Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many schools in England accept pupils with autism.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The government welcomed the recent ‘Autism and education in England 2017’ report from the All Party Parliamentary Group on Autism (APPGA), which recommended the creation of a national strategy for autism. We will consider the recommendations of the report carefully, alongside those of other recent reports such as the attached ‘Lenehan Review’ of residential special schools. These reports will inform our plans for supporting children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Officials are meeting representatives from the National Autistic Society in January 2018 to discuss the APPGA’s report.
Local councils have a statutory duty, under the Children and Families Act 2014, to identify needs in their local area and to commission, together with partner agencies, services to support children and young people with SEND and their families. This includes services for children and young people with autism. These services must be included in each council’s ‘local offer’ of available services, which must be reviewed regularly, in consultation with local families, taking their views into consideration.
The department has funded the Autism Education Trust (AET) since 2012 to deliver autism training to early years, schools and post-16 education professionals in England. The AET has now trained more than 150,000 education staff. This includes head teachers, teachers and teaching assistants, as well as support staff such as receptionists and dining hall staff, encouraging a ‘whole school’ approach to supporting children and young people with autism. The department will shortly begin discussions with the AET to consider an extension to their current contract.
The department published a new framework for Initial Teacher Training (ITT) content in July 2016. The framework, attached, includes specific content on SEND, including autism, and is available for training providers to use. This twin approach of ongoing work in schools to increase awareness of autism through training, while also ensuring that new teachers are equipped to support pupils with autism from the outset, is designed to ensure that children and young people can succeed in their education. The department does not hold data on the numbers of teachers who have been trained by the AET or who have been through ITT courses that reflect the new ITT framework.
All academies and local authority maintained schools in England are expected to admit children and young people with SEND, including those with autism, whether or not they have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan. They cannot refuse to admit a pupil simply because he or she has a SEND. In 2016, there were 630 maintained special schools and 32 non-maintained special schools in England approved to make provision for pupils with autistic spectrum disorder. In addition, under the department’s free schools programme, there are now 29 special free schools open in England, including 17 which cater specifically for children with autism. These include the Rise Free School in Hounslow and the Lighthouse Free School in Leeds. A further 22 special free schools are due to open in future, 12 of which will specialise in provision for children with autism, including the Cumbria Academy for Autism and a second National Autistic Society free school, the Vanguard School in Lambeth. The other schools will offer some places for children with autism.
In March, the government announced that it would make available £215 million of capital funding to support the expansion of existing provision as well as the development of new schools for pupils with EHC plans.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that schools are equipped to support pupils with autism to thrive.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The government welcomed the recent ‘Autism and education in England 2017’ report from the All Party Parliamentary Group on Autism (APPGA), which recommended the creation of a national strategy for autism. We will consider the recommendations of the report carefully, alongside those of other recent reports such as the attached ‘Lenehan Review’ of residential special schools. These reports will inform our plans for supporting children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Officials are meeting representatives from the National Autistic Society in January 2018 to discuss the APPGA’s report.
Local councils have a statutory duty, under the Children and Families Act 2014, to identify needs in their local area and to commission, together with partner agencies, services to support children and young people with SEND and their families. This includes services for children and young people with autism. These services must be included in each council’s ‘local offer’ of available services, which must be reviewed regularly, in consultation with local families, taking their views into consideration.
The department has funded the Autism Education Trust (AET) since 2012 to deliver autism training to early years, schools and post-16 education professionals in England. The AET has now trained more than 150,000 education staff. This includes head teachers, teachers and teaching assistants, as well as support staff such as receptionists and dining hall staff, encouraging a ‘whole school’ approach to supporting children and young people with autism. The department will shortly begin discussions with the AET to consider an extension to their current contract.
The department published a new framework for Initial Teacher Training (ITT) content in July 2016. The framework, attached, includes specific content on SEND, including autism, and is available for training providers to use. This twin approach of ongoing work in schools to increase awareness of autism through training, while also ensuring that new teachers are equipped to support pupils with autism from the outset, is designed to ensure that children and young people can succeed in their education. The department does not hold data on the numbers of teachers who have been trained by the AET or who have been through ITT courses that reflect the new ITT framework.
All academies and local authority maintained schools in England are expected to admit children and young people with SEND, including those with autism, whether or not they have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan. They cannot refuse to admit a pupil simply because he or she has a SEND. In 2016, there were 630 maintained special schools and 32 non-maintained special schools in England approved to make provision for pupils with autistic spectrum disorder. In addition, under the department’s free schools programme, there are now 29 special free schools open in England, including 17 which cater specifically for children with autism. These include the Rise Free School in Hounslow and the Lighthouse Free School in Leeds. A further 22 special free schools are due to open in future, 12 of which will specialise in provision for children with autism, including the Cumbria Academy for Autism and a second National Autistic Society free school, the Vanguard School in Lambeth. The other schools will offer some places for children with autism.
