Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Streatham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of suspending the School Attendance Order for parents who do not want their child to return to school during the covid-19 outbreak, particularly in cases where the child or a member of that child’s household is considered to be clinically extremely vulnerable.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Pupils in all year groups and from all types of school should now have returned to school full-time, as this is the best place for them to be for their education, development and wellbeing.
Parents have a duty to ensure that any of their children who are of compulsory school age receive a full-time education, either through regular attendance at school or through alternative arrangements, such as home schooling. A local authority will only serve a school attendance order if parents fail to satisfy the local authority that their child is receiving this.
Guidance on protecting people who are clinically extremely vulnerable is clear that all pupils should continue to attend school at all local COVID alert levels, unless they are one of the very small number of pupils under paediatric or other specialist care and have been advised by their GP or clinician not to attend school. The guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19.
Schools have their own measures in place to limit the risk of transmission. If parents of pupils with significant risk factors are concerned, we have recommended that schools discuss their concerns and provide reassurance of the measures they are putting in place to reduce the risk in school.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Streatham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans his Department has to end the post code as a determining factor of access to English for Speakers of Other Languages provision.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
In 2018/19, the department supported 120,500 adult learners to improve their levels of English through fully and part-funded English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) courses.
The department funds ESOL through the Adult Education Budget (AEB).
Approximately half of the AEB is devolved to 7 Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) and delegated to the Mayor of London, acting where appropriate through the Greater London Authority (GLA). These devolved authorities are responsible for the provision of adult education, including ESOL, and allocation of the AEB in their local areas. The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) is responsible for the remaining AEB in non-devolved areas.
In non-devolved areas, we do not ring-fence a particular amount of the ESFA AEB budget for ESOL. Colleges and adult training providers have the freedom and flexibility to determine how they use their AEB allocation to meet the needs of their communities. They are responsible for planning, with local partners, which ESOL courses can be delivered locally.
In devolved areas, providers have the opportunity to work with MCAs and the GLA to shape the ways in which they can contribute to meeting skills needs locally so that more people of all ages and backgrounds are given opportunities to develop the skills and experience they need, including ESOL provision.
We are committed to open dialogue with MCAs and the GLA on how best skills provision and reforms can be shaped to fit the needs of local areas.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Streatham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of implementing recommendation 68 of the House of Lords Select Committee on Citizenship and Civic Participation’s 2018 report in relation to funding for ESOL teaching.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
This government remains committed to the 2019 manifesto commitment to boost English language teaching to empower existing migrants and help promote integration into society.
In 2018/19, the Department for Education supported 120,500 adult learners to improve their levels of English through fully and part-funded English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) courses.
The Department for Education funds ESOL through the Adult Education Budget (AEB).
Approximately half the AEB is devolved to 6 Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) and delegated to the Mayor of London acting through the Greater London Authority (GLA). The authorities are responsible for the provision of adult education, including ESOL, and allocation of the AEB in their local areas. The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) is responsible for the remaining AEB in non-devolved areas.
In non-devolved areas colleges and adult learning providers have the freedom and flexibility to determine how they use their AEB allocation to meet the needs of their communities and this includes planning, with local partners, the ESOL courses that they will deliver locally.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Streatham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to support the families of pupils on free school meals in Streatham constituency during the school summer holidays in 2020.
Answered by Vicky Ford
I refer the hon. Members to the answer I have given today to Question 54195.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Streatham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to support children in care who are victims of trafficking.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The government provides Independent Child Trafficking Guardians (ICTGs). They are an independent source of advice for trafficked children, working with multi-agency partners to advocate on behalf of the child so that they are protected from further harm and to promote the child’s recovery. Last year, ICTGs were successfully rolled out to one third of all local authorities in England and Wales and the Government remains committed to rolling ICTGs out nationally.
The ‘Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010’ were amended in 2014 to require that local authorities’ duties to care for looked after children are fulfilled with particular regard to a child’s circumstances and needs as a trafficked child. The Regulations apply to all children, regardless of their immigration status, nationality or documentation.
The departments statutory guidance ‘Care of unaccompanied migrant children and child victims of modern slavery (2017)’ sets out detailed steps that local authorities should take to care for children who are victims of modern slavery, including trafficking. It emphasises that care placement decisions should take particular account of protecting the child from any continued risk from traffickers and processes should be in place to monitor policies and performance relating to child victims of modern slavery. Responsible managers should understand the risks and issues facing child victims of modern slavery and review best practice in planning for the care of these children.
The statutory guidance ‘Working together to safeguard children (2018)' actively promotes a child centred, multi-agency approach to safeguarding all children and specifically highlights the need to manage complex risks to children from exploitation by criminal gangs, including trafficking and modern slavery.