Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the covid-19 pandemic on the long-term development of (a) speech, (b) language and (c) social skills for early years children.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Substantial work has been conducted on the impact of the pandemic on child development and the department recognises the impact of the pandemic on critical speech, language and social skills.
That is why, as part of the early years education recovery programme, the department provided funding of over £20 million to deliver Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI), which is an evidence-based programme for children needing extra support with their speech and language development.
The department is also continuing to improve access to speech and language therapy by funding the Early Language and Support for Every Child pathfinder project, in partnership with NHS England. This programme aims to improve capacity and knowledge among the workforce who support children in early years and school settings with mild to moderate speech, language and communication needs, by utilising therapy support assistants.
In addition, the department has launched some online child development training, which includes modules dedicated to supporting children’s personal, social and emotional development and early language. More information on the training can be found here: https://child-development-training.education.gov.uk/.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to incorporate financial literacy as a mandatory component of GCSE qualifications.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Hazel Grove to the answer of 9 April 2025 to Question 43513.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to include digital financial literacy in the national curriculum.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Hazel Grove to the answer of 9 April 2025 to Question 43513.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support teachers in teaching financial education in schools.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Hazel Grove to the answer of 9 April 2025 to Question 43513.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps their Department is taking to help ensure that schools are held accountable for the provision of financial education in accordance with the national secondary curriculum.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
This is a matter for His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver. I have asked him to write to the hon. Member for Hazel Grove and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of increasing funding for educational support for children with a cancer diagnosis on costs to the public purse.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
If a child is too unwell to attend school, local authorities have a duty under section 19 of the Children's Act 1996 to provide suitable and (normally) full-time education for children of compulsory school age who, because of exclusion, illness or other reasons, would not receive suitable education.
Ofsted holds local authorities to account for the sufficiency and commissioning of alternative provision as part of their area special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) inspections.
Where full-time education is not possible due to a child’s health needs, local authorities must arrange part-time education on whatever basis they consider to be in the child's best interests.
Full and part-time education should still aim to be equivalent to the education the child would receive in their mainstream school. Any part-time education should be reviewed regularly, with the aim of eventually increasing the number of hours up to full-time as soon as the child’s health allows.
The law places a duty on parents to ensure that their child of compulsory school age who is registered at school attends regularly. However, section 444 of the Education Act 1996 sets out exemptions to this duty. This includes where the child cannot attend due to illness. Parents cannot be penalised if their child is ill and unable to attend to school.
There is nothing in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill that has a direct impact on children being absent from school due to illness. The full suite of impact assessments of the measures in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill can be found on GOV.UK here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/childrens-wellbeing-and-schools-bill-impact-assessments.
Educational provision for children who cannot receive their education in school for health reasons, including those in hospital, is funded from local authorities’ high needs budgets.
Following the Autumn Budget 2024, the department is providing an increase of £1 billion for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year, bringing total high needs funding to over £12 billion.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing a national funding scheme to support the education of children diagnosed with cancer.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
If a child is too unwell to attend school, local authorities have a duty under section 19 of the Children's Act 1996 to provide suitable and (normally) full-time education for children of compulsory school age who, because of exclusion, illness or other reasons, would not receive suitable education.
Ofsted holds local authorities to account for the sufficiency and commissioning of alternative provision as part of their area special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) inspections.
Where full-time education is not possible due to a child’s health needs, local authorities must arrange part-time education on whatever basis they consider to be in the child's best interests.
Full and part-time education should still aim to be equivalent to the education the child would receive in their mainstream school. Any part-time education should be reviewed regularly, with the aim of eventually increasing the number of hours up to full-time as soon as the child’s health allows.
The law places a duty on parents to ensure that their child of compulsory school age who is registered at school attends regularly. However, section 444 of the Education Act 1996 sets out exemptions to this duty. This includes where the child cannot attend due to illness. Parents cannot be penalised if their child is ill and unable to attend to school.
There is nothing in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill that has a direct impact on children being absent from school due to illness. The full suite of impact assessments of the measures in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill can be found on GOV.UK here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/childrens-wellbeing-and-schools-bill-impact-assessments.
