Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a catch-up pupil premium for vulnerable and disadvantaged children and young people after the covid-19 lockdown.
Answered by Vicky Ford
We will do whatever we can to ensure no child, whatever their background or location, falls behind as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. So far, we have committed over £100 million to support remote education. We are providing laptops and tablets to vulnerable and disadvantaged children who would otherwise not have access and are preparing for exams in year 10, to those receiving support from a social worker, including pre-school children, and care leavers. Where care leavers, children with a social worker at secondary school and disadvantaged children in year 10 do not have internet connections, we will be providing 4G wireless routers to them so that they can learn at home.
As well as announcing the biggest funding increase for schools in a decade, raising current levels by £14.4 billion over the next three years, we continue to pay schools quarterly additional funding worth £2.4 billion each year through the pupil premium to help them support their disadvantaged pupils. Since April 2020, pupil premium rates per pupil are at their highest ever.
We are working with partners to explore how schools can use their resources, including pupil premium, to most effectively support pupils to make up for time spent out of school.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to provide schools with flexibility under the national curriculum to meet the emotional and mental health needs of staff and pupils when schools reopen as part of the easing of covid-19 restrictions.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Schools and colleges continue to be best placed to make decisions about how to support and educate all their pupils during this period, based on the local context and staff capacity.
Where year groups are returning to school, we would expect school leaders and teachers to consider their pupils’ mental health and wellbeing and identify any pupil who may need additional support so they are ready to learn. They should also assess the stage pupils have reached in the school curriculum and the adjustments that may need to be made.
No school will be penalised if they are unable to offer a broad and balanced curriculum to their pupils during this period.
Our planning framework for schools advises them to prepare wellbeing support, and the primary planning guide sets out further guidance on managing pupil and staff wellbeing and mental health as schools open more widely:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preparing-for-the-wider-opening-of-schools-from-1-june/planning-guide-for-primary-schools#managing-pupil-and-staff-wellbeing-and-mental-health.
The Department has signposted resources on supporting and promoting mental wellbeing among a list of resources to help children to use at home: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-online-education-resources.
BBC Bitesize have worked with the Department to provide content with substantial focus on mental health, wellbeing and pastoral care.
Public Health England and Health Education England have also developed advice and guidance for parents and professionals on supporting children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing, including bereavement support. This advice is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-on-supporting-children-and-young-peoples-mental-health-and-wellbeing.
These are rapidly developing circumstances; we continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the timescale for publishing guidance for schools on supporting the mental health and wellbeing of pupils and staff when they return to school when the covid-19 lockdown restrictions are eased..
Answered by Vicky Ford
Ministers and officials in the Department for Education and Department of Health and Social Care are meeting regularly to discuss how to provide support for mental health and wellbeing of pupils and their teachers in England. Access to mental health support is more important than ever during the COVID-19 outbreak. NHS services remain open and leading mental health charities are being supported to deliver additional services through the £5 million Coronavirus Mental Health Response Fund. The NHS is also setting up 24/7 open access telephone lines for urgent mental health support for people of all ages.
We want to get all children and young people back into education as soon as the scientific advice allows because it is the best place for them to learn, and we know how important it is for their mental wellbeing to have social interactions with their peers, carers and teachers. From week commencing 1 June 2020, primary schools have welcomed back children in nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 6, alongside priority groups (vulnerable children and children of critical workers). From 15 June 2020, secondary schools will provide some face-to-face support for young people in Year 10 and Year 12.
The department issued guidance regarding the wider opening of schools from 1 June, first published 11 May, making clear that schools are best placed to make decisions about supporting and educating all their pupils during this period, based on local context and staff capacity. As set out in the guidance, where year groups are returning to school, we would expect school leaders and teachers to consider their pupils’ mental health and wellbeing and identify any pupils who may need additional support, so they are ready to learn; assess where pupils are in their learning and agree what adjustments are needed to the school curriculum over the coming weeks; identify and plan how best to support the education of high needs groups, including disadvantaged pupils, SEND and vulnerable pupils.
Mental wellbeing is also included as specific a theme in the planning framework issued by the department, which is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-educational-and-childcare-settings-to-prepare-for-wider-opening-from-1-june-2020/opening-schools-for-more-children-and-young-people-initial-planning-framework-for-schools-in-england.
Further guidance is provided in the planning guide for primary schools, which is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preparing-for-the-wider-opening-of-schools-from-1-june/planning-guide-for-primary-schools.
To help schools implement this, we are putting in place further support for children and teachers on mental health and wellbeing. This includes training for teachers, such as a new module developed with clinical experts on how to teach about mental health in health education and more details are available here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/teaching-about-mental-wellbeing.
