Asked by: Sarah Wollaston (Liberal Democrat - Totnes)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reasons children’s play is not prioritized in the five foundations for building character.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
World-class education is not only about having the highest standards in academic and technical education, it also means ensuring that education builds character and resilience.
We want all children and young people to have opportunities to develop the key character traits of believing that they can achieve, being able to stick with the task in hand, seeing a link between effort today and reward in the future, and being able to bounce back from the knocks that life inevitably brings to all of us. Character must also be grounded in positive values such as kindness, generosity, fairness, tolerance and integrity.
The 5 Foundations for Building Character announced on 7 February by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education are sport, creativity, performing, volunteering and membership, and the world of work. Each of these areas covers a very wide range of activities that children and young people can enjoy doing. In developing key character traits, research suggests that high-quality delivery of the 5 foundations should take a structured approach, occur over a sustained period of time, and be self-directed by the child or young person. Through the support of teachers, coaches or other professionals, children and young people are more likely to receive a higher level of challenge and develop the traits that can help them achieve their goals.
Play can provide benefits to children and young people through physical activity and promotion of wellbeing, but the audit of the availability of out-of-school activities across the country does not currently include playing outside as that activity does not provide the structured and high quality elements that are required in character building activities as proposed in the 5 Foundations for Building Character.
Asked by: Sarah Wollaston (Liberal Democrat - Totnes)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the audit of out of school activities will include playing outside.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
World-class education is not only about having the highest standards in academic and technical education, it also means ensuring that education builds character and resilience.
We want all children and young people to have opportunities to develop the key character traits of believing that they can achieve, being able to stick with the task in hand, seeing a link between effort today and reward in the future, and being able to bounce back from the knocks that life inevitably brings to all of us. Character must also be grounded in positive values such as kindness, generosity, fairness, tolerance and integrity.
The 5 Foundations for Building Character announced on 7 February by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education are sport, creativity, performing, volunteering and membership, and the world of work. Each of these areas covers a very wide range of activities that children and young people can enjoy doing. In developing key character traits, research suggests that high-quality delivery of the 5 foundations should take a structured approach, occur over a sustained period of time, and be self-directed by the child or young person. Through the support of teachers, coaches or other professionals, children and young people are more likely to receive a higher level of challenge and develop the traits that can help them achieve their goals.
Play can provide benefits to children and young people through physical activity and promotion of wellbeing, but the audit of the availability of out-of-school activities across the country does not currently include playing outside as that activity does not provide the structured and high quality elements that are required in character building activities as proposed in the 5 Foundations for Building Character.
Asked by: Sarah Wollaston (Liberal Democrat - Totnes)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of children with autism spectrum condition who have been (a) excluded and (b) isolated in schools in the last 12 months.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Permanent and fixed period exclusions in England: 2016-2017 can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/permanent-and-fixed-period-exclusions-in-england-2016-to-2017.
Permanent and fixed period exclusions by type of special educational need can be found in national table 6.
The information requested, on the number of children with autism spectrum condition who have been isolated in schools in the last 12 months, is not held centrally.
As part of Ofsted inspections, however, schools will be asked to provide records and analysis of any use of internal isolation. Ofsted inspectors will expect schools to have clear and effective behaviour policies that promote high standards of behaviour and are applied consistently and fairly. In reaching a judgement on pupils’ personal development, behaviour and welfare, inspectors will take account of a range of information, including schools’ use of internal isolation.
The Department’s behaviour and discipline guidance to schools makes clear that schools must act lawfully, reasonably and proportionately when using isolation, and must take account of any special education needs or disabilities pupils placed in isolation may have.
Asked by: Sarah Wollaston (Liberal Democrat - Totnes)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to ensure the effectiveness of cross-departmental work to tackle the referral of children and young people with (a) depression and (b) mental health issues.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department for Education has a joint programme of work with the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England and Health Education England to deliver the proposals set out in the green paper ‘Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision’. This includes setting up and running Mental Health Support Teams linked to groups of schools and colleges. The teams will be made up of additional, trained, mental health workers, supervised by suitable NHS staff working closely with other professionals such as educational psychologists, school nurses, counsellors and social workers.
