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It’s expected that the government will publish its response by the end of April 2022

It’s expected that the government will publish its response by the end of April 2022 

It’s expected that the government will publish its response by the end of April 2022 

It’s expected that the government will publish its response by the end of April 2022

It’s expected that the government will publish its response by the end of April 2022  

It’s expected that the government will publish its response by the end of April 2022 

It’s expected that the government will publish its response by the end of April 2022  

Tabled on: 24 May 2021  

Answer:

Baroness Berridge

All schools must offer a balanced and broadly based curriculum, which promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at the school and of society, and prepares pupils at the school for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life.

In November 2018, the department published Respectful School Communities, a self-review and signposting tool to support schools to develop a whole-school approach which promotes respect and discipline: https://educateagainsthate.com/school-leaders/?filter=guidance-and-training-school-leaders(opens in a new tab). This can combat bullying, harassment and prejudice of any kind. It will help schools to identify the various elements that make up a whole school approach, consider gaps in their current practice, and get further support.

Citizenship education also plays an essential role in developing knowledge and understanding about the world today through teaching politics, democracy, power, the law, human rights, justice and the economy, as well as the changing nature of communities, identities, diversity in the UK and the UK’s relations with the wider world.

From September 2020, relationships education became compulsory for all primary school pupils, relationships and sex education compulsory for all secondary school pupils, and health education compulsory for pupils in all state-funded schools: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education(opens in a new tab). These subjects are designed to give pupils the knowledge they need to lead happy, safe and healthy lives and to foster respect for other people and for difference.

The teaching workforce has become steadily more racially and ethnically diverse over the last decade, which is the period for which we have comparable data, although we know there is further to go to attract and retain diverse teachers who are representative of the communities they serve: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england(opens in a new tab). Our recruitment campaigns are targeted at audiences of students/recent graduates and potential career changers of all ethnicities and characteristics.

Finally, it is important all children and young people are treated fairly and there is no place for discrimination in our education system. The Equality Act 2010 ensures that schools cannot unlawfully discriminate against pupils or staff because of their sex, race, age, sexual orientation, disability, religion or belief. The department has published guidance on the Equality Act 2010 for schools, which includes advice on how they can meet their duties under the act: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/315587/Equality_Act_Advice_Final.pdf(opens in a new tab).

Tabled on: 14 May 2021 

Answer:  

Nick Gibb:

The Department is committed to an inclusive education system which recognises and embraces diversity and supports all pupils to tackle racism and have the knowledge and tools to do so. As part of the statutory curriculum, pupils should be taught about different societies and how different groups have contributed to the development of Britain.

The Government is currently considering the recommendations in the report by the Commission for Race and Ethnic Disparities (CRED), including on curriculum resources, and assessing the next steps for future policy. In recognition of the extensive scope of recommendations, my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, has established a new Inter Ministerial Group to review recommendations. The group will be chaired by my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

The report recommendation is for curriculum resources and is not a change in the statutory curriculum. In particular, the report calls for resources that complement and enhance the content and quality of lessons taught in all schools, so that all children can are taught about the UK and the evolution of our society.

As the report highlights, there is a wide range of high quality teaching resources on black history or other culturally diverse curriculum content throughout the curriculum, including those produced by education publishers, voluntary organisations and subject associations, and remote education resources from the Oak National Academy.

The Government will publish its response to CRED later this year.

The answer was submitted on 24 May 2021 at 15:54.

Tabled on: 14 May 2021

This question was grouped with the following question(s) for answer:

1. To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the proportion of the Education Recovery Package fund that will be allocated to supporting the needs of Black and Asian children and students. (1271). Tabled on: 14 May 2021

Answer:  

Nick Gibb: 

The Government is focused on raising education standards for all pupils, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds. The Department does not design education policy to exclusively target certain groups of pupils based on ethnicity.

The Department recognises that the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak has been felt most heavily by disadvantaged children and young people.

In June 2020, the Department announced a £1 billion catch up package, which includes £350 million for the National Tutoring Programme to increase the availability of high quality tuition for the most disadvantaged children and young people, helping to accelerate their education and tackle the attainment gap.

In February 2021, the Department committed to funding of £700 million for summer schools, expansion of our tutoring programmes and a Recovery Premium for the next academic year. The £302 million Recovery Premium for state funded primary and secondary schools, builds on the Pupil Premium, to further support pupils who need it most.

