The Secretary of State for Education ()
With permission, Mr Speaker, I would like to make a statement
regarding testing and examinations in schools and colleges next
year.
The pandemic continues to cause disruption throughout our
education communities and, once again, I pay tribute to all our
teachers, school leaders and support staff for the enormous
efforts that they are making to keep young people of all ages
learning. I also pay tribute to the global teacher of the year
award winner, which recognises the most outstanding teacher from
around the world. Our very own Dr Jamie Frost, maths lead at
Tiffin School in Kingston-upon-Thames, has been shortlisted for
this after his tuition website went viral during lockdown,
helping millions of pupils in the United Kingdom and around the
world to continue their studies at home. He has already won the
covid hero award, and I am sure that the whole House joins me in
wishing him luck with the overall prize. [Hon. Members: “Hear,
hear!”]
We will not let covid damage the life chances of an entire year
of students by cancelling next year’s exams. Exams are the best
form of assessment that we have, and we are therefore taking
steps to ensure that any student preparing to sit them in 2021
has every chance possible to do their very, very best.
We support Ofqual’s decision that, in awarding next year’s GCSEs,
AS and A-levels, grading will be as generous and will maintain a
similar profile as those grades awarded this year. This is to
recognise the exceptional circumstances under which students and
teachers continue to work and to make sure that students are not
at a disadvantage compared with previous years.
Ofqual is also working with the exam boards to make sure that
students studying for vocational and technical qualifications and
other general qualifications benefit from the same generous
approach. I know that students and teachers are making enormous
efforts to catch up with any lost learning. To support those most
affected by the continuing disruption, at the end of January,
students will be given advance notice of some of the topic areas
that will be assessed in their GCSEs and A-levels. That means
that they will be able to focus on these areas in more depth and
target their revision accordingly. Students will also be given
exam aids, such as formula sheets, in recognition of the time
lost in the classroom and to give them more confidence and reduce
the amount of information that they need to memorise in
preparation for exams.
All these measures have been drawn up with the most affected in
mind and we will be sharing the advance notice about what exactly
the measures will entail with schools and colleges at the end of
January. Students taking vocational and technical qualifications
or other general qualifications can also expect a number of
concessions, including a reduced number of units to be assessed.
We want as many students as possible to be able to sit their
exams and for that reason we have a contingency package to make
sure that they can do so, including spacing exams more widely, as
well as enabling vulnerable students to sit exams at home if they
need to.
In the minority of cases where students cannot sit all their
papers or where a very small number of pupils miss all of them,
there will be means by which they can still be awarded a grade,
including additional papers available after the main exam series.
The fundamental problem with this year’s exams is that we tried
to award grades without actually holding exams. We will not be
repeating that same mistake again. With the measures that I have
outlined, we are confident that every student who is preparing to
sit exams this summer will be awarded a qualification. As the
virus continues to be a fact of life for all of us, schools and
colleges are making impressive efforts to ensure that education
can continue for those students who must remain at home. We have
reviewed and updated the guidance for remote education so that
schools, parents and pupils all know exactly what to expect from
it. Primary schools need to provide an absolute bare minimum of
three hours a day on average of remote education, and secondary
schools, an absolute minimum of at least four. Schools will also
be expected to check and provide feedback on pupils’ work at
least weekly as well as informing parents immediately where
engagement is a concern. The Department will also ask schools to
set out details of their remote provision on their websites so
that parents can better understand their schools’ remote
education offer.
As levels of covid infection continue to fluctuate, we know that
different areas will experience varying levels of disruption to
learning. We will therefore commission an expert group to assess
any local variations and the impact the virus is having on
students’ education.
I turn to the measures we are taking in respect of the school and
college accountability framework for 2021. We need to ensure that
the arrangements for inspection and performance measures are fair
and reflect the current public health situation. They need to
take into account the enormous challenges that schools and
colleges have been facing, but, equally, we must continue to
provide the information and reassurance that parents need about
their children’s education. We will not be publishing the normal
performance tables based on test, exam and assessment data next
year. Instead, my Department will publish data on the subjects
that students have taken, how well schools and colleges support
their students to their next destination and attendance data,
taking account of the impact of covid-19. We will also publish
national and regional data on 2021 exams, tests and assessments.
Importantly, we will make the exam data available to Ofsted and
to schools, but we will not publish it in performance tables.
I will now let the House know how our plans for schools and
colleges are affected by inspections. It is our intention that
Ofsted’s routine graded inspections will remain suspended for the
spring term but will resume in a carefully considered way from
the summer term. In the meantime, Ofsted will carry out
monitoring inspections in those schools and colleges most in need
of support. That will include those currently judged inadequate
and some in the “requires improvement” category. Inspectors will
focus on areas that are particularly relevant at this time such
as curriculum delivery, remote education and, importantly,
attendance. There will also be a focus on those pupils who are
particularly vulnerable. However, I stress that they will not
make graded judgments and any inspection activity will be
sensitive to be additional pressures that schools are working
under at this time.
