Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recommendations contained in the Place2Be report School for all: solutions for school attendance, published in September.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
The government is grateful to Place2Be for their work and findings in ‘School for All: Solutions for School Attendance’. Several of the recommendations that are made in the report are already being implemented by the department.
The government understands how vital mental health support is for enabling pupils to attend school and it is committed to supporting schools to embed this through a whole school and college approach. The department has provided grants for all schools and colleges to train a senior mental health lead, which over 70% of schools have now accessed. Additionally, the department is committed to delivering access to specialist mental health professionals in every school, so every young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate. The government will also be putting in place new Young Futures hubs, which includes access to mental health support workers, and it will recruit an additional 8,500 new mental health staff to treat children and adults.
The department agrees that there should be a whole family approach to attendance from schools to build strong relationships and collaboration. The ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ guidance, which became statutory in August 2024, encompasses a ‘support first’ approach, setting clear expectations that schools and local authorities should work with families to address barriers to attendance in a sensitive way. Moreover, the department recently announced an additional investment of £15 million to expand mentoring into 10 new areas over the next three years, providing further support for persistently absent pupils and their families on a one-to-one basis to help identify and address their barriers to education.
From September 2024, it also became mandatory for all schools in England to share their daily attendance data with the department. Schools, trusts and local authorities can access a data tool to identify and intervene where pupils may be at risk of becoming persistently absent. Although the department recognises the intent behind having a specific mental health absence code, there are concerns that creating an additional code is unhelpful in practice and could place a burden on schools. Recent changes to the school register codes, however, have introduced other codes that will be beneficial to children with special educational needs and disabilities or facing mental health challenges.
Additionally, tackling child poverty is at the heart of breaking down barriers to opportunity and improving the life chances for every child. This government’s new Ministerial Taskforce will drive cross-government action on child poverty, starting with overseeing the development of an ambitious Child Poverty Strategy, which will be published in spring next year and will help to tackle a key driver of severe absence.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect to publish Sir David Bell's review of early years provision.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
This government’s vision is for the early education and childcare system to give every child the best start in life. The department’s long term intention is to reform the early years system as the foundation of opportunity and life chances for children, underpinned by a properly rewarded and motivated workforce.
Sir David Bell’s review was conducted for the Labour Party prior to the general election. The findings and recommendations are informative for the department’s approach, and the department will set out more detail in due course.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have regarding the rollout of the Lifelong Learning Entitlement.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
At present, the department is working to ensure that its approach to lifelong learning will be as effective as possible, enabling people to gain the skills they need to support their careers.
The government recognises that lifelong learning is a core part of a sustainable higher education system which provides opportunities for all and offers learners greater flexibility in an ever-evolving economy.
We will make further announcements about this work shortly.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 25 July (HLWS20), who will undertake the review of reforms of post-16 qualifications at level 3 and below; and how they intend to seek the views of those currently involved in the delivery of such qualifications as part of the review.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
In July, my Right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education announced a short review of post-16 qualification reforms at level 3 and below. This review will begin immediately. It will examine the current planned reforms and look at how the department can ensure all young people have access to high-quality technical and vocational qualifications at level 3.
This rapid review will be conducted by the department and will engage with a wide range of stakeholders and providers who currently deliver qualifications at level 3 and below to inform the review. More details on this will be communicated to the sector shortly.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to ratify imminently Optional Protocol 3 to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child relating to a communications procedure; and if not, why.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) Optional Protocol 3 has not, to date, been signed and ratified by the UK government. States are not required to sign up to the Optional Protocols when they ratify the UNCRC.
The government believes effective domestic laws already exist where individuals can seek enforceable remedies if their rights have been breached. It is possible for an individual to challenge any government decision in the domestic courts if their rights have been breached, and this includes breaches of children’s rights under the UNCRC.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the survey results published by Schools Week on 21 February which found that the rate at which children left the classroom for home education in 2022–23 showed a 12 per cent increase on 2021–22, with the biggest increases in some of the country’s most deprived areas.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The department has collected termly data on home educated children from local authorities on a voluntary basis since October 2022. This collection has achieved a high response rate to date, and the department has received data from all local authorities in England. The aggregate-level data collected has helped the department to understand numbers of electively home-educated children on a local level.
Analysis of the data is allowing the department to understand the drivers behind the rise in home education and to take action where the decision has been made for reasons other than providing a suitable education for children. This data is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/elective-home-education. It has been published up until the Autumn census day in October 2023.
It is to be noted that the department’s data collection measures all children who are in home education, whereas Schools Week’s data measures only those who were previously enrolled at a school using a lower range of local authorities’ data as a sample.
The government remains committed to legislation for a local authority registration system for children not in school. My hon. Fried, the Member for Meon Valley, introduced the Children Not in School (Registers, Support and Orders) Private Members’ Bill on 11 December 2023. The Bill’s Second Reading is scheduled for 15 March 2024. The government looks forward to working with her as she progresses her Bill.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the findings of The National Parent Survey, published by Parentkind on 4 December 2023.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The National Parent Survey highlights the importance of engaging parents in their children’s education. While it is for schools to decide how to engage parents based on their particular circumstances, the department has put in place a range of support for schools and families for the issues the survey identifies. This includes support for access and attainment for those from lower income backgrounds and support for mental health and wellbeing.
The government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living. The department is providing total support worth £104 billion over the 2022/23 to 2024/25 financial years to help households and individuals with the rising cost of living. This includes additional Cost of Living Payments totalling up to £900 in the 2023/24 financial year for over 8 million UK households on eligible means tested benefits, and an additional £1 billion to help with the cost of household essentials.
