Asked by: Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effect on safety of buildings on pupils of removing the expectation from guidance that most new schools should have automatic fire sprinkler systems fitted.
Answered by Edward Timpson
The Department has recently consulted stakeholders on proposed revisions to fire safety guidance, which seek to clarify when sprinklers will be fitted in schools. We are not changing the rules on fire safety. It has never been compulsory for sprinklers to be fitted in schools. All new schools must comply with building and fire safety regulations. Where it is concluded that sprinklers must be fitted to protect property or keep children safe, they will be. We are actively considering responses to the consultation and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many deaf children attended mainstream schools in England in each of the last 10 years; and how many such children were taught British Sign Language in each of those years.
Answered by Edward Timpson
The number of children with special educational needs (SEN) who have ‘hearing impairment’ listed as their primary need can be found in the annual statistical first release ‘Special Educational Needs in England’ on GOV.UK. Table 1, below, provides collated figures for the last ten years, for pupils attending state-funded primary and secondary schools. These figures include children in resourced provision or SEN units but not children in special schools. There will be children whose primary need is not ‘hearing impairment’ but who, nevertheless, have a hearing impairment. These children are not covered by this information.
From September 2014 the ’SEN support’ category replaced the ’school action’ and ‘school action plus’ categories. Those recoded, in 2015, as having ‘SEN support’ but who were formerly included in the ‘school action’ category will not previously have had a primary type of need recorded. This is likely to have contributed to the large increase – between 2014 and 2015 – in the numbers of children recorded as having a hearing impairment.
The Department does not collect statistics on the number of deaf children in mainstream schools who are being taught British Sign Language.
Table 1:
Year | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
State funded primary schools | 6,390 | 6,570 | 6,650 | 6,860 | 7,230 | 7,370 | 7,510 | 7,610 | 7,915 | 9,275 |
State funded secondary schools | 5,510 | 5,670 | 5,980 | 6,350 | 6,730 | 7,080 | 7,125 | 7,225 | 7,125 | 8,705 |
Total | 11,900 | 12,240 | 12,630 | 13,210 | 13,960 | 14,450 | 14,635 | 14,835 | 15,040 | 17,980 |
The links to published data can be found here:
Asked by: Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will implement the recommendations of the All-Party Group on a Fit and Healthy Childhood on encouraging play in childhood development and learning in school.
Answered by Edward Timpson
We want all children to lead healthy active lifestyles. Physical activity and play are important throughout childhood and can contribute enormously to the healthy development of children. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Statutory Framework emphasises this and makes clear that in their early years children learn through play. When inspecting childcare providers, including schools, Ofsted look at how staff are enabling children to play in ways that help them develop and learn. Ofsted’s recent report on Teaching and Play is available to view at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teaching-and-play-in-the-early-years-a-balancing-act
The EYFS framework can be found here at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-framework--2
Asked by: Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what regulations cover the provision of school nurses in (a) local authority schools, (b) private schools and (c) free schools.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The delivery of nursing services within publicly-funded schools is for local determination, and commissioning is led by local authorities. In some areas schools have co-commissioned additional services based on the health needs of the population within their school or locality. Guidance on commissioning school nursing services for local authorities, published by the Department of Health, is available online at:
www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/303769/Service_specifications.pdf
School nursing services are monitored by the Care Quality Commission in terms of the quality of provision in an area, but the commission does not monitor individual settings or the extent to which individual schools engage with the service.
In terms of nursing provision in independent schools, there is no specific requirement for such schools to have nurses or for staff to have particular qualifications. If nursing is provided, regulatory requirements relating to the health and welfare of pupils – and also boarding welfare if the school has boarding provision – are relevant.
No assessment of the quality of nursing services in independent schools has been made.
Asked by: Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department issued to primary school head teachers on working with pupils who wanted to fast during Ramadan.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department for Education has not issued guidance to primary schools on fasting during Ramadan as it is a matter for individual schools to decide how to accommodate pupils who wish to fast during this time. We would expect schools to consider carefully the views of pupils and parents, as well as pupil wellbeing, when applying policies involving religion or individuals’ beliefs. All schools must ensure that any measures they take comply with their legal obligations under the Equality Act 2010.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission has published detailed practical guidance for schools, available online at:
Asked by: Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment has been made of the quality of the provision, coverage and monitoring of school nurses in private and free schools.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The delivery of nursing services within publicly-funded schools is for local determination, and commissioning is led by local authorities. In some areas schools have co-commissioned additional services based on the health needs of the population within their school or locality. Guidance on commissioning school nursing services for local authorities, published by the Department of Health, is available online at:
www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/303769/Service_specifications.pdf
School nursing services are monitored by the Care Quality Commission in terms of the quality of provision in an area, but the commission does not monitor individual settings or the extent to which individual schools engage with the service.
In terms of nursing provision in independent schools, there is no specific requirement for such schools to have nurses or for staff to have particular qualifications. If nursing is provided, regulatory requirements relating to the health and welfare of pupils – and also boarding welfare if the school has boarding provision – are relevant.
No assessment of the quality of nursing services in independent schools has been made.
Asked by: Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will provide guidance to head teachers and governors of primary schools on the appropriateness of head covering for girl pupils in order to help tackle rickets.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department for Education does not intend to provide specific guidance to headteachers and governors of primary schools on the appropriateness of head covering for girls in order to help tackle rickets.
The department provides advice to schools on health and safety. Schools must take reasonable steps to ensure that staff and pupils are not exposed to risks to their health or safety by conducting a risk assessment and, if necessary, putting measures in place to minimise any known risk.
It is for individual schools to decide whether or not to provide guidance on the appropriateness of head covering. It is for the governing body of each school to set their own policies on school uniform and other matters of appearance. Our guidance to schools on school uniform is clear that, in doing so, they must have full regard to their obligations under equalities law.
Asked by: Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress her Department is making on improving public accountability of services for children with special educational needs through published performance data.
Answered by Edward Timpson
The Department for Education publishes a range of performance and attainment data from:
Local authorities and their partners across education, health and social care are implementing the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms which came into force on 1 September this year. The Department is working closely with local authorities and local Parent Carer Forums to understand how local implementation of the Children and Families Act is progressing. Summary findings of an autumn implementation survey will be published before the end of the year. The Department will also publish local authority data on an annual basis, starting in summer 2015. This will include, for example, the number of conversions from statements to Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plans and the number and percentage of new EHC Plans delivered within twenty weeks.
From September 2015, we expect local authorities will have made significant progress in embedding the reforms, and our focus will increasingly be on whether the new systems are leading to improved outcomes for children and young people.
We have asked Ofsted to consider what more needs to be done to ensure good quality delivery of the new system. Ofsted’s recommendations will be published shortly.