Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of guaranteeing every child the opportunity to attend an outdoor residential on pupils' wellbeing.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government recognises outdoor opportunities as a valuable part of the childhood experiences we want all children and young people to have.
Participation in enrichment activities can be associated with a range of positive outcomes, including wellbeing, life satisfaction and better mental health.
Our enrichment framework, published on 15 June, sets an expectation that all schools and colleges should offer a broad and well-rounded enrichment offer. Access to nature, outdoors and adventure, including camps, is specifically identified as one of the five areas that offers should cover as a minimum and highlights examples of offers including residentials.
The department is supporting the provision of more opportunities through the £132 million ‘Every Child Can’ programme and will be supporting 400 schools in deprived areas to develop offers in line with the benchmarks through our £22.5 million Enrichment Enhancement Programme. We will also be working to grow provision in areas where access is limited, working with Baroness Grey-Thompson as enrichment ambassador for this area.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has considered introducing an entitlement to an outdoor residential experience for every child during their time at school.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government recognises outdoor opportunities as a valuable part of the childhood experiences we want all children and young people to have.
Participation in enrichment activities can be associated with a range of positive outcomes, including wellbeing, life satisfaction and better mental health.
Our enrichment framework, published on 15 June, sets an expectation that all schools and colleges should offer a broad and well-rounded enrichment offer. Access to nature, outdoors and adventure, including camps, is specifically identified as one of the five areas that offers should cover as a minimum and highlights examples of offers including residentials.
The department is supporting the provision of more opportunities through the £132 million ‘Every Child Can’ programme and will be supporting 400 schools in deprived areas to develop offers in line with the benchmarks through our £22.5 million Enrichment Enhancement Programme. We will also be working to grow provision in areas where access is limited, working with Baroness Grey-Thompson as enrichment ambassador for this area.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions her Department has had with local authorities in Lancashire on the delivery of Best Start Family Hubs.
Answered by Olivia Bailey
The government has committed to provide funding for all local authorities to deliver Best Start Family Hubs, backed by over £900 million. The department works closely with local authorities to monitor implementation and ensure they are meeting programme expectations.
We engage with local authorities on the programme in several ways, including through guidance, grant payments and associated formal documentation, routine communications shared with all local authorities on programme updates and information, and regular engagement between departmental officials and local authorities to support effective delivery. Guidance provided to local authorities on delivery expectations for April 2026 to March 2029 can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/best-start-family-hubs-and-healthy-babies-guidance-for-local-authorities.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions her Department has had with local authorities in Lancashire on the delivery of Best Start Family Hubs.
Answered by Olivia Bailey
The government has committed to provide funding for all local authorities to deliver Best Start Family Hubs, backed by over £900 million. The department works closely with local authorities to monitor implementation and ensure they are meeting programme expectations.
We engage with local authorities on the programme in several ways, including through guidance, grant payments and associated formal documentation, routine communications shared with all local authorities on programme updates and information, and regular engagement between departmental officials and local authorities to support effective delivery. Guidance provided to local authorities on delivery expectations for April 2026 to March 2029 can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/best-start-family-hubs-and-healthy-babies-guidance-for-local-authorities.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to sections 38 and 39 of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 on local authorities visiting home educated children, whether she plans for local authorities to send advance notification of appointment times or if the visit must be arranged at a mutually convenient time.
Answered by Olivia Bailey
The Children Not in School measures of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, when implemented, will require the government to pilot mandatory meetings in selected local authorities for parents wishing to withdraw their child from school for home education. Parents will be required to attend this meeting prior to their child being removed from the school roll. If a parent does not attend the meeting, their child cannot be removed from the school roll. Further details about how the mandatory meeting process should work in practice will be outlined via affirmative regulations and statutory guidance.
Separate to this, the measures will also require local authorities to make an assessment of the child’s home and other learning environments at the point of registration on the Children Not in School registers and when deciding whether they must issue a preliminary notice or a School Attendance Order. To support this, local authorities will have the power to request a visit to the child in their home. We intend to require local authorities to record their assessments of the home and other learning environments and the outcomes of home visits on the registers. Where a parent refuses such a visit, this would be a relevant factor for the local authority when considering whether to issue a preliminary notice for a school attendance order.
Statutory guidance, which we will be consulting on, will outline the details of how visits should be organised, provide steers to help local authorities sensitively conduct visits, and determine the best way to discuss outcomes from home visits with parents. We will also be developing a training package for local authorities focusing on their new duties.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to sections 38 and 39 of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 on local authorities visiting home educated children, what methods will be used to contact parents and to ensure that the request to visit or the notification of a visit has been received.
Answered by Olivia Bailey
The Children Not in School measures of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, when implemented, will require the government to pilot mandatory meetings in selected local authorities for parents wishing to withdraw their child from school for home education. Parents will be required to attend this meeting prior to their child being removed from the school roll. If a parent does not attend the meeting, their child cannot be removed from the school roll. Further details about how the mandatory meeting process should work in practice will be outlined via affirmative regulations and statutory guidance.
Separate to this, the measures will also require local authorities to make an assessment of the child’s home and other learning environments at the point of registration on the Children Not in School registers and when deciding whether they must issue a preliminary notice or a School Attendance Order. To support this, local authorities will have the power to request a visit to the child in their home. We intend to require local authorities to record their assessments of the home and other learning environments and the outcomes of home visits on the registers. Where a parent refuses such a visit, this would be a relevant factor for the local authority when considering whether to issue a preliminary notice for a school attendance order.
