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1648106

registered interest
date	27/06/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Sign Language: Education
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish an action plan on steps to help local education authorities expand the provision of sign language courses for families of deaf children.
tabling member constituency	The Wrekin
tabling member printed	Mark Pritchard
uin	191259
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/07/2023 answer text <p>Funding is available through the Adult Education Budget (AEB) for qualifications in, or focusing on, British Sign Language (BSL) up to and including level 2. Approximately 60% of the AEB has been devolved to Mayoral Combined Authorities and the Greater London Authority, who determine which provision to fund for learners who live in their areas. The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) provides the remaining funding for learners who live in non-devolved areas.</p><p>ESFA funded AEB qualifications include, for example, the level 1 Award in BSL which allows learners to communicate in BSL on a range of topics that involve simple, everyday language use, thereby giving them the basic skills and confidence in production and reception of BSL. It will depend on an individual’s circumstances as to whether they are entitled to free provision or expected to meet part of the cost through co-funding. Where community learning providers offer BSL courses, those providers are responsible for determining the course fees, including levels of fee remission. Some local authorities receive a funding allocation as part of the AEB, depending on the circumstances in each area.</p><p>For some BSL courses, Advanced Learner Loans (ALLs) are available. Parents can find more information about which qualifications are eligible at: <a href="https://www.qualifications.education.gov.uk/Search" target="_blank">https://www.qualifications.education.gov.uk/Search</a>. More general information about the provision of ALLs is available at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/advanced-learner-loan" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/advanced-learner-loan</a>.</p><p>For parents learning BSL on an AEB funded course, there is also additional support available. The AEB provides funding to colleges and providers to help adult learners overcome barriers preventing them from accessing learning. Providers have discretion to help learners meet costs such as transport, accommodation, books, equipment, and childcare. Learning support funding also helps colleges and training providers to meet the additional needs of learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and the costs of reasonable adjustments, as set out in the Equality Act 2010.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Surrey answering member printed Claire Coutinho question first answered 06/07/2023 16:50:03 answering member 4806 label Biography information for Claire Coutinho
tabling member	1576 label Biography information for Mark Pritchard

1648163

registered interest
date	27/06/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children: Electronic Cigarettes
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the effect of underage vaping on children’s (a) concentration and (b) attainment at school.
tabling member constituency	West Ham
tabling member printed	Ms Lyn Brown
uin	191301
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/07/2023 answer text <p>Schools are required by law to have a behaviour policy that sets out what is expected of all pupils, including what items are banned from school premises.</p><p>Schools have the autonomy to decide which items should be banned from their premises, and these can include e-cigarettes or vapes. School staff can search pupils for banned items, as outlined in the Department’s ‘Searching, screening and confiscation at school’ guidance, which is available at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/searching-screening-and-confiscation" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/searching-screening-and-confiscation</a>.</p><p>The relationships and sex education and health education statutory guidance states that, in both primary and secondary school, pupils should be taught the facts about legal and illegal harmful substances and associated risks, including smoking, alcohol use, and drug-taking.</p><p>To support schools to deliver this content effectively, the Department has published a suite of teacher training modules, including one on drugs, alcohol and tobacco, which makes specific reference to e-cigarettes and vaping.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 06/07/2023 13:52:46 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	1583 label Biography information for Ms Lyn Brown

1648199

registered interest
date	27/06/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Special Educational Needs: Teachers
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a Multi-Sensory Impairment fund with £34.3 million ring-fenced funding available to local authorities in England to increase the number of Multi-Sensory Impairment teachers.
tabling member constituency	Liverpool, Riverside
tabling member printed	Kim Johnson
uin	191401
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/07/2023 answer text <p>The department is firmly committed to ensuring that children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including those with multi-sensory impairments, receive the support they need to succeed in their early years, at school and at college.</p><p>High needs funding for children and young people with complex SEND, including those with multi-sensory impairment, will be rising to £10.1 billion in the 2023/24 financial year, which is an increase of over 50% from the 2019/20 allocations. This extra funding will help local authorities and schools with the increasing costs of supporting children and young people with SEND.</p><p>The department has no current plans to create a new and separate funding stream specifically for the education of children with multi-sensory impairment. Local authorities and schools have responsibilities for supporting all children and young people with SEND under the Children and Families Act 2014, including those with multi-sensory impairment. They are best placed to decide how to prioritise their spending on the range of resources and activities that will best support them.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Surrey answering member printed Claire Coutinho question first answered 06/07/2023 16:40:54 answering member 4806 label Biography information for Claire Coutinho
tabling member	4824 label Biography information for Kim Johnson

