Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

EBacc: Social Mobility and Justice

Monday 6 December 2021 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 3 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Nick Gibb questioned the Secretary of State about the EBacc's impact on social mobility and justice.
  • The Secretary welcomed new Members to their positions and discussed the current GCSE entry levels for various subjects under the EBacc.
  • Andrew Gwynne raised concerns about resource allocation, citing a 14% real-terms fall in spending per pupil in the most deprived secondary schools between 2009-10 and 2019-20.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Nick Gibb Con
Education
Context

The introduction of the EBacc and its impact on social mobility and justice is being assessed.

Question

If he will make an assessment of the contribution of the introduction of the EBacc to social (a) mobility and (b) justice.

Answer from Nadhim Zahawi

I welcome my hon. Friend the Member for Old Bexley and Sidcup (Mr French) to his place, and of course I welcome the hon. Member for Houghton and Sunderland South (Bridget Phillipson) to hers—a great promotion for her. The work of her predecessor, the hon. Member for Stretford and Urmston (Kate Green), has been invaluable in what we can do together, especially with covid. I commend the work of my right hon. Friend the Member for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton (Nick Gibb) throughout his tenure as Minister for School Standards, during which time the proportion of disadvantaged pupils entered for the EBacc increased from 9% in 2011 to 27% in 2021.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not directly address the specific contribution to social mobility and justice, instead focused on welcoming new members and commending past work with figures about EBacc uptake.

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Q2 Nick Gibb Con
Education
Context

The question pertains to measures being taken to ensure the target of 75% year 11 pupils taking GCSE exams by 2024 and 90% by 2027 is met.

Question

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for those words. As he will know, the EBacc combines core academic GCSEs in subjects that advantaged families take it for granted that their children will study—maths, English, at least two sciences, a humanity and a foreign language. Given the importance of those subjects, what measures is he taking to ensure that schools meet the target of 75% of year 11 pupils taking those GCSE exams by 2024, and 90% by 2027?

Answer from Nadhim Zahawi

I think my right hon. Friend will be pleased to hear that we have already achieved GCSE entry levels of over 95% in English, maths and science, and over 80% in humanities. On language GCSEs, however, the situation is slightly more challenging. That remains the biggest barrier to achieving the ambition, which is why we remain committed to reforming the subject content of French, German and Spanish GCSEs.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not provide specific measures or actions being taken to meet the targets; focused on existing achievements and challenges in language GCSEs.

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Q3 Andrew Gwynne Ind Gorton and Denton
Education
Context

There is a concern over the real-terms fall in spending per pupil in secondary schools in deprived areas, as highlighted by IFS analysis.

Question

I support a relentless focus on standards in the core academic subjects, but resources also count. Given that Institute for Fiscal Studies analysis shows that the most deprived secondary schools saw a 14% real-terms fall in spending per pupil between 2009-10 and 2019-20, can the Secretary of State say whether that disparity in investment has improved or harmed social mobility and social justice?

Answer from Nadhim Zahawi

I am grateful for the hon. Member's question. I hope that he backs the record investment in education—£86 billion—that the Chancellor provided in the Budget. The Sutton Trust—I hope the hon. Member appreciates its research—suggests that, in 2016, the 300 schools that had increased EBacc take-up were more likely to achieve good GCSEs in mathematics and English, with pupil premium pupils benefiting the most. That is real levelling up from this Government.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not directly address whether investment disparity has improved or harmed social mobility; focused on overall budget figures and Sutton Trust research.

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