argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Social Mobility — House of Commons, 2018-09-10
Topic: Education
Damian Patrick George Hinds (Conservative, Centre-right): I am pleased that my right hon. Friend has raised that important issue. As he will know, the level of exclusions has thankfully not risen to the level we saw under the previous Labour Government, but it is nevertheless a matter of concern. Let me be absolutely clear that using a permanent exclusion should be a last resort after all other things have been tried. We expect schools to have an active behaviour policy and to be held to account on that by Ofsted. As for the specific question about exclusions, they are a matter of concern and one of the reasons that we asked Edward Timpson to conduct a review. We look forward to hearing from him soon.
Social Mobility — House of Commons, 2018-09-10
Topic: Education
Damian Patrick George Hinds (Conservative, Centre-right): I am always happy to meet the hon. Lady, who rightly highlights the particular hurdles and challenges that children with special needs can have, which I absolutely recognise. That is one of the reasons that we have the highest high-needs budget on record, and there is more recognition across the entire education system of some of the methods that can be used to support such children. However, we can always do more and I will be pleased to hear from her.
Social Mobility — House of Commons, 2018-09-10
Topic: Education
David Anthony Evennett (Conservative, Centre-right): My borough of Bexley has many good and excellent schools that are delivering social mobility. However, does my right hon. Friend agree that more needs to be done through investment in early language and literacy skills to ensure that all children have equal opportunities?
Social Mobility — House of Commons, 2018-09-10
Topic: Education
Damian Patrick George Hinds (Conservative, Centre-right): I very much agree with my right hon. Friend about the importance of early language and literacy, and he is right to identify some of the excellent provision in his constituency. I recently set out my ambition to halve the number of children who start school without vital literacy skills. There are many facets to that, such as what happens in early years settings and in the home learning environment, which we will have to pay more attention to in the years to come.
Social Mobility — House of Commons, 2018-09-10
Topic: Education
Damian Patrick George Hinds (Conservative, Centre-right): But Scotland does have a cap on student numbers, which is a reality of having a system unlike ours. We have seen a record proportion of children from disadvantaged backgrounds being able to go on to university, which is to be welcomed.
Social Mobility — House of Commons, 2018-09-10
Topic: Education
Damian Patrick George Hinds (Conservative, Centre-right): You are very kind, Chris There are many different angles to our social mobility approach. As I mentioned in my opening answer, our focus on social mobility means that, at every phase of education, we have seen a narrowing in the attainment gap between the rich and the poor of at least 10%—in early years, in primary school, in secondary school and in entry to higher education. It is our school professionals, our teachers and other staff who have made that happen, supported by our reforms, by the fact that more children are going to good and outstanding schools, by the free schools programme and by the availability of quality new places and rigorous standards in schools.
Teachers’ Pay and School Budgets — House of Commons, 2018-09-10
Topic: Education
Nicolas John Gibb (Conservative, Centre-right): We are fully funding the teachers’ pay award by providing a teachers’ pay grant worth £187 million in 2018-19 and £321 million in 2019-20. This funding will be over and above the core funding that schools receive through the national funding formula.
Teachers’ Pay and School Budgets — House of Commons, 2018-09-10
Topic: Education
Nicolas John Gibb (Conservative, Centre-right): The pay award is being funded over and above the 1% for which schools have already budgeted. Incidentally, the 3.5% pay award for teachers on the main pay scale takes the pay range to between £29,600 and £40,300. The 2% pay rise will be funded over and above the 1%, and the 1.5% pay rise for headteachers will also be funded over and above the 1% that schools have already awarded. Pay scales for headteachers, for example, now range up to £111,000 a year for some heads, and £118,000 for headteachers in inner London, although I accept that those figures are not as high as the pay of the general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, which is over £200,000.
Teachers’ Pay and School Budgets — House of Commons, 2018-09-10
Topic: Education
Philip Andrew Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): I have raised school budgets in my constituency, about which I am concerned, with the Minister on a number of occasions, and I thank him for spending the time to look into them. Although school budgets are increasing per pupil by a minuscule amount, it is clear that costs, of which teachers’ pay is only one, are going up much faster than the per pupil increase. What can he do to make sure that school budgets, particularly in my Shipley constituency, rise at a rate that ensures they can cover the increased costs they are expected to incur?
Teachers’ Pay and School Budgets — House of Commons, 2018-09-10
Topic: Education
Nicolas John Gibb (Conservative, Centre-right): We are spending record amounts on school funding—£42.4 billion this year—but we accept that schools are facing some cost pressures. We are helping schools with their resource management, and we are providing national buying schemes so that they can buy things such as energy and computers more cheaply We are also introducing a free teacher vacancy scheme, which is being rolled out later this year—it has already been piloted in Cambridgeshire and the north-east—and which will save schools £78 million a year.
