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.
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 promote training opportunities for (a) mineral processing, (b) metallurgical skills and (c) other critical minerals skills.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Camborne and Redruth to the answer of 25 February 2025 to Question 30538.
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 not continuing the Adoption and Special Guardian Support Fund beyond March 2025 on eligible adoptive families and special guardianship order families.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Camborne and Redruth, to the answer of 12 March 2025 to Question 35389.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the future level of skills needed to attract and train young people in the responsible extraction and recycling of critical minerals in the UK.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
In February, the Critical Minerals Association, in partnership with the Department for Business and Trade, will host a workshop focusing on the challenges and opportunities in developing skills for critical mineral domestic midstream and recycling capabilities. The workshop will bring together stakeholders from across the UK critical minerals value chain to identify actionable recommendations for how the government can best support skills and development.
Skills England refers to critical minerals in its September 2024 report ‘Driving growth and widening opportunities’, where it highlights the need for physical scientists and engineers to support the UK’s clean energy sectors. In the report, Skills England also commits to providing an authoritative assessment of skills needs, gathering insights from sector stakeholders including employers, sector-owning departments, and unions. This will inform priorities for technical education funding and decision-making. In November, Skills England undertook extensive engagement with over 700 stakeholders including employers in manufacturing and clean energy industries.
There is a range of skills products which help meet the skills needs of critical minerals industries, including apprenticeships and higher education courses. These include, for instance, degree apprenticeships in mine management and geoscience, as well as the level 2 material processing plant operator apprenticeship, which can be used for mining activities. The Camborne School of Mining also offers the UK’s only Bachelor of Engineering in mining engineering.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has consulted with all local schools in the Perranporth area as part of the review of the Perranporth Academy project; and when she expects the review to be concluded.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
A top priority for the government is to drive high and rising education standards for children across the country. The department is reviewing mainstream free school projects to ensure that they continue to meet localised need for places, offer value for money and are not to the detriment of other schools in the local area.
Departmental officials have worked closely with Truro and Penwith Academy Trust and Cornwall local authority to gather the required information. No decisions have yet been taken.
Stakeholders are welcome to submit their views to the department. These will be taken into consideration before a final decision is made by Ministers.
The review is ongoing. The department will update all trusts and local authorities on the next steps in the new year.
We will also provide an update on the overall review in due course.