Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the role of PE and school sport in promoting mental wellbeing among children and young people.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department recognises there are well established links between physical activity, improved mental wellbeing and educational attainment.
The Government’s School Sport and Activity Action Plan set out a range of measures to ensure that all children have access to high quality PE and sport sessions during the school week and opportunities to be physically active throughout the school day, to help them do the 60 minutes a day of physical exercise recommended by the UK Chief Medical Officers.
While schools have been closed to some pupils the Government has taken steps to support those who have had restricted opportunity to exercise while at home to support their physical and mental wellbeing. As part of its guidance on remote education provision, the Department has published online educational resources approved by subject experts for schools and parents to help children to take part in PE and physical activity. In addition, Sport England have free online content to help children and their families to become active at home through their Join the Movement campaign.
The Department is working to ensure that schools are fully supported as they welcome more children back to school and schools are able to give pupils opportunities to take part in physical education and be physically active during the school day.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure children with disabilities are able to participate in appropriate physical activity whilst they are not at school during the covid-19 lockdown.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The department has worked closely with early years settings, schools and physical activity experts to ensure that there is advice and resources to support everyone to participate in regular exercise. The department has published online educational resources approved by subject experts for schools and parents to help children to learn at home. These resources include those for PE, which are available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-online-education-resources/online-science-pe-wellbeing-and-send-resources-for-home-education.
On 19 May 2020, we announced £37 million for the Family Fund, which will provide grants to families on low incomes with disabled and critically ill children. £10 million of that funding has been committed specifically in response to the unique difficulties presented by the COVID-19 outbreak for over 75,000 families, helping parents educate and look after children who are staying at home more than usual. Details of the announcement have been published here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/37-million-to-support-children-with-complex-needs.
The government has provided £3.2 billion of additional to support local authorities to address any pressures they are facing in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, including in children’s social care and for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) services. We have also announced £750 million funding to support front line charities during the outbreak, including those supporting vulnerable children.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of school closures on children’s physical, emotional and mental wellbeing.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The Department for Education is working closely with educational institutions, sector organisations, the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), NHS England and Public Health England (PHE) to understand the effects of the measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 on the mental health and wellbeing of children and identify the children and young people that need help and will continue to do so as more pupils return to school.
There are well established links between physical activity, improved mental wellbeing and educational attainment and we recognise the importance that children continue to remain fit and active, wherever possible, and have the 60 minutes of daily physical activity recommended by the Chief Medical Officers. We are encouraging schools to prioritise physical activity as they welcome more children back to school. Schools are free to organise and deliver a physical education curriculum that suits the needs of all their pupils whilst following COVID-19 government guidelines.
The return to school is a key part of supporting the mental health and wellbeing of pupils, as in addition to providing more opportunities for physical activity, attendance at school allows social interaction with peers, carers and teachers, which benefits wellbeing. To support this, we have encouraged schools to focus on mental wellbeing as pupils return. Children in Reception, year 1 and year 6 are now able to return to primary, and year 10 and year 12 pupils are able to receive face-to-face support at secondary. Primaries with capacity can bring back additional groups, in line with existing protective measures, and we have given schools the flexibility to have face-to-face ‘check-ups’ with all pupils during the summer term, which will ensure more children and young people are able to achieve this benefit. Our intention is for all children to return to school from September and guidance will be published soon.
We are working with the DHSC to put in place further specific support for school staff to understand the issues that pupils will face with their mental wellbeing. This includes training for teachers, such as a new module developed with clinical experts on how to teach about mental health in health education and more information is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/teaching-about-mental-wellbeing.
Access to mental health support is more important than ever during the COVID-19 outbreak. NHS services remain open, and leading mental health charities are being supported to deliver additional services through the £5 million Coronavirus Mental Health Response Fund. During Mental Health Awareness Week, the government also announced that a further £4.2 million will be awarded to mental health charities – including the Samaritans, Young Minds, and Bipolar UK.
All NHS mental health trusts have been asked to ensure that there are 24/7 open access telephone lines to support people of all ages. These are available for children and young people as well as adults. PHE and Health Education England have also developed advice and guidance for parents and professionals on supporting children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing, which is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-on-supporting-children-and-young-peoples-mental-health-and-wellbeing.
In addition, children and young people can access free confidential support anytime from government-backed voluntary and community sector organisations either by texting SHOUT to 85258, or by calling Childline on 0800 1111 or The Mix on 0808 808 4994. Children and young people can also find online information on COVID-19 and mental health on the Young Minds website, which is available here:
https://youngminds.org.uk/about-us/reports/coronavirus-impact-on-young-people-with-mental-health-needs/.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to support the families of pupils on free school meals in West Lancashire during the school summer holidays in 2020.
Answered by Vicky Ford
I refer the hon. Members to the answer I gave on 23 June 2020 to Question 54195.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that children and young people are adequately informed on how to maintain mental wellbeing (a) while the covid-19 restrictions are in place and (b) as covid-19 restrictions are lifted.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The government remains committed to promoting and supporting the mental health of children and young people. Access to mental health support is more important than ever during the COVID-19 outbreak. NHS services remain open, leading mental health charities are being supported to deliver additional services through the £5 million Coronavirus Mental Health Response Fund. All NHS Mental Health Trusts have been asked to ensure there are 24/7 open access telephone lines to support people of all ages. Public Health England and Health Education England have developed advice and guidance for parents and professionals on supporting children and young people's mental health and wellbeing, which is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-on-supporting-children-and-young-peoples-mental-health-and-wellbeing.
