Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the level of specialist nursery and early years places for children with special educational needs and disabilities; and whether she plans to increase the number of core SEND units.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department aims to set every child up to have the best start in life, and this includes delivering access to high quality early education and childcare for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Local authorities have a duty to secure sufficient childcare, including for children with SEND. They are expected to report annually to elected council members on how they are meeting this duty and make their report available and accessible to parents.
The department continues to monitor sufficiency through regular contact with local authorities. Where local authorities report sufficiency challenges, we discuss what action is being taken to address those issues and, where needed, support them through our childcare sufficiency support contract.
The department has published allocations for £740 million high needs capital funding in the 2025/26 financial year to support children and young people with SEND or who require alternative provision. Local authorities are free to choose to spend this across the 0-25 age range and it is ultimately up to local authorities to determine how to best prioritise their funding. Guidance published alongside the allocations encourages local authorities to use the funding to set up resourced provisions or special educational needs units in mainstream schools.
Local authorities can meet the costs of children aged five and under with high needs in different ways from their high needs budget. This may include providing SEND support directly as a central service for young children with high needs and/or resources for early years providers to enable them to make the required provision.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of enabling early years settings to accept voluntary financial contributions from parents to (a) support and (b) enrich learning.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
It is the department’s ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change.
As the early years entitlements are expanded, it is vitally important they remain accessible and affordable for families. Paragraph A1.41 of the statutory guidance for local authorities says that they must take all steps available to ensure the entitlements are available free of charge to parents and that providers do not charge for certain types of services. This includes top up fees, materials, such as crafts, crayons and paper, business running costs, registration fees and non-refundable deposits as a condition of taking up an entitlements place, general charges and any additional fees not specifically listed and itemised as chargeable extras at A1.33. If a parent wishes to make a voluntary contribution then they can do so, provided they are not being charged for these sorts of services or items and that it is wholly voluntary.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to implement (a) recommendations on guidance for parents on the effects of screen time on infants and (b) other recommendations in the former Education Committee’s Fourth Report of Session 2023-24 entitled Screen time: impacts on education and wellbeing, HC 118.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department recognises the Education Committee’s concerns about the impacts of screen time and we are committed across government to protecting children online. We have responded to the Committee’s report.
The department and cross-government partners including the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) are taking action now, based on robust evidence and good practice, to provide guidance and support to schools, children and parents. Across government we are taking strong action on regulation to ensure the technology industry is clear on the government's expectations of how they should and must support children’s safety and wellbeing. The effective implementation of the Online Safety Act is a government priority. With leadership from DSIT and Ofcom, the Act is putting in place wide reaching protections for children.
There are areas where further evidence is needed, and it will also take time to understand the impact of guidance and how it could be improved in future. However, we have set out how all recommendations will be carefully considered as future actions are developed.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help ensure that primary schools provide adequate (a) swimming and (b) water safety lessons.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Swimming and water safety is a compulsory element of the primary physical education (PE) national curriculum. The department works closely with sector organisations like Swim England and the Royal Life Saving Society, supporting schools to provide swimming and water safety lessons through teacher training and resources. This includes support for pupils with special education needs and disabilities, hosted on Swim England’s online Inclusion Hub. The PE and Sport Premium can be used by primary schools for top-up lessons for those pupils not able to meet the national curriculum outcomes after core lessons. Following public consultation, we are currently reviewing the statutory relationships, sex and health education curriculum, including looking at whether additional content on water safety should be added.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help ensure that (a) schools and (b) educational systems provide inclusive (i) physical environments and (ii) social education for trans students.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Schools make decisions relating to the management and operation of their buildings. This includes ensuring that they comply with the School Premises (England) Regulations 2012 or the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014, for local authority maintained schools and academies respectively. The department’s published advice can be accessed at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/410294/Advice_on_standards_for_school_premises.pdf.
Other educational providers are also expected to fulfil their legal obligations, when drafting their policies concerning the provision of, and access to, single-sex facilities.
Regarding social education, relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) seeks to equip all pupils with the skills and knowledge they need to thrive and have happy and healthy personal and social lives. The statutory guidance is clear that RSHE should be taught sensitively and inclusively.
The department is currently reviewing the RSHE statutory guidance and the draft non-statutory guidance on gender questioning children. We are looking carefully at the consultation responses, discussing with stakeholders and considering the relevant evidence before setting out next steps.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has plans to increase registration fees for social workers.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
As set out in the Children and Social Work Act 2017, Social Work England (SWE) is responsible for setting the level of the registration fee for social workers. Before determining the level of any fee, including any change, SWE must both consult publicly and gain the approval of my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education. Further information is available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2017/16/part/2/enacted#section-36-4.
SWE’s public consultation runs until 13 May 2025 and is available at: https://www.socialworkengland.org.uk/news/public-consultation-on-changes-to-our-fees-is-now-open/.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to increase access to audio-based learning resources in schools.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department respects the autonomy of teachers in terms of what resources they choose to use or recommend to their individual pupils, based on individual need in their own educational context and circumstances.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason eligibility dates for free childcare provision are set from 1 April rather than aligning with the tax year ending on 5 April; and if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the eligibility date on families.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The entitlements work on a termly basis, so children become eligible from the term after they reach the relevant age and/or after they or their parents meet the eligibility criteria. Terms begin on 1 September, 1 January or 1 April. Therefore, depending on when a child is born and when the eligibility criteria are met, there will be differing periods to wait until the relevant termly date.
Termly deadlines enable local authorities and childcare providers to better plan and ensure sufficient early years places are available for parents each term by delineating when children are likely to enter into a place.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential merits of introducing a specific offence for the sale of stolen exam board papers.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Ofqual, the independent regulator for qualifications, exams and assessments in England, are clear in their guidance issued to schools, colleges and students about the importance of exam security and the repercussions of committing any form of malpractice.
In addition to this, depending on the specific circumstances, individuals could be charged by the police under existing legislation.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of trends in the level of (a) suspensions and (b) exclusions among pupils with SEND.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Every pupil deserves to learn in a safe, calm classroom, and the department will always support our hardworking and dedicated teachers to make this happen. Schools can use sanctions as a measure to improve behaviour and, in the most serious cases, exclusion may be necessary to protect other pupils from disruption and restore a safe environment.
This government is determined to address the causes of poor behaviour. The statutory ‘Suspension and permanent exclusion’ guidance is clear that, in all cases, school leaders should consider early intervention strategies to address the underlying causes or contributing factors of a pupil’s disruptive behaviour before issuing an exclusion. This includes situations where a pupil has special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Schools should also consider using a multi-agency assessment for pupils who display persistent disruptive behaviour, which could include those with unidentified SEND. Schools should arrange such assessments when concerns arise, rather than waiting for a specific trigger.
This government is absolutely 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. The department will also strengthen accountability on mainstream settings to be inclusive including through Ofsted, support the mainstream workforce to increase their SEND expertise, and encourage schools to set up resourced provision or special educational needs units to increase capacity in mainstream schools.