Asked by: Lord Addington (Liberal Democrat - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to their Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan (CP 800) which states that most pupils going into AP have a special educational need, what additional continuous professional development will be provided to teachers in the sector to deal with the most common conditions.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government supports Alternative Provision (AP) schools to use their specialist skills and experience to asses the special educational needs of individual pupils referred to them. The department would expect such assessments to be made quickly but, given the variability in individual need, the department believes it would not be appropriate to set a single timeframe for this assessment.
As set out in the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) and AP Improvement Plan, published in March, it is the department’s intention that AP schools will work closely in partnership with mainstream settings to provide high-quality, targeted support and one-to-one interventions. This will build capacity in mainstream schools to identify and support needs early, reducing the numbers of preventable exclusions and expensive long-term placements, and leading to improvements in children’s wellbeing and outcomes.
The department will invest in the workforce across education, health and care to build the capacity of the specialist workforce and to improve confidence and expertise in supporting children and young people with SEND promptly and effectively.
The department is implementing high-quality teacher training reforms which begin with initial teacher training and continues into early career teaching, through to middle and senior leadership. These reforms are designed to ensure teachers have the skills to support all pupils to succeed, including those with SEND and in AP schools.
Asked by: Lord Addington (Liberal Democrat - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to their Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan (CP 800) which states that most pupils going into AP have a special educational need, what structure they expect to put in place for identifying what specific special educational needs individuals pupils have; and in what timeframe.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government supports Alternative Provision (AP) schools to use their specialist skills and experience to asses the special educational needs of individual pupils referred to them. The department would expect such assessments to be made quickly but, given the variability in individual need, the department believes it would not be appropriate to set a single timeframe for this assessment.
As set out in the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) and AP Improvement Plan, published in March, it is the department’s intention that AP schools will work closely in partnership with mainstream settings to provide high-quality, targeted support and one-to-one interventions. This will build capacity in mainstream schools to identify and support needs early, reducing the numbers of preventable exclusions and expensive long-term placements, and leading to improvements in children’s wellbeing and outcomes.
The department will invest in the workforce across education, health and care to build the capacity of the specialist workforce and to improve confidence and expertise in supporting children and young people with SEND promptly and effectively.
The department is implementing high-quality teacher training reforms which begin with initial teacher training and continues into early career teaching, through to middle and senior leadership. These reforms are designed to ensure teachers have the skills to support all pupils to succeed, including those with SEND and in AP schools.
Asked by: Lord Addington (Liberal Democrat - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps are being taken to ensure that those in initial teacher training will be able to identify pupils with moderate difficulties arising from conditions such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia, attention deficit disorder and autism.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department understands that quality teaching is the most important in-school factor in improving outcomes for all children, particularly those with additional needs. From September 2020, all new teachers have benefited from at least three years of evidence based professional development and support, starting with Initial Teacher Training (ITT) based on the new ITT Core Content Framework (CCF), and followed by a new two-year induction underpinned by the Early Career Framework (ECF).
All ITT courses must be designed so that trainee teachers can demonstrate that they meet the Teachers’ Standards at the appropriate level. This includes the requirement in Standard 1, that teachers must set goals that stretch and challenge pupils of all backgrounds, abilities and dispositions. As well as Standard 5, that all teachers must have a clear understanding of the needs of all pupils, including those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), and be able to adapt teaching to respond to those strengths and needs.
The department will be conducting a review this year of the CCF and ECF to identify how the frameworks can equip new teachers to be more confident in meeting the needs of pupils with SEND.
Asked by: Lord Addington (Liberal Democrat - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to identify those with special educational needs who are not in receipt of an education, health and care plan, so that they receive appropriate support throughout their educational career.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department knows that quality teaching is the most important in-school factor in improving outcomes for all children, particularly those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
Since September 2020, all new teachers have benefitted from at least three years of evidence-based professional development and support, starting with Initial Teacher Training (ITT) that is based on the ITT Core Content Framework (CCF), and followed by a new two-year induction underpinned by the Early Career Framework (ECF). All ITT courses and ECF-based training programmes are designed to support trainee and early career teachers to demonstrate that they meet the Teachers' Standards at the appropriate level.
The department is reviewing and revising the ITT CCF and ECF into more closely combined frameworks. These would cover the first three years or more at the start of a teacher’s career and articulate what trainee and new teachers need to know and need to know how to do. This work includes identifying opportunities to identify how the frameworks can equip new teachers to be more confident in meeting the needs of pupils with SEND.
The department’s SEND and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan, published in March 2023, has committed to developing a longer-term approach for teaching assistants to ensure their impact is consistent across the system and the different responsibilities they take on, including in training in speech and language interventions.
