Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of social media in schools on bullying.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
We know that evidence suggests that cyberbullying is often linked to face-to-face bullying.
Mobile phones have no place in our schools. The department’s ‘mobile phones in schools’ guidance is clear that schools should prohibit the use of devices with smart technology throughout the school day, including during lessons, transitions and breaks.
The department expects all schools to take steps in line with this guidance to ensure mobile phones do not disrupt pupils’ learning. If pupils fail to follow those rules, schools have the power to confiscate devices.
Additionally, the department is launching a procurement for an expert and evidence-led review into best practice on managing pupil behaviour, reducing preventable exclusions and tackling and preventing bullying. The learning from this best practice review will inform the support to be given in the longer term by up to 90 new regional improvement for standards and excellence attendance and behaviour hubs, which are being established across regions in England to focus on supporting senior leaders to develop safe, supportive school cultures.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that the progress of children with SEND is accurately measured.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Through the school census, the department collects data on the performance of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities across the country. We use this to routinely publish data on the outcomes of pupils with special educational needs throughout their education, including attainment, absence, exclusions and progression to further and higher education.
The Curriculum and Assessment Review is reviewing how performance measures incentivise behaviour and outcomes for every child. Once the final report is published, the government will respond, including consideration of its recommendations on performance measures.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to make changes to the collection of data in relation to (a) suspensions and (b) permanent exclusions in England.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The department does not collect the pupil characteristics data for reinstated when an Independent Review Panel (IRP) has quashed a permanent exclusion.
The department is taking action to strengthen the oversight and monitoring of all exclusion data collected through the school census, particularly for pupils who may be disproportionately affected by exclusion. This includes strengthening the monitoring of IRP decisions, with a stronger focus on the reinstatement of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure children with SEND are not disproportionately affected by (a) school exclusions and (b) informal off-rolling in mainstream schools.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities receive the right support to succeed in their education. We are committed to ensuring earlier intervention in mainstream schools for pupils with special educational needs and introducing a new annual review of safeguarding, attendance and pupil movement, including off-rolling.
In all cases, school leaders should consider early intervention strategies to address the underlying causes of a pupil’s disruptive behaviour before issuing any exclusion. In the most serious cases, exclusion may be necessary to ensure every child can learn in a safe, calm classroom.
Asked by: Natasha Irons (Labour - Croydon East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of youth services on (a) preventing exclusions, (b) increasing school attendance and (c) educational attainment.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
This Government fully recognises the importance of youth services to live safe and healthy lives, and the positive impact youth services can have on young people, including in educational settings.
That is why we are co-producing a new National Youth Strategy. The Strategy will better coordinate youth services and policy at a local, regional and national level, moving away from siloed working - ensuring we are better coordinated and more than the sum of our parts.
We have commissioned an evidence review alongside our engagement with young people and the youth sector, to inform the development of the National Youth Strategy. An interim report will be published this Spring.
We know that youth services will help deliver the government’s missions, and the National Youth Strategy will work alongside the work on development of Young Future hubs, the Curriculum and Assessment Review and further work across government to fulfill our commitment to improve young people’s lives.
Asked by: Claire Young (Liberal Democrat - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of expanding the role of the Local Government Ombudsman to encompass academy trusts.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education is the principal regulator for academies. All academies are required to have a complaints process which adheres to Part 7 of the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014. This sets out that it is the academy’s responsibility to handle and resolve any complaints against them. If a complainant has concerns that an academy did not handle a complaint in line with the regulations, they can then escalate to the department, whose role it is to consider whether the academy followed the correct process.
Anyone can object to the Schools Adjudicator if they have concerns about a school’s admission arrangements. The Schools Adjudicator considers objections to the admission arrangements of all mainstream state-funded schools, including mainstream academy and free schools. The Adjudicator’s decision is binding.
The department also considers complaints about maladministration in independent appeal panels in relation to school admissions and complaints about maladministration in independent review panels in relation to permanent exclusions. Decisions taken by panels in both circumstances are legally binding and the department is unable to overturn decisions taken. However, parents can contact the department if they have concerns that the appeal or review panel was not held in compliance with relevant legislation or statutory guidance. If the department upholds a complaint, then a fresh appeal may be requested. If a complainant wishes to take their complaint further following the department’s consideration, they are advised to seek independent legal advice.
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) can investigate complaints about maintained schools in certain circumstances. The department is considering the LGSCO’s Triennial Review, including their recommendations around school complaints, and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Claire Young (Liberal Democrat - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what independent mechanisms exist to appeal decisions on upholding complaints against academy trusts.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education is the principal regulator for academies. All academies are required to have a complaints process which adheres to Part 7 of the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014. This sets out that it is the academy’s responsibility to handle and resolve any complaints against them. If a complainant has concerns that an academy did not handle a complaint in line with the regulations, they can then escalate to the department, whose role it is to consider whether the academy followed the correct process.
Anyone can object to the Schools Adjudicator if they have concerns about a school’s admission arrangements. The Schools Adjudicator considers objections to the admission arrangements of all mainstream state-funded schools, including mainstream academy and free schools. The Adjudicator’s decision is binding.
