniforms need to be

affordable. She is absolutely right

this is an important area and it is

a cost many parents worry about so I

can assure her that it is one that

is on our agenda to make further

progress on.

New housing

developments are coming on stream

very quickly in my constituency but

the necessary infrastructure

including school places must be in

place to support the growth. Can my

Right Honourable friend assure me

that the new funding formula will

help to address that and ensure that

that is the case?

Under this

formula, of course, money will

follow the child and will be flexed

in case they have additional needs.

We then work hand-in-hand with local

authorities to ensure there is the

basic need capital funding available

to make sure we keep up with school

places. As I said, 735,000 new

school places since 2010, this

government is planning ahead and

will continue to do that.

It has

been brought to my attention that

some academy trusts are increasingly

encouraging parents with children

who have challenging behaviour to

home educate them in order to avoid

exclusion, however these parents are

poorly supported in order to home

educate. Is she aware of this trend

and is she inclined to do something

about it?

I think she will welcome

the fact that when we launched the

race disparity audit results

recently, one of the key parts of

that was to announce a review into

exclusions. Would you want to make

sure they are dealt with effectively

by schools, that is the Domagala

side announcements to improve the

quality of alternative provision.

What steps are being taken to

include marriage in relationships

education?

I think this is

exceptionally important, we are

trying at the heart of this to help

young people understand how

commitment and relationships are

very much at the core of having a

balanced life that enables people to

be successful more generally. That

is why we are looking to update

guidance alongside the fact that the

world they are becoming adults in is

a much more difficult world and

there are all sorts of challenges

both in communities but critically

online as well. There are lots of

reasons for this.

Mr Speaker, I

recently met with headteachers

across Hull told me that one way to

mitigate against the real terms cuts

in school funding would be to auto

enrolled all pupils eligible for

Pupil Premium when the family

receive benefits. With the Secretary

of State please explore ways that

DWP could share data with the

Department for Education to make

this auto enrolment happen so that

schools in Hull and other deprived

areas of England and Wales received

the additional funding they so

desperately need?

I take her point

and of course, it is important that

we work with schools and parents to

make sure they are getting the

benefits they are entitled to. I can

assure her that work is under way in

relation to making sure that we

don't have children in schools

underfunded compared to what they

should be.

Minister Jacob Rees-Mogg.

Page 50 of the Conservative

manifesto said we will replace the

unfair inclusivity rules that

prevent the establishment of new

Roman Catholic schools, it didn't

promise an interminable review. When

will my Right Honourable friend

implement Conservative policy?

Thank

you. I'm not sure whether my

honourable friend responded to that

review himself. We certainly did

have a number of responses and we

are looking through them carefully

and I will update the House in due

course.

Universities were shocked when a

member of the Government wrote to

them seeking details of the

professionals teaching Brexit

related courses. Is the Secretary of

State comfortable with this

McCarnalingyite behaviour and it

not, what will she do about it?

McCarthy-ite.

This letter was sent

by an MP acting in the individual

capacity. We have etrenched this

further in law in the higher

education and research act.

Thank

you Mr Speaker, under the new

national funding formula, West

Sussex schools are set to have an

increase of 10. 7% in their funding,

however the county has been

historically one of the lowest

funded. Are there any other measures

that can be brought forward to

ensure that historical underfunded

can be righted.

As he is setting

out, the national funding formula

aims to address that inequity that's

been baked into our funding system

for many, many, many years. Of

course, alongside that, it sits

alongside the pupil premium

investment and work increasingly in

schools to make sure that they

operate in a way that maximises the

amount of educational impact that

they get for every single pound,

that means a focus on efficiency.

When I used to mark A-level

economics scripts, a key concept to

get the higher grades was knowing

the difference between a real term

increase and a cash increase. Why

does the Secretary of State

deliberately choose to set such a

bad example to our students by

deliberately muddying those two

concepts.

He might have marked those

exams, but I ended up getting a

first class comics degree at

university. -- economics degree. I

can tell him that the difference

between the cash increases that were

proposing under the national formula

is the fact that under our approach

schools will get a cash increase.

Under Labour's approach they'd have

had their cash absolutely frozen.

THE SPEAKER:

Honourable gentleman I

always had him down as an academic,

rather cerebral fellow, capable of

statesman like behaviour, from which

he seems to be departing this

afternoon. Not to be repeated I

fear.

