Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to help ensure that children who qualify for free school meals but (a) cannot physically attend school due to long-term medical conditions and (b) cannot eat meals provided by schools because of dietary requirements are able to receive free meals.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Schools have a duty to provide nutritious, free meals to pupils who meet the eligibility criteria. This includes registered pupils of state funded schools. Free school meal (FSM) provision should be made to eligible pupils either on the school premises or at any other place where education is being provided.
The Department expects schools to act reasonably in ensuring that their food provision accounts for medical, dietary, and cultural needs. The Department has published statutory guidance describing steps school may take, including the establishment of individual healthcare plans which may include special diets. This guidance is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/803956/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions.pdf#:~:text=On%201%20September%202014%20a%20new%20duty%20came,life%2C%20remain%20healthy%20and%20achieve%20their%20academic%20potential.
Local Authorities are funded to support children with special educational needs and disabilities, including those who are unable to attend school on a long term basis. The Department’s guidance on this can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/illness-child-education.
The Department does not plan to expand FSM to include pupils who are home or privately educated. The Department will continue to keep eligibility under review to ensure that these meals are supporting those who most need them.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will make an assessment of the affordability of (a) transport to school and (b) school uniform for families that are not eligible for support for those costs.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government understands that many people are worried about the impact of rising prices, with many households struggling to make their incomes stretch to cover the basics. The Government cannot insulate people from rising costs completely, but it is offering support to help people with costs such as childcare, bills and transport. The Government’s dedicated website provides more information about support with the cost of living. The information is available here: https://helpforhouseholds.campaign.gov.uk/.
The Department’s school transport policy aims to ensure that no child of compulsory school age is unable to access education because of a lack of transport. Local Authorities must arrange free travel to school for children aged 5 to 16 who attend their nearest school and cannot walk there due to the distance, route safety, or as a result of special educational needs, disability or mobility problems. There are additional rights to free travel for low income families aimed at helping them to exercise school choice. There are no plans to extend free home to school travel to all children.
Local Authorities spent more than £1.6 billion on home to school travel in the 2021/22 financial year. The majority of central Government funding for home to school travel is made available to Local Authorities through the Local Government Finance Settlement (LGFS), which is administered by the Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC). The Department for Education provides grant funding to Local Authorities as a contribution towards the cost of extended rights travel. This is just under £45.8 million in the 2023/24 financial year.
The Department has published statutory guidance on the ‘Cost of School Uniform’ to ensure that the cost of school uniform is reasonable and secures best value for money for all parents. The guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cost-of-school-uniforms. It is for the governing board of a school to decide whether there should be a school uniform policy and, if so, what that should be.
The guidance requires schools to ensure that their uniform is affordable and sets a number of requirements to help ensure that. These requirements include assessing the cost implications of their uniform policy and engaging with parents and pupils on cost issues.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of providing free transport to and from school for all children.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government understands that many people are worried about the impact of rising prices, with many households struggling to make their incomes stretch to cover the basics. The Government cannot insulate people from rising costs completely, but it is offering support to help people with costs such as childcare, bills and transport. The Government’s dedicated website provides more information about support with the cost of living. The information is available here: https://helpforhouseholds.campaign.gov.uk/.
The Department’s school transport policy aims to ensure that no child of compulsory school age is unable to access education because of a lack of transport. Local Authorities must arrange free travel to school for children aged 5 to 16 who attend their nearest school and cannot walk there due to the distance, route safety, or as a result of special educational needs, disability or mobility problems. There are additional rights to free travel for low income families aimed at helping them to exercise school choice. There are no plans to extend free home to school travel to all children.
Local Authorities spent more than £1.6 billion on home to school travel in the 2021/22 financial year. The majority of central Government funding for home to school travel is made available to Local Authorities through the Local Government Finance Settlement (LGFS), which is administered by the Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC). The Department for Education provides grant funding to Local Authorities as a contribution towards the cost of extended rights travel. This is just under £45.8 million in the 2023/24 financial year.
