Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect of trends in the level of demand for children’s social care services on the adequacy of funding allocated to local authorities to provide those services.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
We monitor the number of children looked-after, the number of children with child protection plans, and children in need on an ongoing basis.
Local authority level data since 2013 is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-authority-interactive-tool-lait.
National level children in need and service use since 2010 is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-children-in-need, and: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-looked-after-children.
The most common factors recorded in children’s social care assessments are domestic abuse and mental health. These have been consistently the top 2 factors for the years during which we have collected this data and have risen in line with trends in demand.
Over the 5-year period to 2019-20, councils have access, through the local government finance settlement (LGFS), to over £200 billion to deliver local services, including children’s services. Core spending power has increased from £45.1 billion in 2018-19 to £46.4 billion in 2019-20.
In addition to this the Autumn Budget announced a further £410 million in 2019-20 for local authorities to invest in adult and children’s social care services. It also announced £84 million of extra funding, over the next 5 years, to support local authorities to invest in initiatives that improve social work practice and decision making.
The Department for Education are working closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on the review of relative needs and resources to develop a robust, up-to-date approach to funding distribution for children's services at LGFSs.
The government will continue to work closely with the sector to consider long-term children’s services funding as part of the upcoming Spending Review.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of demand for children’s social care services in the timeframe of the next Spending Review.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
We monitor the number of children looked-after, the number of children with child protection plans, and children in need on an ongoing basis.
Local authority level data since 2013 is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-authority-interactive-tool-lait.
National level children in need and service use since 2010 is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-children-in-need, and: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-looked-after-children.
The most common factors recorded in children’s social care assessments are domestic abuse and mental health. These have been consistently the top 2 factors for the years during which we have collected this data and have risen in line with trends in demand.
Over the 5-year period to 2019-20, councils have access, through the local government finance settlement (LGFS), to over £200 billion to deliver local services, including children’s services. Core spending power has increased from £45.1 billion in 2018-19 to £46.4 billion in 2019-20.
In addition to this the Autumn Budget announced a further £410 million in 2019-20 for local authorities to invest in adult and children’s social care services. It also announced £84 million of extra funding, over the next 5 years, to support local authorities to invest in initiatives that improve social work practice and decision making.
The Department for Education are working closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on the review of relative needs and resources to develop a robust, up-to-date approach to funding distribution for children's services at LGFSs.
The government will continue to work closely with the sector to consider long-term children’s services funding as part of the upcoming Spending Review.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2019 to Question 230718 on GSCE: Children in Care, what assessment he has made of how the Pupil Premium Plus is spent in schools.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The pupil premium plus for looked-after children is managed by the local authority’s Virtual School Head (VSH) and is separate from wider pupil premium funding. The VSH works with the looked-after child’s education setting, using the funding to deliver the outcomes set out in the individual’s Personal Education Plan.
The department has published statutory guidance for local authorities on ‘Promoting the education of looked-after children and previously looked-after children’ – this guidance includes information on both the use and management of the pupil premium plus. Further information is provided in ‘Pupil premium: Virtual School Heads’ responsibilities’ available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/pupil-premium-virtual-school-heads-responsibilities.
Guidance for schools, on the use of pupil premium plus, is set out in ‘The designated teacher for looked-after and previously looked-after children: Statutory Guidance on their roles and responsibilities’.
The department has not made a formal assessment of how the pupil premium plus is spent. However, Ofsted’s framework for inspections of local authority’s children’s services requires inspectors to consider the Virtual School Annual Report, which should include details of how the VSH has managed the pupil premium plus for looked-after children.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2019 to Question 230718 on GSCE: Children in Care, what steps his Department takes to ensure that the Pupil Premium Plus is spent specifically on the needs of looked-after children.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The pupil premium plus for looked-after children is managed by the local authority’s Virtual School Head (VSH) and is separate from wider pupil premium funding. The VSH works with the looked-after child’s education setting, using the funding to deliver the outcomes set out in the individual’s Personal Education Plan.
The department has published statutory guidance for local authorities on ‘Promoting the education of looked-after children and previously looked-after children’ – this guidance includes information on both the use and management of the pupil premium plus. Further information is provided in ‘Pupil premium: Virtual School Heads’ responsibilities’ available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/pupil-premium-virtual-school-heads-responsibilities.
Guidance for schools, on the use of pupil premium plus, is set out in ‘The designated teacher for looked-after and previously looked-after children: Statutory Guidance on their roles and responsibilities’.
