Asked by: Liam Conlon (Labour - Beckenham and Penge)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to introduce mandatory early screening for dyslexia in (a) Beckenham and Penge constituency and (b) nationally.
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 Core Content Framework and Early Career Framework, for trainee and Early Career Teachers (ECTs) respectively, cover the first three years or more at the start of a teacher’s career. They set out the core body of knowledge skills and behaviours that define great teaching, and from September 2025 will be superseded by the combined Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework (ITTECF), which sets out a minimum entitlement to training and must be used by providers of initial teacher training and those delivering training to ECTs to create their curricula. The ITTECF contains significantly more content related to adaptive teaching and supporting pupils with SEND.
We recognise that the early identification of need and support is critical to improving outcomes for children and young people with SEND, including those with dyslexia, and measures have been introduced to support the effective teaching of reading. This includes the English Hubs programme, the publication of the reading framework and an updated list of high-quality systematic synthetic phonics programmes for schools.
To improve early identification, we have commissioned evidence reviews from University College London which will highlight what the best available evidence suggests are the most effective strategies to identify and support children and young people with different types of needs in mainstream schools.
Additionally, the ‘What Works in SEND’ research programme will research tools that schools can use to identify the needs of neurodivergent children. The research is expected to be completed by March 2026.
Asked by: Liam Conlon (Labour - Beckenham and Penge)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve teacher training on dyslexia in mainstream settings in (a) Beckenham and Penge and (b) across the country.
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 Core Content Framework and Early Career Framework, for trainee and Early Career Teachers (ECTs) respectively, cover the first three years or more at the start of a teacher’s career. They set out the core body of knowledge skills and behaviours that define great teaching, and from September 2025 will be superseded by the combined Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework (ITTECF), which sets out a minimum entitlement to training and must be used by providers of initial teacher training and those delivering training to ECTs to create their curricula. The ITTECF contains significantly more content related to adaptive teaching and supporting pupils with SEND.
We recognise that the early identification of need and support is critical to improving outcomes for children and young people with SEND, including those with dyslexia, and measures have been introduced to support the effective teaching of reading. This includes the English Hubs programme, the publication of the reading framework and an updated list of high-quality systematic synthetic phonics programmes for schools.
To improve early identification, we have commissioned evidence reviews from University College London which will highlight what the best available evidence suggests are the most effective strategies to identify and support children and young people with different types of needs in mainstream schools.
Additionally, the ‘What Works in SEND’ research programme will research tools that schools can use to identify the needs of neurodivergent children. The research is expected to be completed by March 2026.
Asked by: Liam Conlon (Labour - Beckenham and Penge)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to use technology to improve school standards.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Technology is at the centre of mission-led government and our Plan for Change. The government is using the combined power of data, digital services and technology to modernise our education system, back our teachers and deliver for our children across the country.
We are investing £25 million in upgrading wireless networks in schools through our Connect the Classroom programme next year, which will enable thousands more children to get online at school.
We have published digital and technology standards to help schools and colleges make better decisions about technology, leading to safer, more cost-efficient practices and new learning opportunities for students.
Our new service ‘Plan technology for your school’ will cut time and money spent on buying tech, helping leaders navigate an often-complex market and ensuring every penny spent will mean better standards for pupils and teachers. Further information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/plan-technology-for-your-school.
The department is supporting teachers to use technology well. All new teachers will be trained on the effective use of assistive technology to support children with special educational needs and disabilities.
The EdTech Evidence Board pilot will explore how we build evidence of artificial intelligence products that work well, helping education settings choose products that work well for them and their classrooms.
Asked by: Liam Conlon (Labour - Beckenham and Penge)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve mental health support in schools in (a) Beckenham and Penge constituency and (b) other areas.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government is committed to improving mental health support for all children and young people, including those in Beckenham and Penge. This is critical to high and rising standards in schools and breaking down barriers to opportunity, helping pupils to achieve and thrive in education.
The government will provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every school by expanding Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs), so every child and young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate. On 16 May, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education announced that an additional 900,000 pupils in schools and learners in further education in England will be covered by an MHST over the next year, taking the total number of pupils covered by teams to around 60%. In Bromley local authority, 66% of pupils/learners and 55% of schools/colleges are supported by an MHST, as at end 2024/25, compared to 52% and 41% nationally, respectively.
The government will also recruit an additional 8,500 new mental health staff to treat children and adults, and open new Young Futures Hubs with access to mental health support workers.
To support education staff, the department provides a range of guidance and practical resources on promoting and supporting pupils’ mental health and wellbeing, such as a resource hub for mental health leads and a toolkit to help schools choose evidence-based early support for pupils.
Asked by: Liam Conlon (Labour - Beckenham and Penge)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support local authorities to ensure that children in foster care arrangements are placed in a suitable home.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is supporting local authorities to recruit and retain more foster carers so that councils can find more suitable foster homes, resulting in greater choice for better placement matching for the children in their care. Currently, there are 10 fostering regional programmes active across England, collaborating with 64% of all local authorities to recruit and retain foster carers who will provide loving homes local to the children who need them.
