Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will produce a formal response to The Times Education Commission's final report, published on 15 June.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
We are very grateful for the work of the Times Education Commission, noting both the breadth of issues and the depth of evidence considered during its inquiry.
We remain committed to our ambitious programme of educational reforms. These include the bold measures set out in our 2021 Skills for Jobs White Paper, which will give people the opportunity to train, retrain and upskill flexibly throughout their lives, in order to get great jobs in the sectors that our economy needs and to boost productivity.
Through the changes set out in our 2022 Schools White Paper, we are also driving improved standards in schools with measures that will ensure an excellent teacher for every child, high standards of curriculum, attendance and behaviour, and targeted support for children who are behind in English or maths and a stronger and fairer school system that works for every child.
We remain focused on these and our other reform priorities and have no current plans to publish a formal response to the Commission.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the press release Fairer higher education system for students and taxpayers, published on 24 February, what courses they consider to be of low quality and not leading to a graduate job with a good wage.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The government is consulting openly on the introduction of student number controls to improve outcomes from higher education (HE) for students, society and the economy.
In response to this consultation, the government welcomes views on how we should identify the highest quality HE which offers the best outcomes, and such provision may be prioritised.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking (1) to raise the profile, and (2) to improve the perceived status of, early years teaching jobs.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The department understands that the earliest years are the most crucial stage of child development. Early education supports children’s social and emotional development and lays the foundation for lifelong learning.
The department is grateful for the contribution that all early years’ providers and childcare staff make in their work every day, both to the early education of children and to support the economy.
We are committed to supporting the sector to develop a workforce with the appropriate knowledge, skills and experience to deliver high quality early education and childcare, and to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. That is why the department has recently announced an additional £153 million in programmes to support workforce development, including increasing the number of places available for early years initial teacher training. We are also developing new early years training routes, including a new National Professional Qualification for Early Years Leadership and support for new apprenticeship routes for careers in the early years.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to increase the salaries of early years teachers to match salaries for primary school teachers.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The earliest years are the most crucial stage of child development. The department is committed to supporting the sector to develop a workforce with the appropriate knowledge, skills and experience to deliver high quality early education and childcare.
The majority of the early years workforce are employed in private, voluntary and independent organisations and those employers are responsible for recruiting sufficient staff, in line with the requirements set out in the statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage.
The department is investing additional funding for the early years entitlements over the next three years, worth £160 million in the 2022-23 financial year, £180 million in 2023-24 and £170 million in 2024-25, compared to the current year. This is for local authorities to increase hourly rates paid to childcare providers for the government’s free childcare entitlement offers and reflects cost pressures as well as anticipated changes in the number of eligible children.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking (1) to develop, and (2) to retain, a workforce of highly qualified early years teachers, including by furthering access to continuous professional development.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The department is committed to supporting the sector to develop a workforce with the appropriate knowledge, skills, and experience to deliver high quality early education and childcare. We are investing £20 million in a high quality, evidence-based professional development programme for practitioners in targeted disadvantaged areas, and a further £10 million to fund a second phase of the programme.
In June 2021, the department announced a further £153 million for training for early years staff to support the learning and development of the very youngest children and mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. As part of our recovery strategy, we will be expanding the number of training places to increase the supply of qualified graduates to the sector.
The department is also developing new early years training routes. Employer trailblazer groups have developed level 2 and 3 apprenticeships. In August 2021, we launched a level 5 apprenticeship. From April 2021, free level 3 early years qualifications became available through the Lifetime Skills Guarantee.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to enable disadvantaged children to benefit from early education and childcare; and what plans they have, if any, to extend the 30 hours per week entitlement to all children aged three to four.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The department is committed to providing children with the best start in life and supporting disadvantaged and vulnerable children by investing in high quality early education and local services.
The department has invested £180 million on recovery programmes to raise quality in early education, including improving early language, training early years staff to support the very youngest children, and supporting parents with home learning.
We have also announced £300 million to transform services for parents, babies, carers, and children in half of local authorities in England. This is a significant investment that will have wide reach across the country and improve outcomes for thousands of babies, children, carers and families. As part of this £300 million, we have announced a further £82 million to create a network of family hubs in 75 areas.
30 hours free childcare is available to working parents of three- and four-year-olds, helping them with the cost of childcare and supporting parents back into work or to work more hours. To be eligible, parents must earn the equivalent of at least 16 hours a week at national minimum or living wage (for parents aged over 23, this is equivalent to just over £7,400 per year), and under £100,000 per year. The government currently has no plans to extend this scheme.