The Department is also considering the education recommendations from the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities.

The answer was submitted on 24 May 2021 at 15:17.

Tabled on: 14 May 2021 

This question was grouped with the following question(s) for answer:

1. To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department is planning to take specific steps to support the educational experiences and outcomes of Caribbean heritage students, other than the measures that his Department is taking to support disadvantaged pupils generally; and if he will make a statement. (1272). Tabled on: 14 May 2021 

Answer:  

Nick Gibb: 

The Government is focused on raising education standards for all pupils, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds. The Department does not design education policy to exclusively target certain groups of pupils based on ethnicity.

The Department recognises that the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak has been felt most heavily by disadvantaged children and young people.

In June 2020, the Department announced a £1 billion catch up package, which includes £350 million for the National Tutoring Programme to increase the availability of high quality tuition for the most disadvantaged children and young people, helping to accelerate their education and tackle the attainment gap.

In February 2021, the Department committed to funding of £700 million for summer schools, expansion of our tutoring programmes and a Recovery Premium for the next academic year. The £302 million Recovery Premium for state funded primary and secondary schools, builds on the Pupil Premium, to further support pupils who need it most.

The Department is also considering the education recommendations from the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities.

The answer was submitted on 24 May 2021 at 15:17.

Tabled on: 14 May 2021

This question was grouped with the following question(s) for answer:

1. To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he is taking steps to (a) support, (b) retain and (c) support the promotion of Black and Asian teachers. (1268). Tabled on: 14 May 2021
   

Answer:  

Nick Gibb:  

Apply for Teacher Training is a new application service for initial teacher training (ITT). To support recruitment, Apply has been designed to be as simple and user friendly as possible and it has been extensively tested with a diverse range of potential applicants. Currently, Apply is in public beta, running alongside the existing application service for teacher training. As we roll the service out further, we will continue to develop and test interventions to support people from diverse backgrounds to become teachers.

The Department’s ‘Teaching – Every Lesson Shapes A Life’ recruitment campaign is targeted at audiences of students/recent graduates and potential career changers of all races and backgrounds, and we take every effort to ensure that our advertising is fully reflective of this across the full range of marketing materials we use.

Alongside a focus on recruitment, it is important we retain people from diverse backgrounds. From September 2021, all new trainee teachers will be entitled to at least three years of evidence-based professional development and support. This starts with ITT, based on the new ITT Core Content Framework, which sets out a core minimum entitlement for all trainees, describing the fundamental knowledge and skills that ITT providers must draw upon when designing and delivering their programmes.

Following on from their training, all new teachers will be entitled to two years of funded high quality professional development, including the support of a dedicated mentor, through the Early Career Framework reforms. Schools will receive additional funding so new teachers can spend time away from the classroom for this extra training and mentoring. Together, these reforms will ensure that all new teachers will develop the expertise and confidence they need to thrive in the classroom.

Our new suite of National Professional Qualifications, available from September 2021, will make sure that we continue to develop our best teaching and leadership talent, whatever their background.

The answer was submitted on 24 May 2021 at 15:30.

Tabled on: 14 May 2021 

This question was grouped with the following question(s) for answer:

1. To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to take specific steps to increase the recruitment of Black and Asian teachers. (1267). Tabled on: 14 May 2021 

Answer:
Nick Gibb:     

Apply for Teacher Training is a new application service for initial teacher training (ITT). To support recruitment, Apply has been designed to be as simple and user friendly as possible and it has been extensively tested with a diverse range of potential applicants. Currently, Apply is in public beta, running alongside the existing application service for teacher training. As we roll the service out further, we will continue to develop and test interventions to support people from diverse backgrounds to become teachers.

The Department’s ‘Teaching – Every Lesson Shapes A Life’ recruitment campaign is targeted at audiences of students/recent graduates and potential career changers of all races and backgrounds, and we take every effort to ensure that our advertising is fully reflective of this across the full range of marketing materials we use.

Alongside a focus on recruitment, it is important we retain people from diverse backgrounds. From September 2021, all new trainee teachers will be entitled to at least three years of evidence-based professional development and support. This starts with ITT, based on the new ITT Core Content Framework, which sets out a core minimum entitlement for all trainees, describing the fundamental knowledge and skills that ITT providers must draw upon when designing and delivering their programmes.