As part of children’s social care reform, we are providing £15 million of funding in 2025/26 to recruit and retain more foster carers. We will also provide an additional £25 million for fostering covering the 2026/27 and 2027/28 financial years. As part of this model, we are supporting foster carers and children by expanding ‘The Mockingbird Family Model’. Evaluation shows that Mockingbird improves carer retention, meaning that local authorities have a greater number of suitable fostering places available.
In addition, the department funds ‘Fosterlink’, a diagnostic support service for local authority fostering services, which reviews current processes to identify areas for service and practice improvements to support recruitment and retention. The department is also continuing to fund ‘Fosterline’, a free helpline service for current and prospective foster carers.
Asked by: Liam Conlon (Labour - Beckenham and Penge)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help improve support for children with cerebral palsy in education settings.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
This government is committed to strengthening the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system for all children and young people, including those with cerebral palsy, to ensure they receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.
The department will be improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools and colleges, as well as ensuring special settings cater to those with the most complex needs, restoring parents’ trust that their child will get the support they need. This includes strengthening accountability for inclusivity, including through Ofsted, and encouraging schools to set up resourced provision or special educational needs units to increase capacity in mainstream schools.
High-quality teaching in schools is central to ensuring that all pupils are given the best possible opportunity to achieve. The department is committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 new expert teachers over the course of this Parliament. To support all teachers, the department is implementing a range of teacher training reforms to ensure teachers have the skills to support all pupils to succeed, including those with cerebral palsy.
The department is providing almost £1 billion more for high needs budgets in the 2025/26 financial year, bringing total high needs funding to £11.9 billion. This funding will help local authorities and schools with the increasing costs of supporting children and young people with complex SEND. The department has also announced £740 million of high needs capital funding for the 2025/26 financial year to invest in places for children and young people with SEND or who require alternative provision.
The department has also introduced a new mandatory leadership level qualification to enhance the training of special educational needs co-ordinators in mainstream schools.
Asked by: Liam Conlon (Labour - Beckenham and Penge)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the child poverty strategy will include specific measures to help tackle child poverty amongst (a) disabled and (b) other groups that are most affected.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The Child Poverty Taskforce, of which my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education is Co-Chair, is considering all children across the United Kingdom as it develops the child poverty strategy. We recognise different groups of children, including disabled children, have distinct challenges. The causes of child poverty are deep-rooted, with solutions that go beyond government, and the Taskforce is exploring all available levers in response.
The strategy will look at levers across four key themes of increasing incomes, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience, and better local support especially in the early years. The terms of reference for the Child Poverty Taskforce were published on 14 August 2024 and can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/child-poverty-taskforce-terms-of-reference.
Asked by: Liam Conlon (Labour - Beckenham and Penge)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking with local authorities to help support kinship carers in (a) Beckenham and Penge constituency and (b) other areas.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department recognises the important role that kinship carers play in caring for some of the most vulnerable children and the role of local authorities to support them.
The government has recently announced a £40 million package to trial a new Kinship Allowance in up to ten local authorities to test whether paying an allowance to cover certain costs, such as supporting children to settle into a new home with relatives or for activities to support their wellbeing, can help increase the number of children taken in by family members and friends. This trial will help us make decisions about future national rollout. The department will share further detail on the process for selecting the local authorities taking part in the programme in due course.
The government recently published updated guidance for local authorities, the Kinship Care statutory guidance. This guidance outlines the framework for the provision of support for kinship children and their carers.
The department also appointed the first National Kinship Care Ambassador, who will work alongside local authorities to help improve their kinship practice and local policies, and ensure they are following national guidance. As well as providing bespoke support to some local authority teams, they will share learning nationally so that more local authorities can benefit from evidence of best practice.
Asked by: Liam Conlon (Labour - Beckenham and Penge)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her planned timetable is for the introduction of the trial kinship carer allowance.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department recognises the important role that kinship carers play in caring for some of the most vulnerable children and the role of local authorities to support them.
The government has recently announced a £40 million package to trial a new Kinship Allowance in up to ten local authorities to test whether paying an allowance to cover certain costs, such as supporting children to settle into a new home with relatives, or for activities to support their wellbeing, can help increase the number of children taken in by family members and friends.
The programme will begin in 2025 and decisions about future national rollout will be informed by the findings of the evaluation. The department will share further detail on the timetable and delivery of the programme in due course.
Asked by: Liam Conlon (Labour - Beckenham and Penge)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to increase the availability of peer support groups in (a) Beckenham and Penge constituency and (b) other areas.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
As part of the department’s measures to champion kinship care, the government has extended the delivery of over 140 peer support groups across England, available for all kinship carers to access, where they can come together to share stories, exchange advice and support each other.
The department is also delivering a package of training and support that all kinship carers across England can access.