Asked by: Oliver Dowden (Conservative - Hertsmere)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve the provision of SEND services in Hertfordshire.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
This government is committed to providing the necessary support to improve the experiences for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and their families. We are committed to taking a community-wide approach, improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools and alternative provision settings, as well as ensuring special schools cater to those with the most complex needs.
Ofsted inspected local arrangements for children with SEND in Hertfordshire in July 2023. Its report, published on 10 November 2023, concluded that there are widespread and/or systemic failings, leading to significant concerns about the experiences and outcomes of children and young people with SEND, which the local area partnership must address urgently.
The department provides support and challenge to the Hertfordshire local area partnership by monitoring progress against its priority action plan and improvement plan, and by providing advice and guidance via a SEND expert advisor. The partnership has also established a SEND Improvement Board, independently chaired by Dame Christine Lenehan to oversee progress and provide appropriate challenge.
Asked by: Oliver Dowden (Conservative - Hertsmere)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle funding gaps for statutory SEND duties in Hertfordshire.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department is providing schools with extra funding of almost £1.1 billion in the 2024/25 financial year, to support schools with overall costs, including the costs of supporting their pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Following the Budget, schools funding will be increased by a further £2.3 billion in 2025/26. Of this overall increase, nearly £1 billion is for children and young people with complex needs and will bring high needs funding to a total of £11.9 billion next year. As overall funding for the 2025/26 financial year has been announced later than normal, allocations calculated through the high needs and schools national funding formulae have not been published to the usual timescales. We will publish further information as soon as possible.
Asked by: Oliver Dowden (Conservative - Hertsmere)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle disparities in per-head High Needs Funding between Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Allocations of high needs funding for the 2025/26 financial year will be published as soon as possible now that overall budgets for next year have been announced. The department will take longer to consider changes to the funding formula that is used to allocate funding and which creates the variations in funding levels between local authorities across the country. The department fully recognises the importance of establishing a fair education funding system, that directs funding to where it is needed.
Asked by: Oliver Dowden (Conservative - Hertsmere)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to tackle anti-Semitism on university campuses.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
As autonomous institutions, universities are responsible for tackling antisemitism on campus and should have processes in place to deal with unlawful abuse and harassment.
Universities, as well as Jewish groups and other stakeholders, have told us that the previous government’s Freedom of Speech Act prevented them from taking effective action. The department is stopping further commencement of the Act, in order to consider the options, including its repeal.
The department will continue to work closely with Jewish groups, including the Union for Jewish Students and the University Jewish Chaplaincy, to understand their concerns and what further action is needed.
Asked by: Oliver Dowden (Conservative - Hertsmere)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress has been made on delivering 30 hours of free childcare.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
Early delivery of 30 hours free childcare was successful with over 15,000 places delivered to eligible parents across the 12 areas. The independent evaluation of our early delivery areas showed that 78% of parents reported greater flexibility in their working life as a result of 30 hours, and nearly a quarter of mothers and one in 10 fathers reported they had been able to increase their working hours. These independent evaluation reports are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-rollout-of-30-hours-free-childcare-evaluation and https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/30-hours-free-childcare-early-implementation-evaluation.
On 1 September, 30 hours free childcare was rolled out nationally. As of 31 August, 216,384 eligibility codes had been issued for the autumn term and, as of 6 November, 93% of these eligibility codes had been validated via the Eligibility Checking System (ECS). This information is referred to in the following management information release: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/30-hours-free-childcare-eligibility-codes-issued-and-validated.
On 19 December we will publish an experimental statistics release ’30 hours free childcare: Autumn term 2017’ which will include a local council breakdown of codes issued and validated.
Asked by: Oliver Dowden (Conservative - Hertsmere)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress has been made on rolling out 30 hours of free childcare in Hertsmere.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
On 1 September, 30 hours free childcare was rolled out nationally. As of 31 August, 216,384 eligibility codes had been issued for the autumn term and, as of 6 November, 93% of these eligibility codes had been validated via the Eligibility Checking System. This information is referred to in the following management information release: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/30-hours-free-childcare-eligibility-codes-issued-and-validated.
On 19 December, the department will publish a statistical release ’30 hours free childcare: Autumn term 2017’ which will include a council breakdown of codes issued and validated.
Asked by: Oliver Dowden (Conservative - Hertsmere)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when her Department plans to announce further character award grants.
Answered by Edward Timpson
The Department awarded character grants in the last two years to celebrate the excellent variety of character programmes inside and outside schools across the country. In addition to this, the department also invited bids for the 2016/17 character grants, which we are currently considering.