Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that differences in regional needs are taken into account in early years provision.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Under Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006, local authorities are responsible for ensuring that the provision of childcare is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents in their area. Part B of the ‘Early education and childcare’ statutory guidance for local authorities highlights that local authorities should report annually to elected council members on how they are meeting their duty to secure sufficient childcare, and to make this report available and accessible to parents. The ‘Early education and childcare’ statutory guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-education-and-childcare--2.
The department has regular contact with each local authority in England about their sufficiency of childcare and any issues they are facing.
Where local authorities report sufficiency challenges, the department discusses what action the local authority is taking to address those issues and where needed supports the local authority with any specific requirements through its childcare sufficiency support contract.
The department knows that the sector is facing economic challenges, similar to the challenges being faced across the economy. The department continues to engage with sector stakeholders and local authorities to monitor dynamics with local markets, parents’ access to the government’s entitlements and the childcare they require, and the sustainability of the sector.
The government is providing £204 million this year, and £288 million in 2024/25, for local authorities to increase hourly rates paid to childcare providers, with funding uplifting year on year to meet rising cost pressures.
The additional £204m is being distributed to local authorities via a new standalone Early years Supplementary Grant (EYSG) in 2023/24.
As a result of this additional funding, funding rates to local authorities have risen by an average of 32% for the current 2-year-old entitlement, and by an average of 6.3% for the 3 to 4-year-old entitlements from September 2023, compared to their current 2023/24 rates.
The EYSG rate for 2-year-olds is, on average, £1.95 per hour. This means that the national average hourly rate that local authorities will receive has risen from the current £6 per hour to £7.95.
The EYSG rate for 3 and 4-year-olds is, on average, 33 pence per hour. Similarly, the national average hourly rate received by local authorities has risen from £5.29 to £5.62.
This funding is in addition to £4.1 billion by 2027/28 to deliver the new offers.
As part of the consultation published on 21 July, the department has published illustrative local authority hourly funding rates for those 2 years old and under for 2024/25. The department currently anticipates that, in 2024/25, the national average rates would be £8.17 for the 2-year-old entitlements and £11.06 for younger children. These illustrative rates are likely to change following the outcome of the consultation and when the latest data becomes available. The department will confirm final 2024/25 hourly funding rates for local authorities in the autumn.
The department will ensure a phased implementation of the free hours offers, to allow the market to develop the necessary capacity.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to issue guidance to early years providers on (a) term planning and (b) staff resources in advance of changes to eligibility requirements for free childcare.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The ‘early education and childcare’ statutory guidance for local authorities will be updated to reflect the expanded entitlements announced in the Spring Budget and will be published in early spring alongside the amended regulations coming into force.
The department is ensuring a phased implementation of the expansion to the 30 hours offer to allow the market to develop the necessary capacity, and is working closely with the sector on the implementation of these reforms.
The department understands that the recruitment and retention of qualified staff is a key issue for the early years sector. The department is continuing to work with the sector to understand how it might support workforce recruitment and retention, including through data collection, user research, and feedback from an expert advisory group.
In May 2023, the department launched a consultation on proposals to provide more flexibility and remove burdens within the statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). The consultation will inform changes to the EYFS to offer providers more choice over how they operate and make it easier for them to deliver the EYFS. The consultation closed on 26 July, and the department will be publishing a response in due course. It is our intention that any changes to the EYFS that result from this consultation will come into force for all providers across England in early 2024, giving the sector time to make use of the proposed flexibilities and ensuring they are ready to deliver the new entitlements announced at the Spring Budget.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department are taking to support parents and guardians whose children have not been in a formal education environment for over six months due to special educational needs requirements.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
In the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan, published in March 2023, the department outlined its commitment to build a consistent national SEND and AP system that parents and carers can trust, easily navigate, and have confidence in.
The department understands that barriers to attendance are wide and complex, particularly for pupils with SEND. The attendance guidance for schools and local authorities expects schools, trusts and local authorities to provide joined up support for children and their families facing special educational needs, health or disability related barriers to attendance.
Through the AP Specialist Taskforce Pilots, the department is also working directly with young people and their families who are at risk of disengaging with education to offer intensive support. The pilot has supported more than 2,500 children so far, 77% of whom have SEND.
Where parents have elected to home educate their child, some local authorities will provide support at their discretion. The department is committed to introducing statutory local authority registers for children not in school, and a duty for local authorities to provide support to home-educating families. We continue to work with local authorities to ensure all children are receiving a suitable education.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to consult with (a) children and (b) the families of children with SEND who are not in formal education as part of the SEND Review.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The consultation on the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Green Paper ran from 10 March to 22 July, during this time the department received around 6,000 responses to the online consultation and delivered 175 consultation events hearing from over 4,500 people.
