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1658891

	registered interest
	date	06/09/2023
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Schools: Buildings
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential risks of schools in England that have been built using reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.
	tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
	uin	HL9957
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/09/2023 answer text <p>Nothing is more important than the safety of children and staff. It has always been the case that where we are made aware of a building that may pose an immediate risk, the Department takes immediate action.</p><p>It is the responsibility of those who run schools – academy trusts, Local Authorities, and voluntary-aided school bodies – who work with their schools on a day-to-day basis, to manage the safety and maintenance of their schools and to alert us if there is a concern with a building.</p><p>The Department has acted decisively and proactively to tackle this issue. This Government has taken more proactive action on RAAC than any other in the UK. The Department issued comprehensive guidance in 2018, and subsequent years, to all responsible bodies highlighting the potential risks associated with RAAC and supporting them to identify this within their buildings, as well as to take appropriate steps in meeting their obligations to keep buildings safe. The most recent guidance is available at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reinforced-autoclaved-aerated-concrete-estates-guidance" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reinforced-autoclaved-aerated-concrete-estates-guidance</a>.</p><p>There are over 22,000 schools and colleges in England, and the vast majority are unaffected. A significant proportion of the estate was built outside the period where RAAC was used, with around one third of the estate built since 2001, therefore, the Department has focused efforts on buildings built in the post-war decades.</p><p>The Department issued a questionnaire in March 2022, asking responsible bodies to inform the Department of any suspected RAAC identified in their estates. Responsible bodies have submitted questionnaires for over 98% of schools with blocks built in the target era, of which there are 14,900. We are pressing all remaining schools to get checks completed, to determine which schools require surveys.</p><p>The Department is contacting responsible bodies to help them respond to this request and to advise on what needs to be done, so that they can establish whether they believe they have RAAC. This work will continue until we have a response for all target era schools.</p><p>Schools and colleges where RAAC is suspected are being fast tracked for surveying, which is used to confirm whether RAAC is actually present. All schools and colleges that have already told us they suspect they might have RAAC will be surveyed within a matter of weeks, in many cases in a matter of days.</p><p>All schools where RAAC is confirmed are provided with a dedicated caseworker to support them and help implement a mitigation plan and minimise the disruption to children’s learning.</p><p>Across Government, Departments have been asked to report on the current picture of suspected and confirmed RAAC in their estates as soon as possible. This will be updated on a regular basis as new buildings are identified and surveying and remediation are carried out. The Department for Education published lists of education settings confirmed as having RAAC on Wednesday 6 September, and committed to providing further updates.</p><p>Schools will contact parents where RAAC is identified and inform them of any impacts on their child. The vast majority of schools are unaffected. Any parents that are unsure if their child’s school is affected should contact their school directly.</p><p>While some short term disruption is inevitable, all available measures will be taken to minimise disruption to pupil learning and ensure that pupils continue to receive face-to-face teaching. Where there is any disturbance to face-to-face education, schools will prioritise attendance for vulnerable children and young people and children of key workers. The guidance published by the Department in August also includes guidance on provision for pupils with SEND and sets out expectations that schools continue to provide free school meals to eligible pupils.</p><p>The Department will fund emergency mitigation work needed to make buildings safe, including installing alternative classroom space where necessary. Where schools and colleges need additional help with revenue costs, like transport to locations or temporarily renting a local hall or office, the department will provide that support for all reasonable requests. The Department will also fund longer term refurbishment projects, or rebuilding projects where these are needed, to rectify the RAAC issue in the long term.</p><p>All previously confirmed School Rebuilding Programme projects announced in 2021 and 2022 will continue to go ahead. A full list of confirmed projects can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-rebuilding-programme-schools-in-the-programme" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-rebuilding-programme-schools-in-the-programme</a>.</p><p>Further information on RAAC in education settings is available on the Education Hub: <a href="https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/09/06/new-guidance-on-raac-in-education-settings/" target="_blank">https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/09/06/new-guidance-on-raac-in-education-settings/</a><a href="https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/09/04/new-guidance-on-raac-in-education-settings/" target="_blank">.</a></p> answering member printed Baroness Barran grouped question UIN HL9996 question first answered 19/09/2023 11:36:06 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
	tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1658659

