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.
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 on students' education of the ending of the Latin Excellence Programme mid-GCSE year; and whether funding for the programme will continue until the end of the current academic year.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The Centre for Latin Excellence has contacted all the schools involved in the Latin Excellence Programme and has received assurances that all pupils due to take Latin GCSE this summer will continue to do so.
The department is working closely with the Centre for Latin Excellence to ensure that teachers currently delivering the Latin curriculum to key stage 4 pupils will be prioritised and will receive extra support in the lead up to the end of the programme. All schools on the programme will continue to have access to the curriculum resources once the programme ends supporting them in the continue delivery of Latin teaching.
The fiscal situation this government inherited means there are difficult decisions to take on how money is spent right across the public sector to ensure the department delivers on our priorities. Given this, we have taken the difficult decision not to extend the Latin Excellence Programme beyond the end of the current contract on 28 February 2025.
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 support college teachers who did not receive the 5.5% pay rise; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of tying pay increases for(a) college and (b) school teachers to a level above inflation.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Further education (FE) colleges, rather than government, are responsible for setting and negotiating pay within colleges. Colleges are not bound by the national pay and conditions framework for school teachers, but are free to implement their own pay arrangements in line with their own local circumstances. FE Colleges were incorporated under the terms of the 1992 Further and Higher Education Act, which gave them autonomy over the pay and contractual terms and conditions of their staff.
This government is committed to ensuring there is a thriving FE sector, which is vital to our missions to break down the barriers to opportunity and boost economic growth.
At the October Budget 2024, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer set out an additional £300 million revenue funding for FE in the 2025/26 financial year to ensure young people are developing the skills this country needs. The department will set out in due course how this funding will be distributed.
This builds on our investment to extend targeted retention incentive payments of up to £6,000 after tax to eligible early career FE teachers in key subject areas. The department is also delivering funding to support those young people who do not pass mathematics and English GCSE at 16, who are predominantly studying in FE.
The department will continue to offer financial incentives for those undertaking teacher training for the FE sector in priority subject areas. For the 2024/25 academic year, FE training bursaries are worth up to £30,000 each, tax free. Additionally, we are supporting industry professionals to enter the teaching workforce through our ‘Taking Teaching Further’ programme.
The 5.5% pay award announced in the summer for the 2024/25 academic year was for school teachers only. School teachers’ pay is set through an independent, statutory process each year, and for 2024/25 the department accepted the School Teachers' Review Body’s (STRB) recommendation in full.
The process for determining the school teacher pay award for 2025/26 is currently underway. On 10 December, the department published its written evidence to the STRB, to inform their recommendations. The evidence sets out that in the context of the challenging national economic picture, a 2.8% pay award for school teachers would be appropriate, ensuring school teachers’ pay remains competitive.
In making their recommendations for 2025/26 school teacher pay, the STRB have been asked to consider the impact of their recommendations on the FE teaching workforce in England. This does not change how pay is set in FE, but, as the FE and school workforces are closely related, it is important that the STRB consider the totality of the workforce when they look at the evidence.
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 (a) support and (b) expand (i) mentoring and (ii) wellbeing schemes for young people in (A) schools and (B) local communities.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Helping children and young people to both achieve and thrive, including through work on mentoring and supporting wellbeing, is critical to breaking down barriers to opportunity – one of the five missions of this government.
The department is investing £17 million across two mentoring projects that will support the school attendance of at least 12,000 pupils in 15 areas. These programmes will be evaluated and the effective practice shared with schools and local authorities nationally. The first project is set to conclude this academic year, while the second, larger pilot will continue until 2028.
To support mental health and wellbeing, the government has also committed to providing access to specialist mental health professionals in every school in England.
The department has also launched a targeted mental wellbeing support toolkit to further help schools select the most effective targeted support options. This covers a range of evidence-based interventions, including mentoring, which we recognise can be a useful component of a whole school approach to wellbeing.
The government is committed to deliver on its pledge to provide a free breakfast club in every state-funded school with primary aged children. We have made early progress towards this, including announcing that up to 750 early adopters will be delivering these new breakfast clubs by April 2025. Breakfast clubs offer much more than just food. They can serve as a welcoming space for children, providing valuable opportunities for them to play, learn, and socialise at the beginning of the school day.
Across government, we are also supporting a variety of other schemes with a focus on mentoring and wellbeing for young people in wider communities.
Young Futures Hubs will bring together services to help improve the way that children and young people can access opportunities and support in their local communities, in doing so, promoting their development, improving mental health, and preventing young people being drawn into crime. Expertise has been brought together from across government departments to deliver on this manifesto commitment, and the government will be engaging with national and local partners, local communities and children and young people to co-design and explore options for the design and delivery of the hubs.
There are currently around 65 locally funded early support hubs in England open to those aged 11 to 25. These are open to anyone who may not meet the threshold to receive NHS support. This means children and young people experiencing feelings of anxiety or stress will have a physical space to go to in their community when their problems first emerge without the need for a referral. Early support hubs also offer advice on wider issues which may affect a young person’s mental health, including careers advice, educational support or support with their financial circumstances. In 2024/25, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is also running a Shared Outcomes Fund project, backed by £8 million, to boost and evaluate the impact of 24 existing early support hubs.
In the wider healthcare system, DHSC will also recruit an additional 8,500 new mental health staff to treat children and adults.
Supporting mentoring in wider communities, Youth Futures Foundation receives funding through the Dormant Assets Scheme, which is led by industry and backed by the government, for their ‘Building Futures’ programme with the Football Beyond Borders as their year 1 partner, which will enable thousands of vulnerable young people to access crucial mentoring support.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will ensure that all teachers are trained to support students with Special Educational Needs.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Lewes to the answer of 29 October 2024 to Question 10604.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many teachers are currently employed by colleges; and what proportion of those have been included in the 5.5% pay increase.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Information on the further education (FE) workforce, including numbers of teaching staff employed in the sector, is published in the ‘Further education workforce’ statistical publication, which is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/further-education-workforce.
For the 2022/23 academic year, the total number of teaching staff in general FE colleges, including tertiary and sixth form colleges in England, is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/2c50762e-50c3-4b6f-a8da-08dce6ed00e6.
The government does not set or recommend pay in FE. The pay and conditions of FE staff remains the responsibility of individual colleges and providers, who are free to implement pay arrangements in line with their local needs.
My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced a budget on 30 October to be followed by a multi-year spending review in the spring of next year. Decisions about future post-16 funding and capital programmes will be subject to the outcomes of these fiscal events.