Funded Childcare — House of Commons, 2018-09-10
Topic: Social Welfare
Nadhim Zahawi (Conservative, Centre-right): By 2019-20 we will be spending £1 billion extra annually to deliver 30 hours a week of free childcare and pay our higher funding rates. Those rates were based on our review of childcare costs, described as "thorough and wide-ranging" by the National Audit Office. We have commissioned further new research to understand providers’ current costs.
Funded Childcare — House of Commons, 2018-09-10
Topic: Social Welfare
Nadhim Zahawi (Conservative, Centre-right): We continue to monitor the costs and, as I said earlier, we have commissioned further research. The evidence that we currently have shows that the majority of providers are willing and able to deliver the extended entitlement. Some 340,000 children have benefited from 30-hour funding places in the scheme’s first year, so it is certainly a success story, but the hon. Lady is right that we have to monitor what pressures there are.
Funded Childcare — House of Commons, 2018-09-10
Topic: Education
Robert Goodwill (Conservative, Centre-right): On 31 August the Daily Mail ran a front-page story stating that a third of nurseries could shut because of school funding levels. Given that there are actually now more nurseries in other settings providing free childcare, does the Minister think it should apologise and issue a correction for gullibly following the lines being peddled by the Opposition Front Benchers and for misleading so many parents in such a worrying way?
Funded Childcare — House of Commons, 2018-09-10
Topic: Technology
Nadhim Zahawi (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to my predecessor for that question. I think I will leave it to the Daily Mail to decide what it does. Suffice it to say that the number of non-domestic providers has remained stable.
Funded Childcare — House of Commons, 2018-09-10
Topic: Social Welfare
Nadhim Zahawi (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to the hon. Lady for her question. Maintained nurseries offer a valuable service to communities such as hers and others around the country, and we are conscious of the value that they provide. Both I and the Secretary of State have visited a number of them. Decisions about the future funding of maintained provision will be taken at the spending review, but I repeat that it would be premature for local authorities to make decisions about the future of their maintained nurseries before seeing the spending review outcomes.
Funded Childcare — House of Commons, 2018-09-10
Topic: Social Welfare
Nadhim Zahawi (Conservative, Centre-right): Let me attempt to address that point specifically. National average hourly funding rates for local authorities for three and four-year-old entitlements increased from £4.56 an hour to around £5 an hour in April 2017. Our rates compare very favourably with the published research on the costs of childcare by Frontier Economics, which shows that the mean hourly cost of delivering a place is £3.72 an hour. I know that this is technical, but it is worth listening to, because the hon. Lady keeps going back to points that she clearly has not followed the details of. The research also showed that the average cost of two-year-olds’ places was £4.30 an hour, and our average funding rate is £5.92 an hour. All local authorities saw a 7% increase in the two-year-old rate in April 2017. We continue to monitor this, but those are the facts, and I hope that she will look and them and think about what she is saying about them publicly.
School Places — House of Commons, 2018-09-10
Topic: Education
Damian Patrick George Hinds (Conservative, Centre-right): We have committed £7 billion to the delivery of new school places between 2015 and 2021, on top of our investment in the free schools programme. We are on track to create a million places between 2010 and 2020.
School Places — House of Commons, 2018-09-10
Topic: Education
Mary Josephine Robinson (Conservative, Centre-right): Today, Laurus Cheadle Hulme, a newly built, state-of-the-art free school, opened its gates to a new cohort of students. Initially, it will provide 210 year 7 places. Does my right hon. Friend agree that the free schools programme is a hugely important part of the delivery of good schools in Cheadle and beyond, and will he join me in wishing those at Laurus Cheadle Hulme the very best of luck on their first day?
School Places — House of Commons, 2018-09-10
Topic: Education
Damian Patrick George Hinds (Conservative, Centre-right): I certainly do and will. This is one of the 53 free schools that have opened this month, bringing more good-quality places and more choice for parents. I congratulate the team at Laurus Cheadle Hulme on the school’s opening and look forward to hearing of their successes in the years to come.
School Places — House of Commons, 2018-09-10
Topic: Education
William Peter Wragg (Conservative, Centre-right): Will my right hon. Friend encourage the Stockport local education authority to support calls for a new stand-alone primary school in the Marple area of my constituency, to meet rising demand, rather than cramming new places into sites that are already full?
School Places — House of Commons, 2018-09-10
Topic: Education
Damian Patrick George Hinds (Conservative, Centre-right): I am not in the position to judge between those two points directly, but I very much agree with my hon. Friend that there are different ways to achieve expansion. Of course, the bulk of the expansion of school places comes from expanding existing schools, but there is also the possibility to create new schools through the free schools programme. The deadline for the next wave of free school applications is 5 November.
