Margaret Ferrier
Main Page: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)Department Debates - View all Margaret Ferrier's debates with the Department for Education
(1 year, 5 months ago)
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Claire Coutinho
We absolutely need to address the plight of low-income families struggling with the system when their children have SEND. The amount of funding that has gone into the SEND high needs block has risen by 40% over the last three years, so we are putting the funding in, but we absolutely need to ensure that it is going to the right families.
Margaret Ferrier (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (Ind)
Teaching assistants providing one-to-one support are vital for children with additional needs to succeed in the classroom, but many are leaving because the pay is too low for them to survive during the economic crisis. What steps are Ministers taking to improve both recruitment and retention rates for SEND teaching assistants?
Claire Coutinho
I point to the £2 billion extra funding that is going into the schools system next year and the year after as well as the huge increase of funding that I just mentioned going into the SEND sector.
Gillian Keegan
I would be very happy to meet my hon. Friend. I thoroughly enjoyed working with her on many things vocational and technical education when I was last in the Department. We very much need more mechanical engineers, so I encourage that young student and very much look forward to working with my hon. Friend.
Margaret Ferrier (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (Ind)
What steps are Ministers taking to achieve the target of delivering 20,000 defibrillators in schools by 2023?
Nick Gibb
We have been delivering defibrillators in schools up and down the country—it is a successful programme. I will write to the hon. Member with the precise figures that she is seeking.