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Written Question
Boarding Schools: Special Educational Needs
Wednesday 3rd April 2024

Asked by: Lord Warner (Crossbench - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Barran on 11 March (HL2772, HL2773, HL2811), what assessment they have made of the capacity of local education authorities to provide education to a child with an education, health and care plan who has been off-rolled from a residential special school and unable to find an alternative placement in another such school.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Of the 55 independent residential special schools, five are identified as requiring improvement by Ofsted. One further school met the standards since the previous answer was provided. These schools are The Forum School, Wilds Lodge School, Pioneer TEC, The Fitzroy Academy and The Grange Therapeutic School. Nine schools offer under 20 residential placements, eight schools offer 20 to 40 residential placements, and 38 schools offer residential placements for over 40. None are approved for a single child only.

When the department registers an independent school, it establishes who the proprietor will be, and runs suitability checks on the proprietor. The proprietor is ultimately responsible for the operation of the school. The proprietor is included on the register of independent schools. The department does not record the ultimate beneficial owner of the school. The registered proprietor of each of the 55 independent residential special schools is shown in the attachment provided titled ‘Table of Independent Residential Special Schools’.

Of the 26 residential maintained special schools, six are identified as requiring improvement by Ofsted. These schools are Holly House Special School, Barndale House School, Greenbank School, Kings Mill School, Lindsworth School and Lexden Springs School. One school offers under 20 residential placements, three schools offer 20 to 40 residential placements, and 23 schools offer residential placements for over 40. None are approved for a single child only.

Of the 33 residential non-maintained special schools (NMSS), three are identified as requiring improvement by Ofsted. This number has increased by one since the previous answer provided as the department has identified an additional NMSS that is listed on the register of schools as a further educational college rather than a school. These schools are St Vincent’s School, New College Worcester, and Breckenbrough School. No schools offer under 20 residential placements, one school offers 20 to 40 residential placements, and 32 schools offer residential placements for over 40. None are approved for a single child only.

Of the 34 residential special academy and free schools, four require improvement according to Ofsted. One school no longer offers residential placements since the previous answer provided. These schools are Brompton Hall School, Langham Oaks, Pencalenick School and Charlton Park Academy. No schools offer under 20 residential placements, two schools offer 20 to 40 residential placements, and 32 schools offer residential placements for over 40. None are approved for a single child only.

Historical data does not allow a comparison to be made on Residential Special Schools compared to 2010 and 2015. Data for recorded school types is available in the department’s data releases, which is included in the attached documents titled ‘Index of Tables’ and ‘Table of School Characteristics’.

Local authorities must ensure there are sufficient school places for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities. Residential provision may be the right way to meet the needs of some children and young people, but it places them at greater risk by removing them from their families and local support networks. While there will always be a small group of children who require more intensive round-the-clock care alongside their education or healthcare in a residential setting, this should be less necessary as the department better meets children’s needs in mainstream schools and non-residential special schools and provide more early and intensive support for families.

Individual schools are responsible for ensuring they can meet the needs of the children and young people they educate. All residential special schools are required to follow and are inspected against the residential special schools’ national minimum standards (NMS). These standards can be found on the GOV.UK website: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/647f53155f7bb700127fa5c9/Residential_special_schools_national_minimum_standards.pdf.

Amongst other things, the NMS set out the importance of suitably qualified and trained staff, along with a requirement for care staff to have at least a relevant Level 3 qualification. Part D, ‘Health and Wellbeing’, provides comprehensive standards to ensure staff are meeting pupils’ needs, including ensuring pupils have access to appropriate support services. Children and young people in residential special schools away from home are entitled to access local health services in the same way as all children and young people are. Some providers also offer and commission their own clinical expertise and support for children in their residential special schools. Additionally, the National Autism Trainer Programme, funded by NHS England and led by Anna Freud provides a co-produced autism Train the Trainers approach that has been offered free of charge for staff working in residential special schools and colleges to better support them to understand the needs and experiences of autistic children and young people.

