Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the planned defunding of the level 3 Criminology qualification on the criminal justice workforce pipeline (a) in general and (b) for jobs that contribute to maintaining national security.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
This government is committed to ensuring that students in post-16 education have access to a high quality suite of qualifications that are easy to choose from and which provide the best chances for progression into higher study, or into a skilled job. The department firmly believes that, until the Advanced British Standard (ABS) is introduced, A Levels and T Levels are the best route at Level 3 to achieving those outcomes. A Levels are world class qualifications that provide the best preparation for higher education in most academic subject areas, including the social sciences.
The government’s view is that A Levels should be the academic qualifications of choice at Level 3. This is based on evidence about progression and attainment for students who study A Levels compared to those who study other academic qualifications at Level 3. Students who study A Levels tend to both do better and have higher completion rates at university than students who studied other qualifications, even when taking into account background characteristics.
An impact assessment was undertaken to consider the post-16 reforms at Level 3 as a whole, which can be read here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1091841/Revised_Review_of_post-16_qualifications_at_level_3_in_England_impact_assessment.pdf.
The study of criminology at Level 3 is not generally an entry requirement for criminology and other related degree courses. A Level sociology, which is in the same sector subject area of sociology and social policy, will serve students wishing to progress to criminology degrees. Students wishing to progress into other careers in criminal justice and national security, such as legal, policing or prison and probation services, could also undertake other A Levels such as law, combined with small alternative academic qualifications in approved subjects such as uniformed protective services.
Development of the ABS is a decade long reform programme. Therefore, removal of funding from technical qualifications overlapping with T Levels is continuing as planned. The technical parts of the ABS are much closer to the T Level than any other qualification, meaning that T Levels will be the most future proof qualification for students at 16 to 19.
As the department reforms applied general qualifications, it will be up to colleges to decide what they offer to ensure that students have access to a wide range of publicly funded qualifications. As education is a devolved matter, the devolved administrations may take a different approach to post-16 education.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the extent of overlap in course content between (a) level 3 Criminology and (b) A level Sociology.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
This government is committed to ensuring that students in post-16 education have access to a high quality suite of qualifications that are easy to choose from and which provide the best chances for progression into higher study, or into a skilled job. The department firmly believes that, until the Advanced British Standard (ABS) is introduced, A Levels and T Levels are the best route at Level 3 to achieving those outcomes. A Levels are world class qualifications that provide the best preparation for higher education in most academic subject areas, including the social sciences.
The government’s view is that A Levels should be the academic qualifications of choice at Level 3. This is based on evidence about progression and attainment for students who study A Levels compared to those who study other academic qualifications at Level 3. Students who study A Levels tend to both do better and have higher completion rates at university than students who studied other qualifications, even when taking into account background characteristics.
An impact assessment was undertaken to consider the post-16 reforms at Level 3 as a whole, which can be read here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1091841/Revised_Review_of_post-16_qualifications_at_level_3_in_England_impact_assessment.pdf.
The study of criminology at Level 3 is not generally an entry requirement for criminology and other related degree courses. A Level sociology, which is in the same sector subject area of sociology and social policy, will serve students wishing to progress to criminology degrees. Students wishing to progress into other careers in criminal justice and national security, such as legal, policing or prison and probation services, could also undertake other A Levels such as law, combined with small alternative academic qualifications in approved subjects such as uniformed protective services.
Development of the ABS is a decade long reform programme. Therefore, removal of funding from technical qualifications overlapping with T Levels is continuing as planned. The technical parts of the ABS are much closer to the T Level than any other qualification, meaning that T Levels will be the most future proof qualification for students at 16 to 19.
As the department reforms applied general qualifications, it will be up to colleges to decide what they offer to ensure that students have access to a wide range of publicly funded qualifications. As education is a devolved matter, the devolved administrations may take a different approach to post-16 education.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the planned defunding of level 3 Criminology in England on the comparative ability of students from (a) England and (b) Wales to pursue careers in criminal justice.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
This government is committed to ensuring that students in post-16 education have access to a high quality suite of qualifications that are easy to choose from and which provide the best chances for progression into higher study, or into a skilled job. The department firmly believes that, until the Advanced British Standard (ABS) is introduced, A Levels and T Levels are the best route at Level 3 to achieving those outcomes. A Levels are world class qualifications that provide the best preparation for higher education in most academic subject areas, including the social sciences.
