Asked by: Gary Streeter (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will take steps to ensure staff working within local government children's social care receive training to understand the potential altruistic motivation of potential (a) foster and (b) adoptive parents of faith.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Local authorities are responsible for the continuous professional development of their workforces, including social workers.
Social workers are critical to the functioning of the wider children’s social care system. They must meet the professional standards set by Social Work England to practise as a social worker. In relation to the altruism of those seeking to foster and adopt, the standards recognise the importance of family and community networks, requiring social workers to work in partnership with these.
To support child and family social workers to continuously improve their practice, the department funds professional development for around 4,000 social workers each year. The new Early Career Framework for child and family social workers will significantly extend the training and support they receive in the early stages of their career, helping to equip them with the knowledge skills they need to support children and families.
Asked by: Gary Streeter (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to ensure that staff working within children's social care receive training to understand the potential altruistic motivation of potential (a) foster and (b) adoptive parents of faith.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Local authorities are responsible for the continuous professional development of their workforces, including social workers.
Social workers are critical to the functioning of the wider children’s social care system. They must meet the professional standards set by Social Work England to practise as a social worker. In relation to the altruism of those seeking to foster and adopt, the standards recognise the importance of family and community networks, requiring social workers to work in partnership with these.
To support child and family social workers to continuously improve their practice, the department funds professional development for around 4,000 social workers each year. The new Early Career Framework for child and family social workers will significantly extend the training and support they receive in the early stages of their career, helping to equip them with the knowledge skills they need to support children and families.
Asked by: Gary Streeter (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate his Department has made of the number of nursing students who were overpaid loans and maintenance grants by the Students Loans Company.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
We are aware of 804 NHS funded students who may have been overpaid maintenance loans and/or grants in the academic year 2017/18.
None of the students affected should suffer hardship as a result of the error, and students affected should contact the Student Loans Company.
Asked by: Gary Streeter (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which universities have been affected by overpayments of student loans and maintenance grants to nursing students by the Student Loans Company.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
The following Higher Education Institutions have at least one nursing student who has received an overpayment of grant and/or maintenance loan in the academic year 2017/18.
Brunel University London
Cardiff University
Glyndwr University
Plymouth Marjon University
University of Brighton
University of Manchester
University of Southampton
University of Suffolk
University of West London
Leeds University
University of Essex
University of Bedfordshire
University of Worcester
Anglia Ruskin University
London Metropolitan University
University of Central Lancashire
University of Derby
University of Portsmouth
University of Reading
University of Salford
Asked by: Gary Streeter (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to support nursing students who were overpaid loan and maintenance grants by the Student Loans Company.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
Our priority is to support those affected by the maintenance loan and grant overpayments. None of the students affected should suffer hardship as a result of the error, and students affected should contact the Student Loans Company.
Asked by: Gary Streeter (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make it his policy to write-off all the loan and maintenance grants overpayments made by the Student Loans Company to nursing students.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
Our priority is to support those affected by the maintenance loan and grant overpayments. None of the students affected should suffer hardship as a result of the error, and students affected should contact the Student Loans Company.
Asked by: Gary Streeter (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support he plans to make available to nursing students affected by overpayments of loan and maintenance grants by the Students Loans Company to ensure they can complete their course.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
Our priority is to support those affected by the maintenance loan and grant overpayments. None of the students affected should suffer hardship as a result of the error, and students affected should contact the Student Loans Company.
Asked by: Gary Streeter (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the reasons are for the time taken by Ofsted to give approval for the new Tregosse residential care home.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
This is a matter for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman. I have asked her to write to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Asked by: Gary Streeter (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the efficacy of Ofsted's registration process for new residential care centres for children with severe and multiple additional behavioural needs.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The department has not carried out an assessment of the efficacy of Ofsted’s registration process for children’s social care settings. However, the requirement to register and registration procedure is contained in part 2 of the Care Standards Act 2000 and this sets out a number of safeguards to ensure its efficacy.
Asked by: Gary Streeter (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect of the apprenticeship levy on schools in (a) Devon and Plymouth and (b) England; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Anne Milton
As with other areas of the public sector, the department will be monitoring the uptake of apprenticeships by the school workforce. Public sector bodies included in the apprenticeship target are required to annually publish and report to the department their progress towards the target. The first reports (covering the period 1 April 2017 – 31 March 2018) are due on 30 September 2018. As we have outlined to the Public Accounts Committee, the department will also include the financial impact of the apprenticeship levy as part of our publication regarding the cost pressures on schools.