Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Government has made progress on the implementation of the recommendations from Ofsted's Review of sexual abuse in schools and colleges, published on 10 June 2021.
Answered by Robin Walker
The department accepted the findings of Ofsted’s review in full and immediately began working on delivering a multi-agency, cross-departmental response, tackling the issues identified.
Local statutory safeguarding partners should support schools to address harmful sexual behaviours and sexual abuse. The department’s immediate response involved asking all 135 safeguarding partners to review working arrangements with schools and colleges in their area. We ran several events with safeguarding partners, educational establishments and sector experts, ascertaining emerging practice and barriers to effective working. This information will be shared across all safeguarding partners.
The department has published strengthened statutory Keeping Children Safe in Education Guidance in 2021, ensuring schools have clearer guidance on dealing with sexual abuse. We are further strengthening this guidance and a draft version was published in May and will take effect in September 2022. Additionally, the Child-on-Child Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment guidance have been revised.
The department has worked with the Home Office on development of the Harmful Sexual Behaviour Support Service, assisting professionals, such as teachers and designated safeguarding leads (DSLs), to tackle harmful sexual behaviours.
DSLs have a pivotal role in supporting and protecting children in school which is why we have provided more support to DSLs, enabling them to identify and address issues more confidently. We have extended our pilot of supervision and training for DSLs working alongside the Child Sexual Abuse Centre of Expertise and What Works Children’s Social Care. Later this year an online hub for DSLs will be launched, in conjunction with professionals and the sector, delivering further advice and guidance.
To address safeguarding issues online and on social media platforms, alongside the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport, we asked the Children’s Commissioner to immediately explore how children’s access to pornography and harmful content can be reduced. We have worked with the Children’s Commissioner’s Office to develop and publish a Parent’s Guide: Talking to your child about online sexual harassment. Additionally, Ministers and the Children’s Commissioner have sought reassurance from technology companies that they will identify further information which they can share, and continue to make available resources to parents, teachers, and children.
To ensure children and young people are educated about these issues, the department is supporting teachers to implement the compulsory Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) curriculum, including through producing non-statutory guidance to strengthen content and clarity on when relevant topics should be taught and asking schools to prioritise delivery of the full RSHE curriculum this academic year.
Where children and young people are affected by these issues, they continue to be supported by NSPCC’s Report Abuse in Education helpline (0800 136663). The helpline is open to anyone who has suffered sexual abuse or harassment in educational settings, and those concerned for someone else.
Work on safeguarding and child protection continues across government, including the Home Office’s Violence Against Women and Girls and Tackling Child Sexual Abuse strategies, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport’s Online Safety Act, the National Crime Agency’s response to abuse and exploitation, and Cabinet Office’s Stop Abuse Together campaign.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress his Department has made on implementing the recommendations made in Ofsted's review of sexual abuse in schools and colleges.
Answered by Robin Walker
The department accepted the findings of Ofsted’s review in full and immediately began working on delivering a multi-agency, cross-departmental response, tackling the issues identified.
Local statutory safeguarding partners should support schools to address harmful sexual behaviours and sexual abuse. The department’s immediate response involved asking all 135 safeguarding partners to review working arrangements with schools and colleges in their area. We ran several events with safeguarding partners, educational establishments and sector experts, ascertaining emerging practice and barriers to effective working. This information will be shared across all safeguarding partners.
The department has published strengthened statutory Keeping Children Safe in Education Guidance in 2021, ensuring schools have clearer guidance on dealing with sexual abuse. We are further strengthening this guidance and a draft version was published in May and will take effect in September 2022. Additionally, the Child-on-Child Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment guidance have been revised.
The department has worked with the Home Office on development of the Harmful Sexual Behaviour Support Service, assisting professionals, such as teachers and designated safeguarding leads (DSLs), to tackle harmful sexual behaviours.