The government’s view is that A Levels should be the academic qualifications of choice at Level 3. This is based on evidence about progression and attainment for students who study A Levels compared to those who study other academic qualifications at Level 3. Students who study A Levels tend to both do better and have higher completion rates at university than students who studied other qualifications, even when taking into account background characteristics.
An impact assessment was undertaken to consider the post-16 reforms at Level 3 as a whole, which can be read here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1091841/Revised_Review_of_post-16_qualifications_at_level_3_in_England_impact_assessment.pdf.
The study of criminology at Level 3 is not generally an entry requirement for criminology and other related degree courses. A Level sociology, which is in the same sector subject area of sociology and social policy, will serve students wishing to progress to criminology degrees. Students wishing to progress into other careers in criminal justice and national security, such as legal, policing or prison and probation services, could also undertake other A Levels such as law, combined with small alternative academic qualifications in approved subjects such as uniformed protective services.
Development of the ABS is a decade long reform programme. Therefore, removal of funding from technical qualifications overlapping with T Levels is continuing as planned. The technical parts of the ABS are much closer to the T Level than any other qualification, meaning that T Levels will be the most future proof qualification for students at 16 to 19.
As the department reforms applied general qualifications, it will be up to colleges to decide what they offer to ensure that students have access to a wide range of publicly funded qualifications. As education is a devolved matter, the devolved administrations may take a different approach to post-16 education.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the capacity on A level Sociology courses in the context of the planned defunding of level 3 Criminology.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
This government is committed to ensuring that students in post-16 education have access to a high quality suite of qualifications that are easy to choose from and which provide the best chances for progression into higher study, or into a skilled job. The department firmly believes that, until the Advanced British Standard (ABS) is introduced, A Levels and T Levels are the best route at Level 3 to achieving those outcomes. A Levels are world class qualifications that provide the best preparation for higher education in most academic subject areas, including the social sciences.
The government’s view is that A Levels should be the academic qualifications of choice at Level 3. This is based on evidence about progression and attainment for students who study A Levels compared to those who study other academic qualifications at Level 3. Students who study A Levels tend to both do better and have higher completion rates at university than students who studied other qualifications, even when taking into account background characteristics.
An impact assessment was undertaken to consider the post-16 reforms at Level 3 as a whole, which can be read here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1091841/Revised_Review_of_post-16_qualifications_at_level_3_in_England_impact_assessment.pdf.
The study of criminology at Level 3 is not generally an entry requirement for criminology and other related degree courses. A Level sociology, which is in the same sector subject area of sociology and social policy, will serve students wishing to progress to criminology degrees. Students wishing to progress into other careers in criminal justice and national security, such as legal, policing or prison and probation services, could also undertake other A Levels such as law, combined with small alternative academic qualifications in approved subjects such as uniformed protective services.
Development of the ABS is a decade long reform programme. Therefore, removal of funding from technical qualifications overlapping with T Levels is continuing as planned. The technical parts of the ABS are much closer to the T Level than any other qualification, meaning that T Levels will be the most future proof qualification for students at 16 to 19.
As the department reforms applied general qualifications, it will be up to colleges to decide what they offer to ensure that students have access to a wide range of publicly funded qualifications. As education is a devolved matter, the devolved administrations may take a different approach to post-16 education.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of parenting programmes on (a) levels of expenditure associated with (i) child and adult mental health and (ii) youth anti-social behaviour and (b) the proportion of parents able to return to the workplace as a result of a reduction in school refusal rates.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is clear that parents should do everything they can to ensure that their child is in school every day. Regular school attendance is vital for children’s attainment, mental wellbeing and long-term development. It is crucial that the department has a system of support in place to ensure every child attends school every day, ready to learn and thrive.
The government’s ‘Working Together to Improve School Attendance’ guidance, which will become statutory ahead of the next school year, includes a core set of functions that local authority attendance support staff, whether titled education welfare officers, attendance officers or early help practitioners, are expected to provide free of charge to all schools and funded centrally through the Central Schools Service Block and Supporting Families Grant. Some early adopters have reported benefits from integrating attendance into other services, and providing better, more joined up whole family support, that has the potential to reduce demand for higher cost crisis services over time.