Following on from their training, all new teachers will be entitled to two years of funded high quality professional development, including the support of a dedicated mentor, through the Early Career Framework reforms. Schools will receive additional funding so new teachers can spend time away from the classroom for this extra training and mentoring. Together, these reforms will ensure that all new teachers will develop the expertise and confidence they need to thrive in the classroom.

Our new suite of National Professional Qualifications, available from September 2021, will make sure that we continue to develop our best teaching and leadership talent, whatever their background.

The answer was submitted on 24 May 2021 at 15:30.

Tabled on: 16 April 2021 

Answer:  

Nick Gibb:   

The Government is taking steps to close the educational attainment gap and improve the education of disadvantaged children and young people of all ethnic backgrounds. The Department recognises that the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak has been felt most heavily by disadvantaged children and young people, and so it is important that we target support towards these children.

On 24 February, the Department announced a £700 million Education Recovery package, building on the £1 billion provided in 2020. As well as a range of measures to support all pupils to recover lost education, the package includes significant funding aimed at addressing the needs of disadvantaged pupils. This includes a one off £302 million Recovery Premium for the next academic year that will be allocated to schools based on disadvantage funding eligibility. Schools with more disadvantaged pupils will therefore receive larger allocations. Within this package is a £22 million accelerator fund to scale up evidence based approaches that support children and young people in disadvantaged areas.

In June 2020, as part of the £1 billion COVID-19 catch up package, the Department announced £350 million to fund the National Tutoring Programme for disadvantaged students in the 2020/21 and 2021/22 academic year. The programme will provide additional, targeted support for those children and young people who have been hardest hit from disruption to their education as a result of school closures. Teachers and school leaders should exercise professional judgement when identifying which pupils would benefit most from this additional support.

There is extensive evidence that tutoring is one of the most effective ways to accelerate pupil progress, and the Department wants to extend this opportunity to disadvantaged and vulnerable learners. We are funding small group tuition for 16 to 19 year olds and early language skills in Reception classes. The Department is also providing over £400 million to support access to remote education and online social care services. To date, over 1.29 million laptops and tablets have been delivered to schools, trusts, local authorities and further education providers.

£200 million will be made available to secondary schools to deliver face to face summer schools. Funding is allocated on the basis of schools’ existing year 7 pupils, but there is flexibility for schools to draw in other pupils should they identify a need. Schools will identify the pupils most in need of support and will be able to target provision based on pupils’ needs.

The ongoing provision of pupil premium funding, which is worth £2.5 billion this financial year, aims to close the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers. It allows school leaders to tailor the support they provide, based on the needs of their disadvantaged pupils, with the aim of accelerating their progress and improving their educational attainment.

The answer was submitted on 27 Apr 2021 at 16:09.

Tabled on: 16 April 2021 

Answer:  

Nick Gibb:    

The Department is confident that the system of teacher assessed grades, underpinned by clear guidance published by the Joint Council for Qualifications, will ensure the grades students receive are as fair and consistent as possible. In addition to this guidance, exam boards have provided grade descriptors and exemplar materials to support teachers. The grade descriptors and materials exemplify the established performance standard that is maintained each year by awarding organisations. To ensure that there is a common basis to all teacher assessed grades, teachers are being asked to apply the performance standards described in the grade descriptors to the evidence of students’ work this year.

Students should have confidence in their grades this year and it is vital that teachers are supported to avoid any unconscious bias. Awarding organisations will provide assessment materials, guidance, and training to support centres to make fair, consistent, and evidence-based decisions which are without bias. Ofqual have also published information for centres about making objective judgements this year, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/information-for-centres-about-making-objective-judgements.

Centres will be encouraged to allow students to see the evidence used to determine their grade in advance of that grade being submitted. This transparency should enable any errors or circumstances relating to particular pieces of evidence to be taken into account in advance of the grade submission. Students’ grades will also go through internal and external quality assurance processes to ensure errors are identified and that judgements are as consistent as possible. Internal standardisation will help mitigate the risk of unconscious bias in judgements of students’ grades. Centres will set out how they will ensure objectivity in their centre policies, which will be reviewed by exam boards.

There will also be an appeals system as a safety net to resolve any errors not identified during the earlier parts of the process. The Department has made clear that every student will have the right to appeal their grade.

The answer was submitted on 27 Apr 2021 at 16:04.