	registered interest
	date	06/09/2023
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Schools: Buildings
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what process her Department has put in place for identifying schools at risk of closure due to reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).
	tabling member constituency	Ipswich
	tabling member printed	Tom Hunt
	uin	198246
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/09/2023 answer text <p>Nothing is more important than the safety of children and staff. It has always been the case that where we are made aware of a building that may pose an immediate risk, the Department takes immediate action.</p><p>It is the responsibility of those who run schools – academy trusts, Local Authorities, and voluntary-aided school bodies – who work with their schools on a day-to-day basis, to manage the safety and maintenance of their schools and to alert us if there is a concern with a building.</p><p>The Department has acted decisively and proactively to tackle this issue. This Government has taken more proactive action on RAAC than any other in the UK. The Department issued comprehensive guidance in 2018, and subsequent years, to all responsible bodies highlighting the potential risks associated with RAAC and supporting them to identify this within their buildings, as well as to take appropriate steps in meeting their obligations to keep buildings safe. The most recent guidance is available at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reinforced-autoclaved-aerated-concrete-estates-guidance" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reinforced-autoclaved-aerated-concrete-estates-guidance</a>.</p><p>There are over 22,000 schools and colleges in England, and the vast majority are unaffected. A significant proportion of the estate was built outside the period where RAAC was used, with around one third of the estate built since 2001, therefore, the Department has focused efforts on buildings built in the post-war decades.</p><p>The Department issued a questionnaire in March 2022, asking responsible bodies to inform the Department of any suspected RAAC identified in their estates. Responsible bodies have submitted questionnaires for over 98% of schools with blocks built in the target era, of which there are 14,900. We are pressing all remaining schools to get checks completed, to determine which schools require surveys.</p><p>The Department is contacting responsible bodies to help them respond to this request and to advise on what needs to be done, so that they can establish whether they believe they have RAAC. This work will continue until we have a response for all target era schools.</p><p>Schools and colleges where RAAC is suspected are being fast tracked for surveying, which is used to confirm whether RAAC is actually present. All schools and colleges that have already told us they suspect they might have RAAC will be surveyed within a matter of weeks, in many cases in a matter of days.</p><p>All schools where RAAC is confirmed are provided with a dedicated caseworker to support them and help implement a mitigation plan and minimise the disruption to children’s learning.</p><p>Across Government, Departments have been asked to report on the current picture of suspected and confirmed RAAC in their estates as soon as possible. This will be updated on a regular basis as new buildings are identified and surveying and remediation are carried out. The Department for Education published lists of education settings confirmed as having RAAC on Wednesday 6 September, and committed to providing further updates.</p><p>Schools will contact parents where RAAC is identified and inform them of any impacts on their child. The vast majority of schools are unaffected. Any parents that are unsure if their child’s school is affected should contact their school directly.</p><p>While some short term disruption is inevitable, all available measures will be taken to minimise disruption to pupil learning and ensure that pupils continue to receive face-to-face teaching. Where there is any disturbance to face-to-face education, schools will prioritise attendance for vulnerable children and young people and children of key workers. The guidance published by the Department in August also includes guidance on provision for pupils with SEND and sets out expectations that schools continue to provide free school meals to eligible pupils.</p><p>The Department will fund emergency mitigation work needed to make buildings safe, including installing alternative classroom space where necessary. Where schools and colleges need additional help with revenue costs, like transport to locations or temporarily renting a local hall or office, the department will provide that support for all reasonable requests. The Department will also fund longer term refurbishment projects, or rebuilding projects where these are needed, to rectify the RAAC issue in the long term.</p><p>All previously confirmed Schol Rebuilding Programme projects announced in 2021 and 2022 will continue to go ahead. A full list of confirmed projects can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-rebuilding-programme-schools-in-the-programme" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-rebuilding-programme-schools-in-the-programme</a>.</p><p>Further information on RAAC in education settings is available on the Education Hub: <a href="https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/09/06/new-guidance-on-raac-in-education-settings/" target="_blank">https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/09/06/new-guidance-on-raac-in-education-settings/</a><a href="https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/09/04/new-guidance-on-raac-in-education-settings/" target="_blank">.</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb grouped question UIN 195297 195298 195299 197045 197366 197369 197478 197492 197557 197558 197559 197603 197613 197809 197863 197864 197870 197920 197971 197972 197973 197974 198247 198255 198384 198393 198465 198466 198467 198572 198573 198575 199083 199254 199665 199666 199670 question first answered 18/09/2023 20:03:34 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
	tabling member	4771 label Biography information for Tom Hunt

