Aug. 30 2024
Source Page: Government funded childcare offer to kick in from next weekFound: system from the end of parental leave to the end of primary school, boosting parents’ work choices and
Asked by: Patrick Spencer (Conservative - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support her Department provides to help parents of children with SEND with (a) education, health and care plans and (b) support systems.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department recognises that some parents have struggled to get the right support for their children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), particularly through long and difficult Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan processes.
The department wants to ensure that EHC plan applications are processed promptly and, where required, plans are issued as quickly as possible so that children and young people can access the support they need. We are listening to a wide range of people, such as children and young people, parents, schools, colleges and local authorities and their partners. We are reflecting on what practices could be made consistent nationally.
Under the Children and Families Act (2014) it is a legal requirement that all local authorities have a Special Educational Needs and Disability Information Advice and Support Services (SENDIASS), to ensure families are provided with the support necessary to enable them to participate in discussions and decisions about their support, such as through their Education, Health and Care plan, and strategically, such as through SEND local offers.
The department funds training and support for SENDIASS services through a contract with specialist charities which support parents and carers of children with SEND. This contract is led by Contact, a national charity who support families with SEND. In addition, Contact also runs a national telephone helpline which offers impartial support and advice on SEND.
The department also provides grant funding to Parent Carer Forums throughout England who provide a supportive forum for parents. They work alongside local authorities, education, health and other service providers to ensure that the services they plan, commission, deliver and monitor meet the needs of children and families locally.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve the affordability of childcare for families ineligible for free childcare for working parents.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Ensuring that parents are able to access affordable and high quality childcare is a priority for this government. Our focus in reforming the system will be to ensure that there are greater and more equal opportunities to access early education for every family, and that there are greater opportunities for children to thrive and develop. As an initial step, we are progressing work to deliver new places in 3,000 nurseries through upgrading space in primary schools.
Families that are not eligible for the childcare entitlements for working parents may be entitled to other forms of support, including the 15 hours entitlement for disadvantaged two year olds and the 15 hours universal entitlement for three and four year olds. The universal entitlement is available to all parents of three and four year olds, regardless of income or immigration status. In terms of the disadvantaged two year olds entitlement, parents do not need to work to claim this entitlement. However, they will need to be claiming certain benefits and have a household net income of less than £15,400 per year. All two year olds with an education, health and care (EHC) plan, those in receipt of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and looked after children are eligible regardless of household income. Some two year olds with ‘no recourse to public funds’ immigration status may also be eligible subject to different income thresholds.
Working families claiming universal credit can also claim up to 84% of the childcare costs back through Universal Credit Childcare. This offer can be used alongside the entitlements set out above.
We will be undertaking a comprehensive evaluation programme of the expansion of childcare entitlements for working parents which will explore how families not eligible for the new entitlements experience finding and accessing childcare, including the associated costs. Further, the impact evaluation will assess how the expansion has impacted upon the quality of childcare provision and children’s development, for all children, and wider family outcomes. As per Government Social Research guidelines, evaluation findings will be available within 12 weeks of the projects being finalised. We expect the first to be available from spring 2026.
Asked by: Lord Farmer (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what data they have on the percentage of children in low-income households who do not live with both birth parents; and what percentage of children in middle to higher-income households do not live with both birth parents.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
The specific data requested on how family stability in the UK compares with other countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is not available across the OECD. However, the OECD publication ‘Society at a Glance’ (2019) shows that the UK has a lower percentage of children (0-17) living with two parents (76.6% vs OECD average of 81.7%) and a higher rate living with a single parent (23.2% vs the OECD average of 17.2%). More information is in the attached document, ‘Society at a Glance (2019)’ and can also be found here: https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/social-issues-migration-health/most-children-live-in-households-with-two-parents_29e31016-en.
The specific data requested on the percentage of all children in the United Kingdom who do not live with both of their birth parents is not available. However, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) publishes statistics on the number of children in separated families in England, Scotland and Wales. The latest data shows that 3.8 million children were living in separated families. More information can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/separated-families-statistics-april-2014-to-march-2023/separated-families-statistics-april-2014-to-march-2023.
The DWP’s latest low-income statistics show that 30% of children in the UK in 2022/23 lived in a low-income household after housing costs (defined as living in a household below 60% of median income, adjusted for household composition). This was 4.3 million children altogether. However, the DWP does not have data available on whether or not these children are living with both birth parents. More information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/households-below-average-income-for-financial-years-ending-1995-to-2023/households-below-average-income-an-analysis-of-the-uk-income-distribution-fye-1995-to-fye-2023#children-in-low-income-households.
