Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support the introduction of more (a) vocational and (b) functional education pathways for students in (i) Somerset and (ii) England.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department continues to reform qualifications so they have clearer routes to higher education or skilled employment and are, where applicable, aligned to occupational standards designed by employers. 140 reformed qualifications at levels 2 and 3 have been approved for next academic year.
There are a wide range of technical and functional pathways in all areas of the country, including Somerset. These include:
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will appoint a named policy lead in her Department on dyslexia.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department is committed to improving support for all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including those with dyslexia.
The SEND code of practice makes it clear that meeting the needs of a child with special educational needs does not require a diagnostic label, such as dyslexia. Instead, we expect teachers to monitor the progress of all pupils and put support in place where needed. In keeping with this, the department has no current intentions to pursue a condition-specific approach.
However, we recognise that the early identification of need and support is critical to improving outcomes for children and young people with SEND, including those with dyslexia. There are already a number of measures to help teachers do this, including the phonics screening check and statutory assessments at the end of key stage 2.
Measures have also been introduced to support the effective teaching of reading, including for those at risk of falling behind. This includes the English Hubs programme, the publication of the reading framework and an updated list of high quality systematic synthetic phonics programmes for schools.
The English Hubs programme is dedicated to improving the teaching of reading, with a focus on supporting children making the slowest progress in reading. As part of the continuous professional development provided by the English Hubs, the Reading Ambition for All programme has been launched to improve outcomes for children who need additional support with reading, including those with SEND.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to introduce a national dyslexia strategy.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department is committed to improving support for all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including those with dyslexia.
The SEND code of practice makes it clear that meeting the needs of a child with special educational needs does not require a diagnostic label, such as dyslexia. Instead, we expect teachers to monitor the progress of all pupils and put support in place where needed. In keeping with this, the department has no current intentions to pursue a condition-specific approach.
However, we recognise that the early identification of need and support is critical to improving outcomes for children and young people with SEND, including those with dyslexia. There are already a number of measures to help teachers do this, including the phonics screening check and statutory assessments at the end of key stage 2.
Measures have also been introduced to support the effective teaching of reading, including for those at risk of falling behind. This includes the English Hubs programme, the publication of the reading framework and an updated list of high quality systematic synthetic phonics programmes for schools.
The English Hubs programme is dedicated to improving the teaching of reading, with a focus on supporting children making the slowest progress in reading. As part of the continuous professional development provided by the English Hubs, the Reading Ambition for All programme has been launched to improve outcomes for children who need additional support with reading, including those with SEND.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support the introduction of assistive technology in primary schools in (a) Yeovil constituency, (b) Somerset and (c) England.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The government is committed to increasing awareness and use of assistive technology (AT) in primary schools across England, including in the Yeovil constituency and Somerset.
Firstly, the department is investing in high-quality research to identify barriers to and opportunities for AT use in schools, so that we have a strong evidence base for AT and are able to pilot approaches. This is key to giving schools the right support they need. We published the most recent research report for special schools and colleges in May entitled ‘Developing a competency framework for effective assistive technology training’. The report can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/developing-a-competency-framework-for-effective-assistive-technology-training.
From September 2025, teachers will receive training on effective AT use as part of their initial teacher training. Our programme of research can also inform the development of workforce training aimed at equipping teachers with the necessary skills to effectively use AT.
Secondly, the government is working to improve the multi-agency working of all those involved in supporting pupils to get the AT that they require. The department will soon publish research undertaken with local authority special educational needs teams and local authority health teams, AT suppliers, schools and colleges to identify effective practices when working together to meet pupil need.
Finally, the government is investing £20 million this year to ensure schools can access a fibre internet connection, which includes 27 schools across Somerset. Our investment in infrastructure will ensure that schools can fully harness the opportunities of AT.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of removing spelling, punctuation and grammar marks from non-English (a) secondary and (b) sixth form exams.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The independent Curriculum and Assessment Review is ongoing and is evaluating the existing national curriculum and statutory assessment system in England to ensure they are fit for purpose. The Review wants to ensure an assessment system that captures the strengths of every child and young person and the breadth of curriculum, with the right balance of assessment methods, whilst maintaining the important role of examinations. The Review’s final report and recommendations will be published in the autumn, at which point the government will respond.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessments she has made of the merits of implementing a teacher retention strategy that addresses key factors driving staff to leave the profession.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
High-quality teaching is the in-school factor that has the biggest positive impact on a child or young person’s outcome in schools and colleges. Recruiting and retaining more qualified, expert teachers is critical to the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and boost the life chances for every child. This is why the government’s Plan for Change has committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 new expert teachers in secondary and special schools, and in our colleges, over the course of this Parliament.