Mr Speaker, riders house

primary school in my constituency

recently opened a new teacher

training facility. And it's in a

fantastic wood cabin, but I wondered

if my right honourable friend could

update the House on what she's doing

to promote teacher training

opportunities and encourage more

participation.

I congratulate the

school in my honourable friend's

constituency. More than half of

teachers now are trained through

school led systems. It's giving more

control to schools about the quality

of the training that their teachers

are receiving and it means they can

go out and look for graduates and

undergraduates to join their staff

in the most effective way.

The

support our sixth formers funding

impact assessment shows general

sixth form education under real

strain. Will the Secretary of State

bearing in mind that a sixth former

is funded at 4,500 per sixth former,

compared with 5,700 for 11 to

16-year-old, will the Secretary of

State take the opportunity of the

Budget to use last year's underspend

to uplift funding by £200.

We have

maintained that rate across the

course of this Spending Review and

it's probably not for me to pre-empt

what will be in the budget next

week.

Could the Secretary of State

update the house on rot gross in

introducing the T level in catering

and hospitality which is eagerly

anticipated by the tourists and

hospitality sector, essential for

providing the skilled staff they

need for the future.

T-levels long

we have the first coming online in

2021 and 22 there will be more. I

know there's a great deal of

interest in that in particular from

that sector.

Can the Secretary of

State confirm that 1. £1.5 billion

has been taken out of school budgets

since 2015 leading to a real terms

cut in per pupil funding contrary to

what the Conservatives promised in

their 2015 manifesto?

There's never

been more money flowing into our

school system. It has risen year on

year and over the next two years

alone the schools budget will rise

from £41 billion a year to over £43

billion a year.

Last Friday, I held

the Wiltshire festival of

engineering inspiring over 3,000

children and involving over 35

businesses and organisations, which

a Schools Minister kindly attended,

highlighting that Wiltshire really

is a hub of engineering. Will the

minister confirm that the new career

strategy will encourage a better

link between schools and businesses

and prioritise those sectors with

severe skills shortages?

It was a

real pleasure to join my honourable

friend at the careers, at the

engineering fair. I have to pay

tribute to her for creating such a

wonderful occasion. Thousands of

pupils from year seven, year six,

eight and nine attended that

function. They will be inspired to

take up stem careers. Now A-level

maths is a single most A-level

choice for the fourth year in a row.

The Secretary of State has made a

lot today about extra money going to

schools and classrooms. Of course,

in Stoke-on-Trent, as was alouded to

by my friend, the City Council run

by the Conservatives and

independence are trying to claw back

3 million of the £4 million

additional money. Could the

Secretary of State confirm she will

meet with us so we can work together

to make sure that money destined for

our classrooms and children actually

gets there?

We have put some clear

cut rules around to what extent

councils are able to switch money

between those key funds and indeed

there is a potential for them to be

to go beyond that, but they would

need to make an exceptional case.

The Secretary of State will be aware

that the sports academy does great

work for myself and the member for

to the necessary but are hampered by

buildings from the 40s. Will she

agree to meet and discuss this how

to deal with old build figures

I'm

sure either I or the Schools

Minister will be very happy to meet

him on that.

Thank you Mr Speaker.

50% of schools and colleges,

including Huddersfield new college

in my constituency, have dropped

modern foreign language subjects

from their subject choices, citing

fundings as a reason. May I ask what

the Secretary of State is doing to

reverse this trend?

The honourable

lady raises a very real concern.

It's why the EBAC is such an

important measure for schools.

Because of the decision by the last

Labour Government to end the

compulsion at key stage four, we had

seen a significant drop in foreign

languages, but under this Government

it has risen from 40% taking a

modern foreign language to 47%, but

we need to go further.

Thank you Mr Speaker. Contact with

nature can provide tremendous

spin-offs for school children in

terms of mental and physical health.

Could the Secretary of State give

some indication as to whether any

formal assessment has been done into

projects like the forest schools

project? And whether she might be

inclined to encourage green learning

in our schools?

Well Mr Speaker, I

do think this is important actually.

I am, as well as being an economist,

a keen gardener. I think it's

important for our children to be

learning about the environment

around them, not just why it matters

but also how to take care of it. We

will, of course, talk to her about

what we can do more.