School Places — House of Commons, 2018-09-10
Topic: Education
Damian Patrick George Hinds (Conservative, Centre-right): I have always recognised—and said as much—that we can of course find excellent education provision in a number of different models, as well as academies. Overall, the academies programme has been a great force for good. Something like half a million pupils are now studying in sponsored academies that are rated good or outstanding, and those academies typically replaced underperforming schools.
School Places — House of Commons, 2018-09-10
Topic: Education
Damian Patrick George Hinds (Conservative, Centre-right): I very much agree with my hon. Friend on that; of course, he has a new and particular interest in and concern about the future of the next generation, and I congratulate him on that. It is very important that we are creating a million new school places this decade—that is the biggest expansion in school capacity for at least two generations. It is vital that we do that in good and outstanding schools, where possible.
School Places — House of Commons, 2018-09-10
Topic: Education
Damian Patrick George Hinds (Conservative, Centre-right): I do not agree with that. Ofsted does a very worthwhile and high-quality job, which is reflected in the fact that, for parents, Ofsted reports are the second most significant piece of information about schools, after only location. People trust the judgments that they get from Ofsted, and it is the only body that is in a position to make an overall judgment on the quality and breadth of education, alongside the results.
STEM Subjects — House of Commons, 2018-09-10
Topic: Education
Nicolas John Gibb (Conservative, Centre-right): To address the shortage of science, technology, engineering and maths skills, the Government are committed to encouraging more students into STEM education and training. We are investing an additional £406 million in skills, including in maths and digital, and this includes the advanced maths premium and an £84 million programme to improve the teaching of computing.
STEM Subjects — House of Commons, 2018-09-10
Topic: Education
Philip Martin Dunne (Conservative, Centre-right): I welcome the investment to which the Minister referred. Does he agree that it is at primary school where children need to be encouraged to enjoy maths? Initiatives such as the green car challenge run by south Shropshire engineering ambassadors, where year 6 pupils in south Shropshire make a vehicle that can run on renewable energy, can excite young people and bring STEM subjects to life.
STEM Subjects — House of Commons, 2018-09-10
Topic: Education
Nicolas John Gibb (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Excellent projects such as the green car challenge for year 6 pupils in schools in south Shropshire help to bring science to life and they help to motivate those pupils when they start secondary school where, since 2010, the proportion taking at least two science GCSEs has risen from 63% of 16-year-olds in 2010 to 91% now.
Universities: Freedom of Speech — House of Commons, 2018-09-10
Topic: Education
Samuel Phillip Gyimah (Conservative, Centre-right): We want our universities to be bastions of free speech where a free and robust exchange of ideas thrives. I am very encouraged that the Office for Students has made it very clear that, as a regulator, it will be encouraging free speech in our universities and that, if it intervenes, it will never be to restrict it.
Universities: Freedom of Speech — House of Commons, 2018-09-10
Topic: Education
Christopher Paul Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): Earlier this summer, the Universities Minister made it clear that free speech on campus should be encouraged and that those attempting to shut it down should have nowhere to hide. Does my hon. Friend agree that hearing, considering and debating different views are a key part of learning?
Childcare Provision — House of Commons, 2018-09-10
Topic: Education
Nadhim Zahawi (Conservative, Centre-right): Latest Ofsted data confirm that 94% of providers were rated as good or outstanding, up 20 percentage points since 2012. We have recently published new criteria to raise the quality of level 2 qualifications and are investing £20 million in professional development for early years practitioners working in disadvantaged areas.
Childcare Provision — House of Commons, 2018-09-10
Topic: Education
Thomas Christopher John Pursglove (Conservative, Centre-right): Will the Minister join me in congratulating the Pen Green Centre in Corby on recently winning The Times Educational Supplement overall best school award? Has he given thought as to how best practice at that particular setting can be shared more widely?
