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1137429

registered interest
date	08/07/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Disabled Students' Allowances
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to merge the allowances for non-medical, equipment and general support for disabled students’ allowance to permit more flexibility in how that allowance may be spent by undergraduate students.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	274435
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2019 answer text <p>The department has no plans to merge the 4 separate Disabled Students’ Allowances currently available to undergraduate students.</p> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore question first answered 15/07/2019 15:16:07 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1137209

registered interest
date	05/07/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Disabled Students' Allowances
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that the specification of laptops supplied to students with vision impairment through the disabled students’ allowance is updated allow updating of necessary software over the duration of degree programme.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	273733
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/07/2019 answer text <p>The department is currently reviewing the specification of equipment provided to visually impaired students, to ensure that it remains fit for purpose throughout the duration of students’ courses.</p><p> </p><p>Students that experience issues with their equipment are advised to contact their assessment centre or Student Finance England so that these issues can be considered and rectified.</p> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore question first answered 10/07/2019 14:25:54 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1133350

registered interest
date	19/06/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Schools: Bereavement Counselling
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department plans to implement a national bereavement policy for schools to help assist children who have experienced the death of a member of their immediate family.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	266650
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/06/2019 answer text <p>The Department’s Mental Health and Behaviour guidance includes links to sources of information and support, including on how to respond to bereavement and other traumatic events. This includes MindEd, which the Government has funded to provide online advice and training on mental health for all professionals working with children and young people. Information on MindEd is available here: <a href="https://www.minded.org.uk/" target="_blank">https://www.minded.org.uk/</a>.</p><p>The Department has also provided advice to schools on how to provide access to high quality school-based counselling, available here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/counselling-in-schools" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/counselling-in-schools</a>.</p><p>Where children need specialist support, it is important that schools are able to make referrals quickly. The NHS long term plan sets out how specialist mental health support will be increased, including through access to crisis care 24 hours a day by 2023/24. It also includes support for at least an additional 345,000 children and young people to access NHS funded mental health services, including through new mental health support teams linked to schools and colleges.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 28/06/2019 08:49:35 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1131850

registered interest
date	12/06/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Primary Education: Admissions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the recent London School of Economics report which has found that children with special educational needs and disabilities who attend nurseries based in primary schools are significantly less likely than their peers to be admitted into the school’s reception class.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	263684
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/06/2019 answer text <p>The government’s ambition for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) is the same for every other child: to make the most of early education, thrive in school and to live happy fulfilled lives.</p><p> </p><p>The London School of Economics report focusses on data related to the behaviour of schools and a cohort of children born into the 2006/07 academic year. This report does not consider parental choice in that some children may have gone onto a special school rather than the primary school they attended as their preschool choice.</p><p> </p><p>Where a child’s education health care (EHC) plan names a school, the child must be admitted to that school. Where a child does not have an EHC plan, places will be allocated in accordance with the school's published admission arrangements.</p><p> </p><p>Furthermore, all mainstream state-funded schools must comply with the school admissions code and wider admissions law, as well as with equalities law. The code is clear that admission authorities must ensure their arrangements will not disadvantage unfairly, directly or indirectly a child with SEND.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Stratford-on-Avon answering member printed Nadhim Zahawi question first answered 21/06/2019 11:14:09 answering member 4113 label Biography information for Nadhim Zahawi
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1126802

registered interest
date	15/05/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children's Centres
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make it his policy to (a) reverse the closure of children's centres and (b) publish a strategy for the long-term expansion of the provision of children's centres.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	254727
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2019 answer text <p>As set out in the government response to recommendation 13 of the Education Select Committee report on tackling disadvantage in the early years, published on 4 April 2019, we are clear that children’s centres have an important role to play in achieving my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education’s social mobility ambition, but it is right for local authorities to decide how to use them as part of the wider system of local services. The government response can be accessed here: <a href="https://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/Education/Correspondence/Government-response-to-committee-9th-report-tackling-disadvantage-in-the-early-years-CP-68.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/Education/Correspondence/Government-response-to-committee-9th-report-tackling-disadvantage-in-the-early-years-CP-68.pdf</a>, the select committee report can be accessed here: <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmeduc/1006/1006.pdf" target="_blank">https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmeduc/1006/1006.pdf</a>.</p><p>The government’s role is to engage with the sector, find out what works and support local areas to make the right decisions for their communities, which is why we have commissioned the Early Intervention Foundation (EIF) to examine research and practice evidence with the aim of developing tools to help local authorities make informed choices about their children’s centre provision. The EIF project is part of the Department for Education’s £8.5 million local government programme, which will inform the next steps, including considering any future consultation, on children’s centres. Funding for the local government programme runs until March 2020, with evidence and learning emerging by its conclusion.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Stratford-on-Avon answering member printed Nadhim Zahawi question first answered 22/05/2019 13:11:22 answering member 4113 label Biography information for Nadhim Zahawi
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1123945

