Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the effectiveness of the system of fining parents for taking their children out of school; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of this system on families from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Tackling absence is at the heart of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity. We are facing an absence epidemic, with one in five children persistently absent. These figures are higher for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ statutory guidance sets out that schools must consider whether support is more appropriate before deciding whether a penalty notice should be issued. A penalty notice cannot be given for authorised absence, such as those due to illness.
In cases of holiday taken in term time without permission or where the parent has not engaged or support is not working, the law protects the child’s right to a full-time education. This can include the issuing of penalty notices.
Where a penalty notice is considered, the national framework for penalty notices (introduced on 19 August 2024 following national consultation) is designed to improve consistency and fairness across the country. It states that penalty notices must be considered on an individual basis, preventing schools from having blanket rules. Schools or local councils may choose to issue a notice to improve instead of a penalty notice. This is a further offer of support before a penalty notice is issued.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department plans to take to ensure that schools participating in the breakfast club programme can provide adequately nutritious free school meals within the allocated budget.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is funding 750 early adopter schools to provide access to a free, universal breakfast club lasting at least 30 minutes. Early adopter schools receive a combination of set up, fixed term and per pupil payments to cover food costs, staffing and delivery. Funding rates vary depending on uptake and pupil characteristics.
A key aim of the early adopter programme is to test and learn about take up across a diverse range of schools, to help inform future national rollout.
All food served within breakfast clubs must comply with the school food standards. To assist early adopter schools in choosing a healthy breakfast offer for their pupils, the department has produced additional guidance containing nutritious breakfast examples.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of the funding received by schools participating in the National School Breakfast Programme to provide a nutritionally balanced breakfast to each child.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The National School Breakfast Programme (NSBP), introduced by the last government, funds only school food standards-compliant breakfast food and delivery costs. Schools receive a 75% subsidy from the government and must themselves cover the costs of the remaining 25%. This does not go far enough to support hard-working families and tackle disadvantage.
This is why the department is committed to introducing free breakfast clubs in every school with primary-aged children, with schools receiving funding to cover food, delivery and staffing costs. Our new breakfast clubs are about more than the food. They provide opportunities for children to play and socialise before the start of the school day, supporting children's attendance and attainment and enabling them to thrive academically and socially.
From April 2025, free breakfast clubs are available in up to 750 early adopter schools, as part of a test and learn phase. This goes far beyond the reach of the NSBP in all, and importantly, the most disadvantaged areas. The new breakfast club offer, once rolled out nationally, will be available to every state-funded school with primary-aged children.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that breakfasts provided through the National School Breakfast Programme are nutritious.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The National School Breakfast Programme (NSBP), introduced by the last government, funds only school food standards-compliant breakfast food and delivery costs. Schools receive a 75% subsidy from the government and must themselves cover the costs of the remaining 25%. This does not go far enough to support hard-working families and tackle disadvantage.
This is why the department is committed to introducing free breakfast clubs in every school with primary-aged children, with schools receiving funding to cover food, delivery and staffing costs. Our new breakfast clubs are about more than the food. They provide opportunities for children to play and socialise before the start of the school day, supporting children's attendance and attainment and enabling them to thrive academically and socially.
From April 2025, free breakfast clubs are available in up to 750 early adopter schools, as part of a test and learn phase. This goes far beyond the reach of the NSBP in all, and importantly, the most disadvantaged areas. The new breakfast club offer, once rolled out nationally, will be available to every state-funded school with primary-aged children.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to review the per-meal funding for schools participating in the National School Breakfast Programme.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The National School Breakfast Programme (NSBP), introduced by the last government, funds only school food standards-compliant breakfast food and delivery costs. Schools receive a 75% subsidy from the government and must themselves cover the costs of the remaining 25%. This does not go far enough to support hard-working families and tackle disadvantage.
This is why the department is committed to introducing free breakfast clubs in every school with primary-aged children, with schools receiving funding to cover food, delivery and staffing costs. Our new breakfast clubs are about more than the food. They provide opportunities for children to play and socialise before the start of the school day, supporting children's attendance and attainment and enabling them to thrive academically and socially.
From April 2025, free breakfast clubs are available in up to 750 early adopter schools, as part of a test and learn phase. This goes far beyond the reach of the NSBP in all, and importantly, the most disadvantaged areas. The new breakfast club offer, once rolled out nationally, will be available to every state-funded school with primary-aged children.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions she has had with East Sussex County Council on its ability to meet pupils' EHCP needs in mainstream primary schools.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department is providing support and challenge to East Sussex to improve delivery of its special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) services following the most recent local area SEND inspection by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission in November 2024.
This inspection found that the local area partnership’s arrangements lead to inconsistent experiences and outcomes for children and young people with SEND. Specifically, one of the four areas for improvement was that the local area partnership should develop and embed its work with education settings on improving inclusion, so that the proportion of children and young people achieving strong outcomes increases.
East Sussex are developing a strategic plan with specific actions to address all four areas for improvement. The department and NHS England will be tracking the progress that the local area makes against this plan, including through regular engagement, and will offer support as the local area’s improvement journey continues.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to review the process by which councils allocate funding to mainstream schools to support children with EHCPs.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.
