Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to reduce numbers of people not in education, employment or training in Cornwall.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is determined to break down barriers to opportunity for all young people and transform their life chances, including those in rural areas and the wider area of Cornwall.
Young people are entitled to participate in education and training up to age 18. Local authorities have statutory duties to support young people into education and training, including identifying and helping those who are currently not in education, employment or training (NEET). The department has published guidance to help local authorities identify young people at an increased risk of becoming NEET, based on characteristics such as a learning difficulty or disability, or poor school attendance, so they can be given extra support.
The government will establish a Youth Guarantee of support to access training, an apprenticeship, or help to find work for all 18 to 21-year-olds, to prevent them becoming excluded from the world of work at a young age. £45 million has been allocated to eight Mayoral Strategic Authority Trailblazers to develop the Youth Guarantee. The department will work with local areas on future expansion.
The government recognises that transport can be an issue for some young people, particularly in rural areas. The 16 to 19 Bursary Funding is allocated directly to schools and colleges to support financially disadvantaged young people who need additional support to help them with costs such as transport. Post-16 transport guidance requires local authorities to make the necessary transport arrangements or provide financial support to ensure young people can participate in education or training.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure schools' policy responds to increases in Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department is committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, including for pupils with social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs.
To strengthen inclusive practice, the department has commissioned evidence reviews from University College London to identify effective strategies for supporting children and young people (0–25) with different types of needs, including SEMH needs.
High-quality teaching is the most important in-school factor for improving outcomes. From September 2025, the new Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework (ITTECF) will set out a minimum training entitlement for new teachers, with significantly more content on adaptive teaching and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), developed with input from SEND experts
To ensure it remains effective, the department will review the ITTECF in 2027. This will include a focus on teaching pupils with SEND.
The department also offers the Universal Services programme, which supports the school workforce in identifying and meeting the needs of children and young people with SEND, including those with SEMH needs.
The government will expand Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs), so every child and young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate. By April 2026, we estimate that 60% of pupils in schools and learners in further education in England will be covered by an MHST, up from 52% in April 2025.
To support education staff, the department provides guidance and practical resources on promoting pupils’ mental health and wellbeing, available here: https://mentallyhealthyschools.org.uk/whole-school-or-college-resources/.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to collaborate with training providers to increase skills levels in high voltage dynamic cables.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The skills system is designed to enable close collaboration between government, employers and training providers to equip learners with the skills they need. We encourage employers to work with providers and the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) and, in time, Skills England, to develop the necessary training to meet the needs of crucial clean energy sectors like floating offshore wind.
Training providers collaborate with IfATE and employers to ensure the training they deliver meets labour market needs. IfATE develops and maintains occupational standards which outline the skills and knowledge required for roles. Employers provide input on these standards, ensuring they reflect current industry requirements. The department supports these partnerships through its policy direction and funding.
Skills England will provide an authoritative assessment of national and regional skills needs in the economy now and in the future. It will also ensure that there is a comprehensive suite of apprenticeships, training and technical qualifications for individuals and employers to access, and which are aligned with skills gaps and the needs of employers.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of ringfencing funding for small and specialist Higher Education Institutions.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Small and specialist higher education (HE) institutions provide a highly valuable role in nurturing talent and contributing to the UK’s academic, cultural and economic landscape.
The Office for Students (OfS) provides targeted funding to twenty small and specialist providers that they assessed as world leading. This is delivered through the Strategic Priorities Grant (SPG), which is funding that the government provides on an annual basis to support teaching and students in HE, including expensive-to-deliver subjects, such as science and engineering, and for students at risk of discontinuing their studies.
For this 2024/25 academic year, funding from the SPG for these small and specialist providers was maintained at £58 million. Funding for the 2025/26 academic year will be announced by the OfS, following government guidance, later this year.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
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 the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund on children with foetal alcohol spectrum disorder.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department always considers the impact of decisions on vulnerable children, including those with foetal alcohol spectrum disorder. The level of funding per child in 2025/26 will allow adoptive and kinship families to access a significant package of therapeutic support. Where needed, local authorities and Regional Adoption Agencies can use their own funding to increase the amount of therapy.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to increase guidance available to parents on SEND (a) provision and (b) support.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The Children and Families Act 2014 requires local authorities to publish a special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) local offer, setting out in one place information about provision they expect to be available across education, health and social care for children and young people in their area who have special educational needs (SEN) or are disabled, including those who do not have education, health and care (EHC) plans.
