Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 29 October to Question 11052 on Free Schools, if she will list the 44 projects.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
I refer the hon. Member for North West Norfolk to the answer of 29 October 2024 to Question 11051.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Written Statement of 22 October 2024 on Mainstream Free Schools, HCWS150, what the 44 centrally delivered, mainstream projects are on which her Department will engage with local authorities and trusts.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government wants to ensure children thrive in education, whatever type of school they are in, including free schools. Capacity varies from place to place, so the department will continue to open new schools where they are needed.
Departmental officials are working with local authorities, academy trusts and other partners to take work forward on the review of mainstream free school projects over the autumn and have written to them, setting out next steps in relation to individual projects. The department will publicly communicate the outcomes of the review in due course.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Written Statement of 22 October 2024, HCWS150 on Mainstream Free Schools, what her policy is on opening free schools approved under the last Government.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government wants to ensure children thrive in education, whatever type of school they are in, including free schools. Capacity varies from place to place, so the department will continue to open new schools where they are needed.
Departmental officials are working with local authorities, academy trusts and other partners to take work forward on the review of mainstream free school projects over the autumn and have written to them, setting out next steps in relation to individual projects. The department will publicly communicate the outcomes of the review in due course.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 9 October 2024 to Question 6213 on Special Educational Needs, whether she plans to introduce national standards for speech and language services.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The 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.
The department is 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 the department recognises the urgency and need to drive improvements, we are conscious that there are no quick fixes and want to take a considered approach to deliver sustainable education reform, including in relation to the introduction of nation standards for speech and language services.
Supporting children’s early language development is one of the department’s key priorities. The department is funding continued support for the 11,100 schools registered for the Nuffield Early Language Intervention programme during the 2024/25 academic year. In partnership with NHS England, the department is funding the Early Language and Support For Every Child (ELSEC) to trial new ways of working to earlier identify and support children with Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN) in early years and primary schools, utilising therapy support assistants.
In further partnership with NHS England and the Department for Health and Social Care, this department is funding the Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) programme. PINS will build teacher and staff capacity to identify and meet the needs of neurodiverse children, including those with SLCN, through whole school interventions.
Finally, the department is funding evidence reviews from Newcastle University and University College London to highlight what the best available evidence suggests are the most effective tools and approaches to identify and support children and young people, age 0 to 25, with different types of needs including SLCN.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 9 October 2024 to Question 6213 on Special Educational Needs, whether she plans to introduce SEND and alternative provision partnerships.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Local authorities have existing statutory responsibilities to collaborate with local partners in the strategic planning and commissioning of the local offer provision for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
The department has been testing the implementation of SEND and alternative provision (AP) partnerships through the SEND and AP Change Programme. We are reviewing the evidence gathered and will continue to explore options to strengthen partnerships as part of SEND and AP reforms.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the oral answer of 9 September 2024 from the Secretary of State for Education, Official Report column 551, whether she has asked the Office for Students to look into reports regarding the operation of Peking University HSBC Business School in Oxford.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
As my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education outlined in her response of 9 September, decisions relating to the conditions of registration and requirements of higher education (HE) providers in England are a matter for the Office for Students (OfS) as the independent regulator.
In order to meet the regulatory requirements of the OfS, English HE providers must uphold applicable public interest governance principles. These include principles on free speech, academic freedom and accountability, such as operating openly and with integrity. As such providers are responsible for ensuring they have adequate governance and risk management procedures in place, including on the acceptance of donations.
The OfS has informed the department that it is engaging with relevant parties as appropriate to understand the issues that have been raised regarding the operation of Peking University HSBC Business School UK Campus (PKBS-UK). PKBS-UK is a registered HE provider in the ‘approved’ category, which means the provider is not eligible for certain grants including eligibility for OfS teaching grant funding or any other OfS payments under sections 39 or 40 of the Higher Education and Research Act (HERA).
As outlined in its regulatory framework, if the OfS identifies a breach of a specific or general ongoing condition of registration as part of its enquiries, then it will consider the use of formal sanctions, which may include monetary penalties, suspension from the register or deregistration.
This government has committed to an audit of the UK’s relationship with China to improve its ability to understand and respond to the challenges and opportunities it poses. This will guide a consistent and coherent approach to relations with China rooted in UK and global interests.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the (a) allocated budget and (b) amount spent was for advertising the expanded childcare offer for children aged two before April 2024.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
For the 2024/25 financial year, the department has an allocated budget of £2.4 million for the Childcare Choices campaign. This includes promotion of the expanded childcare working entitlements for nine month olds, as well as the existing offers for two, three and four year olds. Final spending will be confirmed.
For the 2023/24 financial year, the department had an allocated budget of £1.4 million for the Childcare Choices campaign. This included promotion of the expanded childcare working entitlements for two year olds as well as the existing offers for three and four year olds.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the (a) allocated budget and (b) amount already spent is for advertising the expanded childcare offer for children aged nine months and above.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
For the 2024/25 financial year, the department has an allocated budget of £2.4 million for the Childcare Choices campaign. This includes promotion of the expanded childcare working entitlements for nine month olds, as well as the existing offers for two, three and four year olds. Final spending will be confirmed.
For the 2023/24 financial year, the department had an allocated budget of £1.4 million for the Childcare Choices campaign. This included promotion of the expanded childcare working entitlements for two year olds as well as the existing offers for three and four year olds.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many childcare places the 3,000 additional school-based nursery classrooms will provide.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
High quality early education and childcare is a crucial opportunity to transform life chances.
In the coming months, the government will be setting out plans to deliver new places in 3,000 nurseries through upgrading space in primary schools. This will include both school-run nurseries and schools partnering with private, voluntary and independent providers.
The department is working closely with schools, local authorities and providers to understand what is needed to deliver this, and to ensure provision meets the needs of families and schools and is opened in the right places.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many additional places will be required in September 2024 for the expanded childcare offer.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Ensuring that parents are able to access affordable and high quality childcare is a top priority. The department’s focus in reforming the system will be to ensure that there are greater and more equal opportunities to access early education for every family, and that there are greater opportunities for children to thrive and develop. As an initial step, the department is working to deliver new places in 3,000 nurseries through upgrading space in primary schools. This will help deliver the expansion in childcare entitlements and ensure that a variety of different types of provision are available that suit the needs of different parents.
Based on assumptions around take-up, likely hours used and whether children are new or existing users of childcare, there is estimated to be demand of an additional 15,000 places for September 2024.
Thousands of children, aged from nine months, will get government-funded childcare for the first time, allowing them to access 15 hours a week, over 38 weeks a year, of high quality, accessible childcare.
Further information on the underpinning assumptions behind these estimates was published in the 2023 Spring Budget Policy costing information note: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66221ba8252f0d71cf757d2b/Spring_budget_2023_childcare_expansion_costing_note_information.pdf.
The department will continue to monitor the sufficiency of childcare provision through regular conversations with local authorities.