Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 15 October to Question 78154, how much of the £500 million allocated to local authorities for Family Help services is being allocated to help adoptive and kinship families with post placement support.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Family Help reforms are being delivered nationally through the Families First Partnership programme, offering services to all families, including adoptive and kinship families.
On 20 November, we announced additional investment of £547 million, bringing total programme funding to £2.4 billion over this Spending Review period. This funding demonstrates the government’s commitment to invest in prevention, supporting local authorities and partners to deliver reformed help and protection services that make a real difference to families.
It is for local authorities to determine how best to make use of these resources to support adoptive and kinship families with the help they need.
The department will soon pilot a new Kinship Allowance in some local authorities in England, which will support around 4,500 children. This will test whether paying an allowance to cover certain costs can help increase the number of children taken in by family members and friends.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate has been made of the number of reports of child (a) sexual (b) criminal exploitation safeguarding failings at (1) private (2) local authority children’s homes in England since 2015.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
All registered children’s homes, whether privately run or local authority-operated, must notify Ofsted, the regulator for children’s social care, about certain serious incidents that happen to children in their care living with them and what they have done in response. The published data, available from April 2023, includes a category of ‘sexual exploitation’, which shows:
This data does not distinguish between private or local authority run homes and does not specify data on criminal exploitation.
Ofsted review the notifications received to ensure homes have acted to protect the child from immediate harm, and the information contained in the notifications informs their risk assessment and inspection scheduling.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of locally delivered mentoring schemes in improving youth employment outcomes.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is working to strengthen how young people at risk of becoming NEET are identified and supported. Local authorities, Strategic Authorities, schools and further education providers will be enabled to share and use data more effectively, supported by new ‘Risk of NEET’ indicator tools and guidance. We have published guidance to support local authorities to identify at-risk young people, support participation and post-16 transition, and prevent NEET.
Alongside this, the Youth Guarantee ensures all 18- to 21-year-olds have support to access training, an apprenticeship or work, backed by careers advice, work experience and a targeted job backstop.
Our statutory careers guidance sets clear expectations for schools and colleges to provide inclusive, high quality careers programmes to encourage schools to make links with providers and employers offering mentoring opportunities, particularly for disadvantaged young people and those at risk of becoming NEET.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support local authorities to scale up effective mentoring and employability schemes for young people.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is working to strengthen how young people at risk of becoming NEET are identified and supported. Local authorities, Strategic Authorities, schools and further education providers will be enabled to share and use data more effectively, supported by new ‘Risk of NEET’ indicator tools and guidance. We have published guidance to support local authorities to identify at-risk young people, support participation and post-16 transition, and prevent NEET.
Alongside this, the Youth Guarantee ensures all 18- to 21-year-olds have support to access training, an apprenticeship or work, backed by careers advice, work experience and a targeted job backstop.
Our statutory careers guidance sets clear expectations for schools and colleges to provide inclusive, high quality careers programmes to encourage schools to make links with providers and employers offering mentoring opportunities, particularly for disadvantaged young people and those at risk of becoming NEET.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether British students will be able to take part in the Erasmus+ exchange programme by January 2027.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
As set out at the UK-EU Summit in May, the UK agreed to work towards association to the Erasmus+ programme on mutually agreed financial terms.
Negotiations are ongoing, and the timelines for any association are subject to ongoing discussion. We are open to associating to Erasmus+ for 2027 in principle, but only if we can reach agreement on financial terms, which should ensure a fair balance as regards the contributions of and benefits to the UK.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the adherence of private children’s homes to notifying the receiving local authority of vulnerable young people being placed in their area.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department does not collect data on this activity. Ofsted conduct checks on compliance with notification processes as part of a home’s inspection, and if issues are found, this may impact their inspection rating.
The decision to place a child away from their local community should not be taken lightly, which is why it can only be made by those at director of children’s services level. The Care Planning, Placement and Case Review regulations and corresponding statutory guidance makes clear that both the local authority placing a child out of their area and those caring for looked-after children (including children’s homes) must inform the receiving local authority and all relevant safeguarding partners when a child has been placed within and/or leaves their boundaries.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to encourage businesses in Bristol North East to partner with education providers to deliver vocational training and Post-16 skills programmes to local young people.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government works with employer representative bodies (ERBs) and local partners to strengthen collaboration between businesses and education providers. Through ERB-led Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs), we encourage employers to help shape the local post-16 technical education offer, so training meets labour market needs. Statutory guidance for the development of these plans was published on 18 November.
Business West is leading the development of the local LSIP working with the West of England Combined Authority, local businesses and delivery partners. The plan will be published in Summer 2026. Businesses are supported to partner with colleges and training providers to deliver vocational programmes, apprenticeships, and national initiatives such as Skills Bootcamps and T Levels.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the consistency of pupil experience between Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2; and what steps she is taking to address declines in pupil motivation or engagement during the transition between these stages.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department recognises that moving between key stages can be challenging for some children, including the transition from key stage 1 to key stage 2.
One of the ways the department is looking to understand the experiences of children is through our Educational Outcome Pathways Studies (EOPS). EOPS Primary follows children in primary school from years 1 through 6 and collects data on their experiences, progress at school and wellbeing. It also examines factors at home, at school and in the wider environment that may influence children’s attitudes, behaviours and outcomes. Children in the study are currently in year 3, which is the key stage 2 transition year.
Alongside this, the government has committed to publish a new pupil engagement framework, helping schools to identify and address aspects of the pupil experience in their setting which may be preventing children from attending, achieving and thriving. As it is developed, we will consider the evidence around effective practice that supports pupil transitions alongside other approaches that can support pupil engagement.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support her Department provides to school trusts to safeguard against cyber attacks and to protect children's personal data.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department provides guidance to help schools build their cyber resilience in our Cyber Security Standards, which address the core principles of cyber governance, processes and strategy.
We have also introduced a free interactive assessment tool, Plan Your Technology, to help schools understand if they meet our Cyber Security Standards and support schools to achieve them. We have incorporated the cyber security standards into Keeping Children Safe in Education and the Academy Trust Handbook. The department also has a small, dedicated sector cyber security team to support schools. This team provides appropriate advice and guidance via regular targeted and broad communications and more specific incident signposting when required.
The department’s Risk Protection Arrangement (RPA) added cover for cyber incidents from 2022. With over 60% of schools RPA members, in the event of a cyber incident they have access to a 24/7 Incident Response Service.
We also work closely with the National Cyber Crime Security Centre (NCSC), who offer cyber security tools and guidance for schools, including free Protective Domain Name Service.
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure SEND is taken into account in school attendance policies.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
As set out in the department’s 2024 guidance ‘Working together to improve school attendance’, every pupil has a right to a full-time education, and high attendance expectations should be set for all pupils.
A school’s attendance policy should account for the specific needs of each pupil and provide these pupils with the necessary support. This includes pupils with specific barriers to attendance, such as those with mental or physical ill health and/or special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
To support pupils with SEND, schools should understand the individual needs of the pupil and family, work in partnership with the pupil and family to put in-school support in place, as well as with the local authority and other agencies where external support is needed, and regularly review and update support to ensure it continues to meet individual needs.
Schools should ensure attendance data is regularly monitored for pupils with long-term illnesses and/or SEND, including alongside the local authority, so that additional support from other partners can be accessed where necessary.