The department’s attendance mentors pilot sees mentors supporting a group of persistently absent pupils and their families, on a one-to-one basis, to help identify and address their barriers to education. The department has had positive feedback from parents, pupils and schools who have engaged with the attendance mentors programme and have started to see some promising impact data. The department has recently announced an additional investment of £15 million to expand mentoring into ten new areas over the next three years.
The government’s Supporting Families programme continues to work with families where attendance issues are a significant concern. ‘Getting a good education’ is a headline indicator in the national Supporting Families Outcomes Framework, which requires sustained good attendance for all children in the family, across two consecutive school terms. It is important that those identifying attendance issues begin to explore and identify any issues which may be behind the attendance problems, including any needs and circumstances in the wider family as part of Early Help Assessment processes.
The department’s reforms are starting to make a difference. There were 440,000 fewer pupils persistently absent or not attending in 2022/23 than in the year before. Overall absence during the 2023/24 autumn term was 6.8%, down from 7.5% in the 2022/23 autumn term.
Alongside this, the department is currently considering options for widening access to parenting support through family hubs and is undertaking assessments of the effectiveness and value for money of evidence-based parenting programmes, as well as other forms of support for parents. As part of this work to inform future fiscal events, the department will consider the downstream economic impacts of parenting programmes.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve the accessibility of evidence-based parenting support for parents and families residing in local authority areas that do not offer Family Hubs.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Family Hubs and Start for Life programme aims to improve access to services for parents and families with children 0-19 or up to 25 for those with special educational needs and disabilities. It provides funding for parenting support as part of the Start for Life offer to be used on evidence-based programmes alongside peer support and community outreach activities.
The department has selected 75 local authorities based on levels of disadvantage. The department would like to see Family Hubs open across the country. The departments initial focus is on delivering well in the local areas that it is currently working with and building a model and evidence base. The department can then look to expand further in the future.
The published programme guide sets out requirements for local authorities to invest in evidence-based programmes with encouragement to select those that feature in published guidance, which have been rigorously evaluated and demonstrated impact.
The programme guide can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/family-hubs-and-start-for-life-programme-local-authority-guide. The published guidance is available at: https://guidebook.eif.org.uk/programme/incredible-years-preschool.
The department is working with the local authorities selected for the programme to assess delivery of all funded services in Family Hubs, and evidence-based parenting programmes are included as part of this. A comprehensive external evaluation of the parenting support offer has been commissioned and is due to report in late 2025. This evaluation will explore how well different parenting programmes have been implemented into the Family Hubs model. It will include a quasi-experimental impact evaluation that will assess the outcomes for families and an assessment of the value for money offered by the programme as a whole.
The department is currently considering options for widening access to parenting support through Family Hubs and as such undertaking assessments of the effectiveness and value for money of evidence-based parenting programmes, as well as other forms of support for parents. As part of this work to inform future fiscal events, the department considers policies from across the world, including Australia, to inform departmental thinking. This scoping work also includes engaging with the Social Mobility Commission following their recent report into family and parenting programmes.
The department is also investing over £17 million on the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI) in order to improve the language skills of reception age children who need it most following the pandemic. This evidence-based programme targets children needing extra support with their speech and language development and is proven to help them make four months of additional progress, and seven months for those on free school meals. Over 500,000 children have had their language screened, with 160,000 reception age children having received extra support with their speech and language development from this proven programme.
Alongside investing in parenting support and the NELI programme, the department has also launched a national media campaign ‘Little Moments Together’ to encourage parents to chat, play and read with their pre-school children. The campaign, run jointly with the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, provides evidence-based advice for parents on the NHS Better Health Start for Life website, and support from national partners on activities for parents. Little Moments Together is based on long-standing evidence on the importance of the home learning environment to providing children the best start to life. The Better Health Start for Life website can be found at: https://www.nhs.uk/start-for-life/early-learning-development/.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference the Social Mobility Commission's publication entitled Family and parenting programmes: rapid evidence assessment, published in October 2023, what assessment her Department has made of the role of evidence-based parenting programmes in ensuring value for money from expenditure on parenting support.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Family Hubs and Start for Life programme aims to improve access to services for parents and families with children 0-19 or up to 25 for those with special educational needs and disabilities. It provides funding for parenting support as part of the Start for Life offer to be used on evidence-based programmes alongside peer support and community outreach activities.
