Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children with SEND are not in formal education.
Answered by David Johnston
The department holds data on the number of children and young people with an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan, including the setting in which the child or young person is typically educated or where they are not in education or training for any reason. The information is available in the National Statistics publication at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-health-and-care-plans. The data can be broken down by region and local authority.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department have taken provide children with SEND who are not currently in formal education environments with access to care and adjustments to help them return to education as soon as possible.
Answered by David Johnston
School attendance is mandatory. Regular attendance at school is vital for children’s education, wellbeing and long-term development. To promote strong attendance, all schools should be calm, safe, and supportive environments where pupils and staff can thrive in safety and respect.
The department understands that barriers to attendance are wide and complex, particularly for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Addressing these requires a support-first approach and strong relationships between families, schools, local authorities, and other relevant local services.
When considering the appropriate action to address absence, schools and local authorities should consider the individual circumstances of each pupil and family and take the best course of action to support the child’s return to school. The department encourages parents to work with their child’s school and the local authority to discuss the reasons behind their child’s absence. They should agree together an action plan, so that the right support can be put in place to help their child to return to regular and consistent education.
The department published the SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan in March 2023. This sets out the department’s longer-term plans to tackle inconsistency in the system and promote attendance through new national standards.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department are taking to support schools to provide formal education to children with SEND.
Answered by David Johnston
In the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan, published in March 2023, the department outlined its commitment to ensuring that children and young people with SEND or attending AP enjoy their childhood, achieve good outcomes and feel well prepared for adulthood and employment
To ensure teachers have the knowledge and skills to deliver high-quality teaching for pupils with SEND, the department has implemented a ‘golden thread’ of evidence-based teacher training reforms, from initial teacher training through Early Career Framework-based induction and on to National Professional Qualifications (NPQ) for more experienced teachers. This support includes the introduction of a new leadership level NPQ for Special Educational Needs Coordinators.
High needs revenue funding will rise to £10.5 billion in 2024/25, a 60% increase on 2019/20 allocations. As part of this investment, £2.6 billion of funding will support local authorities to deliver new places in mainstream, special schools and AP, and to improve the suitability of existing buildings. Through its £70 million Change Programme, the department is testing and refining the Improvement Plan reforms to improve outcomes and experiences for children and young people with SEND and their families.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the new standards for equal access to sports announced by her Department on 8 March 2023, whether her Department has issued updated guidance for schools on using the funding to support pupils with physical education, sport and games.
Answered by Nick Gibb
On 19 July 2023, the Government published an update to the School Sport and Activity Action Plan (SSAAP). The update builds on the Government’s announcement in March that set out new ambitions for equal access to PE and sport for girls and boys, two hours of PE a week, alongside over £600 million funding for the primary PE and Sport Premium and the School Games Organiser Network.
Alongside the SSAAP, the Department has published updated guidance for primary schools on the PE and Sport Premium, including a new digital tool to support schools in using the funding to the best advantage of their pupils. This will be piloted in 2024 and become mandatory in 2025.
The Department will publish non-statutory guidance for schools later this year, which will illustrate the practical steps taken by schools to provide two hours of PE and equal access for girls and boys.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he Department is taking steps to support families on low incomes through provision of nutritious meals for children over school holidays.
Answered by David Johnston
The department is aware school holidays can be particular pressure points for some families because of increased costs, such as food and childcare, and reduced incomes.
This year, the government in England is again investing over £200 million in the Holiday Activities and Food programme, with all local authorities delivering in the Easter, summer and Christmas holidays. The programme provides heathy meals, enriching activities, and free childcare places to children from low-income families, benefiting their health, wellbeing and learning. Last summer, the programme reached around 600,000 children across England, including over 475,000 children eligible for free school meals across England.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what (a) algorithmic and (b) other automated decision making systems her Department uses; and for what purposes.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Information relating to use of algorithmic and other automated decision making systems to make automated decisions is not centrally held within the Department.
The Department uses elements of Automation, Robotics and Machine Learning, although much of the work remains experimental. Most automation that has been developed is for internal use and is aimed at improving the Department’s operational processes and not to aid implementation of policies. Neither the Department’s robotics/automation nor machine learning work are used in isolation to make decisions and do not drive decisions or actions directly or in an automated fashion.
The Department’s automation and robotics work includes using business rules to assign correspondence to team queues and text readers to help read and analyse reports. It also includes automation of data flows and validation processes, robots to develop and publish management information reports and analytical insight tools, and chatbots. Guidance for public sector organisations on how to use automated or algorithmic decision making systems in a safe, sustainable and ethical way can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ethics-transparency-and-accountability-framework-for-automated-decision-making.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the number of opportunities that children from low-income families have to participate in activities during the summer holidays.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Shadow Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The department recognises that school holidays can be particular pressure points for some families because of increased costs such as food and childcare, and reduced incomes. For some children, that can lead to a holiday experience gap, with children from disadvantaged families less likely to access organised out-of-school activities, more likely to experience ‘unhealthy holidays’ in terms of nutrition and physical health and are more likely to experience social isolation. Free holiday clubs are a response to this issue and evidence suggests that they can have a positive impact on children and young people.
