argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Dorset Schools: Quality of Classrooms — House of Commons, 2022-07-04
Topic: Education
Robin Caspar Walker (Conservative, Centre-right): I recognise that the hon. Gentleman has also pressed the case for Lydiate Primary School previously. The Department has engaged with the school and Sefton local authority, and we are aware that it was disappointed not to be included in the first two rounds of the rebuilding programme. All local authorities, including Sefton Council, were contacted about how they can nominate schools for the next round. We do expect to announce schools that were successful later this year, but some of them will be informed sooner.
Affordable and Accessible Childcare — House of Commons, 2022-07-04
Topic: Education
Nadhim Zahawi (Conservative, Centre-right): We are committed to improving the cost, choice and availability of childcare. We have spent more than £3.5 billion in each of the past three years in the Department for Education on both education and tax-free childcare. On the childcare element of universal credit, we spend between £4 billion and £5 billion each year. Today, we have announced further measures to increase take-up of childcare support and to reduce the cost and bureaucracy facing both parents and providers.
Affordable and Accessible Childcare — House of Commons, 2022-07-04
Topic: Social Welfare
Nadhim Zahawi (Conservative, Centre-right): On the maintained nurseries, the hon. Gentleman is quite right. When I was children and families Minister, I saw the great work they do. We have announced £10 million of additional support for maintained nurseries. We are investing up to £180 million specifically on early years recovery to address the impacts of the pandemic. That includes £153 million investment in evidence-based professional development for early years practitioners, which are equally important for the sector, because, clearly it is a tight labour market at the moment.
Affordable and Accessible Childcare — House of Commons, 2022-07-04
Topic: Social Welfare
Nadhim Zahawi (Conservative, Centre-right): Ofsted has been central to our work and we are consulting on the ratio issue that he mentions. We are also looking closely at childminders, a market that could do with some tender loving care at the moment, and seeing not only how we can help childminders to come into the sector by helping them with fees, but, once they have registered, how we ensure that inspections are proportionate and that they feel they are well rewarded for the work they do so brilliantly.
Affordable and Accessible Childcare — House of Commons, 2022-07-04
Topic: Social Welfare
Nadhim Zahawi (Conservative, Centre-right): If the hon. Lady reads the announcement and the case study we put forward, she will see that if the cost is passed on to parents, it is about £40. Crucially, however, it is not a silver bullet. This is part of a package of measures we are taking, which includes making sure that the 1.3 million people who are not currently claiming their tax-free childcare, where they can get 20% of their childcare or up to £2,000 paid for them, or the childcare element of universal credit, do so. That will make a real difference to them, as well as the consultation—bearing in mind that the consultation is also about ensuring that we continue the drive for quality that this Government have delivered in the childcare system and that safety is paramount for every child.
SEND Review — House of Commons, 2022-07-04
Topic: Social Welfare
William James Quince (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Lady for her question and I encourage everyone to take part in the SEND review consultation, which will expire on 22 July. The specific point she raises, on the tailored list of settings for parents in our proposal, is absolutely not about reducing costs; it is designed to support parents and carers in making an informed choice about which setting they would like their child to go to. I would be very happy to set out the policy in further detail in a meeting with her.
SEND Review — House of Commons, 2022-07-04
Topic: Social Welfare
William James Quince (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman is right that accountability has to be at the heart of our proposals, and everyone who provides support for children and young people with SEND has a responsibility to deliver it effectively. That is why we are creating new national standards, and creating local and national dashboards so that local authorities, organisations and those who provide SEND services can be held to account. He is absolutely right that accountability and redress mechanisms are at the heart of our proposals. This is a consultation, and it is live until 22 July. We are consulting because we genuinely want to hear the views of the sector and all the parents and carers of children with SEND. Of course I would be very happy to meet him.
SEND Review — House of Commons, 2022-07-04
Topic: Education
Michael Penning (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend the Minister knows my passion for looking after children and young people around the SEND sector. I welcome the Green Paper and the consultation, because this is a debate that we have needed to have for some considerable time. But the issue in Hertfordshire is going to be around capacity, because the special educational needs schools in my constituency, which are brilliant, are full and double-oversubscribed. This is not all about money—it is sometimes about how it is provided—but there are serious financial problems in Hertfordshire, and I wonder if he would look at that seriously for me.
SEND Review — House of Commons, 2022-07-04
Topic: Social Welfare
William James Quince (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend has raised this issue with me on numerous occasions. He is a doughty champion for children with SEND and their parents and carers in his constituency. Of course I will look at this very closely. These are not just words: we are backing this up with £2.6 billion of capital funding to build about 33,000 or 34,000 SEND places across our country, including in Hertfordshire.
