Asked by: Andrew Stephenson (Conservative - Pendle)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support to find school places is available for British families with school-age children returning to the UK after a long period of time.
Answered by Edward Timpson
Any British national has the right to apply for a school place irrespective of where they live and any state-funded school must admit their child if they have space. Local authorities must provide information about all schools and available places in their area.
Asked by: Andrew Stephenson (Conservative - Pendle)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what mental health support systems are in place in schools to tackle eating disorders and anorexia.
Answered by Edward Timpson
Education professionals have a vital role to play in raising concerns about eating disorders and anorexia, and other mental health issues, as well as providing support when such issues have been identified.
Schools should consider how to provide appropriate support to their pupils and they are able to decide on the most appropriate way to do this, based on their individual circumstances. One of the best ways is as part of a ‘whole-school’ approach and we have taken a range of actions to support them to do this, including being informed about eating disorders and anorexia.
We have funded guidance and age-appropriate lesson plans on teaching mental health in PSHE – which covers teaching about eating disorders and anorexia. Training for teachers on eating disorders and anorexia is available through MindEd, a free online portal which has been developed to enable all adults working with children and young people learn more about specific mental health problems and how to support them. We have also revised and updated our blueprint for effective school-based counselling.
However teachers are not mental health specialists, and can need specialist help to support pupils with eating disorders and anorexia. We have contributed to a £3m joint pilot between schools and specialist mental health services, to help schools draw on specialist support for their pupils, where needed.
To improve the specialist support available, the Government made available £150m in April 2015 for 5 years to enable specific improvements in the support available to young people with eating disorders. In 2016 -17, £30m of this funding has been allocated by NHS England to Clinical Commissioning Groups to improve community based eating disorder services.
Asked by: Andrew Stephenson (Conservative - Pendle)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support sexual assault awareness education and training in schools.
Answered by Edward Timpson
Keeping children safe is a top priority for the government. All school and college staff have a responsibility to provide a safe environment in which children can learn, and they should be aware of the various forms of abuse so they are able to identify cases of children in need of help and support.
We have recently updated the statutory Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance. Schools and colleges must have regard to this guidance when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. The revised guidance requires schools to ensure their child protection policy covers peer on peer abuse, how the school minimises the risks of it occurring and what to do to deal with any incidents. The guidance also makes it clear that all forms of harassment must be dealt with and must not be dismissed as a joke or a normal part of growing up.
The revised guidance will come into force on 5 September 2016, for the start of the new school year (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2).
We are also clear that bullying, for whatever reason, is absolutely unacceptable. All schools are required by law to have a behaviour policy with measures to prevent all forms of bullying. Ofsted holds schools to account for how well they safeguard children and prevent bullying. As well as looking at schools records of bullying inspectors take into account:
o the views of pupils about the prevention of bullying, including online bullying and how the school deals with discrimination.
o the views expressed formally and informally by different groups of pupils, of their experiences of others’ behaviour and attitudes towards them and their understanding of the importance of such attributes in school and adult life.
Sex and relationships education (SRE) is compulsory in all maintained secondary schools and academies are expected to provide SRE as part of a broad and balanced curriculum.
Any school teaching SRE must have regard to Secretary of State’s Sex and Relationship Education Guidance (2000). The guidance makes clear that all sex and relationship education should be age-appropriate and that schools should ensure young people develop positive values and a moral framework that will guide their decisions, judgments and behaviour.
To support teaching about healthy relationships, the PSHE Association has developed non-statutory guidance for schools about the topic of consent, which was published in March 2015 and can be found at www.pshe-association.org.uk. We strongly welcome this guidance. The PSHE Association’s guidance will help teachers clearly establish the legal framework around consent and supports the government’s ‘This is Abuse’ campaign, which helps educate young people about damaging behaviours within relationships. ‘This is abuse’ was followed up this year by the £3.85 million “Disrespect NoBody” campaign, supported by Government Equalities Office and Home Office. The campaign aims to prevent the onset of domestic violence in adults by challenging attitudes and behaviours amongst teenage boys and girls that abuse in relationships is acceptable.
Asked by: Andrew Stephenson (Conservative - Pendle)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to prevent sexual harassment in schools.
Answered by Edward Timpson
Keeping children safe is a top priority for the government. All school and college staff have a responsibility to provide a safe environment in which children can learn, and they should be aware of the various forms of abuse so they are able to identify cases of children in need of help and support.
We have recently updated the statutory Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance. Schools and colleges must have regard to this guidance when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. The revised guidance requires schools to ensure their child protection policy covers peer on peer abuse, how the school minimises the risks of it occurring and what to do to deal with any incidents. The guidance also makes it clear that all forms of harassment must be dealt with and must not be dismissed as a joke or a normal part of growing up.
The revised guidance will come into force on 5 September 2016, for the start of the new school year (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2).
