Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 23 May 2022 to Question 3510 on Secondary Education: Tameside, whether he will take steps to improve secondary school attainment by children in (a) Tameside and (b) Denton.
Answered by Robin Walker
The department was pleased to announce the borough of Tameside, including Denton, as a Priority Education Investment Area (EIA) as part of the recent Schools White Paper.
The Schools White Paper sets out our vision for a school system that helps every child to fulfil their potential founded on achieving word-class standards of literacy and numeracy and confirmed our headline ambitions, including at key stage 4, to increase the GCSE average grade in English language and maths from 4.5 to 5.
In Priority EIAs, the department will offer intensive investment in addition to the significant support available to all EIAs, so that we can drive improvement further and faster. This has the potential to transform pupils’ outcomes at both primary and secondary school, by overcoming entrenched barriers to improvement and strengthening the school’s system in these areas.
In all 55 EIAs, the department will be taking steps to support underperforming schools to make the necessary improvements, build trust capacity, support improved digital connectivity in the schools that need this most and offer the Levelling Up premium, worth up to £3,000 tax free, to eligible teachers. Our additional support to Priority EIAs includes a share of around £40 million worth of funding to address local needs, such as those acting as a barrier to improvement at primary and priority access to a number of the department’s other programmes.
My noble Friend, the Minister for School System, has written to all Members of Parliament with Priority EIAs in their constituencies to update them on our next steps for the programme.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what powers he has to compel children's services in England to improve when they have been judged by Ofsted to (a) be inadequate and (b) require improvement to be good.
Answered by Will Quince
In line with the department’s intervention policy which is set out in its ‘Putting Children First’ guidance, whenever Ofsted finds children’s social care services to be inadequate, an adviser is provided to diagnose problems and support the local authority on its improvement journey. The guidance is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/554573/Putting_children_first_delivering_vision_excellent_childrens_social_care.pdf. The department would expect most of those local authorities to improve with support and challenge from experts.
If there is insufficient improvement in a local authority’s performance, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, may issue an improvement notice. The improvement notice requires the local authority to take steps to improve its services for children, such as putting an improvement plan in place to address areas of weakness identified by Ofsted. Improvement notices may be issued as a way of forewarning a local authority of a future statutory direction if there is no improvement in its performance.
Should the local authority be unwilling or unable to comply with an improvement notice, or if ministers are not satisfied with the local authority’s progress at any stage, the Secretary of State may choose to invoke his statutory powers of intervention (under Section 497A of the Education Act 1996) by issuing a statutory direction. The Secretary of State can issue directions to ensure that functions are performed to an adequate standard, such as directing the local authority to set up an improvement board or appointing a children’s services commissioner to work with the local authority to help secure improvement.
A children’s services commissioner is usually appointed when local authority failure is systemic (an inadequate rating across all three of Ofsted’s key judgments in one report) or has become persistent (two or more inadequate judgments within five years), to determine whether the local authority has the capacity and capability to retain and improve children’s social care services in a reasonable timeframe. If not, the Section 497A power can also be used to direct that children’s social care services will be removed from local authority control for a period of time and transferred to a different organisation, usually a trust, in order to secure sustainable improvement.
The department’s improvement programme also seeks to identify and work collaboratively with local authorities where children’s services have been judged ‘Requires Improvement’, providing targeted support to help them improve the services they provide to vulnerable children. The department has increased the amount of funded sector-led improvement activity that can be delivered from 2021 by expanding our cohort of strong performing local authorities to work as sector-led improvement partners.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will meet the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish to discuss (a) secondary education attainment levels in Tameside, (b) parental choice of secondary schools in Denton and (c) the possible disposal of the Two Trees site in Denton.
Answered by Robin Walker
In the Schools White Paper, the department has set out a list of the 24 areas where more intensive investment will take place. Tameside is one of these priority areas.
Officials will be meeting with local stakeholders to discuss the local needs for the young people of Tameside.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of appointing (a) an independent Children’s Trust and (b) Commissioners to manage Tameside Children’s Services.
Answered by Will Quince
The safety and wellbeing of vulnerable children and young people remains a priority. The decision to intervene in a local authority is not taken lightly, and it is important to base that decision on robust evidence of failure. The department acts quickly and decisively to intervene in local authorities found to be failing in their delivery of children’s social care and judged inadequate by Ofsted.
In line with the department’s intervention policy set out in ‘Putting Children First’, whenever Ofsted finds children’s social care services to be inadequate, an adviser is provided to diagnose problems and support the council on their improvement journey. The government would expect most of those councils to improve with support and challenge from experts.
A commissioner is usually appointed, when council failure is systemic or has become persistent, to determine whether the council has the capacity and capability to improve children’s social care services in a reasonable timeframe. If not, services will be removed from council control for a period of time and transferred to a different organisation (usually a Trust) in order to secure sustainable improvement.