DSLs have a pivotal role in supporting and protecting children in school which is why we have provided more support to DSLs, enabling them to identify and address issues more confidently. We have extended our pilot of supervision and training for DSLs working alongside the Child Sexual Abuse Centre of Expertise and What Works Children’s Social Care. Later this year an online hub for DSLs will be launched, in conjunction with professionals and the sector, delivering further advice and guidance.
To address safeguarding issues online and on social media platforms, alongside the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport, we asked the Children’s Commissioner to immediately explore how children’s access to pornography and harmful content can be reduced. We have worked with the Children’s Commissioner’s Office to develop and publish a Parent’s Guide: Talking to your child about online sexual harassment. Additionally, Ministers and the Children’s Commissioner have sought reassurance from technology companies that they will identify further information which they can share, and continue to make available resources to parents, teachers, and children.
To ensure children and young people are educated about these issues, the department is supporting teachers to implement the compulsory Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) curriculum, including through producing non-statutory guidance to strengthen content and clarity on when relevant topics should be taught and asking schools to prioritise delivery of the full RSHE curriculum this academic year.
Where children and young people are affected by these issues, they continue to be supported by NSPCC’s Report Abuse in Education helpline (0800 136663). The helpline is open to anyone who has suffered sexual abuse or harassment in educational settings, and those concerned for someone else.
Work on safeguarding and child protection continues across government, including the Home Office’s Violence Against Women and Girls and Tackling Child Sexual Abuse strategies, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport’s Online Safety Act, the National Crime Agency’s response to abuse and exploitation, and Cabinet Office’s Stop Abuse Together campaign.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if his Department will take steps to ensure that the National Implementation Board for children’s social care works with the proposed National SEND Delivery Board, as outlined in the SEND Review, to meet the social care needs of families with disabled children.
Answered by Will Quince
The department is committed to aligning our implementation strategy for children’s social care following the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care with the reforms to the special educational needs and disabilities system that we are currently consulting on through the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Green Paper.
Ultimately, the department wants to build a coherent system that has the best interests of families and vulnerable children at its heart. We therefore recognise the importance of the National Implementation Board for children’s social care working closely with the proposed National SEND Delivery Board. We will set out more detail on plans for both boards in due course.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that children are not absent from (a) school and (b) higher education.
Answered by Robin Walker
To ensure families receive support for school attendance, the department recently published new guidance setting out expectations for schools, trusts and local authorities to work together to improve pupil attendance.
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has established an alliance of national leaders from education, children’s social care, and other relevant services to work together to raise school attendance and reduce persistent absence. The Attendance Alliance Group has pledged to take action to remove barriers preventing children attending school. The department has also run a number of webinars for schools, multi-academy trusts (MATs) and local authorities to share effective practice in relation to attendance.
The department’s team of attendance advisers play an important role, by working closely with local authorities and MATs with higher levels of persistent absence to review their current practice and support them to develop plans to improve.
The department has been working to establish a better and more timely flow of pupil level attendance data across schools, trusts, and local authorities. Most state-funded schools across the country have now signed up to this project. This will help those involved to identify pupils who need most support with their attendance.
High levels of student engagement and a sense of belonging are associated with students performing well at university and of reducing the chance of them dropping out. A recent joint study by Pearson and higher education outlet Wonkhe showed students with the sense of belonging associated with high engagement are likely to enjoy more academic success.
To support learners in higher education, Student Support Champion duties will include encouraging universities to use technologies such as customer relationship management systems. These can flag the early warning signs of those who are struggling or becoming less engaged, by monitoring data such as attendance and library collections.
It is important that learners feel supported to make informed post-16 decisions on the appropriate route for them. The department’s reforms in the post-16 area, and on support for careers advice in all schools, seek to achieve this.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the funding recommendations set out in the independent review of children’s social care.
Answered by Will Quince
The department has committed to publishing a detailed and ambitious implementation strategy later this year which will detail the steps we are taking to improve children’s social care. As the strategy is developed, the department will consider the recommendations of the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care carefully, including cost implications and where legislation might be required.
