Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Education Settings: Safe Learning

Monday 31 January 2022 · 7 questions

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

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 4 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Minister stated that over 109.5 million tests have been completed to reduce covid-19 transmission in education settings.
  • Minister acknowledged that face coverings in classrooms were temporary during the omicron variant period.
  • Minister confirmed a 4 billion increase for schools to address rising energy costs and other pressures.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Bob Blackman Con Harrow East
Education
Context

Mr Speaker, I am answering this question on behalf of the Secretary of State who is isolating after testing positive for covid.

Question

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that pupils can learn safely in education settings. May I offer my condolences to the family and friends on the day of the funeral of the late Member for Birmingham, Erdington?

Answer from Robin Walker

Our top priority remains to protect face-to-face education. To reduce transmission of covid-19, regular testing continues across education and childcare, with over 109.5 million tests completed. A further £8 million will support the in-school vaccination programme. To improve ventilation, we have delivered over 353,000 carbon dioxide monitors and purchased up to 9,000 air cleaning devices.

Answered
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Q2 Bob Blackman Con Harrow East
Education
Context

Expressing condolences to the family and friends of the late Member for Birmingham, Erdington.

Question

Will he join me in expressing the view that forcing young children to wear a face covering for seven hours a day is unfair, particularly for those who are hard of hearing?

Answer from Robin Walker

We have consistently seen 99.9% of education settings open to support face-to-face education. The Secretary of State always said that, while masks in classrooms were brought in for a period as we tried to study the impact of omicron, they should not be in place for a day longer than necessary. We no longer recommend them, and no child should be denied the opportunity to study for refusing to wear a mask.

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Q3 Catherine West Lab Hornsey and Friern Barnet
Education Energy
Context

A school contacted the questioner due to its £30,000 energy bill which is causing concerns about managing the budget.

Question

What urgent action will he take in response to a primary school contacting me this morning regarding its energy bills?

Answer from Robin Walker

We recognise some of the pressures facing schools and, indeed, all parts of the economy as a result of rising energy costs. That is part of the reason why we have provided a £4 billion increase for schools in the next financial year, which is allowing them to deliver on all the pressures that they are currently facing.

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Q4 Robert Halfon Con
Children & Families
Context

The Centre for Social Justice report highlighted the issue of ghost children and missing pupils.

Question

Will the Department get proper data to find out where those children are, and will it use the forecast underspend from the national tutoring programme to appoint 2,000 attendance officers?

Answer from Robin Walker

I share my right hon. Friend's passion for ensuring that children are in school. I have discussed with the Children's Commissioner the designation of “ghost children”, which we both feel is somewhat unhelpful. These are flesh and blood children who deserve to be in school and have the chance to benefit from face-to-face education.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific ask regarding data gathering and using underspend for attendance officers was not directly addressed.

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Q5 Andrew Gwynne Ind Gorton and Denton
Education
Context

Russell Scott Primary School in Denton faces significant issues due to a botched refurbishment by Carillion.

Question

Let us get the purse strings opened and rebuild Russell Scott. That is not acceptable, is it? This is not levelling up.

Answer from Robin Walker

A programme is due to open shortly as the hon. Gentleman knows. Of course, we cannot pre-empt the programme, but I know that he has made a strong case for his school.

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Q6 Maria Miller Con
Education
Context

Ofsted's inquiry into the Everyone's Invited campaign highlighted issues related to sexual harassment and safeguarding in schools.

Question

Will the Minister look to Ofsted to do further work on how schools are implementing relationship and sex education?

Answer from Robin Walker

I know from discussions with Her Majesty's chief inspector that this is a priority for Ofsted, and we continue to work together on it. We are also supporting teachers to build their confidence in teaching this newly required subject.

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Q7 Stuart McDonald SNP
Education Children & Families
Context

Online learning has become more prevalent, raising concerns about the digital literacy and online environment for young people.

Question

What protections are the Government putting in place to ensure that online platforms are a safe learning environment for young people?

Answer from Robin Walker

This is an important area of work within both the computing curriculum and the advice on keeping children safe in education. We certainly want to ensure that children are safe whether they are learning in the classroom or online.

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