The department has selected 75 local authorities based on levels of disadvantage. The department would like to see Family Hubs open across the country. The departments initial focus is on delivering well in the local areas that it is currently working with and building a model and evidence base. The department can then look to expand further in the future.
The published programme guide sets out requirements for local authorities to invest in evidence-based programmes with encouragement to select those that feature in published guidance, which have been rigorously evaluated and demonstrated impact.
The programme guide can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/family-hubs-and-start-for-life-programme-local-authority-guide. The published guidance is available at: https://guidebook.eif.org.uk/programme/incredible-years-preschool.
The department is working with the local authorities selected for the programme to assess delivery of all funded services in Family Hubs, and evidence-based parenting programmes are included as part of this. A comprehensive external evaluation of the parenting support offer has been commissioned and is due to report in late 2025. This evaluation will explore how well different parenting programmes have been implemented into the Family Hubs model. It will include a quasi-experimental impact evaluation that will assess the outcomes for families and an assessment of the value for money offered by the programme as a whole.
The department is currently considering options for widening access to parenting support through Family Hubs and as such undertaking assessments of the effectiveness and value for money of evidence-based parenting programmes, as well as other forms of support for parents. As part of this work to inform future fiscal events, the department considers policies from across the world, including Australia, to inform departmental thinking. This scoping work also includes engaging with the Social Mobility Commission following their recent report into family and parenting programmes.
The department is also investing over £17 million on the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI) in order to improve the language skills of reception age children who need it most following the pandemic. This evidence-based programme targets children needing extra support with their speech and language development and is proven to help them make four months of additional progress, and seven months for those on free school meals. Over 500,000 children have had their language screened, with 160,000 reception age children having received extra support with their speech and language development from this proven programme.
Alongside investing in parenting support and the NELI programme, the department has also launched a national media campaign ‘Little Moments Together’ to encourage parents to chat, play and read with their pre-school children. The campaign, run jointly with the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, provides evidence-based advice for parents on the NHS Better Health Start for Life website, and support from national partners on activities for parents. Little Moments Together is based on long-standing evidence on the importance of the home learning environment to providing children the best start to life. The Better Health Start for Life website can be found at: https://www.nhs.uk/start-for-life/early-learning-development/.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made a comparative assessment of the effectiveness of (a) evidence-based parenting programmes and (b) other interventions to support parents.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Family Hubs and Start for Life programme aims to improve access to services for parents and families with children 0-19 or up to 25 for those with special educational needs and disabilities. It provides funding for parenting support as part of the Start for Life offer to be used on evidence-based programmes alongside peer support and community outreach activities.
The department has selected 75 local authorities based on levels of disadvantage. The department would like to see Family Hubs open across the country. The departments initial focus is on delivering well in the local areas that it is currently working with and building a model and evidence base. The department can then look to expand further in the future.
The published programme guide sets out requirements for local authorities to invest in evidence-based programmes with encouragement to select those that feature in published guidance, which have been rigorously evaluated and demonstrated impact.
The programme guide can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/family-hubs-and-start-for-life-programme-local-authority-guide. The published guidance is available at: https://guidebook.eif.org.uk/programme/incredible-years-preschool.
The department is working with the local authorities selected for the programme to assess delivery of all funded services in Family Hubs, and evidence-based parenting programmes are included as part of this. A comprehensive external evaluation of the parenting support offer has been commissioned and is due to report in late 2025. This evaluation will explore how well different parenting programmes have been implemented into the Family Hubs model. It will include a quasi-experimental impact evaluation that will assess the outcomes for families and an assessment of the value for money offered by the programme as a whole.
The department is currently considering options for widening access to parenting support through Family Hubs and as such undertaking assessments of the effectiveness and value for money of evidence-based parenting programmes, as well as other forms of support for parents. As part of this work to inform future fiscal events, the department considers policies from across the world, including Australia, to inform departmental thinking. This scoping work also includes engaging with the Social Mobility Commission following their recent report into family and parenting programmes.
The department is also investing over £17 million on the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI) in order to improve the language skills of reception age children who need it most following the pandemic. This evidence-based programme targets children needing extra support with their speech and language development and is proven to help them make four months of additional progress, and seven months for those on free school meals. Over 500,000 children have had their language screened, with 160,000 reception age children having received extra support with their speech and language development from this proven programme.
