Asked by: Stephen McPartland (Conservative - Stevenage)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to help support (a) children with (i) a vision impairment and (ii) dyslexia and (b) other children to access the (A) RNIB bookshare service and (B) other book sharing services.
Answered by David Johnston
The department aims for all children and young people, to receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life, including those with visual impairments, dyslexia and other neurodiverse conditions. The department is creating a new single national Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) system which will focus on how needs are identified and met across Education, Health and Care. This new single national system will set standards on what support should be made available in mainstream settings, including for children with visual impairments, and when specialist provision, including AP, is most appropriate for meeting a child or young person’s needs.
Early identification of need and support is critical to improving outcomes for children and young people with SEND, including those with dyslexia. The department already has numerous measures to help teachers do this, including the Phonics Screening Check and statutory assessments at the ends of key stage 1 and 2. The department has also introduced a package of measures to support the effective teaching of reading, including for those at risk of falling behind. This includes the launch of the English Hubs programme; the publication of the Reading Framework; and an updated list of high-quality phonics programmes for schools.
The department is committed to ensure a steady supply of teachers of children with visual impairments in both specialist and mainstream settings. To teach a class of pupils with visual impairments, a teacher is required to hold the relevant mandatory qualification in sensory impairment (MQSI). There are currently six providers of the MQSI, with a seventh from September 2024. In addition, the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) is developing a new occupational standard for teachers of sensory impairment, expected to launch in 2025.
On 11 July 2023, the department published an updated version of the Reading Framework. The Reading Framework includes guidance on teaching reading to pupils with moderate to severe SEND and complex needs. It is primarily aimed at mainstream schools where, with the right support, the vast majority of pupils will be able to make expected progress.
It is for individual schools to decide how best to provide and maintain a library service for their pupils, including whether to employ a qualified librarian. Many head teachers recognise the important role school libraries play in improving literacy and encouraging pupils to read for pleasure and ensure that suitable library facilities are provided.
Asked by: Stephen McPartland (Conservative - Stevenage)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to confirm Primary PE and Sports Premium funding allocations for young children.
Answered by Will Quince
The department is aware of the importance of giving primary schools as much notice as possible of the funding for the PE and sport premium in order to support its effective use. The department will confirm the level of funding for the PE and sport premium for the 2022/23 academic year in due course.
Asked by: Stephen McPartland (Conservative - Stevenage)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when he plans to announce future plans for primary PE and sport premium funding.
Answered by Will Quince
The department is considering arrangements for the primary PE and sport premium for the 2022-23 academic year and beyond and will confirm the position as early as possible in the new year.
Asked by: Stephen McPartland (Conservative - Stevenage)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to announce Additional High Needs funding to March 2024; and whether he plans that funding will be based on an assessment of local need rather than historical spend.
Answered by Vicky Ford
As a part of our major investment in education, the department has announced significant increases to high needs funding. This year, we have already provided an £780 million increase into high needs, which will be followed up by an additional £730 million in the 2021-22 financial year. This means that the high needs budgets will have grown by over £1.5 billion, nearly 25%, in just 2 years.
High needs funding for the 2022-23 financial year will be drawn from the overall core schools budget. As announced last year, the core school budget for the 2022-23 financial year will total £52.2 billion, which is a year-on-year increase of £4.8 billion. We will announce the high needs budget for 2022-23 in due course. Funding for the 2023-24 financial year will be determined in the next Spending Review.
This additional high needs funding will be allocated via the high needs national funding formula. This formula was introduced in the 2018-19 financial year after extensive consultation and was a significant step forward in making the allocation of funding fairer. The formula is based on the population of 2 to 18-year olds in a local authority area, and includes a number of factors which together are intended to reflect the level of need in the area.
Asked by: Stephen McPartland (Conservative - Stevenage)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what Government support is available to help small tutoring companies become an approved Tuition Partner; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), our delivery partner on the Tuition Partner strand of the National Tutoring Programme (NTP), launched the funding criteria on 31 August. Organisations will be selected to become NTP Tuition Partners through an open competition - the process is transparently set out on their website, together with information on criteria and expectations of partners: https://nationaltutoring.org.uk/ntp-tuition-partners/for-tuition-partners.
As this is a competitive process, there are no plans to offer specific support for individual companies. Quality is the core principle of this programme, and EEF are seeking high quality tutoring organisations of any size, who can manage delivery in line with robust quality, safeguarding and evaluation standards. EEF anticipate inviting a large number of organisations to be Tuition Partners. In addition to existing tutoring providers, EEF are happy to accept applications from other organisations, for example, charities, local authorities or universities who are able to meet the necessary criteria. Applications will also be welcome from partnerships made up of a number of organisations with differing, but relevant, experience.
EEF will not have an appeals system for this process. They will, however, offer feedback on all applications, to help unsuccessful applicants understand how they might improve their offer in the future.
Asked by: Stephen McPartland (Conservative - Stevenage)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that the application process for tuition companies to become NTP Tuition Partners is fair and transparent; and what appeal system is in place for that application process.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), our delivery partner on the Tuition Partner strand of the National Tutoring Programme (NTP), launched the funding criteria on 31 August. Organisations will be selected to become NTP Tuition Partners through an open competition - the process is transparently set out on their website, together with information on criteria and expectations of partners: https://nationaltutoring.org.uk/ntp-tuition-partners/for-tuition-partners.
As this is a competitive process, there are no plans to offer specific support for individual companies. Quality is the core principle of this programme, and EEF are seeking high quality tutoring organisations of any size, who can manage delivery in line with robust quality, safeguarding and evaluation standards. EEF anticipate inviting a large number of organisations to be Tuition Partners. In addition to existing tutoring providers, EEF are happy to accept applications from other organisations, for example, charities, local authorities or universities who are able to meet the necessary criteria. Applications will also be welcome from partnerships made up of a number of organisations with differing, but relevant, experience.
EEF will not have an appeals system for this process. They will, however, offer feedback on all applications, to help unsuccessful applicants understand how they might improve their offer in the future.
Asked by: Stephen McPartland (Conservative - Stevenage)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate he has made of the cost of extending 30 hours' free childcare to 52 weeks a year.
Answered by Nick Gibb
All the free early education and childcare entitlements can be ‘stretched’ by taking fewer hours per week over up to 52 weeks of the year to cover term-time and the school holidays, for example 23 hours for 48 weeks of the year, and free places can be delivered at weekends.
No estimate has been made of the cost of 30 hours’ free childcare for 52 weeks of the year.