Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 17 December 2024 to Question 18517 on Natural History: GCSE, what progress she has made in her consideration of next steps on the implementation of a new GCSE in Natural History.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
This government recognises the importance of providing all children and young people with the knowledge, skills and behaviours to understand and develop a connection to the natural world, access green careers, and thrive in life and work in a world with a changing climate.
The government is therefore pleased to confirm that we will be moving ahead with a new GCSE in natural history. The GCSE will enable more young people to benefit from the opportunity to learn about the natural world in more depth at key stage 4. It will equip them to understand and respect the natural world and contribute to the protection and conservation of the environment locally, nationally and internationally.
The content of the new natural history GCSE will need to build on the curriculum content that pupils learn earlier in their schooling related to the natural world in subjects like science, geography and citizenship. We therefore plan to finalise and consult on proposed subject content for the new GCSE after the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review has concluded. The Review Group is expecting to publish its final report with recommendations in autumn 2025.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
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 making the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund permanent.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
I refer the hon. Member for North Herefordshire to the answer of 29 January 2025 to Question 26025.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 9 December 2024 to Question 17264 on Children: Epilespy, what steps her Department is taking with governing bodies to ensure that all schools (a) develop a policy for supporting pupils with medical conditions, (b) ensure the arrangements they put in place are sufficient to meet their statutory responsibilities and (c) ensure that policies, plans, procedures and systems are properly and effectively implemented.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Governing bodies must ensure that the arrangements they put in place are sufficient to meet their statutory responsibilities and that policies, plans, procedures and systems are properly and effectively implemented. This includes the duty under Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 to make arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions and the duties under the Equality Act 2010. The effectiveness of a school is assessed through inspection by Ofsted.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to collect data on the number of children in care that are living in placements that are not in line with their care plan.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Information on whether a looked after child is currently living in a placement that is not in line with their care plan is not held by the department. Information on the numbers of children looked after who were moved to a new placement during the reporting year ending 31 March 2024 and the reasons why the placement changed, including a change to or implementation of a care plan, is submitted by local authorities. This information was recently published on 14 November 2024 in the department’s statistical release and can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/fast-track/f2f7a002-bc22-40de-ada3-08dcedcfecfd.
The department is working to improve the data available about children’s social care, including making it more relevant to the experiences of children, young people and families. A core part of this work includes understanding the data needs of the children’s social care sector as a whole and identifying ways in which data gaps may be addressed over time. Addressing data gaps in children’s social care is a long term endeavour due to the need to agree data definitions and standards, as well as redesign local authority and departmental systems before rolling out nationally.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to fund the holiday activities and food programme on a permanent basis.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The future of the Holiday Activities and Food programme beyond the 31 March 2025 is subject to the next government Spending Review, which is taking place this autumn. The outcome of that process will be communicated in due course.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to (a) monitor and (b) manage the standard of food provided by schools.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
It is important that children eat nutritious food at school and the department encourages schools to have a whole school approach to healthy eating. The School Food Standards regulate the food and drink provided at lunchtime and at other times of the school day. Compliance with the School Food Standards is mandatory for all maintained schools, academies and free schools. School Governors have a responsibility to ensure compliance and should appropriately challenge the headteacher and the senior leadership team to ensure the school is meeting its obligations.
The government’s ambition is to source half of all food served in public sector settings from local producers or from growers certified to meet higher environmental standards, where possible. The government wants to use the purchasing power of the public sector food supply chain to lead the way and to set best practice in delivering our wider ambitions on sustainability, animal welfare, economic growth, nutrition and health. The government has also committed to supporting schools to improve the sustainability of school food. Schools can voluntarily follow the government buying standards, which include advice around sustainable sourcing.
Ministerial teams are working with department officials on plans to deliver the government’s manifesto commitments, including making quick progress to deliver breakfast clubs in every primary school. Our aim is to deliver better life chances for all, through a system which works for all. As part of this, as with all government programmes, we will keep our approach to school food under continued review.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase the procurement of sustainable local food for school meals.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
It is important that children eat nutritious food at school and the department encourages schools to have a whole school approach to healthy eating. The School Food Standards regulate the food and drink provided at lunchtime and at other times of the school day. Compliance with the School Food Standards is mandatory for all maintained schools, academies and free schools. School Governors have a responsibility to ensure compliance and should appropriately challenge the headteacher and the senior leadership team to ensure the school is meeting its obligations.
The government’s ambition is to source half of all food served in public sector settings from local producers or from growers certified to meet higher environmental standards, where possible. The government wants to use the purchasing power of the public sector food supply chain to lead the way and to set best practice in delivering our wider ambitions on sustainability, animal welfare, economic growth, nutrition and health. The government has also committed to supporting schools to improve the sustainability of school food. Schools can voluntarily follow the government buying standards, which include advice around sustainable sourcing.
Ministerial teams are working with department officials on plans to deliver the government’s manifesto commitments, including making quick progress to deliver breakfast clubs in every primary school. Our aim is to deliver better life chances for all, through a system which works for all. As part of this, as with all government programmes, we will keep our approach to school food under continued review.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will make it her policy to restore school funding in real terms to the level provided in May 2010.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
This government is increasing overall core revenue funding for schools to almost £61.8 billion this financial year (2024/25). In July, the department announced that it is providing schools with almost £1.1 billion of additional funding in the 2024/25 financial year through the new core schools budget grant (CSBG), to support them with overall costs. This matches what the department has calculated is needed to fully fund, at a national level, the teacher pay award and the support staff pay offer in the 2024/25 financial year, after accounting for the available headroom in schools’ existing budgets.
This increase in funding shows the government’s commitment to supporting schools as a part of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity.
Departmental expenditure limits for the 2025/26 financial year are yet to be agreed across government and will be set alongside the Budget on 30 October. This will include schools’ funding in the 2025/26 financial year.