The department also considers complaints about maladministration in independent appeal panels in relation to school admissions and complaints about maladministration in independent review panels in relation to permanent exclusions. Decisions taken by panels in both circumstances are legally binding and the department is unable to overturn decisions taken. However, parents can contact the department if they have concerns that the appeal or review panel was not held in compliance with relevant legislation or statutory guidance. If the department upholds a complaint, then a fresh appeal may be requested. If a complainant wishes to take their complaint further following the department’s consideration, they are advised to seek independent legal advice.
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) can investigate complaints about maintained schools in certain circumstances. The department is considering the LGSCO’s Triennial Review, including their recommendations around school complaints, and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many pupils were (a) suspended and (b) permanently excluded from secondary schools in England in 2023-24; and what proportion of those pupils were identified as having SEND.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The department publishes figures from the school census on suspensions and permanent exclusions from state-funded schools in England. The most recent full academic year release, for the 2022/23 academic year, is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/suspensions-and-permanent-exclusions-in-england/2022-23.
The latest release covers the 2023/24 autumn term and is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/suspensions-and-permanent-exclusions-in-england/2023-24-autumn-term.
Published figures include numbers and rates of suspensions and permanent exclusions by school phase and characteristics, including special educational needs provision. A table has been created from the 2022/23 academic year publication here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/f661eaa5-0158-4c2d-710a-08dd0ae16946.
Data is not yet available for the whole 2023/24 academic year. Data is collected two terms in arrears to allow time for Independent Review Panels to review exclusion decisions before data is collected.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many pupils were (a) suspended and (b) permanently excluded from primary schools in England in 2023-24; and what proportion of such pupils were identified as having SEND.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The department publishes figures from the school census on suspensions and permanent exclusions from state-funded schools in England. The most recent full academic year release, for the 2022/23 academic year, is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/suspensions-and-permanent-exclusions-in-england/2022-23.
The latest release covers the 2023/24 autumn term and is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/suspensions-and-permanent-exclusions-in-england/2023-24-autumn-term.
Published figures include numbers and rates of suspensions and permanent exclusions by school phase and characteristics, including special educational needs provision. A table has been created from the 2022/23 academic year publication here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/f661eaa5-0158-4c2d-710a-08dd0ae16946.
Data is not yet available for the whole 2023/24 academic year. Data is collected two terms in arrears to allow time for Independent Review Panels to review exclusion decisions before data is collected.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will request Ofsted to undertake an investigation into (a) the adequacy of (i) disciplinary and (ii) other policies at South Bank Multi Academy Trust and (b) the potential impact of those policies on school attendance rates.
Answered by Damian Hinds
Ofsted plays a vital role by providing independent judgement on the educational performance of each school within a trust through its school inspection programme. The department, acting through the Regional Directors, will act wherever an academy is judged ‘Inadequate’ by Ofsted. As part of school level inspections, inspectors consider how leaders and other staff create a safe, calm, orderly and positive environment in the school and the impact this has on the behaviour and attitudes of pupils. Inspectors will also expect schools to do all they reasonably can to achieve the highest possible attendance.
Of the six academies in South Bank Multi-Academy Trust (MAT), five have been rated Good or Outstanding since the autumn term of 2022. Under current leadership, South Bank MAT saw success in their sponsorship of the former Ofsted ‘Inadequate’ School, York High School, which was rated ‘Good’ in all categories. For York High School, the published report states “Expectations are clear. Pupils know the standards for behaviour and attitudes when they arrive at school in Year 7. Inspectors visited classroom where positive attitudes to learning were common. Staff and pupils enjoy the calm atmosphere in lessons. In the few instances where low-level disruption does occur, staff use the school’s approach to positive behaviour effectively”. Five months ago, Carr Junior School was also inspected and the published Ofsted report states that “Behaviour around school is calm and purposeful… the school have established a positive culture of behaviour”.
The appropriate use of suspensions and exclusions is an element of South Bank MAT’s approach to improving behaviour, and it remains a key focus for the trust to examine and review attendance patterns. The Yorkshire and the Humber Regional Team will continue to work closely with South Bank MAT, as they do with all of their academy trusts, to understand the impact.
School attendance is a top priority for the government. The evidence is clear that being in school is vitally important for children’s attainment, mental wellbeing, safety and long-term development. Attendance is everyone’s business. The department has set out stronger expectations of the system to work together to support those at risk of being persistently absent.
The Yorkshire and the Humber Regional Team are in regular contact with South Bank MAT, and the Regional Director for Yorkshire and the Humber, Alison Wilson, visited South Bank MAT on 21 September 2023. Currently the Regional Director, is satisfied with the performance of the academies within South Bank MAT, and content that there is a culture of improvement to drive up standards and engagement of pupils. The Regional Director is also satisfied that trust policies (including the trust’s behaviour policy) are up-to-date and compliant with departmental guidance. As such, Ofsted will not be commissioned to further investigate South Bank MAT.
The department understands that accountability of MATs, including attendance, behaviour and support for pupils with special educational needs is a key concern within the City of York. All schools, including academies, are under a duty to co-operate with the local authority to improve children’s wellbeing. The department expects local authorities and academies to work collaboratively together in relation to the wellbeing of children and particularly children who are disadvantaged, vulnerable or at risk.