Children and young people may only be placed in a special school if they have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan. If the placement is no longer suitable for the child or young person, the local authority responsible for the EHC plan will need to review it and consider amending it, following the statutory processes set out in the Children and Families Act 2014.

In the meantime, local authorities have a duty to arrange suitable education for any pupil of compulsory school age who, because of illness, exclusion, or other reasons, would not get a suitable education without such provision. This education must be full time, unless a pupil’s medical needs mean that full-time education would not be in their best interests.

It is up to local authorities to determine the most appropriate alternative provision for a child, but they should take into account the views of the pupil, their parents and other professionals.

The department has published statutory guidance on alternative provision, which local authorities must have regard to. The guidance is available on the GOV.UK website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/alternative-provision.


Written Question
Boarding Schools: Special Educational Needs
Wednesday 3rd April 2024

Asked by: Lord Warner (Crossbench - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Barran on 11 March (HL2772, HL2773, HL2811), who are the owners of each of the 55 independent residential special schools mentioned in that answer; and which of those schools are identified as needing improvement by Ofsted.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Of the 55 independent residential special schools, five are identified as requiring improvement by Ofsted. One further school met the standards since the previous answer was provided. These schools are The Forum School, Wilds Lodge School, Pioneer TEC, The Fitzroy Academy and The Grange Therapeutic School. Nine schools offer under 20 residential placements, eight schools offer 20 to 40 residential placements, and 38 schools offer residential placements for over 40. None are approved for a single child only.

When the department registers an independent school, it establishes who the proprietor will be, and runs suitability checks on the proprietor. The proprietor is ultimately responsible for the operation of the school. The proprietor is included on the register of independent schools. The department does not record the ultimate beneficial owner of the school. The registered proprietor of each of the 55 independent residential special schools is shown in the attachment provided titled ‘Table of Independent Residential Special Schools’.

Of the 26 residential maintained special schools, six are identified as requiring improvement by Ofsted. These schools are Holly House Special School, Barndale House School, Greenbank School, Kings Mill School, Lindsworth School and Lexden Springs School. One school offers under 20 residential placements, three schools offer 20 to 40 residential placements, and 23 schools offer residential placements for over 40. None are approved for a single child only.

Of the 33 residential non-maintained special schools (NMSS), three are identified as requiring improvement by Ofsted. This number has increased by one since the previous answer provided as the department has identified an additional NMSS that is listed on the register of schools as a further educational college rather than a school. These schools are St Vincent’s School, New College Worcester, and Breckenbrough School. No schools offer under 20 residential placements, one school offers 20 to 40 residential placements, and 32 schools offer residential placements for over 40. None are approved for a single child only.

Of the 34 residential special academy and free schools, four require improvement according to Ofsted. One school no longer offers residential placements since the previous answer provided. These schools are Brompton Hall School, Langham Oaks, Pencalenick School and Charlton Park Academy. No schools offer under 20 residential placements, two schools offer 20 to 40 residential placements, and 32 schools offer residential placements for over 40. None are approved for a single child only.

Historical data does not allow a comparison to be made on Residential Special Schools compared to 2010 and 2015. Data for recorded school types is available in the department’s data releases, which is included in the attached documents titled ‘Index of Tables’ and ‘Table of School Characteristics’.

Local authorities must ensure there are sufficient school places for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities. Residential provision may be the right way to meet the needs of some children and young people, but it places them at greater risk by removing them from their families and local support networks. While there will always be a small group of children who require more intensive round-the-clock care alongside their education or healthcare in a residential setting, this should be less necessary as the department better meets children’s needs in mainstream schools and non-residential special schools and provide more early and intensive support for families.

