I agree with the hon. Gentleman that children missing school is a tragedy and is incredibly damaging for educational outcomes, which is why during the pandemic and afterwards we invested £5 billion to help children catch up with lost learning. It is important that we continue to deliver on those plans, and we will of course ensure that we work with the sector to have more children attending school more often.

The Department continues to work closely with other Government Departments throughout its response to the COVID-19 outbreak, including Public Health England (PHE) and the Department of Health and Social Care, as well as stakeholders across the sector. We continue to work to ensure that our policy is based on the latest scientific and medical advice, to develop comprehensive guidance based on the PHE-endorsed ‘system of controls’, and to understand the impact and effectiveness of these measures on staff, pupils, and parents.

On 22 February, the Department published its evidence summary, ‘COVID-19 - children, young people and education settings’, which includes a section on face coverings. It can be found at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/963639/DfE_Evidence_summary_COVID-19_-_children__young_people_and_education_settings.pdf.

The Department has also recently published updated guidance for schools to support the return to full attendance from 8 March, which includes updated advice on face coverings. The guidance can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/964351/Schools_coronavirus_operational_guidance.pdf.

As the guidance outlines, where pupils and students in Year 7 and above are educated, the Department recommends that face coverings should be worn by adults, pupils, and students when moving around the premises, outside of classrooms, such as in corridors and communal areas where social distancing cannot easily be maintained.

In addition, from 8 March the Department now recommends that in schools where pupils and students in Year 7 and above are educated, face coverings should be worn in classrooms unless social distancing can be maintained.

The same legal exemptions that apply to the wearing of face coverings in shops and on public transport also apply in nurseries, schools, and colleges. This includes people who cannot put on, wear or remove a face covering because of a physical or mental illness, impairment, or disability, or if you are speaking to or providing assistance to someone who relies on lip reading, clear sound or facial expressions to communicate. The Department expects teachers and other staff to be sensitive to those needs.

Transparent face coverings, which may assist communication with someone who relies on lip reading, clear sound or facial expression to communicate, can also be worn. There is currently very limited evidence regarding the effectiveness or safety of transparent face coverings, but they may be effective in reducing the spread of COVID-19.

The Department is recommending these additional precautionary measures for a for a time limited period until Easter. As with all measures, we will keep this under review and update guidance as necessary.

The Department continues to work closely with other Government Departments throughout its response to the COVID-19 outbreak, including Public Health England (PHE) and the Department of Health and Social Care, as well as stakeholders across the sector. We continue to work to ensure that our policy is based on the latest scientific and medical advice, to develop comprehensive guidance based on the PHE-endorsed ‘system of controls’, and to understand the impact and effectiveness of these measures on staff, pupils, and parents.

On 22 February, the Department published its evidence summary, ‘COVID-19 - children, young people and education settings’, which includes a section on face coverings. It can be found at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/963639/DfE_Evidence_summary_COVID-19_-_children__young_people_and_education_settings.pdf.

The Department has also recently published updated guidance for schools to support the return to full attendance from 8 March, which includes updated advice on face coverings. The guidance can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/964351/Schools_coronavirus_operational_guidance.pdf.

As the guidance outlines, where pupils and students in Year 7 and above are educated, the Department recommends that face coverings should be worn by adults, pupils, and students when moving around the premises, outside of classrooms, such as in corridors and communal areas where social distancing cannot easily be maintained.

In addition, from 8 March the Department now recommends that in schools where pupils and students in Year 7 and above are educated, face coverings should be worn in classrooms unless social distancing can be maintained.

The same legal exemptions that apply to the wearing of face coverings in shops and on public transport also apply in nurseries, schools, and colleges. This includes people who cannot put on, wear or remove a face covering because of a physical or mental illness, impairment, or disability, or if you are speaking to or providing assistance to someone who relies on lip reading, clear sound or facial expressions to communicate. The Department expects teachers and other staff to be sensitive to those needs.

Transparent face coverings, which may assist communication with someone who relies on lip reading, clear sound or facial expression to communicate, can also be worn. There is currently very limited evidence regarding the effectiveness or safety of transparent face coverings, but they may be effective in reducing the spread of COVID-19.

The Department is recommending these additional precautionary measures for a for a time limited period until Easter. As with all measures, we will keep this under review and update guidance as necessary.

All pupils, in all year groups, will return to school full time from the beginning of the autumn term. The Department has published guidance for parents and carers detailing what they need to know about education settings in the autumn term. The guidance is available here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/what-parents-and-carers-need-to-know-about-early-years-providers-schools-and-colleges-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak/what-parents-and-carers-need-to-know-about-early-years-providers-schools-and-colleges-in-the-autumn-term.

On 2 July the Government published guidance on the full opening of schools, including a Public Health England endorsed system of controls which, when implemented alongside the school’s own risk assessment, will create an inherently safer environment for children and staff where the risk of transmission of infection is substantially reduced.

On 17 August, the Government launched a ‘Back to School’ campaign which seeks to reassure parents and explain measures that nurseries, childminders, schools and colleges are taking to reduce the risk of transmission. The Department has worked closely with Department for Transport and Cabinet Office to support and inform parents.

It is vital that children and young people return to school for their educational progress, for their wellbeing, and for their wider development. School attendance will again be mandatory from the beginning of the new academic year. For parents and carers of children of compulsory school age, this means that the legal duty as a parent to send a child to school regularly will apply.

Schools should work with families to ensure children are attending full time from September. As usual, fines will sit alongside this, but only as a last resort and where there is no valid reason for absence.

The hon. Gentleman raises an important point about disadvantaged children. Schools have been open to vulnerable children and the children of critical workers since schools closed, and we have encouraged more and more of those children to be in school where it is best for them. The scientific advice indicates that a phased return that limits the number of children in education settings and how much they mix with each other will help to reduce the risk of transmission. We are led by the science but our ambition is that all schools will return in September, but that will, of course, be subject to the science.

