Oral Answers to Questions

Mike Amesbury Excerpts

Monday 17th April 2023 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Claire Coutinho)]

Early identification of SEND is vital, which is why we are training 5,000 early-years SENCOs and reforming initial teacher training and the early-career framework for teachers in later stages of education.

[Mike Amesbury (Weaver Vale) (Lab)]

T10. I recently surveyed all the schools in my Weaver Vale constituency, and over 50% of headteachers mentioned issues with the recruitment and retention of teaching and learning assistants, many of whom work with children with special educational needs. What are the Government doing to improve the pay and terms and conditions of teaching and learning assistants?

[Nick Gibb]

We are recruiting a record number of teachers, and we have a record number of teaching assistants in our schools. The Chancellor announced an extra £2 billion of school funding in the autumn statement, which means there has been a 15% increase in school funding in just two years.