Asked by: Andrew Selous (Conservative - South West Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to take steps to (a) review School Food Standards to incorporate any developments in dietary guidance and (b) require schools to report on food available in their schools using a mandatory reporting template as set out in the Levelling Up White Paper.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The current School Food Standards (SFS) provide a robust yet flexible framework to ensure pupils in England continue to receive high quality and nutritious food. The Department continues to keep the SFS under review.
In February 2022, the Levelling Up White Paper outlined a number of things the Department is doing to strengthen adherence with the SFS, including piloting work with the Foods Standards Agency, investing up to £200,000 in a pilot Governor Training Scheme, and encouraging schools to publish a school food policy on their school websites.
The Department will promote accountability and transparency of school food arrangements by encouraging schools to develop and publish a policy that sets out their approach to food. The reporting would be voluntary initially, with the intention that this will become mandatory when schools can do this effectively. The Department is currently working closely with stakeholders to develop this scheme of work.
Asked by: Andrew Selous (Conservative - South West Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to increase the uptake of degree apprenticeships.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The department continues to see strong growth in degree-level apprenticeships with over 170,000 starts since 2014. We are making £8 million available to higher education providers to grow their degree apprenticeship provision and are partnering with UCAS, so young people can use their website to search and apply for these apprenticeships, alongside degrees.
Asked by: Andrew Selous (Conservative - South West Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the employer representative body for Central Bedfordshire has been constituted; who the proposed members of that body are; whether that body has met; and what its objectives are.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
There are not currently any designated employer representative bodies for local areas in England. Subject to the Royal Assent of the Skills and Post-16 Education Bill, the department intends to launch an open and competitive ‘expressions of interest’ process shortly for eligible employer representative bodies in all areas of England who are interested in being designated to lead the development of Local Skills Improvement Plans. Further details will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Andrew Selous (Conservative - South West Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when his Department will publish its response to the consultation on national standards for unregulated provision.
Answered by Will Quince
This government firmly believes that every child in the care system deserves to live in a high-quality setting that meets their needs and keeps them safe.
We are clear that semi-independent provision can be the right option for some older children, which includes supported lodgings provision. The government is equally clear that this provision must always be of high quality and the young person must be ready for the level of independence it promotes. That is why, following our recent consultation, through which we received views from over 215 respondents and 45 care experienced young people, we have announced that we will invest over £142 million across the next three years to fund the introduction of new mandatory national standards and Ofsted registration and inspection for providers of this provision. These vital reforms are a landmark change for children’s social care, with all providers that accommodate looked after children and care leavers up to 18 now being regulated by Ofsted. We will lay the regulations and accompanying statutory guidance for these reforms in 2022.
The department has published a full consultation response which provides further details of our plans and associated timescales in this area, which is available here: https://consult.education.gov.uk/children-in-care-and-permanence/introducing-national-standards-for-unregulated-pro/.
These vital reforms will not only increase the quality of provision and ensure we have effective levers for acting where provision is not good enough, but they will also enable us to develop a much better understanding of the different types of provision in this area, and potentially the extent of the role each provision type should play in meeting the needs of children in future. We will continue to work closely with providers, including those who offer supported lodgings, to ensure the sector can provide high quality placements for young people that meet their needs and keep them safe.
The department collects information on where looked after children are placed. This information is published here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions/2021.
On 31 March 2021, some 4,180 children were placed in ‘Semi-independent living accommodation not subject to children’s homes regulations’’ which includes lodgings, flats and bedsits where supervisory staff or advice workers are specifically employed and available to provide advice and support to the residents. This information can be found in table A2 of the release here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/fast-track/673c7602-892f-4b03-5aff-08d98e357d76.
The department also collects data on care leavers, whose 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th or 21st birthday falls within the collection period, including the type of accommodation that a care leaver is living in. Supported lodgings describes where care leavers receive formal advice and support from a “host family”, usually in a family home. These figures are also published in the annual statistical release.
On 31 March 2021, some 1,450 care leavers aged 19 to 21 were located in this type of accommodation. The equivalent figure for 17 and 18 year olds was 810 and can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/fast-track/8706180c-2bdb-481e-20da-08d99c9bf8eb.
As we implement the reforms set out above, we will consider changes to our data collections, including providing a more granular breakdown of this type of provision.
Asked by: Andrew Selous (Conservative - South West Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if his Department will collect and publish data on the number of young people placed in supported lodgings settings, as part of the statistics on looked after children released annually by his Department.
