Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help (a) improve the quality of and (b) increase the affordability of childcare in (i) Wandsworth and (ii) the UK.
Answered by David Johnston
The department is determined to support as many families as possible with access to high-quality, affordable childcare, which is why the 2023 Spring Budget announced significant new investments to expand the free early education entitlements from April 2024.
The department is providing over £4.1 billion by 2027/28 to fund 30 hours of free childcare per week (38 weeks per year) for working parents with children aged nine months to three years in England. This will remove one of the biggest barriers to parents working by vastly increasing the amount of free childcare that working families can access. This is set to save working families using the fully-funded 30 hours up to £6,900 per year from when the child is nine months old until they are five years old by September next year.
Already, over 200,000 two year olds are now confirmed to have places for 15 hours a week of free childcare, as part of the largest ever expansion of childcare in England. The take up nationwide for the validation codes already stands at 87.8%.
Funding will be key to delivering the existing and expanded childcare entitlements, so the department has substantially uplifted the hourly rate paid to local authorities to increase hourly rates paid to childcare providers. In 2024/25 alone, the department expects to provide over £1.7 billion to support local authorities and providers deliver the expansion to the early years entitlements. This is on top of over £400 million additional funding to deliver a significant uplift to the hourly rate paid to local authorities for the entitlements. The rates for the new entitlements have been independently confirmed by the Institute for Fiscal Studies to be well above market rates. For 2024/25, the department’s hourly funding rates for Wandsworth are: £15.21 for under twos, £11.17 for two year olds and £7.72 for three to four year olds.
Furthermore, to ensure local authorities are fully supported in delivering the new entitlements, the department is funding local authorities an additional four weeks in 2024/25, at an estimated cost of £120 million, for the under twos working parent entitlement starting in September 2024.
The quality of early years provision is a priority for the department. Evidence shows that high-quality early childhood education and care has a positive impact on children’s outcomes in the short and long term, particularly for the most disadvantaged children. Additionally, the department has invested up to £180 million in providing an early years education recovery package of workforce training, qualifications and support and guidance for the early years sector. This includes:
In addition to the expanded entitlements, the government has also taken action to support parents on Universal Credit with childcare costs upfront when they need it, rather than in arrears. The department has increased support for these parents by increasing the childcare cost maximum amounts to £950 for one child and £1629 for two children.
Tax-Free Childcare remains available for working parents of children aged 0 to 11, or up to 17 for eligible disabled children. This can save parents up to £2,000 per year, or up to £4,000 for eligible children with disabilities and has the same income criteria as 30 hours free childcare.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps her Department has taken to support care leavers move into (a) further and (b) tertiary education.
Answered by David Johnston
In 'Stable Homes, Built on Love', the strategy for the reform of children’s social care, the department gave a commitment to improve the education, employment and training outcomes of children in care and care leavers by 2027. This can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/650966a322a783001343e844/Children_s_Social_Care_Stable_Homes__Built_on_Love_consultation_response.pdf.
The department set out a number of actions to take this forward, including:
In addition to the bursary, the department pays businesses and training providers £1,000 for every care leaver apprentice they employ or train. Employers and providers are free to use their additional funding wherever needed to support their apprentices, including contributions to travel or childcare costs, or the provision of additional mentoring.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps her Department has taken to provide rehabilitation support to children who have lived in care who are in police custody or serving custodial sentences.
Answered by David Johnston
The department recognises that children in care are more likely than their peers in the general population to have contact with the criminal justice system. That is why, in 2018, the department published a joint national protocol with the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), on reducing the unnecessary criminalisation of looked after children and care leavers. This can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-protocol-on-reducing-criminalisation-of-looked-after-children. Since its publication, the proportion of children in care aged 10 to 17 who are charged with an offence or receive a caution has reduced from 3% in 2019 to 2% in 2023.
Latest data for the year ending March 2023 also show that 3% of care leavers age 19 to 21 were in custody. This figure has remained the same for the last five years.
All care leavers are entitled to a Personal Adviser to support them in making the transition from care to independence. Personal Advisers are required to keep in touch with the young person, work with them to develop a mandatory pathway plan and to advocate on behalf of the young person. If a care leaver receives a custodial sentence, their Personal Adviser is still expected to keep in touch, through visiting the young person in prison, and to maintain the young person’s pathway plan.
Through the care leaver Ministerial Board, the department is working closely with MoJ to improve support and outcomes of care-experienced people in the criminal justice system. MoJ is currently updating its strategy for people with care experience, to ensure that their time in the criminal justice system is used to support them to lead crime-free lives. MoJ is aiming to publish this strategy in 2024.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many minors in care have been taken into custody in the last 12 months; and how many children who have lived in care are currently serving a custodial sentence.
Answered by David Johnston
The department recognises that children in care are more likely than their peers in the general population to have contact with the criminal justice system. That is why, in 2018, the department published a joint national protocol with the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), on reducing the unnecessary criminalisation of looked after children and care leavers. This can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-protocol-on-reducing-criminalisation-of-looked-after-children. Since its publication, the proportion of children in care aged 10 to 17 who are charged with an offence or receive a caution has reduced from 3% in 2019 to 2% in 2023.
Latest data for the year ending March 2023 also show that 3% of care leavers age 19 to 21 were in custody. This figure has remained the same for the last five years.
All care leavers are entitled to a Personal Adviser to support them in making the transition from care to independence. Personal Advisers are required to keep in touch with the young person, work with them to develop a mandatory pathway plan and to advocate on behalf of the young person. If a care leaver receives a custodial sentence, their Personal Adviser is still expected to keep in touch, through visiting the young person in prison, and to maintain the young person’s pathway plan.