As in the autumn, Ofsted will also be able to inspect a school in
response to any significant concerns about safeguarding but also
about the delivery of remote education by that school. In both
the early years sector and the independent schools sector, the
intention is also that standard inspections will remain suspended
for the spring, with assurance inspections in the early years and
non-routine inspections in independent schools taking place in
the meantime. I trust that provides the House with reassurance
that we are providing the right balance in our accountability and
inspection arrangements.
I will finish by outlining our proposal for the curriculum and
testing in primary schools, recognising the particular challenges
they face. Assessments in primary schools next summer will focus
on phonics, mathematics and English reading and writing. That
means that for 2021 only, we will remove all tests at key stage
1, the English grammar, punctuation and spelling tests at key
stage 2, and science teacher assessments at both key stages. The
introduction of a multiplication tables check will be postponed
for a further year, but schools may use it if they want to. It is
a resource available to all schools, and we encourage them to do
so if they can.
We will also add more flexibility to the timetable, so if there
is any disruption due to coronavirus in a school, pupils will be
able to take the test when they return to the school. These
measures will help us to address lost learning time and will give
us a chance to support pupils in schools who need help. They will
also provide vital information for parents and better help for
pupils to make a successful step into the next stage of
education—going to secondary school.
Everyone in all of our schools and colleges is working as hard as
they can to make sure that no pupils lose out because of covid
and that the future they are dreaming of is still very much
within their reach. I am determined that the coronavirus will not
jeopardise the life chances of this year’s pupils, and I am
confident that the plan is the fairest way of doing this. I
commend this statement to the House.
(Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)
I thank the Secretary of State for his statement and for the
advance copy of it. I also thank the Minister for School
Standards for briefing my hon. Friend the Member for Ilford North
() and me yesterday. I also join the Secretary of
State in congratulating Dr Frost and wishing him well for the
finals of the global teacher of the year awards.
I am glad that the Government have finally responded to the pleas
of students, their parents and teachers who have been asking for
months how next summer’s exams will be conducted fairly. While I
welcome measures to help pupils be assessed on what they have
learned and ensure that reserve papers will be in place for
pupils who might miss out, that performance tables will be
suspended and that routine Ofsted inspections will not resume in
January—many of them measures that Labour called for —today’s
announcement still bakes in fundamental inequities between
students who have suffered different levels of disruption to
their learning. The Government have known since September that an
ongoing pandemic would create huge challenges in schools, and for
months they will have heard school leaders, parents and Labour
Members calling for a credible plan to address them. It has taken
until December to provide one, so can the Secretary of State tell
us what took him so long? Why did he leave students in a horrible
and uncertain limbo?
The truth is that the delay has limited the Department’s options.
Had it acted sooner, it could have done more to make the system
fairer. I welcome the decision to make the distribution of grades
similar to last year’s to ensure that pupils sitting their exams
this year do not feel unfairly disadvantaged, but we know that
last year while grades rose across the board, some
pupils—particularly those in private schools—were more likely to
see a sharp rise. How will the Secretary of State ensure this
year that the distribution of grades is spread evenly across
schools and postcodes to ensure that the most disadvantaged
pupils are treated fairly? Is he not concerned that providing
information in advance about subject content will at best benefit
pupils at random, with those who happen to have already covered
the assessed material benefiting at the expense of those who did
not, and at worst in fact mean that pupils who faced the greatest
disruption to their learning lose the most?
There is significant support for greater optionality in exams.
Indeed, the Secretary of State’s Department has taken exactly
that approach with some exams already. It allows pupils to be
assessed on what they have learned, with fewer pupils losing out
at random. If it works for some subjects, can the Secretary of
State explain clearly why it is not part of today’s announcement?
What steps is the Secretary of State taking to address the fact
that over a million pupils were out of school this week? He
talked about regional disparity, and we know that exam classes in
some regions have faced disproportionate levels of disruption.
Can he tell us when the expert group will report, why it has been
established so late—I understand just last week—and will it
include representatives of school leaders and teachers?
On remote learning, I note the Secretary of State’s requirements,
but how many laptops have been delivered to students who need
them? Why are we continuing to hear reports of schools receiving
laptops only after students isolate, wasting valuable time
getting them set up and delivered? Why has the national tutoring
programme now been stretched more thinly across two years? Can he
even guarantee that all students on free school meals will have
access to tutoring?
Many students sitting exams next summer want to go on to
university or college. What discussions is the Secretary of State
having with colleges and universities to ensure that any
additional support these students may need will be in place for
them next September? Does he believe that any changes will be
needed to the timing of university admissions? Can he tell us
when pupils taking vocational and technical qualifications will
receive further clarity, and what steps is he taking to clear the
logjam in the testing of apprentices’ functional skills in maths
and English?
Does the Secretary of State acknowledge that there are likely to
be more appeals than in a normal year? How will he ensure that
all students can access a fair appeals process? Will he also
ensure that there are the markers with the time and resources
needed to grade papers in time, particularly in the second exam
window?
