argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Free Childcare — House of Commons, 2019-06-24
Topic: Social Welfare
Questions: What recent assessment he has made of the effect of the provision of 30 hours’ free childcare on the financial viability of childcare settings.
David Anthony Evennett (Conservative, Centre-right): Does my hon. Friend agree that this Government’s reforms, such as the 30 hours’ free childcare for three and four-year-olds, are helping more children to grow up to develop their full potential, regardless of their background?
Free Childcare — House of Commons, 2019-06-24
Topic: Social Welfare
Questions: What recent assessment he has made of the effect of the provision of 30 hours’ free childcare on the financial viability of childcare settings.
Nadhim Zahawi (Conservative, Centre-right): I absolutely agree with my right hon. Friend. The parents whom I have met and with whom I meet regularly tell me that it has made an enormous difference. Parents who hardly saw each other are able to work and to see each other and their child. One lady said movingly that her child came out of his shell because he was able to spend more time with children his age, too.
Free Childcare — House of Commons, 2019-06-24
Topic: Education
Questions: What recent assessment he has made of the effect of the provision of 30 hours’ free childcare on the financial viability of childcare settings.
Nadhim Zahawi (Conservative, Centre-right): I am sure the hon. Lady will agree with me and the whole House that the organisation that should be responsible for quality should be independent from Government, and that organisation is Ofsted, which states clearly that the overall quality in the sector remains high. Ofsted says that 95% of the providers in the early years register that have been inspected were judged to be good or outstanding. That is a good track record. We can always do better and the hon. Lady is right to say that we have to keep a close eye on funding, because some providers are challenged, but that does not mean that we do down the whole sector. It is wrong to talk down the sector in that way.
School Budgets — House of Commons, 2019-06-24
Topic: Education
Nicolas John Gibb (Conservative, Centre-right): Congratulations on your 10 years in office, Mr Speaker We are spending £43.5 billion on schools this year, but we recognise the budgeting challenges that schools face and will continue to listen to teachers, to help us to inform decisions about future funding. As we prepare for the spending review, the Government are determined to ensure that schools have the resources they need to deliver high-quality education and that our reforms continue to drive up education standards.
School Budgets — House of Commons, 2019-06-24
Topic: Education
Nicolas John Gibb (Conservative, Centre-right): It was a real pleasure to meet all the headteachers to whom the hon. Gentleman introduced me on Wednesday, including Kate Baptiste, the headteacher at St Monica’s Primary School, where 78% of pupils achieve at least the expected standard in reading, writing and maths. That is way above the national average of 64%. In fact, all the headteachers were from schools with high standards. We had a constructive discussion about the challenges that those heads face in respect of school funding, and we will take all those challenges on board, as the hon. Gentleman suggests, as we prepare for the spending review and our discussions with the Treasury.
School Budgets — House of Commons, 2019-06-24
Topic: Education
Nicolas John Gibb (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady will be aware that schools in her Bath constituency have attracted 6.3% more funding per pupil this year, compared with 2017-18. There are now 10,000 more teachers in our system and 40,000 more teaching assistants are employed today, compared with 2010. As I said to the hon. Member for Enfield, Southgate (Bambos Charalambous), we will make the strongest possible case to secure the right deal for education in the spending review.
School Budgets — House of Commons, 2019-06-24
Topic: Education
Nicolas John Gibb (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady will be aware that, since 2017, every local authority has been given more money for every five to 16-year-old pupil in every school, with the biggest increases being allocated to schools that have been most underfunded. As for special educational needs funding, that has increased from £5 billion a year in 2013 to £6.3 billion this year, but as I have said to other hon. Members we will be making a strong case to the Treasury as part of the spending review process.
School Budgets — House of Commons, 2019-06-24
Topic: Education
Tracey Elizabeth Anne Crouch (Conservative, Centre-right): Is my right hon. Friend aware of the report by the Children’s Commissioner and the Institute for Fiscal Studies stating that education spending per pupil at primary schools is up 80% under this Government? Across my constituency, schools are receiving a very welcome above national average uplift in funding, including schools in my most deprived areas, which will go to support pupils of all abilities to perform better and close the gap between them and their peers?
School Budgets — House of Commons, 2019-06-24
Topic: Education
Nicolas John Gibb (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and I pay tribute to her for her interest and passion for educational standards in her constituency. She will be aware that, compared with 2017-18, per pupil funding in Medway is going up by 3.4% and in Kent by 6%. On top of the national funding formula, Medway will receive £12 million and Kent £57.7 million in pupil premium funding.
School Budgets — House of Commons, 2019-06-24
Topic: Education
Huw William Merriman (Conservative, Centre-right): I add my congratulations to you, Mr Speaker. I hope that you get your testimonial Broad Oak School in my constituency is under threat of closure. It is heavily dependent on its pupil ratio, but the number of pupils it has is down by about 60%. The wider area is down by 20%. What more can the Department do to encourage local authorities to make sure that we build the homes in the areas where we have falling rolls at schools?
