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Written Question
T-levels: Student Wastage
Thursday 19th December 2024

Asked by: David Williams (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent North)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to reduce dropout rates of students studying T-Levels.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

This government wants all young people to have access to high-quality education options that enable them to learn the skills they need to progress in life and build successful careers.

T Levels are an excellent post-16 option for students, and we want to extend the opportunities they provide to as many young people as possible. The department has listened to feedback about barriers to delivery and taken action as a result. For example, we have announced updated approaches to industry placements, including allowing up to 20% of the placement to be remote, with up to 50% for T Levels in Digital. These changes which will unlock more opportunities for students and employers, while maintaining quality.

T Levels are still early in their implementation, and the retention rate is now improving. To support this, the department is raising awareness of T Levels with schools and careers advisers, backed up by case studies of students’ experiences and access to face to face support to ensure they understand the requirements of T Levels and can advise students effectively.

The department has addressed issues specific to the Health and Science T Levels, which may have affected the second cohort of students. In September 2023, a new T Level in Health Qualification Specification was published, with changes to the core content, alongside a suite of support from the awarding organisation to help providers deliver the T Level effectively. The department expects retention rates to continue rising as providers become more familiar with delivering the courses, and we continue to support providers to deliver T Levels effectively.


Written Question
Children: Communication Skills
Friday 13th December 2024

Asked by: David Williams (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent North)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support (a) language and (b) communication skills of children under three.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Early language skills are vital to enable children to thrive in the early years and later in life.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework sets the standards and requirements that all early years providers must follow to ensure every child has the best start in life and is prepared for school. The three prime areas of learning and development within the EYFS are particularly important for building a strong foundation, with communication and language being one of these prime areas.

Assessment plays an important part in helping parents, carers and practitioners to recognise children’s progress, understand their needs, and to plan activities and support. The assessment requirements in the EYFS includes the progress check at age two and the EYFS profile, both of which involve reviewing a child’s development in communication and language.

To support early language skills, the department is providing funding for settings to undertake evidence-based continuous professional development programmes, including those focused on speech, language and communication, via a national network of Early Years Stronger Practice Hubs. Additionally, we are providing training through the Professional Development Programme and the online early years child development training, both of which include a specific module focused on early language. Furthermore, we are providing training for up to 7,000 special educational needs coordinators that will help children with speech, language and communication needs and support earlier identification of needs.

In partnership with the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), we have also developed the early language identification measure, which supports local area health and early years partnerships to work in a more integrated way, helping to identify speech, language and communication needs as early as possible. We are also enabling Family Hubs to train practitioners to support families with the home learning environment and to help parents learn new skills, including providing effective support for children’s speech and communication.

Furthermore, we are developing programmes to support early language development, such as the department’s joint home learning campaign with the DHSC, Little Moments Together, which encourages parents to chat, play and read with their children, and provides helpful tips on activities on learning to talk. The campaign can be accessed here: https://campaignresources.dhsc.gov.uk/campaigns/better-health-start-for-life/better-health-start-for-life-home-learning-environment-2024/.

We are also working in partnership with NHS England to deliver the Early Language Support for Every Child pathfinders for 2-11 year-olds, working with partners to deliver an Early Language Local Innovation and Excellence programme which includes implementation of published speech and language communication pathway guidance and an early language identification measure. We are also publishing early years special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) assessment guidance and resources, which includes practical advice, tools and downloadable resources. These will help educators assess children with SEND, capture their voice, and set learning targets. It includes a dedicated tool for communication and interaction.


Written Question
Care Leavers: Education and Training
Friday 13th December 2024

Asked by: David Williams (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent North)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking through the Youth Guarantee to support care leavers at risk of dropping out of (a) education and (b) training.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

​​The department’s vision for a Youth Guarantee is to ensure all young people aged 18 to 21 have access to training or employment support to prevent them from becoming economically inactive before their careers have even begun. This includes young people leaving care.

From spring 2025, the department will launch trailblazers in eight mayoral authorities to design and test the Youth Guarantee. As the new framework for supporting young people into further learning and onto fulfilling work, it will guarantee tailored support to 18 to 21 year olds who need it, to ensure they can access quality training opportunities, an apprenticeship or employment support. The department will ensure that trailblazers test how the Youth Guarantee can best support groups that face additional barriers, including care leavers.

The Youth Guarantee offers will sit alongside other support available to care leavers who are particularly vulnerable to not being in education, employment or training. For example, care leavers are a priority group for a 16-19 bursary if they are studying in further education and up to £1,200 a year can be paid by their college.