I want students to have the chance to show what they have
achieved in the most challenging of circumstances, but after
months of silence these proposals fall short of the fair exams
that the Secretary of State promised. At best, this is a
“requires improvement”.
I am glad that the hon. Member could bring herself to welcome the
measures, albeit slightly grudgingly, at the start. It is no
thanks to the Labour party that schools are back and children are
in schools. It is no thanks to the Labour party that we were
getting over 1.6 million children back into school before—
Mr Speaker
Order. Is it possible to face me a little bit as well, Secretary
of State?
I know that you always love Secretaries of State to look
adoringly at you, Mr Speaker. I have been dutifully rebuked.
The Labour party has never championed pupils, because it has not
fought to get students back into schools. It was actually the
Mayor of Greater Manchester who wanted to send children out of
school and back home. But the Conservative party stands for
getting children back into school.
The shadow Secretary of State highlighted a number of issues. It
is disappointing that the official Opposition have not engaged in
a positive debate. They could not even be bothered to respond to
the Ofqual communication about exams. They seem to have missed
the opportunity. Maybe it got lost in the post—or maybe, quite
simply, they just could not be bothered. We do recognise that
there are significant challenges in delivering education at this
time, which is why we have put together a package of truly
unprecedented measures to assist schools, teachers, and, most
importantly, pupils themselves.
I am sure that the hon. Lady would grudgingly acknowledge that
all academic studies have continuously highlighted that children
from the most disadvantaged backgrounds, including children from
black and ethnic minority communities, are the ones who always
outperform predicted grades when they sit exams.
indicated assent.
It is good to see that we have a common view—I note the
chuntering from the hon. Member for Ilford North (), who is sat in the Opposition Chief Whip’s seat—on
the importance of exams. We recognise that children will have
missed out elements of the curriculum, but giving advance notice
will give them and their teachers the opportunity to use that
time to focus on the areas of the curriculum that they know they
will be tested on. We are also recognising the importance of
technical and vocational qualifications, and we will be looking
at ensuring that information on those is shared at a similar time
to information on GCSEs and A-levels.
The shadow Secretary of State highlighted some important issues,
including the potential for extra appeals and ensuring that there
are proper extra resources in place for that process; we will
certainly be doing that. We recognise that there are challenges
from giving extra learning time and moving most exams back by
three weeks. For example, this will put added pressure on the
exam boards. We are working closely with the exam boards to
support them to get the right resources in place, and to deliver
the grades as and when we would expect them—at the end of August.
(Harlow) (Con) [V]
It is right that we have exams in some form next year, because
that at least gives pupils much-needed structure. I thank the
Secretary of State, because there is no easy or perfect option,
but I have two questions that I would like to ask him. First, are
we possibly baking grade inflation into the system, as we saw in
2020? Could we not ensure that grade boundaries are in line with
2019 results, or at least between 2019 and 2020 results, so that
we can revert to the standards of 2019, while no one loses out,
and start transitioning back to normality? From a social justice
perspective, does inflating all the grades just move the
goalposts, in that the difference between disadvantaged pupils
and their better-off peers remains the same?
Secondly, we know from the DFE’s own data that 798,000 pupils in
state-funded schools were not in school for covid-19-related
reasons on Thursday 26 November. Is there a way that we could
track every single child to assess the learning that he or she is
getting from the school? Will my right hon. Friend give Ofsted a
much stronger role to ensure that children are learning, and will
he use the £143 million allocated to the catch-up programme to
ensure that every pupil is prepared for this year’s exams, rather
than rolling over that funding into next year?
We have commissioned an Education Policy Institute study on the
individual learning loss, and we are getting data into the
Department on that. We will be asking the expert group to look at
that and how best to address it. I take my right hon. Friend’s
point: he would have preferred more of a middle ground in the
grading between 2019 and 2020. I firmly believe that, for those
children who have had to deal with so much in terms of the
pandemic, it is really important that their exam grading is
reflective of their work but recognises the fact that they have
been through a tremendous amount this year. It would be unjust
for them to have grades, having sat exams, that were
substantially lower than the ones received in 2020.
Mr Speaker
Let us head up to Birmingham to see . [Interruption.] He looks a lot younger! That was not
; we have not arrived in Birmingham yet, so we will
head to North Thanet, to see
.
(North Thanet) (Con) [V]
The work that my right hon. Friend does in connection with exams
is likely to be considered wrong by some people, but I
congratulate him on coming up with what is probably the least
worst option available to him. He will remember that at Education
questions a couple of weeks ago I raised the issue of SATs, which
is of particular concern to primary schools this year. He touched
on the testing regimes for primary school children and secondary
school children. Could he expand on that and indicate precisely
what he expects of teaching staff and whether he believes that,
for this year only, assessment might be the way forward?
My right hon. Friend is right that there is not an easy pathway,
which I think the hon. Member for Stretford and Urmston
() also recognises. Any route taken presents quite
significant challenges in delivering assessments and
examinations, but I believe that this is the fairest and most
robust way of doing it. We have removed SATs from performance
tables. That is an important measure, but SATs do present a
really important way of measuring a child’s attainment and
position, and they will be vital for schools in making that
assessment and supporting children to catch up on lost learning.