The hon. Gentleman and I have had a chance on previous occasions to discuss and correspond on the Thomas Hepburn school, and of course I will meet him, as he suggests.

The Secretary of State set out, in her statement to Parliament about primary assessment of 19 October 2016, our intention to launch a public consultation on the future of primary assessment in England. That statement made it clear that the consultation exercise, which will commence in the near future, will consider the best starting point to measure the progress that children make in primary school.

Separate to future policy considerations, the Department is in contract with those providers it approved to offer an optional reception baseline assessment to schools in the 2015/16 and 2016/17 academic years. As contract managers, Departmental officials are in regular contact with these providers regarding the operation of these optional baseline assessments. In such meetings, the Department does not discuss future policy, or the design of any new baseline assessment.

Robert Coe, Director of the Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring, Durham University (one of the current reception baseline providers) does advise the Department on general assessment policy issues as an expert in the field. He was a member of the Commission on Assessment Without Levels set up by the Department in 2015, at which point he made a formal declaration of interests. Mr Coe attended a meeting, among other experts, on 10 May 2016, with myself and Departmental officials, to discuss primary assessment. This included discussion of how best to measure progress in primary schools. In meeting educational experts, and in all its work, the Department is mindful of the need to manage appropriately any potential conflict of interest.

The Secretary of State set out, in her statement to Parliament about primary assessment of 19 October 2016, our intention to launch a public consultation on the future of primary assessment in England. That statement made it clear that the consultation exercise, which will commence in the near future, will consider the best starting point to measure the progress that children make in primary school.

Separate to future policy considerations, the Department is in contract with those providers it approved to offer an optional reception baseline assessment to schools in the 2015/16 and 2016/17 academic years. As contract managers, Departmental officials are in regular contact with these providers regarding the operation of these optional baseline assessments. In such meetings, the Department does not discuss future policy, or the design of any new baseline assessment.

Robert Coe, Director of the Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring, Durham University (one of the current reception baseline providers) does advise the Department on general assessment policy issues as an expert in the field. He was a member of the Commission on Assessment Without Levels set up by the Department in 2015, at which point he made a formal declaration of interests. Mr Coe attended a meeting, among other experts, on 10 May 2016, with myself and Departmental officials, to discuss primary assessment. This included discussion of how best to measure progress in primary schools. In meeting educational experts, and in all its work, the Department is mindful of the need to manage appropriately any potential conflict of interest.

The Risk Protection Agreement (RPA) will cover all storm related costs, including flooding, incurred by academy trusts which are members of the RPA, in accordance with RPA membership rules. Cover will also be provided for temporary accommodation while their original buildings are being reinstated.

The RPA service providers are working closely with those schools affected to minimise disruption and complete remedial works in a timely manner to the satisfaction of all parties concerned.

Further information on the cover provided by the RPA can be found on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/risk-protection-arrangement-rpa-for-academy-trusts-membership-rules

The Department for Education’s school uniform guidance is clear that schools should not seek to profit from the sale of school uniform. Revisions made in September 2013 emphasise the importance of ensuring that uniform is widely available and affordable for parents. The guidance sets out that governing bodies should be able to demonstrate that they have obtained the best value for money from suppliers, and that any savings negotiated with suppliers should be passed on to parents wherever possible.

The school uniform guidance is published online at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-uniform

No child should be discouraged from applying to or attending a state-funded school due to the costs of uniform or school activities. The Department for Education has published clear guidance to schools on school uniform which advises schools to give high priority to ensuring the uniform is affordable for parents. We have also published guidance on charging for school activities which reminds schools of their statutory responsibilities regarding charging for school trips and other school activities.

The school uniform guidance is available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-uniform

The guidance on charging for school activities is available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/charging-for-school-activities

It is true that in the past careers advice was not particularly well delivered as a policy, but the new statutory guidance, which will be in place from September, is all about strengthening the relationship with people in careers they are passionate about. Information is widely available: the issue is inspiration—

From September, new statutory guidance for schools will strengthen the requirements for schools to build relationships with employers to inspire and mentor pupils and deliver careers advice.

The responsibility for post-16 transport support lies with local authorities. The authorities have a legal duty to set out in a transport statement the arrangements they consider necessary to enable young people to attend post-16 education. The Department provides statutory guidance to local authorities on how they should fulfil this duty. The guidance explains that local authorities are required to consider local circumstances and the needs of students in their area when developing their policies and to consult education and training providers among others. It is available at:

http://tinyurl.com/acn5cxt

The Department does not provide guidance to bus operators but Ministers and officials at the Department

for Transport are liaising with the industry to encourage it to improve concessionary fare deals for young people.

The responsibility for post-16 transport support lies with local authorities. The authorities have a legal duty to set out in a transport statement the arrangements they consider necessary to enable young people to attend post-16 education. The Government recognises that some students find it difficult to pay for education-related costs, and this is one of the reasons why it introduced the 16-19 Bursary Fund. Local authorities and providers are encouraged to work together to ensure that post-16 transport support, and the 16-19 Bursary fund are used effectively together to help meet transport costs. The Department for Education has commissioned an independent three-year evaluation of the 16-19 Bursary Fund, which will conclude at the end of 2014.

Raising the participation age does not mean young people have to remain in school. They will have a range of options for fulfilling their duty to participate including through an Apprenticeship, full time education or work with part-time training alongside. The Secretary of State for Education, the right hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), has not discussed this directly with the Secretary of State for Transport, the right hon. Member for Derbyshire Dales (Mr McLoughlin), but discussions have taken place between other members of the ministerial team and between officials in both Departments.