Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of trends in the number of students with SEND being excluded from school on the economy in the long-term.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department regularly monitors trends in suspension and permanent exclusion rates for various pupil groups and undertakes regular reviews of the evidence concerning the long-term outcomes of pupils who have experienced a suspension or permanent exclusion. We are aware that there is an association with adverse life outcomes for pupils who have been excluded.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what consideration her Department has given to using SEND resources to fund increased staffing and provision at mainstream schools; and if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of doing so on the number of children who would remain in mainstream education.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department is committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, ensuring teachers have the tools to better identify and support children before unmet needs escalate, as well as ensuring specialist special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and alternative provision schools cater to those with the most complex needs.
On 12 December, the government announced a £3 billion investment to deliver around 50,000 specialist places for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. The funding will be distributed to local authorities for them to spend on new places in mainstream settings (including SEN units), on adaptations to mainstream settings to make them more inclusive, or on special schools where required.
We will bring forward a full Schools White Paper in the new year, underpinned by our belief that high standards and inclusion are two sides of the same coin.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment has her Department made of the potential merits of incorporating history-based video games to enhance learning.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Schools are trusted to use their judgement to choose high quality resources and deliver their lessons in ways that work best for their pupils.
The independent Curriculum and Assessment Review has recommended that the department works with experts to assess the validity of digital practice in subjects, and we will consider inclusion of relevant digital content in the national curriculum based on this process.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps is she taking to ensure that the National Curriculum includes immersive experiences.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review, published on 5 November, sets out our plans for a refreshed curriculum to ensure that all pupils develop the knowledge and skills that we know are essential for life, work and innovation.
Schools are trusted to use their judgement to choose high quality resources and deliver their lessons in ways that work best for their pupils.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the availability of low-quality, online children’s content on levels of SEND diagnosis.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Research from the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education demonstrates that rates of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) identification are increasing internationally, and England is one of the countries with a relatively higher percentage change of pupils identified with SEND. The research is available here: https://www.european-agency.org/activities/data/cross-country-reports
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care announced on 4 December the launch of an independent review into prevalence and support for mental health conditions, ADHD and autism so children, young people and adults can receive the right support
The SEND code of practice: 0 to 25 years makes it clear that meeting the needs of a child with special educational needs does not require a diagnostic label or test. Instead, we expect teachers to monitor the progress of all pupils and put support in place where needed. The guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to meet to meet the ambition for kinship care set out by the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Following the Care Review, the government appointed the first ever National Kinship Care Ambassador and updated the Kinship Care Statutory Guidance for Local Authorities, which can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/670d3ed5e84ae1fd8592f2fa/Kinship_Care_-_statutory_guidance_for_local_authorities__October_2024.pdf.
The government has also extended both the delivery of over 140 kinship carer peer support groups across England and the virtual school head role (on a non-statutory basis) to include championing the education, attendance, and attainment of children in kinship care.
Through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, we will mandate all local authorities in England to publish their local kinship offer and offer Family Group Decision Making at pre-proceedings where that is in the child’s best interests.
The department will soon launch a Kinship Allowance Pilot to support eligible kinship carers with the costs of raising a child, which will support up to 4,500 children in kinship care in pilot local authorities. Any wider rollout of this will be informed by findings of the evaluation.
Kinship leave is also in scope of government’s parental leave review, which will recommend improvements to the current parental leave system.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to deliver accessible training and support services for kinship carers.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Following the Care Review, the government appointed the first ever National Kinship Care Ambassador and updated the Kinship Care Statutory Guidance for Local Authorities, which can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/670d3ed5e84ae1fd8592f2fa/Kinship_Care_-_statutory_guidance_for_local_authorities__October_2024.pdf.
The government has also extended both the delivery of over 140 kinship carer peer support groups across England and the virtual school head role (on a non-statutory basis) to include championing the education, attendance, and attainment of children in kinship care.
Through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, we will mandate all local authorities in England to publish their local kinship offer and offer Family Group Decision Making at pre-proceedings where that is in the child’s best interests.
The department will soon launch a Kinship Allowance Pilot to support eligible kinship carers with the costs of raising a child, which will support up to 4,500 children in kinship care in pilot local authorities. Any wider rollout of this will be informed by findings of the evaluation.
Kinship leave is also in scope of government’s parental leave review, which will recommend improvements to the current parental leave system.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to extend the Kinship Allowance programme to all eligible local authorities.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Following the Care Review, the government appointed the first ever National Kinship Care Ambassador and updated the Kinship Care Statutory Guidance for Local Authorities, which can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/670d3ed5e84ae1fd8592f2fa/Kinship_Care_-_statutory_guidance_for_local_authorities__October_2024.pdf.
The government has also extended both the delivery of over 140 kinship carer peer support groups across England and the virtual school head role (on a non-statutory basis) to include championing the education, attendance, and attainment of children in kinship care.
Through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, we will mandate all local authorities in England to publish their local kinship offer and offer Family Group Decision Making at pre-proceedings where that is in the child’s best interests.
The department will soon launch a Kinship Allowance Pilot to support eligible kinship carers with the costs of raising a child, which will support up to 4,500 children in kinship care in pilot local authorities. Any wider rollout of this will be informed by findings of the evaluation.
Kinship leave is also in scope of government’s parental leave review, which will recommend improvements to the current parental leave system.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to financially support kinship carers.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Following the Care Review, the government appointed the first ever National Kinship Care Ambassador and updated the Kinship Care Statutory Guidance for Local Authorities, which can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/670d3ed5e84ae1fd8592f2fa/Kinship_Care_-_statutory_guidance_for_local_authorities__October_2024.pdf.
The government has also extended both the delivery of over 140 kinship carer peer support groups across England and the virtual school head role (on a non-statutory basis) to include championing the education, attendance, and attainment of children in kinship care.
Through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, we will mandate all local authorities in England to publish their local kinship offer and offer Family Group Decision Making at pre-proceedings where that is in the child’s best interests.
The department will soon launch a Kinship Allowance Pilot to support eligible kinship carers with the costs of raising a child, which will support up to 4,500 children in kinship care in pilot local authorities. Any wider rollout of this will be informed by findings of the evaluation.
Kinship leave is also in scope of government’s parental leave review, which will recommend improvements to the current parental leave system.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding her Department has provided for programmes that support the mental health of teachers and school staff in the last 12 months.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department is funding the charity, Education Support, to deliver free mental health and wellbeing support to school and college leaders. Professional supervision enables leaders to work with qualified and experienced supervisors to develop strategies to support their mental wellbeing.
A new three-year contract was awarded to Education Support to deliver this support from April 2024 to March 2027 at a value of up to £1.5 million with the aim of supporting approximately 2,500 leaders. Over 1,300 leaders have been supported since April 2024.
Funding figures for the last 12 months are not available. For the 2025/26 financial year, approximately £500,000 is expected to be spent.