We hope that removing them from performance tables will remove a
lot of the pressure that teachers sometimes feel and help with
the delivery of SATs.
(St Albans) (LD) [V]
Securing fairness for all students will be absolutely key, so
while I welcome some of the measures that have been announced
today that go in the right direction, I am worried that the
creation of an expert group is simply kicking the fairness can
down the road. Given the huge variations in learning between
individuals, schools and local education authorities, when,
specifically, will the expert group report on its proposals, and
when will the House be able to scrutinise them?
The whole set of measures that we have put in place, whether in
extra learning time, changes to assessment, advance notice or
giving exam aids, is to support children who have suffered from
lost learning. The expert group, which will report to me in the
spring, will make a proper and thorough assessment of some of the
challenges that students have faced.
(North Devon) (Con)
This year’s students, such as those at Petroc College in North
Devon, have faced unprecedented disruption to their studies as a
result of the pandemic. Those who are due to sit some of the most
important exams of their lives so far have perhaps felt this
disruption most acutely. Can my right hon. Friend assure me that
the measures that his Department is taking will ensure that these
students are treated as fairly as possible in both academic and
vocational subjects?
I assure my hon. Friend that the measures we are taking are truly
exceptional—they are not measures that we would ever have
expected to take in any normal year. The only reason we are
taking them is to support students in her constituency to ensure
that they achieve the very best grades that they possibly can and
unlock their future life chances.
(Strangford) (DUP)
I thank the Secretary of State for his statement. Will he outline
the steps taken to ensure that devolved Administrations whose
students carry out English board exams have all the relevant
information to enable schools to truly lay out the pathway to
exam attainment? Will this messaging be going to parents and
children soon to ensure less stress for these young ones, who
have more uncertainty on their shoulders than children have had
for many, many generations?
The hon. Gentleman makes an important point. The measures that we
are taking are very much to reduce stress and pressure on
students. Many pupils in Northern Ireland sit papers from English
exam boards, and the measures that we are taking will obviously
be replicated in Northern Ireland for them. Only yesterday, I
spoke to , the Education
Minister for Northern Ireland. At every stage, we are considering
implications that may arise for Northern Irish students as a
result of these changes. We are doing everything we can to
accommodate any concerns that may have on
behalf of pupils in Northern Ireland, and we hope that we can
balance that off.
(Harrow East)
(Con) [V]
I warmly welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement, which will end
the uncertainty that I am sure is experienced right across the
country. Will he join me in thanking teachers and students across
Harrow, who have been desperately trying to catch up with the
learning that they have missed, and congratulating them on their
hard work? Will he use the opportunity—now—of a revision to the
process to ensure that exams are not just a test of knowledge,
but far more a test of how that knowledge is applied, in
assessing how students have performed across their time in
school?
We will always look at different options to improve our
examination system and how we work with exam boards, and I am
more than happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss that in greater
detail. In terms of catch-up, I pay tribute to the teachers and
support staff not just in Harrow, but right across the country,
who have done so much. They have been assisted by the £1 billion
covid catch-up fund to give extra resources, so that extra
teaching can take place at weekends and in the evenings, and
children have the opportunity to catch up on work that they have
missed.
(Bristol East) (Lab)
Research from the Education Policy Institute, among others, on
the performance of pupils with special educational needs and
disabilities suggests that they can be particularly vulnerable to
being underestimated in assessments. Given that some of those
pupils might also, for health reasons and owing to shielding,
have had more disruption to their education, how can we be
confident that any new system introduced for next year will take
their needs into account?
The hon. Lady raises a really important point on which there is a
lot of shared concern on both sides of the House. This was one
reason that we particularly weighted the covid catch-up fund to
deliver extra money for those schools supporting children with
special educational needs. We recognise there are some acute and
difficult challenges, and certainly I know that the Minister for
School Standards would be happy to sit down with the hon. Lady,
along with the children’s Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for
Chelmsford (), to
discuss any extra support or intervention she thinks would be of
use and benefit.
(Aylesbury) (Con)
May I congratulate my right hon. Friend on achieving a compromise
that enables students in Aylesbury to sit exams that they have
long worked towards and actually want to take, while ensuring
that they have the best possible chance of receiving a fair
result? Can he assure me that this strategy will be able to
withstand any future shocks that might arise due to covid-19, so
that teachers and pupils in Buckinghamshire can plan the next two
terms with certainty?
This is why we have taken the decision to make the announcement
at this stage. I think the four nations in the United Kingdom
believe this is the most comprehensive and detailed plan for how
we are going to proceed with assessment, examinations and the
awarding of grades. I hope this gives every school leader and
every teacher, but most importantly children, a clear sense of
what they are going to be assessed against, so that they can
achieve the very best grade that they are capable of getting.