We are also clear that bullying, for whatever reason, is absolutely unacceptable. All schools are required by law to have a behaviour policy with measures to prevent all forms of bullying. Ofsted holds schools to account for how well they safeguard children and prevent bullying. As well as looking at schools records of bullying inspectors take into account:
o the views of pupils about the prevention of bullying, including online bullying and how the school deals with discrimination.
o the views expressed formally and informally by different groups of pupils, of their experiences of others’ behaviour and attitudes towards them and their understanding of the importance of such attributes in school and adult life.
Sex and relationships education (SRE) is compulsory in all maintained secondary schools and academies are expected to provide SRE as part of a broad and balanced curriculum.
Any school teaching SRE must have regard to Secretary of State’s Sex and Relationship Education Guidance (2000). The guidance makes clear that all sex and relationship education should be age-appropriate and that schools should ensure young people develop positive values and a moral framework that will guide their decisions, judgments and behaviour.
To support teaching about healthy relationships, the PSHE Association has developed non-statutory guidance for schools about the topic of consent, which was published in March 2015 and can be found at www.pshe-association.org.uk. We strongly welcome this guidance. The PSHE Association’s guidance will help teachers clearly establish the legal framework around consent and supports the government’s ‘This is Abuse’ campaign, which helps educate young people about damaging behaviours within relationships. ‘This is abuse’ was followed up this year by the £3.85 million “Disrespect NoBody” campaign, supported by Government Equalities Office and Home Office. The campaign aims to prevent the onset of domestic violence in adults by challenging attitudes and behaviours amongst teenage boys and girls that abuse in relationships is acceptable.
Asked by: Andrew Stephenson (Conservative - Pendle)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the number of instances of sexual harassment that have taken place in schools in each of the last three years.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The information requested is not available.
Asked by: Andrew Stephenson (Conservative - Pendle)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to improve teaching in schools on the risks of drug and alcohol abuse.
Answered by Edward Timpson
Effective drug and alcohol education plays an important role in helping to ensure that young people are equipped with the information they need to make informed, healthy decisions and to keep themselves safe.
Drugs education is a statutory part of the new national curriculum for science. Under the national curriculum pupils are taught about the effects of recreational drugs, including substance and alcohol misuse, on behaviour, health and life processes. Teaching in this area can be further strengthened through personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education.
To improve the teaching of drugs and alcohol abuse, schools can access expert advice from the mentor-ADEPIS organisation on delivering effective alcohol and drug education in the classroom. The information can be found here: http://mentor-adepis.org
Asked by: Andrew Stephenson (Conservative - Pendle)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of how many eligible pupils did not claim free school meals in each of the last three years.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
The Department only collects data on those eligible pupils who claim free school meals. To collect the data on pupils who did not claim free school meals could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Andrew Stephenson (Conservative - Pendle)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the financial savings to schools in (a) Pendle, (b) Lancashire and (c) the North West as a result of its memorandum of understanding with Microsoft announced on 13 January 2016.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
Due to this agreement with Microsoft, which runs until June 2018, schools stand to save an estimated £30 million. The agreement also gives them greater flexibility in their use of Microsoft software.
Asked by: Andrew Stephenson (Conservative - Pendle)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of support available to help families with disabled children find appropriate play opportunities.
Answered by Edward Timpson
Play has an important role in supporting all young children to develop and prepare for later learning. The importance of play is recognised in the Early Years Foundation Stage framework, which states: “Each area of learning and development must be implemented through planned, purposeful play and through a mix of adult-led and child-initiated activity. Play is essential for children’s development, building their confidence as they learn to explore, to think about problems, and relate to others. Children learn by leading their own play, and by taking part in play which is guided by adults.”
Staff working in early years settings as early years educators and early years teachers are required to have an understanding different pedagogical approaches, including the role of play in supporting early learning and development. It is for individual schools and settings to provide opportunities for play for their children and pupils, including those with special educational needs.
Ofsted registers childcare provision on the Early Years Register and the General Childcare Register and conducts a regular cycle of inspection to ensure that provision meets the required quality and safety standards.
In judging the quality and standards of early years provision, Ofsted inspectors must assess the extent to which the learning and care provided by the setting meets the needs of the range of children who attend, including the needs of any children who have special educational needs or disabilities. At August 2015, 85 per cent of providers on the Early Years Register were rated good or outstanding for overall effectiveness.
Asked by: Andrew Stephenson (Conservative - Pendle)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of provision of play opportunities for children with disabilities and complex needs.
Answered by Edward Timpson
Play has an important role in supporting all young children to develop and prepare for later learning. The importance of play is recognised in the Early Years Foundation Stage framework[1], which states: “Each area of learning and development must be implemented through planned, purposeful play and through a mix of adult-led and child-initiated activity. Play is essential for children’s development, building their confidence as they learn to explore, to think about problems, and relate to others. Children learn by leading their own play, and by taking part in play which is guided by adults.”
Early Years educators and Early Years teachers are required to have an understanding of different pedagogical approaches, including the role of play in supporting early learning and development. It is for individual schools and settings to provide opportunities for play for their children and pupils, including those with special educational needs.
We welcome the report published by Sense and their continuing efforts to support deafblind children and young people.
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-framework--2