Education: Special Educational Needs Budget

Baroness Hussein-Ece Excerpts

Thursday 17th October 2019 Lords Chamber

[Lord Agnew of Oulton]

My Lords, I am very happy to accede to the request of the noble Lord, Lord Blunkett, to do that, and I will carry out some inquiries.

[Baroness Hussein-Ece (LD)]

My Lords, can I take the Minister back to the reply he gave to the noble Lord, Lord Lexden, on state schools impeding parents from applying to private schools for special educational needs? I declare an interest as I have a grandson who has special needs and who has applied to a special needs school outside the system. In most instances, state schools have to fund these private places, which do not come cheap. Can the Minister give an assurance that these schools, which provide excellent facilities that the state system may not supply, will have sufficient funds so that some of these children can access these services in the private sector?

[Lord Agnew of Oulton]

My Lords, part of the reason for the very substantial increase in funding we have just announced is to provide more resources. I certainly cannot promise unlimited resources for all requests, but I believe that the £780 million we have just announced is substantial.

Social Mobility Commission

Baroness Hussein-Ece Excerpts

Monday 23rd April 2018 Lords Chamber

[Lord Agnew of Oulton]

The right reverend Prelate is correct, and we ought to record our great debt of gratitude to him personally as one of the very first academy sponsors in Norfolk. I have seen the work that he has done. The short answer is yes. We have taken 1,950 previously largely failing schools into sponsored academy status. At the time they came in, only 10% of them were rated good or better. Today, 70% of those are good or better, which accounts for about 450,000 children. So I see the academy programme as a vital plank in social mobility.

[Baroness Hussein-Ece (LD)]

My Lords, from the evidence that we have heard, social mobility inequalities are not narrowing or improving, despite what we have heard from the noble Lord and despite what the Prime Minister pledged—to make Britain a country that works for everyone. Can the Minister say why the Government are not prioritising this and why is it not improving—or is it that the Government are rather preoccupied with something else?

[Lord Agnew of Oulton]

My Lords, I assure noble Lords that it is a very high priority of this Government. If we look at some of the papers and initiatives that have been launched just over the past few months, we can see the 30-hours policy in December 2017, which was aimed at disadvantaged families. Then there was Unlocking Talent, Fulfilling Potential, aimed at improving social mobility, issued in December. I mentioned earlier the integration strategy, and we had a careers strategy in December 2017. These are all aimed at improving social mobility.

Social Mobility

Baroness Hussein-Ece Excerpts

Wednesday 22nd November 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Agnew of Oulton]

The noble Lord raises an important point. I am sure that all noble Lords are aware that my right honourable friend the Secretary of State in the other place has placed social mobility at the core of her mission in this department. One of her key concerns is the creation of 12 opportunity areas in some of the most disadvantaged parts of the country, six of which have now issued their own plans to tackle some of the issues that the noble Lord raises.

[Baroness Hussein-Ece (LD)]

My Lords, the Social Mobility Commission found that many minority communities were being left behind and made many specific recommendations in that regard. One concerns Muslim women, particularly those from Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities, who do very well in education and go on to university but are less likely to find well-paid jobs. With that in mind, the commission called for schools, universities and employers to provide targeted support to ensure that Muslim women progress in the workplace. What is being done to meet this aim?

[Lord Agnew of Oulton]

My Lords, over the last seven years, we have put a lot of emphasis on helping students from less advantaged backgrounds into higher education. That includes, of course, those from minority backgrounds. We are spending £840 million a year to help disadvantaged students into university. That is nearly twice as much as in 2010. That includes things such as outreach programmes, pastoral support and support for internships. All these things will help the group to which the noble Baroness referred.

Young Carers

Baroness Hussein-Ece Excerpts

Thursday 23rd March 2017 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Hussein-Ece]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress they have made in ensuring that children and young people who care for family members are identified and supported.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Education (Lord Nash) (Con)]

My Lords, we introduced changes to the Children and Families Act 2014 to ensure that local authorities identify needs and assess and support young carers. We have considered recently published research and are exploring policy avenues to help local authorities, schools and professionals to improve young carers’ identification and support. We will be setting out our vision and future plans in the cross-government carers strategy, led by the Department of Health, to be published later this year.

[Baroness Hussein-Ece (LD)]

I think the Minister for that response. Is he aware of any more accurate figures of the sheer numbers of children and young people who care for family members with disabilities and those with mental disabilities? Barnardo’s has estimated that it is somewhere in the region of 200,000, possibly more. Can he say whether, in the strategy that will be published, health professionals will be trained to identify children who are carers? Can he also say what is being done about 16 to 18 year-olds who are twice as likely as their peer group to not be in employment or education? What support will they get to reach their full potential?

[Lord Nash]

My Lords, we have supported various programmes in this regard, such as the Suffolk Family Carers programme, to raise awareness of young carers among teachers and other staff. We have focused on embedding a whole family approach to this issue and have trained school nurses to be champions for young carers. As I say, we will set out further proposals in the carers strategy. I agree entirely with the noble Baroness: although we collect some data centrally, we need to work harder to collect data and identify young carers wherever they are.

