Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data his Department holds on local authority provision of integrated advice, guidance and access to personal development opportunities for young people aged between 13 and 19.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government does not hold data on local provision relating to personal development of young people. All schools must offer a curriculum which is balanced and broadly based, and which prepares pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life. It is important that schools’ provision helps young people to develop as rounded individuals. This is addressed through subjects such as citizenship and personal, social, health and economic education. The Department also expects schools to provide pupils with a range of extra-curricular activities to help further their development. Some of this will be provided by local authorities, but the Department does not hold this information centrally.
As part of 16-19 study programmes, students are expected to take part in meaningful non-qualification activities that develop their character, broader skills, attitudes, and confidence.
Schools and colleges have flexibility over how they deliver their curriculum and extra-curricular programme, so they can develop an integrated approach that is sensitive to the needs and background of their pupils.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what respite care his Department is planning to provide for (a) lone parents and (b) carers looking after children with special needs or disabilities who may not be able to care for their child if they contract covid-19.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The welfare of children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) and their parents or carers is a high priority for the government, especially during this period of uncertainty. We are working closely with colleagues across government to ensure that appropriate arrangements and support are in place for all Department for Education sectors – from the early years and childcare, to schools and children’s social care, including for children with special educational needs. The government is providing local authorities with an additional £3.2 billion to help them cope with the impact of the pandemic, including within the SEND and children’s social care sectors. The access of parents and carers to respite care and their subsequent ability to safely meet the health and care needs of their children is key to determining whether vulnerable children and young people are safer in their home or educational setting. However, the responsibility for commissioning any at-home provision lies with the local authority responsible for maintaining Education, Health and Care plans, though it may be possible for some of the provision to be provided by the school or college. Guidance is available here:
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure children on the at-risk register are fully supported by professional staff throughout the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Vicky Ford
Ensuring that vulnerable children remain protected is a top priority for government. Local authorities have the key day-to-day responsibility for delivery of children’s social care and we are working closely with them to ensure stability of services for our most vulnerable children.
£1.6 billion of additional funding is being provided to support local authorities address any pressures they are facing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including for delivering children’s social care.
In addition, through the Coronavirus Act 2020 we have taken powers to bring previously registered social workers onto the register of social workers held by the regulator, Social Work England. Alongside this we have launched the Social Work Together programme. Information about this is available at www.socialworkengland.org.uk/news/social-work-together/.
The Government have also published guidance to local authorities accessible at www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-childrens-social-care-services.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether it his policy that children’s social care workers on temporary contracts who are not eligible for sick pay be paid in the event that they self-isolate as a result of suspected covid-19.
Answered by Vicky Ford
Local authorities have the day-to-day responsibility for their child and family social care workforce and for the delivery of children’s social care including the terms and conditions of their employees. We are working closely with them to support their social care workforce, to provide stability of services for our most vulnerable children.
£1.6 billion of additional funding is being provided to support local authorities address any pressures they are facing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including in children’s social care.
We are working with the sector, the Treasury and other government departments to assess COVID-19 related cost pressures on local authorities arising from children’s social care. We are also closely monitoring what’s happening on the ground, to help ensure social care workers get the support they need every step of the way in the weeks and months ahead.
More generally, the government has announced a significant package of temporary measures for those who may be unable to work. This includes a £20 per week increase to the Universal Credit standard allowance and Working Tax Credit basic element and nearly a £1 billion increase in support for renters through increases to the Local Housing Allowance rates for Universal Credit and Housing Benefit claimants. Taken together, these measures and those announced at Budget provide over £6.5 billion additional support through the welfare system for people affected by COVID-19. These changes will benefit all new and existing claimants.
Anyone can check their eligibility and apply for Universal Credit by visiting the GOV.UK website: https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit/what-youll-get.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is undertaking to ensure that children’s social care workers who have no recourse to public funds restrictions on their passports will be able to access Government assistance in the event that they need to self-isolate and are unable to work during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The government has introduced a range of measures to provide assistance for those affected by COVID-19, including those with no recourse to public funds (NRPF).
COVID-19 has been added to the list of communicable diseases so anyone experiencing symptoms, regardless of their immigration status, will be treated for free.