Individual schools are responsible for ensuring they can meet the needs of the children and young people they educate. All residential special schools are required to follow and are inspected against the residential special schools’ national minimum standards (NMS). These standards can be found on the GOV.UK website: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/647f53155f7bb700127fa5c9/Residential_special_schools_national_minimum_standards.pdf.

Amongst other things, the NMS set out the importance of suitably qualified and trained staff, along with a requirement for care staff to have at least a relevant Level 3 qualification. Part D, ‘Health and Wellbeing’, provides comprehensive standards to ensure staff are meeting pupils’ needs, including ensuring pupils have access to appropriate support services. Children and young people in residential special schools away from home are entitled to access local health services in the same way as all children and young people are. Some providers also offer and commission their own clinical expertise and support for children in their residential special schools. Additionally, the National Autism Trainer Programme, funded by NHS England and led by Anna Freud provides a co-produced autism Train the Trainers approach that has been offered free of charge for staff working in residential special schools and colleges to better support them to understand the needs and experiences of autistic children and young people.

Children and young people may only be placed in a special school if they have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan. If the placement is no longer suitable for the child or young person, the local authority responsible for the EHC plan will need to review it and consider amending it, following the statutory processes set out in the Children and Families Act 2014.

In the meantime, local authorities have a duty to arrange suitable education for any pupil of compulsory school age who, because of illness, exclusion, or other reasons, would not get a suitable education without such provision. This education must be full time, unless a pupil’s medical needs mean that full-time education would not be in their best interests.

It is up to local authorities to determine the most appropriate alternative provision for a child, but they should take into account the views of the pupil, their parents and other professionals.

The department has published statutory guidance on alternative provision, which local authorities must have regard to. The guidance is available on the GOV.UK website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/alternative-provision.


Written Question
Digital technology: Disadvantaged
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she is taking steps with (a) tech companies and (b) non-profits to improve the accessibility of digital content for people facing literacy barriers.

Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

This Government has been clear that ensuring that no one is left behind in the digital age is a key priority and continues to take steps to offer needed support, including through the new Cross-Whitehall Ministerial Group for Digital Inclusion.

Our 2021 Online Media Literacy Strategy seeks to support organisations to undertake activity in a more coordinated, wide-reaching, and high-quality way. Over the last year, we have funded 13 media literacy projects aimed at vulnerable and/or hard-to-reach citizens, including young women excluded from mainstream education and children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.

The Online Safety Act empowers Ofcom to request information from in-scope companies about their media literacy activities to allow better visibility of tech industry efforts.


Written Question
Special Educational Needs: Finance
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to work with (a) schools and (b) local authorities to help (i) ensure adequate funding for SEND provision and (ii) promote inclusion in mainstream schools in London.

Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Mainstream schools in London are being allocated a total of £7.15 billion in the 2023/24 financial year. Of that, local authorities have identified £869 million as notional budgets, which act as a guide to how much schools might need to spend on their pupils with special educational needs (SEN). Where SEN support costs for an individual pupil are in excess of £6,000, schools can additionally access local authorities' high needs budgets, which are for children and young people with more complex needs. Local authorities in London have been allocated high needs funding amounting to £1.9 billion in 2023/24. This is set to increase to £2 billion in the 2024/25 financial year, meaning a cumulative increase of 29% per head over the three years from the 2021/22 allocations. By 2024/25, high needs funding will have increased by 60% over the five years since 2019/20, to a total of over £10.5 billion nationally.

As of March 2024, the department has published just under £850 million of further investment in places for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or who require alternative provision. Spread over the 2023/24 and 2024/25 financial years, it forms part of the £2.6 billion the department has committed to investing in high needs capital between 2022 and 2025 and represents a significant, transformational investment in new high needs provision. Between 2021/22 and 2024/25, London has been allocated just over £542 million. This is 20% of the total funding provided to local councils to support the provision of new places and improve existing provision for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities or requiring alternative provision.