Educational provision for children who cannot receive their education in school for health reasons, including those in hospital, is funded from local authorities’ high needs budgets.
Following the Autumn Budget 2024, the department is providing an increase of £1 billion for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year, bringing total high needs funding to over £12 billion.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of provisions within (a) the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill and (b) other relevant legislation intended to promote school attendance on children required to take extended absences from school following a cancer diagnosis.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
If a child is too unwell to attend school, local authorities have a duty under section 19 of the Children's Act 1996 to provide suitable and (normally) full-time education for children of compulsory school age who, because of exclusion, illness or other reasons, would not receive suitable education.
Ofsted holds local authorities to account for the sufficiency and commissioning of alternative provision as part of their area special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) inspections.
Where full-time education is not possible due to a child’s health needs, local authorities must arrange part-time education on whatever basis they consider to be in the child's best interests.
Full and part-time education should still aim to be equivalent to the education the child would receive in their mainstream school. Any part-time education should be reviewed regularly, with the aim of eventually increasing the number of hours up to full-time as soon as the child’s health allows.
The law places a duty on parents to ensure that their child of compulsory school age who is registered at school attends regularly. However, section 444 of the Education Act 1996 sets out exemptions to this duty. This includes where the child cannot attend due to illness. Parents cannot be penalised if their child is ill and unable to attend to school.
There is nothing in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill that has a direct impact on children being absent from school due to illness. The full suite of impact assessments of the measures in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill can be found on GOV.UK here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/childrens-wellbeing-and-schools-bill-impact-assessments.
Educational provision for children who cannot receive their education in school for health reasons, including those in hospital, is funded from local authorities’ high needs budgets.
Following the Autumn Budget 2024, the department is providing an increase of £1 billion for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year, bringing total high needs funding to over £12 billion.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of educational provision for children diagnosed with cancer.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
If a child is too unwell to attend school, local authorities have a duty under section 19 of the Children's Act 1996 to provide suitable and (normally) full-time education for children of compulsory school age who, because of exclusion, illness or other reasons, would not receive suitable education.
Ofsted holds local authorities to account for the sufficiency and commissioning of alternative provision as part of their area special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) inspections.
Where full-time education is not possible due to a child’s health needs, local authorities must arrange part-time education on whatever basis they consider to be in the child's best interests.
Full and part-time education should still aim to be equivalent to the education the child would receive in their mainstream school. Any part-time education should be reviewed regularly, with the aim of eventually increasing the number of hours up to full-time as soon as the child’s health allows.
The law places a duty on parents to ensure that their child of compulsory school age who is registered at school attends regularly. However, section 444 of the Education Act 1996 sets out exemptions to this duty. This includes where the child cannot attend due to illness. Parents cannot be penalised if their child is ill and unable to attend to school.
There is nothing in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill that has a direct impact on children being absent from school due to illness. The full suite of impact assessments of the measures in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill can be found on GOV.UK here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/childrens-wellbeing-and-schools-bill-impact-assessments.
Educational provision for children who cannot receive their education in school for health reasons, including those in hospital, is funded from local authorities’ high needs budgets.
Following the Autumn Budget 2024, the department is providing an increase of £1 billion for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year, bringing total high needs funding to over £12 billion.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has plans to restore the core schools budget to 2010 in real terms.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Overall core revenue funding for schools totals almost £61.6 billion for the 2024/25 financial year. The overall core schools budget (CSB) is increasing by £3.2 billion in 2025/26, meaning the CSB will total over £64.8 billion.
The latest schools funding statistics release from 30 January shows that, adjusted for inflation using the GDP deflator, funding per pupil for 5 to16-year-olds stood at a little under £7,400 in the 2010/11 financial year in 2024/25 prices. This has risen to £8,020 in the 2025/26 financial year in 2024/25 prices. This does not take into account the increase of over £900 million this government is also providing for schools and high needs settings to support them with the cost of National Insurance contributions increases. Funding per pupil in the 2025/26 financial year is therefore higher than the level reached in the 2010/11 financial year, in real terms.
These increases, against the backdrop of a challenging fiscal picture, demonstrate the government’s commitment to enabling every child to achieve.