Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with local authorities in (a) rural areas and (b) Devon on (i) reducing the time taken for patients to be seen by and (ii) expanding SEND hubs.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
The department has worked closely with statutory partners in Devon since the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) inspection in May 2022, which found insufficient progress on four significant weaknesses identified in the previous inspection in 2018, including the timeliness and quality of education, health and care (EHC) plans. In response, an improvement notice was issued in September 2022, and an Accelerated Progress Plan was developed with Devon County Council and the integrated care board. The department and NHS England have deployed SEND advisers to support the local area.
Formal monitoring meetings are held with Devon County Council and partners, including on EHC plans and assessment timeliness. While recent monitoring meetings have shown some improvements, substantial progress is still needed to ensure all children and families receive the support they need and deserve.
Many children and young people with SEND continue to face challenges in accessing suitable school placements close to home.
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has published allocations for £740 million high needs capital in the 2025/26 financial year to support children and young people with SEND or who require alternative provision, with over £11 million high needs capital funding allocated to Devon County Council. This can be used to make classrooms more accessible and create specialist facilities in mainstream schools for intensive support, alongside continuing to provide places to support pupils in special schools with the most complex needs.
The department is working closely with Devon County Council to consider proposals for an increase resourced provision in Devon as part of the local authority’s approach to SEND sufficiency.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she will take to ensure that the proposed pay award for teachers does not adversely impact (a) staffing levels and (b) educational provision.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
The overall core schools budget (CSB) is increasing by £3.2 billion in the 2025/26 financial year, meaning the CSB will total over £64.8 billion.
Final decisions on the teachers’ pay award for 2025 will be made following recommendations from the independent School Teacher Review Body (STRB). We have received the STRB’s report and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate she has made of additional funding required for SEND support in schools in Devon.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.
Overall schools funding is increasing by £3.2 billion in the 2025/26 financial year and will total over £64.8 billion, compared to almost £61.6 billion in 2024/25. Within that total there is an increase of £1 billion for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year. This brings total high needs funding for children and young people with complex SEND to over £12 billion. Of that total, Devon County Council is being allocated over £125 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG), an increase of £8.9 million on their 2024/25 DSG high needs block.
Mainstream schools are expected to contribute from their budgets to the cost of supporting their pupils with SEND up to a cost threshold of £6,000 per pupil per annum. Local authorities support schools with SEND support costs in excess of that threshold, using funds from their high needs budgets. Nevertheless, the government recognises that the rising costs of SEND provision are putting a strain on local government and school finances. The government is considering, as part of the current spending review due to conclude in June, the funding and changes required in future years, to ensure that high-quality services for children and young people with SEND can be delivered in a financially sustainable way.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to increase SEND funding in Devon.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.
Overall schools funding is increasing by £3.2 billion in the 2025/26 financial year and will total over £64.8 billion, compared to almost £61.6 billion in 2024/25. Within that total there is an increase of £1 billion for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year. This brings total high needs funding for children and young people with complex SEND to over £12 billion. Of that total, Devon County Council is being allocated over £125 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG), an increase of £8.9 million on their 2024/25 DSG high needs block.
Mainstream schools are expected to contribute from their budgets to the cost of supporting their pupils with SEND up to a cost threshold of £6,000 per pupil per annum. Local authorities support schools with SEND support costs in excess of that threshold, using funds from their high needs budgets. Nevertheless, the government recognises that the rising costs of SEND provision are putting a strain on local government and school finances. The government is considering, as part of the current spending review due to conclude in June, the funding and changes required in future years, to ensure that high-quality services for children and young people with SEND can be delivered in a financially sustainable way.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many new school based nurseries will be located in the (a) Plymouth Unitary Authority, (b) Torbay Unitary Authority and (c) Devon County Council area.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Under the School-Based Nurseries Capital Grant 2024 to 2025 schools could apply to create or expand school-based nursery provision. Three schools received funding in Plymouth Unitary Authority, two in Torbay Unitary Authority and five in Devon County Council.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 29 April 2025 to Question 46274 on Schools: Uniforms, if she will take steps to provide further support for low income households to assist in the purchase of school uniforms.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
This government recognises that parents are struggling with the cost of uniform and that in England some local authorities provide discretionary grants to help with buying school uniforms in cases of financial hardship.
Rather than subsidising expensive uniforms through providing additional financial support, this government has chosen to reduce the cost of uniforms for all parents by legislating to limit the number of expensive branded items schools can require.
Departmental research shows that the average cost of uniform is significantly lower when parents are allowed to buy items from a range of outlets. Based on previous department surveys of parents, we estimate that the aggregate savings of the new limit on compulsory branded items to parents with children in primary school is around £21 million per year, and for those with children in secondary school is around £52 million per year. We estimate that some families will save over £50 on the back-to-school shop.
Therefore, a legislative limit is the most effective way to make schools remove unnecessary and expensive branded items and bring down costs for parents.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 12 February 2025 to Question 28734 on Prisoners: Parents, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of having a parent in prison on SAT performances; and whether she plans to adopt moderated teacher assessments.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
The department does not hold information on the impact of having a parent in prison on end of key stage 2 attainment nor does it carry out such analysis.
The purpose of the end of key stage 2 assessments is to understand pupils' attainment, including areas where they may need more support in order to support their transition into secondary school. Schools can use the assessment in this way to support pupils who may be experiencing an impact in attainment due to having a parent or primary carer in prison.
Statutory teacher assessment judgments take place at the end of key stage 2 for writing and science. Local authorities are required to externally moderate the teacher assessment of writing within at least 25% of maintained schools and 25% of academies and participating independent schools that opt into local authorities’ external moderation provisions. External moderation aims to give confidence that schools’ judgements are accurate and consistent with national standards.
The independent Curriculum and Assessment Review panel have been clear that SATs are an important part of assessing children’s progress throughout primary school, and that the system of primary assessment is currently working well. As the Review continues its second phase, it will consider how to build on effective systems to support the attainment of all children.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that media literacy is included in the Curriculum and Assessment Review.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
I refer the hon. Member for Newton Abbot to the answer of 1 May 2025 to Question 47184.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2025 to Question 37398 on Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund, if she will hold discussions with Adoption UK on funding for the adoption and special guardianship support fund.
Answered by Janet Daby
I meet regularly with key adoption stakeholders including Adoption UK and will continue to do so to discuss a wider variety of adoption issues, including the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund. Departmental officials also have regular meetings with Adoption UK to discuss issues relating to adoption.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to enforce statutory guidance on the cost of school uniforms.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
The guidance on the cost of school uniforms is statutory and schools must have regard to it when designing and implementing their uniform policies. We expect all schools to now be compliant.
If parents are concerned about the cost of their child’s school uniform, they should raise this with the school, including through the school’s published complaints process where necessary.
If a parent is unhappy with the outcome of their complaint, they can raise this with the department. We will consider whether the uniform policy meets the requirements of the guidance.