In addition, care leavers who enter higher education are eligible for a statutory bursary of £2,000 from their local authority and care leavers who take up an apprenticeship are eligible for a £3,000 bursary.


Written Question
Children: Communication Skills
Friday 13th December 2024

Asked by: David Williams (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent North)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the potential impact of workforce shortages in the early years sector on pre-school children’s language and communication development.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Early language skills are vital to enable children to thrive in their early years and later in life, including in all aspects of their later attainment in school. To support early language skills, the department is investing over £20 million in the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI) programme. NELI is an evidence-based programme targeting reception aged children needing extra support with their speech and language development and is proven to help them make four months of additional progress, increasing to seven months additional progress for those eligible for free school meals. In July 2024 the department announced funded support for the 11,100 schools registered for the NELI programme, two thirds of English state primaries, for the 2024/25 academic year.

To further support early language skills, the department is also delivering the early years education recovery programme. This includes providing funding for settings to undertake evidence-based continuous professional development programmes, including those focussed on speech, language and communication, via a national network of early years stronger practice hubs. The department is also supporting training through the professional development programme and the online early years child development training, both of which include a specific module focused on early language.  Additionally, training for up to 7,000 special educational needs coordinators will help children with speech, language and communication needs and support earlier identification of those needs.

The department is working in partnership with NHS England to deliver the Early Language Support for Every Child pathfinders for 2 to 11-years olds and is working with partners to deliver an early language local innovation and excellence programme which includes implementation of published speech and language communication pathway guidance and an early language identification measure.

The department is publishing early years special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) assessment guidance and resources, including practical advice, tools, and downloadable resources. These will help educators assess children with SEND, capture their voice and set learning targets, featuring a dedicated tool for communication and interaction.

This government sees the early years sector as more than just childcare, it is central to our Opportunity Mission to give every child the best start in life. We are determined to create a sea change in the approach to early years, focusing on high-quality early education, celebrating and supporting early years careers, and embedding the sector into the wider education system. We are supporting the sector to attract talented staff and childminders by creating conditions for improved recruitment, alongside programmes to better utilise the skills of the existing workforce and make early years careers as accessible and rewarding as possible.

Our key interventions include a national recruitment campaign urging the public to ‘Do something BIG’ and start a career working with small children, testing whether financial incentives and a childminder start-up grant in early years boost recruitment, and Skills Bootcamps for the early years which lead to an accelerated apprenticeship.

These interventions are in addition to a package of changes to the early years statutory framework and new childminder flexibilities which give providers more choice over how they operate, as well as uplifting funding rates to support providers in dealing with the costs they face, including staffing costs.


Written Question
Further Education: Labour Turnover and Recruitment
Thursday 12th December 2024

Asked by: David Williams (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent North)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve (a) recruitment and (b) retention in the further education sector.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Good quality teaching is the main determinant of quality outcomes for learners. The population of 16 to 19 year olds in further education (FE) is set to grow in the coming years, which is why we need more great FE teachers in critical subject areas.

To boost recruitment and retention of teachers, the targeted retention incentive will give eligible early career teachers in key science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and technical shortage subjects, who work in disadvantaged schools and in all colleges, up to £6,000 after tax annually, on top of their normal pay.

The department also continues to support recruitment and retention with teacher training bursaries worth up to £30,000 tax-free in certain key subject areas, and support for industry professionals to enter the FE teaching workforce through its ‘Taking Teaching Further’ programme.

The national FE teacher recruitment campaign ‘Share Your Skills’ targets those with industry skills to think about a career in FE teaching. The campaign raises awareness and increases consideration by encouraging industry professionals to think about using their skills to teach in FE.

FE colleges are being supported by an additional £300 million funding announced at the Autumn Budget 2024 to deliver the best opportunities for learners.


Written Question
Schools: Transport
Monday 18th November 2024

Asked by: David Williams (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent North)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support local authorities to ensure that young people's home to school transport needs are met.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

The department’s home-to-school travel policy aims to make sure no child is prevented from accessing education by a lack of transport. Local authorities must arrange free home-to-school travel for children of compulsory school age who attend their nearest school and would not be able to walk there because of the distance, their special educational needs, disability or mobility problem or because the route is unsafe. There are extended rights to free home to school travel for children from low-income families aimed at helping them exercise school choice.

The department knows that local authorities’ spending on home to school travel has increased sharply in recent years, particularly for children with special educational needs and disabilities. This is largely due to increases in the number of children with education, health and care plans and the number of those children who have to travel long distances to a school that can meet their needs. The department is committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools so fewer children need to travel long distances to a school that can meet their needs. This will reduce home-to-school travel costs for local authorities over time.