The local offer has two key purposes:
In developing and reviewing the SEND local offer, the local authority must work in collaboration with a wide range of partners. The SEND local offer must be co-produced with parents and young people, and information on their feedback and how it has been taken into account must be published. The local authority must also work with its statutory EHC partners, including schools, colleges and early years settings and the Integrated Care Service.
Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information, Advice and Support Services (SENDIASS) offer information, advice and support for parents, carers children and young people with SEND. Under the Children and Families Act 2014 it is a legal requirement that all local authorities have a SENDIASS.
The department additionally supports participation by parents in local and national decision making, this has included £2.66 million in grant payments direct to local parent carer forums, and funding to maintain a national helpline providing advice and support for parents and carers.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of funding through the National Funding Formula for (a) small schools and (b) rural schools.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The government recognises the essential role that small schools play in their communities, many of which are in rural areas. The schools national funding formula (NFF) accounts for the particular challenges faced by small schools in rural areas through the lump sum and sparsity factor. This recognises that some schools are necessarily small because they are remote and do not have the same opportunities to grow or make efficiency savings as other schools, and that such schools often play a significant role in the rural communities they serve.
All small and rural schools have benefited from the increase to core factors in the NFF in 2025/26 financial year, including the NFF lump sum, which is set at £145,100. This provides a fixed amount of funding that is unrelated to pupil-led factors. The lump sum is particularly beneficial to small schools more reliant on an element of funding that is not driven by pupil numbers.
Schools can attract additional funding through the sparsity factor in the NFF if they are both small and remote. Eligible primary schools attract up to £57,400, and all other eligible schools attract up to £83,400, in sparsity funding in the 2025/26 financial year. The department is providing £100 million in total through the sparsity factor in the 2025/26 financial year.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to reduce SEND funding differentials between local authorities.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The government has indicated that it will take the time needed to consider changes to the high needs national funding formula (NFF) used by the department to allocate funding for children and young people with complex special educational needs and disabilities.
It is important that there is a fair education funding system that reflects differences in the level of underlying need across the country and directs funding accordingly to support improved outcomes for children and young people.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to increase funding through the Dedicated Schools Grant to areas with (a) below average allocations and (b) deficits.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The schools national funding formula (NFF) distributes core funding for 5-16 year old pupils in mainstream state-funded schools in England. The NFF allocates funding based on schools’ and pupils’ characteristics. In the current NFF, the vast majority of funding is allocated based on pupil numbers and characteristics.
It is not the purpose of the NFF to give every school the same level of per-pupil funding. It is right that schools with lots of pupils with additional needs – such as those indicated by measures of deprivation, low prior attainment, or English as an additional language – receive extra funding to help them meet the needs of all their pupils. In addition, schools in more expensive areas, like London, attract higher funding per pupil than other parts of the country to reflect the higher costs they face.
The department does not fund schools based on their reserves or deficits. Schools who do find themselves in financial difficulty should contact their local authority if they are a maintained school and the department if they are an academy to see what additional support might be available.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of funding for children with SEND in rural areas.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
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 and we will set out plans for reforming the SEND system later this year.
The mainstream schools’ national funding formula accounts for the particular challenges faced by small schools in rural areas through the lump sum and sparsity factors. These factors recognise that some smaller schools are remote, limiting their ability to grow or make efficiency savings. Such schools often play a significant role in the rural communities they serve, not least in their provision for pupils with SEND. Eligible primary schools attract up to £57,400, and all other schools up to £83,400, in sparsity funding in 2025/26.
The government will also take the time needed to consider changes to the funding formulae used by the department to allocate funding for schools and for children and young people with complex SEND.