Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of allocating additional funding for (a) dyslexia screening and (b) dyslexia-specific teacher training in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department is committed to improving support for all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including those with dyslexia and other neurodiverse conditions. As part of this, the department is considering evidence on international best practice in its policymaking on special educational needs.
We are providing £1 billion more for high needs budgets in the 2025/26 financial year, bringing total high needs funding to £11.9 billion. This funding will help local authorities and schools with the increasing costs of supporting children and young people with complex SEND.
The Core Content Framework and the Early Career Framework, for trainee and Early Career Teachers (ECTs) respectively, cover the first three years or more at the start of a teacher’s career. They set out the core body of knowledge, skills and behaviours that define great teaching, and from September 2025 will be superseded by the combined Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework (ITTECF). This sets out a minimum entitlement to training and must be used by providers of initial teacher training and those delivering training to ECTs to create their curricula. The ITTECF contains significantly more content related to adaptive teaching and supporting pupils with SEND.
Measures have also been introduced to support the effective teaching of reading, including for those at risk of falling behind. This includes the English Hubs programme, the publication of the reading framework, and an updated list of high quality systematic synthetic phonics programmes for schools. Surrey Heath’s nearest English Hub is Wandle English Hub. Further information is available here: https://englishhubs.net/english_hubs/wandle-english-hub/.
The English Hubs programme is dedicated to improving the teaching of reading, with a focus on supporting children making the slowest progress in reading. As part of the continuous professional development provided by the English Hubs, the Reading Ambition for All programme has been launched to improve outcomes for children who need additional support with reading, including those with SEND.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of dyslexia training provided to teaching staff in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department is committed to improving support for all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including those with dyslexia and other neurodiverse conditions. As part of this, the department is considering evidence on international best practice in its policymaking on special educational needs.
We are providing £1 billion more for high needs budgets in the 2025/26 financial year, bringing total high needs funding to £11.9 billion. This funding will help local authorities and schools with the increasing costs of supporting children and young people with complex SEND.
The Core Content Framework and the Early Career Framework, for trainee and Early Career Teachers (ECTs) respectively, cover the first three years or more at the start of a teacher’s career. They set out the core body of knowledge, skills and behaviours that define great teaching, and from September 2025 will be superseded by the combined Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework (ITTECF). This sets out a minimum entitlement to training and must be used by providers of initial teacher training and those delivering training to ECTs to create their curricula. The ITTECF contains significantly more content related to adaptive teaching and supporting pupils with SEND.
Measures have also been introduced to support the effective teaching of reading, including for those at risk of falling behind. This includes the English Hubs programme, the publication of the reading framework, and an updated list of high quality systematic synthetic phonics programmes for schools. Surrey Heath’s nearest English Hub is Wandle English Hub. Further information is available here: https://englishhubs.net/english_hubs/wandle-english-hub/.
The English Hubs programme is dedicated to improving the teaching of reading, with a focus on supporting children making the slowest progress in reading. As part of the continuous professional development provided by the English Hubs, the Reading Ambition for All programme has been launched to improve outcomes for children who need additional support with reading, including those with SEND.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support children with special educational needs to access transport to educational settings in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Surrey Heath to the answer of 19 November 2024 to Question 13396.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the national curriculum for encouraging physical education in mainstream schools.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The national curriculum sets out the subjects and programmes of study that schools are required to teach to children of compulsory school age in English maintained schools. Physical education (PE) is compulsory at all four key stages of the national curriculum.
Data collected in the ‘School and college voice: December 2023’ survey indicated that the median scheduled PE time was 120 minutes for key stage 1 to key stage 3 and 60 minutes for key stage 4. The data can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-and-college-voice-omnibus-surveys-for-2023-to-2024/school-and-college-voice-december-2023.
The government established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE The interim report can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/curriculum-and-assessment-review-interim-report.
In the next phase, the Review will consider subject issues, working closely with the sector. The government has committed to protect time for PE and will respond to the Review’s final recommendations in the autumn.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she has taken to help improve awareness of (a) apprenticeships and (b) sponsored degree programs in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Apprenticeships give employers the skills they need to grow, helping them to fill their vacancies and train their workforce to address industry skills gaps. Apprenticeships are a great way for individuals to begin, or progress in, a successful career.
The department continues to promote apprenticeships to young people, adults and employers through the Skills for Life campaign. The department is also transforming career opportunities and advice to increase awareness of the range of high quality options available to young people, including apprenticeships.
The government has committed to improve careers advice and guarantee two weeks’ worth of work experience for every young person, as well as establish a national jobs and careers service to support people into work and help them succeed.
The department also supports the apprenticeship ambassador network, a network of over 2,000 volunteer employers and former and current apprentices, all of whom volunteer their time to inform and inspire the next generation of apprentices and apprentice employers.
Universities are autonomous and responsible for promoting their own programs.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of covid-19 on the long-term (a) educational attainment and (b) mental well-being of school children in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
All children and young people should have every opportunity to achieve and thrive, no matter who they are or where they are from. However, the pandemic harmed the attainment of all children, particularly those that are disadvantaged, and too many children and young people continue to face barriers to learning.
