Asked by: Marie Rimmer (Labour - St Helens South and Whiston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has made an estimate of how many children are not currently accessing their full 30 hours of free childcare because their specialist needs are not being accommodated.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
We do not currently hold data about the number of free hours that are being used by children that are eligible for 30 hours or the reasons why a child may not be accessing their full entitlement.
We will collect data about the number of children taking up 30 hours free childcare in January 2018 Early Years and Schools Census. This will be published in the ‘Education provision: children under 5 years of age’ statistical first release in summer 2018. This will include data about the number of children with special educational needs or a disability taking up government-funded hours.
Asked by: Marie Rimmer (Labour - St Helens South and Whiston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he plans to take to ensure that disabled three and four year olds who require one-to-one care can still access the thirty hours of free childcare to which they are entitled.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The Childcare Act 2006 and Childcare Act 2016 make clear that if children meet the eligibility requirements for the free entitlements, the local authority must secure a place for them. The Equality Act 2010 requires that local authorities and all early years’ providers must make reasonable adjustments for disabled children.
Local authorities can use the high needs element of their Dedicated Schools Grant to support settings to provide childcare to disabled children. In addition, we introduced, in April 2017, a national Disability Access Fund, worth to £615 per child per year, to support disabled children to access the free entitlements.
Asked by: Marie Rimmer (Labour - St Helens South and Whiston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of how effectively the new system for supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities is meeting the needs of children and young people on the autism spectrum; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Edward Timpson
The Department is monitoring implementation of the reforms and transition to the new system closely. Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission began inspecting local area effectiveness in meeting their special educational needs and disability (SEND) duties in May. All areas will be inspected over a five year period and the findings published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-area-send-inspection-outcome-letters
The Department also draws on a wide range of research, surveys and data as well as feedback from our professional SEND Advisers and funded voluntary sector organisations.
The Department has issued £113million in funding between 2014-15 and 2016-17 through the SEND Implementation Grant to support local authorities to carry out the SEND reforms. It is the responsibility of local authorities to make best use of this funding to support them to fulfill their duties. The Department has also funded the Autism Education Trust (£650,000 in 2016-17) to deliver autism training to education professionals in England. The Trust has trained more than 100,000 education staff since 2012. The training offered by the Autism Education Trust incorporates the learning from previous work by Ambitious about Autism on strategies for supporting transition from school to college, and the contract also covers a service provided by the National Autistic Society that provides information and advice to parents and professionals on exclusions.
The Department has not made an assessment of how the new system of support for children with SEND is meeting the needs of those with autism in particular. However, there have been a number of significant changes to the SEND system which particularly benefit children and young people with autism. This includes the publication of ‘local offers’ of SEND services by local authorities, the introduction of streamlined education, health and care needs assessments and plans, and new statutory protections for young people aged 16-25 in further education.
Under the Department’s Free Schools programme, there are now nineteen special free schools open across England, including several that are specifically for children with Autism, such as the Rise free school in Hounslow, the Lighthouse free school in Leeds and the National Autistic Society’s Church Lawton free school in Cheshire. There are a further fourteen special free schools due to open in the future, seven of which will specialise in provision for children with autism, including the Heartlands Autism free school in Haringey and a second National Autistic Society free school, the Vanguard free school in Lambeth. Several of the other schools will offer some places for children with autism.
Asked by: Marie Rimmer (Labour - St Helens South and Whiston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will review the implementation of new SEND system by local authorities; and what assessment she has made of how transitional funding is being used in each area to benefit children with (a) autism and (b) other special educational needs.
Answered by Edward Timpson
The Department is monitoring implementation of the reforms and transition to the new system closely. Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission began inspecting local area effectiveness in meeting their special educational needs and disability (SEND) duties in May. All areas will be inspected over a five year period and the findings published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-area-send-inspection-outcome-letters
The Department also draws on a wide range of research, surveys and data as well as feedback from our professional SEND Advisers and funded voluntary sector organisations.
The Department has issued £113million in funding between 2014-15 and 2016-17 through the SEND Implementation Grant to support local authorities to carry out the SEND reforms. It is the responsibility of local authorities to make best use of this funding to support them to fulfill their duties. The Department has also funded the Autism Education Trust (£650,000 in 2016-17) to deliver autism training to education professionals in England. The Trust has trained more than 100,000 education staff since 2012. The training offered by the Autism Education Trust incorporates the learning from previous work by Ambitious about Autism on strategies for supporting transition from school to college, and the contract also covers a service provided by the National Autistic Society that provides information and advice to parents and professionals on exclusions.
The Department has not made an assessment of how the new system of support for children with SEND is meeting the needs of those with autism in particular. However, there have been a number of significant changes to the SEND system which particularly benefit children and young people with autism. This includes the publication of ‘local offers’ of SEND services by local authorities, the introduction of streamlined education, health and care needs assessments and plans, and new statutory protections for young people aged 16-25 in further education.
Under the Department’s Free Schools programme, there are now nineteen special free schools open across England, including several that are specifically for children with Autism, such as the Rise free school in Hounslow, the Lighthouse free school in Leeds and the National Autistic Society’s Church Lawton free school in Cheshire. There are a further fourteen special free schools due to open in the future, seven of which will specialise in provision for children with autism, including the Heartlands Autism free school in Haringey and a second National Autistic Society free school, the Vanguard free school in Lambeth. Several of the other schools will offer some places for children with autism.