The Department has published statutory guidance on the ‘Cost of School Uniform’ to ensure that the cost of school uniform is reasonable and secures best value for money for all parents. The guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cost-of-school-uniforms. It is for the governing board of a school to decide whether there should be a school uniform policy and, if so, what that should be.
The guidance requires schools to ensure that their uniform is affordable and sets a number of requirements to help ensure that. These requirements include assessing the cost implications of their uniform policy and engaging with parents and pupils on cost issues.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an estimate of the number and proportion of children who do not participate in (a) school trips and (b) residentials due to financial constraints; and if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her Department's policies.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department does not collect information about children who participate in school trips.
Schools may not charge for school trips that take place during school hours. Schools also may not charge for school trips that take place outside of school hours but that are part of the National Curriculum, part of religious education, or part of the syllabus for a public exam that the pupil is being prepared for at the school. Parents can be asked for contributions towards the cost of a trip, but schools must make clear that contributions are voluntary.
If a trip requires a night away from home, parents can be charged for board and lodging, but parents who receive certain benefits cannot be charged and schools should be clear about this in their communications.
The published advice, ‘Charging for School Activities’, is clear that no child should be excluded from an activity simply because their parents are unwilling or unable to pay. This advice is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/charging-for-school-activities.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the review of relationships and sex education will seek to improve relationships education for children who have been adopted.
Answered by Nick Gibb
On 8 March 2023, my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister announced that the Department had brought forward the review of the relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) statutory guidance. The review will cover the full scope of the statutory guidance and will involve working closely with stakeholders and experts to draw on the best available evidence. The review aims to improve the statutory guidance, which will in turn improve relationships education for all pupils.
On 31 March 2023, the Department announced further details of the review, including setting up an independent panel of experts to advise on what can be done to ensure that what is taught is appropriate, including introducing age restrictions: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/review-of-relationships-sex-and-health-education-to-protect-children-to-conclude-by-end-of-year.
The Department will seek to gather evidence from a range of stakeholders over the coming months and will undertake a public consultation on the amended guidance in autumn 2023. The Department expects to publish the revised statutory guidance early in 2024. Families and representatives of adopted children will be able to contribute to the consultation process.
The Department is in the process of identifying the members of independent expert panel, which will inform the wider review of the RSHE statutory guidance. The Department expects the process to be completed shortly and will then make public more details of the panel and their work. The Department will seek to ensure that the views of a range of groups are represented in the review process, including adopted children and those who have experienced trauma.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the review of relationships and sex education will consult families of adopted children on the content of relationships education.
Answered by Nick Gibb
On 8 March 2023, my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister announced that the Department had brought forward the review of the relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) statutory guidance. The review will cover the full scope of the statutory guidance and will involve working closely with stakeholders and experts to draw on the best available evidence. The review aims to improve the statutory guidance, which will in turn improve relationships education for all pupils.
On 31 March 2023, the Department announced further details of the review, including setting up an independent panel of experts to advise on what can be done to ensure that what is taught is appropriate, including introducing age restrictions: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/review-of-relationships-sex-and-health-education-to-protect-children-to-conclude-by-end-of-year.
The Department will seek to gather evidence from a range of stakeholders over the coming months and will undertake a public consultation on the amended guidance in autumn 2023. The Department expects to publish the revised statutory guidance early in 2024. Families and representatives of adopted children will be able to contribute to the consultation process.
The Department is in the process of identifying the members of independent expert panel, which will inform the wider review of the RSHE statutory guidance. The Department expects the process to be completed shortly and will then make public more details of the panel and their work. The Department will seek to ensure that the views of a range of groups are represented in the review process, including adopted children and those who have experienced trauma.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the independent panel reviewing relationships and sex education will include a trauma specialist.
