Education secretary Gillian Keegan faced her first education committee grilling today. She answered questions about government school reforms, impending strikes, teacher recruitment, SEND and grammar schools. Here’s what we learned… 1. The schools bill is dead, long live the schools bill Confirming Schools Week鈥檚 exclusive story from earlier this year, Keegan said the would not progress in its current form, but said certain elements would be prioritised as the government considers its legislative programme. Priorities include the bill’s proposal for a register of children not in school, and a law change needed to make it easier for faith schools to keep their status when joining academy trusts. Keegan told MPs today that the DfE 鈥渞emains committed to the objectives鈥 that underpinned the schools bill. 鈥淲e will be prioritising some aspects… of the bill as well to see what we can do.鈥 2. DfE drawing up strike contingency plans The National Education Union, teaching union NASUWT and headteachers鈥 union the NAHT are all currently balloting members for potential strike action in the new year, while leaders鈥 union ASCL is holding an indicative ballot. Keegan was asked today whether the DfE would adopt an approach used in the pandemic 鈥 when schools remained open for the most vulnerable pupils and the children of key workers 鈥 to mitigate the impact of any strikes. She said there was 鈥渁 lot of planning going on across government to mitigate the impact of harmful strike action鈥. 鈥淭hat is of course one of the factors we鈥檙e looking at – how we can do that relying on various other pools of people and staff, so yes that鈥檚 something that鈥檚 part of the planning. 鈥淲hilst hopeful that teachers won鈥檛 vote for strike action, we are planning to make sure that we have some mitigations in place.鈥 3. Keegan mulls physics and maths teacher apprenticeship DfE officials have been tasked with looking into the feasibility of undergraduate apprenticeships for physics and maths teachers, Keegan revealed today. Although a postgraduate teaching apprenticeship exists, discussions about an apprenticeship route for those without a degree have had little success. One of the key barriers has been how subject specialism for secondary teachers could be factored-in to an apprenticeship course. But Keegan today suggested the department is now looking at separate frameworks for certain shortage subjects. 鈥淚鈥檓 always keen to look at what more we can do, and I believe that we could potentially, well I want them to look at maybe an apprenticeship for undergraduates鈥 maths and physics teaching apprenticeship. 鈥淚鈥檝e asked the department to look into that. Is that something we could develop? Would that broaden the pipeline?鈥 4. Grammars have 鈥榮tubbornly low鈥 disadvantage Unlike her predecessor, Keegan has made it clear the government won鈥檛 pursue the lifting of the ban on new grammar schools on her watch. She told MPs today that existing grammars were 鈥渟afe in my hands鈥 and do a 鈥渇antastic job鈥, but while the government will continue to allow expansion, it would focus on 鈥渕aking sure everybody has a fantastic comprehensive state school education鈥. Pressed on why new grammars were not a priority, Keegan warned the proportion of disadvantaged children in selective schools 鈥渄oes remain stubbornly low鈥. She said the latest data showed 7.9 per cent of grammar pupils are disadvantaged this year, compared to 26.6 per cent in all mainstream schools. 鈥淪o as an engine for social mobility, I don鈥檛 know what they were like years ago, but I know that many of our colleagues, it was their life chance and they absolutely loved the fact they got to go to a grammar school鈥 but I would imagine that the figures were probably different then. 鈥淭hey have become much smaller as a contribution to that social mobility, to help disadvantaged kids.鈥 5. The attendance alliance continues Last year, education secretary Nadhim Zahawi launched a 17-member 鈥渁ttendance alliance鈥 which was tasked with working to reduce absence from schools. Last week, Ofsted chief Amanda Spielman said the alliance had been 鈥渉elpful鈥 but had not met since the reshuffle in the summer. But Keegan said today that reports of its death were greatly exaggerated. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it has been discontinued. In fact I think I鈥檓 attending one early next year.鈥 6. DfE expects 鈥榤any schools鈥 to fund tutoring with pupil premium Keegan was pressed about falling government subsidies for tutoring. Schools will have to fund 75 per cent of the costs themselves from next year before subsidies taper off completely in 2024-25. But she insisted schools had found tutoring to be a 鈥済ood addition to the landscape鈥, adding that pupil premium funding 鈥渞eally has the flexibility to be able to use that money鈥 to support things like tutoring. 鈥淚 do believe that many schools will continue it in one way, shape or form using pupil premium funding.鈥 7. Councils wanting to withhold SEND rise must meet 鈥榲ery high bar鈥 The government has announced that 拢400 million of the 拢2 billion funding increase announced at the autumn statement is for high needs. But fears have been expressed that the money may not reach special schools, with councils expected to meet a minimum funding guarantee of a 3 per cent rise, but allowed to apply to exclude 鈥渟ome or all鈥 of their schools from this. Acland-Hood said today that it was 鈥渢rue there鈥檚 a process that allows local authorities to ask for that, and that鈥檚 part of some of the response to the challenge that we see on high needs pressure鈥. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 very much the exception and we would want local authorities to meet a very high bar in explaining why that was the only thing they could possibly do to manage their funding.鈥 Keegan added that the government was 鈥渕aking sure that we set out the expectation that that goes directly to schools鈥. 鈥淪o there is more funding to come, it will be allocated, and we will do our very best to set the expectation that local authorities pass that on.鈥 8. British Baccalaureate: Ministers eye post-16 maths boost Prime minister Rishi Sunak set out plans in the summer for a 鈥淏ritish Baccalaureate鈥, potentially involving a requirement for all pupils to study core subjects in sixth forms. But further details have not been released. Keegan said today that discussions were 鈥渇ocused around maths to 18鈥. 鈥淲e know that maths is a key foundation for many pathways but particularly STEM and others as well. “We鈥檝e done a lot of work to make sure that there is better maths teaching, people going further with maths, and I think A-level maths is the most popular now. 鈥淐learly there鈥檚 scope to go further to improve and look at that, so they鈥檙e the kind of discussions in that space. What more should we be doing to really look at how we can increase the proportion of young people who study maths post-16.”