Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions she has had with Ofsted on the (a) availability and (b) quality of school library provision.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department has not specifically assessed the impact of professional school librarians on pupils’ learning or outcomes. It is for individual schools to decide how best to provide and maintain a library service for their pupils, including whether to employ a qualified librarian. Headteachers have autonomy to decide how best to spend the core schools funding that is allocated to them by the department. This school funding can be used to fund librarians, school libraries and book corners.
Ministers and officials have regular discussions with His Majesty’s Chief Inspector and his staff on a wide range of matters, including those relating to literacy and ensuring pupils benefit from a knowledge-rich curriculum.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of professional school librarians on pupils (a) learning and (b) outcomes.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department has not specifically assessed the impact of professional school librarians on pupils’ learning or outcomes. It is for individual schools to decide how best to provide and maintain a library service for their pupils, including whether to employ a qualified librarian. Headteachers have autonomy to decide how best to spend the core schools funding that is allocated to them by the department. This school funding can be used to fund librarians, school libraries and book corners.
Ministers and officials have regular discussions with His Majesty’s Chief Inspector and his staff on a wide range of matters, including those relating to literacy and ensuring pupils benefit from a knowledge-rich curriculum.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of implementing the Primary-Secondary School Transitions Emotional Wellbeing Scale being developed by the University of Manchester and the University of Dundee.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government recognises the importance of monitoring and understanding trends in the emotional wellbeing of children and young people, including through means such the Primary-Secondary School Transitions Emotional Wellbeing Scale developed at the University of Manchester and University of Dundee.
Schools are encouraged to measure pupil wellbeing to inform their whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing. It is for schools to decide how they do this to identify and meet the specific needs of pupils in their setting.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the number and proportion children who started school that were not toilet trained in September 2024.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department does not hold this information but surveys of teachers such as the most recent ‘School Readiness Survey’ conducted by Kindred2, found that one in four children start reception not toilet trained.
The early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework sets the standards and requirements that all registered early years providers in England must meet to ensure that children have the knowledge and skills they need to start school.
The EYFS framework includes seven educational programmes, which are high level curriculum summaries, under each statutory area of learning that must shape the early years curriculum. Personal, social and emotional development (PSED) is one of the three prime areas of learning in the EYFS. Children’s PSED is crucial for children to lead healthy and happy lives and is fundamental to their cognitive development. Through adult modelling and guidance, children are expected to learn how to look after their bodies and manage personal needs independently.
The EYFS Profile statistics on teacher assessments of children’s development at the end of the academic year in which children turn five shows that, in 2023/24, 82.9% of children were at the expected level of development for the PSED area of learning, further information can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/early-years-foundation-stage-profile-results/2023-24.
The department will continue to collaborate with the Department of Health and Social Care to consider what further steps can be taken to help improve the level of toilet training among children starting school.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to help improve the level of toilet training among children starting school in September 2025.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department does not hold this information but surveys of teachers such as the most recent ‘School Readiness Survey’ conducted by Kindred2, found that one in four children start reception not toilet trained.
The early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework sets the standards and requirements that all registered early years providers in England must meet to ensure that children have the knowledge and skills they need to start school.
The EYFS framework includes seven educational programmes, which are high level curriculum summaries, under each statutory area of learning that must shape the early years curriculum. Personal, social and emotional development (PSED) is one of the three prime areas of learning in the EYFS. Children’s PSED is crucial for children to lead healthy and happy lives and is fundamental to their cognitive development. Through adult modelling and guidance, children are expected to learn how to look after their bodies and manage personal needs independently.
The EYFS Profile statistics on teacher assessments of children’s development at the end of the academic year in which children turn five shows that, in 2023/24, 82.9% of children were at the expected level of development for the PSED area of learning, further information can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/early-years-foundation-stage-profile-results/2023-24.
The department will continue to collaborate with the Department of Health and Social Care to consider what further steps can be taken to help improve the level of toilet training among children starting school.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has plans to improve SEND information, advice and support services for families.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Under the Children and Families Act (2014), it is a legal requirement that all local authorities have a Special Educational Needs and Disability Information Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS) to ensure families are provided with the support they need to participate in discussions about their own support, such as their or their child's education, health and care plan and more strategic discussions about the wider support on offer locally, for example the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) local offer.
The department funds training and support for SENDIASS services through a contract with specialist charities which support parents and carers of children with SEND. This contract is led by Contact, a national charity who we also fund to run a national telephone helpline, offering impartial information, support and advice on SEND to families.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to implement dedicated SEND units in mainstream schools.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
This government is committed to encouraging schools to set up special educational needs (SEN) units or resourced provision to increase capacity in mainstream schools. These are SEN provisions within mainstream schools, formally recognised by the local authority and which receive high needs funding.
In December 2024, the department announced £740 million of capital investment to allow more pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to achieve and thrive in mainstream schools, including through SEN units and resourced provision.
