Asked by: Rebecca Pow (Conservative - Taunton Deane)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children and young people in contact with Pupil Referral Units have speech, language and communication needs.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department publishes information on the number of pupils with special educational needs in each Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) by primary need type. This can be found in the underlying data of the “Special education needs in England” statistical releases found at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-special-educational-needs-sen.
In January 2018, 365 pupils in PRUs who were identified with special educational needs, had speech, language and communication needs as their primary type of need. This is 2.2% of the 16,730 pupils with special educational needs in PRUs. These figures relate to pupils on special educational needs support and those with a statement or Education, Health and Care Plan who are registered to local authority maintained PRUs and Academy or Free School alternative provision as their main educational provider.
Asked by: Rebecca Pow (Conservative - Taunton Deane)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans Ofsted has to ensure that descriptors of high-quality education in new inspection handbooks for (a) early years, (b) schools and (c) further education emphasise the importance of pupils developing language and communication skills.
Answered by Nick Gibb
This is a matter for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman. I have asked her to write to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Asked by: Rebecca Pow (Conservative - Taunton Deane)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Education and Skills Funding Agency plans to revise its apprenticeship funding rules for training providers and employers to include training for communication skills development in the list of items that can be funded; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Anne Milton
The apprenticeship funding rules set out eligible costs that the government will pay to support the training and assessment required to deliver an apprenticeship.
The funding rules do not set out the different skills required for each apprenticeship as these are different for every standard or framework. The knowledge, skills and behaviours required for each apprenticeship are set out in the standard and its assessment plan or in the framework that the apprentice undertakes. Where these include communication as an essential element of the skills needed for an apprentice to be competent, the costs of this training can be covered.
If an individual requires additional learning support that includes developing communication skills in order to successfully complete an apprenticeship, we will also pay up to £150 per month to support this.
The apprenticeship funding rules are published on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apprenticeship-funding-rules.
Asked by: Rebecca Pow (Conservative - Taunton Deane)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the training for designated senior leads for mental health includes training in awareness of speech, language and communication needs and their links to mental health.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The role of the Designated Senior Leads for Mental Health in schools will be to take a strategic overview of a school or college’s approach to children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing. The Department is currently working towards a procurement of training for Designated Senior Leads, to be provided from the 2019/20 academic year. This will set out the broad areas that the training should cover to enable leads to put in place whole school approaches that incorporate the promotion of good mental wellbeing and resilience amongst pupils and staff. Where a school puts a lead in place, their role should complement existing statutory roles, including the Special Educational Needs coordinator to ensure that all pupils get the right support to meet their needs.
To increase support, the Government is also funding new Mental Health Support Teams working in or near schools. The teams will include a new trained workforce which can provide treatment and support to help reduce mental health problems worsening or developing in the first place. These new teams will be tested in ‘trailblazer’ areas from January 2019.
Asked by: Rebecca Pow (Conservative - Taunton Deane)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans his Department has to (a) identify and (b) tackle children’s communication difficulties under its Children in Need policy.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The government is committed to ensuring that children and young people with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) get the support they need to lead safe, fulfilling lives and to reach their potential.
The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Code of Practice makes clear that local authorities, clinical commissioning groups and relevant others are responsible for commissioning specialist support locally using their high needs funding budgets. This includes support for SLCN. We have given an additional £250 million to high needs funding across 2018-19 and 2019-20 to help them fulfil these duties, on top of the £6 billion already provided for the high needs budget. Local authorities are required to develop and publish their local SEND offer based on an analysis of local need and we expect details of services for SLCN, including how they can be accessed, to be included.
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has set out his ambition to halve the 28% of children who finish their reception year without the early communication and reading skills they need to thrive by 2028. The Department for Education is working with the Department of Health and Social Care and Public Health England to support health visitors and early years practitioners to identify and support children’s early SLCN. We are investing £26 million to set up a network of English hubs, £20 million to provide professional development for early years practitioners, and £7.5 million to understand what works in partnership with the Education Endowment Foundation. We are investing £6.5 million in voluntary and charity sector grants supporting the home learning environment.