registered interest
date	30/04/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Swimming: Primary Education
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make it his policy to introduce a statutory requirement to provide primary school (a) teaching and (b) support staff with (i) training and (ii) regular up-skilling in swimming and water safety; and if he will ensure that all pupils of primary age have adequate opportunities to access publicly-funded swimming facilities.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	249198
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/05/2019 answer text <p>Swimming is a vital life skill, which is why swimming and water safety are compulsory elements of the national curriculum physical education (PE) at key stages 1 and 2. It sets out the expectation that pupils should be taught to:</p><ul><li>swim competently, confidently and proficiently over a distance of at least 25 metres;</li><li>use a range of strokes effectively; and</li><li>perform safe self-rescue in different water-based situations.</li></ul><p> </p><p>The government asked the Swim Group, which includes representatives from across the swimming and education sector, to submit an independent report setting out recommendations for improving curriculum swimming, as part of the Sporting Future strategy. The department has worked closely with Swim England and other members of the Swim group to review the recommendations in their report. In October 2018, we announced that schools would receive extra support to help all pupils to swim and know how to be safe in the water by the time they leave primary school. This included guidance to schools on:</p><p> </p><ul><li>effective use of the PE and sport premium to support additional teacher training and top-up swimming for those children not yet able to meet the national curriculum requirements after core lessons;</li><li>a drive to boost partnerships between independent schools to offer the use of facilities, coaching and other forms of support to schools in their area;</li><li>new guidance from Swim England and the Swim Group for swimming providers, primary schools, swimming teachers and parents and carers.</li></ul><p> </p><p>Information on school swimming pools is not held centrally. Since 2012, Sport England has invested £67 million into 46 new local authority facilities which include pools, resulting in around £700 million investment from those authorities. In addition, Sport England is currently working with around 100 local authorities which have plans for new pool provision.</p><p> </p><p>Sport England also provide guidance to local authorities on facility management options and specifications, this guidance is currently under review and will be available in the forthcoming months.</p><p> </p><p>The new guidance will contain information on pool programming from Swim England and will reference good practice where facility management organisations have worked in cooperation with primary schools to improve logistics in relation to delivery of school swimming.</p> answering member constituency Stratford-on-Avon answering member printed Nadhim Zahawi question first answered 09/05/2019 14:09:41 answering member 4113 label Biography information for Nadhim Zahawi
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1123946

registered interest
date	30/04/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children's Play
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make it his policy to implement the child's right to play in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child through the establishment of a national play strategy.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	249199
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/05/2019 answer text <p>The UK government remains fully committed to children’s rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and I reaffirmed our commitment in my Written Ministerial Statement on 20 November 2018.</p><p>The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Statutory Framework sets the regulatory standards for ‘learning and development’ and ‘safeguarding and welfare’ requirements for all early years providers caring for children from birth to 5. The framework defines 7 areas of learning and development and is clear that each area must be implemented through planned, purposeful play and through a mix of adult-led and child-initiated activity.</p><p>The EYFS Statutory Framework is available at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-framework--2" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-framework--2</a>.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Stratford-on-Avon answering member printed Nadhim Zahawi question first answered 09/05/2019 14:19:10 answering member 4113 label Biography information for Nadhim Zahawi
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1123950

registered interest
date	30/04/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children's Play
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has made an assessment of the (a) quality, (b) number and (c) adequacy of the content of local authority play strategies throughout England.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	249200
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/05/2019 answer text <p>The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Statutory Framework sets the regulatory standards for ‘learning and development’ and ‘safeguarding and welfare’ requirements for all early years providers caring for children from birth to 5. The framework defines 7 areas of learning and development and is clear that each area must be implemented through planned, purposeful play and through a mix of adult-led and child-initiated activity.</p><p>The department is not currently reviewing local authority play strategies in England. The EYFS does not promote a particular pedagogical approach - instead, it is for individual early years settings to determine how the areas of learning should be implemented to support children to meet the expected level of development by the end of the reception year.</p> answering member constituency Stratford-on-Avon answering member printed Nadhim Zahawi question first answered 08/05/2019 07:45:46 answering member 4113 label Biography information for Nadhim Zahawi
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1109455

registered interest
date	03/04/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Pupil Exclusions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of school exclusions.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	240479
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/04/2019 answer text <p>The Department supports head teachers in using exclusion where this is warranted.</p><p>In March 2018, the Government launched an externally led review of exclusions practice, led by Edward Timpson CBE. The review is exploring how head teachers use exclusion, and why pupils with particular characteristics are more likely to be excluded from school. It is also considering the differences in exclusion rates across primary and secondary schools in England.</p><p>The review along with the Government response will be published in due course. The full terms of reference for the review can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-exclusions-review-terms-of-reference" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-exclusions-review-terms-of-reference</a>.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 08/04/2019 15:36:54 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1109467

registered interest
date	03/04/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children: Day Care
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he has taken to increase the number of available childcare places for parents working full-time.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	240484
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/04/2019 answer text <p>The department has taken several steps to increase the number of available childcare places for parents working full-time. These include the following:</p><p> </p><ul><li>In June 2016, the department invited local authorities to apply to the Early Years Capital Fund, through which we have allocated £100 million of capital funding to help nurseries, pre-schools and playgroups to create additional places for eligible children from working families.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>Further, in July 2018, we announced the School Nurseries Capital Fund. This is a £30 million capital fund which aims to create new high-quality, school-based nursery places for 2, 3 and 4 year olds.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>The department has funded Childcare Works to provide expert support to local authorities and childcare providers about maintaining and improving sufficient childcare places in their local area. This has included national events focussing on sufficiency planning and bespoke support for local authorities to strengthen their sufficiency assessments. We have also promoted flexible childcare business models and allocated £7.7 million to 147 local authorities through our Delivery Support Fund, specifically to create additional 30 hours places.</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Stratford-on-Avon answering member printed Nadhim Zahawi question first answered 10/04/2019 16:11:38 answering member 4113 label Biography information for Nadhim Zahawi
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe