Asked by: Baroness Fraser of Craigmaddie (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many children with special educational needs and disabilities do not receive an education, health and care plan within the legal time limit of 20 weeks from the initial request; and what potential measures for improvement they have identified.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
The department publishes information on education, health and care (EHC) plans annually at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-health-and-care-plans, which includes a section titled “Timeliness – EHC plans issued within 20 weeks”. Here and attached you can see information on how many EHC plans were issued within 20 weeks, both where this is the statutory time limit and where statutory exceptions to that time limit apply.
Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) introduced a strengthened area special education needs and disabilities (SEND) inspection framework in January 2023, which led to a greater emphasis on the outcomes being achieved for children and young people. It is the primary tool to maintain a focus on high standards in the SEND system across all partners.
The department is working to monitor, support and challenge local authorities as needed, working closely with NHS England to tackle any weaknesses that sit with health partners. Where a council does not meet its duties, including the 20 week timeliness, the department will offer a range of universal, targeted and intensive support through managed programmes, such as the Sector Led Improvement Partners, which provides peer-to-peer tailored support. Councils identified as having issues with the 20 week timelines are subject to additional monitoring by the department. Where the department has concerns about their capacity to make the required improvements, it will secure specialist SEND advisor support to help identify barriers and improve the service.
The department does not hold data on how many children with SEND are currently not able to be placed in a suitable school.
Asked by: Baroness Fraser of Craigmaddie (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many children with special educational needs and disabilities are currently not able to be placed in a suitable school.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
The department publishes information on education, health and care (EHC) plans annually at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-health-and-care-plans, which includes a section titled “Timeliness – EHC plans issued within 20 weeks”. Here and attached you can see information on how many EHC plans were issued within 20 weeks, both where this is the statutory time limit and where statutory exceptions to that time limit apply.
Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) introduced a strengthened area special education needs and disabilities (SEND) inspection framework in January 2023, which led to a greater emphasis on the outcomes being achieved for children and young people. It is the primary tool to maintain a focus on high standards in the SEND system across all partners.
The department is working to monitor, support and challenge local authorities as needed, working closely with NHS England to tackle any weaknesses that sit with health partners. Where a council does not meet its duties, including the 20 week timeliness, the department will offer a range of universal, targeted and intensive support through managed programmes, such as the Sector Led Improvement Partners, which provides peer-to-peer tailored support. Councils identified as having issues with the 20 week timelines are subject to additional monitoring by the department. Where the department has concerns about their capacity to make the required improvements, it will secure specialist SEND advisor support to help identify barriers and improve the service.
The department does not hold data on how many children with SEND are currently not able to be placed in a suitable school.
Asked by: Lord Kempsell (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made towards helping every child to learn to play a musical instrument.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
The government believes that creative subjects like arts, music and drama are significant elements of the rounded and enriching education every child deserves to receive. Under this government, the arts and music will no longer be the preserve of a privileged few.
One of the aims of the existing National Curriculum programmes of study for music from age 5 to 14 is to ensure that all pupils in England have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument. However, academies and free schools are not required to follow the National Curriculum. The government has established an independent review of the curriculum and assessment from ages 5 to 18, which will be led by Professor Becky Francis CBE, and one of the aims is to deliver a broader curriculum so that pupils do not miss out on subjects such as music. When the review has concluded, subject to parliament passing the Children’s Wellbeing Bill, the department will require all state-funded schools, including academies and free schools, to follow the National Curriculum.
The department additionally supports children to learn to play instruments through the Music Hubs programme which support instrumental teaching in schools, including whole class ensemble teaching, instrument tuition, an instrument hire service, continuing professional development for teachers and access to local, regional and national ensemble. In 2022/23, Music Hubs provided support to around 90% of schools across England.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the increasing number of pupils being educated at home.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
The department has collected local authority data on electively home-educated children from local authorities in England since autumn 2022. The most recent published figures show an estimated 92,000 children in home education on the October 2023 census, which is an increase from 80,900 on the same day in the previous year.