(Warwick and Leamington) (Lab)
The Secretary of State rightly says that he wants to boost
fairness and support students, but he will be aware that just
last week a million students were not able to be in school. In
one school in my constituency of Warwick and Leamington, only 63%
were present, which is a massive disparity. On 21 October, he
said he would deliver 500,000 laptops, but only 200,000 have so
far been delivered. Does he accept that there is a massive gap in
delivering the fairness he promises? Should priority be given to
teachers to be vaccinated to ensure they can stay in school?
I very much share the hon. Gentleman’s view on the important role
that teachers, and also support staff, have been playing in the
delivery of education. Obviously, right through this pandemic,
there has been a national priority of putting education at the
centre of the Government’s response, which is why schools have
remained open, even during a national lockdown. There will be
specific clinical needs that have to be met as part of a
vaccination programme, but there has always been a priority put
on education, and for teachers to be able to get into school and
teach and for support staff to support them. We will obviously be
looking at this in the next wave and the announcement on
vaccinations.
(Wantage) (Con)
I congratulate my right hon. Friend on the position regarding
exams today, as someone who was keen to see them go ahead. More
importantly, all the young people I have spoken to want to see
them go ahead as well, so that they are in control of their own
futures. Does he agree that, given the learning loss,
particularly for disadvantaged young people, it will still be
important for schools to have an effective system for young
people to learn during the holidays between now and summer to
give these exams their best shot?
My hon. Friend raises an important point and identifies a great
opportunity for many schools to take advantage of. I know so many
schools have been putting on extra lessons after the school day
has concluded, and so many schools have been looking at how they
can use the holidays to deliver extra education and catch-up for
those critical year 11 and year 13 pupils. That is a great idea
and certainly something we very much encourage.
(Denton
and Reddish) (Lab) [V]
I welcome this announcement, but let us talk about regional
disparities, because I share the concerns of my hon. Friend the
Member for Warwick and Leamington (). More than 12% of children in Greater Manchester
were impacted by covid-19, meaning that they could not attend
school. That compares with 5% nationally. Information technology
poverty affects up to 18% of the student population, and the
learning conditions at home affect many more. How will this
announcement help mitigate the impact on those pupils? How do we
make it fair for them?
As I touched on in an earlier answer, obviously we expect schools
to deliver a full curriculum, but some schools will have been
impacted in such a way that they cannot deliver every aspect of
it. However, giving advance notice of the topic areas means that
over the coming months those schools and students can focus on
those areas that need to be covered for exams, in the run-up to
them.
(Sleaford and North Hykeham) (Con) [V]
I welcome the Secretary of State’s statement. I know that he has
considered very carefully how to make things fair, and students
and staff will welcome the certainty. Students and teachers in
Sleaford and North Hykeham are working really hard to catch up
with any lost learning, but it is clear that some students,
through no fault of their own, will have missed more days of
school than others. Can my right hon. Friend tell me how the £1
billion catch-up fund will be targeted towards those students who
need it the most?
There is not only the general pot of the catch-up fund, but the
specific national tutoring programme, targeting children from the
most disadvantaged backgrounds. We have always believed that
schools, with their intimate knowledge of their pupils and
understanding of their learning needs, are best able to target
how that money is spent, so that pupils are best able to catch
up.
(Luton North) (Lab)
I have heard from teachers, school leaders and young people
across Luton North, all saying that we need alternatives to
standard exams next year. Students from Luton sixth forms and the
Luton youth council wrote to me with a comprehensive list of
options last month, and I urge the Secretary of State to hear
their concerns. The headteacher of the fantastic Lealands High
School summed it up perfectly when he wrote to me sharing
concerns not just for children’s future, but for their mental
health:
“It has become apparent that the disparity in experience of Year
11 students across the country is vast and those who are
suffering the most have not control over this... There are many
ways to assess what young people know, understand and can do.”
Will the Secretary of State listen to teachers, parents and
students and avoid any unnecessary unfairness of exams, or does
he just think he knows better?
We have spent a great deal of time working with stakeholders and
listening to children, teachers and professional academics on how
best we do this. That is why we have pulled together the proposal
that we have, putting the interests of children very much at the
heart of everything we do.
(Stoke-on-Trent North) (Con)
I congratulate my right hon. Friend and his entire departmental
team on today’s statement, which gives certainty and clarity to
teachers, pupils and parents for exams in the summer. We know
that schools, including those in Stoke-on-Trent North, Kidsgrove
and Talke, have been hit hard financially this year due to
covid-19. That will only be added to by the need to advertise
for, train and hire additional exam invigilators, which is a
challenge at the best of times, so will my right hon. Friend back
my call for an army of volunteers, made up of former and retired
teachers—please add my name to the list—to help the national
effort and deliver exams next summer?
I would be delighted to add my hon. Friend’s name to the list of
that army of volunteers who will go out there and help in
schools. However, we do not just need invigilators; we also need
markers—people who have experience as teachers, who are maybe
retired—to come forward and assist us in this significant effort
to ensure that papers are marked punctually. This is a great
opportunity for people to give something back to the next
generation and to schools in their community by either
volunteering as an invigilator or coming forward as a marker.