The department has signposted resources on supporting and promoting mental wellbeing among the list of resources to help children to learn at home. BBC Bitesize has worked with the department to provide content with substantial focus on mental health, wellbeing and pastoral care. The list of resources is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-online-education-resources.
The return to school will in itself be part of supporting the mental health and wellbeing of pupils as attendance enables social interaction with peers, carers and teachers. Pupil wellbeing is an important consideration within our guidance on actions for educational and childcare settings as they begin to open in June 2020, which is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-educational-and-childcare-settings-to-prepare-for-wider-opening-from-1-june-2020.
Children and young people can access free confidential support anytime from government-backed voluntary and community sector organisations by texting SHOUT to 85258 or by calling Childline on 0800 1111 or the Mix on 0808 808 4994. Children and young people can also find online information on COVID-19 and mental health on the Young Minds website, which is available here:
https://youngminds.org.uk/about-us/reports/coronavirus-impact-on-young-people-with-mental-health-needs/.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of school closures on children and young people’s (a) mental health and (b) academic attainment in the 2020-21 school year.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The department is continuing to assess the impact of the potential effect of school closure on children and young people’s mental health and education attainment. We are working closely with educational institutions, sector organisations, the Department for Health and Social Care, NHS England and Public Health England to understand the risks to education attainment, mental health and wellbeing and identify the children and young people that need help.
The government remains committed to promoting and supporting the mental health of children and young people. Access to mental health support is more important than ever during the COVID-19 outbreak. NHS services remain open, leading mental health charities are being supported to deliver additional services through the £5 million Coronavirus Mental Health Response Fund. All NHS Mental Health Trusts have been asked to ensure there are 24/7 open access telephone lines to support people of all ages. Public Health England and Health Education England have developed advice and guidance for parents and professionals on supporting children and young people's mental health and wellbeing, which is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-on-supporting-children-and-young-peoples-mental-health-and-wellbeing.
Pupil wellbeing is an important consideration within our guidance on actions for educational and childcare settings as they begin to open in June 2020, which is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-educational-and-childcare-settings-to-prepare-for-wider-opening-from-1-june-2020.
From the week commencing 1 June 2020, primary schools have been welcoming back children in nursery, reception, year 1 and year 6, alongside priority groups (vulnerable children and children of critical workers). From 15 June 2020, secondary schools will provide some face-to-face support for young people in year 10 and year 12. We want to get all children and young people back into education as soon as the scientific advice allows because it is the best place for them to learn, and because we know how important it is for their mental wellbeing to have social interactions with their peers, carers and teachers.
The department continues to work with the education sector on how best to make up for lost time with the phased return to schools for the 2020-21 school year.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if the Government will publish operational guidance for SEN schools operating during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Vicky Ford
Special schools are playing a vital role in supporting vulnerable children during the COVID-19 outbreak. The Department for Education has published a substantial body of guidance to help special schools and other settings support children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). This includes in particular:
Coronavirus (COVID-19): guidance on vulnerable children and young people:
Coronavirus (COVID-19): SEND risk assessment guidance:
Education, health and care needs assessments and plans: guidance on temporary legislative changes relating to coronavirus (COVID-19):
Further guidance for all schools, including special schools, can be found in our coronavirus (COVID-19) collection:
We are committed to maintaining and updating all guidance as the COVID-19 outbreak develops.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will raise the rate of funding for sixth form students to at least £4,760 per year.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
We are investing an extra £400 million in 16 to 19 education next year to ensure that we are building the skills that our country needs. We will increase the base rate of funding by 4.7%, from £4,000 to £4,188 for the academic year 2020/21. Over and above the base rate rise, this extra spending also includes new resources for high value and high cost courses and funding to support those on level 3 programmes to continue to study English and maths where needed.
This is the biggest injection of new money into 16 to 19 education in a single year since 2010 - with funding increasing faster for 16 to 19 than in 5 to 16 schooling – and will mean a significant increase in the average level of funding per student. We will of course continue to look at the needs of 16 to 19 education in future Spending Reviews.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding for sixth form students.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend, the former Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families on 28 January 2020 to 5550.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the provision of effective financial education for young people.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Since 2014 financial education has been statutory within the secondary national curriculum as part of citizenship and mathematics. Financial education ensures that pupils are taught the functions and uses of money, the importance of personal budgeting, money management and managing financial risk.
The Ofsted inspection framework sets out how inspections take a view on the quality of the broad and balanced education that a school provides. This includes how schools provide pupils with the knowledge and skills needed to take advantage of opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life, which can include financial education, as well as how curriculum subjects such as citizenship contribute to pupils’ personal development.
There are a number of organisations that support financial education for young people. Young Money recently launched a free financial education textbook for secondary schools, to support high quality teaching of the subject. We are currently working with the Money and Pension Service and HM Treasury to consider how we can support further the teaching of financial education in schools.