Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consultation with Gypsy and Traveller families they undertook with regard to the use and implications of the term "mobile child" in the statutory guidance Working together to improve school attendance, published on 29 February.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
The School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024 and accompanying statutory guidance ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ use the term ‘mobile child’ to describe a child of compulsory school age who has no fixed abode and whose parent is engaged in a trade or business that requires them to move from place to place. This is a new term, but covers the same children as section 444(6) of the Education Act 1996.
Parents of mobile children have longstanding protection in attendance law and guidance, including how absence is recorded in the register, but feedback from parents, schools and local authorities suggested inconsistency in how these are applied. The term ‘mobile child’ is intended to clarify that the provisions are for all pupils who meet the definition as set out in regulation 3 of the 2024 Pupil Registration Regulations (and the statutory guidance) and that they concern the child’s mobility rather than ethnicity.
A draft of the new Regulations and guidance was subject to full public consultation in 2022 and training has been provided both to schools and local authorities to improve consistency and support implementation. The department will continue to monitor feedback on implementation during the 2024/25 academic year.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take to provide clarity and support to local authorities with regard to the implementation of obligations associated with the concept of "mobile child" as used in the statutory guidance Working together to improve school attendance, published on 29 February.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
The School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024 and accompanying statutory guidance ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ use the term ‘mobile child’ to describe a child of compulsory school age who has no fixed abode and whose parent is engaged in a trade or business that requires them to move from place to place. This is a new term, but covers the same children as section 444(6) of the Education Act 1996.
Parents of mobile children have longstanding protection in attendance law and guidance, including how absence is recorded in the register, but feedback from parents, schools and local authorities suggested inconsistency in how these are applied. The term ‘mobile child’ is intended to clarify that the provisions are for all pupils who meet the definition as set out in regulation 3 of the 2024 Pupil Registration Regulations (and the statutory guidance) and that they concern the child’s mobility rather than ethnicity.
A draft of the new Regulations and guidance was subject to full public consultation in 2022 and training has been provided both to schools and local authorities to improve consistency and support implementation. The department will continue to monitor feedback on implementation during the 2024/25 academic year.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they will ensure that the use of the term "mobile child" in the statutory guidance Working together to improve school attendance, published on 29 February, does not adversely and unfairly affect Traveller children.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
The School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024 and accompanying statutory guidance ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ use the term ‘mobile child’ to describe a child of compulsory school age who has no fixed abode and whose parent is engaged in a trade or business that requires them to move from place to place. This is a new term, but covers the same children as section 444(6) of the Education Act 1996.
Parents of mobile children have longstanding protection in attendance law and guidance, including how absence is recorded in the register, but feedback from parents, schools and local authorities suggested inconsistency in how these are applied. The term ‘mobile child’ is intended to clarify that the provisions are for all pupils who meet the definition as set out in regulation 3 of the 2024 Pupil Registration Regulations (and the statutory guidance) and that they concern the child’s mobility rather than ethnicity.
A draft of the new Regulations and guidance was subject to full public consultation in 2022 and training has been provided both to schools and local authorities to improve consistency and support implementation. The department will continue to monitor feedback on implementation during the 2024/25 academic year.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they plan to ensure that Traveller families understand what the term "mobile child" means, as used in the statutory guidance Working together to improve school attendance, published on 29 February.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
The School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024 and accompanying statutory guidance ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ use the term ‘mobile child’ to describe a child of compulsory school age who has no fixed abode and whose parent is engaged in a trade or business that requires them to move from place to place. This is a new term, but covers the same children as section 444(6) of the Education Act 1996.
Parents of mobile children have longstanding protection in attendance law and guidance, including how absence is recorded in the register, but feedback from parents, schools and local authorities suggested inconsistency in how these are applied. The term ‘mobile child’ is intended to clarify that the provisions are for all pupils who meet the definition as set out in regulation 3 of the 2024 Pupil Registration Regulations (and the statutory guidance) and that they concern the child’s mobility rather than ethnicity.
A draft of the new Regulations and guidance was subject to full public consultation in 2022 and training has been provided both to schools and local authorities to improve consistency and support implementation. The department will continue to monitor feedback on implementation during the 2024/25 academic year.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the findings from their consultation on lifting the cap on faith-based admissions in religious free schools; and the possible socio-economic impacts of lifting the cap.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The consultation was launched on 1 May 2024 and will run for seven weeks, closing on 20 June 2024.