In the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan, published in March 2023 following extensive consultation with schools and local authorities, the department set out its mission for more children and young people to have their needs met effectively in mainstream settings. To bring together local authorities, health and education partners across local systems to strategically plan and commission support for children and young people with SEND, the department is working with local authorities to create or strengthen local SEND and AP partnerships. To support authorities, the department is investing £21 million to train 400 more educational psychologists and introducing a National Professional Qualification (NPQ) for special educational needs coordinators (SENCOs) at leadership level.

School and multi-academy trust leaders should promote collaborative working and drive inclusive practices across local areas. The department’s expectations for high-quality, inclusive education are set out in the ‘High Quality Trust Framework’ and enforced through the inspections under Ofsted’s 2019 Education Inspection Framework.

The department is also investing in specific programmes designed to help schools develop their inclusive practice. For example, the Universal Services Programme helps the school and FE workforce to identify and meet the needs of children and young people with SEND, earlier and more effectively. As part of the Programme, over 135,000 professionals have undertaken autism awareness training. And to support schools to create calm, safe and supportive environments for all pupils, the department has invested £10 million in the Behaviour Hubs programme.

Supporting children and young people with SEND is embedded in Initial Teacher Training (ITT) and the professional standards that teachers are expected to adhere to throughout their careers. The Teachers' standards define the minimum level of practice expected of all teachers This includes Teachers Standard 5, which requires all teachers to adapt teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of all pupils, including those with SEND.

The government does not prescribe the curriculum of ITT courses. However, the mandatory ITT Core Content Framework (CCF) (2019) sets out the minimum entitlement of knowledge, skills and experiences that all trainees need to enter the profession in the best position possible to teach and support their pupils. This core content must be covered in full for all ITT courses leading to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS).

Once they have been awarded QTS at the end of their ITT course, all early career teachers are entitled to a new two-year induction underpinned by the Early Career Framework (ECF).

Following the ITT CCF and Early Career Framework (ECF) review in 2023, the Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework (ITTECF), which was published in January 2024, contains significantly more content related to adaptive teaching and supporting pupils with SEND. The adaptive teaching content includes, for example, developing an understanding of different pupil needs, and learning how to provide opportunities for success for all pupils.


Written Question
Schools: Mental Health Services
Wednesday 27th March 2024

Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)

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 using the Boxall profile measurement tool to help measure the social emotional mental health and wellbeing of school pupils.

Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department is committed to ensuring schools are safe, calm and supportive environments, which promote and support mental health and wellbeing.

Measuring pupil wellbeing can help schools to identify need and monitor the impact of policies and interventions, which is one of the core principles of the whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing recommended by the department. The department is offering every school and college a grant to train a senior mental health lead who can oversee this approach and has recently commissioned a Mental health lead resource hub which has a variety of relevant measurement tools, including the Boxall profile. More information can be found at: https://mentallyhealthyschools.org.uk/whole-school-or-college-resources/.

As set out in the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan, the department is also developing practitioner standards for frontline education staff, setting out the best available evidence of what works for identifying and supporting the needs of children and young people with special educational needs, including social, emotional and mental health, across early years, schools and post-16 education.


Written Question
Hearing Impairment: Children
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Christian Wakeford (Labour - Bury South)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of access to auditory-visual therapy for deaf children; and what steps she is taking to ensure sufficient access to that therapy as part of SEND support in schools.

Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department’s ambition is that all children and young people, no matter their needs, receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.

The department is creating a new single national special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and alternative provision system for 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 hearing impairments.

Early intervention of SEND can allow children to thrive and the early years sector plays an important role in ensuring that the right support is put in place for children as they prepare for school. That is why Level 2 and 3 early years educator qualifications include SEND content. Alongside this, the Early Years Education Recovery Programme includes training for up to 7,000 early years special educational needs coordinators (SENCOs) and a variety of training offers with SEND content, including Child Development Training and the national professional qualification in early years leadership.