School Budgets — House of Commons, 2019-06-24
Topic: Education
James Whiteside Gray (Conservative, Centre-right): The Minister knows very well that, while I broadly welcome the increase in funding in Wiltshire, schools that are funded under the private finance initiative have particular difficulties. Abbeyfield in my constituency has historic debt and therefore cannot become an academy. Royal Wootton Bassett has had a very big cut in its budget overall, and Malmesbury has some detailed problems with regard to IT under the PFI contract. If I were to convene such a thing, would the Minister agree to meet with the three heads from the three secondary schools I have mentioned, either here or, even better, in Wiltshire?
School Budgets — House of Commons, 2019-06-24
Topic: Education
Nicolas John Gibb (Conservative, Centre-right): I would be delighted to meet my hon. Friend and the headteachers of the schools concerned. We do specifically, in most cases, fund PFI costs that relate to schools through the national funding formula, but I do understand the pressures and problems that PFI can cause during the process of academy conversion. Our officials are becoming increasingly experienced at handling those challenges, but I will meet my hon. Friend with those headteachers.
School Budgets — House of Commons, 2019-06-24
Topic: Education
Nicolas John Gibb (Conservative, Centre-right): We are having discussions across Government on these issues of school funding and as we lead up to the spending review. We understand the need for schools to have clarity about their level of school funding and we are committed to the national funding formula, which is a much fairer way of distributing funding to our schools.
School Budgets — House of Commons, 2019-06-24
Topic: Education
Nicolas John Gibb (Conservative, Centre-right): It would not be appropriate for me to comment on the specific proposals of the contenders, although I am very pleased that all the contenders in the leadership contest have made education a focus of their platforms. We are committed to ensuring that schools are properly funded, and that work is happening now as we prepare for the spending review.
Early Literacy: Phonics — House of Commons, 2019-06-24
Topic: Education
Nicolas John Gibb (Conservative, Centre-right): There is significant evidence that systematic phonics is a highly effective method for teaching early reading. In 2018, 82% of six-year-olds met the expected standard in the phonics check, compared with just 58% when we introduced the check in 2012. Furthermore, 88% of pupils meeting the phonics standard in 2013 went on to meet the year 6 reading test standard in 2018.
Early Literacy: Phonics — House of Commons, 2019-06-24
Topic: Education
Caroline Elizabeth Johnson (Conservative, Centre-right): I agree with the hon. Member for Huddersfield (Mr Sheerman), who said earlier that early intervention is very important. I am pleased to see that, as a result of these phonics changes, England has risen to joint eighth place in the progress in international reading literacy study—up from joint 10th in 2011, and well up from the low of 19th position under a Labour Government My son Wilfred has just started learning his phonics—something he enjoys and that I know he will do well at, given the good base that the Government are offering. Will my right hon. Friend agree with me that boosting pupil literacy is key to getting our children the best possible start in life?
Early Literacy: Phonics — House of Commons, 2019-06-24
Topic: Education
Nicolas John Gibb (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is, of course, absolutely right. Reading is a fundamental building block for a successful education, and the fact that more children are now reading more effectively will help them develop a habit and love of reading and prepare them for the higher demands on their reading ability when they start secondary school.
Early Literacy: Phonics — House of Commons, 2019-06-24
Topic: Education
Nicolas John Gibb (Conservative, Centre-right): As my hon. Friend will know, we had this discussion when, with other Northamptonshire MPs, we met the local authority and the regional schools commissioner. It is important that children, at primary school in particular, are read to every day to improve their vocabulary. The better their vocabulary, the more easily they can comprehend what they are reading, and the more they can comprehend what they are reading, the more likely they are to read. That, in turn, will improve their vocabulary and knowledge.
School Places — House of Commons, 2019-06-24
Topic: Education
Damian Patrick George Hinds (Conservative, Centre-right): I join colleagues from across the House in congratulating you on your decade, Mr Speaker. On the subject of nice round numbers, we are on track to create 1 million new places in schools this decade, primarily through building free schools and encouraging existing high-performing schools to expand.
School Places — House of Commons, 2019-06-24
Topic: Education
Damian Patrick George Hinds (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend has been a strong and consistent champion for his constituents and their education. Lancashire has been allocated £140 million over 2011 to 2021. In his constituency of Morecambe and Lunesdale, the proportion of schools rated good or outstanding has increased from 64% to 86%.
School Places — House of Commons, 2019-06-24
Topic: Education
Thomas Christopher John Pursglove (Conservative, Centre-right): It is very welcome that significantly more children are taught in good and outstanding schools in Northamptonshire now than in 2010. The enormous housing growth in Corby and East Northamptonshire is creating real demand for those places. Will my right hon. Friend keep banging the drum for more funding from the Treasury for school places?