This is not acceptable, which is why the Opportunity Mission will break down barriers and raise standards across education, ensuring a better future for all children and young people in all areas of the country, including Surrey Heath.
High and rising standards across every school and for every child are at the heart of this mission, delivered through excellent teaching and leadership, a high-quality curriculum, robust accountability and faster school improvement and a system which removes additional barriers to learning.
The quality of teaching is the single most important in-school factor in improving outcomes for all children which is why we are committed to recruiting 6,500 new expert teachers. We have also launched an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, which is closely examining the key challenges to attainment for young people and the barriers that hold children back from the opportunities and life chances they deserve.
To strengthen school improvement, the new regional improvement for standards and excellence teams will provide both mandatory targeted intervention for schools identified by Ofsted as needing to improve and a universal service, acting as a catalyst for a self-improving system for all schools.
Independent research has found that COVID-19 led to increased depressive symptoms among teenagers and decreased life satisfaction, with girls being particularly affected.
The department is committed to improving mental health support for all children and young people. We will provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every school through expanding Mental Health Support Teams, so every young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate, and open new Young Futures Hubs with access to mental health support workers.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve mental health support for children with special educational needs in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Schools are required to identify and address the special educational needs (SEN) of the pupils they support and, in the case of mainstream settings, to use their best endeavours to make sure that a child or young person who has SEN gets the support they need. All schools should apply the ‘graduated approach’ that is outlined in the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) code of practice, which means identifying a child’s needs, planning appropriate support, implementing that support and reviewing it regularly to ensure it continues to meet the identified needs.
We want to drive a consistent and inclusive approach to supporting children and young people with SEND through early identification, effective support, high quality teaching and effective allocation of resources. The department is also working closely with experts on reforms who will play a key role in convening and engaging with the sector, including leaders, practitioners, children and families, as we consider the next steps for the future of SEND reform.
Alongside this, the government is committed to improving mental health support for all children and young people. This is critical to breaking down barriers to opportunity and helping pupils to achieve and thrive in education.
The department will provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every school, so every young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate. Further information on the support (as at 31 March 2024) for pupil's provided by NHS funded Mental Health Support Teams in Surrey schools is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/transforming-children-and-young-peoples-mental-health-provision.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she has taken to protect teachers from assaults in schools in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
No teacher should feel unsafe or face violence or abuse in the workplace. The department will always support teachers to ensure they can work in safe and calm classrooms. All school employers, including trusts, have a duty to take reasonable steps to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees.
While the department expects schools to take immediate and robust action if incidents of violence occur, any decision on how to sanction the pupil involved is a matter for the school.
In the most serious cases, suspension or permanent exclusion may be necessary to ensure that teachers and pupils are protected from disruption and to maintain safe, calm environments. Should the incident constitute a criminal offence, the school should report it to the police.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of expanding youth schemes to reduce anti-social behaviour in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Too many children and young people do not have access to the same enrichment opportunities as their peers, suffer from poor mental health and, in some cases, end up being drawn into crime rather than going on to achieve and thrive.
The government has committed to the creation of the new Young Futures programme, which will establish a network of Young Futures Hubs and Young Futures Prevention Partnerships, to intervene earlier to ensure this cohort is identified and offered support in a more systematic way.
Young Futures Hubs will bring together services to improve access to opportunities and support for children and young people at community level, promoting positive outcomes and enabling them to thrive. Prevention Partnerships will identify children and young people who are vulnerable to being drawn into crime, including anti-social behaviour, and divert them by offering them suitable support in a more systematic way.
The Young Futures programme is one part of delivering support within a much wider youth landscape. They will be designed to complement core services and wider initiatives spanning youth, education, employment, social care, mental health, youth justice and policing.
Tackling anti-social behaviour is a top priority for this government and is a key part of our Safer Streets Mission. Anti-social behaviour causes great harm and misery to communities and, if left unchecked, can lead to more serious offending. Effective youth anti-social behaviour intervention is crucial in disrupting this pipeline. In many cases, informal and early intervention can be successful in changing behaviour and protecting communities.
As part of the wider youth landscape, this government has launched the co-production of an ambitious National Youth Strategy to set out a new vision for young people and an action plan for delivering this.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of school measures to tackle (a) threatening behaviour and (b) bullying via smartphones in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
All schools are required, by law, to have a behaviour policy which outlines measures to encourage good behaviour and prevent all forms of bullying amongst pupils. This should be communicated to all pupils, school staff and parents.
In addition, the government’s ‘Mobile phones in schools’ guidance supports schools on how to develop, implement and maintain a policy that prohibits the use of mobile phones throughout the school day including during lessons, the time between lessons, breaktimes and lunchtime. Headteachers are responsible for implementation of guidance within their schools.
Whilst the department has not directly assessed these measures in Surrey Health constituency, the department’s National Behaviour Survey (NBS) reports can be used to monitor national perceptions of behaviour in schools over time. These can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-behaviour-survey-reports. The NBS asks panels of pupils, parents, school leaders and teachers about their perceptions on a range of topics relating to pupil behaviour, including frequency, impacts and bullying, and responses to misbehaviour.