The department is committed to keeping the views and interests of those with lived experience at the heart of our work as we develop the implementation strategy. The new National Implementation Board will include people with their own experience of the care system, alongside those with experience of leading transformational change.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans the Government has to ensure that the young people with experience of being in care will be included in the Care Review process at implementation stage.
Answered by Will Quince
The department has committed to publishing a detailed and ambitious implementation strategy later this year which will detail the steps we are taking to improve children’s social care. As the strategy is developed, the department will consider the recommendations of the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care carefully, including cost implications and where legislation might be required.
The department is committed to keeping the views and interests of those with lived experience at the heart of our work as we develop the implementation strategy. The new National Implementation Board will include people with their own experience of the care system, alongside those with experience of leading transformational change.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the recommendation set out in the independent review of children's social care that the care system should shift its focus to an early intervention model as opposed to crisis help.
Answered by Will Quince
The department has committed to publishing a detailed and ambitious implementation strategy later this year which will detail the steps we are taking to improve children’s social care. As the strategy is developed, the department will consider the recommendations of the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care carefully, including cost implications and where legislation might be required.
The department is committed to keeping the views and interests of those with lived experience at the heart of our work as we develop the implementation strategy. The new National Implementation Board will include people with their own experience of the care system, alongside those with experience of leading transformational change.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on allocating funding to the children's social care system in response to the independent review of children's social care.
Answered by Will Quince
The department has committed to publishing a detailed and ambitious implementation strategy later this year which will detail the steps we are taking to improve children’s social care. As the strategy is developed, the department will consider the recommendations of the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care carefully, including cost implications and where legislation might be required.
The department is committed to keeping the views and interests of those with lived experience at the heart of our work as we develop the implementation strategy. The new National Implementation Board will include people with their own experience of the care system, alongside those with experience of leading transformational change.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will take steps to ensure that children are integral to the Government's levelling up agenda.
Answered by Robin Walker
The government’s Levelling Up White Paper includes a specific education mission which states that by 2030, the number of primary school children achieving the expected standard in reading, writing and maths will have significantly increased. In England, this means 90% of children will achieve the expected standard, and the percentage of children meeting the expected standard in the worst performing areas will have increased by over a third. The Levelling Up White Paper can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/levelling-up-the-united-kingdom.
The department is committed to levelling up education standards. The recent Schools White Paper sets out our long-term vision for a school system that helps every child to fulfil their potential, by ensuring that they receive the right support, in the right place, at the right time founded on achieving world-class literacy and numeracy. The Schools White Paper can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/opportunity-for-all-strong-schools-with-great-teachers-for-your-child.
This is why the government is building capacity in the places that need this most. We are offering significant support for our 55 Education Investment Areas (EIAs) so that we can improve outcomes for pupils in these areas where attainment is weakest. The government will also be offering additional intensive investment in a subset of 24 Priority EIAs.
In all 55 EIAs, we will be taking steps to support underperforming schools to make the necessary improvements, build trust capacity, support improved digital connectivity in the schools that need this most and offer the Levelling Up premium, worth up to £3,000 tax-free, to eligible teachers.
In the Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021, the government announced £82 million to create a network of family hubs in 75 areas. This is part of a wider £302 million package to transform services for parents, carers, babies, and children in half of council areas across England. The 75 local authorities eligible to receive the funding were announced on 2 April 2022. Information on support for vulnerable families can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/infants-children-and-families-to-benefit-from-boost-in-support.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment his Department has made of the capability of Sefton Council's political leadership to run an effective Children's Social Care department.
Answered by Will Quince
Keeping children safe is vital, and the government takes tough measures when councils are failing them.
A Statutory Direction was issued to Sefton Council on 24 May 2022, following the 9 May 2022 Ofsted report that judged children’s services to be inadequate. The direction requires the Council to work with a commissioner appointed by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, who will issue any necessary instructions to the local authority for the purpose of securing immediate improvement. In addition, the commissioner will conduct a three-month assessment of the Council’s capacity and capability to improve itself. This report will help determine the best next steps to ensure improvements are made for vulnerable children and families.