School Places — House of Commons, 2019-06-24
Topic: Education
Damian Patrick George Hinds (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes, indeed. We work with local authorities to make sure that we have up-to-date assessments and projections of the need for school places, and we fund to those projections to make sure that there is the right number of places. We are absolutely focused on making sure that we are doing that by expanding existing good and outstanding schools and putting in good new provision, which also improves diversity and choice.
School Places — House of Commons, 2019-06-24
Topic: Education
Damian Patrick George Hinds (Conservative, Centre-right): I do recognise, of course, that that school and all schools need the right resources. I am also very happy to join the hon. Gentleman in his congratulation and commendation of Ms Clifton and all the staff, pupils and parents at the school.
OECD Programme for International Student Assessment — House of Commons, 2019-06-24
Topic: Education
Questions: What comparative assessment his Department has made of the performance of the constituent parts of the UK in the OECD programme for international student assessment tables.; What comparative assessment his Department has made of the performance of the constituent parts of the UK in the OECD programme for international student assessment tables.
John Robert Lamont (Conservative, Centre-right): Under the SNP, Scotland’s education system has gone from being the best in the United Kingdom, with standards well above the OECD average, to third out of the home nations. Standards in reading, science and maths in Scotland have fallen to their lowest levels and are now no more than average. Average might be good enough for the SNP, but does the Secretary of State agree that the UK needs to be aiming higher and that the falls in standards in Scotland are shameful, particularly when the SNP Government claim to have education at the top of their priorities? [Interruption.]
OECD Programme for International Student Assessment — House of Commons, 2019-06-24
Topic: Education
Questions: What comparative assessment his Department has made of the performance of the constituent parts of the UK in the OECD programme for international student assessment tables.; What comparative assessment his Department has made of the performance of the constituent parts of the UK in the OECD programme for international student assessment tables.
Damian Patrick George Hinds (Conservative, Centre-right): I am not sure what the dismissive guttural noises from our friends in the SNP were all about. I share my hon. Friend’s regret about the decline in maths and science, and I am pleased that he and colleagues both here and in the Scottish Parliament are holding the Scottish Government to account.
OECD Programme for International Student Assessment — House of Commons, 2019-06-24
Topic: Education
Questions: What comparative assessment his Department has made of the performance of the constituent parts of the UK in the OECD programme for international student assessment tables.; What comparative assessment his Department has made of the performance of the constituent parts of the UK in the OECD programme for international student assessment tables.
Damian Patrick George Hinds (Conservative, Centre-right): Of course, we have regular contact with the different devolved Administrations on a range of matters, not only because there are always things that we can learn from each other, but because we have many shared interests and interdependencies, and education is yet another area where we can work better together as one United Kingdom.
OECD Programme for International Student Assessment — House of Commons, 2019-06-24
Topic: Education
Questions: What comparative assessment his Department has made of the performance of the constituent parts of the UK in the OECD programme for international student assessment tables.; What comparative assessment his Department has made of the performance of the constituent parts of the UK in the OECD programme for international student assessment tables.
Damian Patrick George Hinds (Conservative, Centre-right): May I start on the happy note of joining the hon. Lady in congratulating Mr McSorley on his upcoming retirement and wishing the best to the pupils and staff at schools across Scotland as they move towards their holidays There are more years of compulsory education in England than there are in Scotland. As for permanent exclusions, of course I regret it when children have to be expelled, but sometimes it is necessary, and necessary sometimes because of the other 27 children in the class. In fact, the rate of permanent exclusions that we see in schools today is lower than it was a decade ago when the Labour party was in government.
Sixth-Form Students: Funding — House of Commons, 2019-06-24
Topic: Education
Questions: If he will implement the recommendation in the April 2019 Social Mobility Commission’s state of the nation 2018 to 2019 report to increase significantly the national funding rate for sixth-form students.
Anne Frances Milton (Conservative, Centre-right): Mr Speaker, may I add my congratulations to you on your 10 years in the Chair? I remember fondly sitting on the Opposition Benches by your side when I was first elected and being guided by your wise advice I fully recognise the critical role that sixth forms play in social mobility. When I visit colleges and sixth forms, I see living examples of that. We have protected the 16-to-19 base rate until the end of the current spending review period, but I am very aware of the cost pressures on providers and of the fact that funding has not kept up with costs. We are looking closely at 16-to-19 funding in preparation for the spending review.
Sixth-Form Students: Funding — House of Commons, 2019-06-24
Topic: Education
Questions: If he will implement the recommendation in the April 2019 Social Mobility Commission’s state of the nation 2018 to 2019 report to increase significantly the national funding rate for sixth-form students.