Tameside Children’s Services are currently rated as ‘requires improvement’. The department’s improvement programme seeks to identify and work collaboratively with local authorities who require targeted support to help them improve the services they provide to vulnerable children. The government has increased the amount of funded sector-led improvement activity that can be delivered from 2021 by expanding our cohort of strong performing local authorities to work as sector-led improvement partners.
‘Putting Children First’ is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/putting-children-first-our-vision-for-childrens-social-care.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will meet the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish to discuss Ofsted's finding of serious failings at Tameside Children’s Services.
Answered by Will Quince
I would be happy to meet the hon. Member to discuss Ofsted’s findings once the report has been published.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of when Ofsted’s most recent assessment of Tameside Children’s Services will be published.
Answered by Will Quince
A full inspection of Tameside’s local authority children’s services was last completed in May 2019. The report was published on 1 July 2019 with a rating ‘requires improvement to be good’.
For local authorities judged ‘requires improvement’, like Tameside, up to two focused visits will be completed in between full inspections. Tameside has recently had a focused visit and the report is expected to be published on 6 June 2022.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a new secondary Free School to serve Denton to increase parental choice in the area.
Answered by Robin Walker
Section 14 of the Education Act 1996 places the duty on local authorities to ensure that there are sufficient primary and secondary school places in their area. This is with a view to providing diversity in the provision of schools and increasing opportunities for parental choice. Where a school is an academy and wishes to make changes, including increasing the number of pupils, the academy will follow the department’s published guidance for making significant changes.
Where there is forecast growth in demand and a shortfall of places in an area, the Local Authority will meet this future demand, such as by expanding existing schools.
The Schools White Paper also confirmed our intention to seek proposals for new mainstream free schools in areas with the greatest need for more additional places, prioritising proposals in Priority Education Investment Areas such as Tameside. The department will set out further detail on the application process in due course. Separately, where a local authority thinks there is a demographic need for a new school in its area, it must seek proposals to establish a new free school.
In 2021, 85.1% of pupils were offered their first-choice secondary school in Tameside and 94.5% received offers from one of their top three choices. This compares to the national average where 81.1% of pupils were offered their first choice secondary school and 93.4% received offers from one of their top three choices.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to help extend parental choice for parents in respect of the education of children nearing secondary school age in (a) Tameside and (b) Denton.
Answered by Robin Walker
Section 14 of the Education Act 1996 places the duty on local authorities to ensure that there are sufficient primary and secondary school places in their area. This is with a view to providing diversity in the provision of schools and increasing opportunities for parental choice. Where a school is an academy and wishes to make changes, including increasing the number of pupils, the academy will follow the department’s published guidance for making significant changes.
Where there is forecast growth in demand and a shortfall of places in an area, the Local Authority will meet this future demand, such as by expanding existing schools.
The Schools White Paper also confirmed our intention to seek proposals for new mainstream free schools in areas with the greatest need for more additional places, prioritising proposals in Priority Education Investment Areas such as Tameside. The department will set out further detail on the application process in due course. Separately, where a local authority thinks there is a demographic need for a new school in its area, it must seek proposals to establish a new free school.
In 2021, 85.1% of pupils were offered their first-choice secondary school in Tameside and 94.5% received offers from one of their top three choices. This compares to the national average where 81.1% of pupils were offered their first choice secondary school and 93.4% received offers from one of their top three choices.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will meet the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish to discuss any disposal application for the Two Trees site in Denton.
Answered by Robin Walker
Local authorities require my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education’s consent to dispose of their school playing field land under section 77 of The School Standards and Framework Act 1998, and Schedule 1 to the Academies Act 2010.
Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council applied for consent to dispose of the Two Trees High School site in 2016. Officials sought clarification on a number of issues, but no formal response was received, and the application was closed down accordingly.
In November 2021, an application to dispose of non-playing field land was received. As the site includes playing field land, officials advised that a new application on the correct form was required. To date, no such application has been received.
There is no current application from Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council upon which the department can provide an update on. However, the Secretary of State will keep the hon. Member updated should the council re-apply for consent.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has received an application from Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council to release the former Two Trees High School site in Denton from educational use.
Answered by Robin Walker
Local authorities require my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education’s consent to dispose of their school playing field land under section 77 of The School Standards and Framework Act 1998, and Schedule 1 to the Academies Act 2010.
Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council applied for consent to dispose of the Two Trees High School site in 2016. Officials sought clarification on a number of issues, but no formal response was received, and the application was closed down accordingly.
In November 2021, an application to dispose of non-playing field land was received. As the site includes playing field land, officials advised that a new application on the correct form was required. To date, no such application has been received.
There is no current application from Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council upon which the department can provide an update on. However, the Secretary of State will keep the hon. Member updated should the council re-apply for consent.