The first teams will be set up in 25 trailblazer areas this year, which will be evaluated to inform the subsequent roll-out. The Department has put in place a small regional implementation team to work alongside NHS England to support delivery of the green paper commitments and lead and model effective partnership working for education and health.
The Government is also taking action to support specific vulnerable groups of children. In May 2016, Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission began inspecting local areas on their effectiveness in fulfilling the new duties on education, health and social care services to provide for children and young people who have special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). All 152 local areas in England will be inspected over a period of five years. The inspections are identifying how effectively access to mental health provision is working as part of the SEND provision locally.
The Department is also piloting new mental health assessments for looked-after children to ensure young people are assessed at the right time to support more effective access to mental health provision, with a focus on meeting their individual needs as they enter care.
Asked by: Sarah Wollaston (Liberal Democrat - Totnes)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the effect on children’s (a) wellbeing and (b) development of changes in the time available for break-time over the last 20 years.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government has no plans to assess the impact of any changes in the length of school break times. Schools have the autonomy to make decisions about the structure and duration of their school day to suit their own circumstances. However, the Department is clear that pupils should be given an appropriate break and expects school leaders to make sure this happens.
The Government recognises the importance of physical activity in schools to improve physical and mental wellbeing and support attainment. The Department’s childhood obesity strategy reflects the Chief Medical Officer’s guidelines that primary age children should get at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity a day and the aim that 30 minutes of that should be during the school day.
Asked by: Sarah Wollaston (Liberal Democrat - Totnes)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Chancellor's announcement in the 2017 Budget , what the timetable is for the extension of free school transport for children in receipt of free school meals to those travelling to selective schools.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department is committed to ensuring every child is able to access a good school place, regardless of background. The new Selective Schools Expansion Fund will create more good school places where there is local demand by supporting the expansion of existing good or outstanding selective schools. Those schools that are successful in their application will be expected to undertake activity to encourage more pupils from low-income families to attend and be committed to improving access for disadvantaged pupils.
Children will be eligible for free transport to a selective school if they meet the existing eligibility criteria.
The Department expects more children to become eligible for free home to school transport as a result of new rules on eligibility for free school meals, and will be providing local authorities with additional funding to help them provide this.
The Department is not, however, taking forward proposals to open new selective schools and, not taking forward plans for free transport specifically for children who are eligible for free school meals who attend their nearest selective school.
Where disadvantaged pupils are not eligible for free transport, schools may wish to consider whether it is appropriate to use pupil premium funding to support transport costs for these pupils.
Asked by: Sarah Wollaston (Liberal Democrat - Totnes)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children have been fostered in England in each of the last five years.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The numbers of children looked after in foster placements at any time during the year ending 31 March in each of the last five years were published in Table B1, in the statistical release Children looked after in England including adoption: 2016 to 2017 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption-2016-to-2017.
The numbers of children, who ceased to be looked after because of a special guardianship order during the year ending 31 March in each of the last five years, are shown in the attached table.
Asked by: Sarah Wollaston (Liberal Democrat - Totnes)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many special guardianship orders have been issued in each of the last five years.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The numbers of children looked after in foster placements at any time during the year ending 31 March in each of the last five years were published in Table B1, in the statistical release Children looked after in England including adoption: 2016 to 2017 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption-2016-to-2017.
The numbers of children, who ceased to be looked after because of a special guardianship order during the year ending 31 March in each of the last five years, are shown in the attached table.
Asked by: Sarah Wollaston (Liberal Democrat - Totnes)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effect of maintaining current levels of core educational funding for 16 to 18 year olds on (a) educational outcomes and (b) further education provision; and what plans she has for (i) funding and (ii) resourcing further education in the next five years.
Answered by Anne Milton
The post-16 system is performing well and a record proportion of 16 to 18-year olds are now participating in education or apprenticeships. The results in the first of the reformed A levels were released last month, with students continuing to achieve effectively against the high standards of the qualification and demonstrating their readiness for the demands of higher education. Overall A level results this year were stable compared to last year.
A record number of 18-year olds applied for places in Higher Education this year and the entry rate for English 18-year olds from disadvantaged backgrounds is at a record high.
Asked by: Sarah Wollaston (Liberal Democrat - Totnes)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when her Department plans to publish the careers strategy.
Answered by Anne Milton
We will publish a careers strategy in the Autumn. The strategy will have a clear focus on improving social mobility.