In March, the government announced that it would make available £215 million of capital funding to support the expansion of existing provision as well as the development of new schools for pupils with EHC plans.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to make local authorities commissioners of services for children on the autistic spectrum.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The government welcomed the recent ‘Autism and education in England 2017’ report from the All Party Parliamentary Group on Autism (APPGA), which recommended the creation of a national strategy for autism. We will consider the recommendations of the report carefully, alongside those of other recent reports such as the attached ‘Lenehan Review’ of residential special schools. These reports will inform our plans for supporting children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Officials are meeting representatives from the National Autistic Society in January 2018 to discuss the APPGA’s report.
Local councils have a statutory duty, under the Children and Families Act 2014, to identify needs in their local area and to commission, together with partner agencies, services to support children and young people with SEND and their families. This includes services for children and young people with autism. These services must be included in each council’s ‘local offer’ of available services, which must be reviewed regularly, in consultation with local families, taking their views into consideration.
The department has funded the Autism Education Trust (AET) since 2012 to deliver autism training to early years, schools and post-16 education professionals in England. The AET has now trained more than 150,000 education staff. This includes head teachers, teachers and teaching assistants, as well as support staff such as receptionists and dining hall staff, encouraging a ‘whole school’ approach to supporting children and young people with autism. The department will shortly begin discussions with the AET to consider an extension to their current contract.
The department published a new framework for Initial Teacher Training (ITT) content in July 2016. The framework, attached, includes specific content on SEND, including autism, and is available for training providers to use. This twin approach of ongoing work in schools to increase awareness of autism through training, while also ensuring that new teachers are equipped to support pupils with autism from the outset, is designed to ensure that children and young people can succeed in their education. The department does not hold data on the numbers of teachers who have been trained by the AET or who have been through ITT courses that reflect the new ITT framework.
All academies and local authority maintained schools in England are expected to admit children and young people with SEND, including those with autism, whether or not they have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan. They cannot refuse to admit a pupil simply because he or she has a SEND. In 2016, there were 630 maintained special schools and 32 non-maintained special schools in England approved to make provision for pupils with autistic spectrum disorder. In addition, under the department’s free schools programme, there are now 29 special free schools open in England, including 17 which cater specifically for children with autism. These include the Rise Free School in Hounslow and the Lighthouse Free School in Leeds. A further 22 special free schools are due to open in future, 12 of which will specialise in provision for children with autism, including the Cumbria Academy for Autism and a second National Autistic Society free school, the Vanguard School in Lambeth. The other schools will offer some places for children with autism.
In March, the government announced that it would make available £215 million of capital funding to support the expansion of existing provision as well as the development of new schools for pupils with EHC plans.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to develop a national autism and education strategy.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The government welcomed the recent ‘Autism and education in England 2017’ report from the All Party Parliamentary Group on Autism (APPGA), which recommended the creation of a national strategy for autism. We will consider the recommendations of the report carefully, alongside those of other recent reports such as the attached ‘Lenehan Review’ of residential special schools. These reports will inform our plans for supporting children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Officials are meeting representatives from the National Autistic Society in January 2018 to discuss the APPGA’s report.
Local councils have a statutory duty, under the Children and Families Act 2014, to identify needs in their local area and to commission, together with partner agencies, services to support children and young people with SEND and their families. This includes services for children and young people with autism. These services must be included in each council’s ‘local offer’ of available services, which must be reviewed regularly, in consultation with local families, taking their views into consideration.
The department has funded the Autism Education Trust (AET) since 2012 to deliver autism training to early years, schools and post-16 education professionals in England. The AET has now trained more than 150,000 education staff. This includes head teachers, teachers and teaching assistants, as well as support staff such as receptionists and dining hall staff, encouraging a ‘whole school’ approach to supporting children and young people with autism. The department will shortly begin discussions with the AET to consider an extension to their current contract.
The department published a new framework for Initial Teacher Training (ITT) content in July 2016. The framework, attached, includes specific content on SEND, including autism, and is available for training providers to use. This twin approach of ongoing work in schools to increase awareness of autism through training, while also ensuring that new teachers are equipped to support pupils with autism from the outset, is designed to ensure that children and young people can succeed in their education. The department does not hold data on the numbers of teachers who have been trained by the AET or who have been through ITT courses that reflect the new ITT framework.
All academies and local authority maintained schools in England are expected to admit children and young people with SEND, including those with autism, whether or not they have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan. They cannot refuse to admit a pupil simply because he or she has a SEND. In 2016, there were 630 maintained special schools and 32 non-maintained special schools in England approved to make provision for pupils with autistic spectrum disorder. In addition, under the department’s free schools programme, there are now 29 special free schools open in England, including 17 which cater specifically for children with autism. These include the Rise Free School in Hounslow and the Lighthouse Free School in Leeds. A further 22 special free schools are due to open in future, 12 of which will specialise in provision for children with autism, including the Cumbria Academy for Autism and a second National Autistic Society free school, the Vanguard School in Lambeth. The other schools will offer some places for children with autism.
