Asked by: Countess of Mar (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether teachers who become Designated Senior Leads for Mental Health to oversee the approach to mental health and wellbeing in schools will be trained to distinguish children with anxiety, depression or behavioural problems from children who have myalgic encephalomyelitis (chronic fatigue syndrome) as a primary cause of their illness.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
It will be for schools to decide what training is needed by Designated Senior Leads for mental health. They can choose to train leads in recognising and responding to specific health conditions, including anxiety, depression or myalgic encephalomyelitis (chronic fatigue syndrome).
We would not expect leads to have specialist clinical knowledge or to make diagnoses. We expect that they will work closely with new Mental Health Support Teams and specialist NHS services to draw on expert advice and training on how to respond to different needs and ensure that timely referrals are made to NHS services if necessary.
The department will be supporting providers to develop training for leads through the Teaching and Leadership Innovation Fund. The department wants the training to focus on effective ways to set up and maintain a whole-school approach to mental health within which any conditions can be identified and specialist support provided most effectively.
Asked by: Countess of Mar (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Agnew of Oulton on 6 December (HL3501), whether the Department for Education would normally expect to be made aware of any research concerning school attendance which involved the divulgence of names and addresses of school pupils by school attendance officers.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The department would not expect to be made aware of independent research with schools. We would, however, expect any research with schools to be carried out in accordance with ethical principles around anonymity and disclosure, which can be found in frameworks such as the ‘Ethical Assurance Guidance for Social Research in government’ which is attached.
Asked by: Countess of Mar (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether parental consent was obtained by school attendance officers before parents were sent letters by researchers for the study entitled Unidentified Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis is a major cause of school absence: surveillance outcomes from school-based clinics, published by the British Medical Journal in 2011.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The department has no direct knowledge of the study entitled ‘Unidentified Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis is a major cause of school absence: surveillance outcomes from school-based clinics’, published by the British Medical Journal in 2011 or any activity undertaken by schools in connection with this study.
Asked by: Countess of Mar (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the provision of, and access to, educational materials for girls whose education has been disrupted due to symptoms developed after human papilloma virus vaccination.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
All children regardless of their circumstances are entitled to a good education and the necessary support to attain it.
Schools have a duty to ensure that arrangements are made to support pupils with medical needs to have full access to education. Where health needs mean a child of compulsory school age would not receive suitable education due to health needs, including because they cannot attend school, local councils have a duty to ensure that alternative education arrangements are put in place.
The education must be full time, or as close to full time as in the best interests of the child, because of their health needs, and it must be on par with what the child would have received if they were in a mainstream school.
Asked by: Countess of Mar (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, under the Children and Families Act 2014, a family with a child who has special educational needs may opt out of an Education and Health Care Plan; and, if so, by what mechanism.
Answered by Lord Nash
Parents can make their own arrangements for their child’s education. These must be suitable for the child’s age, aptitude and any special educational needs they may have.
Under the Children and Families Act 2014 where a local authority maintains an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan for a child or young person it is under a duty to secure the special educational provision specified in it unless parents have made suitable alternative arrangements.
Where a local authority is satisfied that the parents’ arrangements are suitable it must continue to review the child’s EHC plan annually and assure itself that the plan remains appropriate.
Asked by: Countess of Mar (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether social services investigations into families are automatically triggered if a family chooses an educational method, such as home education, other than those listed in their Education and Health Care Assessment.
Answered by Lord Nash
Social services investigations into families are not automatically triggered if a family whose child has an Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment chooses to educate their child at home. Under section 7 of the Education Act 1996, parents have the right to educate their child at home. Home education must be suitable to the child’s age, ability, aptitude and special educational needs.
Where local authorities and parents agree that home education is the right provision for a child with an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan, the plan should make clear that the child will be educated at home. If it does, the local authority must arrange the special educational provision in the plan, working with the parents.
In cases where the local authority names a school or type of school that it considers appropriate in the child’s EHC plan but the parents decided to educate the child at home, the local authority is not under a duty to arrange the special educational provision specified in the plan provided that it is satisfied that the arrangements made by the parents are suitable. Local authorities do not have the right of entry to the family home to check that the provision being made by the parent is suitable and may only enter the home at the invitation of the parents.
Asked by: Countess of Mar (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the definition of "full-time education" in relation to special educational needs at each stage of the education system.
Answered by Lord Nash
Section 7 of the Education Act 1996 provides that the parent of every child of compulsory school age shall cause him to receive efficient full-time education suitable (a) to his age, ability and aptitude, and (b) to any special educational needs he may have, either by regular attendance at school or otherwise, but there is no definition of full-time education in education legislation.
There are regulations covering the number of days (190) a year that maintained schools must be open, but no requirements as to the number of hours per day.