The department is providing an increase of £1 billion for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year, following the Autumn Budget 2024. This brings total high needs funding for children and young people with complex SEND to over £12 billion. Local authorities allocate this funding to schools, including for the costs of special provision in excess of £6,000 per annum for mainstream school pupils with education, health and care plans. The department provides operational guidance for local authorities to support their allocation of high needs funding, and this is reviewed prior to each financial year to which it applies. The full guidance for 2025/26 can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/high-needs-funding-arrangements-2025-to-2026.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help ensure that schools are adequately (a) funded and (b) staffed to meet the needs of children with EHCPs in cases where the school has deemed it unsafe for the child to attend due to lack of support.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Local authorities must consult with settings before naming them in an education, health and care (EHC) plan. The setting can express concerns about being named and the local authority must consider these concerns carefully. However, if named in the plan, the setting is under a statutory duty to admit the child or young person.
Teachers have a key role to play in supporting learners with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and there are numerous development opportunities available to help ensure that a focus on SEND is embedded across schools.
All mainstream schools must also have a special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO), who plays an important role in helping the development and implementation of an effective special educational needs policy and provision in the school. The school should ensure that the SENCO has sufficient time and resources to carry out these functions.
Headteachers are responsible for employment in their schools, as they are best placed to understand the needs of their pupils and can make staffing decisions accordingly.
When an EHC plan is issued, the local authority is statutorily required to secure the provision specified in the plan. This usually involves providing top-up funding to the setting from its high needs budget. High needs budgets will total over £12 billion in the 2025/26 financial year, following the additional £1 billion announced at the Autumn Budget 2024.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of schools being directed to admit pupils with high levels of need without the provision of additional (a) funding and (b) support staff on (i) children’s safety and (ii) educational outcomes.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Local authorities must consult with settings before naming them in an education, health and care (EHC) plan. The setting can express concerns about being named and the local authority must consider these concerns carefully. However, if named in the plan, the setting is under a statutory duty to admit the child or young person.
Teachers have a key role to play in supporting learners with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and there are numerous development opportunities available to help ensure that a focus on SEND is embedded across schools.
All mainstream schools must also have a special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO), who plays an important role in helping the development and implementation of an effective special educational needs policy and provision in the school. The school should ensure that the SENCO has sufficient time and resources to carry out these functions.
Headteachers are responsible for employment in their schools, as they are best placed to understand the needs of their pupils and can make staffing decisions accordingly.
When an EHC plan is issued, the local authority is statutorily required to secure the provision specified in the plan. This usually involves providing top-up funding to the setting from its high needs budget. High needs budgets will total over £12 billion in the 2025/26 financial year, following the additional £1 billion announced at the Autumn Budget 2024.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 22 July 2024 to Question 374 on Schools: Solar Power, what steps her Department has taken to support schools in the move to solar; and what funding they will provide to schools for the installation of solar PV panels.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
High and rising school standards are at the heart of this government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best start in life. High-quality and sustainable buildings are a key part of that.
The Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme supports schools, hospitals and other public sector bodies with funding to switch to cleaner heating and cut building emissions. Additionally, capital funding allocated by the department to the school sector each year can be used for projects that improve the energy efficiency and sustainability of school buildings, as well as improving the condition of the estate to keep schools safe and operational. From visits made to schools for the department’s Condition Data Collection programme (CDC2), we know that almost 30% of schools already have photovoltaic panels installed.
Decisions on which projects to prioritise with capital allocations are primarily taken at a local level. In the 2024/25 financial year, the department committed £1.8 billion in capital funding to improve the condition of the school estate. At the Autumn Budget 2024 the government increased funding to £2.1 billion for the 2025/26 financial year.
This is on top of the School Rebuilding Programme, which is rebuilding or refurbishing poor condition buildings at over 500 schools. Since November 2021, the department has required all new department-delivered schools be designed to be net zero carbon in operation. This is alongside delivering investment to increase green infrastructure and sustainable water management on school sites.
The department is aware of an increasing amount of interest in this area from schools and suppliers and is engaging with the sector to look at how it can further support schools in the move to solar. Our sustainability support programme provides online and in person help to education settings in identifying appropriate actions to become more sustainable, including considering decarbonisation of their energy supply. Where schools are considering the purchase of solar panels or other sustainable systems, our ‘Get help buying for schools’ service provides support to ensure that schemes procured are of high-quality and value to the sector. Information about the service can be found here: https://gethelpbuyingforschools.campaign.gov.uk/.
Pilot programmes such as the Net Zero Accelerator Service and the Decarbonisation Pilots have been working with small groups of schools to explore what interventions work best in different typologies of schools to reduce emissions and energy bills. The learning from these pilots will be captured and shared through the sustainability support programme.
The department has also published guidance for schools and colleges on sensible steps for reducing energy use and small-scale works to improve energy efficiency. Further details are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-efficiency-guidance-for-the-school-and-fe-college-estate/energy-efficiency-guidance-for-the-school-and-further-education-college-estate. In addition, advice on reducing energy costs, including renewing energy contracts, and frameworks for procuring sustainable solutions, is available here: https://find-dfe-approved-framework.service.gov.uk/pages/rising-energy-prices.