(South Shields) (Lab)
We have had yet another statement from the Secretary of State
that did not mention children in care or children with special
educational needs and disability. That is not surprising, since
just last week the Court of Appeal found that he acted unlawfully
in scrapping critical safeguards for those very children. Will he
apologise and outline what support he is providing to them so
that they are as exam-ready as every other child?
We have a very proud history, actually; we put the needs of the
most vulnerable at the heart of our response, whether it was the
covid catch-up funding—making sure that extra funding goes to
those children who most need it—or the fact that this country
took a global lead in making sure that schools and colleges
remained open for children with special needs and those who are
most vulnerable. We led the world in that, and we are very proud
that we took that lead.
(Great Grimsby) (Con) [V]
Does my right hon. Friend agree that keeping schools open is a
national priority? That is vital for our young people, especially
those in my constituency of Great Grimsby, to ensure that the
disruption to their education is kept to a minimum as much as
possible. However, we cannot deny that, despite best efforts,
many young people have had their teaching and learning disrupted
more than others. Can he assure me that the measures will allow
those students to catch up on their curriculum and make sure they
achieve the best they can in their exams?
My hon. Friend is absolutely spot on when she highlights the
importance of keeping schools open and ensuring that as many
pupils attend as possible, because school is the best place for
children. As the chief medical officers for England, Scotland,
Wales and Northern Ireland all highlighted, children are always
better off in school. We are so pleased to see schools open and
so many children back. She is right to highlight the need for
children to be able to catch up, but also to be able to focus
their attention and efforts on the key areas that will make a
real difference to their grades in exams. That is why we have
taken these unprecedented and significant measures to ensure that
children in her constituency are able to get the best grade and
achieve their absolute maximum potential.
(Manchester, Withington) (Lab)
In Manchester, some year 11 pupils are now in their fifth period
of isolation. Most have lost at least 10% of class time because
of isolation and many of those pupils do not have decent digital
access to enable home learning. The deputy head at my local high
school told me this morning:
“The system he is putting in place will serve to widen the
disadvantage gap. He repeats that exams are the fairest means of
assessment and all the studies point to that; however those
studies were not undertaken in a global pandemic.”
May I plead with the Secretary of State to think again about what
more he can do to help those pupils who have been
disproportionately affected by isolation? That does not need to
include keeping all examinations, because, on exams, making the
playing field slightly smaller for everybody is not creating a
level playing field for those disadvantaged pupils.
The measures we have introduced are very much designed to support
the pupils the hon. Gentleman talks about. I know from personal
experience—my own daughter has had to isolate and is facing her
GCSE exams in this academic year—the impact it has on all
children. That is why we have put these measures forward to
assist all children. That is what we have done, and we believe
they will make a significant difference to all children in his
constituency and mine.
(Colne Valley) (Con) [V]
I appreciate that there are no easy solutions here. I have been
discussing these difficult issues with the principals of my local
sixth form colleges—New College and Greenhead College. My area in
West Yorkshire has had some of the highest covid rates in the
country, with hundreds of students off with covid or
self-isolating at any one time. How will the Secretary of State
make it fair for students in my patch who have been
disproportionately impacted by covid, and level up their life
chances?
This is what all the measures we are introducing are aimed at
doing: making sure that children who have missed out on the
opportunity to learn are able to focus their efforts, as they
come to the crucial exam period, on the things that will matter
most to them as they try to achieve the very best grade. This is
on top of the action we have taken with the covid catch-up fund,
which has already been initiated and is available to all students
in my hon. Friend’s constituency.
(Blaydon) (Lab)
Last week, I met headteachers from across Gateshead who talked
about this very issue of unfairness. Today’s statement covers the
issue across the whole cohort, but, as many other colleagues have
said, what measures will the Secretary of State take to ensure
that those who have been through isolation—there are many of
those in the north-east and in my constituency—and do not have
access to technology are really able to make up that difference
and are able to be tested fairly in that system?
Again, not wishing to repeat myself, we recognise that there are
children in that situation. That is why we think it is really
important that teachers and pupils alike have a clear sense of
where the testing will be applied so that, over the final months
as they head to exams in summer 2021, they are able to focus that
effort and those resources on ensuring that they cover all those
key critical areas.
(Carshalton and Wallington) (Con)
I warmly welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement. The excellent
teaching staff across Carshalton and Wallington are doing their
best to prepare for the 2021 exams, but they have been telling me
that when students have to self-isolate, there is obviously
disruption. Can my right hon. Friend assure me that he will put
education at the top of the priority list for vaccinations as
they begin to roll out, so that we can return to some form of
normal teaching before next year’s exams?
My hon. Friend makes an important point about vaccination
roll-out. We have also been doing testing pilots around the
country to see how we can be in the best possible position so
that, if a child does have covid, it does not mean that a large
group of children will have to self-isolate. As we complete those
pilots, we will look at how we can roll that out, especially into
the areas that have been most affected. He makes an important
point on vaccination, and we are certainly looking at how we can
prioritise that, since teachers and support staff play such an
important role in our national endeavour.