This year, the government is again investing over £200 million in our Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme, with all local authorities in England delivering the programme in the Easter, summer and Christmas holidays. The HAF programme provides heathy meals, enriching activities and free childcare places to children from low-income families, benefiting their health, wellbeing and learning. Last summer, the programme reached around 600,000 children across England, including over 475,000 children eligible for free school meals across England.
The department’s 2021 independent evaluation of the 2021 HAF summer programme found that 730,000 children attended a HAF summer holiday club in person, of which 616,000 places were directly funded by HAF and 498,000 were eligible for benefits-related free school meals (FSM). The evaluation also found that two-thirds of HAF attendees lived in one of the 30% most deprived areas across the country.
As in previous years, local authorities have discretion to use up to 15% of their funding to provide free or subsidised holiday club places for children who are not in receipt of benefits-related FSM, but who the local authority believe could benefit from HAF, such as other vulnerable children. This could include, where appropriate, providing places at HAF clubs that support working families. In deciding which children should benefit from the 15% flexible funding, local authorities are asked to ensure that these places are aligned to their local priorities. The department also encourages all our providers to offer paid places, alongside HAF-funded, to increase the reach of holiday clubs. Clubs must provide healthy free meals, nutritional education, and physical activities on a daily basis.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the affordability of school holiday clubs.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Shadow Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The department recognises that school holidays can be particular pressure points for some families because of increased costs such as food and childcare, and reduced incomes. For some children, that can lead to a holiday experience gap, with children from disadvantaged families less likely to access organised out-of-school activities, more likely to experience ‘unhealthy holidays’ in terms of nutrition and physical health and are more likely to experience social isolation. Free holiday clubs are a response to this issue and evidence suggests that they can have a positive impact on children and young people.
This year, the government is again investing over £200 million in our Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme, with all local authorities in England delivering the programme in the Easter, summer and Christmas holidays. The HAF programme provides heathy meals, enriching activities and free childcare places to children from low-income families, benefiting their health, wellbeing and learning. Last summer, the programme reached around 600,000 children across England, including over 475,000 children eligible for free school meals across England.
The department’s 2021 independent evaluation of the 2021 HAF summer programme found that 730,000 children attended a HAF summer holiday club in person, of which 616,000 places were directly funded by HAF and 498,000 were eligible for benefits-related free school meals (FSM). The evaluation also found that two-thirds of HAF attendees lived in one of the 30% most deprived areas across the country.
As in previous years, local authorities have discretion to use up to 15% of their funding to provide free or subsidised holiday club places for children who are not in receipt of benefits-related FSM, but who the local authority believe could benefit from HAF, such as other vulnerable children. This could include, where appropriate, providing places at HAF clubs that support working families. In deciding which children should benefit from the 15% flexible funding, local authorities are asked to ensure that these places are aligned to their local priorities. The department also encourages all our providers to offer paid places, alongside HAF-funded, to increase the reach of holiday clubs. Clubs must provide healthy free meals, nutritional education, and physical activities on a daily basis.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of taking steps with local authorities to provide subsidised holiday club spaces to children from low-income families who are not eligible for free school meals.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Shadow Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The department recognises that school holidays can be particular pressure points for some families because of increased costs such as food and childcare, and reduced incomes. For some children, that can lead to a holiday experience gap, with children from disadvantaged families less likely to access organised out-of-school activities, more likely to experience ‘unhealthy holidays’ in terms of nutrition and physical health and are more likely to experience social isolation. Free holiday clubs are a response to this issue and evidence suggests that they can have a positive impact on children and young people.
This year, the government is again investing over £200 million in our Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme, with all local authorities in England delivering the programme in the Easter, summer and Christmas holidays. The HAF programme provides heathy meals, enriching activities and free childcare places to children from low-income families, benefiting their health, wellbeing and learning. Last summer, the programme reached around 600,000 children across England, including over 475,000 children eligible for free school meals across England.
The department’s 2021 independent evaluation of the 2021 HAF summer programme found that 730,000 children attended a HAF summer holiday club in person, of which 616,000 places were directly funded by HAF and 498,000 were eligible for benefits-related free school meals (FSM). The evaluation also found that two-thirds of HAF attendees lived in one of the 30% most deprived areas across the country.
As in previous years, local authorities have discretion to use up to 15% of their funding to provide free or subsidised holiday club places for children who are not in receipt of benefits-related FSM, but who the local authority believe could benefit from HAF, such as other vulnerable children. This could include, where appropriate, providing places at HAF clubs that support working families. In deciding which children should benefit from the 15% flexible funding, local authorities are asked to ensure that these places are aligned to their local priorities. The department also encourages all our providers to offer paid places, alongside HAF-funded, to increase the reach of holiday clubs. Clubs must provide healthy free meals, nutritional education, and physical activities on a daily basis.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Data and Digital Infrastructure of 14 June 2023 at Topical Questions, T7, Official Report, column 286, what plans her Department has to (a) utilise the provisions in Part 3 of the Data Protection and Digital Information (No. 2) Bill and (b) use smart data in new sectors.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department is preparing for the introduction of the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill and has a dedicated resource that is focusing on understanding what the impact the Bill on its data protection practices. Given that the Bill has not been finalised, the Department does not have an update in respect of Part 3 as it is considering the wider impact of the changes.