Most central government funding for home-to-school travel is provided through the local government finance settlement administered by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. The government recognises the challenges local authorities are facing. The government has listened to voices across the sector and prioritised local government in the budget. The government announced £1.3 billion of new grant funding in the 2025/26 financial year for local government to deliver core services. Together with local income from council tax and business rates, this will provide a real-terms increase in core spending power of around 3.2%.


Written Question
Apprentices: Disadvantaged
Wednesday 6th November 2024

Asked by: David Williams (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent North)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that Foundational Apprenticeships support disadvantaged young people into apprenticeship schemes.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

This government has a driving mission to break down barriers to opportunity. Too many young people face difficulties progressing beyond secondary education and we want to ensure that more people from disadvantaged backgrounds can undertake apprenticeships.

The department has begun work to develop new foundation apprenticeships, providing high quality entry pathways for young people. We will engage with relevant stakeholders to inform our thinking to maximise its positive impact on young people, including those in disadvantaged areas. More detail on foundation apprenticeships will be set out in due course.

The department continues to pay additional funding to employers and training providers to support them to take on young apprentices, apprentices with learning difficulties and disabilities, and care leavers.


Written Question
Higher Education
Friday 1st November 2024

Asked by: David Williams (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent North)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help support people to transition from level three qualifications to higher levels.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Skills are crucial to economic growth, with a third of productivity improvement over the last two decades explained by improvements to skills levels. However, between 2017 and 2022, skills shortages in England doubled to more than half a million and now account for 36% of job vacancies.

To address this, Skills England will bring together central and local government, businesses, training providers and unions across all regions to meet the skills needs of the next decade to provide strategic oversight of the post-16 skills system that is aligned to the government’s Industrial Strategy.

The government will also bring forward a comprehensive strategy for post-16 education to break down barriers to opportunity, support the development of a skilled workforce and drive economic growth through its Industrial Strategy.

The department will continue to support learners who wish to progress from Level 3 to a higher level, whether that is to study at university, a higher level or degree apprenticeship, or a Level 4 or 5 classroom-based qualification such as a Higher Technical Qualification, which have been approved as providing the skills that employers need.


Written Question
Local Skills Improvement Plans
Friday 1st November 2024

Asked by: David Williams (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent North)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to (a) support Local Skills Improvement Plans and (b) prevent duplication of those plans with Skills England.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs) support the department’s aim to make technical education and training more responsive to local labour market and employer needs.

Since autumn 2022, the designated employer representative bodies (ERBs) leading the LSIPs have engaged thousands of local businesses regarding their skills needs. The resultant LSIPs are a valuable source of information for local skills deliverers, employers and stakeholders, and will provide important intelligence for the newly-established Skills England.

Skills England will work closely with regional stakeholders, including the designated ERBs that cover all of England across the 38 LSIP areas.


Written Question
Special Educational Needs
Thursday 31st October 2024

Asked by: David Williams (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent North)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help support local authorities to meet the legal deadline to provide an education, health and care plan.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

Every child deserves the opportunity to achieve and thrive but, at the moment, far from every child is being given that chance. The current special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and alternative provision system has lost the confidence of families and children with SEND are being failed on every measure. The department is planning to work with the teachers, parents, children, therapists and councils that for so long have been trying so hard but have been set up to fail by a broken system. This work forms part of the government’s Opportunity Mission, which will break the unfair link between background and opportunity. This begins with giving every child, including those with SEND, the best start in life.

The department wants to ensure that, where required, education, health and care (EHC) plan assessments are progressed promptly and, if needed, plans are issued as quickly as possible so that children and young people can access the support they need.

The department publishes annual data from the SEN2 survey in relation to the processes associated with an EHC plan, including the timeliness of assessments and where agreed, the issuing of an EHC plan. The department closely monitors the information from the annual SEN2 data release and uses it to inform discussions with local areas.

Local authorities identified as having issues with EHC plan timeliness are subject to additional monitoring by the department who work with the specific local authority. Where we have concerns about the local authority’s capacity to make the required improvements, we have secured specialist SEND Advisor support to help identify the barriers to EHC plan process timeliness and put in place practical plans for recovery.

We know that local authorities have been impacted by increased demand for EHC plans and workforce capacity to meet this demand, so more efficient and effective service delivery, alongside communication with schools and families, is central to the recovery.

When inspections indicate that there are significant concerns with local authority performance, the department will intervene directly. This may mean issuing an Improvement Notice, Statutory Direction and/or appointing a commissioner, the deployment of which is considered on a case-by-case basis. We also provide support and challenge, for example from SEND Improvement Advisers and Sector Led Improvement Partners, to address the challenges local authorities face and improve services for children.