In March, the government announced that it would make available £215 million of capital funding to support the expansion of existing provision as well as the development of new schools for pupils with EHC plans.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their target for opening new academy schools in each of the next five years.
Answered by Lord Nash
The government has no targets for opening new academies. On the basis of actual opening dates since May 2015 and anticipated opening dates of current academy proposals, between May 2015 and May 2016 approximately 650 new academies will open; this number is very likely to change as new projects arise.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their target for opening new academy schools in the year May 2015 to May 2016.
Answered by Lord Nash
The government has no targets for opening new academies. On the basis of actual opening dates since May 2015 and anticipated opening dates of current academy proposals, between May 2015 and May 2016 approximately 650 new academies will open; this number is very likely to change as new projects arise.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many new academy schools they estimate will open in the year May 2015 to May 2016.
Answered by Lord Nash
The government has no targets for opening new academies. On the basis of actual opening dates since May 2015 and anticipated opening dates of current academy proposals, between May 2015 and May 2016 approximately 650 new academies will open; this number is very likely to change as new projects arise.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their total estimated value of sponsorship for new academy schools between 7 May and 31 August.
Answered by Lord Nash
On Monday 7 September 2015 my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Education and I attended the Academy Ambassadors ‘businesses in schools’ event, at which the Secretary of State urged business leaders to set up more academy trusts. I set up Academy Ambassadors (AA) to recruit sponsors and high-calibre business leaders to join academy trust boards as non-executive directors. This latter activity is to help multi-academy trusts grow in a sustainable way, offer specific support such as Chair of Audit or Finance, or simply serve as strong, independent board members. AA work closely with academy trusts to recruit non-executive directors and trustees with the specific skill-set the trust requires, from their local community. Its most successful approaches have been through business breakfasts, partnerships with large employers, and working with network organisations (such as Women in Banking and Finance). AA has placed over 80 business leaders onto academy trusts and has a current ‘talent pool’ of over 150 business people.
In addition, the Department for Education’s Regional Schools Commissioners undertake a wide range of activities to encourage sponsorship involving schools, businesses and other bodies, including colleges and universities, in their regions.
The value of sponsorship is largely unquantifiable in purely monetary terms.
Since May, no new schools have opened where the sponsor had ‘applied’ since May, however, we regularly receive applications from organisations wishing to be academy sponsors.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to encourage sponsors to open new academy schools.
Answered by Lord Nash
On Monday 7 September 2015 my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Education and I attended the Academy Ambassadors ‘businesses in schools’ event, at which the Secretary of State urged business leaders to set up more academy trusts. I set up Academy Ambassadors (AA) to recruit sponsors and high-calibre business leaders to join academy trust boards as non-executive directors. This latter activity is to help multi-academy trusts grow in a sustainable way, offer specific support such as Chair of Audit or Finance, or simply serve as strong, independent board members. AA work closely with academy trusts to recruit non-executive directors and trustees with the specific skill-set the trust requires, from their local community. Its most successful approaches have been through business breakfasts, partnerships with large employers, and working with network organisations (such as Women in Banking and Finance). AA has placed over 80 business leaders onto academy trusts and has a current ‘talent pool’ of over 150 business people.
In addition, the Department for Education’s Regional Schools Commissioners undertake a wide range of activities to encourage sponsorship involving schools, businesses and other bodies, including colleges and universities, in their regions.
The value of sponsorship is largely unquantifiable in purely monetary terms.
Since May, no new schools have opened where the sponsor had ‘applied’ since May, however, we regularly receive applications from organisations wishing to be academy sponsors.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many sponsors have applied to open new academy schools since May.
Answered by Lord Nash
On Monday 7 September 2015 my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Education and I attended the Academy Ambassadors ‘businesses in schools’ event, at which the Secretary of State urged business leaders to set up more academy trusts. I set up Academy Ambassadors (AA) to recruit sponsors and high-calibre business leaders to join academy trust boards as non-executive directors. This latter activity is to help multi-academy trusts grow in a sustainable way, offer specific support such as Chair of Audit or Finance, or simply serve as strong, independent board members. AA work closely with academy trusts to recruit non-executive directors and trustees with the specific skill-set the trust requires, from their local community. Its most successful approaches have been through business breakfasts, partnerships with large employers, and working with network organisations (such as Women in Banking and Finance). AA has placed over 80 business leaders onto academy trusts and has a current ‘talent pool’ of over 150 business people.
In addition, the Department for Education’s Regional Schools Commissioners undertake a wide range of activities to encourage sponsorship involving schools, businesses and other bodies, including colleges and universities, in their regions.
The value of sponsorship is largely unquantifiable in purely monetary terms.
Since May, no new schools have opened where the sponsor had ‘applied’ since May, however, we regularly receive applications from organisations wishing to be academy sponsors.