Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of having a teaching qualification from an English university on the ability of a British National (Overseas) visa holder to gain Qualified Teacher Status in the UK.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Since February 2023, eligible teachers who trained in an increased number of overseas countries, including Hong Kong, have been able to apply for qualified teacher status (QTS) through our new digital service if they meet the robust criteria.
This recognition process is designed to assess the qualifications, professional standing and experience of teachers who trained overseas, rather than those who have qualifications from institutions in England.
English teacher training courses that meet our quality requirements and are offered by an accredited provider lead to QTS. As the qualification your constituent presented did not lead to QTS and has not been gained overseas, it cannot be considered for recognition.
There are several other routes available for experienced teachers to gain QTS, including the assessment only route. This allows teachers to demonstrate that they already meet all the teachers‘ standards, without the need for any further training. Teachers need to present detailed evidence and their teaching is assessed in a school by an accredited and approved provider.
If my hon. Friend, the Member for Rushcliffe has further questions about the eligibility criteria, he may find it helpful to contact the Teaching Regulation Agency directly via QTS.enquiries@education.gov.uk.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that all further education colleges comply with (a) accessibility regulations on (i) access to assistive technology and (ii) the use of accessible design in learning resources and (b) other accessibility regulations.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is committed to ensuring that all learners, including learners with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), have access to a world-class education that sets them up for life and supports them to achieve positive outcomes.
Further education (FE) colleges must endeavour to secure the special educational provision that students need.
In addition, colleges also have duties and obligations under the Equality Act 2010 to ensure that they are acting inclusively and not discriminating against disabled students. As with other FE providers, colleges are obliged to make reasonable adjustments to ensure disabled students are not placed at a substantial disadvantage. This may include making provision for accessibility and assistive technology. Where a student has a learning difficulty or disability that calls for special educational provision, the college must use its best endeavours to put appropriate support in place.
Furthermore, under the SEND code of practice there should be a named person with oversight of SEND provision in every college. They co-ordinate, support and contribute to the strategic and operational management of the college. Curriculum and support staff in a college should know who to go to if they need help in identifying a student's special educational needs (SEN), are concerned about their progress or need more advice.
Colleges should keep the needs of students with SEND under regular review. They should involve the student and, particularly for those aged 16 to 18, their parents, closely at all stages of the cycle. Colleges should ensure that their staff have the skills to do this effectively.
Colleges should be ambitious for young people with SEN, whatever their needs and whatever their level of study. They should focus on supporting young people so they can progress and reach positive destinations in life, including higher education or further training or employment. They should equip them for independent living, good health and participating in the community.
Ofsted also ensures that colleges comply with accessibility requirements, as inspectors will determine whether staff are suitably qualified and/or have appropriate expertise to support learners or specific groups of learners. Ofsted will determine whether learning resources, including assistive technology and online/remote learning resources, are to the required standard and specification and whether they are used effectively to support learners to overcome their barriers to achieving their challenging learning goals.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will meet with members of ForThe100 to discuss duty of care owed by higher education providers to their students.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
I refer my hon. Friend the member for Rushcliffe to the answer of 08 January 2025 to Question 21515.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of Vision Impairment education services; and what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the recommendations proposed by the report entitled A Vision for VI education by the Thomas Pocklington Trust, published in September 2024.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
For too long the education and care system has not met the needs of all children, particularly those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and this includes pupils with vision impairment. This government’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. We are committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special schools cater to those with the most complex needs, restoring parents’ trust that their child will get the support they need.
Whilst we recognise the urgency and need to drive improvements for children and young people with SEND, we are conscious that there are no quick fixes and want to take a considered approach to deliver sustainable education reform. We are aware that we cannot achieve this alone and want to work with organisations across the SEND sector, including the Thomas Pocklington Trust (TPT), as essential and valued partners to deliver our shared mission. We therefore welcome TPT’s report entitled “A Vision for VI education” and are reviewing their recommendations.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to (a) help clarify the duty of care owed by higher education providers to their students and (b) to ensure such standards are met.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is determined that children and young people receive the mental health care they deserve. This government is breaking down barriers to opportunity by providing young people with the mental health support they deserve. To support this, this government has committed to recruiting 8,500 additional staff across children and adult NHS mental health services.
The department continues to work closely with students, parents, mental health experts and the higher education (HE) sector to drive meaningful change in mental health practice through the HE Mental Health Implementation Taskforce. The Taskforce recently published its second stage report, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/higher-education-mental-health-implementation-taskforce.
The department’s position is that a duty of care in HE may arise in certain circumstances. Such circumstances would be a matter for the courts to decide, based on the specific facts and context of the case being considered, and will be dependent on the application by a court of accepted common law principles.
My noble Friend, the Minister for Skills, welcomes the opportunity to meet with members of ForThe100 regarding these issues.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will meet with representatives of the ForThe100 to discuss the duty of care owed by higher education providers to their students.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is determined that children and young people receive the mental health care they deserve. This government is breaking down barriers to opportunity by providing young people with the mental health support they deserve. To support this, this government has committed to recruiting 8,500 additional staff across children and adult NHS mental health services.
The department continues to work closely with students, parents, mental health experts and the higher education (HE) sector to drive meaningful change in mental health practice through the HE Mental Health Implementation Taskforce. The Taskforce recently published its second stage report, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/higher-education-mental-health-implementation-taskforce.