The department knows that local authorities are concerned about rising numbers and the resulting implications on resources for their ongoing education and safeguarding duties. Data collection shows that mental health, special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and dissatisfaction with schools are increasingly common reasons behind decisions to home-educate. The forthcoming SEND reforms will help more schools to meet the needs of children with SEND and may help to stem the flow of families who feel that schools are not able to appropriately support their child.
The government will legislate for statutory local authority registers of children who are not in school as part of the Children’s Wellbeing Bill, which will be introduced in due course. Parents will have a duty to provide information about their child for these registers. This will help to improve local authority and the department’s understanding of this cohort of children and enable local authorities to target resources and capacity to those children who need it most.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of private schools across the UK that are anticipated to close as a result of charging VAT on fees.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
This government is committed to ending the VAT exemption that private schools enjoy. While the impact of this policy is being fully considered, projections by the Institute for Fiscal Studies indicate that the number of pupils who may switch schools as a result of these changes is likely to represent a very small proportion of overall pupil numbers in the state sector, less than 0.5%, with any displacement expected to take place over several years. This research is available here and as attached: https://ifs.org.uk/publications/tax-private-school-fees-and-state-school-spending.
The number of children in private schools has remained steady despite a 20% real terms increase in average private school fees since 2010 and a 55% rise since 2003, illustrating the sector’s adaptability. While the department cannot predict closures, the department will use indicators such as occupancy to monitor this.
Asked by: Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the mental health benefits of music education for children; and what plans they have to promote music in the national curriculum for primary schools.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
The government believes that creative subjects like arts, music and drama are important elements of the rounded and enriching education every child deserves to receive. Under this government, the arts and music will no longer be the preserve of a privileged few.
Music is in the current National Curriculum, which is compulsory in all maintained schools from the age of 5 to 14 years. The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, which will be chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE, and one of the aims is to deliver a broader curriculum so that pupils do not miss out on subjects such as music. When the review has concluded, and subject to Parliament passing the Children’s Wellbeing Bill, the department will require all state-funded schools, including academies and free schools, to follow the National Curriculum.
The department additionally supports children to learn music through the Music Hubs programme, which supports instrumental teaching in schools, as well as providing continuing professional development for teachers and access to local, regional and national ensembles. In 2022/23, Music Hubs provided support to around 90% of primary schools across England.
The department has not made a specific assessment of whether promoting music education in the National Curriculum for primary schools would help diminish pressures on the NHS arising from children’s mental health. However, studies show that music education has a wide range of wellbeing benefits for children.
The government is committed to improving mental health support for all children and young people. The right support should be available to every young person that needs it, which is why the government will provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every school.
The government will also be putting in place new Young Futures hubs, including access to mental health support workers, and will recruit an additional 8,500 new mental health staff to treat children and adults.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Norwich (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the benefit of forest schools and similar nature-focused learning for child development.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
Forest schools provide children with frequent opportunities for outdoor play and exploration.
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework sets the standards and requirements that all early years providers must follow to ensure every child has the best start in life.
The EYFS framework states that providers must provide access to an outdoor play area. If that is not possible, they must ensure that outdoor activities are planned and taken on a daily basis, unless circumstances make this inappropriate, for example unsafe weather conditions. The EYFS framework also specifies that young children should develop positive values towards the environment and the natural world.
By creating games and providing opportunities for play both indoors and outdoors, such as in larger parks and spaces in the local area or through forest schools, adults can support children to develop in a number of areas, including core strength, stability, balance and spatial awareness.
The department is committed to supporting all early years settings to deliver the EYFS well, for the benefit of all children.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many schools registered to deliver language intervention programmes in (1) 2021, (2) 2022, and (3) 2023, and how many completed the full work programme in each of those years.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
The department works with the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) to support building the evidence base for early language interventions. In July 2024, the department announced that funded support for the 11,100 schools registered for the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI) programme (two thirds of English state primary schools) would continue for the 2024/25 academic year. NELI is the most robustly evidenced early language programme in the UK, helping children who need extra support with their speech and language development to make four months of additional progress and seven months for those on free school meals.