Alongside investing in parenting support and the NELI programme, the department has also launched a national media campaign ‘Little Moments Together’ to encourage parents to chat, play and read with their pre-school children. The campaign, run jointly with the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, provides evidence-based advice for parents on the NHS Better Health Start for Life website, and support from national partners on activities for parents. Little Moments Together is based on long-standing evidence on the importance of the home learning environment to providing children the best start to life. The Better Health Start for Life website can be found at: https://www.nhs.uk/start-for-life/early-learning-development/.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of funding a digital roll out of evidence-based parenting programmes similar to the scheme announced by the Australian Federal Government in 2022.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Family Hubs and Start for Life programme aims to improve access to services for parents and families with children 0-19 or up to 25 for those with special educational needs and disabilities. It provides funding for parenting support as part of the Start for Life offer to be used on evidence-based programmes alongside peer support and community outreach activities.
The department has selected 75 local authorities based on levels of disadvantage. The department would like to see Family Hubs open across the country. The departments initial focus is on delivering well in the local areas that it is currently working with and building a model and evidence base. The department can then look to expand further in the future.
The published programme guide sets out requirements for local authorities to invest in evidence-based programmes with encouragement to select those that feature in published guidance, which have been rigorously evaluated and demonstrated impact.
The programme guide can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/family-hubs-and-start-for-life-programme-local-authority-guide. The published guidance is available at: https://guidebook.eif.org.uk/programme/incredible-years-preschool.
The department is working with the local authorities selected for the programme to assess delivery of all funded services in Family Hubs, and evidence-based parenting programmes are included as part of this. A comprehensive external evaluation of the parenting support offer has been commissioned and is due to report in late 2025. This evaluation will explore how well different parenting programmes have been implemented into the Family Hubs model. It will include a quasi-experimental impact evaluation that will assess the outcomes for families and an assessment of the value for money offered by the programme as a whole.
The department is currently considering options for widening access to parenting support through Family Hubs and as such undertaking assessments of the effectiveness and value for money of evidence-based parenting programmes, as well as other forms of support for parents. As part of this work to inform future fiscal events, the department considers policies from across the world, including Australia, to inform departmental thinking. This scoping work also includes engaging with the Social Mobility Commission following their recent report into family and parenting programmes.
The department is also investing over £17 million on the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI) in order to improve the language skills of reception age children who need it most following the pandemic. This evidence-based programme targets children needing extra support with their speech and language development and is proven to help them make four months of additional progress, and seven months for those on free school meals. Over 500,000 children have had their language screened, with 160,000 reception age children having received extra support with their speech and language development from this proven programme.
Alongside investing in parenting support and the NELI programme, the department has also launched a national media campaign ‘Little Moments Together’ to encourage parents to chat, play and read with their pre-school children. The campaign, run jointly with the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, provides evidence-based advice for parents on the NHS Better Health Start for Life website, and support from national partners on activities for parents. Little Moments Together is based on long-standing evidence on the importance of the home learning environment to providing children the best start to life. The Better Health Start for Life website can be found at: https://www.nhs.uk/start-for-life/early-learning-development/.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to tackle shortages in family social workers.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Social workers play a valuable role in supporting the most vulnerable in society and the department is committed to ensuring there is an excellent child and family social worker for everyone who needs one. The department recognises the ongoing challenge facing local authorities across the country in recruiting and retaining child and family social workers, with reasons for social workers leaving the profession varied and complex.
On 2 February 2023, the department published the care reform strategy, ‘Stable Homes, Built on Love’, which set out proposals to help stabilise the workforce. This includes supporting the recruitment of up to 461 social worker apprentices, a new Early Career Framework that will set out the development plans for a social worker’s first five years, proposals to reduce the overreliance on agency social workers, and setting up a National Workload Action Group to tackle unnecessary workload drivers which keep social workers away from direct time with children and families.
Every year, through the department’s fast track and development programmes, the department trains an average of 800 new social workers and provides professional development for around 4,000 others.
The number of full time equivalent child and family social workers in post at 30 September 2023 was 33,100. This is the highest figure we've seen since gathering this data. The statistics show that the department’s £50 million average yearly investment over this Spending Review on recruitment and training child and family social workers, alongside the hard work of local authorities is generating positive results.