(Salford and Eccles) (Lab) [V]
The Secretary of State’s statement sadly does little to address
the disadvantage that pupils, particularly from northern schools,
have faced compared with those in other areas less affected by
the virus. Alarmingly, a survey of National Education Union
members found that nearly 80% felt that they would not be able,
in the time available and with repeated pupil absences, to teach
the whole syllabus. At the very least, will he accept that to
give pupils a real chance, he must release those topics that will
be on exam papers now and not wait until the end of January?
It is very nice to see the hon. Lady again. The reason for this
focus and the advance notice for schools is so that, where there
has been missed time, they are able to be in a position to focus
on the areas that matter. I appreciate that she would want
everything yesterday, as against in January, but the work will
take a little bit of time for exam boards to pull together. It
will be done swiftly—by the end of January—to give schools as
much space as possible to focus their attention on those areas.
(Buckingham) (Con)
The stress and anxiety that has been faced by so many pupils,
staff and parents due to covid restrictions cannot be denied, so
I very much welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement today. It is
the right thing to do. Can he give me an assurance that his
Department will also do everything possible to ensure that this
message goes out loud and clear to anyone who might seek to
stigmatise the class of 2021 as having had some sort of easy
pass, rather than these measures’ being rightly about fairness in
the face of exceptional circumstances?
My hon. Friend is absolutely spot on. The children who are facing
exams this year have done so much, in quite extraordinary
circumstances. The grades they will receive will be a real
testament to their hard work, their dedication and their
commitment to education, either in the 11 years in the run-up to
their GCSEs or in the 13 years in the run-up to their A-levels
and other vocational qualifications. I hope that employers in the
future will recognise the amazing work that has gone into every
single grade and every single achievement of all our children.
(Ealing
Central and Acton) (Lab)
Around 80% of Ealing schools have had covid cases, leaving gaps
in learning and holes in budgets. Some have demolished walls to
accommodate distancing, and now they have huge staff absence
bills—all at London prices. Can the Secretary of State compensate
all those in full and prioritise vaccinating not just teaching
staff, but the admin lot, who have worked non-stop throughout all
this? The Chancellor seems to have given them all an effective
pay cut last week.
We have already set out details to support schools during this
covid pandemic, not just in the run-up to summer, but during the
current term.
(Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner) (Con)
It is always easy to criticise, but does my right hon. Friend
agree that while, sadly, it appears that the dog ate Labour’s
homework on this one, his statement provides headteachers in my
constituency and others with certainty? Does he also share my
admiration for the work being done by local authority virtual
schools so that children who are in the care system are able to
access the wide range of support provided by the Government to
ensure that they continue to close the gap with their peers who
are not in care?
My hon. Friend highlights a really important area. The virtual
school heads programme for local authorities and schools, has
been a real success. We have seen a real impact for those
children—some of the most vulnerable children in society, with
some of the best attendance for them—by getting that tailored
support. It is a scheme that I would deeply love to see rolled
out more extensively, because the evidence points to the real
impact and difference it makes to young people’s lives.
(Barnsley
East) (Lab)
The Secretary of State referred to remote provision in his
statement, and yet last half-term school laptop allocations were
cut by 80%. That decision affects the most disadvantaged pupils
the greatest, so will he reconsider the decision and commit to
delivering the laptop provision that schools were originally
promised?
We continue to deliver ever more laptops every single week. More
than 0.5 million laptops will be going out, and we continue to do
everything we can do to support schools with laptop provision.
(Christchurch) (Con)
Will my right hon. Friend congratulate St Joseph’s Catholic
Primary School in Christchurch on being given an accolade by The
Sunday Times for being one of the best primary schools in the
country? Will he tell us what criteria will be available to
enable the public to judge primary schools next year, if there
are no tests at key stage 1 and very few at key stage 2, bearing
in mind that the key stage 1 tests are the test against which
future progress is gauged?
I very much join my hon. Friend in congratulating St Joseph’s
school in Christchurch on such an accolade. I am sure that he,
the teachers, parents and, most importantly, pupils feel
incredibly proud at receiving it.
We recognise that we have had to make some changes that we would
not normally want to do, in order to facilitate the smooth
functioning of schools. We will continue to publish data on
schools, including attendance, so that parents are in the best
possible position to make the best choice for their children in
school.
(Slough) (Lab)
Some regions of our country, including my constituency, have been
especially hard hit by the pandemic. Slough schools have faced
several outbreaks and huge disruption as a result. There is also
the huge issue of the digital divide experienced by many of our
more disadvantaged and less well-off communities. So, in addition
to the Secretary of State’s announcement today on exam changes,
surely he should consider regionally targeted measures to support
those areas that have lost out the most.
We believe that this is a comprehensive package. We will ask the
expert group to look at some of the challenges that students will
face in order to be able to progress to their next stages. We
will look very closely at the evidence that is provided on lost
learning.
