Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to introduce a Ukrainian language GCSE.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
Decisions about which languages to offer at GCSE in England are taken by four independent awarding organisations – AQA, OCR, Pearson Edexcel and WJEC – rather than by central government. These organisations have the freedom to create a Ukrainian GCSE based on the subject content for modern foreign language set by the department. We have recently written to these organisations to ask them to consider introducing a Ukrainian GCSE.
The British government stands steadfast behind the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian government. The department is proud to support children and families from Ukraine during their transition to a new life in the UK. To do our part to support the Ukrainian people, we are supporting the Ukrainian Ministry of Education and Science in policy development and this year have launched a UK-Ukraine Schools Partnership Programme, twinning 100 schools in the UK and Ukraine.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many dedicated mental health professionals are employed in secondary schools in (a) Hampshire and (b) Eastleigh constituency.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
This government is committed to improving mental health support for all children and young people. This is critical to breaking down barriers to opportunity and helping pupils to achieve and thrive in education.
Information on the numbers of staff employed in schools is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-2023. The department does not collect information on how many dedicated mental health professionals are employed in secondary schools in (a) Hampshire and (b) Eastleigh constituency.
The government has committed to providing access to specialist mental health professionals in every school by expanding mental health support teams (MHSTs), so every child and young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate. The teams act as a link with local children and young people’s mental health services and are trained and supervised by NHS staff.
At the end of 2024/25, around 600 NHS-funded MHSTs were operational in 10,100 (41%) schools and colleges in England. At the end of 2024/25, 5 million pupils and learners were covered by MHSTs which equates to 52% coverage of pupils in schools and further education learners in England. In Hampshire local authority, 43% of pupils/learners and 43% of schools/colleges were covered by MHSTs, as at end 2024/25, compared to 52% and 41% nationally, respectively.
Around six in ten pupils will have access to a mental health support team by March 2026, with the rollout prioritised based on NHS identification of local need and reaching the most vulnerable children first.
The government will also recruit an additional 8,500 new mental health staff to treat children and adults, and open new Young Futures Hubs with access to mental health support workers.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many specialist SEND nurseries have (a) closed and (b) been replaced by a mobile SEND service since 2015.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The information requested is not held centrally.
Under Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006, local authorities are responsible for ensuring that the provision of childcare is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents in their area. Part B of the ’Early education and childcare’ statutory guidance for local authorities highlights that local authorities are required to report annually to elected council members on how they are meeting their duty to secure sufficient childcare, and to make this report available and accessible to parents. The guidance can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-education-and-childcare--2.
The department has regular contact with each local authority in England about their sufficiency of childcare and any issues they are facing.
Where local authorities report sufficiency challenges, we discuss what action the local authority is taking to address those issues and where needed support the local authority with any specific requirements through our childcare sufficiency support contract.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to (a) mandate allergy safety policies in all schools, (b) ensure the provision of individual healthcare plans for every child with an allergy, (c) mandate staff training on (i) allergy awareness, (ii) anaphylaxis management and (iii) responding to emergencies involving allergies in schools and (d) mandate the provision of emergency adrenaline auto-injectors in every school.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units to make arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions. The accompanying statutory guidance on ‘Supporting pupils with medical conditions at school’ makes clear to schools what is expected of them in taking reasonable steps to fulfil their legal obligations and to meet the individual needs of pupils with medical conditions, including allergies. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3.
Schools should ensure they are aware of any pupils with medical conditions and have policies and processes in place to ensure these can be well managed. Policies should set out how staff will be supported in carrying out their role to support pupils, including how training needs are assessed and how training is commissioned and provided. Any member of school staff providing support to a pupil with medical needs should have received suitable training.
The statutory guidance recommends the use of individual healthcare plans as good practice for pupils with medical conditions, providing clarity about what needs to be done, when and by whom.
Schools can purchase spare adrenaline auto-injectors from a pharmacy without a prescription and for use in an emergency situation.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to visa rules for dependants of Master's students on international student recruitment.
Answered by Janet Daby
There are many factors that influence international students when they choose to study abroad. These include the range and quality of available courses, the visa rules that apply in countries they are considering, and the appeal of living and studying in those countries.
Several changes were made to the immigration system in 2024, restricting international students from bringing family members with them to the UK unless they are studying a PhD, doctorate or research-based higher degree. These restrictions will be continued, as confirmed by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for the Home Department in early February, in line with the government’s commitment to manage migration carefully.
This government has made clear its overall approach to international students. We will continue to welcome international students who enrich our university campuses, forge lifelong friendships with our domestic students and become global ambassadors for the UK.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help ensure all schools have the recommended allergy safeguards in place.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units to make arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions. The accompanying statutory guidance makes clear to schools what is expected of them in taking reasonable steps to fulfil their legal obligations and to meet the individual needs of pupils with medical conditions, including allergies.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to include extra-curricular activities within her Department's curriculum and assessment review.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
Extracurricular activities, although not within the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review’s remit, clearly interact with the content of the curriculum. This government is interested in recommendations that help to deliver a rich and broad curriculum.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to help schools maintain the wellbeing of young people affected by bullying.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
All schools must have a behaviour policy with measures to prevent all forms of bullying. Schools are free to develop their own anti-bullying strategies to suit their specific needs and are held to account by Ofsted.
The department has published advice to support schools with addressing incidences of bullying. The guidance is clear that schools should make appropriate provision for a bullied child's social, emotional and mental health needs. It is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/625ee64cd3bf7f6004339db8/Preventing_and_tackling_bullying_advice.pdf.
The department also published a practical tool to help schools, which can be found on the Educate Against Hate website. It is available here: https://educateagainsthate.com/resources/respectful-school-communities-self-review-signposting-tool-2/.
We know that children experiencing bullying are more susceptible to mental health challenges. The government will work to ensure the right support is available to every young person that needs it, including providing access to specialist mental health professionals in every school. The government will also be putting in place new Young Futures Hubs, including access to mental health support workers, and will recruit an additional 8,500 new mental health staff to treat children and adults.
The department has launched a mental health leads resource hub to help schools select the most effective evidence-based support options, including a range of resources that focus on supporting the wellbeing of those who have experienced bullying. This is available on the Mentally Healthy Schools website, available here: https://www.mentallyhealthyschools.org.uk/whole-school-or-college-resources/.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that children with with epilepsy have individual healthcare plans.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
Statutory guidance on ‘Supporting pupils at school with medical conditions’ recommends the use of individual healthcare plans as good practice. Individual healthcare plans can help schools support pupils with medical conditions, providing clarity about what needs to be done, when and by whom, to ensure that children have full access to education. The school, healthcare professionals and parents should agree, based on evidence, when a healthcare plan would be appropriate.
The department will keep the statutory guidance under review as we take forward our commitment to delivering an inclusive mainstream system.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help reduce delays by local authorities in delivering education, health and care plans.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
I refer the hon. Member for Eastleigh to the answer of 14 October 2024 to Question 7369.