Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve the provision of school transportation for children with Special Educational Needs.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department’s home-to-school travel policy aims to make sure no child is prevented from accessing education by a lack of transport. Local authorities must arrange free home-to-school travel for eligible children. This includes children of compulsory school age who attend their nearest school and would not be able to walk there because of their special educational needs (SEN), disability or mobility problem.
We know that challenges in the wider SEN system are creating pressure on home-to-school travel. We have committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools so fewer children need to travel long distances to a school that can meet their needs. The spending review announcement on 11 June confirmed significant new funding to support special educational needs and disabilities reform and the government is bringing forward a white paper with plans to improve the SEND system. This will reduce the pressure on home-to-school travel over time leaving it better able to meet the needs of those that continue to need it.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had discussions with the Chief Executive of the Electoral Commission on the potential merits of increasing democratic education in schools.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Teaching about democracy and elections already forms a central part of the national curriculum for citizenship at key stages 3 and 4 and can be taught as a non-statutory topic in primary schools. The government will consider the citizenship curriculum in the context of the Curriculum and Assessment Review, and we see potential for lowering the voting age to help boost young people's engagement with the subject. We will also work with the Electoral Commission, the devolved governments and civil society to consider what additional measures can support schools, colleges, and youth groups to roll out practical voter and civic education.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing an external delivery model to help the teaching of financial education in schools.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Oxford West and Abingdon to the answer of 7 January 2025 to Question 21190.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the proportion of schools that have asbestos present; and what steps she is taking to reduce levels of asbestos in schools.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The department takes the safety of children, and those who work with them, incredibly seriously which is why we expect all local authorities, governing bodies and academy trusts as responsible bodies to have robust plans in place to manage asbestos in school buildings effectively, in line with their legal duties, drawing on appropriate professional advice.
As the regulator for asbestos, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) undertook inspections of a number of schools across the UK between September 2022 and April 2023 to look at compliance under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012. The inspections showed that most schools were complying with the legal duties, and effective management systems are in place to manage and monitor the condition of asbestos-contained materials onsite.
The department is collecting data on the condition of school buildings in England as part of the Condition Data Collection 2 (CDC2) programme. To date, we have visited 18,029 schools and 13,592 (75.4%) have reported they have asbestos. The department follows the advice of the HSE as regulator that, as long as asbestos-containing materials are undamaged, and not in locations where they are vulnerable to damage, they should be left undisturbed, and their condition monitored.
The department has been clear, however, that when asbestos does pose a risk to safety and cannot be effectively managed in place, it should be removed. The decision to remove asbestos should be considered on a case-by-case basis and, annual condition funding provided by the department can be used for this purpose.
As part of the 2025/26 budget, we have increased capital allocations to improve the condition of school buildings to £2.1 billion, which represents £300 million more than this financial year. This is on top of the School Rebuilding Programme and targeted support for reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish a timeframe for implementing the findings of the research by Ofsted entitled Best start in life part 3: the 4 specific areas of learning, published on 8 October 2024.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
Ofsted is an independent non-ministerial government department and, as such, we are unable to comment on its processes or on specific issues. The department has responsibility for policy on inspection and registration, but how it is implemented is for Ofsted to decide and to be held to account by Parliament. The department will therefore not be publishing a timeline for implementation of findings in ‘Best Start in Life part 3: the 4 specific areas of learning’, nor were there any particular recommendations made by Ofsted for it to implement. The reviews published by Ofsted are publicly available on GOV.UK and are primarily intended to help early years practitioners to raise the quality of early years education.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Written Statement of 25 July 2024 on Technical Qualifications Reform update, HCWS22, what steps her Department is taking to help support education providers to plan for the provision of post-16 vocational education beyond the 2024-25 academic year.
Answered by Janet Daby
This government is determined to ensure all young people have high quality education and training pathways post-16. To help secure this, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, announced that the department would pause and review the defunding of qualifications in July 2024. The department will conclude and communicate the outcomes of this internal review of post-16 qualifications, before Christmas 2024.
The focused review announced in July is already underway and the department is working as quickly as possible to provide certainty to the sector. The review will look at the defunding lists that have been published and communicate any changes. Colleges will be able to reflect the outcomes of the review in their planning and marketing materials in the new year so that students can make the best decisions about their futures.
There are many qualifications not subject to defunding and which provide certainty and continuity to the sector. These include A levels, T Levels, and alternative qualifications in subjects and routes not affected by defunding.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate she has made of when the review of post-16 education funding will be completed; and what her planned timescale is for responding to that review.
Answered by Janet Daby
This government is determined to ensure all young people have high quality education and training pathways post-16. To help secure this, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, announced that the department would pause and review the defunding of qualifications in July 2024. The department will conclude and communicate the outcomes of this internal review of post-16 qualifications, before Christmas 2024.
The focused review announced in July is already underway and the department is working as quickly as possible to provide certainty to the sector. The review will look at the defunding lists that have been published and communicate any changes. Colleges will be able to reflect the outcomes of the review in their planning and marketing materials in the new year so that students can make the best decisions about their futures.
There are many qualifications not subject to defunding and which provide certainty and continuity to the sector. These include A levels, T Levels, and alternative qualifications in subjects and routes not affected by defunding.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to announce funding arrangements for post-16 vocational education for after 2025.
Answered by Janet Daby
This government is determined to ensure all young people have high quality education and training pathways post-16. To help secure this, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, announced that the department would pause and review the defunding of qualifications in July 2024. The department will conclude and communicate the outcomes of this internal review of post-16 qualifications, before Christmas 2024.
The focused review announced in July is already underway and the department is working as quickly as possible to provide certainty to the sector. The review will look at the defunding lists that have been published and communicate any changes. Colleges will be able to reflect the outcomes of the review in their planning and marketing materials in the new year so that students can make the best decisions about their futures.
There are many qualifications not subject to defunding and which provide certainty and continuity to the sector. These include A levels, T Levels, and alternative qualifications in subjects and routes not affected by defunding.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether it is her policy to retain Oak National Academy as an arms length body to her Department.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
Teachers using the service have found Oak National Academy to be a helpful tool in their lesson and curriculum planning.
Decisions on the future funding of Oak, along with all other government spending, will be made as part of the Spending Review process.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether it is her Department's policy that universities should have a statutory duty of care to students.
Answered by Janet Daby
The department has asked the higher education (HE) Student Support Champion, Professor Edward Peck, to continue to work with students, parents, mental health experts and the HE sector to drive meaningful change in mental health practice through the HE Mental Health Implementation Taskforce.
The Office for Students (OfS) is providing £400,000 of funding to the student mental health charity, Student Minds, to rapidly expand the scale and membership of the University Mental Health Charter Programme. The Programme supports universities to adopt a whole-institution approach to mental health, and also follow a process of continuous improvement to work towards the Charter Award. The University Mental Health Charter is already raising standards within the sector.
The department has appointed academic experts from the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health to undertake a National Review of HE Suicides. It will report findings by spring 2025, ensuring lessons from tragic cases are shared widely across the sector.
In 2024, to support HE providers to engage with the National Review of HE Suicides and develop mental health and suicide prevention strategies, the OfS is allocating £15 million of funding. This funding is in addition to the £10 million provided early this year to support student mental health and hardship.
The government is determined that children and young people receive the mental health care they need which is why it has committed to recruit 8500 additional staff across children and adult mental health services.