Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer of 6 March 2024 to Question 16490 on Special Educational Needs: Codes of Practice, what steps her Department is taking to review the contents of SEND information reports.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The requirement for all schools to publish Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Information Reports was introduced in the Children and Families Act 2014. Information Reports must contain details of a school’s provision for pupils with SEND and must be reviewed annually.
As part of the department’s work on long-term options for improving the SEND system, we will explore the role of SEND Information Reports.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when her Department plans to respond to the consultation entitled Strengthening protections in unregistered alternative provision, which closed on 9 May 2024.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
On 9 May, the department published the consultation ‘Strengthening Protections in Unregistered Alternative Provision (AP)’ which sought views on proposals intended to improve practice and raise standards in unregistered AP. The consultation closed on 5 July.
This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities or who are in AP, including those in unregistered AP, receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.
Departmental officials are currently analysing the responses of the consultation, and the department will set out the next steps in due course.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate has she made of the current (a) average time and (b) maximum times for Social Work England to conclude fitness to practice cases.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
As set out in Social Work England’s board report dated 19 July 2024, the current median time to conclude a fitness to practise case is 128 weeks and the maximum time is 319 weeks.
The department and Social Work England have taken several steps to reduce processing times including making changes to legislation in 2022 for operational efficiencies and providing additional funds of £7.1 million to clear the backlog of cases inherited from the previous regulator. Further activities being undertaken by Social Work England are set out in its annual business plan and in reports to Social Work England’s board.
As at 31 August 2024, 113 Social workers are currently subject to an interim suspension order and unable to practise whilst awaiting the conclusion of their fitness to practise case.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate has she made of the number of social workers unable to practice whilst awaiting the conclusion of fitness to practice proceedings by Social Work England.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
As set out in Social Work England’s board report dated 19 July 2024, the current median time to conclude a fitness to practise case is 128 weeks and the maximum time is 319 weeks.
The department and Social Work England have taken several steps to reduce processing times including making changes to legislation in 2022 for operational efficiencies and providing additional funds of £7.1 million to clear the backlog of cases inherited from the previous regulator. Further activities being undertaken by Social Work England are set out in its annual business plan and in reports to Social Work England’s board.
As at 31 August 2024, 113 Social workers are currently subject to an interim suspension order and unable to practise whilst awaiting the conclusion of their fitness to practise case.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps is she taking to reduce the average time for Social Work England to conclude fitness to practice cases.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
As set out in Social Work England’s board report dated 19 July 2024, the current median time to conclude a fitness to practise case is 128 weeks and the maximum time is 319 weeks.
The department and Social Work England have taken several steps to reduce processing times including making changes to legislation in 2022 for operational efficiencies and providing additional funds of £7.1 million to clear the backlog of cases inherited from the previous regulator. Further activities being undertaken by Social Work England are set out in its annual business plan and in reports to Social Work England’s board.
As at 31 August 2024, 113 Social workers are currently subject to an interim suspension order and unable to practise whilst awaiting the conclusion of their fitness to practise case.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the average level of profit made by (a) private and (b) local authority-managed residential homes for looked-after children in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department does not hold or collect data on the profit levels of children’s social care providers. However, the Competition and Markets Authority detailed in their 2022 report that the largest fifteen providers made, on average, 19.4% profit on fostering provision, 22.6% on children’s home provision, and 35.5% on supported accommodation provision. The full report can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/childrens-social-care-market-study-final-report/final-report.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to reduce excessive profits in the residential children’s social care sector.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Profiteering from vulnerable children in care is unacceptable. As part of the Children’s Wellbeing Bill, the department will strengthen the regulation of the sector to return children’s social care to delivering high quality outcomes for looked after children at a sustainable cost to the taxpayer.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the Royal National Institute of Blind People's research entitled Provision under pressure: Gaps in Educational Support for Children and Young People with Vision Impairment in England (2023), published in February 2024; and what steps her Department (a) is taking and (b) plans to take to ensure that children and young people with vision impairment have equitable access to education.
Answered by David Johnston
The department’s ambition is that all children and young people receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.
The special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and alternative provision (AP) Improvement Plan outlines the government’s mission to establish a single, national SEND and AP system, with the proposal to develop national standards a fundamental foundation for this.
This new single national system will set standards on what support should be made available in mainstream settings, including for children with vision impairment. The National Standards will outline the types of special educational provision that should be available, who is responsible for delivering that support, and clarify expectations on mainstream settings and local services. To inform national standards, the department is engaging with stakeholders across education, health and social care, as well as children, young people and their families, this includes members of the Royal National Institute of Blind People.
The department is committed to ensuring a steady supply of teachers of children with vision impairment in both specialist and mainstream settings. To teach a class of pupils with vision impairments, a teacher is required to hold the relevant mandatory qualification for sensory impairment (MQSI). There are currently six providers of the MQSI, with a seventh from September 2024. The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) is developing a new occupational standard for teachers of sensory impairment, expected to be available from September 2025. Children and young people with special educational needs have more access to assistive technology following investment in remote education and accessibility features, which can reduce or remove barriers to learning.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what is the projected budget deficit for maintained nursery schools in England in the financial year (a) 2023-24, (b) 2024-25 and (c) 2025-26 by local authority.
Answered by David Johnston
The data you requested for the 2021/22 financial year can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/la-and-school-expenditure-2021-to-2022-financial-year.
The data for the 2022/23 financial year can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/la-and-school-expenditure.
This data can be found on GOV.UK in Local Authority and School Expenditure data. In summary: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/09ae561f-1997-46da-4c66-08dc5d297e6b.
The latest available data is for the 2022/23 financial year and therefore the department is unable to answer the questions related to 2023/24 and 2024/25.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what is the projected budget deficit for maintained nursery schools in England in the financial year (a) 2023-24, (b) 2024-25 and (c) 2025-26.
Answered by David Johnston
The data you requested for the 2021/22 financial year can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/la-and-school-expenditure-2021-to-2022-financial-year.
The data for the 2022/23 financial year can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/la-and-school-expenditure.
This data can be found on GOV.UK in Local Authority and School Expenditure data. In summary: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/09ae561f-1997-46da-4c66-08dc5d297e6b.
The latest available data is for the 2022/23 financial year and therefore the department is unable to answer the questions related to 2023/24 and 2024/25.