The department’s position is that a duty of care in HE may arise in certain circumstances. Such circumstances would be a matter for the courts to decide, based on the specific facts and context of the case being considered, and will be dependent on the application by a court of accepted common law principles.
My noble Friend, the Minister for Skills, welcomes the opportunity to meet with members of ForThe100 regarding these issues.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the fees charged by (a) not-for-profit children's home providers and (b) independent fostering agencies; and whether the proposed financial transparency measures set out in the Department's policy paper entitled Keeping Children Safe, Helping Families Thrive, published on 18 November 2024, will apply to charitable organisations operating in the children's social care sector.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Every child in care should have a safe, loving home which is also value for money for the taxpayer.
However, some local authorities are on the brink of bankruptcy, in part due to the rising costs of spending on children in care which has increased significantly from £3.1 billion in 2009/10 to £8.1 billion in 2023/24. This is all while some providers are making excessive profits despite sometimes providing subpar care for our most vulnerable children.
In their 2022 report, the Competition and Markets Authority examined prices and profits across the children’s social care market and estimated operating profit margins for the 15 largest providers between 2016 and 2020 were 22.6% for children’s homes, 19.4% for independent fostering agencies and 35.5% for supported accommodation.
The department is clear that profiteering from vulnerable children in care is absolutely unacceptable and this is why the department is taking forward a package of measures to rebalance the children’s social care placement market and stamp out profiteering.
The financial oversight measures set out in ‘Keeping children safe, helping families thrive’ will increase financial and corporate transparency among the most difficult to replace providers and their corporate owners.
The scheme will apply to private, voluntary and charity providers of children’s homes and independent fostering agencies operating in England.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to take steps to (a) understand more about the relationship between smartphone use and young people’s mental health, (b) reduce any negative impact of those devices on young people’s mental health and (c) bring forward legislative proposals on the use of smartphones in schools.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Schools are required by law to have a behaviour policy that sets out what is expected of all pupils, including what items are banned from school premises. Additionally, the government’s non-statutory guidance supports schools on how to develop, implement and maintain a policy that prohibits the use of mobile phones throughout the school day. Headteachers are responsible for implementation of guidance within their schools.
Research suggests excessive screentime can be detrimental to children’s wellbeing. The Online Safety Act aims to protects children from accessing harmful and age-inappropriate content and to ensure that technology companies take more responsibility for the safety of their users, particularly children.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to extend free school transport in rural areas to include schools other than the nearest suitable school.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department’s home to school travel policy aims to make sure that no child is prevented from accessing education by a lack of transport. Local authorities must arrange free home to school travel for children of compulsory school age, 5 to 16, who attend their nearest school and would not be able to walk there because of the distance, their special educational needs, disability or mobility problem, or because the nature of the route means it would be unsafe for them to do so.
There are extended rights to free home to school travel for children who are eligible for free school meals or whose parents claim the maximum amount of Working Tax Credit. These are intended to support school choice for families where the cost of travel may otherwise be a barrier. For children up until age 11, the walking distance remains set at 2 miles. Children aged 11 to 16 are eligible for free travel to one of their three nearest schools, provided it is between 2 and 6 miles from their home, or to a school that is between 2 and 16 miles from their home that their parents have chosen on the grounds of their religion or belief and there is no suitable school, having regard to that religion or belief, nearer to their home. Local authorities have the discretion to arrange travel for other children but are not required to do so.
I am keen to understand how well home-to-school transport supports children to access educational opportunity and will be working with departmental officials on this. In addition, this government has set out an action plan to deliver better bus services and drive opportunity to under-served regions. The government will introduce the Buses Bill to put the power over local bus services in the hands of local leaders to ensure networks can meet the needs of the communities who rely on them.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of SEND childcare requirements on parents in full employment; and what steps she plans to take to help support these parents.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Every child with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) should be able to access high quality early years provision, with a workforce who can nurture a child’s needs, recognise their strengths and build effective working relationships with parents to ensure all children are safe, cared for and able to learn.
All three and four year olds are entitled to 15 hours per week of funded childcare and early education for 38 weeks of the year, regardless of the income or working status of their parent or carer. This is termed the ‘universal entitlement’.
Two year olds can get free childcare if they have an education, health and care plan, or are in receipt of Disability Living Allowance (DLA).
The duty on local authorities to secure sufficient childcare extends to children with SEND. The SEND Code of Practice and Equality Act 2010 place certain requirements on providers, holding both local authorities and providers to account.
Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006 sets out the responsibilities for local authorities to ensure that the provision of childcare is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents in their area.
The local authority statutory guidance on Early Education and Childcare sets out a clear requirement that local authorities must report annually to elected council members on how they are meeting their duty to secure sufficient childcare, including for children with SEND and make this report available and accessible to parents.
Departmental officials have regular meetings with each local authority in England about the sufficiency of their early education and childcare offer and any issues they are facing. This includes one-to-one support through our childcare delivery support contractor, Childcare Works, where appropriate. Childcare Works, is contracted to help local authorities and providers scale up delivery of the expanded early education entitlements and to meet their childcare sufficiency duty. Their activity includes support for local authorities to deliver for children with SEND, for example via national or regional events and supportive materials for use by both local authorities and providers.