Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her department has to support wards receiving funding through the Pride in Place programme in a) Telford, b) West Midlands and c) England.

The Pride in Place Programme is being led by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and is the government’s flagship communities programme, which empowers local people to shape the future of their neighbourhood. Supported by up to £5 billion in funding over ten years, this programme represents a long-term strategy to fix the foundations in hundreds of communities across the country.

The department’s contributions to educational improvements in Telford and Wrekin include:

• Telford was chosen as the lead local authority for the West Midlands under the department’s £70 million Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Change Programme Partnership. Key reforms include: ‘Early Language Support for Every Child‘, which focuses on speech, language, and communication needs in early years and primary schools; and ‘Ordinarily Available Inclusive Provision’, which strengthens inclusive practices in mainstream schools.
• Improvements to Education, including a secondary school in Telford that is eligible for the targeted regional improvement for standards and excellence (RISE) program, and receives school improvement support from sector leaders with a proven track record.
• To ensure all schools deliver high quality teaching and learning, the department is utilising universal RISE to stimulate interest from high attaining schools to support others, bringing in teaching schools, maths, English, Behaviour and attendance hubs.