Asked by: Chris Hinchliff (Labour - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the permanent cost of pay rises for primary school teachers implemented in September 2024 has been factored into school budgets beyond April 2025.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The overall core schools budget is increasing by £3.2 billion in the 2025/26 financial year, meaning the core schools budget will total over £64.8 billion compared to almost £61.6 billion in the 2024/25 financial year. This includes the £2.3 billion announced at the Autumn Budget 2024 and over £930 million being provided to support schools and high needs settings with the increases to employer National Insurance contributions from April 2025.
The funding announced at the Autumn Budget 2024 includes funding to cover the remaining costs of the 2024 teachers’ pay award in the 2025/26 financial year.
For mainstream schools, all of this funding has been rolled into the schools national funding formula in 2025/26, ensuring that it forms an ongoing part of schools’ core budgets.
Asked by: Chris Hinchliff (Labour - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the timing of the start of the school budget year in April and the academic year in September on schools' ability to budget effectively for staffing needs when pupil numbers increase in September.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Schools are generally funded on the basis of their pupil numbers in the previous October census, therefore meaning the funding that schools receive for the 2025/26 funding year will be based on pupil numbers as of October 2024. This practice means that the department can publish allocations with enough time to give schools certainty over funding levels and to aid in their planning. It also gives schools time to adjust to any declines in pupil numbers, before these have an impact on their funding.
However, the department understands that this can cause problems where schools are experiencing significant growth in pupil numbers. The department also allocates ‘growth funding’ to local authorities. This can be used by local authorities to support both maintained schools and academies in managing a significant growth in pupil numbers, in advance of this increase being reflected in schools’ core funding allocations.
Asked by: Chris Hinchliff (Labour - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of special educational provision in North East Hertfordshire constituency.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.
The department wants to drive a consistent and inclusive approach to supporting children and young people with SEND through early identification, effective support, high-quality teaching and effective allocation of resources. The department is also working closely with experts on reforms who will play a key role in convening and engaging with the sector, including leaders, practitioners, children and families as we consider the next steps for the future of SEND reform.
The department is providing support and challenge to the Hertfordshire local area partnership. In July 2023, Ofsted’s inspection of local arrangements in Hertfordshire for children with SEND concluded that there were widespread and/or systemic failings, leading to significant concerns about the experiences and outcomes of children and young people with SEND, which the local area partnership must address urgently.
Since then, the department has been using a SEND expert adviser to monitor progress against Hertfordshire’s priority action plan and improvement plan. In January 2025, the department sent the local area partnership a letter following a stocktake into their progress. This letter outlines that improvements are being made at pace, including on governance arrangements and quality assurance. However, there are still areas for the local area to address, for example on the impact and sustainability of improvements. The letter can be accessed here: https://sendnews.hertfordshire.gov.uk/31-january-2025#stocktake.
The partnership has also established a SEND Improvement Board, which is independently chaired by Dame Christine Lenehan, to oversee progress and provide appropriate challenge.
Asked by: Chris Hinchliff (Labour - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what hat assessment she has made of potential steps to improve and the (a) pay and (b) working conditions of supply teachers in North East Hertfordshire constituency.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Supply teachers make an important contribution to the smooth running of schools by filling posts on a temporary basis and covering teacher absences.
A supply teacher’s pay and working conditions will depend on who employs the supply teacher. Supply teachers employed directly by a state maintained school or local authority must be paid in accordance with the statutory arrangements for teachers as set out in the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD). If a supply teacher is employed by an agency or non-maintained school, the employer can set the rate of pay and conditions of employment.
Schools and local authorities are responsible for the recruitment of their supply teachers.
Asked by: Chris Hinchliff (Labour - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of expanding free school transport access to include students between 16 and 19 years old.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department recognises that the cost and availability of public transport can be an issue for some 16 to 19 year olds when travelling to their college or sixth form, particularly for those with special educational needs (SEN) or those living in rural areas.
It is the responsibility of local authorities to put in place transport arrangements to help young people aged 16 to 19 to access education or training, as well as those aged 19 to 24 with SEN, using funds they have available locally. All local authorities have to prioritise their spending carefully.
Many local authorities do offer some form of subsidised transport. For example, in North East Hertfordshire, Hertfordshire County Council offer discounted fares to all young people, and free transport for eligible young people from low-income backgrounds, or those with education, health and care plans, to access relevant learning.
The 16 to 19 Bursary Fund can also be used for transport costs to support young people to access education and training. Schools and colleges are responsible for deciding how to distribute their bursary allocations to students and for establishing what criteria to use.
Asked by: Chris Hinchliff (Labour - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 7 October 2024 to Question 5661 on Private Education: VAT, whether her Department has made a specific assessment of the potential impact of the policy on children with special educational needs in the independent sector.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government is committed to ending the VAT exemption that private schools enjoy and will confirm the introduction of these changes at the Budget on 30 October. The Office for Budget Responsibility will also certify the government’s costings for these measures at that time.
Children with education, health and care plans that provide a necessary local authority funded place at a private school, will not be impacted by this policy. This is because local authorities can reclaim VAT on service expenditure through existing routes.
Analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies assumes a net gain to the public finances of £1.3 to 1.5 billion per year in the medium to long run as a result of removing tax exemptions from private schools. This would allow for about a 2% increase in state school spending in England. This analysis can be found here: https://ifs.org.uk/publications/tax-private-school-fees-and-state-school-spending.
Asked by: Chris Hinchliff (Labour - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the process to secure a SEND diagnosis for children living in North East Hertfordshire.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Ofsted inspected local arrangements for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in Hertfordshire in July 2023. Its report, published on 10 November 2023, concluded that there are widespread and/or systemic failings, leading to significant concerns about the experiences and outcomes of children and young people with SEND, which the local area partnership must address urgently.
The report found that many children and young people with SEND face long delays in having their needs assessed and receiving appropriate support. Parents and carers often encounter poor communication regarding education, health and care (EHC) assessments, as well as review processes, with many needing to take formal steps to secure the right support for their child, leading to frustration and added stress for families.
To ensure children are supported in receiving the necessary support and provision to match their needs in a timely manner, the department continues to monitor and challenge Hertfordshire County Council’s progress against their priority action plan, which includes the monitoring of EHC plan 20-week timeliness rates.
Judgements regarding sufficient progress will be made by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission following the monitoring visit that is expected to take place 18 months after the initial inspection. Following this, the department will continue to monitor and provide appropriate challenge and support to the local authority to make the necessary improvements, with the guidance of an expert SEND advisor and NHS England advisor.
This government is committed to improving the experiences for children and young people with SEND and their families. The department will take a community-wide approach, improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools and alternative provision settings, as well as ensuring special schools cater to those with the most complex needs.
Asked by: Chris Hinchliff (Labour - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support (a) children with SEND and (b) their parents, families and carers in North East Hertfordshire constituency.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
This government is committed to providing the necessary support to improve the experiences for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and their families. The department is committed to taking a community-wide approach, improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools and alternative provision settings, as well as ensuring special schools cater to those with the most complex needs.
Ofsted inspected local arrangements for children with SEND in Hertfordshire in July 2023. Their report, published on 10 November 2023, concluded that there are widespread and/or systemic failings, leading to significant concerns about the experiences and outcomes of children and young people with SEND, which the local area partnership must address urgently.
The department provides support and challenge to the Hertfordshire local area partnership by monitoring progress against its priority action plan and improvement plan, and by providing advice and guidance via a SEND expert advisor. The partnership has also established a SEND Improvement Board, independently chaired by Dame Christine Lenehan to oversee progress and provide appropriate challenge.