Schools: Census

(asked on 30th November 2023) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will add Down syndrome as a separate data item on the school census.


Answered by
David Johnston Portrait
David Johnston
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This question was answered on 6th December 2023

The department is committed to improving the support in education for children and young people with Down syndrome, particularly given the passage of the Down Syndrome Act 2022, which My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State supported on behalf of the Government in her previous role in the Department for Health and Social Care. The Secretary of State for Education has also been speaking with representatives of Down syndrome organisations about how the department can best deliver on this commitment through the measures in the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan. Discussions have included how the department best collects and uses data, and whether to collect data on the number of pupils with Down syndrome through the School Census. The department hopes to confirm the decision shortly.

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