Asked by: Nesil Caliskan (Labour - Barking)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department plans to take this academic year to help schools tackle absences.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government recognises school absence as a key barrier to learning and tackling this must be a top priority. Thanks to the sector's efforts, more students are attending school this year compared to last. However, 1.6 million children remain persistently absent, missing 10% or more of lessons.
To address this, backed by £15 million investment, the government will expand the reach of attendance mentoring to 10,000 more children and to cover an additional ten areas with some of the worst attendance rates across the country, which will help to get more children into school where they can be supported to achieve and thrive.
The department will additionally roll out funded breakfast clubs to all primary schools so that all children get a strong start to the day and are ready to learn. The department will also introduce new annual Ofsted reviews on safeguarding, attendance, and off-rolling. Mental health support is being expanded, with specialists in every school.
The ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ statutory guidance promotes a 'support first' approach, encouraging schools, trusts, and local authorities to work with families to address attendance barriers. This guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-improve-school-attendance.
Asked by: Nesil Caliskan (Labour - Barking)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the capacity is of SEND (a) schools and (b) provision within mainstream schools in (i) London and (ii) Barking.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Information on school capacity in special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and mainstream schools as at May 2023 is published at local authority level in the annual School Capacity statistics publication, which can be accessed at the following link: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-capacity.
There are 1,506 places in SEND units and 4,476 places in resourced provision in mainstream schools in London. This data is also available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/91adc73e-edec-4645-a91a-08dce6ed00e6.
There are 21,118 school places in SEND schools in London. This data is also available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/02e993b4-22c1-445e-c3ba-08dce8260458.
There are 470 school places in SEND schools in Barking & Dagenham. This data is also available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/9c99ec5d-eea7-4b5b-c3c5-08dce8260458.
There are 100 school places in SEND units and 282 places in resourced provision in mainstream schools in Barking & Dagenham. This data is also available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/5d08e800-fbdb-4d82-c3c6-08dce8260458.
School capacity data is also published at school level. This can be combined with information from Get Information About Schools (GIAS) to identify parliamentary constituency. GIAS currently reflects the changes made following the general election parliamentary constituency changes and can be accessed at the following link: https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/.
Asked by: Nesil Caliskan (Labour - Barking)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to meet demand for SEND educational provision in (a) London, (b) Barking and (c) the UK.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with SEND or in alternative provision (AP) receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. The department is committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special schools cater to children and young people with the most complex needs, restoring parents’ trust that their child will get the special educational provision they need.
As part of this, local authorities must ensure there are sufficient school places for all pupils, including children and young people with SEND. The Children and Families Act 2014 requires local authorities to keep the provision for children and young people with SEND under review, including its sufficiency, by working with parents, young people and providers.
Local authorities have received high needs provision capital allocations to support them to deliver new places and improve existing provision for children and young people with SEND, or who require AP. For 2023/24 and 2024/25, Barking and Dagenham Council received £15.3 million and all inner and outer London boroughs received £467 million.
The department will work with the sector as valued partners to ensure that children and young people can access the special educational provision they need.
Asked by: Nesil Caliskan (Labour - Barking)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many school absences were recorded in Barking in the (a) 2021-22 and (b) 2022-23 academic years.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Information on pupil absence, including breakdowns by characteristic, is published at local authority level in the Pupil absence in schools in England statistics publication. This can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/pupil-absence-in-schools-in-england/2022-23. The number of overall absence sessions, and absence rates, in Barking and Dagenham for the 2021/22 and 2022/23 academic years can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/e975658f-5526-4b87-c3cc-08dce8260458.
Absence data is also published at school level. This can be combined with information from ‘Get Information About Schools’ (GIAS) to identify parliamentary constituency. This can be accessed here: https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/. GIAS currently reflects the changes made following the general election parliamentary constituency changes.