SEND Review — House of Commons, 2022-07-04
Topic: Education
Matthew John David Hancock (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the Minister and the Minister for School Standards, who jointly hosted a roundtable on how we better identify children with dyslexia. Can I invite the Minister to support my private Member’s Bill, which will have its Second Reading on 16 September, to make sure that we get the data from early screening so that we can identify children’s and young people’s needs and give them the help and support, and the knowledge that they have that support, to enable them to go on to thrive, flourish and make the most of their lives?
SEND Review — House of Commons, 2022-07-04
Topic: Social Welfare
William James Quince (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my right hon. Friend for all his work in this area. It was a pleasure to join him at that roundtable. We want all children with SEND to get the right support in the right setting at the right time. At the heart of our reforms is early identification, early diagnosis and early support. Of course I will continue to work with him as we develop our plans as part of the review.
Children’s Social Care Services: Reform — House of Commons, 2022-07-04
Topic: Social Welfare
Nadhim Zahawi (Conservative, Centre-right): We will publish an ambitious implementation strategy later this year following three important pieces of work: first, the independent review of social care—the MacAlister review—and then the Competition and Markets Authority study on the children’s social care market, and the national panel review of the deaths of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and Star Hobson.
Children’s Social Care Services: Reform — House of Commons, 2022-07-04
Topic: Social Welfare
Nadhim Zahawi (Conservative, Centre-right): As the hon. Lady will know—and as she probably remembers from when I was Children and Families Minister—we launched the care leaver covenant, which has made a significant difference to many of our young people in care as they transition out of care. There is also the work we are doing to support those 300,000 families who need that additional support. The work of MacAlister will make a huge difference. The hon. Lady knows that we have "staying put" and "staying close" to help those young people as they transition through, but I give her a pledge that we are serious about implementing the MacAlister review.
Children’s Social Care Services: Reform — House of Commons, 2022-07-04
Topic: Social Welfare
Paul Christopher Maynard (Conservative, Centre-right): Councils from across the country continue to send children and young people on out-of-area placements to Blackpool, often with good reason—to keep those children safe—but they do not notify Blackpool Council or Lancashire constabulary that these children are in the area. Often we find out when it is too late and something has gone wrong. What more can the Government do as part of their review of children’s social services to make sure that out-of-area placements made by councils are communicated to the host areas’ statutory agencies?
Literature Taught in Schools — House of Commons, 2022-07-04
Topic: Education
Nadhim Zahawi (Conservative, Centre-right): The national curriculum states that pupils should read a wide range of books, poems and plays to appreciate our rich literary heritage and to develop a love for literature, as I did as a teenager. That includes pre-1914 contemporary prose, poetry and drama, Shakespeare and seminal world literature. Schools have freedom to select texts meeting those criteria.
Literature Taught in Schools — House of Commons, 2022-07-04
Topic: Education
Nadhim Zahawi (Conservative, Centre-right): I want to be clear: parents should know what their children are being taught in school. There are clear requirements on schools about providing parents with information about their school’s curriculum. We appreciate that parents have particular concerns about gender nonconformity, which is why we are developing very clear guidance for the frontline for schools to be able to deal with that issue.
Technical Qualifications — House of Commons, 2022-07-04
Topic: Education
Michael Alex Burghart (Conservative, Centre-right): We are reforming technical education to ensure that all post-16 students have access to technical options that support progression and meet employer needs. That means that we are creating a generation of technical qualifications designed with employers that will give students the skills that the economy needs.
Technical Qualifications — House of Commons, 2022-07-04
Topic: Education
Gareth Mark Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): Does my hon. Friend agree that robust technical qualifications, together with fantastic new facilities, such as the new institute of technology at Grantham College, mean that we can finally dispel the myth that a degree is the only path to success in our country?
Technical Qualifications — House of Commons, 2022-07-04
Topic: Education
Michael Alex Burghart (Conservative, Centre-right): That is absolutely right. I was delighted that Grantham College got £3 million to upgrade its facilities. My hon. Friend is right on the button to say that it is not just "degree or bust", as it was once described by the Opposition. It is now not just about getting 50% into university and 50% into work; there is a third way called apprenticeships, which are the best of both worlds and lead young people into a new way of work.
Colleges and Employers: Collaboration — House of Commons, 2022-07-04
Topic: Education
Michael Alex Burghart (Conservative, Centre-right): The roll-out of new local skills improvement plans will forge new relationships between employers and the providers of skills to ensure that we have not only the right qualifications but the right qualifications in the right places.