The department is committed to ensuring a steady supply of teachers of children with hearing impairments in both specialist and mainstream settings. To teach a class of pupils with hearing impairments, a teacher is required to hold the relevant Mandatory Qualification for 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 be available from September 2025. Finally, children and young people with special educational needs have more access to assistive technology (AT) following investment in remote education and accessibility features, which can reduce or remove barriers to learning.


Written Question
Congenital Abnormalities: Health Services
Monday 25th March 2024

Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to ensure effective collaboration between early intervention services for babies with neurodevelopmental conditions.

Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Healthy Child Programme is the national public prevention and early intervention health framework for babies, children, and young people. Health visitors are specialist community public health nurses who lead the Healthy Child Programme from preconception to five years old. They deliver evidence-based interventions, which include five mandated reviews: antenatal; approximately two weeks after birth; six to eight weeks after birth; at one years old; and at two to two and a half years old. These include reviews of development and growth. Where a baby or child has special education needs or vulnerabilities, health visitors work in partnership with other professionals and families, to respond to health and care needs.

The Government is also investing approximately £300 million to improve support for families though the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme. The programme is implementing many elements of the Government’s Best Start for Life Vision which was published in March 2021, and is delivering a step change in outcomes for babies, children, and their parents and carers in 75 local authorities in England, including those with high levels of deprivation. Many local authorities without funding have also chosen to implement elements of the vision.

Family hubs offer support to families from conception to two years old, and provide services for children of all ages, from zero to 19 years old, or zero to 25 years old for families with children who have special educational needs and disabilities. Family hubs are a way of joining up locally to improve access to services, the connections between families, professionals, services, and providers, and prioritise strengthening the relationships that carry us all through life. They bring together services for children of all ages, with a great Start for Life offer at their core.


Written Question
Special Educational Needs
Monday 25th March 2024

Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that her Department works with (a) local authorities and (b) the Department of Health and Social Care to provide joined up services for children with SEND.

Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Local authorities already have existing statutory responsibilities to develop, publish and review the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) local offer, to ensure that the range of provision and services available in their local area are sufficient and well suited to the needs of children with SEND.

In the SEND and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan, the department have committed to establishing new local SEND and AP partnerships, convened by the local authority, that will bring together local partners to strategically plan and commission support for children and young people with SEND and AP. SEND and AP partnerships are a collaborative network of individuals, including health commissioners and education providers, who are working together to strategically plan SEND services. They will be underpinned by strengthened accountabilities and improved use of data for all those responsible for local delivery.

Moreover, the department has established a steering group to oversee a joint Department for Education and Department of Health and Social Care approach to SEND workforce planning. This feeds into the National SEND and AP Implementation Board and aims to be complete by 2025. The work will build on the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan published in June 2023, which sets out the steps the NHS and its partners need to take to deliver an NHS workforce that meets the changing needs of the population over the next 15 years.

The Improvement Plan also committed to the Change Programme which was launched in September 2023, and is testing key SEND and AP reforms with 32 local authorities in each of the 9 regions. The department, working with its Delivery Partner, Reaching Excellence and Ambition for all Children (REACh), are providing these local authorities with ‘boots on the ground’ support for the testing of these reforms. We are also running a live feedback loop that is providing early insights into how the reforms and supporting documents are working and identifying required changes.


Written Question
Special Educational Needs
Monday 25th March 2024

Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that local authorities are more involved in the delivery of (a) education and (b) health services for children with SEND.

Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Local authorities already have existing statutory responsibilities to develop, publish and review the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) local offer, to ensure that the range of provision and services available in their local area are sufficient and well suited to the needs of children with SEND.

In the SEND and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan, the department have committed to establishing new local SEND and AP partnerships, convened by the local authority, that will bring together local partners to strategically plan and commission support for children and young people with SEND and AP. SEND and AP partnerships are a collaborative network of individuals, including health commissioners and education providers, who are working together to strategically plan SEND services. They will be underpinned by strengthened accountabilities and improved use of data for all those responsible for local delivery.