Childcare Provision — House of Commons, 2018-09-10
Topic: Education
Nadhim Zahawi (Conservative, Centre-right): Maintained nursery schools make an important contribution to improving the lives of some of our most disadvantaged children. As I mentioned earlier, I have visited a number of these schools, as has the Secretary of State, and Pen Green is at the forefront of what maintained nursery schools do. Its award is well deserved and I offer it my warmest congratulations. Our research on the value offered by maintained nursery schools will inform spending review decisions about their future funding.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2018-09-10
Topic: Education
Damian Patrick George Hinds (Conservative, Centre-right): I know that the whole House would want to wish a happy and successful year to all children starting school this month or going to a new school, including one of the 53 new free schools that opened last week. We also welcome the tens of thousands of new teachers joining the 450,000-strong profession this month and around 30,000 who are due to start their teacher training. We will continue to work with the profession this academic year to build on the progress that it has made happen since 2010, with rising standards, more high-quality school places, and a significant narrowing of the attainment gap between the rich and the poor.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2018-09-10
Topic: Social Welfare
Damian Patrick George Hinds (Conservative, Centre-right): I take this matter very seriously, and the Minister for Children and Families recently met the executive headteacher of the Coastal Academies Trust to discuss the issue. We want to reduce out-of-area placements and ensure that looked-after children can access high-quality education provision. We are providing funding through our £200 million children’s social care innovation programme to increase councils’ capacity, so that fewer children are placed far away from home.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2018-09-10
Topic: Social Welfare
Nadhim Zahawi (Conservative, Centre-right): I responded very clearly to the myth-busting document. We consulted directors of children’s services and with Ofsted before we published the myth-busting document, and we made it very clear this morning that no legislation has changed, or is going to change, in any way.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2018-09-10
Topic: Education
Questions: I thank the Secretary of State for taking seriously concerns expressed by my community and me about Whitehaven Academy, and for his Department’s interventions to ensure the swift re-brokerage to Cumbria Education Trust. What measures have been put in place to ensure that what has happened at Whitehaven Academy could not happen to any other school, academy or multi-academy trust?
Nicolas John Gibb (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to my hon. Friend for those comments. As she hints, we have appointed a strong sponsor for Whitehaven Academy that is already driving forward improvements, backed by substantial funding to improve teaching, resources and the school estate at that school. The overwhelming majority of academies tell a positive story of driving up standards, and the latest published accounts show no regularity exceptions, as they are called, for more than 95% of trusts. The Education and Skills Funding Agency has learned from the experience of the Bright Tribe Trust and other cases, and has made improvements.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2018-09-10
Topic: Labor
Questions: I thank the Secretary of State for taking seriously concerns expressed by my community and me about Whitehaven Academy, and for his Department’s interventions to ensure the swift re-brokerage to Cumbria Education Trust. What measures have been put in place to ensure that what has happened at Whitehaven Academy could not happen to any other school, academy or multi-academy trust?; Before the recess, the Minister promised me in a written answer that the Carillion apprentices would be supported to find new placements and continue to be paid in the meantime, but just days after the House rose, hundreds were laid off. What will she now do to honour her commitment and support all these victims of corporate failure?
Anne Frances Milton (Conservative, Centre-right): The Construction Industry Training Board has worked with all 1,148 apprentices. For 776 of them, the issue has been resolved and they have got training places and employers, for 225 we are still looking to find a match for them, and 147 have failed to respond following repeated attempts to get in touch with them. The Construction Industry Training Board should be congratulated on what it has done. It has used letters, emails and texts—every way possible—to get hold of those 147, and it is to be praised.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2018-09-10
Topic: Education
Questions: I thank the Secretary of State for taking seriously concerns expressed by my community and me about Whitehaven Academy, and for his Department’s interventions to ensure the swift re-brokerage to Cumbria Education Trust. What measures have been put in place to ensure that what has happened at Whitehaven Academy could not happen to any other school, academy or multi-academy trust?; Before the recess, the Minister promised me in a written answer that the Carillion apprentices would be supported to find new placements and continue to be paid in the meantime, but just days after the House rose, hundreds were laid off. What will she now do to honour her commitment and support all these victims of corporate failure?
William James Quince (Conservative, Centre-right): I welcome the Government bringing forward proposals to introduce first-aid education in our schools. Does the Minister agree that giving children these skills will give them the confidence to save lives, and we can create a new generation of life-savers?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2018-09-10
Topic: Education
Questions: I thank the Secretary of State for taking seriously concerns expressed by my community and me about Whitehaven Academy, and for his Department’s interventions to ensure the swift re-brokerage to Cumbria Education Trust. What measures have been put in place to ensure that what has happened at Whitehaven Academy could not happen to any other school, academy or multi-academy trust?; Before the recess, the Minister promised me in a written answer that the Carillion apprentices would be supported to find new placements and continue to be paid in the meantime, but just days after the House rose, hundreds were laid off. What will she now do to honour her commitment and support all these victims of corporate failure?
Damian Patrick George Hinds (Conservative, Centre-right): We all know how important it is that young people are given the knowledge to be healthy, happy and safe. That is why, for the first time, all state-funded schools will be required to teach health education. The draft statutory guidance includes content on first aid. I commend my hon. Friend and others in this House who have campaigned on this issue very consistently.