Colleges and Employers: Collaboration — House of Commons, 2022-07-04
Topic: Education
Michael Alex Burghart (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Local skills improvement plans, drawn up by employer representative bodies, will start to bring about that collaboration. There are already excellent training options for aspiring heat pump installers, such as the level 3 heat pump engineering technician apprenticeship or the T-level in building services engineering for construction—both of which are backed by Government funding.
Colleges and Employers: Collaboration — House of Commons, 2022-07-04
Topic: Education
Michael Alex Burghart (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Lady for her question. As she will know, we are currently reviewing level 3 qualifications. The overlap list was published a couple of months ago, and we will be responding to it in the new year. We are going through technical qualifications at the moment to make sure they provide students both with a route into work and with experience while they are studying for their qualification. That is what T-levels are all about.
Colleges and Employers: Collaboration — House of Commons, 2022-07-04
Topic: Education
Mark Julian Francis Pawsey (Conservative, Centre-right): Entirely rightly, we are getting more youngsters and young people into training in technical subjects, but at a recent meeting with Warwickshire College CEO Angela Joyce, I learned that it is a real challenge to find lecturers to teach those subjects. What is my hon. Friend doing to persuade businesses that it is in their own interests to release some of their people into colleges to do some of that training?
Colleges and Employers: Collaboration — House of Commons, 2022-07-04
Topic: Education
Michael Alex Burghart (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right. These closer collaborations between employers and providers are going to make sure that we have both the workforce and the experience in colleges to give students the skills that the economy needs.
Colleges and Employers: Collaboration — House of Commons, 2022-07-04
Topic: Education
Michael Alex Burghart (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Gentleman for his support for T-levels in principle. T-levels are going extremely well, and we have very good uptake. The first year of T-levels was conducted in perhaps the harshest circumstances imaginable during covid, but thanks to the hard work of my officials and the hard work of principals, we managed to get almost all students—well over 90% of students—their work placements. If we can do it in the conditions of covid, I think we can do it at other times.
Children with SEND: Provision of Support — House of Commons, 2022-07-04
Topic: Education
William James Quince (Conservative, Centre-right): We are currently consulting on the special educational needs and disabilities and alternative provision Green Paper. This includes our proposal to establish a single national SEND and alternative provision system, setting nationally consistent standards. It will set out how needs should be identified and assessed, and the appropriate provision should be made available to meet those needs.
Children with SEND: Provision of Support — House of Commons, 2022-07-04
Topic: Education
William James Quince (Conservative, Centre-right): The SEND Green Paper will go some way to addressing that issue. I thank the hon. Lady for her question; she is right to say that educational psychologists play a critical role in identifying need and advising on appropriate support through their statutory role in the education, health and care plan process. Since 2020, we have increased the number of educational psychologists and the trainees we fund to more than 200 from 160 per annum, and we recently announced that we are investing over £10 million to train over 200 more from September 2023.
Higher Education Courses — House of Commons, 2022-07-04
Topic: Education
Michelle Emma May Elizabeth Donelan (Conservative, Centre-right): For the first time, universities will be subject to stringent minimum thresholds for student outcomes on completion rates and graduate jobs. Boots-on-the-ground inspections have begun, and through our transparency drive to give students all the information that they need and a focus on participation and outcomes, we are driving out the pockets of poor quality in our world-leading higher education sector.
Higher Education Courses — House of Commons, 2022-07-04
Topic: Education
James Nelson Grundy (Conservative, Centre-right): Would my right hon. Friend congratulate Leigh College in my constituency on becoming a campus of the Greater Manchester Institute of Technology, offering the opportunity to study degree-equivalent STEM—science, technology, engineering and maths—courses to local students and bringing £13 million in educational investment to the local borough?
Higher Education Courses — House of Commons, 2022-07-04
Topic: Education
Michelle Emma May Elizabeth Donelan (Conservative, Centre-right): I know how hard my hon. Friend has campaigned for that investment. The Greater Manchester Institute of Technology, once open, will play a critical role in filling the local skills gaps in key sectors such as construction, digital and advanced manufacturing, as well as in getting local people high-paid local jobs.
School Budgets: Impact of Inflation — House of Commons, 2022-07-04
Topic: Education
Robin Caspar Walker (Conservative, Centre-right): This year core school funding increased by £4 billion, which is a 7% per pupil boost in cash terms. I recognise the pressure that rising inflation has created. We are constantly considering what further support we can provide schools to reduce their costs, and any additional support will sit alongside our range of school resource management tools, to help schools save on regular purchases and reduce non-teaching costs.