SEN units and resourced provision have an important role to play in a more inclusive mainstream system, enabling children to benefit from and remain part of mainstream education and wider school life whilst still receiving the additional support that they need.
The department knows that there are many excellent examples of mainstream schools delivering specialist provision through SEN units and resourced provision and that schools and local authorities are interested in setting up more of this type of provision. We will work with the sector to increase capacity and extend best practice across the system.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to including a tiered assessment model within the education, health and care plan process.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
For too long the education system has not met the needs of all children, particularly those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), with parents struggling to get their children the support they need and deserve. The department knows that parents have struggled to get the right support for their children, particularly through long and difficult education, health and care (EHC) plan processes.
Schools, further education colleges, sixth form colleges and 16 to 19 academies are required to identify and address the special educational needs (SEN) of the pupils they support and, in the case of mainstream settings, to use their best endeavours to make sure that a child or young person who has SEN gets the support they need.
All schools should apply the ‘graduated approach’ outlined in the SEND Code of Practice, which means identifying a child’s needs, planning appropriate support, implementing that support and reviewing it regularly to ensure it continues to meet the identified needs. Through this, schools should develop personalised approaches to supporting the unique needs of individual pupils. The Code can be accessed at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/398815/SEND_Code_of_Practice_January_2015.pdf.
If necessary, a local authority can be asked to carry out an EHC needs assessment. If a local authority is planning to undertake an assessment of a child or young person’s SEN, it will be to help to ensure that they receive appropriate support both now and in the future. They will do this by looking at what difficulties the child or young person is encountering, assessing the support that is currently in place and considering what else may be needed. The local authority will involve appropriate professionals from the school or college, health and social care in this assessment, to obtain as complete a picture as possible of the child or young person’s needs.
This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with SEND or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. The department is working closely with experts on reforms, recently appointing a Strategic Advisor for SEND, who will play a key role in convening and engaging with the sector, including leaders, practitioners, children and families as we consider the next steps for the future of SEND reform.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to provide specialist SEND training to teachers.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The within school factor that makes the biggest difference to a young person’s educational outcome is high-quality teaching. Supporting expert teachers is therefore critical to the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and boost the life chances for every child.
All teachers are teachers of special education needs and disabilities (SEND), and the department is committed to ensuring that all pupils receive excellent support from their teachers.
The Teachers’ Standards set clear expectations that teachers must understand the needs of all pupils, including those with SEND.
Our recruitment and retention reforms will support all teachers. Consideration of SEND underpins both the Initial Teacher Training (ITT) and early career framework (ECF), and they have been designed around how to support all pupils to succeed.
We recently reviewed the mandatory ITT core content framework alongside the ECF and the new framework includes significantly more content related to adaptive teaching and supporting all pupils with SEND.
Headteachers use their professional judgement to identify any further training, including specific specialisms, for individual staff that is relevant to them, the school, and its pupils.
All mainstream schools must have a special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO) who must be a qualified teacher, or the head teacher, working at the school. On 1 September 2024, the department introduced a new mandatory leadership level National Professional Qualification (NPQ) for SENCOs. The NPQ will play a key role in improving outcomes for children and young people with SEND by ensuring SENCOs consistently receive high-quality, evidence-based training.
To further support the needs of pupils and students with SEND, the department has funded the Universal Services programme, backed by almost £12 million. It brings together SEND-specific continuing professional development and support for schools and the further education workforce so that the needs of children and young people with SEND are met earlier and more effectively.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to monitor library provision in primary schools.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
School libraries complement public libraries by giving pupils access to a range of books and other kinds of texts, both in and out of school. The national curriculum states that teachers are expected to encourage pupils to develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information. There are a number of strong links between reading for pleasure and attainment. For example, the 2021 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study report found a 34 point difference in reading performance between pupils in England who “very much” liked reading and pupils who “do not” like reading. Additionally, the 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment study found that enjoyment of reading links to pupils’ reading engagement, and that reading engagement was strongly positively correlated with reading performance. There is also a strong evidence base linking reading for pleasure to other positive effects, such as improved text comprehension and grammar, increased general knowledge and character development.
It is for individual schools to decide how best to provide and maintain a library service for their pupils, including whether to employ a qualified librarian. Headteachers have autonomy to decide how best to spend the core schools funding that is allocated to them by the department. The Autumn Budget 2024 announced an additional £2.3 billion for schools for the 2025/26 financial year, compared to 2024/25, bringing the total core schools budget to almost £63.9 billion in 2025/26.
Given this autonomy, the department does not collect information on the number of school libraries or school librarians. There are currently no plans to make it a statutory requirement for primary schools to have a library, although we will continue to keep this matter under review.
The government’s reading framework offers non-statutory guidance for teachers and school leaders, including helpful guidance for schools on how to organise their school library, book corner or book stock to make reading accessible and attractive to readers.