Contributions
962 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDMobile Phones in Schools: GuidanceToday, the Department for Education published new guidance to ban the use of mobile phones in schools. This guidance provides advice to school leaders on how to develop, implement…19 Feb 2024HANSARDSchools and Colleges Condition UpdateThis update follows from my oral and written ministerial statements to the House in September, October and December 2023. There are over 22,000 schools and colleges in England and…08 Feb 2024HANSARDPersistent Pupil AbsenceTackling persistent absence is my top priority, as indeed it was last year. I pay tribute to our incredible teachers and heads who have gone above and beyond to get children back…29 Jan 2024HANSARDPersistent Pupil AbsenceThe hon. Lady may have mixed up a couple of things there, but the plan to get children back into school is to have daily attendance data, which we introduced and sent out to every…29 Jan 2024HANSARDTopical QuestionsYes, I can give an assurance that we are going through all the details and assessing each instance on a case-by-case basis. I know that all hon. Members are keen to know what will…29 Jan 2024HANSARDPersistent Pupil AbsenceIt is working. It is not going to stick on the trajectory, because we have already turned around the trajectory. Since the pandemic, it is already falling in England. There is no…29 Jan 2024HANSARDSupport for Children with SENDI welcome my hon. Friend’s work in this area. Initial teacher training courses must equip trainees to meet all the teachers’ standards, including standard 5: that teachers must…29 Jan 2024HANSARDPersistent Pupil AbsenceCertainly not. Under a Labour Government, school standards would plummet back to where they were the last time Labour had education under their control—27th in the world for maths…29 Jan 2024HANSARDDegree-level ApprenticeshipsThe Government have built one of the most powerful apprenticeship systems in the world, reaching nearly 700 different occupations, from level 2 through to master’s degree level 7.…29 Jan 2024HANSARDPersistent Pupil AbsenceI thank my right hon. Friend for all her work in this area. She is right; the first thing to do is ensure that we understand best practice, and that it is rolled out everywhere. A…29 Jan 2024HANSARDTopical QuestionsOf course I agree, which is why I am delighted that we have 27,000 more teachers in our schools than we had in 2010. We have a retention and recruitment plan with many different…29 Jan 2024HANSARDPersistent Pupil AbsenceEvery moment matters in school, and we have improved and increased our school standards. The most important thing is that children are now there. Thanks to our data, we can now…29 Jan 2024HANSARDSupport for Children with SENDMy hon. Friend makes a very good point: there are 2,408 independent schools across our country, many of which provide special educational needs support and excellent education in…29 Jan 2024HANSARDTopical QuestionsAs was mentioned by the hon. Member for Feltham and Heston (Seema Malhotra), next week is National Apprenticeship Week. When I did my apprenticeship I benefited from brilliant…29 Jan 2024HANSARDDegree-level ApprenticeshipsAbsolutely. Obviously, one reason for the reduction in some of the SME numbers is the fact that we made improvements to ensure that every single apprenticeship was of high…29 Jan 2024HANSARDTopical QuestionsIf I may “fact check” the hon. Lady, I think that the plan is for a mental health professional in every secondary school. The plan that we have is to introduce mental health…29 Jan 2024HANSARDDegree-level ApprenticeshipsWhen I was apprenticeships and skills Minister, we worked together to ensure we had the right college offer in the area that was sustainable. My right hon. Friend the Minister for…29 Jan 2024HANSARDTopical QuestionsI am glad that the hon. Lady has asked about childcare, because it is yet another illustration of how this Conservative Government are delivering for working parents while the…29 Jan 2024HANSARDTopical QuestionsAs the hon. Lady knows, we have been working closely with St Leonard’s School, and actually with all schools that were impacted by RAAC. I would like to take this moment to thank…29 Jan 2024HANSARDTopical QuestionsI know that my hon. Friend has campaigned tirelessly for Kingsdown School. Our questionnaire programme is 100% complete, all schools have been told if it is suspected that they…29 Jan 2024