Statutory guidance, which we will be consulting on, will outline the details of how visits should be organised, provide steers to help local authorities sensitively conduct visits, and determine the best way to discuss outcomes from home visits with parents. We will also be developing a training package for local authorities focusing on their new duties.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to sections 38 and 39 of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 on local authorities visiting home educated children, whether parents will be sanctioned if they do not respond to requests for home visits.
Answered by Olivia Bailey
The Children Not in School measures of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, when implemented, will require the government to pilot mandatory meetings in selected local authorities for parents wishing to withdraw their child from school for home education. Parents will be required to attend this meeting prior to their child being removed from the school roll. If a parent does not attend the meeting, their child cannot be removed from the school roll. Further details about how the mandatory meeting process should work in practice will be outlined via affirmative regulations and statutory guidance.
Separate to this, the measures will also require local authorities to make an assessment of the child’s home and other learning environments at the point of registration on the Children Not in School registers and when deciding whether they must issue a preliminary notice or a School Attendance Order. To support this, local authorities will have the power to request a visit to the child in their home. We intend to require local authorities to record their assessments of the home and other learning environments and the outcomes of home visits on the registers. Where a parent refuses such a visit, this would be a relevant factor for the local authority when considering whether to issue a preliminary notice for a school attendance order.
Statutory guidance, which we will be consulting on, will outline the details of how visits should be organised, provide steers to help local authorities sensitively conduct visits, and determine the best way to discuss outcomes from home visits with parents. We will also be developing a training package for local authorities focusing on their new duties.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to sections 38 and 39 of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 on local authorities visiting home educated children, whether she plans to sanction parents if they cancel an arranged visit.
Answered by Olivia Bailey
The Children Not in School measures of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, when implemented, will require the government to pilot mandatory meetings in selected local authorities for parents wishing to withdraw their child from school for home education. Parents will be required to attend this meeting prior to their child being removed from the school roll. If a parent does not attend the meeting, their child cannot be removed from the school roll. Further details about how the mandatory meeting process should work in practice will be outlined via affirmative regulations and statutory guidance.
Separate to this, the measures will also require local authorities to make an assessment of the child’s home and other learning environments at the point of registration on the Children Not in School registers and when deciding whether they must issue a preliminary notice or a School Attendance Order. To support this, local authorities will have the power to request a visit to the child in their home. We intend to require local authorities to record their assessments of the home and other learning environments and the outcomes of home visits on the registers. Where a parent refuses such a visit, this would be a relevant factor for the local authority when considering whether to issue a preliminary notice for a school attendance order.
Statutory guidance, which we will be consulting on, will outline the details of how visits should be organised, provide steers to help local authorities sensitively conduct visits, and determine the best way to discuss outcomes from home visits with parents. We will also be developing a training package for local authorities focusing on their new duties.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to sections 38 and 39 of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 on local authorities visiting home educated children, whether she plans that visits must be pre-booked; and what systems will be in place for parents to verify the identity of visitors.
Answered by Olivia Bailey
The Children Not in School measures of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, when implemented, will require the government to pilot mandatory meetings in selected local authorities for parents wishing to withdraw their child from school for home education. Parents will be required to attend this meeting prior to their child being removed from the school roll. If a parent does not attend the meeting, their child cannot be removed from the school roll. Further details about how the mandatory meeting process should work in practice will be outlined via affirmative regulations and statutory guidance.
Separate to this, the measures will also require local authorities to make an assessment of the child’s home and other learning environments at the point of registration on the Children Not in School registers and when deciding whether they must issue a preliminary notice or a School Attendance Order. To support this, local authorities will have the power to request a visit to the child in their home. We intend to require local authorities to record their assessments of the home and other learning environments and the outcomes of home visits on the registers. Where a parent refuses such a visit, this would be a relevant factor for the local authority when considering whether to issue a preliminary notice for a school attendance order.
Statutory guidance, which we will be consulting on, will outline the details of how visits should be organised, provide steers to help local authorities sensitively conduct visits, and determine the best way to discuss outcomes from home visits with parents. We will also be developing a training package for local authorities focusing on their new duties.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to sections 38 and 39 of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 on local authorities visiting home educated children, whether she plans for parents to receive a draft report of the home visit for comment.
Answered by Olivia Bailey
The Children Not in School measures of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, when implemented, will require the government to pilot mandatory meetings in selected local authorities for parents wishing to withdraw their child from school for home education. Parents will be required to attend this meeting prior to their child being removed from the school roll. If a parent does not attend the meeting, their child cannot be removed from the school roll. Further details about how the mandatory meeting process should work in practice will be outlined via affirmative regulations and statutory guidance.
Separate to this, the measures will also require local authorities to make an assessment of the child’s home and other learning environments at the point of registration on the Children Not in School registers and when deciding whether they must issue a preliminary notice or a School Attendance Order. To support this, local authorities will have the power to request a visit to the child in their home. We intend to require local authorities to record their assessments of the home and other learning environments and the outcomes of home visits on the registers. Where a parent refuses such a visit, this would be a relevant factor for the local authority when considering whether to issue a preliminary notice for a school attendance order.
Statutory guidance, which we will be consulting on, will outline the details of how visits should be organised, provide steers to help local authorities sensitively conduct visits, and determine the best way to discuss outcomes from home visits with parents. We will also be developing a training package for local authorities focusing on their new duties.