Eligible individuals with NRPF can also benefit from the unprecedented levels of support the government is now also providing through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme. The government has also extended Statutory Sick Pay to be payable from Day 1 rather than Day 4 and made Contributory Employment and Support Allowance available from the first day of sickness rather than the eighth, subject to other eligibility criteria.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to mitigate staff shortages in (a) children’s homes and (b) urgent children’s care services as a result of covid-19.
Answered by Vicky Ford
Ensuring that vulnerable children remain protected is a top priority for the government. Local authorities have the key day-to-day responsibility for delivery of children’s social care and we are working closely with them to ensure stability of services for our most vulnerable children.
£1.6 billion of additional funding is being provided to support local authorities address any pressures they are facing in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, including in providing children’s social care.
We recognise the extraordinary pressures on staffing across children’s homes and the difficult decisions providers are making to keep homes operating safely. We understand children’s homes are working closely with their local authorities on continuity plans for staff shortages at a local level and we are working closely with representative bodies to understand and monitor pressures, considering what further support we can provide.
In regards to social work, through the Coronavirus Act, we have taken powers to bring previously registered social workers onto the register of social workers held by the regulator, Social Work England, and have launched ‘Social Work Together’ to allow social workers to register their interest in returning to practice and to match them with employers. We are also looking to give local authorities additional flexibilities to meet the challenges of dealing with coronavirus.
The latest guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-childrens-social-care-services.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what respite care his Department plans to provide for parents of children who would normally be cared for by older relatives who are being advised to self-isolate due to the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The government is clear that every child who can be safely cared for at home should be, to limit the chance of the virus spreading. Early years and childcare settings are closed except for children who are vulnerable and children whose parents are critical to the COVID-19 response and cannot be safely cared for at home.
Local authorities are working to support childcare settings to ensure that there are sufficient places for the children of critical workers and vulnerable children.
Guidance for early years and childcare providers is available at:
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if children living in temporary accommodation will be able to continue attending school.
Answered by Vicky Ford
From Monday 23 March, all schools and childcare settings are closed except to vulnerable children and children of critical workers. Where the work of a parent or guardian is critical to our response to COVID-19, children should only be sent to school and/or a childcare provider where they cannot be cared for safely at home.
Vulnerable children include those who have a social worker and those children and young people up to the age of 25 with education, health and care plans. Those who have a social worker include children who have a child protection plan and those who are looked after by the local authority. A child may also be deemed to be vulnerable if they have been assessed as being in need or otherwise meet the definition in Section 17 of the Children Act 1989.
Leaders of educational settings and designated safeguarding leads know who their most vulnerable children are and will have the flexibility to offer a place to those on the edges of receiving children’s social care support.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance his Department has provided to (a) Pupil Referral Units and (b) other specialist or alternative education providers on regular physical contact with pupils during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The department has published guidance to all schools, including Alternative Provision (AP) settings and pupil referral units (PRUs), on implementing social distancing in education and childcare settings. The guidance can be found at the link below:
We have also issued wider guidance regarding ongoing provision for vulnerable children, including in AP and PRUs:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-vulnerable-children-and-young-people.
We will support these settings, via local authorities and other key agencies, to identify the best way to protect young people in AP and PRUs, and to keep them open where it is feasible to do so.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to his Department's announcement on 18 March 2020 that schools, colleges and early years settings should close, whether (a) after school and (b) holiday clubs are included in that closure; and whether he has plans to allocate financial support to those organisations during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Vicky Ford
We have asked parents to keep their children at home, wherever possible, and for childcare providers, schools and colleges to remain closed, except for those children who absolutely need to attend. Guidance covers Ofsted-registered childcare providers for children of all ages, including childminders, nurseries and wraparound childcare and clubs. This includes before- and after-school and holiday care. Further details of the guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-schools-and-other-educational-settings.
On 23 March 2020, the government also provided further guidance directing youth centres and community centres to close. More information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/further-businesses-and-premises-to-close/further-businesses-and-premises-to-close-guidance.
Regarding financial support, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced a package of support for businesses. This includes business rates and Statutory Sick Pay relief, and a range of loans and grants. Furthermore, under the government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, all UK employers will be able to access support to continue paying part of their employees’ salary for those employees that would otherwise have been laid off during this crisis. HM Revenue & Customs will reimburse 80% of furloughed workers’ wage costs, up to a cap of £2,500 per month.