Moreover, the department has established a steering group to oversee a joint Department for Education and Department of Health and Social Care approach to SEND workforce planning. This feeds into the National SEND and AP Implementation Board and aims to be complete by 2025. The work will build on the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan published in June 2023, which sets out the steps the NHS and its partners need to take to deliver an NHS workforce that meets the changing needs of the population over the next 15 years.

The Improvement Plan also committed to the Change Programme which was launched in September 2023, and is testing key SEND and AP reforms with 32 local authorities in each of the 9 regions. The department, working with its Delivery Partner, Reaching Excellence and Ambition for all Children (REACh), are providing these local authorities with ‘boots on the ground’ support for the testing of these reforms. We are also running a live feedback loop that is providing early insights into how the reforms and supporting documents are working and identifying required changes.


Written Question
Job Creation and Skilled Workers: South Holland and the Deepings
Monday 25th March 2024

Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what fiscal steps she is taking to support (a) training programmes, (b) apprenticeships and (c) other efforts to promote (i) job creation and (ii) skills development in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.

Answered by Robert Halfon

Funding allocations are not available broken down to the level of individual constituencies.

The government is committed to creating a world-leading skills system that is employer-focused, high quality and fit for the future. The department’s reforms are strengthening higher and further education to help more people get good jobs and upskill and retrain throughout their lives; and to improve national productivity and economic growth. The department’s reforms are backed with an additional investment of £3.8 billion over the course of this parliament to strengthen higher and further education.

In the 2023/24 academic year, the department is investing nearly £7 billion for education and training places for 16 to 19 year olds, and up to 25 for those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). This funding is allocated to education providers to deliver study programmes and T Levels to young people.

The department is continuing to invest in education and skills training for adults through the Adult Education Budget (AEB), which totalled £1.34 billion in the 2023/24 Funding Year. The AEB fully funds or co-funds skills provision for eligible adults aged 19 and above from pre-entry to Level 3, to support adults to gain the skills they need for work, an apprenticeship or further learning. This includes funding going to Boston College, which includes the Spalding Campus in the South Holland and the Deepings Constituency.

The Free Courses for Jobs offer gives eligible adults the chance to access high value Level 3 qualification for free, which can support them to gain higher wages or a better job. Around 400 qualifications are available on the offer, chosen specifically as they offer good wage outcomes and address skills needs in the economy. There have been over 61,000 enrolments since April 2021.

Skills Bootcamps are free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks in priority skills areas, with a guaranteed interview upon completion. The department is expanding Skills Bootcamps through increased national procurement and grant funding to 30 Mayoral Combined Authorities and local areas to meet national and local skills needs in the 2024/25 financial year. The department granted Great Lincolnshire LEP, in partnership with Lincolnshire County Council, £2 million for Skills Bootcamps across Greater Lincolnshire and Rutland in 2023, and a further £3 million for courses starting after April 2024.

The department is increasing investment in the apprenticeships system in England to over £2.7 billion by the 2024/25 financial year to support more high quality apprenticeship opportunities across the country, including in South Holland and the Deepings. There have been over 11,000 apprenticeship starts in South Holland and the Deepings since 2010.

The department has introduced employer-designed T levels, which are equipping thousands of young people with the skills, knowledge, and experience to access employment or further study in some of the most in-demand skills areas. 18 T Levels are now available, being delivered through over 250 providers across all regions of the country. University Academy Holbeach in South Holland and the Deepings currently offers seven T Levels and is planning to offer three more from September 2024.

Multiply is the government’s programme for improving adult numeracy. Multiply is funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which is the government’s flagship fund for supporting people and places across the UK. Up to £270 million is directly available for local areas in England to deliver innovative interventions to improve adult numeracy. Lincolnshire County Council has been allocated £4.02 million of Multiply funding from the 2022/23 to 2024/25 financial years to improve adult numeracy in their area.