Asked by: Ruth George (Labour - High Peak)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the balance between (a) theoretical and (b) practice-based content in postgraduate courses in play therapy.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
Universities are autonomous institutions and responsible for the content of their courses, including quality and standards. The Department for Education does not assess individual courses or make judgements about the content of courses.
However, the Office for Students (OfS) is responsible for protecting the interests of all students and the quality of all regulated provision, working with the designated quality body, the Quality Assurance Agency. The OfS expects higher education providers to ensure they enable students to progress to employment, including by working with employers on the content of courses. This is particularly relevant where there are professional bodies with an interest in the abilities and standard of graduates and post-graduates. The OfS also manages the Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework.
The government has a role in ensuring a framework exists to understand and provide for skills needs at a national and local level.
Asked by: Ruth George (Labour - High Peak)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the availability of postgraduate training in practice-based play therapy in each region of England.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
Universities are autonomous institutions and responsible for the content of their courses, including quality and standards. The Department for Education does not assess individual courses or make judgements about the content of courses.
However, the Office for Students (OfS) is responsible for protecting the interests of all students and the quality of all regulated provision, working with the designated quality body, the Quality Assurance Agency. The OfS expects higher education providers to ensure they enable students to progress to employment, including by working with employers on the content of courses. This is particularly relevant where there are professional bodies with an interest in the abilities and standard of graduates and post-graduates. The OfS also manages the Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework.
The government has a role in ensuring a framework exists to understand and provide for skills needs at a national and local level.
Asked by: Ruth George (Labour - High Peak)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding for resources to engage parents and carers of children in receipt of therapeutic services within school; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The department places a high priority on supporting parents and carers of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
Engaging parents fully in determining support for children with SEND is a critical part of the SEND reforms. Section 19 of the Children and Families Act places a duty on local authorities and others to listen to and take account of the views of parents in SEND matters.
The department continues to support families by funding parent carer forums (PCF) in each local authority area, providing £15,000 per year per PCF. The department also funds plus £1.9 million per year until March 2020 to support strategic participation and co-production with local authorities and other partners, by parents and young people through the charity Contact.
The department is also providing £20 million until March 2020 to improve the quality of local authority SEND Information, Advice and Support Services (IASS), and to provide a national helpline and online support.
The IASS support builds on the £60m per year Independent Supporters programme (between 2014-18), which provided support to families going through the Education, Health and Care needs assessment and plan process.
Asked by: Ruth George (Labour - High Peak)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the provision of professional training for people who work therapeutically with children and young people on mental health issues; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, meets regularly with Cabinet colleagues to discuss the Department for Education's agenda.
The Department for Education committed in 2017, jointly with the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), to an ambitious programme to improve children and young people’s mental health provision in and around schools and colleges. This is highlighted in the Government’s response to the green paper, ‘Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision’. Further information on the Government’s proposals can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/transforming-children-and-young-peoples-mental-health-provision-a-green-paper.
Issues related to the professional training of those who work therapeutically with children and young people on mental health issues are the responsibility of the DHSC.
Asked by: Ruth George (Labour - High Peak)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect of families that have a child eligible for 30 hours of free childcare but mistakenly do not apply for an eligibility code on such families' (a) financial situation and (b) ability to work.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The government is committed to ensuring parents who want it have access to high-quality childcare to support them financially and to enable them to work, or work more hours. We have invested in strong and clear communications on the 30 hours offer, including on the cross government website, Childcare Choices (www.childcarechoices.gov.uk), which clearly sets out how and when a parent can access a place.
Parents who are eligible for 30 hours but do not apply for any reason are eligible for the universal 15 hour per week early education entitlement. They can also take advantage of Tax-Free Childcare which was introduced earlier this year.
Asked by: Ruth George (Labour - High Peak)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people who were eligible for 30 hours of free childcare in one term did not apply for an eligibility code for the next term.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The specific data requested is not available.
To access 30 hours free childcare for their child a parent must apply via the Childcare Service and receive an eligibility code. Once they have received this code they are required to reconfirm their circumstances every three months but they do not need to apply for a new code each term.
Asked by: Ruth George (Labour - High Peak)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect on (a) financial situation and (b) ability to work of families that have a child eligible for 30 hours of free childcare of not applying for an eligibility code for that childcare.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The government is committed to ensuring parents who want it have access to high-quality childcare to support them financially and to enable them to work, or work more hours. We do not expect all parents who are eligible for the 30 hours offer to take up a place for their child - parents may choose to use other childcare arrangements, for example, family members.
Parents who are eligible for 30 hours but do not apply are eligible for the universal 15 hour per week early education entitlement. They can also take advantage of Tax-Free Childcare which was introduced earlier this year.
Asked by: Ruth George (Labour - High Peak)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support his Department has made available for families that have a child eligible for 30 hours of free childcare but mistakenly do not apply for an eligibility code.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The government is committed to ensuring parents have access to high-quality affordable childcare. The termly deadline for the 30 hours offer has been made clear to local authorities, providers and parents, and the department expects parents to adhere to these deadlines to ensure they are able to access a 30 hours place for their child.
The government has invested in strong and clear communications on the 30 hours offer, including a cross government website, Childcare Choices, which clearly sets out how and when a parent can access a place: www.childcarechoices.gov.uk. The department recognises that some applications may be delayed in the childcare service, that is why we have put in place a 14-day discretionary period for those parents who applied in time but received a code after the deadline, through no fault of their own.
Parents who are eligible for 30 hours of free childcare but miss the termly deadline will continue to remain eligible for the universal 15 hour per week early education entitlement before they can access a 30 hours place the following term. They can also take advantage of Tax-Free Childcare which was introduced earlier this year.
Asked by: Ruth George (Labour - High Peak)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing local authorities with a discretionary fund to support families that have a child eligible for 30 hours of free childcare but mistakenly do not apply for an eligibility code.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The government is committed to ensuring parents have access to high-quality affordable childcare. The termly deadline for the 30 hours offer has been made clear to local authorities, providers and parents, and the department expects parents to adhere to these deadlines in order to ensure they are able to access a 30 hours place for their child.
The government has invested in strong and clear communications on the 30 hours offer, including a cross government website, Childcare Choices, which clearly sets out how and when a parent can access a place: www.childcarechoices.gov.uk. The department recognises that some applications may be delayed in the Childcare Service and we have put in place a 14 day discretionary period for those parents who applied in time but received a code after the deadline, through no fault of their own.
During the first year of delivery, over 379,000 codes were successfully generated by parents applying through the HM Revenue and Customs Childcare Service, with around 340,000 places being taken up by working parents across the country, taking huge pressures off family lives and budgets.
Asked by: Ruth George (Labour - High Peak)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people have applied for an eligibility code for 30 hours of free childcare after the deadline in each of the terms to date.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
During the first year of delivery, over 379,000 eligibility codes were successfully generated by parents applying through HM Revenue and Customs Childcare Service.
This breaks down across each of the terms as follows:
We publish termly management information releases showing the number of codes generated each term. The full publication, which shows local authority and regional level breakdowns, is available here:
The government has invested in strong and clear communications on the 30 hours offer, including a cross government website, Childcare Choices, which clearly sets out how and when a parent can access a place – www.childcarechoices.gov.uk. The department recognises that some applications may be delayed in the Childcare Service, that is why we have put in place a 14 day discretionary period for those parents who applied in time but received a code after the deadline, through no fault of their own.
Although the department holds data on the number of eligibility codes and when they were issued, we are unable to determine in which term a parent intends to take up a place, as this is dependent on circumstances and choices of the individual parent.