School Budgets: Impact of Inflation — House of Commons, 2022-07-04
Topic: Education
Robin Caspar Walker (Conservative, Centre-right): As I have mentioned a number of times, the school rebuilding programme will be making announcements about schools that need that, and of course I would be happy to meet the right hon. Lady and hear about the particular conditions in that school. I recognise that much of our school estate faces the challenges of aging buildings, and it is important that we continue to invest to support schools where they can spend to save.
School Budgets: Impact of Inflation — House of Commons, 2022-07-04
Topic: Education
Robin Caspar Walker (Conservative, Centre-right): It is important that we invest to support schools. That is why we are putting in a £4 billion—7%—increase in the funding of schools. The Department also helps schools to get best value from their resources through a range of resource management tools. Those include recommended deals for energy, and support for schools in switching and entering new energy contracts. I encourage schools to engage with that programme, and of course we all want to ensure that those important priorities for schools can be addressed.
School Budgets: Impact of Inflation — House of Commons, 2022-07-04
Topic: Education
Robin Caspar Walker (Conservative, Centre-right): Our increases in school funding have been front-loaded to get money to schools rapidly, so this year core schools funding is increasing by £4 billion—a 7% cash boost per pupil. Our national formula also targets that funding towards areas of deprivation. It includes an FSM factor, which means that all pupils on free school meals will attract additional funding. The total amount allocated through deprivation factors in the national formula is increasing by £225 million, or 6.7%, in the next year, compared with last year.
School Budgets: Impact of Inflation — House of Commons, 2022-07-04
Topic: Education
Jacob Young (Conservative, Centre-right): The TS6 postcode area in my constituency is one of the most disadvantaged in Teesside, and there are not enough secondary school places for TS6 children this year, next year or the year after that, with kids having to travel miles to the nearest school with capacity. While understanding the inflationary pressures on schools, will the Minister work with me to ensure that there are enough school places for young people in the TS6 area in the years ahead?
School Budgets: Impact of Inflation — House of Commons, 2022-07-04
Topic: Education
Richard John Holden (Conservative, Centre-right): Inflation is hitting all schools and colleges hard across my constituency, but unlike academies, councils, schools and other education providers, colleges cannot claim back VAT on supplies and services. Will the Minister speak with officials in other Departments to consider that issue, and to ensure that colleges such as Derwentside College in my constituency are able to do the best they can with the price pressures they are facing at the moment?
School Budgets: Impact of Inflation — House of Commons, 2022-07-04
Topic: Education
Robin Caspar Walker (Conservative, Centre-right): I am sure my hon. Friend the Minister for Skills will be happy to take up that issue on behalf of my hon. Friend. As Minister for Schools Standards, of course I want to ensure that our whole educational estate is able to invest effectively for the future.
School Budgets: Impact of Inflation — House of Commons, 2022-07-04
Topic: Education
Robin Caspar Walker (Conservative, Centre-right): The Department’s analysis of the cost increases that schools face is published annually in the school costs note, and it includes the impact of inflation. That was last published in March, and we will continue to publish it annually More broadly, it is important to recognise the additional money—the £4 billion that I have talked about numerous times—going in this year on the back of published figures that show that, at the end of the last academic year, 97% of academy trusts were in cumulative surplus or breaking even, and 92% of local authority maintained schools were in that situation. That was, in both cases, an improvement on the year before.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2022-07-04
Topic: Education
Nadhim Zahawi (Conservative, Centre-right): I do not think that any teacher would want to strike after the damage that covid did with students being out of school. In my evidence to the pay review body, I talked about wanting to deliver almost 9%—it was 8.9%—for new teachers this year and a 7.1% uplift next year to take their starting salary to £30,000 a year. My recommendation for more senior teachers was 5% over two years.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2022-07-04
Topic: Social Welfare
Questions: The Minister will know that I have been hugely concerned about the state of special educational needs and disabilities services in Birmingham for quite some time, and the recent damning report only confirms the fears of parents whose children are on long waiting lists for education, health and care plans, and concerns about staff being told that they are too busy to respond to emails. Will the Minister assure me and parents and children back home in Birmingham that he will be doing everything possible to ensure that SEND services, which look after our most vulnerable children, are improved in Birmingham?
William James Quince (Conservative, Centre-right): I certainly agree with the SEND commissioner’s recommendations for Birmingham City Council to take responsibility for its SEND provision and rapidly make changes for improvement. I will of course continue to work closely with the commissioner and the council to monitor progress, and the Department will not hesitate to intervene further if Birmingham does not deliver on its plan to implement real lasting change. I have no doubt that my hon. Friend will hold it to account.