Asked by: Alison McGovern (Labour - Wirral South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help broaden access to work experience for disadvantaged young people.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Work experience is an important aspect of the support pupils receive to follow rewarding learning and training pathways which lead to fulfilling careers.
The department works with The Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) to support secondary schools to provide pupils with multiple interactions with employers from year 7 to year 13 in line with Gatsby Benchmark 6, Experiences of the Workplace. The department has asked CEC to drive this agenda forward at pace to increase workplace opportunities, targeting pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds, in response to evidence that these pupils are less likely to access work experience opportunities than their peers. In the latest annual data, 64% of institutions fully achieved the experiences of the workplace benchmark, which is a 12% increase from the year before.
The CEC Careers Hub network has been asked to use a proportion of their Hub Delivery Fund to stimulate meaningful employer-led activities to increase the quantity and quality of opportunities for young people to engage in encounters of the workplace with a focus on alternative provision, special educational needs and disabilities and Pupil Referral Units across all year groups.
In addition, £1.9 million has been invested to support Careers Hubs to offer workplace experiences for up to 15,000 economically disadvantaged young people, including virtual workplace experience pilots for more than 1,000 schools in coastal and rural communities, providing access to wider national networks of employers outside their local community.
Apr. 25 2024
Source Page: Evaluation of virtual school heads (VSHs)Found: Educational Needs Coordinator SEND Special Educational Needs and Disabilities SW Social Worker
Apr. 25 2024
Source Page: Evaluation of virtual school heads (VSHs)Found: Educational Needs and Disabilities SENDCo Special Educational Needs Coordinator SLT Senior Leadership
Written Evidence Apr. 25 2024
Inquiry: Devolution of employment supportFound: community learning, Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) support, devolved/discretionary
Apr. 25 2024
Source Page: ITT core content framework and early career framework: call for evidenceFound: ITT core content framework and early career framework: call for evidence
Mentions:
1: Robin Walker (Con - Worcester) circumstances of the school, and the needs of its pupils, will be assessed in the round, in order to - Speech Link
2: Catherine McKinnell (Lab - Newcastle upon Tyne North) Labour proposes to ensure that children with special educational needs and disabilities have access to - Speech Link
3: Robin Walker (Con - Worcester) educational needs pupils was good or outstanding. - Speech Link
4: Rosie Winterton (Lab - Doncaster Central) proper provision for people with disabilities. - Speech Link
Asked by: Gen Kitchen (Labour - Wellingborough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she takes to ensure that local authorities (a) adequately capture the needs of SEND children and (b) provide a local offer that adequately meets levels of demand for those needs.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Children and Families Act 2014 requires all local authorities to publish a local offer of services for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in their area. This helps families to be aware of services available in their area and provides a way for them to contribute to shaping provision to meet local needs.
As set out in the SEND Code of Practice, local authorities must consult children and young people with SEND and their parents and carers, in reviewing educational and training provision, social care provision and in preparing and reviewing the Local Offer.
In the SEND and alternative provision (AP) Improvement Plan, published in March 2023, the department has set out plans to build a consistent national SEND and AP system in which parents and carers can trust and have confidence, and which can be navigated easily.
Through the Change Programme, the department is testing Local Area Inclusion Plans (LAIPs). These are 3 year plans that explain how the needs of children and young people with SEND aged 0 to 25 in an area will be met. LAIPs will be monitored and reviewed by the department and be underpinned by strengthened accountabilities and improved use of data for all those responsible for local delivery of places.
Ofsted and Care Quality Commission also commenced a strengthened local inspection framework in January 2023. Where local authorities are failing, the department works with them using a range of improvement programmes and SEND specialist advisers to address weaknesses. Inspections under the new framework place greater emphasis on the outcomes that are being achieved for children and young people with SEND.
Written Evidence Apr. 24 2024
Inquiry: Preterm BirthFound: with special education and care needs.
Written Evidence Apr. 24 2024
Inquiry: Preterm BirthFound: The methodology of both PReCePT and PERIPrem seems to be effective15 and was reviewed and commended
Written Evidence Apr. 24 2024
Inquiry: Preterm BirthFound: PRT0018 - Preterm Birth University of Leicester, and University College London Written Evidence