Apr. 29 2024
Source Page: Rwanda: country policy and information notesFound: Rwanda: country policy and information notes
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Leicester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Institute for Fiscal Studies report The short- and medium-term impacts of Sure Start on educational outcomes, published on 9 April, which found that access to a Sure Start centre in early years increased the early identification of a special educational need or disability and reduced the need for an Education, Health and Care Plan in later years, what steps they are taking to incorporate lessons from the Sure Start programme in their (1) Family Hubs policy, and (2) Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department welcomes the latest research from the Institute of Fiscal Studies on the impact of Sure Start. The family hub model builds on what was learned from Sure Start as well as on wider external evidence of the long-term benefits of early intervention. The model includes at its core the Start for Life offer with a prominent focus on babies and young children, encouraging engagement with the very youngest and their parents and including targeted services for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). It enables early identification of additional needs through integrated and connected service offers and provides funding for workforce training to better identify and respond to need in a co-ordinated way.
Family hubs bring together services for children of all ages and so respond to the needs of the whole family. The government is investing approximately £300 million across 75 local authorities to embed the family hub approach and enhance Start for Life services across the country for families with children aged 0-19 years, and or up to 25 years for those with SEND. On 10 January 2024, the government announced that every one of the 75 local authorities in the family hubs and Start for Life programme have now opened family hubs, creating a welcoming place where families can be connected to a wide range of services.
The department has developed guidance for participating local authorities. The Programme Guidance includes expectations on the support available to families who have children with SEND, in line with the recommendations in the SEND and alternative provision (AP) green paper. This includes staff in the family hub being knowledgeable about local SEND services and able to connect families to appropriate support – this could include for example SEND-appropriate parenting programmes, peer support for parents, short breaks, support for siblings or specialist health services. The Programme Guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/family-hubs-and-start-for-life-programme-local-authority-guide.
Last year, the department also published its SEND and AP Improvement Plan to outline its plans to ensure children and young people across England get high-quality, early support wherever they live in the country. This includes new national SEND and AP standards which will help families understand what support every child or young person should be receiving from early years through to further education.
The department is also funding training of up to 7,000 early years special educational needs co-ordinators who will learn how to identify and assess SEND and implement effective support so that children get the early support they deserve at the right time.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure a smooth transition for students with special educational needs and disabilities from (a) key stage 2 to key stage 3 and (b) key stage 4 to key stage 5.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is committed to ensuring that all children and young people have access to a world-class education that sets them up for life and supports them to achieve positive outcomes.
Mainstream schools and colleges should use their best endeavours to make sure a child or young person with special educational needs gets the special educational provision they need. This might include tailored support to prepare for transitions.
In addition, for those with an Education, Health, and Care (EHC) plan, there must be a focus from year 9 onwards on preparing the young person for transitions as part of their plan’s annual review. Planning for the transitions should result in clear outcomes being agreed that are ambitious, stretching, and which are tailored to the needs and interests of the young person.
The department is developing good practice guidance to support consistent, timely, high-quality transitions for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and for those in alternative provision (AP). This will ultimately look at transitions between all stages of education from early years and will focus initially on transitions into and out of post-16 settings. This includes transitions into higher education, employment, adult services, and, for young people leaving AP at the end of key stage 4, building on learning from the recent Alternative Provision Transition Fund.
The department is working with the Department for Work and Pensions and key partners from the SEND and post-16 sectors, including the Association of Colleges and Natspec, to develop the guidance. The department is working with young people with different types of need, including those with and without EHC plans, to co-produce the guidance to ensure it improves experiences and outcomes. The department will also involve parents and carers.
Written Evidence Apr. 26 2024
Inquiry: Disability employmentFound: their needs.
Written Evidence Apr. 26 2024
Inquiry: Disability employmentFound: “How can people with disabilities and health conditions be better supported to start and stay in
Written Evidence Apr. 26 2024
Inquiry: Disability employmentFound: require varying needs of support, in the context of employment support and the barriers they face
Written Evidence Apr. 26 2024
Inquiry: Disability employmentFound: In secondary school I received special educational needs support and went onto university.
Written Evidence Apr. 26 2024
Inquiry: Disability employmentFound: DYE0010 - Disability employment Disability and Youth Transition Project Written Evidence
Apr. 26 2024
Source Page: I. Supporting families: a foundation for family help. Annual report of the Supporting Families programme 2023-2024. Incl. annex. 25p. II. Local Data Accelerator Fund: process evaluation. Incl. appendices. 97p.Found: Needs).
Apr. 26 2024
Source Page: I. Supporting families: a foundation for family help. Annual report of the Supporting Families programme 2023-2024. Incl. annex. 25p. II. Local Data Accelerator Fund: process evaluation. Incl. appendices. 97p.Found: educational needs and disabilities SFTP Secure file transfer protocol SOF Shared Outcomes Fund