Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the time taken to process Education, Health and Care Plans for children in South Derbyshire constituency.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for South Derbyshire, to the answer of 5 February 2025 to Question 27930.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much capital funding has been allocated to increase specialist school places for children with special educational needs and disabilities in South Derbyshire constituency.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Since 2022, Derbyshire has received over £27.6 million in high needs capital funding, which it can use to create new places in special schools and support pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in a mainstream setting.
The department has now announced £740 million of capital for high needs funding in the 2025/26 financial year. This can be used to deliver new places in mainstream and special schools, as well as other specialist settings. It can also be used to improve the suitability and accessibility of existing buildings.
We understand that local authorities will want certainty about the allocation of the high needs provision capital funding for the 2025/26 financial year as soon as possible in order to develop their approach to supporting children and young people with SEND, or who require alternative provisions in their area. We will confirm allocations for the £740 million funding later in the spring.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the reasons for delays in processing education, health and care plans in South Derbyshire constituency; and whether her Department is taking steps to provide additional support to the local authority to improve compliance with statutory timeframes.
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 receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. The department is committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special schools cater to those with the most complex needs. We want to ensure people of all ages and backgrounds can undertake activities which provide them with the skills and learning they need to support them into work and offer excellent career development and progression opportunities.
The department wants to ensure that, where required, education, health and care (EHC) plan assessments are progressed promptly and, if needed, plans are issued as quickly as possible so that children and young people can access the support they need.
Local authorities have a statutory responsibility to assess whether children and young people have special educational needs that require an EHC plan. EHC plans must be issued within 20 weeks of the needs assessment commencing so that children and young people can access the support they need. In 2023, there were 138,200 initial requests for an EHC plan and 90,500 assessments took place. 50.3% of new EHC plans in 2023 were issued within 20 weeks.
The department knows that local authorities have seen an increase in the number of assessment requests and that more needs to be done to ensure that local areas deliver effective and timely services. This includes better communication with schools and families.
A joint local area SEND inspection in Derbyshire was undertaken by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in September 2024 under the new Area SEND Inspection framework. Ofsted/CQC found widespread and/or systemic failings leading to significant concerns about the experiences and outcomes of children and young people with SEND which the local area partnership must address urgently. The report, published on 14 November, included six areas for priority action (APAs).
As a result of this inspection, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector requires the local area partnership to prepare and submit a priority action plan (area SEND) to address the identified APAs.
The department’s regional team has put in place systems to track outcomes against the APAs found by inspectors and the progress made by children and young people with SEND. The department has appointed a SEND Adviser to work collaboratively with an NHS England Adviser to challenge, support and work alongside Derbyshire County Council and the local area partnership.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to increase specialist educational provision for children with special educational needs and disabilities in South Derbyshire constituency.
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 receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. We want more children and young people to receive the support they need to thrive in their local mainstream school, reducing the need for pupils to travel a long way to access a specialist placement. This is why we are committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special schools cater to children and young people with the most complex needs.
Local authorities must ensure there are sufficient school places for all pupils, including those with SEND. The Children and Families Act 2014 requires local authorities to keep the provision for children and young people with SEND under review (including its sufficiency), working with parents, young people and providers.
The department has announced an additional £740 million of capital funding in the 2025/26 financial year to support children and young people with SEND or who require alternative provision. This new funding can be used to adapt classrooms to be more accessible for children with SEND and create specialist facilities within mainstream schools that can deliver more intensive support adapted to suit the pupils’ needs, alongside continuing to provide places to support pupils in special schools with the most complex needs.
In addition, the department is providing local authorities’ an increase of £1 billion for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year, bringing total high needs funding for children and young people with complex SEND to £11.9 billion.
A joint local area SEND inspection in Derbyshire was undertaken by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in September 2024 under the new Area SEND Inspection framework. Ofsted and the CQC found widespread and / or systemic failings leading to significant concerns about the experiences and outcomes of children and young people with SEND which the local area partnership must address urgently. The report, published on 14 November, included six areas for priority action (APAs).
As a result of this inspection, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector requires the local area partnership to prepare and submit a priority action plan (area SEND) to address the identified APAs.
The department’s regional team has put in place systems to track outcomes against the APAs found by inspectors and the progress made by children and young people with SEND. The department has appointed a SEND Adviser to work collaboratively with an NHS England Adviser to challenge, support and work alongside Derbyshire County Council and the local area partnership.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students were classified as educated otherwise than at school in the latest period for which figures are available; and how many children receiving educated otherwise than at school funding received less funding in the 2024-25 academic year than in 2023-24.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department collects a range of data on children being educated in contexts other than school. This includes data on children and young people with education, health and care (EHC) plans who, as part of their education, are receiving ‘Special educational provision otherwise than in schools, post-16 institutions’ under section 61 of the Children and Families Act 2014. The latest figure for those receiving such support is 8,640, as at January 2024. More information can be found at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-health-and-care-plans.