1648235

registered interest
date	27/06/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Free School Meals: Expenditure
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment on the adequacy of free school meals funding in the context of the increases in the cost of food.
tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
uin	191437
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/07/2023 answer text <p>The Department recognises the cost pressures that some schools and suppliers may be facing. The Department is holding regular meetings with other Government Departments and with food industry representatives, covering a variety of issues including public sector food supplies.</p><p>Following the Autumn Statement 2022, schools will receive an additional £2 billion in each of the 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years. The core schools’ budget, which covers schools’ day to day running costs, including schools’ energy bills and the costs of providing income related free school meals (FSM), has risen from £49.8 billion in 2021/22 to £53.8 billion in 2022/23 and will continue to rise to £57.3 billion in 2023/24 and £58.8 billion in 2024/25. By 2024/25, funding per pupil will have risen to its highest ever level in real terms. These increases provide support to schools to deal with the impact of inflation on their budgets.</p><p>The Department is continuing to review funding to ensure that schools continue to be able to provide healthy and nutritious meals in schools. The funding for the FSM factor is increasing for 2023/24, in line with the latest available Gross Domestic Product deflator forecast when the National Funding Formula was published in July 2022.</p><p>Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM) are funded through a direct grant to schools. In the 2023/24 academic year, the funding rate is increasing from £2.41 to £2.53. Further details on the UIFSM 2023/24 grant are available at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-infant-free-school-meals-uifsm-2023-to-2024/universal-infant-free-school-meals-uifsm-conditions-of-grant-2023-to-2024" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-infant-free-school-meals-uifsm-2023-to-2024/universal-infant-free-school-meals-uifsm-conditions-of-grant-2023-to-2024</a>.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 05/07/2023 16:27:48 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1648236

registered interest
date	27/06/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Department for Education: Written Questions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to answer Questions 190162 and 190163 on Schools: Buildings, tabled by the hon. Member for Twickenham on 19 June 2023.
tabling member constituency	Twickenham
tabling member printed	Munira Wilson
uin	191438
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/07/2023 answer text <p>I can confirm that responses to Questions 190162 and 190163 have been provided to the hon. Member for Twickenham.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 03/07/2023 16:56:56 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4776 label Biography information for Munira Wilson

1648283

registered interest
date	27/06/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the of the Concluding Observations on the combined sixth and seventh periodic reports of the UK to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, published on 22 June 2023, whether the Prime Minister has made an assessment of the potential merits of appointing a Minister for Children to the Cabinet with ministerial responsibility for monitoring and coordinating activities related to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
tabling member constituency	Lewisham East
tabling member printed	Janet Daby
uin	191475
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/07/2023 answer text <p>As set out in the list of Ministerial Responsibilities, the Department for Education is the lead department responsible for protecting and supporting children, working with other departments on the basis of collective responsibility. The Secretary of State for Education is a member of the Cabinet.</p><p>The government strives to find new ways to promote children’s rights and recognises that strengthening children’s rights is a continuous process. The government welcomes the constructive challenge that was made by the Committee in Geneva and will take into careful consideration the Concluding Observations, including how we further monitor and coordinate Children’s Rights across the UK.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Surrey answering member printed Claire Coutinho question first answered 03/07/2023 16:47:06 answering member 4806 label Biography information for Claire Coutinho
tabling member	4698 label Biography information for Janet Daby