In partnership with NHS England, we are funding the Early Language and Support for Every Child pathfinders within our £70 million Change Programme. This will fund nine Integrated Care Boards and one of the local areas within each of our nine Regional Expert Partnerships to trial new ways of working. This is to better identify and support children with speech and language needs in early years and primary schools.
The Improvement Plan also outlines how National Standards will set out the types of support that should be available as standard, based on the best available evidence. This will enable a full range of needs to be better supported. Practice Guides will set out evidence-based best practice in meeting individual needs. We will start by building on existing best practice and will publish three practice guides by the end of 2025.
Asked by: Lord Addington (Liberal Democrat - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that all schools have access to assistive technology for any pupil who would benefit from it as a result of a disability or special educational need.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
All schools have duties under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments, including the provision of auxiliary aids and services for disabled children, to prevent them from being put at a substantial disadvantage. If a pupil has an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan, the school must work with the local authority to ensure that all the relevant duties under the 2014 Children and Families Act are met, including securing Special Educational Provision (SEP), which may include the provision of assistive technology.
Children and young people with Special Educational Needs (SEN) have more access to assistive technology, following investment in remote education and accessibility features which can reduce or remove barriers to learning. The department has expanded training to increase school staff awareness of assistive technology and, in particular, to increase awareness of assistive technology that is already available or can easily be obtained, such as text-to-speech tools. Impact data from this programme will provide a fuller picture of how training can support the wider continuous professional development for learners with SEN.
Asked by: Lord Addington (Liberal Democrat - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what communications the Department for Education plans for local authorities, schools and parents where the national standards as outlined in their Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan (CP 800) will be trialled. explaining how that Plan complies with existing legislation and guidance, in particular the Equalities Act 2010, the Children and Families Act 2014 and the SEND Code of Practice.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The new National Standards will build on the comprehensive legal framework relevant to children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) by clarifying what good evidence-based provision looks like, who is responsible for securing it and from what budgets.
The department has heard through the SEND and Alternative Provision Green Paper how important it is that National Standards are evidence-based and that children, young people and their families are able to feed into the development process. We are setting up a steering group of cross sector representatives, that will include parent-carer representatives, to oversee the development of standards. The department will test the National Standards in the context of our £70 million Change Programme to ensure they are iterated and set up for success.
The development of the National Standards may require updates to both the legislation on SEND and to the SEND Code of Practice. The department will publish the National Standards in full for consultation.
Asked by: Lord Addington (Liberal Democrat - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to their Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan (CP 800), how they intend to address any confusion about the status of pre-existing legislation in areas where the National Standards will be trailed.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The new National Standards will build on the comprehensive legal framework relevant to children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) by clarifying what good evidence-based provision looks like, who is responsible for securing it and from what budgets.
The department has heard through the SEND and Alternative Provision Green Paper how important it is that National Standards are evidence-based and that children, young people and their families are able to feed into the development process. We are setting up a steering group of cross sector representatives, that will include parent-carer representatives, to oversee the development of standards. The department will test the National Standards in the context of our £70 million Change Programme to ensure they are iterated and set up for success.
The development of the National Standards may require updates to both the legislation on SEND and to the SEND Code of Practice. The department will publish the National Standards in full for consultation.
Asked by: Lord Addington (Liberal Democrat - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure through ongoing continual professional development that all teachers and support staff are made aware of potential benefits, and given some instruction of, the implementation of assistive technology for those with special educational needs and disabilities.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is expanding training to increase school staff confidence in using assistive technology (AT). Following the promising results of our initial pilot, we are extending assistive technology training to a further 150 maintained schools. The extension, known as the ‘AT Test and Learn’ programme, will teach mainstream school staff how to use AT effectively, with a focus on the technology schools already have available or can easily obtain, such as text-to-speech tools. It will build on last year’s pilot by training more schools over a longer period and with more impact data to gain a fuller picture of how AT training can support wider Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, continuing professional development.
Asked by: Lord Addington (Liberal Democrat - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how the new level 3 SENCO qualification will be able to influence the teaching profession as a whole to make reasonable adjustments for pupils with special education needs and disabilities across schools in England.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Early Years Recovery Programme includes funding for training of up to 5,000 early years Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCOs), leading to an accredited Level 3 early years SENCO qualification. The training is for SENCOs currently working in early years group-based providers or working as childminders. SENCOs working in schools are subject to different requirements. They must be a qualified teacher, and must achieve the masters-level National Award for Special Educational Needs Coordination within 3 years of appointment as a SENCO.
Asked by: Lord Addington (Liberal Democrat - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have undertaken an impact assessment on the effect of energy prices on (1) leisure centres, and (2) swimming pools, and their ability to remain open.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
During the review of the Energy Bill Relief Scheme, analysis of a large number of contributions from different individual companies in the private sector in addition to trade associations, the voluntary sector and other types of organisations were assessed. These included leisure centres and swimming pools.