Asked by: Laura Kyrke-Smith (Labour - Aylesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of trends in (a) recruitment and (b) retention of school support staff in (i) Aylesbury constituency and (ii) England in the last five years.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
The full-time equivalent (FTE) of support staff has increased since 2019/20, rising to 510,400 in 2023/24. This is an increase of 4,800 (0.9%) since last year. Support staff roles include teaching assistants, administrative staff, auxiliary staff, technicians and other supporting staff, plus two new posts of school business professional and leadership non-teacher, which were reported for the first time in 2023/24.
Data relating to the FTE of all support staff between 2019/20 and 2023/24 is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/7b0a17e8-b3ff-403e-687f-08dca70c1109.
Data from the School Workforce census shows that, as of November 2019 in the Aylesbury constituency, there were 1360 FTE support staff reported from all 47 state-funded school data returns. In November 2023, there were 1430 FTE support staff in the Aylesbury constituency, when 46 schools returned data.
In a Department for Education survey in 2023 ('Use of teaching assistants in schools'), 75% of school leaders found it either 'fairly’ or ‘extremely’ difficult to recruit teaching assistants. The survey found that retention was less of a concern, but still difficult for 29% of leaders.
The department values and will recognise the professionalism of the entire school workforce by addressing recruitment and retention challenges through reinstating the School Support Staff Negotiating Body.
The body will be tasked with establishing a national terms and conditions handbook, including training and progression routes. This reform will ensure that schools can recruit and retain the staff needed to deliver high quality, inclusive education.
Asked by: Laura Kyrke-Smith (Labour - Aylesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support (a) children with SEND and (b) their parents, families and carers in the Aylesbury constituency.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
The department is continuing to support and challenge Buckinghamshire to improve delivery of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) services.
The last local area SEND inspection by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) for Buckinghamshire was in March 2022, during which inspectors identified three areas of significant weakness. A written statement of action to address these areas of weakness was accepted by Ofsted and CQC. The department’s regional team has put in place systems to track outcomes against these areas of weakness and the progress made by children and young people with SEND, including regular review meetings. Buckinghamshire Council are committed to working closely with the department to improve services.
Buckinghamshire is taking part in the Delivering Better Value (DBV) in SEND Programme. The DBV in SEND Programme, established under the previous government, aims to help local authorities provide more effective SEND services by meeting the needs of children and young people at an early stage and with the right level of support.
Buckinghamshire is part of the most recent national competition to find multi-academy trusts to run 18 additional special schools. The competition was launched before the election and the window for application has just closed.
This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with SEND or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. The department will be focusing on a community-wide approach to improve inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools as well as to ensure that special schools cater to those with the most complex needs.