Answered by Nick Gibb
On 8 March 2023, my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister announced that the Department had brought forward the review of the relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) statutory guidance. The review will cover the full scope of the statutory guidance and will involve working closely with stakeholders and experts to draw on the best available evidence. The review aims to improve the statutory guidance, which will in turn improve relationships education for all pupils.
On 31 March 2023, the Department announced further details of the review, including setting up an independent panel of experts to advise on what can be done to ensure that what is taught is appropriate, including introducing age restrictions: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/review-of-relationships-sex-and-health-education-to-protect-children-to-conclude-by-end-of-year.
The Department will seek to gather evidence from a range of stakeholders over the coming months and will undertake a public consultation on the amended guidance in autumn 2023. The Department expects to publish the revised statutory guidance early in 2024. Families and representatives of adopted children will be able to contribute to the consultation process.
The Department is in the process of identifying the members of independent expert panel, which will inform the wider review of the RSHE statutory guidance. The Department expects the process to be completed shortly and will then make public more details of the panel and their work. The Department will seek to ensure that the views of a range of groups are represented in the review process, including adopted children and those who have experienced trauma.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had recent discussions with the National Education Union on offering teachers an above inflation pay rise.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government and the education trade unions, the Association of School and College Leaders, National Association of Head Teachers, NASUWT and the National Education Union (NEU), took part in a period of intensive talks between 17 March and 23 March 2023, when an in principle offer was made by the Government. This offer comprised a package of pay and non-pay related measures.
The offer included an average consolidated pay increase over this year and next year that is over 10%, with 5.4% this year compounded by the 4.5% offered for next, as well as a non-consolidated additional £1,000 for this year. The pay offer was above the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast for inflation at the end of this calendar year, which is 2.9%, with inflation forecast to fall further in 2024. The Government also committed to increasing the starting salary for new teachers by 7.1% to £30,000.
It is disappointing that the education trade unions have rejected this offer, which was fully funded. The issue of teacher pay will now revert to the independent pay review body, the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB), who will put forward its recommendation for what teachers’ pay for next year should be. It is hoped that the independent process will break the deadlock and lead to a resolution as soon as possible. As usual, it will not look at any changes to the pay award for this year, 2022/23.
The Department will continue to engage regularly with teaching and leadership unions on policy developments as usual.
NEU has also announced further strikes on 27 April and 2 May. These strikes will only cause further disruption for students and parents, at a crucial period in the school calendar when many students will be preparing for important exams which will affect their long-term prospects.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number and proportion of schools with medical conditions policies which are accessible to parents and carers in line with their statutory duties under Children and Families Act 2014.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The department does not collect data on the availability of medical conditions policies. Local authorities are statutorily required to keep the provision for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities under review, including its sufficiency and how they work with parents, young people, and providers. This would include encouraging the availability of medical conditions policies in schools.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the increases in the cost of living on university student dropout rates.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The department recognises the additional cost of living pressures that have arisen this year which have impacted students.
Students who have been awarded a loan for living costs for the 2022/23 academic year that is lower than the maximum, and whose household income for the tax year 2022/23 has dropped by at least 15% compared to the income provided for their original assessment, can apply for their entitlement to be reassessed.
We are making ongoing assessments of the data available to us on student withdrawals. This includes the Student Loans Company (SLC) reports on notifications received of student withdrawal from higher education (HE), and this data is published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/early-in-year-student-withdrawal-notifications-academic-year-201819-to-202223.
Authoritative data on students not continuing or completing their HE studies by person characteristics is published by the Office for Students in the ‘Student characteristics data: Outcomes data’ dashboard. This can be accessed at: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/data-and-analysis/student-characteristics-data/outcomes-data-dashboard/.
The Office for National Statistics has twice surveyed students directly on the impact of cost-of-living pressures. The most recent report, published 24 February 2023 is available to view here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/educationandchildcare/bulletins/costoflivingandhighereducationstudentsengland/30januaryto13february2023.
The next SLC report on student withdrawal from HE is due to be published on 30 March 2023.