The support also includes advice seminars, £750,000 to three organisations extend support and advice to schools on tackling bullying, and grants to the Education Support Partnership and Timewise to support teachers’ mental health and flexible working. The Department for Education and Department of Health and Social Care will continue to work together on what further support we might provide as more children and young people return to school.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to introduce a readjustment period in schools with pupils returning as covid-19 lockdown restrictions are eased to allow adjustments to the curriculum to focus on wellbeing.
Answered by Vicky Ford
Ministers and officials in the Department for Education and Department of Health and Social Care are meeting regularly to discuss how to provide support for mental health and wellbeing of pupils and their teachers in England. Access to mental health support is more important than ever during the COVID-19 outbreak. NHS services remain open and leading mental health charities are being supported to deliver additional services through the £5 million Coronavirus Mental Health Response Fund. The NHS is also setting up 24/7 open access telephone lines for urgent mental health support for people of all ages.
We want to get all children and young people back into education as soon as the scientific advice allows because it is the best place for them to learn, and we know how important it is for their mental wellbeing to have social interactions with their peers, carers and teachers. From week commencing 1 June 2020, primary schools have welcomed back children in nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 6, alongside priority groups (vulnerable children and children of critical workers). From 15 June 2020, secondary schools will provide some face-to-face support for young people in Year 10 and Year 12.
The department issued guidance regarding the wider opening of schools from 1 June, first published 11 May, making clear that schools are best placed to make decisions about supporting and educating all their pupils during this period, based on local context and staff capacity. As set out in the guidance, where year groups are returning to school, we would expect school leaders and teachers to consider their pupils’ mental health and wellbeing and identify any pupils who may need additional support, so they are ready to learn; assess where pupils are in their learning and agree what adjustments are needed to the school curriculum over the coming weeks; identify and plan how best to support the education of high needs groups, including disadvantaged pupils, SEND and vulnerable pupils.
Mental wellbeing is also included as specific a theme in the planning framework issued by the department, which is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-educational-and-childcare-settings-to-prepare-for-wider-opening-from-1-june-2020/opening-schools-for-more-children-and-young-people-initial-planning-framework-for-schools-in-england.
Further guidance is provided in the planning guide for primary schools, which is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preparing-for-the-wider-opening-of-schools-from-1-june/planning-guide-for-primary-schools.
To help schools implement this, we are putting in place further support for children and teachers on mental health and wellbeing. This includes training for teachers, such as a new module developed with clinical experts on how to teach about mental health in health education and more details are available here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/teaching-about-mental-wellbeing.
The support also includes advice seminars, £750,000 to three organisations extend support and advice to schools on tackling bullying, and grants to the Education Support Partnership and Timewise to support teachers’ mental health and flexible working. The Department for Education and Department of Health and Social Care will continue to work together on what further support we might provide as more children and young people return to school.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to (a) collate and (b) publish information on the (a) school attendance, (b) school achievement and (c) wellbeing of young carers.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The government is committed to supporting young carers so that they are properly protected from excessive or inappropriate caring responsibilities and supported to achieve their full potential. Consistent identification remains challenging, with many being ‘hidden’ and therefore unrecognised and/or unsupported.
Changes through the Children and Families Act 2014 simplified the legislation relating to young adult carers’ assessments, making rights and duties clearer to both young people and practitioners. This included promoting whole family approaches which triggers children and adults’ support services into action – assessing why a child is caring, what needs to change and what would help the family to prevent children or young people from taking on this responsibility in the first place.
Schools also monitor attendance and if a child’s absence reaches a level of concern, the school will wish to raise this in the best interest of the child’s education. Schools have a duty to inform the local authority of any child who fails to attend school regularly. Schools and local authorities should consider the individual circumstances of each case and take the appropriate course of action to ensure the child receives consistent education.
The Department for Education provides schools with £2.4 billion each year in additional funding through the pupil premium to support disadvantaged pupils. We expect schools to make effective use of their pupil premium budgets; schools know their pupils best and will spend the grant according to meet pupil needs, which includes where needs are based on a parent’s health issues or disability.
We published the Children in Need Review conclusion in 2019. This sets out our approach to helping schools and children’s social care improve the educational outcomes of children in need, including those young carers assessed as being in need of help and protection.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that young carers are (a) identified and (b) adequately supported to ensure attainment at school.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The government is committed to supporting young carers so that they are properly protected from excessive or inappropriate caring responsibilities and supported to achieve their full potential. Consistent identification remains challenging, with many being ‘hidden’ and therefore unrecognised and/or unsupported.
Changes through the Children and Families Act 2014 simplified the legislation relating to young adult carers’ assessments, making rights and duties clearer to both young people and practitioners. This included promoting whole family approaches which triggers children and adults’ support services into action – assessing why a child is caring, what needs to change and what would help the family to prevent children or young people from taking on this responsibility in the first place.