Through the care leaver Ministerial Board, the department is working closely with MoJ to improve support and outcomes of care-experienced people in the criminal justice system. MoJ is currently updating its strategy for people with care experience, to ensure that their time in the criminal justice system is used to support them to lead crime-free lives. MoJ is aiming to publish this strategy in 2024.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the current employment rate is for care leavers, 12 months after leaving local authority care.
Answered by David Johnston
The latest data for the year ending March 2023 shows that 38% of care leavers aged 19 to 21 are not in education, employment or training, compared to 13% of their peers in the general population.
Improving care leavers’ outcomes is a government priority and the department has established a care leaver Ministerial Board, co-chaired by the Secretaries of State from the Department for Education and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and including Ministers from 12 other departments, to consider what more can be done collectively to improve care leavers’ outcomes.
The department’s broader ambitions for reform of children’s social care are set out in the response to the independent review carried out by Josh MacAlister, which is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/642460653d885d000fdade73/Children_s_social_care_stable_homes_consultation_February_2023.pdf.
In relation to supporting care leavers to engage and succeed in education, employment and training, the department has:
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps her Department has taken to support care leavers with their move into employment.
Answered by David Johnston
The latest data for the year ending March 2023 shows that 38% of care leavers aged 19 to 21 are not in education, employment or training, compared to 13% of their peers in the general population.
Improving care leavers’ outcomes is a government priority and the department has established a care leaver Ministerial Board, co-chaired by the Secretaries of State from the Department for Education and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and including Ministers from 12 other departments, to consider what more can be done collectively to improve care leavers’ outcomes.
The department’s broader ambitions for reform of children’s social care are set out in the response to the independent review carried out by Josh MacAlister, which is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/642460653d885d000fdade73/Children_s_social_care_stable_homes_consultation_February_2023.pdf.
In relation to supporting care leavers to engage and succeed in education, employment and training, the department has:
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps her Department has taken to support care leavers with their move into training.
Answered by David Johnston
The latest data for the year ending March 2023 shows that 38% of care leavers aged 19 to 21 are not in education, employment or training, compared to 13% of their peers in the general population.
Improving care leavers’ outcomes is a government priority and the department has established a care leaver Ministerial Board, co-chaired by the Secretaries of State from the Department for Education and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and including Ministers from 12 other departments, to consider what more can be done collectively to improve care leavers’ outcomes.
The department’s broader ambitions for reform of children’s social care are set out in the response to the independent review carried out by Josh MacAlister, which is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/642460653d885d000fdade73/Children_s_social_care_stable_homes_consultation_February_2023.pdf.
In relation to supporting care leavers to engage and succeed in education, employment and training, the department has:
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to amend guidance on personal, social, health and economic education in schools to promote discussion and awareness of organ, blood and stem cell donation.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Shadow Secretary of State for Education
The national curriculum includes substantial content which can be used by teachers as an opportunity to inform pupils about organ, stem cell and blood donation. For example, pupils are taught about the function of the heart, blood vessels and blood as part of key stage 2 science and about stem cells as part of key stage 4 science.
Alongside the national curriculum, stem cell donation can be taught as part of Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and as part of compulsory Health Education, as pupils should know the facts about organ and blood donation.
To support schools further, the teacher training module ‘physical health and fitness’ also includes information on blood, organ and stem cell donation. A link to this module can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teacher-training-physical-health-and-fitness.
As with other aspects of the curriculum, schools have flexibility over how and when they deliver these topical subjects and can respond according to pupil needs.
The department has been reviewing the RSE and Health Education guidance and aims to launch a public consultation very soon. Following the consultation, the department will make a decision about any new or revised content to be included in the statutory guidance, including additional content. The department anticipates that the revised guidance will be published in 2024.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the number of school visits to EU countries that took place in (a) 2019 and (b) 2023.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department does not request or record data on school trips that have been independently organised and funded directly by schools. The Turing Scheme, launched in the 2020/21 academic year, provides funding for UK students to work and study around the world. For the current 2023/24 academic year, the Turing Scheme is providing over £10 million in funding for 6,789 UK school pupils to take part in overseas visits, and over 4,400 of these pupils are due to visit EU countries for their Turing visits.
The Department recognises the importance of cultural and educational exchanges between the UK and other nations and will continue to support opportunities for children and young people, where appropriate.
At a recent UK and France summit, the UK committed to making the travel of school groups from France to the UK easier by changing the documentary requirements for pupils on organised trips from France. France committed to ensuring appropriate mechanisms are in place for visa free travel for pupils travelling on organised school trips from the UK and to facilitating the passage of those groups through the border.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she is taking steps to help increase the number of visits by UK schools to EU countries.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department does not request or record data on school trips that have been independently organised and funded directly by schools. The Turing Scheme, launched in the 2020/21 academic year, provides funding for UK students to work and study around the world. For the current 2023/24 academic year, the Turing Scheme is providing over £10 million in funding for 6,789 UK school pupils to take part in overseas visits, and over 4,400 of these pupils are due to visit EU countries for their Turing visits.
The Department recognises the importance of cultural and educational exchanges between the UK and other nations and will continue to support opportunities for children and young people, where appropriate.
At a recent UK and France summit, the UK committed to making the travel of school groups from France to the UK easier by changing the documentary requirements for pupils on organised trips from France. France committed to ensuring appropriate mechanisms are in place for visa free travel for pupils travelling on organised school trips from the UK and to facilitating the passage of those groups through the border.