(East Worthing and Shoreham) (Con) [V]
I welcome the decision to retain exams, not as the best but as
the least worse form of assessment. Having held a virtual
roundtable with heads recently, I know that they will welcome
this long-awaited clarity and the flexibility that will be given
to schools that have been in areas of high covid infection, which
has obviously impacted on classroom time.
May I ask the Secretary of State about A-levels and university
applications? Unfortunately, other nations in the UK rushed ahead
to scrap exams next year. Therefore, pupils from England applying
to Scottish universities—as my son did—or to Welsh or Northern
Irish ones, will be treated differently from pupils in those
other nations, or from such pupils coming to English
universities. How do we ensure that all will be treated equitably
in this now divergent system?
We been working very closely with UCAS and Universities UK on
this issue. Universities have been used to different systems. The
Scottish system, for example, is different from the English
system in terms of its grading, its curriculum and its
qualification at the end. There has been divergence between
Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England over the past few
years. We are confident that, by giving clarity at this stage,
including on the way that we will be grading and the generosity
with which we will be grading, universities will best be able to
adapt. We saw a record number of students going to university
last year, and we will not be surprised to see a record number
going to university next year as well.
(Manchester Central) (Lab/Co-op) [V]
I still do not get how these proposals mitigate the effects of
extended absence of teaching and learning. It is not just about
the differential in lost schooling, which still is not resolved,
but the differential impact that missing school has on some
children—those unable to access learning, unable to cope, unable
to engage and unable to thrive. The loss of six months and
counting has massively widened the gap. Simply making the grades
more generous for everyone equally does not deal with the
widening and widened gap. Is it not the case that the Secretary
of State’s dogmatic fixation with exams has blinkered him to
solutions that would more effectively deal with the growing and
widening gap and the impact of school absence?
All the measures that we have undertaken have been aimed at
supporting those children who have been most affected, but we
have to understand that every child in this country has been
affected by this pandemic, which is why we also need a national
approach to support all children. We have created a system that
supports those children who have suffered the most and makes sure
that they are in the best position to focus their studies and
their time on the areas that will deliver them the best results
in terms of grading in August.
(Bexleyheath and Crayford) (Con) [V]
I welcome my right hon. Friend’s announcement of a package of
measures to ensure fairness in next summer’s exams despite the
many challenges. Can he assure me that, if the disruption caused
by the pandemic continues into next year, the situation will be
monitored and assessed and, if necessary, further measures will
be introduced?
We are absolutely certain that we can deliver a full exam series.
Quite simply that is because, over the past number of weeks, we
have delivered a full exam series for GCSEs and A-levels in which
tens of thousands of students have taken part and they have gone
safely and have been successful, so we are absolutely confident
about being able to deliver that exam series in the summer of
next year. My right hon. Friend highlights the issue of lost
learning and differential learning, which is why we have set up
the expert group to be able to advise us should we need to take
any other interventions to ensure that students are in the best
possible position to be able to progress to college, to
university, into an apprenticeship or into the world of work.
(Kingston upon Hull East) (Lab) [V]
As you know, Mr Speaker, east Hull has been one of the hardest
hit areas by the pandemic, and our schools have faced massive
disruption. I thank my school leaders, teachers and support staff
for performing what has been a near miracle in keeping schools
going, but the support from the Government has been derisory up
to now. What regionally targeted measures will the Secretary of
State be implementing to make sure that areas such as mine are
not left behind?
At every stage, we want to support all those schools that have
been impacted by the pandemic, whether they are in east Hull or
east London, whether they are in the east of England, the
south-west, the north-east or the north-west. We will continue to
deliver that support not only to schools, but, most importantly,
to children.
(Hyndburn) (Con)
I have been on many calls with my local schools—Mr Speaker, as
you represent a Lancashire seat, your schools will face the same
difficulties—where our infection rate has meant that local pupils
have had to isolate more than once and their education has been
severely disrupted. Will my right hon. Friend reassure me that if
the disruption caused by the pandemic continues into next year,
it will be monitored and assessed and, if needs be, further
measures could be introduced?
That is why we established the expert group to look at some of
the challenges, including the ongoing challenges, as it is not
always possible to predict the course that the pandemic will
take. There is a great deal of optimism and excitement about the
future with the roll-out of a vaccine, but we need to continue to
monitor the challenges we face as a result of the pandemic. If
extra measures need to be added, we would certainly not be
blinkered or ignore such other measures that were needed.
(Halifax) (Lab)
I asked headteachers in my constituency for suggested questions
to the Secretary of State and had to rule out at least one on the
basis that it would have been unparliamentary. I stress again on
behalf of all headteachers that the disparities in the disruption
to schools are significant in areas like mine, where we have had
higher than average infections and restrictions for much longer
than other places. Communities with higher proportions of black,
Asian and minority ethnic pupils have been particularly affected.
How will the Secretary of State ensure that his proposals reflect
those serious differences?
We put together the package of proposals to deal with and support
schools in the hon. Lady’s constituency of Halifax and many other
areas across the country. We recognise that exceptional measures
have to be put in place to support them, and that is why we have
taken the steps that we have.