Answered by Will Quince
This government firmly believes that every child in the care system deserves to live in a high-quality setting that meets their needs and keeps them safe.
We are clear that semi-independent provision can be the right option for some older children, which includes supported lodgings provision. The government is equally clear that this provision must always be of high quality and the young person must be ready for the level of independence it promotes. That is why, following our recent consultation, through which we received views from over 215 respondents and 45 care experienced young people, we have announced that we will invest over £142 million across the next three years to fund the introduction of new mandatory national standards and Ofsted registration and inspection for providers of this provision. These vital reforms are a landmark change for children’s social care, with all providers that accommodate looked after children and care leavers up to 18 now being regulated by Ofsted. We will lay the regulations and accompanying statutory guidance for these reforms in 2022.
The department has published a full consultation response which provides further details of our plans and associated timescales in this area, which is available here: https://consult.education.gov.uk/children-in-care-and-permanence/introducing-national-standards-for-unregulated-pro/.
These vital reforms will not only increase the quality of provision and ensure we have effective levers for acting where provision is not good enough, but they will also enable us to develop a much better understanding of the different types of provision in this area, and potentially the extent of the role each provision type should play in meeting the needs of children in future. We will continue to work closely with providers, including those who offer supported lodgings, to ensure the sector can provide high quality placements for young people that meet their needs and keep them safe.
The department collects information on where looked after children are placed. This information is published here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions/2021.
On 31 March 2021, some 4,180 children were placed in ‘Semi-independent living accommodation not subject to children’s homes regulations’’ which includes lodgings, flats and bedsits where supervisory staff or advice workers are specifically employed and available to provide advice and support to the residents. This information can be found in table A2 of the release here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/fast-track/673c7602-892f-4b03-5aff-08d98e357d76.
The department also collects data on care leavers, whose 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th or 21st birthday falls within the collection period, including the type of accommodation that a care leaver is living in. Supported lodgings describes where care leavers receive formal advice and support from a “host family”, usually in a family home. These figures are also published in the annual statistical release.
On 31 March 2021, some 1,450 care leavers aged 19 to 21 were located in this type of accommodation. The equivalent figure for 17 and 18 year olds was 810 and can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/fast-track/8706180c-2bdb-481e-20da-08d99c9bf8eb.
As we implement the reforms set out above, we will consider changes to our data collections, including providing a more granular breakdown of this type of provision.
Asked by: Andrew Selous (Conservative - South West Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if his Department will publish guidance on supported lodgings for local authorities and providers.
Answered by Will Quince
This government firmly believes that every child in the care system deserves to live in a high-quality setting that meets their needs and keeps them safe.
We are clear that semi-independent provision can be the right option for some older children, which includes supported lodgings provision. The government is equally clear that this provision must always be of high quality and the young person must be ready for the level of independence it promotes. That is why, following our recent consultation, through which we received views from over 215 respondents and 45 care experienced young people, we have announced that we will invest over £142 million across the next three years to fund the introduction of new mandatory national standards and Ofsted registration and inspection for providers of this provision. These vital reforms are a landmark change for children’s social care, with all providers that accommodate looked after children and care leavers up to 18 now being regulated by Ofsted. We will lay the regulations and accompanying statutory guidance for these reforms in 2022.
The department has published a full consultation response which provides further details of our plans and associated timescales in this area, which is available here: https://consult.education.gov.uk/children-in-care-and-permanence/introducing-national-standards-for-unregulated-pro/.
These vital reforms will not only increase the quality of provision and ensure we have effective levers for acting where provision is not good enough, but they will also enable us to develop a much better understanding of the different types of provision in this area, and potentially the extent of the role each provision type should play in meeting the needs of children in future. We will continue to work closely with providers, including those who offer supported lodgings, to ensure the sector can provide high quality placements for young people that meet their needs and keep them safe.
The department collects information on where looked after children are placed. This information is published here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions/2021.
On 31 March 2021, some 4,180 children were placed in ‘Semi-independent living accommodation not subject to children’s homes regulations’’ which includes lodgings, flats and bedsits where supervisory staff or advice workers are specifically employed and available to provide advice and support to the residents. This information can be found in table A2 of the release here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/fast-track/673c7602-892f-4b03-5aff-08d98e357d76.