Further support is available through the Pupil Premium, to improve the educational outcomes of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. In line with the variety of approaches set by the department, this funding can be used to support high-quality teaching and to provide targeted academic support. It can also be used to tackle wider barriers to academic success, such as difficulties in attendance, behaviour, and social and emotional wellbeing. Pupil Premium funding will rise to over £2.9 billion in the 2024/25 financial year, an increase of £80 million from 2023/24.
The government is addressing specific cost issues such as school uniform. New statutory guidance on the cost of school uniforms came into force in September 2022, which requires schools in England to ensure that their uniforms are affordable and secures best value for money for parents.
The department is committed to ensuring schools are calm, safe and supportive learning environments which promote and support good mental health and wellbeing. To support this commitment, the department is offering all state schools funding to train a senior mental health lead, who can oversee an effective whole-school approach to mental health and wellbeing, which informs areas such as behaviour, tackling bullying and exam preparation. The department is also continuing to roll out Mental Health Support Teams, to increase access to early intervention support.
The department shares parents’ concerns about the time spent by children on electronic devices. New non-statutory guidance will aim to ensure that headteachers and members of staff have a clear mandate and practical advice to prohibit the use of mobile phones during the school day, which further supports the department’s aim for schools to be a calm, safe and supportive environment to learn and work.
As highlighted by the report, the experience children gain outside of their lessons is important to them fulfilling their potential as they progress from schools. The department is providing support to increase access to enriching extra-curricular activity. For example, the department is supporting cadets schemes in schools and funding an expansion in access to the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award in secondary schools, starting in more disadvantaged areas. Disadvantaged areas now rank amongst the highest performing in the country for careers provision and the department’s guidance is clear that schools should recognise the opportunity to improve social mobility by identifying any barriers to participation pupils may have and identify the support needed to maximise their life chances.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government why they decided to end the National Leaders of Governance Programme for schools in October 2023, rather than extend it to 2025.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The National Leaders of Governance (NLG) programme closed in October 2023 following the natural end of the contract with the National Governance Association (NGA). The department is grateful to the NGA for their successful delivery and for the quality of governance support the NLGs provided to schools and trusts.
Strong governance remains a core pillar of the department’s vision for ensuring quality in the school system. The department continues to encourage school and trust boards to regularly review their governance arrangements to ensure they are operating as effectively as possible. The department recently published the Trust Quality Descriptions which state the department’s expectation that high-quality trusts will regularly access an independent review of their governance arrangements. The department, local authorities and governance support organisations can signpost boards to the growing number of potential providers that may be commissioned to undertake such a review. The Chartered Governance Institute has also started a process of accrediting providers of external reviews of governance which will be a helpful resource for school and trust boards. More information on the Trust Quality Descriptions can be found in the attached pdf.
More guidance for school and trust governing boards can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/external-reviews-of-governance-whats-involved, and maintained school boards can seek advice from their local authority.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to increase the provision of safe and suitable housing for care leavers and thereby reduce the risk of care leavers becoming homeless.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
Helping care leavers to make a successful transition from care to independence is a priority for this government. Care leavers face barriers to securing and maintaining affordable housing and this is why we are committed to undertake actions within Mission 5 of the Care Review implementation plan to ensure an increase in the number of care leavers in safe, suitable accommodation and a reduction in care leaver homelessness by 2027. This includes bringing forward legislation, when parliamentary time allows, for Staying Put to support young people up to age 23 and for Staying Close to be a national entitlement, recognising that young people in the general population are leaving home at older ages. The department will also bring forward legislation to remove the local connection requirement for care leavers seeking access to social housing at the next available opportunity.
The department has previously provided £11.3 million in targeted funding to local authorities in England as part of the cross-government Rough Sleeping Strategy. An additional £3 million is being provided this year to deliver extra support for care leavers at highest risk of rough sleeping.
To support care leavers in the current spending review period (2022/2025), the department is providing £99.8 million to local authorities to increase the number of care leavers that stay living with their foster families in a family home up to the age of 21 through the ‘Staying Put’ programme. The department is also providing £53 million to increase the number of young people leaving residential care who receive practical help with move-on accommodation, including ongoing support from a keyworker, through the ‘Staying Close’ programme.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to their publication on 16 November of data on 'Children looked after in England including adoptions', which showed that more than 21 per cent of children in care had been moved more than 20 miles away from home, what steps they are taking to ensure that the number does not continue to rise in future years.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
Local authorities have a statutory duty set out in Section 22(3) of the Children’s Act 1989 to make sure that there is sufficient provision in their area to meet the needs of children in their care.
The department is supporting local authorities to meet their statutory duties through £259 million capital funding over this Parliament. The funding for open residential placements, which is match-funded equally by the department and local authority investment, is expected to create 95 new children’s homes, providing 360 additional placements across England. Funding will also create 54 additional secure welfare placements and ten step-down placements through the delivery of two new build and one rebuild secure children’s home, which are scheduled to be completed in the next spending review period.
The department is investing over £27 million to deliver a fostering recruitment and retention programme so foster care is available for more children who need it. This is in addition to the department establishing a kinship carer training offer and implementing family network support packages through the £45 million Families First for Children pathfinder and Family Networks pilot.
The department is also investing £10 million to develop Regional Care Co-operatives to plan, commission and deliver children’s social care placements. Through operating on a larger scale and developing specialist capabilities, the Regional Care Co-operatives will be able to develop a wide range of places to better meet children’s needs. This, in turn, should lead to improved placement stability and fewer out of area placements.
While there are some circumstances that mean it is the right decision for a child to be placed outside their home authority to, for example, protect them from criminal or sexual exploitation, the department recognises that it is not ideal for children to be placed away from home and wants to reduce the number of out of area placements.