Schools also monitor attendance and if a child’s absence reaches a level of concern, the school will wish to raise this in the best interest of the child’s education. Schools have a duty to inform the local authority of any child who fails to attend school regularly. Schools and local authorities should consider the individual circumstances of each case and take the appropriate course of action to ensure the child receives consistent education.
The Department for Education provides schools with £2.4 billion each year in additional funding through the pupil premium to support disadvantaged pupils. We expect schools to make effective use of their pupil premium budgets; schools know their pupils best and will spend the grant according to meet pupil needs, which includes where needs are based on a parent’s health issues or disability.
We published the Children in Need Review conclusion in 2019. This sets out our approach to helping schools and children’s social care improve the educational outcomes of children in need, including those young carers assessed as being in need of help and protection.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to make Apprenticeship Levy funding more flexible to enable businesses to access it for a wider range of accredited training.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The apprenticeship levy underpins our reforms to raise apprenticeship quality and support employers to make a long-term, sustainable investment in the skills that they need to grow. Income from the levy is used to fund apprenticeships in all employers (both in employers who pay the levy and employers who do not).
In response to employers, we have already introduced the flexibility for levy-payers to transfer up to 25% of their funds, enabling them to support apprenticeship starts in their supply chains or to meet local skills needs. In January, we extended the use of transfers to cover the full cost of training for 16 to 18 year olds and eligible 19 to 24 year olds in employers with fewer than 50 employees.
We are committed to improving the working of the apprenticeship levy to ensure it continues to deliver the skilled workforce that employers need.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to provide additional support to schoolchildren with SEND.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The government has announced a £780 million increase to local authorities’ high needs funding, boosting the budget by 12% and bringing the total spent on supporting those with the most complex needs to over £7 billion for 2020-21. In addition, we have launched a cross-government Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) review to improve how children and young people with SEND are supported in the current system.
We have also invested a total of £365 million through the special provision capital fund from 2018-19 to 2020-21. This funding can be used to create more places in special educational needs units and resourced provision in mainstream schools or colleges, in special schools, or in any of the other types of provision used by local authorities for pupils and students with education, health and care plans.
This government is also committed to expanding AP schools as well as delivering more school places for children with complex SEND including through the free schools programme. Currently there are 43 open special free schools and 47 open alternative provision free schools. These schools have helped to provide innovation, choice and higher standards for parents. There are a further 48 special free schools and 7 AP free schools due to open in the future.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance his Department has issued to local authorities on recruitment of supported lodgings carers for 16 and 17 year-olds in care.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
Guidance on supported lodgings is outlined in the Children Act (1989) guidance and regulations.
The term ‘supported lodgings’ has no formal definition or prescribed regulatory framework, but supported lodgings services generally share key common characteristics. They provide accommodation for a young person within a family home, where the young person will have a degree of independence with their own room and will share the kitchen and bathroom facilities with the "host" (hosts can be families, couples or single people).
The primary aim of supported lodgings is to provide a supported household environment that enables a young person to develop practical, emotional and relationship skills that will ensure they make a successful transition from care to independence and adulthood. Supported lodgings should be seen as part of a range of accommodation options on offer to young people aimed at preparing them for independence and adulthood. As commissioners or providers of supported lodgings, local authorities should ensure that clear policies and procedures are in place, setting out the following:
• assessment and approval criteria for carer/s or host/s;
• the nature and level of support for carer/s or host/s;
• allowance and fee structure;
• referral and matching criteria for young people to carer/s or host/s;
• expectations of carer/s or host/s and young people;
• safeguarding frameworks;
• financial arrangements (young people aged 16 and 17 and young people aged 18 and over);
• training available to carer/s or host/s;
• the income tax, national insurance and welfare benefits frameworks affecting payments made to carer/s or hosts.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with the (a) British Council and (b) European Commission on ensuring Erasmus+ bids for 2019-20 are ratified as soon as possible.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
On behalf of the UK government and the European Commission, the British Council, in partnership with Ecorys UK, is responsible for the delivery of the Erasmus+ programme in the UK jointly forming the Erasmus+ UK National Agency. In this role, the department works very closely with the British Council and is in regular contact on a wide range of issues relating to the Erasmus+ programme. This includes the question of ratification of the bids for funding submitted under the Erasmus+ 2019 Call.
While the UK remains a Member State of the European Union, we continue to participate in all business-as-usual discussions, such as the Erasmus+ Programme Committee, which include representatives from the European Commission. My officials continue to engage with the European Commission on issues relating to Erasmus+ and, together with the Erasmus+ UK National Agency, are working to ensure that beneficiaries are provided with as much clarity on the status of their bids for funding. Further information on this will be provided as soon as possible.