To support early language skills, the department has invested over £20 million in NELI. The department does not hold the exact number of children who have completed NELI since 2020, but an estimate is based on the data included in EEF’s 'NELI Scale-up: Evaluation Report - Year 2', as attached. The programme has screened more than 650,000 children in the last four years and supported more than 210,000 four and five-year-olds since the pandemic. Broken down by academic year, this is:
2020/21: 35,000
2021/22: 59,000
2022/23: 58,000
2023/24: 59,000
The Stronger Practice Hubs, which provide advice, share good practice and offer evidence-based professional development for early years practitioners, have also collaborated with the EEF to fund and make places available on several early language programmes. This is helping to strengthen and add to the evidence base of early years professional development programmes. The department does not hold data on the number of children who have benefitted from these programmes.
The number of new schools who registered to deliver NELI in each academic year since 2020 are as follows:
2020/21: 6,668
2021/22: 4,418
2022/23: 26
2023/24: no new school registration undertaken
For registered schools, the government has continued to fund the intervention so that schools can deliver the programme to new cohorts of reception children, where they are identified with below or well-below average language levels. We do not hold figures on how many of these schools completed the full work programme in each of those years.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many children have completed language intervention programmes each year since such programmes were first funded by the Government in 2021.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
The department works with the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) to support building the evidence base for early language interventions. In July 2024, the department announced that funded support for the 11,100 schools registered for the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI) programme (two thirds of English state primary schools) would continue for the 2024/25 academic year. NELI is the most robustly evidenced early language programme in the UK, helping children who need extra support with their speech and language development to make four months of additional progress and seven months for those on free school meals.
To support early language skills, the department has invested over £20 million in NELI. The department does not hold the exact number of children who have completed NELI since 2020, but an estimate is based on the data included in EEF’s 'NELI Scale-up: Evaluation Report - Year 2', as attached. The programme has screened more than 650,000 children in the last four years and supported more than 210,000 four and five-year-olds since the pandemic. Broken down by academic year, this is:
2020/21: 35,000
2021/22: 59,000
2022/23: 58,000
2023/24: 59,000
The Stronger Practice Hubs, which provide advice, share good practice and offer evidence-based professional development for early years practitioners, have also collaborated with the EEF to fund and make places available on several early language programmes. This is helping to strengthen and add to the evidence base of early years professional development programmes. The department does not hold data on the number of children who have benefitted from these programmes.
The number of new schools who registered to deliver NELI in each academic year since 2020 are as follows:
2020/21: 6,668
2021/22: 4,418
2022/23: 26
2023/24: no new school registration undertaken
For registered schools, the government has continued to fund the intervention so that schools can deliver the programme to new cohorts of reception children, where they are identified with below or well-below average language levels. We do not hold figures on how many of these schools completed the full work programme in each of those years.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government which providers of language intervention programmes for schools they support with funding.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
The department works with the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) to support building the evidence base for early language interventions. In July 2024, the department announced that funded support for the 11,100 schools registered for the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI) programme (two thirds of English state primary schools) would continue for the 2024/25 academic year. NELI is the most robustly evidenced early language programme in the UK, helping children who need extra support with their speech and language development to make four months of additional progress and seven months for those on free school meals.
To support early language skills, the department has invested over £20 million in NELI. The department does not hold the exact number of children who have completed NELI since 2020, but an estimate is based on the data included in EEF’s 'NELI Scale-up: Evaluation Report - Year 2', as attached. The programme has screened more than 650,000 children in the last four years and supported more than 210,000 four and five-year-olds since the pandemic. Broken down by academic year, this is:
2020/21: 35,000
2021/22: 59,000
2022/23: 58,000
2023/24: 59,000
The Stronger Practice Hubs, which provide advice, share good practice and offer evidence-based professional development for early years practitioners, have also collaborated with the EEF to fund and make places available on several early language programmes. This is helping to strengthen and add to the evidence base of early years professional development programmes. The department does not hold data on the number of children who have benefitted from these programmes.
The number of new schools who registered to deliver NELI in each academic year since 2020 are as follows:
2020/21: 6,668
2021/22: 4,418
2022/23: 26
2023/24: no new school registration undertaken
For registered schools, the government has continued to fund the intervention so that schools can deliver the programme to new cohorts of reception children, where they are identified with below or well-below average language levels. We do not hold figures on how many of these schools completed the full work programme in each of those years.