Additionally in England, all three- and four-year-olds, and some disadvantaged two-year-olds, are eligible for 15 hours free childcare. This provides them with high-quality early education, helping prepare them for school.
The early years pupil premium gives providers additional funding (up to £302 per eligible child per year) for disadvantaged three- and four-year-olds if the child receives the universal 15 hours entitlement and they meet the eligibility criteria. Early years providers are responsible for identifying eligible children so that local authorities can provide the appropriate funding.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Berridge on 7 June (HL Deb, col 1185) that "the Office for Students has just consulted on the request to reprioritise the strategic priorities grant", what are these renewed strategic priorities; and to what level of education it is intended that these strategic priorities will apply.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Shadow Minister (Culture, Media and Sport)
The Strategic Priorities Grant plays an important role in supporting higher education providers and students to develop the skills and knowledge needed locally, regionally, and nationally to support the economy.
The grant is supplied by the government on an annual basis to support higher education providers’ ongoing teaching and related activities where income from tuition fees alone do not meet the cost of provision.
The government has asked the Office for Students to reform the Strategic Priorities Grant for 2021–22. These reforms apply to higher education funding and include the reallocation of high-cost subject funding towards the provision of high-cost subjects which support the NHS and wider healthcare policy, high-cost science, technology, and engineering subjects, and subjects meeting specific labour market needs, as well as the removal of the London weighting element of the grant.
We have also asked the Office for Students to invest an additional £10 million in our world-leading specialist providers, many of which specialise in arts provision. We want to ensure that our specialist providers receive additional support, and that grant funding is used to support students effectively.
The Office for Students has now publicly consulted on these proposals, and responses from universities, students, and others will be considered before any final decisions on allocations are made.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the (1) gross amount, and (2) the amount per student, which will be paid by the Office for Students to universities for students studying music courses under the CAH25-02-02 code for (a) the 2020–21 academic year, and (b) the 2021–22 academic year, under current proposals.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
The Strategic Priorities Grant, formerly referred to as the Teaching Grant, plays an important role in supporting providers and students to develop the skills and knowledge needed locally, regionally, and nationally to support the economy.
We have asked the Office for Students (OfS) to reform the Grant for 2021-22. These reforms include the reallocation of high-cost subject funding towards the provision of high-cost subjects that support the NHS and wider healthcare policy, high-cost science, technology, and engineering subjects, and subjects meeting specific labour market needs.
One of our proposals is for a 50% reduction in the rate of high-cost subject funding, which is one element of the wider Strategic Priorities Grant, for some subjects in order to enable this reprioritisation.
Under current proposals, outlined in the OfS’ consultation on recurrent funding for 2021/22, the high-cost subject funding rate for students on music courses (CAH25-02-02) will be set at £121.50 in 2021/22, down from £243 in 2020/21. This fall is equivalent to a reduction of around 1% in combined funding from a £9,250 tuition fee and OfS funding. Music students will also attract other elements of OfS funding, such as funding for student access and success, which is unrelated to the subject they study.
The OfS’ methodology for calculating funding allocations, which are done at subject price group-level rather than on an individual subject basis, means that the total amount of high-cost subject funding cannot be calculated for individual subjects such as music. However, illustrative modelling performed by the OfS on funding allocations, which accompanied their consultation, calculated that the total amount of funding for C1.2 subjects, which includes performing arts, creative arts, media studies and archaeology, decreased from £36 million in academic year 2020/21 to £19 million in academic year 2021/22. We have asked the OfS to invest an additional £10 million in our world-leading specialist providers. Many of these specialise in arts provision such as the Royal College of Music or the Royal Academy of Music which are both world-leading institutions for music education. We want to ensure that our specialist providers receive additional support, and that grant funding is used to effectively support students.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to expand the provision of communications technology and broadband so that children will have access to online music education regardless of their socio-economic background or special educational needs.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
The arts form a vital part of children and young people’s education, and access to these important areas should not just be the preserve of the elite. Music is compulsory in all maintained schools from the age of 5 to 14, and academies are also required to provide a broad and balanced curriculum, which Ofsted consider in their inspections.
The department has invested nearly £500 million of funding from 2016-20 in a diverse portfolio of music and arts education programmes, and in January, we announced a further £80 million investment in Music Education Hubs for 2020-21 to ensure all children, whatever their background, have access to a high-quality music education.
