Asked by: Stephen McPartland (Conservative - Stevenage)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to extend Ofsted inspections to semi-independent care provision for 16 to 18 year olds; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Edward Timpson
Local Authorities are responsible for ensuring that 16-and 17-year-olds that are either looked after or care leavers, are placed in safe and suitable accommodation. Statutory guidance sets out the factors that local authorities must take into account when determining the suitability of accommodation. The full guidance can be found at:
Since 2013, Ofsted inspections of local authorities’ children’s social care services have included a separate sub-judgement on care leavers, which includes an assessment of whether the local authority is ensuring that care leavers have access to suitable accommodation. In particular, Ofsted inspect whether:
The government recognises that more needs to be done to improve care leavers’ outcomes and is considering how it can build on the achievements of the first ever cross-government care leaver strategy which was introduced in October 2013. This will include consideration of what can be done to drive further improvement in the quality of accommodation that care leavers receive.
Asked by: Stephen McPartland (Conservative - Stevenage)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential correlation between the quality of personal, social, health and economic education provision at (a) primary and (b) secondary schools and the Ofsted results at those schools; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Edward Timpson
We believe that all young people should leave school prepared for life in modern Britain. High quality PSHE teaching has a vital role to play in this, helping young people understand the world around them, building resilience and helping them to make informed choices and stay safe.
In March 2015, we published a review of current impact and effective practice that shows that PSHE can improve a range of outcomes including the physical and psychosocial well-being of pupils, and improved classroom and playground behaviour. Good PSHE provision can lead to school-wide improvements.
We are committed to improving the quality of PSHE in all schools, and will work with the sector to achieve this.
Asked by: Stephen McPartland (Conservative - Stevenage)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to promote the creative curriculum in primary schools; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
We recognise that the arts form an integral part of a child’s education and believe strongly that every child should experience a high-quality arts and cultural education throughout their time at school.
Music, and art and design are statutory subjects in the national curriculum and must be studied by all pupils in maintained primary schools from the age of five.
In addition, for 2012-16, we have allocated over £470 million to a diverse range of music and arts education programmes that are designed to improve access to the arts and culture for all children, regardless of their background, and to develop talent across the country.
These programmes include support for 123 music education hubs, which are charged with ensuring that every child sings and learns to play a musical instrument, the Shakespeare Schools Festival, and programmes designed to encourage more primary school pupils to visit museums and to understand their local heritage.