Asked by: Robbie Moore (Conservative - Keighley and Ilkley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what targets her Department has for the proportion of young people who should (a) go to university, (b) complete an apprenticeship and (c) take another form of higher education.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government’s missions include breaking down barriers to opportunity and delivering economic growth. Every young person should be able to follow the pathway that is right for them, whether through a high-quality apprenticeship or going to university or college. This includes ensuring all young people have access to expert careers advice and guidance, offering high-quality vocational and technical training such as Higher Technical Qualifications and T Levels, introducing foundation apprenticeships as part of our Growth and Skills Levy, and reforming the higher education system so that it delivers better value for money for students and taxpayers.
Asked by: Robbie Moore (Conservative - Keighley and Ilkley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the private children's' care capacity of private care homes within (a) Bradford, (b) Leeds, (c) Calderdale and (d) Kirklees Council area.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department collects data on children looked after by local authorities. The latest available information on the number of children in care by each requested local authority within private care homes on 31 March 2024 is shown below:
Local Authority | Number of Children |
Bradford | 193 |
Leeds | 122 |
Calderdale | 29 |
Kirklees | 20 |
The figures include children looked after in secure children’s homes, children’s homes subject to Children’s Homes Regulations and residential care homes under private provision. Figures exclude children looked after under a series of short-term placements.
Ofsted’s latest annual publication of ‘Inspection and regulation of children’s social care providers’ shows the following private children’s homes and places as at 30 September 2024:
Local Authority | Children’s Homes | Places |
Bradford | 30 | 92 |
Leeds | 16 | 46 |
Calderdale | 30 | 86 |
Kirklees | 34 | 103 |
This publication can be accessed in full at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/inspection-and-regulation-of-childrens-social-care-providers.
Asked by: Robbie Moore (Conservative - Keighley and Ilkley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the number of children in care within private care homes in (a) Bradford Council, (b) Leeds Council, (c) Calderdale Council and (d) Kirklees Council.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department collects data on children looked after by local authorities. The latest available information on the number of children in care by each requested local authority within private care homes on 31 March 2024 is shown below:
Local Authority | Number of Children |
Bradford | 193 |
Leeds | 122 |
Calderdale | 29 |
Kirklees | 20 |
The figures include children looked after in secure children’s homes, children’s homes subject to Children’s Homes Regulations and residential care homes under private provision. Figures exclude children looked after under a series of short-term placements.
Ofsted’s latest annual publication of ‘Inspection and regulation of children’s social care providers’ shows the following private children’s homes and places as at 30 September 2024:
Local Authority | Children’s Homes | Places |
Bradford | 30 | 92 |
Leeds | 16 | 46 |
Calderdale | 30 | 86 |
Kirklees | 34 | 103 |
This publication can be accessed in full at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/inspection-and-regulation-of-childrens-social-care-providers.
Asked by: Robbie Moore (Conservative - Keighley and Ilkley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with schools on ensuring that (a) external and (b) other staff are subject to sufficient Disclosure and Barring Service checks.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
There is already a robust safeguarding framework in place in the form of Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE), which is the statutory safeguarding guidance that all schools and colleges must have regard to when safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. This guidance clearly sets out requirements regarding the checks schools should undertake for staff, including external staff, and visitors, to ensure appropriate safeguarding measures are in place.
In particular, KCSIE provides guidance on how schools should manage visitors, distinguishing between those in a professional capacity (for example, educational psychologists, social workers) and general visitors (for example, parents attending events). KCSIE makes clear that schools should not request Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks for general visitors, while those attending in a professional capacity should have their ID checked, and schools should be assured that appropriate DBS checks have been carried out by their employer. The guidance also highlights the importance of schools having policies in place to assess external organisations providing educational content.
KCSIE is reviewed annually, ordinarily with substantive changes and public consultation taking place in one year and technical-only changes the next. This approach ensures that schools and colleges have sufficient time to implement any updates effectively while minimising disruption for their staff.
Asked by: Robbie Moore (Conservative - Keighley and Ilkley)
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 mandatory registration on the Ofsted register for nannies.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Early years providers required to register with Ofsted on the Early Years Register, or with an early years childminder agency (CMA) are under a legal duty to comply with the early years foundation stage (EYFS), which includes learning and development requirements, and the quality of their provision is regulated by Ofsted or their CMA.
All other early years providers who are not required to register with Ofsted or a CMA, including nannies, do not have the same legal requirements. They are not required to implement the EYFS or provide any form of education and are not regulated or inspected by Ofsted against the EYFS, even if they choose to register on the voluntary part of Ofsted’s General Childcare Register, which they may do in order to bring them within the scope of government schemes such as Tax-Free Childcare. This enables parents for whom they are working to make use of government support.
The services that nannies provide are subject to a private arrangement with parents, and there are no plans to alter this by requiring nannies to register. However, the department is in contact with the National Nanny Association who campaign on this issue, and we continue to discuss with them matters affecting nannies and those who use them.