1648288

registered interest
date	27/06/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Special Educational Needs: Neurodiversity
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to help children with (a) autism, (b) ADHD and (c) other neuro-diverse conditions in mainstream education.
tabling member constituency	Peterborough
tabling member printed	Paul Bristow
uin	191478
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/07/2023 answer text <p>In the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) improvement plan, the department set out our vision to improve mainstream education through setting standards for early and accurate identification of needs and timely access to support to meet those needs, including for autistic and neurodiverse children and young people. The standards will clarify the types of support that should be ordinarily available in mainstream settings, who is responsible for securing the support and from which budgets. The SEND and AP improvement plan can be accessed at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-and-alternative-provision-improvement-plan" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-and-alternative-provision-improvement-plan</a>.</p><p>The department will also develop new practice guides to support frontline professionals. The first three practice guides will be published by the end of 2025, focusing on advice for mainstream settings, and will include a practice guide on autism.</p><p>To support the needs of pupils with SEND, particularly in mainstream settings where most of these learners are educated, the department has funded the Universal Services programme. This programme, backed by almost £12 million, will help the school and further education workforce to identify and meet the needs of children and young people with SEND, including those with autism, earlier and more effectively. It will also help them successfully prepare children and young people for adulthood, including employment. The programme includes autism awareness training, which over 80,000 professionals have already undertaken.</p><p>Improving joined-up support is vital. The Department for Education is working closely with the Department for Health and Social Care on the cross-government Autism Strategy, available at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-strategy-for-autistic-children-young-people-and-adults-2021-to-2026/the-national-strategy-for-autistic-children-young-people-and-adults-2021-to-2026#improving-autistic-children-and-young-peoples-access-to-education-and-supporting-positive-transitions-into-adulthood-1" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-strategy-for-autistic-children-young-people-and-adults-2021-to-2026/the-national-strategy-for-autistic-children-young-people-and-adults-2021-to-2026#improving-autistic-children-and-young-peoples-access-to-education-and-supporting-positive-transitions-into-adulthood-1</a>. A key theme of this is improving autistic children and young people’s access to education and supporting positive transitions into adulthood.</p> answering member constituency East Surrey answering member printed Claire Coutinho question first answered 06/07/2023 16:37:18 answering member 4806 label Biography information for Claire Coutinho
tabling member	4792 label Biography information for Paul Bristow

1648289

registered interest
date	27/06/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Pupils: Bullying
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps her Department is taking to tackle bullying in schools.
tabling member constituency	Peterborough
tabling member printed	Paul Bristow
uin	191479
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/07/2023 answer text <p>The department has sent a clear message to schools that bullying, including cyberbullying, for whatever reason, is unacceptable. It can have a devastating effect on individuals, harm their education, and have serious and lasting consequences for their mental health.</p><p>All schools are legally required to have a behaviour policy with measures to prevent all forms of bullying. They have the freedom to develop their own anti-bullying strategies appropriate to their environment and are held to account by Ofsted.</p><p>We recognise that bullying of any kind can now just as easily occur online as face-to-face. Cyberbullying can be a means by which face-to face-bullying is extended beyond the school day and by which bullying can start online and follow the child into school.</p><p>The department is providing over £3 million of funding between 10 August 2021 and 31 March 2024 to five anti-bullying organisations to support schools to tackle bullying. This includes projects targeting bullying of particular groups, such as those who are victims of hate related bullying and homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying.</p><p>In November 2018, the department published ’Respectful School Communities’, a self-review and signposting tool to support schools to develop a whole-school approach which promotes respect and discipline. This can combat bullying, harassment and prejudice of any kind, including sexual bullying and sexual harassment. It will help schools to identify the various elements that make up a whole school approach, consider gaps in their current practice, and get further support. Respectful School Communities is available at: <a href="https://www.educateagainsthate.com/resources/respectful-school-communities-self-review-signposting-tool-2/" target="_blank">https://www.educateagainsthate.com/resources/respectful-school-communities-self-review-signposting-tool-2/</a>.</p><p>​We are also making sure that all children in England will learn about respectful relationships, in person and online, as part of new mandatory relationships, sex and health education (RSHE). These subjects are designed to give pupils the knowledge they need to lead happy, safe, and healthy lives and to foster respect for other people and difference, and to include teaching about online safety and harms.</p> answering member constituency East Surrey answering member printed Claire Coutinho grouped question UIN 191480 question first answered 06/07/2023 16:43:02 answering member 4806 label Biography information for Claire Coutinho
tabling member	4792 label Biography information for Paul Bristow