The department will then carefully consider all responses to the consultation and use them to inform the department’s recommendations for better meeting the policy objectives of faith schools.
The government’s response will be published on the GOV.UK website within 12 weeks following closure of the consultation.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to publish their evaluation of their pilot education funding programme for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children and proposed next steps; and what assessment they have made of the connection between (1) the adequacy of educational provision and funding for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children, and (2) their statistics for children missing education for the academic year 2022─23, which show that 10 per cent of children missing from education are from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller families.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The £1 million Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) Gypsy Roma and Traveller (GRT) Education Areas programme enabled five local authorities and a Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise organisation to deliver tailored support to improve GRT attendance and attainment. Whilst the programme was a one year pilot, the delivery of some of the targeted support carried on beyond that timeline. The close monitoring of the projects helped DLUHC to pick up issues quickly, facilitated the setting up of a buddying system, and improved cross agency relationships and knowledge sharing.
The department has no plans to commission a government evaluation of the programme. The department’s expectation is that participant local authorities will carry out their own evaluation of their projects, build lessons learnt into wider services, and share learning with other local authorities.
The government is committed to ensuring that all children are safe and have access to an excellent education. The department is currently running a call for evidence on ‘Improving support for children missing education’ to seek views on challenges in identifying and supporting children missing from education and how to address those challenges. The call for evidence is open until 20 July and will be used to inform policy future policy thinking. The open consultation is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/improving-support-for-children-missing-education.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that targeted careers advice and the Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge programme reaches Gypsy and Traveller young people, including those who are being educated at home.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The government is committed to ensuring that all young people and adults can access high-quality careers information, advice, and guidance, regardless of their background.
The department is currently developing a Get the Jump communications pack to help Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) stakeholders share information about post-16 and post-18 education and training choices with GRT parents and young people. We will share the pack with members of the department’s GRT stakeholder group at its next meeting and will discuss how we can effectively support GRT young people.
The National Careers Service also provides free, up to date, impartial information, advice and guidance on careers, skills and the Labour Market in England. It is delivered by over 750 careers advisers who help customers to make informed choices about their career options, whatever their age, ethnic group, and background.
Working with the Careers and Enterprise Company, Youth Employment UK have developed a free, new online programme designed to support home-educated young people. This project aims to engage young people with trusted, self-directed learning and high-quality signposting to information about pathways, online experiences of the workplace, sector information, and transitions support. Resources are being developed to be used by multi-agency frontline workers, local authorities, and support staff working with young people being educated outside of mainstream education.
The Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge (ASK) programme is raising awareness of apprenticeships and T Levels to young people in schools and colleges. Since September 2022, it has worked with over 380,000 young people from across all regions and demographics.
In addition to working with schools that request support across the country, ASK targets selected levelling-up areas and works closely with schools with students identified as requiring additional support through its development school programme.
ASK works closely with local authorities to identify young people who are not in education employment or training (NEET), or at risk of being NEET to provide additional support. The programme also works with local authorities and a variety of supporting stakeholders to provide the service to young people outside of education.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Education Policy Institute report COVID-19 and Disadvantage Gaps in England 2021, published in December 2022, which found that Gypsy and Traveller pupils were the only ethnic groups whose attainment fell further behind in 2021, whether they will extend the Pupil Premium to cover all Gypsy and Traveller pupils.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
Pupil premium eligibility will be kept under review, to ensure that funding is targeted at those who most need it.
The department is committed to helping children and young people, including those from the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, to catch-up and recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In England, the primary and secondary school attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers has grown between 2019 and 2022, having narrowed between 2011 and 2019. The disruption to education caused by the pandemic has affected disadvantaged students more than their peers.
We are supporting the most disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils, including those from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller groups, through pupil premium funding, which is increasing to almost £2.9 billion in the 2023/24 financial year. In addition, the department has made available almost £5 billion of funding to support education recovery, including through the recovery premium, National Tutoring Programme and the 16-19 Tuition Fund. The department does not design education policy that exclusively targets certain groups of pupils based on ethnicity.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Traveller Movement Disrupting the School to Prison Pipeline, published in July; and what steps they intend to take in response to the recommendations made in that report.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The department recognises the issues faced by Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children and young people and how education can make a positive difference. The report contained seven recommendations for the department and the following sets out how we are responding to those recommendations.