The department also collects data on care leavers, whose 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th or 21st birthday falls within the collection period, including the type of accommodation that a care leaver is living in. Supported lodgings describes where care leavers receive formal advice and support from a “host family”, usually in a family home. These figures are also published in the annual statistical release.
On 31 March 2021, some 1,450 care leavers aged 19 to 21 were located in this type of accommodation. The equivalent figure for 17 and 18 year olds was 810 and can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/fast-track/8706180c-2bdb-481e-20da-08d99c9bf8eb.
As we implement the reforms set out above, we will consider changes to our data collections, including providing a more granular breakdown of this type of provision.
Asked by: Andrew Selous (Conservative - South West Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans his Department has to increase the use of supported lodgings provision for young people aged 16 and over; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Will Quince
This government firmly believes that every child in the care system deserves to live in a high-quality setting that meets their needs and keeps them safe.
We are clear that semi-independent provision can be the right option for some older children, which includes supported lodgings provision. The government is equally clear that this provision must always be of high quality and the young person must be ready for the level of independence it promotes. That is why, following our recent consultation, through which we received views from over 215 respondents and 45 care experienced young people, we have announced that we will invest over £142 million across the next three years to fund the introduction of new mandatory national standards and Ofsted registration and inspection for providers of this provision. These vital reforms are a landmark change for children’s social care, with all providers that accommodate looked after children and care leavers up to 18 now being regulated by Ofsted. We will lay the regulations and accompanying statutory guidance for these reforms in 2022.
The department has published a full consultation response which provides further details of our plans and associated timescales in this area, which is available here: https://consult.education.gov.uk/children-in-care-and-permanence/introducing-national-standards-for-unregulated-pro/.
These vital reforms will not only increase the quality of provision and ensure we have effective levers for acting where provision is not good enough, but they will also enable us to develop a much better understanding of the different types of provision in this area, and potentially the extent of the role each provision type should play in meeting the needs of children in future. We will continue to work closely with providers, including those who offer supported lodgings, to ensure the sector can provide high quality placements for young people that meet their needs and keep them safe.
The department collects information on where looked after children are placed. This information is published here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions/2021.
On 31 March 2021, some 4,180 children were placed in ‘Semi-independent living accommodation not subject to children’s homes regulations’’ which includes lodgings, flats and bedsits where supervisory staff or advice workers are specifically employed and available to provide advice and support to the residents. This information can be found in table A2 of the release here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/fast-track/673c7602-892f-4b03-5aff-08d98e357d76.
The department also collects data on care leavers, whose 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th or 21st birthday falls within the collection period, including the type of accommodation that a care leaver is living in. Supported lodgings describes where care leavers receive formal advice and support from a “host family”, usually in a family home. These figures are also published in the annual statistical release.
On 31 March 2021, some 1,450 care leavers aged 19 to 21 were located in this type of accommodation. The equivalent figure for 17 and 18 year olds was 810 and can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/fast-track/8706180c-2bdb-481e-20da-08d99c9bf8eb.
As we implement the reforms set out above, we will consider changes to our data collections, including providing a more granular breakdown of this type of provision.
Asked by: Andrew Selous (Conservative - South West Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when the register of children who are home educated will come into force; and if he will ensure that register is in place for the 2022-23 school year.
Answered by Robin Walker
The department remains committed to a form of local authority register for children not in school. We will set out further details on this in the government response to the ‘Children Not in School’ consultation, which we hope to publish before the end of the year.
Asked by: Andrew Selous (Conservative - South West Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department makes of parents's competence in (a) reading, (b) writing and (c) mathematics in relation to home schooling; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department has made no such assessment. The Government does not expect parents to act as teachers or to provide the activities and feedback that a school or nursery would. Parents and carers should do their best to help children and support their education while dealing with other demands. We have issued information, guidance and support to parents and carers of children who are learning from home, which is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/supporting-your-childrens-education-during-coronavirus-covid-19.
Asked by: Andrew Selous (Conservative - South West Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
What assessment he has made of the capacity of further education colleges to meet future demand for training in (a) electric vehicle maintenance and (b) the building of zero energy bill homes.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
We have been supporting colleges up and down the country to ensure they have the capacity to deliver provision for the future. We are working with the Construction sector to plan and deliver the skills needed to decarbonise the industry and create more energy efficient builds.
I was delighted to read that Central Bedfordshire College in my honourable friend’s constituency has opened a £3.5 million Technology and Skills Centre to deliver the high-end technology and construction skills that businesses in his area need to thrive.