School Breakfast Bill
Selaine's response:
I agree with you that all children should have access to a good breakfast before school for the benefit of their learning, attendance, behaviour and attainment. I know that Ministers also share this goal and are committed to ensuring that no child starts the school day hungry. It is welcome that many support programmes are already in place that provide healthy and nutritious breakfasts to many thousands of children across the country.
The Government has spearheaded numerous policy initiatives to ensure that no child goes hungry, such as the National School Breakfast (NSB) Programme which was extended in January with £11.8m of additional Government funding. So far, 1,800 school breakfast clubs have been created by the Programme which now offers support to over 280,000 children in some of the most deprived areas of England. Funding for the NSB Programme beyond March 2021 is due to be evaluated in this autumn’s Comprehensive Spending Review and I will be pressing ministerial colleagues to ensure this important programme can continue.
In addition to the NSB Programme, £9m of funding was provided for the Holiday Activities and Food Programme over the Summer. This initiative enabled over 50,000 children to access healthy meals and enriching activities during the holidays.
I understand that Ministers are also considering the recommendations put forward recently in Part One of the National Food Strategy. I hope that this response has reassured you that substantial action, including unprecedented additional support during the Covid-19 pandemic, is already being taken to ensure that children do not go hungry. I will continue to work to ensure all children get a nutritious breakfast before school and I know Ministers will do the same.
October 2020
Reception Baseline Assessment (RBA)
Selaine's response:
Primary education is fundamental to ensuring every child receives the best possible start in life. The primary assessment and accountability system plays an important role in ensuring that every child, no matter what their background, benefits from a high-quality primary education. These assessments help ensure great schools are recognised and help to improve those that can learn from others.
The reception baseline assessment (RBA) will be used to inform the way the Department for Education measures the educational progress that primary schools help their pupils to make. The RBA is not a test. It is a short, teacher-led assessment of children’s communication, language, literacy and early mathematics skills. No preparation will be required, either at home or at school. It will enable the Department for Education to develop improved progress measures which will take into account the work that primary schools do with their pupils in the reception year and throughout the first two years of schooling. Data from the assessment will only be used once children reach the end of primary school, and will not be used to judge, track or label individual pupils.
It is important to note that this assessment will replace existing end-of-key stage 1 tests, which will be made non-mandatory once the new reception baseline has become established.
I know Ministers appreciate the challenging circumstances schools are facing. The Department for Education is keeping progress towards the reception baseline assessment (RBA) under regular review and gathering feedback from stakeholders on a range of options. Further guidance on the RBA will be provided to schools in the summer term.
June 2020
Reception Baseline Assessment (RBA)
Selaine's response:
Primary education is fundamental to ensuring every child receives the best possible start in life. The primary assessment and accountability system plays an important role in ensuring that every child, no matter what their background, benefits from a
high-quality primary education. These assessments help ensure great schools are recognised and help to improve those that can learn from others.
The reception baseline assessment (RBA) will be used to inform the way the Department for Education measures the educational progress that primary schools help their pupils to make. The RBA is not a test. It is a short, teacher-led assessment of children’s communication, language, literacy and early mathematics skills. No preparation will be required, either at home or at school. It will enable the Department for Education to develop improved progress measures which will take into account the work that primary schools do with their pupils in the reception year and throughout the first two years of schooling. Data from the assessment will only be used once children reach the end of primary school, and will not be used to judge, track or label individual pupils.
It is important to note that this assessment will replace existing end-of-key stage 1 tests, which will be made non-mandatory once the new reception baseline has become established.
I know Ministers appreciate the challenging circumstances schools are facing. The Department for Education is keeping progress towards the reception baseline assessment (RBA) under regular review and gathering feedback from stakeholders on a range of options. Further guidance on the RBA will be provided to schools in the summer term.
June 2020
Coronavirus and Free School Meals
Selaine's response:
As you may be aware, the provision for free school meals is ordinarily term time only. However, during the Easter and half term holidays the Department for Education met the costs of the national voucher scheme to provide free school meals for eligible pupils. I welcome that in recognition of the unprecedented situation facing parents this summer, a new Covid Summer Food Fund has been announced. Additional funding will enable children who are eligible for free school meals to claim a 6-week voucher to cover the summer holiday period.
In addition, I welcome that during this challenging period, the eligibility criteria for FSM is temporarily being extended. This includes some groups who have no recourse to public funds. Further details can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance/guidance-for-the-temporary-extension-of-free-school-meals-eligibility-to-nrpf-groups.
June 2020