Where children are at risk of harm, it is particularly important that they are supported to communicate their needs. The statutory guidance 'Working together to safeguard children' (2018) is clear that special provision should be put in place to support dialogue with children who have communication difficulties. This child-centred approach is supported by the Children Act (1989) and emphasised further in the interim findings of the children in need review.
Asked by: Rebecca Pow (Conservative - Taunton Deane)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with the Education Endowment Foundation on ensuring that funding for improving outcomes for pupils with SEND has a focus on children and young people with speech, language and communication needs.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
I met with the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) on the 13 August 2018 to explore whether they could focus on more interventions that improve outcomes for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
The EEF provided an overview of their plans for a new EEF funding round to improve outcomes for pupils with SEND. They have since announced new funding to test different approaches to improve attainment and other outcomes for children with SEND. The published guidance makes it clear that the EEF are interested in exploring targeted interventions for pupils with particular needs.
The funding round is open from 17 October until 14 January 2019. For information, visit the EEF website: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/projects-and-evaluation/how-to-apply/#closeSignup.
Asked by: Rebecca Pow (Conservative - Taunton Deane)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on developing a new self-evaluation tool for commissioners of services for children and young people who have speech, language and communication needs.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
We have not had any recent discussions with my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care about specific plans to develop a self-evaluation tool for commissioners of services for children and young people who have speech, language and communication needs. However, officials are in regular contact and we continue to work together to improve outcomes for children and young people with speech, language and communication needs. In our joint response to the ‘Bercow: Ten Years On’ report we outlined a number of commitments to ensure that these children and young people receive the support they need.
We are working closely with the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England to establish a System Leadership Board for special educational needs and disabilities, which will focus on improving joint commissioning and working between education, health and social care partners at a local level. We will ensure that the board listens to the views of those with expertise in speech, language and communication.
Asked by: Rebecca Pow (Conservative - Taunton Deane)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to ensure that children who are (a) excluded from school and (b) at risk of being excluded from school are assessed by a speech and language therapist to determine if they have a speech, language and communication need.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government recognises the importance of early assessment and identification of pupil needs. The 2015 special educational needs and disability (SEND) code of practice sets out high expectations of schools and colleges about how they identify and meet the needs of pupils with SEND, including those with speech, language and communication needs. Schools should work closely with their local authority, and other providers, to commission specialist services directly, such as speech and language therapists.
The Department’s statutory guidance on exclusions is clear that schools should take appropriate steps to address the underlying causes of poor behaviour, which could include pupils’ SEND. This should include an assessment of whether appropriate provision is in place to support any SEND that a pupil may have to avoid exclusion, and that schools should consider the use of a multi-agency assessment. The full guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-exclusion.
For children who have been permanently excluded, the Department’s statutory guidance on alternative provision (AP) sets out that commissioners of AP should recognise any issues or barriers experienced by these pupils and carry out a thorough assessment of their needs. The full guidance can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/alternative-provision.
Asked by: Rebecca Pow (Conservative - Taunton Deane)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Government response to the review of the experiences and outcomes of children in residential special schools and colleges, published in November 2017, what plans he has to ensure that the national leadership board will include people with expertise in speech, language and communication needs.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Membership of the national leadership board has yet to be determined. We will ensure that the board takes on board the views of those with expertise in speech, language and communication needs.
Asked by: Rebecca Pow (Conservative - Taunton Deane)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with (a) the Education and Skills Funding Agency and (b) Ofsted on the recommendations of the I CAN and Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists’ report of 20 March 2018, Bercow: Ten Years On.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Officials from the Department for Education (DfE) and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) are in regular contact and are working together to implement the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms underpinned by the Children and Families Act 2014. Effective joint working between DHSC and DfE is at the heart of these reforms, at national and local level.
The recommendations of the ‘Bercow: Ten Years On’ report are very timely. They come at a time when we are considering the All Party Parliamentary Group on Autism’s report ‘Autism and education in England 2017’; and considering our response to Dame Christine Lenehan’s review of residential special schools, ‘Good Intentions, Good Enough?’
We shall consider all of these reports carefully and are committed to responding to Dame Christine Lenehan’s review. We will take that opportunity to set out how the government will continue working to achieve the vision of a reformed SEND system, underpinned by the Children and Families Act 2014.
As part of this we are engaging with the appropriate agencies including the Education and Skills Funding Agency and Ofsted.