The department has not made a formal assessment of how the pupil premium plus is spent. However, Ofsted’s framework for inspections of local authority’s children’s services requires inspectors to consider the Virtual School Annual Report, which should include details of how the VSH has managed the pupil premium plus for looked-after children.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2019 to Question 230718 on GSCE: Children in Care, whether his Department provides guidance to schools on how to spend the Pupil Premium Plus.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The pupil premium plus for looked-after children is managed by the local authority’s Virtual School Head (VSH) and is separate from wider pupil premium funding. The VSH works with the looked-after child’s education setting, using the funding to deliver the outcomes set out in the individual’s Personal Education Plan.
The department has published statutory guidance for local authorities on ‘Promoting the education of looked-after children and previously looked-after children’ – this guidance includes information on both the use and management of the pupil premium plus. Further information is provided in ‘Pupil premium: Virtual School Heads’ responsibilities’ available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/pupil-premium-virtual-school-heads-responsibilities.
Guidance for schools, on the use of pupil premium plus, is set out in ‘The designated teacher for looked-after and previously looked-after children: Statutory Guidance on their roles and responsibilities’.
The department has not made a formal assessment of how the pupil premium plus is spent. However, Ofsted’s framework for inspections of local authority’s children’s services requires inspectors to consider the Virtual School Annual Report, which should include details of how the VSH has managed the pupil premium plus for looked-after children.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of looked-after children achieved five GCSEs graded A - C in each year for the last 10 years.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The number and percentage of looked-after children who achieved 5 or more GCSEs at grades A*-C (or equivalent) in each year are shown in the table. Looked-after children are defined as those looked after continuously for at least 12 months as at 31 March of the year in which key stage 4 assessments were taken.
A large percentage (63%) of looked-after children enter care due to abuse or neglect. They often have disrupted experience of education and this pre-care experience can have a significant impact on their attainment. Looked-after children are almost 4 times more likely to have a special educational need than all children and are almost 10 times more likely to have a statement and education, health and care plan than all children. There is also a disproportionately high prevalence of social, emotional and mental health difficulties among looked-after children. We recognise these needs as well as the fact that looked-after children have top priority in school admissions and we expect them to be placed in good or outstanding schools.
Schools must appoint a designated teacher for looked-after children and local authorities must have a virtual school head who is accountable for the education attainment of all the children looked after by the authority. We have introduced the Pupil Premium Plus for looked-after children (£2300 per pupil), which is managed by the school head teacher, to deliver the outcomes in each looked-after child’s personal education plan.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many looked-after children achieved five GCSEs graded A - C in each year for the last 10 years.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The number and percentage of looked-after children who achieved 5 or more GCSEs at grades A*-C (or equivalent) in each year are shown in the table. Looked-after children are defined as those looked after continuously for at least 12 months as at 31 March of the year in which key stage 4 assessments were taken.
A large percentage (63%) of looked-after children enter care due to abuse or neglect. They often have disrupted experience of education and this pre-care experience can have a significant impact on their attainment. Looked-after children are almost 4 times more likely to have a special educational need than all children and are almost 10 times more likely to have a statement and education, health and care plan than all children. There is also a disproportionately high prevalence of social, emotional and mental health difficulties among looked-after children. We recognise these needs as well as the fact that looked-after children have top priority in school admissions and we expect them to be placed in good or outstanding schools.
Schools must appoint a designated teacher for looked-after children and local authorities must have a virtual school head who is accountable for the education attainment of all the children looked after by the authority. We have introduced the Pupil Premium Plus for looked-after children (£2300 per pupil), which is managed by the school head teacher, to deliver the outcomes in each looked-after child’s personal education plan.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what percentage of children in care have been (a) cautioned, (b) charged and (c) come into contact with the criminal justice system each year for the last 10 years.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The department collects data on looked after children who have been looked after continuously for 12 months and who were convicted, or subject to, youth cautions or youth conditional cautions. Figures for the last 10 years are shown in the attached table.
Latest figures can be found in table I1 of the statistical release ‘Children Looked After in England Including Adoption: 2017 to 2018’, which is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption-2017-to-2018.
Similar information for looked after children who have not been looked after continuously for 12 months is not held centrally.
Information on whether a looked after child has any other contact with the criminal justice system is not held centrally.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what percentage of children in each reception class intake in each of the last 20 years have been in care.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The information is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
The number of schools and pupils in England, including the total number of pupils in reception, is published at the annual ‘Schools, pupils and their characteristics’ statistical release, which is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2018.
The number of children looked after in England is published in the annual ‘Children looked after in England including adoption’ statistical release, which is available at the following link:
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many looked-after children there were in Cumbria in each of the last ten years.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The latest national information on the number of looked-after children in England can be found in table A1 of the statistical release ‘Children Looked After in England Including Adoption: 2017 to 2018’ at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption-2017-to-2018. These figures are also disaggregated at local authority level for the latest 5 years in the underlying data tables that accompany this statistical release. Figures for earlier years can be found in the underlying data that accompanies earlier statistical releases: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-looked-after-children.