Anne Frances Milton (Conservative, Centre-right): As I said, I am very aware of the cost pressures. Decisions such as the one the hon. Lady suggests are a matter for Her Majesty’s Treasury. There is more money available, particularly to colleges, through apprenticeships. The money spent on apprenticeships will have doubled by 2020, and T-levels will attract an additional £500 million per year when fully rolled out, but as I say, we will consider this ahead of the spending review, because I am aware that funding has not kept up with the costs.
Sixth-Form Students: Funding — House of Commons, 2019-06-24
Topic: Education
Questions: If he will implement the recommendation in the April 2019 Social Mobility Commission’s state of the nation 2018 to 2019 report to increase significantly the national funding rate for sixth-form students.
Anne Margaret Main (Conservative, Centre-right): Schools in my constituency have been arguing for more funding at every level, but they particularly want a funding settlement for 16 to 19-year-olds that represents the pressures on them. What more can be done to ensure that there is a long-term settlement, not a year-on-year settlement? Planning long term is something that schools find enormously important.
Sixth-Form Students: Funding — House of Commons, 2019-06-24
Topic: Education
Questions: If he will implement the recommendation in the April 2019 Social Mobility Commission’s state of the nation 2018 to 2019 report to increase significantly the national funding rate for sixth-form students.
Anne Frances Milton (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend raises an important point. The difficulty with managing budgets on an annual basis is that, in order to make provision and plans that are sustainable, colleges and schools often need a longer-term settlement. I am sure the Minister for School Standards and I will be raising exactly the point that she has made.
Sixth-Form Students: Funding — House of Commons, 2019-06-24
Topic: Education
Questions: If he will implement the recommendation in the April 2019 Social Mobility Commission’s state of the nation 2018 to 2019 report to increase significantly the national funding rate for sixth-form students.
Robert Henry Halfon (Conservative, Centre-right): Thank you, Mr Speaker, and congratulations I know that my right hon. Friend is a doughty campaigner for more further education funding, but the main estimates memorandum for 2019-20 shows that resource expenditure on further education on a like-for-like basis is falling by 3.3% in cash terms and more in real terms, and the Department for Education’s capital budget for FE is also set to decrease by 40% from £186 million to £112 million. Can she explain the reason for the reduction and its impact?
Sixth-Form Students: Funding — House of Commons, 2019-06-24
Topic: Education
Questions: If he will implement the recommendation in the April 2019 Social Mobility Commission’s state of the nation 2018 to 2019 report to increase significantly the national funding rate for sixth-form students.
Anne Frances Milton (Conservative, Centre-right): I had a delightful visit to a college in my right hon. Friend’s constituency of Harlow that does an excellent job. Many further education colleges are doing an excellent job in difficult circumstances. As I have made clear, we are aware that funding has not kept up with costs.
Apprenticeship Levy — House of Commons, 2019-06-24
Topic: Education
Anne Frances Milton (Conservative, Centre-right): I am very aware of the number of apprenticeships, but comparing numbers before and after the reforms we have made is a bit like comparing apples and pears, because we have put quality at the heart of apprenticeships. The number of people starting on the new employer-designed standards in the first half of 2018-19 has increased by 79%, which is an indication of the quality. An apprenticeship must now last for a year, and there must be 20% off-the-job training. There has been an increase of 10% in apprenticeship starts in the first half of 2018-19, compared with the same period in 2017-18.
Apprenticeship Levy — House of Commons, 2019-06-24
Topic: Labor
Anne Frances Milton (Conservative, Centre-right): We are determined to make the apprenticeship system work for small and medium-sized enterprises, and smaller businesses get 95% of their training costs paid. We will move smaller businesses on to the apprenticeship system: we want to do that well and smoothly to make sure that we make it work for them.
Apprenticeship Levy — House of Commons, 2019-06-24
Topic: Education
Anne Frances Milton (Conservative, Centre-right): Contrary to what the hon. Gentleman has said, previously the apprenticeship system is working well, and levy payers in particular—and also small businesses —are grabbing at the opportunities that apprenticeships offer. I am aware of the budgetary pressures on the system and we will make representations ahead of the spending review on that point.
SATs: Pressure on Students — House of Commons, 2019-06-24
Topic: Education
Damian Patrick George Hinds (Conservative, Centre-right): Assessment means that we can ensure that pupils everywhere are getting the standard of education that they should. Of course we want pupils to do their best but that should never be at the expense of their wellbeing.
SATs: Pressure on Students — House of Commons, 2019-06-24
Topic: Education
Andrea Marie Jenkyns (Conservative, Centre-right): Congratulations, Mr Speaker I recently visited a primary school in my constituency rated good by Ofsted since 2005. The headteacher brought to my attention the level of difficulty and stress that key stage 2 children face when undergoing SATs. Will the Secretary of State meet me to discuss how we can minimise exam stress for young children and would he like to complete one of the old tests with me?