The Children’s Commissioner’s Office conducted research in part one of their independent Family Review (2022), which used the Office for National Statistics (ONS) annual population survey (2020) to estimate family structure by socio-economic status of the mother. Figure 3 (p.20) shows that a significantly higher proportion of mothers from a lower socio-economic background are a lone parent (29% for routine and 30% for semi-routine occupations), compared to mothers from a higher socio-economic background (14% for lower-managerial and professional and 10% for higher managerial and professional). More information is in the attached document ‘Family and its protective effect’ and can also be found here: https://assets.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/wpuploads/2022/12/cc-family-and-its-protective-effect-part-1-of-the-independent-family-review-.pdf.
The DWP publishes statistics on the percentage of children in couple-parent families with at least one parent reporting relationship distress. The latest data for 2019/20 shows that 12% of children in couple-parent families were living with at least one parent reporting relationship distress, although they do not have data available specifically on whether these children are living with both birth parents. Further information is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/parental-conflict-indicator-2011-to-2020/parental-conflict-indicator-2011-to-2020#relationship-distress-in-couple-parent-families.
Asked by: Whitfield, Martin (Scottish Labour - South Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve relationships between social services, schools and parents to ensure a coordinated support system for children and young people.
Answered by Don-Innes, Natalie - Minister for Children, Young People and The Promise
Scotland’s ‘Getting it right for every child’ (GIRFEC) approach underpins the delivery of high-quality universal and targeted support through a single, coordinated approach to planning across education, social work, and health and social care; and between public services, the third sector and community partners.The GIRFEC approach recognises that children, young people and their families need to know who they can contact when they require support. The named person, HYPERLINK "https://www.gov.scot/publications/getting-right-child-girfec-practice-guidance-2-role-named-person/" Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC): practice guidance 2 – role of the named person - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) or equivalent role, provides a clear point of contact within universal services for information, advice or help. A named person can provide or help families access further information on practical support from within their own service, or request support from other services or agencies across the community. For school-aged children, the named person is usually a head or senior teacher.The non-statutory GIRFEC Child’s Plan remains an important element in the ways children’s and related services can work in a co-ordinated way to support the wellbeing of children, young people and their families. Using the GIRFEC approach, practitioners and lead professionals should support a child or young person's wellbeing by working alongside them and their family, and other practitioners involved in supporting their wellbeing. Where a child or young person is supported through a GIRFEC Child’s Plan, the HYPERLINK "https://www.gov.scot/policies/girfec/lead-professional/" lead professional HYPERLINK "https://www.gov.scot/policies/girfec/lead-professional/" Lead professional - Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC) - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) offers families a single point of contact who can work with them and any multi-agency team to help co-ordinate support and help everyone understand their respective roles in implementing the plan.GIRFEC provides the foundation for all of the Scottish Government’s policies to ensure that children and young people receive the right support, at the right time. This includes Scotland’s legislative approach to collaborative local strategic planning. Children’s Services Planning duties are set out in Part 3 of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014. This requires services and support to be planned and delivered in a way which delivers on national and local priorities and meets the statutory aims of Children’s Services Planning, including the aim to ensure that support is experienced as joined-up from the point of view of children and families.Each local authority and Health Board must work collaboratively with specified service providers, other public bodies, the third sector, and children, young people and families to develop their Children’s Services Plan (CSP). Each Children’s Services Planning Partnership (CSPP) has a multi-agency strategic governance group of local senior leaders, who are responsible for their CSP. This includes publishing an annual report to demonstrate what progress has been made to improve outcomes for children, young people and families living in that area.The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 provides the legal framework for identifying and addressing the additional support needs of children and young people who face a barrier, or barriers, to learning. Parents, children, and young people have the right to ask for an assessment of whether additional support is required. Local authorities and other agencies should ensure that parents are fully aware of the processes for assessing and providing for children’s additional support needs, understand the planning approaches and are familiar with the support services available from the school, the education authority and from other agencies.Scottish Ministers also fund Enquire, the national advice and information service on additional support for learning. Enquire operate a telephone helpline providing confidential and tailored advice to parents and carers on their children’s circumstances and rights to support. They have a range of resources and signposting on their website seeking to ensure that families can access the most appropriate support.The Scottish Government recognises that parents and carers are the primary educators of their children and it is best practice for schools, local authorities and parents to work in partnership to ensure the best learning outcomes for children and young people. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 places responsibility on State Parties to provide appropriate assistance to parents and legal guardians in performing their parental responsibilities to guarantee and promote the rights set out in the Convention.An update to the HYPERLINK Learning together national action plan: update - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) was co-published with COSLA in December 2023. This is an update setting out an overarching framework that brings together relevant policies and guidance to support education authorities to develop parental involvement strategies, as set out in the Scottish Schools (Parental Involvement) Act 2006. It sets out a vision for parental involvement, engagement, family learning and learning at home.The Scottish Government is working in partnership with Clackmannanshire, Dundee and Glasgow to tackle child poverty through transforming the way public services are delivered. These partnerships are testing and embedding a deeper, person-centred approach which meets families where they are and seeks to move them out of poverty on a sustained basis.This has included close working with schools and nurseries, such as:Close partnership with the Early Adopter School Aged Childcare Pilot in Dundee, to facilitate access to childcare for parents supported by the Dundee PathfinderA family supper club in Rowantree Primary School in Dundee, which provides access to support services and hot evening meals.Financial Inclusion Support Officers based in primary and secondary schools in Glasgow ‘Community Around the School’ in Clackmannanshire, featuring a broad range of partners involved in reading, numeracy and confidence skills at Alloa AcademyAcross the 3 partnerships, over 3000 families have benefited from direct support, with changes to how services are designed and delivered set to benefit many more.The Scottish Government are also providing local authorities with £15 million per annum to fund community-based mental health and wellbeing supports and services for children, young people and their families. The HYPERLINK "https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/advice-and-guidance/2021/02/community-mental-health-wellbeing-supports-services-framework2/documents/community-mental-health-wellbeing-supports-services-framework/community-mental-health-wellbeing-supports-services-framework/govscot%3Adocument/community-mental-health-wellbeing-supports-services-framework.pdf" Community Mental Health HYPERLINK "https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/advice-and-guidance/2021/02/community-mental-health-wellbeing-supports-services-framework2/documents/community-mental-health-wellbeing-supports-services-framework/community-mental-health-wellbeing-supports-services-framework/govscot%3Adocument/community-mental-health-wellbeing-supports-services-framework.pdf" and Wellbeing Supports and Services Framework, which underpins this funding, encourages education, health, wider children’s services, youth work and the third sector to work together and take a whole-system approach to supporting children, young people and their families.The mission of the Scottish Attainment Challenge (SAC) is to use education to improve outcomes for children and young people impacted by poverty, with a focus on tackling the poverty-related attainment gap. The national operational guidance for Pupil Equity Funding to schools is clear that parents, carers and the local community are valuable sources of support, expertise and experience in working with children and young people experiencing poverty-related barriers to learning. In many contexts, particularly in rural areas, or within special schools or Additional Support Needs (ASN) provisions, schools may be able to achieve the best possible outcomes for children and young people by working with a range of bodies such as:parent groupsparent councilsother local authority and public sector services (such as community learning & development)third sector organisations (including youth work, family learning organisations)centres of expertise
Asked by: Lord Farmer (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what data they have, by age of child, on the percentage of all children in the United Kingdom who do not live with both of their birth parents.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
The specific data requested on how family stability in the UK compares with other countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is not available across the OECD. However, the OECD publication ‘Society at a Glance’ (2019) shows that the UK has a lower percentage of children (0-17) living with two parents (76.6% vs OECD average of 81.7%) and a higher rate living with a single parent (23.2% vs the OECD average of 17.2%). More information is in the attached document, ‘Society at a Glance (2019)’ and can also be found here: https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/social-issues-migration-health/most-children-live-in-households-with-two-parents_29e31016-en.
The specific data requested on the percentage of all children in the United Kingdom who do not live with both of their birth parents is not available. However, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) publishes statistics on the number of children in separated families in England, Scotland and Wales. The latest data shows that 3.8 million children were living in separated families. More information can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/separated-families-statistics-april-2014-to-march-2023/separated-families-statistics-april-2014-to-march-2023.
