Asked by: Amanda Martin (Labour - Portsmouth North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing funding for support for education professionals working with armed forces children; and what steps he is taking to ensure that funding in this area is (a) informed by research, (b) supported by evaluation and (c) aligned with improving outcomes for armed forces families.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Understanding that education is a devolved matter, the Secretary of State for Defence does not issue core funding to educational settings for Service children.
However, the Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) Armed Forces Families Fund provides additional funding opportunities for schools and local authorities across the UK. Since 2023, £4.5 million has supported the Service Pupil Support Programme (SPSP) in schools and local authorities across the UK. The sub themes of the SPSP align with the aims of the Armed Forces Families Strategy and include elements focusing upon the educational outcomes of Service children and supporting Service children with additional learning needs. The SPSP is evaluated externally and is also presently funding three university research projects in areas of specific interest.
In England the Department for Education continues to allocate additional funding in the form of the Service Pupil Premium (SPP) to state funded schools with Service children among their pupils. Service Pupil Premium funding helps schools to provide pastoral and academic support to current and former Service children. Schools are allocated SPP funding for each pupil aged 5 to 16 who is currently recorded as a Service child in the autumn school census or who has held this status in the last six years via ‘Ever 6’, or who receives a child pension from the MOD. The SPP is now worth £350 per eligible pupil annually. For example, more than £26 million has been paid to schools in the financial year 2023 to 2024, benefiting more than 78,000 pupils.
Asked by: Amanda Martin (Labour - Portsmouth North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is planning to take to improve the (a) quality and (b) availability of data on the educational (i) outcomes and (ii) experiences of armed forces children; and if he will make it his policy to develop a national dataset to help inform evidence-based (A) policy and (B) practice in this area.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
We are committed with counterparts in Government to maintaining robust data around the educational outcomes of all children to inform future strategic and policy development. It is important to remember that education is a devolved matter, and caution should be applied in considering the feasibility of a UK-wide dataset, where very different education systems would be compared. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) recognises the importance of the devolved administrations maintaining their own datasets to inform where their resources should be targeted.
The Department for Education (DfE) continues to provide the MOD updated datasets on how Service children perform in state schools in England across key measures of academic attainment; this information is published in the Armed Forces Covenant Annual Report. The DfE and the MOD have also recently published joint guidance to schools and local authorities on how best to support Service children in education.
In Scotland, the Additional Support for Learning (ASL) Act places duties on education authorities, who retain the statutory responsibility for the delivery of education in Scotland. These duties require Scottish authorities to identify, provide for and review the additional support needs of pupils. This includes Service children and young people, who may require extra support, short or long term and for whatever the reason. Delivery of ASL is a joint endeavour between the Scottish Government and Scottish Local Authorities.
The Welsh Government are currently exploring the potential to broaden the definition of Service children in Wales to ensure the maximum number of children can benefit from the support available. Linked to this they are considering how they collect data on Service children in Welsh schools to ensure that policy and support is based on robust evidence.
Asked by: Amanda Martin (Labour - Portsmouth North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the training provided by Capita to the Royal Navy.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Project Selborne contract began on 1 April 2021 and is implementing a transformation in the way that the Royal Navy delivers its training, unlocking more opportunities for them to fulfil their potential and get better trained people to the frontline, quicker.
We keep the program made by Project Selbourne under review.
Asked by: Amanda Martin (Labour - Portsmouth North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason he approved Project Selbourne.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Project Selborne contract began on 1 April 2021 and is implementing a transformation in the way that the Royal Navy delivers its training, unlocking more opportunities for them to fulfil their potential and get better trained people to the frontline, quicker.
We keep the program made by Project Selbourne under review.