Provision set out in an EHC plan is funded by the relevant local authority. The department does not collect funding data from local authorities in enough detail for us to be able to identify funding at an individual level for those whose EHC plan contains provision made under section 61 of the 2014 Act.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to support applications for apprenticeships for students on Homes for Ukraine visas that expire before the course concludes.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Students on Homes for Ukraine visas are eligible to undertake an apprenticeship where they are able to complete the apprenticeship within the time they have available. All apprenticeships must be at least 12 months in duration.
We want learners to be able to complete their apprenticeships within the time they have available. Where the learner’s residency permit does not extend to the entire length of the apprenticeship, they are not eligible for funding. The department will keep this under review, as it does with all of its rules.
In determining student eligibility for 16 to 19 funding, including for Ukrainians aged 16 to 19 living in the UK under the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme (Homes for Ukraine), institutions must satisfy themselves that there is a reasonable likelihood that the student will be able to complete their study programme before seeking funding for the student. However, when a student applies for a study programme where their current legal permission to remain in the UK expires six months or more after they start, then institutions may allow them to enrol. The department considers it sufficient for institutions to rely on confirmation from the student, and/or family, that they intend to apply for the necessary extension to their permission to remain for the duration of their study programme.
The situation is similar for adult learners who wish to undertake courses funded via the Adult Skills Fund. Where the learner’s visa will expire before the end of the course, the provider can use their discretion to fund the learner if, and only if, they have a high degree of certainty that the learner intends to, and will be eligible to, apply to extend their permission to remain for the duration of their study programme. The department would expect that individuals who are not yet eligible to apply for the Ukraine Permission Extension scheme, but intend to apply for it, would be eligible for funding under this rule.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to encourage more girls into STEM subjects.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department is committed to ensuring that anyone, regardless of their gender or background, can pursue an education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects.
The government continues to fund and support the STEM Ambassadors programme, a nationwide network of over 28,000 registered volunteers from over 7,000 STEM and related employers. Over the last year, STEM Ambassadors have delivered 356,000 volunteer hours, serving as relatable role models to illustrate to young people that science, research, engineering and innovation is for everyone. Notably, 56% of STEM Ambassadors are under 35, 48% are women and 20% come from ethnic minority backgrounds. The programme has been active for over 20 years.
The department is a partner signatory to the Tomorrow’s Engineers Code pledging to work with the engineering community to improve the quality, targeting, inclusivity and reach of engineering inspiration activities.
In addition, the department funds the National Centre for Computing Education to improve the teaching of computing and increase participation in computer science qualifications. This support includes programmes designed to encourage greater participation by girls and industry-led career events that raise pupils’ awareness of careers in computing. the department also funds the Stimulating Physics Network, which provides tailored support to schools to increase rates of progression to physics A level the Maths Hubs programme, which has a focus on all pupils being given equal access to the curriculum and the Advanced Mathematics Support Programme, which delivers high-quality teacher professional development for level 3 mathematics.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the provision of language support for refugee children in school whose first language is not English.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
It is currently for schools to determine what support provision to put in place for all pupils, including refugees, whose first language is other than English, and who have English language development needs. Schools are able to draw on their overall budgets for this purpose, including funding allocated through the English as an additional language factor in the national funding formula. No recent assessment has been made of the adequacy of this approach, however the government will keep the matter under review.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase teacher retention.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
High quality teaching is the factor that makes the biggest difference to a child’s education, which is why we are committed to tackling the crisis in teacher recruitment and retention this government inherited.
It is vital to retain our existing teachers to ensure a sufficient high quality workforce, and the department is committed to tackling retention challenges, making work pay and supporting teachers to stay in the profession and thrive. A key first step is to ensure teaching is once again a respected and attractive profession and that teachers get the pay they deserve, which is why this government has accepted in full the School Teachers’ Review Body’s recommendation of a 5.5% pay award for teachers and leaders in maintained schools from September this year.
Alongside teacher pay, new teachers of mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing in the first five years of their careers can now also receive a targeted retention incentive of up to £6,000 after-tax if working in disadvantaged schools.
Helping teachers remain and thrive in the profession is not just about pay and financial reward, but also about workload and wellbeing. The department has made an early decision to remove the single headline Ofsted grade, which put unnecessary pressure on teachers and leaders. We have also made available a range of resources to help address teacher workload and wellbeing, including the ‘Improve workload and wellbeing for school staff’ service and the ‘education staff wellbeing charter’.
The department is also committed to supporting schools to implement flexible working practices, including undertaking planning, preparation and assessment time remotely, to improve recruitment and retention of teachers. In addition, the department has also developed an online toolkit of resources and is funding free webinar training and bespoke peer support provided by flexible working ambassador schools and multi-academy trusts.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of educational provision for children with Special Educational Needs in Derbyshire.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Derbyshire were inspected by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission in September 2024 and are awaiting their inspection outcome, due to be published mid-November 2024.
The department has appointed a special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) adviser to work collaboratively with an NHS England Adviser to challenge, support and work alongside the local area partnership to improve its services. The regional team will put in place systems to track progress against all improvements identified in the published report.
This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with SEND or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. The department is committed to taking a community-wide approach in collaboration with local area partnerships to improve inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special schools cater to those with the most complex needs.