Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the impact of the tuition fee-based funding model on the financial stability of the higher education sector.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
As autonomous organisations, higher education (HE) providers have a high degree of financial independence and it is for them to make appropriate and necessary decisions around income, funding, spending and borrowing which ensure their continued financial viability and sustainability.
The department believes that the current fee freeze achieves the best balance between ensuring that the system remains financially sustainable, offering good value for the taxpayer and reducing debt levels for students in real terms.
The Office for Students (OfS), as the regulator of HE in England, is responsible for monitoring the financial sustainability of registered HE providers. The department continues to work closely with the OfS and other parties including providers, mission groups and other government departments to understand the ongoing impacts and changing landscape of financial sustainability across the sector.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has placed a ban on all inter-year transfers to St Leonard's Catholic School in City of Durham.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The Secretary of State for Education would not have powers to place a ban on inter-year transfers to St Leonard's Catholic School in the City of Durham.
Parents can apply for a place for their child at any school at any time. An application after the start of the school year for a place in the normal year of entry (usually Year 7 in a secondary school), or for any other year group, is called an “in-year” application. The School Admissions Code sets out requirements in relation to in-year admissions.
Where an application is received for a year which is not the normal year of entry, the admission authority can only refuse if the admission of another child would “prejudice the provision of efficient education or efficient use of resources”.
Where in-year applications are received for the normal year of entry, the admission authority must admit children up to the Published Admission Number (PAN).
If an admission authority (in this case, Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Academy Trust) wishes to change the PAN for Year 7, they would need to submit a request to vary the published admission arrangements (which include the PAN) to the Secretary of State for Education.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to page 9 of the document entitled SEND and alternative provision improvement plan, published on 2 March 2023, when her Department plans to publish guidance to support effective transitions between (a) all stages of education and (b) into employment and adult services.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and alternative provision (AP) Improvement Plan, published on 2 March 2023, outlines the government’s mission to establish a single, national SEND and AP system. Alongside this, the department published a roadmap which summarises the actions set out in the Improvement Plan to improve the SEND and AP system in England. The SEND and AP improvement plan can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-and-alternative-provision-improvement-plan. The roadmap can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-and-alternative-provision-improvement-plan/send-and-alternative-provision-roadmap.
As part of this roadmap, the department committed to publishing this guidance by the end of 2025.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to allow for mitigating circumstances for pupils whose education has been disrupted due to the presence of RAAC.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Ofqual is the independent regulator of examinations and qualifications in England, and its statutory objectives are set out in Section 128 of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009. These include securing that ’regulated qualifications give a reliable indication of knowledge, skills and understanding’, and that ’regulated qualifications indicate a consistent level of attainment (including over time) between comparable regulated qualifications’.
It is important to ensure that all students taking comparable exams and assessments are assessed to the same standard in order to maintain qualification standards and public confidence in qualifications. If different standards are applied for different groups of students, then the qualification will cease to provide a reliable indication of the knowledge, skills and understanding that it is intended to measure.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department issues on the minimum temperature at which a temporary classroom can be safely used.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Guidance on recommended temperatures for classrooms are included in the energy efficiency guidance for schools. This guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-efficiency-guidance-for-the-school-and-fe-college-estate/energy-efficiency-guidance-for-the-school-and-further-education-college-estate#heating.
More generally, the Health and Safety Executive’s published guidance includes the recommended minimum temperature for working indoors. This guidance can be found at: https://www.hse.gov.uk/temperature/employer/index.htm.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether all (a) books, (b) coursework and (c) other items have been retrieved from inaccessible parts of St Leonard’s Catholic School since September 2023.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The department funded and co-ordinated the decant of items from inaccessible parts of St Leonard’s Catholic School during the October 2023 half-term. The list of items for retrieval was provided by the school and these were recovered during this decant. In December 2023, the school advised officials that there were further items that they required. These were recovered on 6 December.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support local authorities with finding homes for children with complex needs.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
All children should live somewhere that meets their needs and keeps them safe. Under Section 22G of the Children Act 1989, it is the duty of each local social services authority to provide suitable accommodation for children in their care. However, the government recognises the challenges local authorities face, and the need for system-wide reform.
To support local authorities, the department has allocated £259 million in funding to maintain capacity and expand provision across open children’s homes (OCHs) and secure children’s homes (SCHs) within England, up until March 2025. Funding to develop OCH provision is provided on a match-funding basis with the department and the local authority local authority contributing 50% funding. For SCH provision, the department provides local authorities with 100% funding. Additional capacity has already been developed, with 36 smaller projects being complete and becoming operational within the SCH estate since the programme launched in 2021.
