Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to make funding available for Local Authorities to clear the backlog of young people waiting for their EHCP to be implemented.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision (AP) receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.
The department recognises the challenges that families face in accessing support for children and young people as part of the education, health and care plan process and we are considering carefully how to address this situation. We have listened to many parents and those who advise them, local authority colleagues and partners across education, health and social care and we are reflecting on what practice could or should be made consistent nationally.
The department is providing almost £1 billion more for high needs budgets in the 2025/26 financial year, bringing total high needs funding to £11.9 billion. This funding will help local authorities and schools with the increasing costs of supporting children and young people with complex SEND. The department has also announced £740 million of high needs capital funding for the 2025/26 financial year to invest in places for children and young people with SEND or who require AP.
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve the value for money of education, health and care plans.
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, particularly through long and difficult education, health and care (EHC) plan processes.
The department wants to drive a consistent and inclusive approach to supporting children and young people with SEND through early identification, effective support, high-quality teaching and effective allocation of resources. Our approach will support families and break down the barriers to opportunity for their children.
The department recognises the complex financial challenges facing the existing SEND system and the strain that the rising costs of SEND provision are putting on local government. But this government also understands that more money is not always the answer. What matters is how the money is spent and what behaviours we are incentivising within the system from funding allocations. The government wants to focus on meeting more children’s needs in mainstream which enables children to thrive, provides high value and ensures more families have confidence that their children’s needs will be met without having to pursue an EHC plan. Where EHC plans are needed we will consider what further can be done to deliver these through inclusive mainstream provision.
The Delivering Better Value in SEND programme worked with 51 local authorities to review and improve the way their services are structured so they can support children and young people with SEND more effectively and sustainably. The programme required local authorities to develop action plans that place greater emphasis on early intervention in order to meet children and young people’s needs early.
The department has published an independently-commissioned insight report which showed that if the system improved, 65% of children and young people could have their needs met in a more effective way, and that this could lead to tens of thousands more children having their needs met without an EHC plan, in a mainstream setting, rather than a specialist placement.
The department has published a toolkit to help other local areas learn from the experience of those on the Delivering Better Value in SEND programme.
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she has taken to improve the inclusivity of mainstream schools for autistic and neurodivergent young people.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The government is committed to taking a community-wide approach, improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special schools cater to children and young people with the most complex needs. The special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) code of practice is clear that education settings should put in support to meet the needs of the child or young person when they are identified. All children and young people should be supported within their education setting. All teachers are teachers of SEND, including autism.
To increase understanding of autism the department has a contract with the National Association for Special Educational Needs. This contract funds SEND training and provides support for the school and further education workforce, with over 220,000 professionals having completed autism awareness training since May 2022.
In November 2024 the department brought together a group of leading neurodiversity experts to advise the department on improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream settings in a way that works for neurodivergent children and young people.
The department has also introduced the Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) programme, alongside NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care, backed by £13 million funding.
PINS deploys specialists from both health and education workforces to build teacher and staff capacity to identify and meet the needs of neurodiverse children in around 1,600 (10%) mainstream primary schools and supports neurodiverse children at the whole-school level. It is needs led, rather than diagnosis-led, therefore it includes children without a formal diagnosis.
The programme is being evaluated, and the learning will inform future policy development around how schools support neurodiverse children.
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support schools to (a) understand and (b) support autistic pupils.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The government is committed to taking a community-wide approach, improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special schools cater to children and young people with the most complex needs. The special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) code of practice is clear that education settings should put in support to meet the needs of the child or young person when they are identified. All children and young people should be supported within their education setting. All teachers are teachers of SEND, including autism.
To increase understanding of autism the department has a contract with the National Association for Special Educational Needs. This contract funds SEND training and provides support for the school and further education workforce, with over 220,000 professionals having completed autism awareness training since May 2022.
In November 2024 the department brought together a group of leading neurodiversity experts to advise the department on improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream settings in a way that works for neurodivergent children and young people.
The department has also introduced the Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) programme, alongside NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care, backed by £13 million funding.
PINS deploys specialists from both health and education workforces to build teacher and staff capacity to identify and meet the needs of neurodiverse children in around 1,600 (10%) mainstream primary schools and supports neurodiverse children at the whole-school level. It is needs led, rather than diagnosis-led, therefore it includes children without a formal diagnosis.
The programme is being evaluated, and the learning will inform future policy development around how schools support neurodiverse children.
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the University of Manchester's research entitled Social and Emotional Learning for Every Child: Why SEL Matters, published on 6 November 2024.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Schools have a statutory duty, as part of a broad and balanced curriculum, to promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development. The department published guidance in 2014 to support schools in delivering that requirement.
In health education, which is part of mandatory relationships, sex and health education (RSHE), there is a strong focus on mental wellbeing, including a recognition that mental wellbeing and physical health are linked.
The aim of teaching pupils about mental wellbeing and physical health is to give them the information they need to make good decisions about their own health and wellbeing, recognise issues in themselves and others and, when issues arise, how to seek support. This includes learning how to recognise and talk about their emotions, the benefits of exercise and self-care techniques, as well as developing pupils’ resilience and their ability to self-regulate and recognise the early signs of mental wellbeing concerns.
The RSHE statutory guidance is currently under review. The department is looking carefully at responses to the public the consultation conducted last year, considering the relevant evidence and discussing with stakeholders before setting out next steps to make sure the guidance draws from the best available evidence.
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to include (a) schools and (b) educational agencies in local arrangements for safeguarding.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The involvement of education and childcare agencies is fundamental at all levels of safeguarding arrangements. The department knows that teachers and educators are often the first to spot warning signs of abuse and neglect and are the largest referrer of cases into children’s social care after the police.
That is why the department is introducing measures through the landmark Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to strengthen the role of education in multi-agency safeguarding arrangements. We will make it a legal obligation for safeguarding partners to automatically include all education and childcare agencies at both operational and strategic levels of their safeguarding arrangements.
These measures include all education settings, covering early years and childcare settings through to schools, colleges and alternative provision, so that opportunities to keep children safe are not missed.
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
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 either (a) removing the margin or (b) capping the interest rate on student loans.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Student loans are subject to interest to ensure that those who can afford to do so contribute to the full cost of their degree. The government does not make a profit from the student loan repayment system.
The department is determined that the higher education (HE) funding system should deliver for our economy, for universities and for students and the government is committed to supporting the aspiration of every person who meets the requirements and wants to go to university. We will set out this government’s longer-term plan for HE reform by summer 2025.
Interest rates on student loans do not affect monthly repayments made by borrowers. Regular repayments are based on a fixed percentage of earnings above the applicable student loan repayment threshold, not on the amount borrowed or the rate of interest. If a borrower’s income drops, so does the amount they repay. If income is below the relevant student loan repayment threshold, or a borrower is not earning, then they do not have to make repayments at all. Any outstanding debt, including interest built up, is written off after the loan term ends (or in case of death or disability) at no detriment to the borrower.
Interest rates are set annually in relation to the Retail Price Index. The government caps maximum student loan rates when needed to ensure that student loan interest rates do not exceed market rates for comparable unsecured personal loans.
A full equality impact assessment of how student loan reforms may affect graduates, including detail on changes to average lifetime repayments under Plan 5, was produced and published in February 2022 and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reform-equality-impact-assessment.
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support people working in education who experience mental health issues.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Didcot and Wantage to the answer of 12 December 2024 to Question 19632.
Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the increase in employers' National Insurance contributions, as announced in the Autumn Budget 2024, on the the cost of nursery provision for parents.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Didcot and Wantage to the answer of 11 November 2024 to Question 12804.