Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing sensory food play as a part of the Early Years Foundation Stage for early years nutrition.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Shadow Minister (Equalities)
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework sets the standards that all early years providers must meet for the learning, development and care of children from birth to age five.
The department has published an article promoting sensory food education on the ‘Help for early years providers’ online platform, which is a resource for childminders, nursery leaders and pre-school practitioners. This supports practitioners to look at incorporating sensory food education into their practice, while delivering the statutory EYFS requirements. The sensory food education article can be found here: https://help-for-early-years-providers.education.gov.uk/get-help-to-improve-your-practice/sensory-food-education.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support students with the cost-of-living crisis.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The government recognises the additional cost of living pressures that have arisen this year and that have impacted students. Many higher education providers have hardship funds that students can apply to for assistance.
There is £261 million of student premium funding available this academic year to support disadvantaged students who need additional help. The department is with the Office for Students to ensure universities support students in hardship using both hardship funds and drawing on the student premium.
In addition, all households will save on their energy bills through the Energy Price Guarantee and the £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme discount. Students who buy their energy from a domestic supplier are eligible for the energy bills discount. The Energy Prices Bill introduced on 12 October 2022 includes the provision to require landlords to pass benefits they receive from energy price support, as appropriate, onto end users. Further details of the requirements under this legislation will be set out in regulations.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of allocating additional funding for education providers to deliver hardship funds, in the context of the cost-of-living crisis.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The government recognises the additional cost of living pressures that have arisen this year and that have impacted students. Many higher education providers have hardship funds that students can apply to for assistance.
There is £261 million of student premium funding available this academic year to support disadvantaged students who need additional help. The department is with the Office for Students to ensure universities support students in hardship using both hardship funds and drawing on the student premium.
In addition, all households will save on their energy bills through the Energy Price Guarantee and the £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme discount. Students who buy their energy from a domestic supplier are eligible for the energy bills discount. The Energy Prices Bill introduced on 12 October 2022 includes the provision to require landlords to pass benefits they receive from energy price support, as appropriate, onto end users. Further details of the requirements under this legislation will be set out in regulations.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase the affordability of childcare.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Shadow Minister (Equalities)
The department has spent over £3.5 billion in each of the past three years on early education entitlements, and continues to support families with the cost of childcare through Tax-Free Childcare and Universal Credit.
At the Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021, the department also announced additional funding of £160 million in 2022/23, £180 million in 2023/24, and £170 million in 2024/25, compared to the 2021/22 financial year, for local authorities to increase hourly rates paid to childcare providers.
In July 2022, the department announced measures to increase take-up of childcare support and to reduce the costs and bureaucracy facing providers. These plans aim to give providers more flexibility and autonomy, and attract more people to childminding, while encouraging the growth of childminder agencies, enabling greater access to this flexible affordable form of care.
The department also has a campaign underway via the Childcare Choices website to ensure that every parent knows about the government-funded support they are eligible for to save money on their childcare bills. Childcare Choices is accessible here: https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of making suicide prevention a compulsory part of the school curriculum.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
All pupils in schools are taught about mental health as part of the relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) curriculum, which the department made mandatory in 2020 to ensure that all pupils are taught about important topics.
Schools can teach older pupils about suicide in an age-appropriate and sensitive way. The RSHE statutory guidance advises that schools should approach teaching about self-harm and suicide carefully and should be aware of the risks to pupils from exposure to materials that are instructive rather than preventative. This includes websites or videos that provide instructions or methods of self-harm or suicide. The guidance is clear that if teachers have concerns about a specific pupil in relation to self-harm or suicidal thoughts, they must follow safeguarding procedures immediately.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, in the context of the rising cost of (a) food and (b) domestic bills, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of implementing a temporary moratorium on the wearing of school uniforms in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools.
Answered by Jonathan Gullis
The Department is not making such an assessment.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will undertake a review of the eligibility criteria for free school meals before the start of the 2023-24 academic year.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Through the provision of free school means (FSM), together with a further 1.25 million infants supported through the Universal Infant Free School Meal policy, the greatest ever proportion of school children, 37.5%, are now provided with a free meal at lunchtime, at a cost of over £1 billion a year.
The department continues to monitor the situation surrounding the rising cost of living whilst working with other government departments on support surrounding this issue. We do not have any plans to extend universal provision, but we will continue to review free school meal eligibility, to ensure that these meals are supporting the most disadvantaged, those out of work or on the lowest incomes. In setting a threshold, the department believes that the current level, which enables children to benefit, while remaining affordable and deliverable for schools, is the right one. Extending FSM eligibility to all pupils would carry a significant financial cost.
The department is also providing over £200 million per year for the next three years to provide healthy food in the holidays via our Holiday Activities and Food programme, providing breakfast clubs in thousands of schools, as well as delivering the School Fruit and Vegetable scheme and wider government schemes such as Healthy Start vouchers.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of increases in the cost of living on the number of children who will be both living in poverty and ineligible for free school meals in the next three years.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Through the provision of free school means (FSM), together with a further 1.25 million infants supported through the Universal Infant Free School Meal policy, the greatest ever proportion of school children, 37.5%, are now provided with a free meal at lunchtime, at a cost of over £1 billion a year.
The department continues to monitor the situation surrounding the rising cost of living whilst working with other government departments on support surrounding this issue. We do not have any plans to extend universal provision, but we will continue to review free school meal eligibility, to ensure that these meals are supporting the most disadvantaged, those out of work or on the lowest incomes. In setting a threshold, the department believes that the current level, which enables children to benefit, while remaining affordable and deliverable for schools, is the right one. Extending FSM eligibility to all pupils would carry a significant financial cost.
The department is also providing over £200 million per year for the next three years to provide healthy food in the holidays via our Holiday Activities and Food programme, providing breakfast clubs in thousands of schools, as well as delivering the School Fruit and Vegetable scheme and wider government schemes such as Healthy Start vouchers.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will take steps to ensure that children living in poverty who are not eligible for free school meals have access to healthy meals.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Through the provision of free school means (FSM), together with a further 1.25 million infants supported through the Universal Infant Free School Meal policy, the greatest ever proportion of school children, 37.5%, are now provided with a free meal at lunchtime, at a cost of over £1 billion a year.
The department continues to monitor the situation surrounding the rising cost of living whilst working with other government departments on support surrounding this issue. We do not have any plans to extend universal provision, but we will continue to review free school meal eligibility, to ensure that these meals are supporting the most disadvantaged, those out of work or on the lowest incomes. In setting a threshold, the department believes that the current level, which enables children to benefit, while remaining affordable and deliverable for schools, is the right one. Extending FSM eligibility to all pupils would carry a significant financial cost.
The department is also providing over £200 million per year for the next three years to provide healthy food in the holidays via our Holiday Activities and Food programme, providing breakfast clubs in thousands of schools, as well as delivering the School Fruit and Vegetable scheme and wider government schemes such as Healthy Start vouchers.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing pay for educational psychologists, in the context of the rising cost of food and domestic bills.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The department does not currently plan to make an assessment on increasing pay for educational psychologists.
The department currently funds the tuition fees for the three-year training course for educational psychologists, as well as a bursary for the first year of the course, which is passed on to trainees. Trainees also receive a bursary for the second and third years of study, which is funded by the local authorities where trainees undertake their placements. The bursary can be used to assist with living and travel costs.
After graduation, specific employment terms, including pay, are governed by the education psychologist’s contract of employment with their employer.