Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life

Debate between Bridget Phillipson and Rachael Maskell

Monday 7th July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Bridget Phillipson]

At the Budget and at the spending review, we allocated additional investment to support councils. However, I recognise what the hon. Member says about the importance of timely support in identifying need much more quickly and putting in place the support required, which is why we are investing an extra £1 billion in SEND support. We are providing councils with £740 million to support them to create more specialist places in mainstream schools to make sure we build parents’ confidence in the system and create the places needed, alongside additional investment to support the workforce to better support children with SEND.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

I am so grateful for my right hon. Friend’s focus and commitment on investing in our very youngest, not least because when we invest in early years, we change the trajectory of a child’s life. Will she look at the model we have created in York, where we have not only a SEND co-ordinator, but a SEND hub, so that we can bring all those specialist services together, which can be really transformative for families as a one-stop shop?

[Bridget Phillipson]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. I know the Under-Secretary of State for Education, my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham East (Janet Daby) has visited and seen at first hand the difference that is making and the impact it is having. We are very keen, through this programme and wider developments in the strategy, to draw on the brilliant practice and expertise that is out there. I would be happy to discuss that further with my hon. Friend to really understand what York is doing well and how we might think of that as the basis for further developments right across the country.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Bridget Phillipson and Rachael Maskell

Monday 27th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Bridget Phillipson]

There is no reason that schools should need to make any kind of change. Of course, headteachers make practical decisions about how they feel they should run their schools. We are cutting the cost to parents and putting more money back in their pockets, unlike the Conservative party, which seems to oppose practical, straightforward measures to cut the cost of school uniform.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

Ensuring sensory and motor integration is crucial for a child’s development and learning, yet many services that do so are available only in the private sector. Will the Minister meet me to discuss how we can ensure that parents can access those crucial services?

Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Debate between Bridget Phillipson and Rachael Maskell

Wednesday 8th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Bridget Phillipson]

We are looking carefully at all the schools in the pipeline, but we need to ensure that in every case there is a strong case for the need for the school and good value for the taxpayer. We have inherited an enormous challenge when it comes to the public finances, and we have had to make difficult decisions because of the £22 billion black hole that the hon. Member and his party left behind. [Interruption.] The right hon. Member for Sevenoaks (Laura Trott), who is chuntering away, was in Cabinet as Chief Secretary to the Treasury and responsible for overseeing all of that.

Returning to support for children with special educational needs and disabilities, we will improve inclusivity in mainstream schools while ensuring that specialist provision can cater for those with the most complex needs.

The changes that the Bill brings are underpinned by our wider reforms to drive improvement. New school report cards will give a full picture of a school’s performance. New RISE—regional improvement for standards and excellence—teams will draw on the excellence in our system and bring schools together to spread good practice and challenge underperformance. Accountability and inspection should be a galvanising force for improvement and a catalyst for quality, raising the floor of success, not lowering the ceiling of ambition. It should not drag schools down but lift children up. It is about them—it is always about them.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

I am grateful for my right hon. Friend’s speech, and not least for the opportunity to raise standards for children with disability, children experiencing anxiety and children who have got care experience. Will she look at the role that local authorities can play in building collaboration and ensure that they have the funding they need? The last Government hollowed them out, yet they have a crucial role in raising standards and supporting schools.

[Bridget Phillipson]

I agree with my hon. Friend that we need to ensure that local authorities are working with schools, health services and other partners in their areas. Through the last Budget, we were able to deliver additional investment for our local councils. We want to see a much greater focus and priority on early help and early support and prevention, because we know that that is where we can make the biggest difference to children’s lives.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Bridget Phillipson and Rachael Maskell

Monday 9th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Bridget Phillipson]

We want all schools to do well for our children and to drive high and rising standards regardless of the name above the door.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

Academisation has created fragmentation in lines of accountability, leaving local authorities carrying much risk, not least when it comes to SEND provision. Will my hon. Friend look at academy governance structures to ensure that local authorities can carry that responsibility and be able to deliver for children with SEN?

Higher Education Reform

Debate between Bridget Phillipson and Rachael Maskell

Monday 4th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Bridget Phillipson]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his questions. I gently observe that although it might have been slightly before his time in this House, his party has got a bit of form on this topic, but I will address his questions in the spirit in which he asked them. I appreciate the constructive approach that he has taken.

As part of the reform that we want to deliver for our young people and our sector, the hon. Gentleman’s questions about making sure that young people are supported to succeed are important ones. Since becoming Secretary of State, I have also been very clear that our international students play a crucial role, not just in our communities and our country but in the contribution they make to our local economies—I see that myself as a constituency MP. As we take forward our programme of reform, working with the sector and others, I will of course be happy to discuss that further with the hon. Gentleman.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

The last Government nearly bankrupted a number of universities. Indeed, one of the two excellent universities in my constituency had to go through a significant redundancy programme to stay afloat. However, I recognise the challenges that students in my constituency are facing, not least because of the high cost of living. As part of my right hon. Friend’s reforms, will she also look at the cost of housing students, so that they can pay their way when they are studying?

[Bridget Phillipson]

My hon. Friend makes an important point, and we will absolutely take that into consideration. It is important that we look at student accommodation, which is a big challenge in many university towns, including in her constituency. I believe the sector should be doing more to address issues around student accommodation, working with local councils. We will be setting clear expectations of how that should work in future.