The best recruitment strategy is an effective retention strategy. The department recently announced a 4% pay award for teachers and leaders in maintained schools from September 2025. This builds on the 5.5% pay award for the 2024/25 academic year, resulting in a near 10% pay award since this government came to power, ensuring teaching is once again a valued profession and keeping high-quality teachers in schools. In addition, we invested around £700 million across schools and further education this year, which included increasing our targeted retention incentives, worth up to £6,000 per year for early career teachers teaching in disadvantaged schools, and resources to improve teachers’ workload and wellbeing.
Our investment is starting to deliver. The workforce has grown by 2,346 full-time equivalent, between 2023/24 and 2024/25 in secondary and special schools, with leaver rates dropping to 9.1%, one of the lowest on record.
To further support teacher retention, the department has established a new way of working through ‘Improving Education Together’, which brings together employer representative organisations, unions and government to help inform policy design and approaches to implementation across key reform priorities.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to prevent the planned closure of Yeovil District Hospital’s Maternity Unit.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is aware of temporary changes to services at Yeovil District Hospital that have been made in response to several factors, including a recent Care Quality Commission inspection and not being able to currently meet staffing levels required to provide safe services for babies and families.
The temporary closure is for an initial period of six months, when births and expectant mothers are being offered safe birthing at surrounding hospitals in Taunton, Dorchester and Bath. Outpatient clinics for pregnant mothers such as obstetric and midwifery antenatal clinics, scanning, antenatal screening services and home births will continue at Yeovil District Hospital as normal.
The South West NHS England regional team, NHS Somerset Integrated Care Board and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust are working collectively to mitigate the risk of this temporary closure and ensure the wider systems work together to provide safe services in the meantime. Responsibility for the delivery, implementation and funding decisions for services ultimately rests with the appropriate National Health Service commissioning body.
There are real issues in maternity care, but also outstanding examples of care. It will not be an overnight recovery, but we will be making steady improvements to ensure all women receive safe, personalised, and compassionate care. The Government continues to work with the NHS as it delivers its three-year maternity and neonatal plan to improve maternity and neonatal services.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the planned closure of Yeovil District Hospital’s Maternity Unit on (a) public health and (b) patient safety in South Somerset.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is aware of temporary changes to services at Yeovil District Hospital that have been made in response to several factors, including a recent Care Quality Commission inspection and not being able to currently meet staffing levels required to provide safe services for babies and families.
The temporary closure is for an initial period of six months, when births and expectant mothers are being offered safe birthing at surrounding hospitals in Taunton, Dorchester and Bath. Outpatient clinics for pregnant mothers such as obstetric and midwifery antenatal clinics, scanning, antenatal screening services and home births will continue at Yeovil District Hospital as normal.
The South West NHS England regional team, NHS Somerset Integrated Care Board and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust are working collectively to mitigate the risk of this temporary closure and ensure the wider systems work together to provide safe services in the meantime. Responsibility for the delivery, implementation and funding decisions for services ultimately rests with the appropriate National Health Service commissioning body.
There are real issues in maternity care, but also outstanding examples of care. It will not be an overnight recovery, but we will be making steady improvements to ensure all women receive safe, personalised, and compassionate care. The Government continues to work with the NHS as it delivers its three-year maternity and neonatal plan to improve maternity and neonatal services.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help support (a) NHS Somerset Integrated Care Board and (b) local hospital trusts to (i) improve working culture and (ii) reduce stress-related illness in hospitals.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government inherited a broken National Health Service with an overworked and demoralised workforce.
We hugely value all NHS staff and are committed to improving organisational culture and working conditions, so we can keep staff healthy, motivated, and retain valuable skills. That is why one of the government’s first actions was to give NHS staff an above inflation pay rise.
Local employers across the NHS have arrangements in place for supporting staff, including occupational health provision, employee support programmes, and a focus on healthy working environments. At a national level, NHS England has made available additional support, including emotional and psychological health and wellbeing support.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to support the provision of maternity services in south Somerset.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is aware of temporary changes to services at Yeovil District Hospital, which have been made in response to several factors including responding to a recent Care Quality Commission inspection and due to not currently being able to meet staffing levels required to provide safe services for mothers, babies and families. The South West NHS England regional team, integrated care board and trust are monitoring the situation closely and working collectively to review the situation and develop proposals to ensure safe future service provision of maternity services.