Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department took with Torbay Unitary Authority to help ensure the adequacy of consultation to reduce the number of moderate learning disability placements at Combe Pafford School Torquay.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
As the relevant local authority, Torbay Council is responsible for keeping provision for children and young people with special educational needs (SEN) in their area under review. They are also responsible for determining how many high needs places, funded at £10,000 per place, should be available at special schools in their area.
Torbay Council concluded that there is less need for special school places for children with moderate learning difficulties and asked for the number of high needs places in Combe Pafford School to be reduced for the 2025/26 academic year.
Local authorities should undertake detailed work to forecast the number of places they and neighbouring authorities will need in the forthcoming academic year. They should consult with their schools and colleges to plan where new placements will be needed, although this is not mandatory. The department understands that such consultations with Combe Pafford School commenced in January 2024.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department provides to schools on supporting (a) autistic girls (b) girls masking symptoms of autism in educational settings.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department wants all children and young people to be able to receive the right support to succeed in their education and we recognise that children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) often require access to additional support.
The department also provides continuing professional development to the school and further education workforce through the Universal SEND Services programme, led by the National Association for Special Educational Needs (NASEN). From April 2025, NASEN are developing a new autism specific online training offer to support the workforce’s understanding of autism, which will include ‘train the trainer' packages and webinars to support teachers and leaders to deliver autism training in their settings.
The department has also invested in the Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) programme, which is a national programme backed by £22 million of investment.
PINS deploys specialists from both health and education workforces to build teacher and staff capacity to identify and better meet the needs of neurodivergent children including pupils with autism.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to develop teacher training to recognise (a) autism presentation and (b) masking behaviours in girls.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department wants all children and young people to be able to receive the right support to succeed in their education and we recognise that children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) often require access to additional support.
The department also provides continuing professional development to the school and further education workforce through the Universal SEND Services programme, led by the National Association for Special Educational Needs (NASEN). From April 2025, NASEN are developing a new autism specific online training offer to support the workforce’s understanding of autism, which will include ‘train the trainer' packages and webinars to support teachers and leaders to deliver autism training in their settings.
The department has also invested in the Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) programme, which is a national programme backed by £22 million of investment.
PINS deploys specialists from both health and education workforces to build teacher and staff capacity to identify and better meet the needs of neurodivergent children including pupils with autism.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department consulted with relevant stakeholders on the closure of the hearing units at (a) St Margaret's Primary School and (b) Spires College in Torbay.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
There are separate processes for removing special educational needs (SEN) units or resourced provision at academies and maintained schools, which we expect the relevant accountable bodies to follow.
In maintained schools, such as Spires College, where a local authority decides to remove a SEN unit or resourced provision at a foundation school, they must follow the statutory prescribed alterations process. The statutory guidance on this topic is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-organisation-maintained-schools.
In academies, SEN units and resourced provision are formally recognised in a funding agreement. Closing a SEN unit or resourced provision at an academy would be a significant change and would therefore require the funding agreement between my right hon. Friend, Secretary of State for Education and the academy trust to be amended. More information on significant changes is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/making-significant-changes-to-an-existing-academy.
In this instance, the responsible bodies are St Margeret’s Academy and Torbay local authority.
Local authorities are responsible for managing the sufficiency of school places in their area, including the provision for children with SEN. The department expects local authorities to work in collaboration with parents, schools, academy trusts and other local partners to balance the supply and demand of school places to ensure a sustainable and viable educational offer.
Where it has been identified that a unit for SEN is no longer needed at a school, the processes set out above and a consultation with local stakeholders are required for removing this provision.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to answer Question 58706, tabled on 10 June 2025.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The response to Written Parliamentary Question 58706 was published on 20 June 2025.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has had discussions with Torbay Unitary Authority on enabling Combe Pafford School Torquay to admit pupils directly from Devon County Council where appropriate.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department’s officials have not had discussions with Torbay Council on enabling Combe Pafford School to admit pupils directly from Devon County Council, but we would be happy to discuss this with the local authority. Funding provided directly by the department to Combe Pafford School is for places and not assigned to specific pupils. The relevant local authority pays top-up funding for individual pupils in excess of the school’s core place funding. As a special academy, Combe Pafford School must admit any child or young person whose education, health and care plan names the school, regardless of the local authority they live in.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when her Department plans to appoint a contractor to undertake works at St Michael’s Church of England School in Paignton.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
We are aiming to enter contract later this year and are currently on track. The current planned timescale is for pupils to be in the permanent accommodation from September 2026. This is also on track, but we will need to continue to monitor this as normal throughout the build period.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her planned timeline is for the completion of the rebuild of St Michael’s Church of England School in Paignton.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
We are aiming to enter contract later this year and are currently on track. The current planned timescale is for pupils to be in the permanent accommodation from September 2026. This is also on track, but we will need to continue to monitor this as normal throughout the build period.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to answer named day Questions (a) 56436 and (b) 56437, tabled on 2 June 2025.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The responses to Written Parliamentary Questions 56436 and 56437 were published on 20 June 2025.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to take steps to close the pay gap between (a) school teachers and (b) college teachers to achieve equity within the higher education sector.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Further education (FE) colleges, rather than government, are responsible for setting and negotiating pay within colleges. Colleges are not bound by the national pay and conditions framework for school teachers but are free to implement their own pay arrangements in line with their own local circumstances.
On 22 May, the department announced an investment of £160 million for colleges and other 16-19 providers in the 2025/26 financial year. This funding will boost opportunities for learners across the country and drive forward delivery of the critical skills needed to grow our economy.
Additional funding of over £30 million will also be included within 16-19 allocations. This funding comes from within the overall funding envelope of £615 million for 2025/26, announced alongside the 2025/26 school teachers’ pay award. Together, this means that a total additional sum of over £190 million will be available for 16-19 funding in the 2025/26 financial year.