1648290

registered interest
date	27/06/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Pupils: Bullying
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to tackle cyber bullying in schools.
tabling member constituency	Peterborough
tabling member printed	Paul Bristow
uin	191480
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/07/2023 answer text <p>The department has sent a clear message to schools that bullying, including cyberbullying, for whatever reason, is unacceptable. It can have a devastating effect on individuals, harm their education, and have serious and lasting consequences for their mental health.</p><p>All schools are legally required to have a behaviour policy with measures to prevent all forms of bullying. They have the freedom to develop their own anti-bullying strategies appropriate to their environment and are held to account by Ofsted.</p><p>We recognise that bullying of any kind can now just as easily occur online as face-to-face. Cyberbullying can be a means by which face-to face-bullying is extended beyond the school day and by which bullying can start online and follow the child into school.</p><p>The department is providing over £3 million of funding between 10 August 2021 and 31 March 2024 to five anti-bullying organisations to support schools to tackle bullying. This includes projects targeting bullying of particular groups, such as those who are victims of hate related bullying and homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying.</p><p>In November 2018, the department published ’Respectful School Communities’, a self-review and signposting tool to support schools to develop a whole-school approach which promotes respect and discipline. This can combat bullying, harassment and prejudice of any kind, including sexual bullying and sexual harassment. It will help schools to identify the various elements that make up a whole school approach, consider gaps in their current practice, and get further support. Respectful School Communities is available at: <a href="https://www.educateagainsthate.com/resources/respectful-school-communities-self-review-signposting-tool-2/" target="_blank">https://www.educateagainsthate.com/resources/respectful-school-communities-self-review-signposting-tool-2/</a>.</p><p>​We are also making sure that all children in England will learn about respectful relationships, in person and online, as part of new mandatory relationships, sex and health education (RSHE). These subjects are designed to give pupils the knowledge they need to lead happy, safe, and healthy lives and to foster respect for other people and difference, and to include teaching about online safety and harms.</p> answering member constituency East Surrey answering member printed Claire Coutinho grouped question UIN 191479 question first answered 06/07/2023 16:43:02 answering member 4806 label Biography information for Claire Coutinho
tabling member	4792 label Biography information for Paul Bristow

1648330

registered interest
date	27/06/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children: Disadvantaged
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that children from disadvantaged backgrounds have equal access to digital learning resources and technology.
tabling member printed	Lord Browne of Belmont
uin	HL8815
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/07/2023 answer text <p>Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.</p><p>Schools are responsible for making decisions about what technology to buy to meet their pupils’ needs, and how best to use it support their teaching.</p><p>The government delivered over 1.95 million laptops and tablets to schools, trusts, local authorities and further education (FE) providers for disadvantaged children and young people as part of a £520 million government investment to support access to remote education and online social care services. These laptops and tablets are now owned by schools, trusts, local authorities or FE providers, who can lend them to children and young people who need them the most. These laptops and tablets were an injection of support on top of the estimated 2.9 million that were already owned by schools before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.</p><p>Building on its success in the pandemic, Oak National Academy was established as an arm’s length body on 1 September 2022, working independently of the government and collaboratively with the education sector. Oak aims to support teachers to improve curriculum delivery, reduce workload and support improved pupil outcomes, and continues to provide a remote education contingency. Oak will work with teachers across the country, giving them and their pupils access to free, optional, and adaptable high-quality digital curriculum resources.</p><p>The government has provided over £2.6 billion of pupil premium funding in the 2022/23 financial year to support pupils from lower income families. Rates will increase by 5% for 2023/24, taking total pupil premium funding to £2.9 billion. As set out in the menu of approaches, schools can use both pupil premium and recovery premium on technology and other resources that support high quality teaching.</p><p>Social tariffs offer low-cost landline and broadband services for those on certain means tested benefits. The government is encouraging those providers who do not currently offer social tariff packages, to do so. A range of affordable tariffs, designed specifically to support low-income families, are now available to 99% of UK households. BT, Virgin Media O2, Sky, Vodafone, and other providers offer broadband and mobile social tariffs for as little as £10 per month, representing a significant saving for households in receipt of Universal Credit and other means tested benefits.</p><p>In addition, the government secured a range of commitments from the UK’s major broadband and mobile providers to support families through the global rise in the cost of living. These commitments include more manageable payment plans, switching to a cheaper package free of charge, or taking a more affordable social tariff if the customer is eligible. The government encourages people to contact their provider to see what support is available. Awareness and take up of social tariffs need to improve. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is working with the sector to urge those providers who have yet to offer a social tariff to do so, and for the industry to ensure that offers are publicised.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 11/07/2023 13:12:42 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	3801 label Biography information for Lord Browne of Belmont