The department is committed to the continuation of high-quality education for all pupils during this difficult time and it is supporting schools and parents through a number of initiatives. On 2 July 2020, the department published detailed guidance to support the full opening of schools from the beginning of the autumn term. The guidance made it clear we expect all schools to teach an ambitious and broad curriculum in all subjects from the start of the autumn term – including art and music. Furthermore, detailed guidance on music provision will be published shortly.
Resources may also be found through subject associations and professional bodies, such as BESA’s LendEd website and the EdTech Impact website for example, which include varied resources that teachers already use and rate within the websites. These resources have not been verified by the department’s educational experts, but we are signposting to them because they also cover other areas of the curriculum that are not covered in our list.
The department has announced £4.34 million of funding for the Oak National Academy for the 2020-21 academic year to provide online video lessons covering a variety of subjects, including music. The purpose of this funding is to enable Oak to provide support to schools in developing the ability to switch from classroom teaching to remote provision immediately in case of local lockdowns or self-isolation.
To help children to access education, including music, at home, we have provided laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children who would otherwise not have access and are preparing for examinations in Year 10, and to those receiving support from a social worker, including pre-school children, and care leavers. As of 30 June, over 200,000 laptops and tablets and over 47,000 4G wireless routers had been delivered or dispatched to local authorities and academy trusts.
Where care leavers, children with a social worker at secondary school and children in Year 10, do not have internet connections, we have provided 4G wireless routers to them so that they can learn at home. In partnership with BT, the department has also launched a service to provide children and young people free access to BT Wi-Fi hotspots. 10,000 families are initially able to access the scheme. This offer is currently being piloted and will be rolled out across England in the coming months. We are currently working with BT to expand this offer to allow more children to access the internet through their network of BT Wi-Fi hotspots.
We are also working with the major telecommunications companies to improve internet connectivity for disadvantaged and vulnerable families. For families who rely on a mobile internet connection, mobile network operators are working to provide temporary access to free additional data offering them more flexibility to access the resources that they need the most.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage all schools, regardless of management or funding, to maintain their commitment to music education (1) through the COVID-19 recovery and catch-up period, and (2) in the long term.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
The arts form a vital part of children and young people’s education, and access to these important areas should not just be the preserve of the elite. Music is compulsory in all maintained schools from the age of 5 to 14, and academies are also required to provide a broad and balanced curriculum, which Ofsted consider in their inspections.
The department has invested nearly £500 million of funding from 2016-20 in a diverse portfolio of music and arts education programmes, and in January, we announced a further £80 million investment in Music Education Hubs for 2020-21 to ensure all children, whatever their background, have access to a high-quality music education.
The department is committed to the continuation of high-quality education for all pupils during this difficult time and it is supporting schools and parents through a number of initiatives. On 2 July 2020, the department published detailed guidance to support the full opening of schools from the beginning of the autumn term. The guidance made it clear we expect all schools to teach an ambitious and broad curriculum in all subjects from the start of the autumn term – including art and music. Furthermore, detailed guidance on music provision will be published shortly.
Resources may also be found through subject associations and professional bodies, such as BESA’s LendEd website and the EdTech Impact website for example, which include varied resources that teachers already use and rate within the websites. These resources have not been verified by the department’s educational experts, but we are signposting to them because they also cover other areas of the curriculum that are not covered in our list.
The department has announced £4.34 million of funding for the Oak National Academy for the 2020-21 academic year to provide online video lessons covering a variety of subjects, including music. The purpose of this funding is to enable Oak to provide support to schools in developing the ability to switch from classroom teaching to remote provision immediately in case of local lockdowns or self-isolation.
To help children to access education, including music, at home, we have provided laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children who would otherwise not have access and are preparing for examinations in Year 10, and to those receiving support from a social worker, including pre-school children, and care leavers. As of 30 June, over 200,000 laptops and tablets and over 47,000 4G wireless routers had been delivered or dispatched to local authorities and academy trusts.
Where care leavers, children with a social worker at secondary school and children in Year 10, do not have internet connections, we have provided 4G wireless routers to them so that they can learn at home. In partnership with BT, the department has also launched a service to provide children and young people free access to BT Wi-Fi hotspots. 10,000 families are initially able to access the scheme. This offer is currently being piloted and will be rolled out across England in the coming months. We are currently working with BT to expand this offer to allow more children to access the internet through their network of BT Wi-Fi hotspots.
We are also working with the major telecommunications companies to improve internet connectivity for disadvantaged and vulnerable families. For families who rely on a mobile internet connection, mobile network operators are working to provide temporary access to free additional data offering them more flexibility to access the resources that they need the most.