The report recommended that the clear disaggregation of Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller identities as adopted by the Office for National Statistics for the 2021 Census, should be implemented across the education sector. As the report references Gypsy, Roma and Traveller data was collected in Census 2021 and phase one of the data has now been released: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/ethnicity/bulletins/ethnicgroupenglandandwales/census2021. We are currently reviewing the harmonised standard for ethnicity, with any potential question changes being released in early 2024.
The report recommended that the department must ensure a race equality & diversity policy is made a statutory element of the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) for all schools. Already the PSED requires public bodies, including maintained schools and academies, to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination and other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act 2010.
Schools have specific legal duties to publish information to demonstrate how they are complying with the PSED, and to prepare and publish equality objectives. Schools are also required to publish information relating to those who share a relevant protected characteristic and who are affected by their policies and practices. It is for schools to develop their own strategies for meeting their duties, however, the Department has published guidance for schools on how to ensure they comply with their duties under the Equality Act.
In regard to Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plans, the report recommended that all schools must have the ability and resources to provide assessment of them when requested by a parent or guardian, including annual reviews. Also, local authorities should consider providing base-level EHC Plans funding to all schools. The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Green Paper, published in March 2022 sets out our vision to create a more inclusive education system with excellent local mainstream provision which will improve the experience and outcomes for children and young people who need more intensive support. Amongst those consulted was the department’s GRT Stakeholder Group and we are committed to publishing a full response to the consultation through an improvement plan early in 2023.
The report also recommended that the department should require all school and academy trusts to establish an On-Site Inclusion Unit (OSIU). In July 2022 we published updated guidance on Behaviour in Schools and Suspension and Permanent Exclusion statutory guidance. The Behaviour guidance makes clear some schools can choose to have pupil support units (sometimes called ‘in-school units’) which should be used for two main reasons: to provide planned pastoral support for vulnerable pupils and as a last resort measure to support pupils at risk of exclusion.
Additionally, the report recommended that expert headteacher panels should be established to provide final assessments for proposed permanent exclusions and the department should develop standardised reporting guidelines for monitoring the use of In-School exclusionary practices, and also develop guidance for best practice and use of in-school exclusionary practices.
The updated Exclusion guidance is clear that, in all cases, schools should consider initial intervention to address underlying causes of disruptive behaviour which may minimise the need for permanent exclusion. Whilst a permanent exclusion may still be an appropriate sanction, schools should take account of any contributing factors.
The statutory process to review school exclusions is clear that governing boards have a role to review the decision of the headteacher to permanently exclude and if the governing board decides to uphold the permanent exclusion, the parents will have the right to an Independent Review Panel.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the provisions in Part 4 of the Schools Bill (independent educational institutions) remains their policy.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The department’s position on the Schools Bill will be confirmed in due course. The policies support the department’s objective of ensuring that all children receive a safe and suitable education, and the department remains fully committed to taking forward these measures, including through legislation where this is necessary.
Part 3 of the Schools Bill would place a duty on local authorities in England to establish and maintain Children Not in School registers, to provide support to home educators when requested, and update the process for School Attendance Orders to improve efficacy. Part 3 also includes measures on school attendance, which would place the Department’s recently published school attendance guidance ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ on a statutory footing, introduce a national framework for the issuing of fixed penalty notices pertaining to attendance, and bring consistency in how all state funded schools grant leaves of absence in extenuating circumstances.
Part 4 of the Schools Bill seeks to improve safeguarding for children who do not attend state funded schools. It would extend the school registration requirement so that all settings serving children of compulsory school age full time are required to provide a safe and suitably broad education. It strengthens the powers allowing Ofsted and the Department to investigate and take action against illegal unregistered schools. It would also improve the regulation of registered independent schools by ensuring that school registrations correctly reflect each schools safe capacity, age range and other characteristics, and includes measures to improve enforcement powers to better address the needs of children at failing and unsafe schools.