Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department plans to take through the Tackling Child Exploitation Support programme to support local bodies to disrupt organised networks known as grooming gangs.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Tackling Child Exploitation Support Programme will include support for local safeguarding partners - the police, health and the local authority - to develop and deliver a strategic response to extra-familial harms and child exploitation. The police force(s) in any safeguarding partnership will be responsible for ensuring that any intelligence gathered during safeguarding activity in that area is used to disrupt organised crime gangs involved in grooming.
The Tackling Child Exploitation Support Programme will not be focussing directly on individual children and young people - it has been contracted to provide support for partners in local areas with safeguarding responsibilities to develop their capability to provide a better safeguarding response for children in their area. There are many organisations already providing valuable support for direct practice with children and young people and the support programme will signpost local partners to them.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children the Government plans to support through the Tackling Child Exploitation Support programme.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Tackling Child Exploitation Support Programme will include support for local safeguarding partners - the police, health and the local authority - to develop and deliver a strategic response to extra-familial harms and child exploitation. The police force(s) in any safeguarding partnership will be responsible for ensuring that any intelligence gathered during safeguarding activity in that area is used to disrupt organised crime gangs involved in grooming.
The Tackling Child Exploitation Support Programme will not be focussing directly on individual children and young people - it has been contracted to provide support for partners in local areas with safeguarding responsibilities to develop their capability to provide a better safeguarding response for children in their area. There are many organisations already providing valuable support for direct practice with children and young people and the support programme will signpost local partners to them.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Times article entitled Abortion is like crimes of Nazis, campaigners tell pupils in school, published on 31 January 2019, if he will take steps to ensure Ofsted consider the accuracy of health education information provided at those schools.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department is clear that pupils should be taught the facts about health issues, including choices around pregnancy, in an age-appropriate way. The draft guidance for the new subjects of Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education and Health Education is currently being finalised following the public consultation that closed in November. It sets out that pupils should be taught the facts about contraception and pregnancy, and that pupils should be made aware of the relevant legal provisions when issues such as abortion are being taught. Information should be medically and legally accurate. The draft guidance also includes advice for schools when inviting external organisations to support teaching on these subjects.
Subject to making the regulations, schools will be required to teach the new subjects from September 2020, but they will be encouraged and supported to start teaching them from September 2019 on a voluntary basis.
Ofsted does not routinely report on individual curriculum subjects as part of school inspections, but inspectors expect to see the provision of a broad and balanced curriculum and are required to consider the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils, which will inform the judgment of a school.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Times article entitled Abortion is like crimes of Nazis, campaigners tell pupils in school, published on 31 January 2019, what steps he is taking to ensure children receive factually accurate health education.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department is clear that pupils should be taught the facts about health issues, including choices around pregnancy, in an age-appropriate way. The draft guidance for the new subjects of Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education and Health Education is currently being finalised following the public consultation that closed in November. It sets out that pupils should be taught the facts about contraception and pregnancy, and that pupils should be made aware of the relevant legal provisions when issues such as abortion are being taught. Information should be medically and legally accurate. The draft guidance also includes advice for schools when inviting external organisations to support teaching on these subjects.
Subject to making the regulations, schools will be required to teach the new subjects from September 2020, but they will be encouraged and supported to start teaching them from September 2019 on a voluntary basis.
Ofsted does not routinely report on individual curriculum subjects as part of school inspections, but inspectors expect to see the provision of a broad and balanced curriculum and are required to consider the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils, which will inform the judgment of a school.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has for the funding arrangements of the National FGM Centre after 2020.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
In July 2017, the department made over £1.6 million available from our Innovation Programme to Barnardo’s to run the National FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) Centre for three years. The proportion of the centre’s costs to be paid by the department reduces year by year, with the centre to be self-sustaining from April 2020. The University of Bedfordshire is evaluating the centre and the evaluation is due to be completed by July this year.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the National FGM Centre.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
In July 2017, the department made over £1.6 million available from our Innovation Programme to Barnardo’s to run the National FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) Centre for three years. The proportion of the centre’s costs to be paid by the department reduces year by year, with the centre to be self-sustaining from April 2020. The University of Bedfordshire is evaluating the centre and the evaluation is due to be completed by July this year.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when the Government plans to publish the (a) regulations and (b) final draft statutory guidance on relationships education and relationships and sex education.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department is committed to supporting schools to teach high quality lessons, and ensuring that relationships education, relationships and sex education, and health education are compulsory parts of the curriculum.
The consultation on the draft regulations and guidance closed on 7 November 2018. The views expressed through the consultation are helping to shape the final regulations and guidance.
The Department expects to lay the regulations in Spring 2019. The Government’s response to the consultation will be published and a copy of the guidance will be placed in both Houses after the regulations have been laid.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps is he taking to improve information sharing with the Department for Health and Social care to safeguard vulnerable children including young carers as part of the Carers Action Plan.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The Carers Action Plan referred to the Department for Education’s work to improve information sharing between child safeguarding agencies. The recent government consultation response ‘Reporting and acting on child abuse’, which was published in March 2018, set out our priorities in this area. The response can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/reporting-and-acting-on-child-abuse-and-neglect.
The government is committed to supporting and helping young carers by changing the law to improve how young carers and their families are identified, assessed and supported by making young carers’ rights clearer. The government has also supported schools to identify and support young carers through guidance, toolkits and sharing best practice.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the reasons are for the extension of the timetable for the implementation of statutory relationships and sex education from September 2019 to September 2020; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department is committed to bringing in compulsory Relationships Education and Relationships and Sex Education, and supporting schools to teach high quality lessons. This is an important change to the curriculum that has to be carefully considered and delivered well.
Whilst many schools will be able to adapt their existing teaching quickly, it is essential that an appropriate period is given for those schools that need more time to plan and prepare. The Department will be working with schools to help them to prepare before teaching starts. This is in line with the Department’s approach to any significant changes to the curriculum.
The Department will launch a consultation on the draft regulations and statutory guidance shortly and will say more about the implementation timetable at that point.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what role his Department has played in the (a) external audit of domestic abuse services and (b) full review of domestic abuse services being undertaken by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Department for Education officials have taken part in meetings with officials from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and other departments on this issue, to ensure that the audit and review take account of the needs of children affected by domestic abuse. We will continue to support this and other parts of the Government’s programme to tackle this abuse.