Asked by: Alex McIntyre (Labour - Gloucester)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve educational outcomes for (a) children in social care and (b) care-experienced young people in Gloucester.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Reforming children’s social care is critical to giving all our children and young people the start in life they deserve. The government is committed to working in partnership with local government to support children who have experienced the care system across all settings, and to improving their educational outcomes.
In July, the King’s Speech set out the government’s plans to introduce a Children’s Wellbeing Bill, which will help raise standards for children in care and ensure that every child can thrive in a safe, loving home as part of the government’s commitment to deliver high and rising standards in education for children and young people in England. The Bill is expected to be introduced within the first session of Parliament and will be a crucial step in breaking down barriers to opportunity for children and young people.
Children in care and care leavers in Gloucester will also benefit from the almost £1 billion we have put into the high needs budget for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in 2025/26 given the high levels of SEND in the cohort, and the £300 million of funding we are putting into further education to ensure young people are developing the skills they need to succeed.
Asked by: Alex McIntyre (Labour - Gloucester)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that disabled children are included in the Children's Wellbeing Bill.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The Children’s Wellbeing Bill will remove barriers to opportunity for every child, by raising school standards and delivering our commitment on children’s social care.
The precise content of the Bill will be confirmed upon the Bill’s introduction, which will be as soon as Parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Alex McIntyre (Labour - Gloucester)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve opportunities for young people in Gloucester.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The Opportunity Mission will build opportunity for all by giving every child, including children across Gloucester the best start in life, helping them achieve and thrive, and building skills for opportunity and growth. This will be underpinned by family security, and we must tackle the underlying barriers to opportunity that hold too many young people back.
That is why the department is committed to recruiting 6,500 additional teachers, creating 3,000 new or expanded school-based nurseries, expanding childcare entitlements for eligible working families, providing free breakfast clubs in every primary school and launching Skills England to transform opportunities and drive growth. We are also investing more in children’s services to set them on a sustainable trajectory and have announced new funding for kinship care and fostering to keep children safe and provide family security for our most vulnerable children.
We will also introduce the youth guarantee, which will help 18 to 21-year-olds to access education, training, or apprenticeships opportunities and receive employment support. This will give all young people the best start in their career, so they can secure good, skilled jobs in the future, both in Gloucester and across the country.
The government will also introduce new foundation apprenticeships for young people in targeted and growing sectors. Foundation apprenticeships are a work-based training offer that will give more young people a foot in the door and will support clear progression pathways into further work-based training and employment. We will work closely with the sector to ensure the design is fit for purpose and meets employers’ needs and further detail will be set out in due course.