The department designed specific consultation questions for children and young people, proactively engaged with seldom heard groups. Consultation events were also delivered with stakeholders such as the Council for Disabled Children’s Friendship, Learning, Achieve, Reach and Empower (FLARE) children and young people’s group and the National Network of Parent Carer Forums that amplified the voices of children, young people and their families, to ensure their views were captured in the consultation feedback.
The department continues to engage with children, young people and their families as we design and test reforms through the Change Programme. This will ensure a wide range of perspectives are considered to improve the outcomes and experiences of children and young people with SEND and in AP.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department took to ensure that responses to the SEND consultation were received from all regions in England.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
During the 16-week consultation on the Special Educational Needs (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Green Paper, the department received around 6,000 online responses from the sector including children, young people, families, schools and local government. In addition, 175 online and in person consultation events were delivered, receiving responses from a further 4,500 people. To support receiving responses from people across the country, these events were promoted through a wide range of communication channels, including working in partnership with the Council for Disabled Children and the regional parent carer forums via the National Network of Parent Carer Forums who represent families from each English region.
The department also allowed organisations to submit consultation responses. Annex 4 of the independent analysis of the consultation responses shows the wide range of responses received from across the country.
The department continues to engage with the SEND and AP sector as reforms are designed and tested through the Change Programme. This will ensure a wide range of perspectives are considered to improve the outcomes and experiences of children and young people with SEND and in AP.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the availability of school places for children with SEND.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places for children with Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) sits with local authorities. The department supports local authorities by providing annual funding and monitors local authorities financial performance through meetings with officials, the department’s SEND advisors and through programmes such as the Safety Valve programme.
The department has published over £1.5 billion of High Needs Provision Capital Allocations (HNPCA) for the 2022/23 and 2023/24 financial years. This funding is allocated to local authorities to support them deliver new places and improve existing provision for children and young people with SEND or who require alternative provision (AP). Barnsley are receiving £7.1 million.
This funding forms part of the department’s transformational investment of £2.6 billion in new high needs provision between 2022 and 2025. This funding is on top of the department’s ongoing delivery of new special and AP free schools.
Starting from Summer 2023 the department has, for the first time, collected data from local authorities on available capacity in special schools, SEND units and resourced provision, along with corresponding forecasts of demand for these places. This data will help the department to more effectively support local authorities to fulfil their statutory duty to provide sufficient specialist places.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department holds regional data on the number of children with SEND who are not in formal education.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department holds data on the number of children and young people with an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan, including the setting in which the child or young person is typically educated or where they are not in education or training for any reason. The information is available in the National Statistics publication at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-health-and-care-plans. The data can be broken down by region and local authority.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children with SEND are not in formal education.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department holds data on the number of children and young people with an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan, including the setting in which the child or young person is typically educated or where they are not in education or training for any reason. The information is available in the National Statistics publication at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-health-and-care-plans. The data can be broken down by region and local authority.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department have taken provide children with SEND who are not currently in formal education environments with access to care and adjustments to help them return to education as soon as possible.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
School attendance is mandatory. Regular attendance at school is vital for children’s education, wellbeing and long-term development. To promote strong attendance, all schools should be calm, safe, and supportive environments where pupils and staff can thrive in safety and respect.
The department understands that barriers to attendance are wide and complex, particularly for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Addressing these requires a support-first approach and strong relationships between families, schools, local authorities, and other relevant local services.
When considering the appropriate action to address absence, schools and local authorities should consider the individual circumstances of each pupil and family and take the best course of action to support the child’s return to school. The department encourages parents to work with their child’s school and the local authority to discuss the reasons behind their child’s absence. They should agree together an action plan, so that the right support can be put in place to help their child to return to regular and consistent education.
The department published the SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan in March 2023. This sets out the department’s longer-term plans to tackle inconsistency in the system and promote attendance through new national standards.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department are taking to support schools to provide formal education to children with SEND.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
In the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan, published in March 2023, the department outlined its commitment to ensuring that children and young people with SEND or attending AP enjoy their childhood, achieve good outcomes and feel well prepared for adulthood and employment
To ensure teachers have the knowledge and skills to deliver high-quality teaching for pupils with SEND, the department has implemented a ‘golden thread’ of evidence-based teacher training reforms, from initial teacher training through Early Career Framework-based induction and on to National Professional Qualifications (NPQ) for more experienced teachers. This support includes the introduction of a new leadership level NPQ for Special Educational Needs Coordinators.
High needs revenue funding will rise to £10.5 billion in 2024/25, a 60% increase on 2019/20 allocations. As part of this investment, £2.6 billion of funding will support local authorities to deliver new places in mainstream, special schools and AP, and to improve the suitability of existing buildings. Through its £70 million Change Programme, the department is testing and refining the Improvement Plan reforms to improve outcomes and experiences for children and young people with SEND and their families.