The DWP’s latest low-income statistics show that 30% of children in the UK in 2022/23 lived in a low-income household after housing costs (defined as living in a household below 60% of median income, adjusted for household composition). This was 4.3 million children altogether. However, the DWP does not have data available on whether or not these children are living with both birth parents. More information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/households-below-average-income-for-financial-years-ending-1995-to-2023/households-below-average-income-an-analysis-of-the-uk-income-distribution-fye-1995-to-fye-2023#children-in-low-income-households.
The Children’s Commissioner’s Office conducted research in part one of their independent Family Review (2022), which used the Office for National Statistics (ONS) annual population survey (2020) to estimate family structure by socio-economic status of the mother. Figure 3 (p.20) shows that a significantly higher proportion of mothers from a lower socio-economic background are a lone parent (29% for routine and 30% for semi-routine occupations), compared to mothers from a higher socio-economic background (14% for lower-managerial and professional and 10% for higher managerial and professional). More information is in the attached document ‘Family and its protective effect’ and can also be found here: https://assets.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/wpuploads/2022/12/cc-family-and-its-protective-effect-part-1-of-the-independent-family-review-.pdf.
The DWP publishes statistics on the percentage of children in couple-parent families with at least one parent reporting relationship distress. The latest data for 2019/20 shows that 12% of children in couple-parent families were living with at least one parent reporting relationship distress, although they do not have data available specifically on whether these children are living with both birth parents. Further information is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/parental-conflict-indicator-2011-to-2020/parental-conflict-indicator-2011-to-2020#relationship-distress-in-couple-parent-families.
Jul. 18 2011
Source Page: Supporting Families in the Foundation Years. 89 p.Found: Supporting Families in the Foundation Years. 89 p.
Aug. 15 2024
Source Page: Neonatal Intensive Care Plan and the Options Appraisal Report: FOI releaseFound: Neonatal Intensive Care Plan and the Options Appraisal Report: FOI release
Asked by: Lord Farmer (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made an assessment of how family stability in the UK compares with other countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, in terms of children still living with both their biological parents at age 15.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
The specific data requested on how family stability in the UK compares with other countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is not available across the OECD. However, the OECD publication ‘Society at a Glance’ (2019) shows that the UK has a lower percentage of children (0-17) living with two parents (76.6% vs OECD average of 81.7%) and a higher rate living with a single parent (23.2% vs the OECD average of 17.2%). More information is in the attached document, ‘Society at a Glance (2019)’ and can also be found here: https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/social-issues-migration-health/most-children-live-in-households-with-two-parents_29e31016-en.
The specific data requested on the percentage of all children in the United Kingdom who do not live with both of their birth parents is not available. However, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) publishes statistics on the number of children in separated families in England, Scotland and Wales. The latest data shows that 3.8 million children were living in separated families. More information can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/separated-families-statistics-april-2014-to-march-2023/separated-families-statistics-april-2014-to-march-2023.
The DWP’s latest low-income statistics show that 30% of children in the UK in 2022/23 lived in a low-income household after housing costs (defined as living in a household below 60% of median income, adjusted for household composition). This was 4.3 million children altogether. However, the DWP does not have data available on whether or not these children are living with both birth parents. More information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/households-below-average-income-for-financial-years-ending-1995-to-2023/households-below-average-income-an-analysis-of-the-uk-income-distribution-fye-1995-to-fye-2023#children-in-low-income-households.
The Children’s Commissioner’s Office conducted research in part one of their independent Family Review (2022), which used the Office for National Statistics (ONS) annual population survey (2020) to estimate family structure by socio-economic status of the mother. Figure 3 (p.20) shows that a significantly higher proportion of mothers from a lower socio-economic background are a lone parent (29% for routine and 30% for semi-routine occupations), compared to mothers from a higher socio-economic background (14% for lower-managerial and professional and 10% for higher managerial and professional). More information is in the attached document ‘Family and its protective effect’ and can also be found here: https://assets.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/wpuploads/2022/12/cc-family-and-its-protective-effect-part-1-of-the-independent-family-review-.pdf.
The DWP publishes statistics on the percentage of children in couple-parent families with at least one parent reporting relationship distress. The latest data for 2019/20 shows that 12% of children in couple-parent families were living with at least one parent reporting relationship distress, although they do not have data available specifically on whether these children are living with both birth parents. Further information is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/parental-conflict-indicator-2011-to-2020/parental-conflict-indicator-2011-to-2020#relationship-distress-in-couple-parent-families.
Aug. 20 2024
Source Page: Universal free school meals: FOI releaseFound: Expanding universal free school meal provision targets both children and their families.