The government recognises the need for long-term, system-level reform of children’s social care. In February 2023, the government published “Stable Homes, Built on Love – Implementation Strategy and Consultation”, which set out the government’s proposals to reform children’s social care following reviews from the Competition and Markets Authority and Independent Review of Children’s Social Care. The report recommends system changes to ensure suitable placements are available to meet the needs of children.
The department recognises that some children and young people can fall between gaps in a complex system of education, social care and justice services, and there is a lack of evidence-based, integrated, co-commissioned models of care. These gaps are being addressed through a jointly led departmental and NHS England cross-government work programme to improve how system partners work together to improve outcomes for children who are in the most complex situations.
The department has established an ‘‘Improving support for Children in Complex Situations with Multiple Needs” Task and Finish Group (TFG), which aims to enhance support for children in complex situations. The goal is to improve collaboration among system partners to better serve children, particularly those at risk of losing their freedom. The group aims to align government efforts to design, commission and deliver integrated care models, including social care, health, education and youth justice, with the support of key stakeholders.
Transparency data has been published online which provides more information about the TFG and is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/improving-cross-sector-support-for-children-in-complex-situations-with-multiple-needs-task-and-finish-group?cgfc.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on implementing the recommendations in the report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, published in October 2022.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is working closely with the Home Office and others on implementing the recommendations in the final report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. This was most recently discussed with the Home Secretary on 17 October.
With regard to recommendation six, the government accepted unequivocally the need for children and young people to have their voices heard, to feel empowered to raise concerns, and challenge any aspect of their care. The department is prioritising work to update national standards and statutory guidance for the provision of children’s advocacy services. In September the department launched a consultation on proposals, including extending the scope of the standards to apply to special residential settings and introducing a new standard on non-instructed advocacy for children who are non-verbal. This consultation closed on 18 December.
The department also remains committed to reviewing and strengthening the Independent Reviewing Officer and Regulation 44 visitors’ roles, and is continuing to engage with stakeholders on different options.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, published in October 2022, what steps she is taking to implement Recommendation six of that report.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is working closely with the Home Office and others on implementing the recommendations in the final report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. This was most recently discussed with the Home Secretary on 17 October.
With regard to recommendation six, the government accepted unequivocally the need for children and young people to have their voices heard, to feel empowered to raise concerns, and challenge any aspect of their care. The department is prioritising work to update national standards and statutory guidance for the provision of children’s advocacy services. In September the department launched a consultation on proposals, including extending the scope of the standards to apply to special residential settings and introducing a new standard on non-instructed advocacy for children who are non-verbal. This consultation closed on 18 December.
The department also remains committed to reviewing and strengthening the Independent Reviewing Officer and Regulation 44 visitors’ roles, and is continuing to engage with stakeholders on different options.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of support available to young people on the autism assessment waiting list who are sitting exams for Ofqual-regulated qualifications.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is taking steps to improve access to assessments for autism. In 2023/24, DHSC allocated £4.2 million to improve services for autistic children and young people including assessments, pre-and post-diagnostic support, and the continuation of the Autism in Schools programme. Additionally, in April 2023, NHS England published a national framework to support the local NHS to commission and deliver autism assessment services for children, young people, and adults.
The Department for Education wants all children and young people, no matter what their Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), to be able to reach their full potential and receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. Under the Children and Families Act 2014, mainstream schools and colleges must use their best endeavours to make sure a child or young person who has Special Educational Needs (SEN) gets the special educational provision they need.
The SEND Code of Practice is clear however that meeting the needs of a child with SEN does not require a diagnostic label or test. Instead, the department expects teachers to monitor the progress of all children and young people and put support in place where needed, including arranging diagnostic tests where appropriate.
The 2023 SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan set out the department’s vision to improve mainstream education through setting standards for early and accurate identification of need, and timely access to support to meet those needs. The standards will clarify the types of support that should be ordinarily available in mainstream settings and practitioner standards will be developed to support frontline professionals, including one on autism.
The department's Universal Services contract brings together SEND-specific continuing professional development and support for the school and further education workforce to improve outcomes for children and young people, including those with autism, through one programme, which aims to reach 70% of schools and colleges in England per year.
The contract offers autism awareness training and resources, and over 100,000 professionals have undertaken this autism awareness training since the Universal Services programme launched last year.
Access arrangements can be agreed with exam boards for candidates with specific needs, including SEND, to help them access assessments to show what they know and can do without affecting the integrity of the assessment.
The Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo) or equivalent for a school or college must lead on the access arrangements process, fully supported by teaching staff and members of the senior leadership team. SENCos are responsible for taking appropriate steps to gather an appropriate picture of need, demonstrate normal ways of working for candidates, and ensure that approved access arrangements are put in place for internal school tests, mock examinations and examinations.