Care Leavers: Life Chances

Baroness Hussein-Ece Excerpts

Wednesday 29th June 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

Yes. As the noble Baroness will know, there is further financial support for schoolchildren in care through the pupil premium, and if they go to university there is extra money available.

[Baroness Hussein-Ece (LD)]

My Lords, local authorities that have responsibility for these children are usually the largest employers in their area. Like all parents, they should take more responsibility in ensuring that these children and young people have access to apprenticeships and jobs and have a future. Many do not do this, although there are examples of good practice. Will the Minister say how this will be rolled out?

[Lord Nash]

The noble Baroness is absolutely right. Part of the local offer will make sure that local authorities set out well in advance of when children leave care what the opportunities for them are. Then we can spread good practice in this area.

Schools: Funding

Baroness Hussein-Ece Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd March 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

I can give the noble Lord that assurance. It is quite clear that the formula will benefit many areas that are Labour controlled, and it is being driven entirely on the basis that we have a level playing field for all pupils so that we can deliver educational excellence everywhere.

[Baroness Hussein-Ece (LD)]

My Lords, does the Minister think that the very high salaries paid in some instances to the heads of academy chains—some are reportedly paid three times as much as the Prime Minister—is a good use of public funds?

[Lord Nash]

We set out in great detail in the White Paper our thinking behind multi-academy trusts. Where schools are delivering educational excellence people deserve to be rewarded accordingly.

Childcare: Early-years Funding

Baroness Hussein-Ece Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd June 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

The Conservatives in the previous Government demonstrated very clearly what they mean by “running the country efficiently” and “value for money”.

[Baroness Hussein-Ece (LD)]

Will the Minister give an assurance that there will be monitoring of whether children from the most disadvantaged families are able to benefit from this scheme?

Child Exploitation in Oxfordshire

Baroness Hussein-Ece Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd March 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

The noble Baroness makes some very good points, as one would expect from someone with her vast experience in this area. This Government are determined to try to raise the status of social workers and improve the practice of social work. We have had Sir Martin Narey’s report, as a result of which we introduced the knowledge and skills statement for social workers. We have an outstanding chief social worker in Isabelle Trowler and we are investing heavily in new training methods, such as Frontline, Step Up to Social Work and master’s qualifications for social work. I do not think we can do enough in this area.

[Baroness Hussein-Ece (LD)]

My Lords, the Minister referred to local authority councillors and how they should be at the forefront of making sure that this sort of practice is mitigated and investigated properly. Is he satisfied that local authority councillors are given proper training and made to understand that they have the responsibilities as corporate parents? I was a councillor in two London boroughs, and had approaches from staff and individuals when they were worried about cases of sexual abuse, and the staff were not doing enough about it, so they came directly to me. I took on the role to make sure that this went straight to the chief executive and that it was investigated properly. But I encountered time and again that a lot of local authority councillors do not understand that they are corporate parents and have responsibilities that they should take very seriously.

Schools: Faith Schools and Free Schools

Baroness Hussein-Ece Excerpts

Wednesday 28th January 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

I entirely agree that all schools should prepare their pupils for modern life by teaching them about the basics of all the main religions practised in this country.

[Baroness Hussein-Ece (LD)]

My Lords, given the concerns recently raised by some free faith schools which have cropped up in recent years, is it not time to have a bit of an evaluation of faith schools and their place in our society rather than rolling out even more?

[Lord Nash]

Faith schools and church schools are an essential part of our school landscape. Church schools represent 34% of all schools and 25% of all pupils are educated in them. Church schools consistently outperform other schools and have a superb record of community cohesion. We want to provide parents with diversity and choice.

Birmingham Schools

Baroness Hussein-Ece Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd July 2014 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

I assure the noble Lord that all possible solutions to this are under review.

[Baroness Hussein-Ece (LD)]

My Lords, I, too, thank my noble friend for the Statement. It is a relief that this applies to a very small number of schools, however important it is, and to note that there are serious problems of governance. It is important to underline that there is no evidence, as we saw in the lurid headlines, of a “plot” or of violent extremism.

We know that there is a difference between religious conservatism and extremism. That has not really come out in a lot of the narrative from these schools. It has been quite damaging. Can the Minister comment on that? Does he agree with me that when we talk about values, we need a shared level of standards, values and accountability for all schools, be they faith schools, free schools, academies or private schools? Would he also agree that we need to refrain from the generalisation that we have seen that stigmatises whole communities and faiths? This has been very damaging and will make it more difficult for moderate people in Muslim and other communities who want to get engaged in public life to become school governors and councillors, and to play a full role in British civic society.

[Lord Nash]

My noble friend is quite right about the difference between religious conservatism and extremism. We are dealing with some extremely difficult issues. We must respect all faiths, but all schools should be places where pupils start to learn about inclusivity and tolerance, not where they are excluded from society. We are focused on our pupils being adequately prepared for life in modern Britain, and the noble Baroness raises some very important points.