1658660

	registered interest
	date	06/09/2023
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Schools: Buildings
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, in what timeframe parents can expect to hear whether their child’s school is affected by reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).
	tabling member constituency	Ipswich
	tabling member printed	Tom Hunt
	uin	198247
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/09/2023 answer text <p>Nothing is more important than the safety of children and staff. It has always been the case that where we are made aware of a building that may pose an immediate risk, the Department takes immediate action.</p><p>It is the responsibility of those who run schools – academy trusts, Local Authorities, and voluntary-aided school bodies – who work with their schools on a day-to-day basis, to manage the safety and maintenance of their schools and to alert us if there is a concern with a building.</p><p>The Department has acted decisively and proactively to tackle this issue. This Government has taken more proactive action on RAAC than any other in the UK. The Department issued comprehensive guidance in 2018, and subsequent years, to all responsible bodies highlighting the potential risks associated with RAAC and supporting them to identify this within their buildings, as well as to take appropriate steps in meeting their obligations to keep buildings safe. The most recent guidance is available at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reinforced-autoclaved-aerated-concrete-estates-guidance" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reinforced-autoclaved-aerated-concrete-estates-guidance</a>.</p><p>There are over 22,000 schools and colleges in England, and the vast majority are unaffected. A significant proportion of the estate was built outside the period where RAAC was used, with around one third of the estate built since 2001, therefore, the Department has focused efforts on buildings built in the post-war decades.</p><p>The Department issued a questionnaire in March 2022, asking responsible bodies to inform the Department of any suspected RAAC identified in their estates. Responsible bodies have submitted questionnaires for over 98% of schools with blocks built in the target era, of which there are 14,900. We are pressing all remaining schools to get checks completed, to determine which schools require surveys.</p><p>The Department is contacting responsible bodies to help them respond to this request and to advise on what needs to be done, so that they can establish whether they believe they have RAAC. This work will continue until we have a response for all target era schools.</p><p>Schools and colleges where RAAC is suspected are being fast tracked for surveying, which is used to confirm whether RAAC is actually present. All schools and colleges that have already told us they suspect they might have RAAC will be surveyed within a matter of weeks, in many cases in a matter of days.</p><p>All schools where RAAC is confirmed are provided with a dedicated caseworker to support them and help implement a mitigation plan and minimise the disruption to children’s learning.</p><p>Across Government, Departments have been asked to report on the current picture of suspected and confirmed RAAC in their estates as soon as possible. This will be updated on a regular basis as new buildings are identified and surveying and remediation are carried out. The Department for Education published lists of education settings confirmed as having RAAC on Wednesday 6 September, and committed to providing further updates.</p><p>Schools will contact parents where RAAC is identified and inform them of any impacts on their child. The vast majority of schools are unaffected. Any parents that are unsure if their child’s school is affected should contact their school directly.</p><p>While some short term disruption is inevitable, all available measures will be taken to minimise disruption to pupil learning and ensure that pupils continue to receive face-to-face teaching. Where there is any disturbance to face-to-face education, schools will prioritise attendance for vulnerable children and young people and children of key workers. The guidance published by the Department in August also includes guidance on provision for pupils with SEND and sets out expectations that schools continue to provide free school meals to eligible pupils.</p><p>The Department will fund emergency mitigation work needed to make buildings safe, including installing alternative classroom space where necessary. Where schools and colleges need additional help with revenue costs, like transport to locations or temporarily renting a local hall or office, the department will provide that support for all reasonable requests. The Department will also fund longer term refurbishment projects, or rebuilding projects where these are needed, to rectify the RAAC issue in the long term.</p><p>All previously confirmed Schol Rebuilding Programme projects announced in 2021 and 2022 will continue to go ahead. A full list of confirmed projects can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-rebuilding-programme-schools-in-the-programme" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-rebuilding-programme-schools-in-the-programme</a>.</p><p>Further information on RAAC in education settings is available on the Education Hub: <a href="https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/09/06/new-guidance-on-raac-in-education-settings/" target="_blank">https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/09/06/new-guidance-on-raac-in-education-settings/</a><a href="https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/09/04/new-guidance-on-raac-in-education-settings/" target="_blank">.</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb grouped question UIN 195297 195298 195299 197045 197366 197369 197478 197492 197557 197558 197559 197603 197613 197809 197863 197864 197870 197920 197971 197972 197973 197974 198246 198255 198384 198393 198465 198466 198467 198572 198573 198575 199083 199254 199665 199666 199670 question first answered 18/09/2023 20:03:34 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
	tabling member	4771 label Biography information for Tom Hunt

1658714

	registered interest
	date	06/09/2023
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Schools: Enfield North
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has (a) contacted every school in Enfield North constituency that may be affected by the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, (b) assigned a caseworker to each affected school and (c) informed the relevant local authority of their (i) findings and (ii) actions.
	tabling member constituency	Enfield North
	tabling member printed	Feryal Clark
	uin	198255
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/09/2023 answer text <p>Nothing is more important than the safety of children and staff. It has always been the case that where we are made aware of a building that may pose an immediate risk, the Department takes immediate action.</p><p>It is the responsibility of those who run schools – academy trusts, Local Authorities, and voluntary-aided school bodies – who work with their schools on a day-to-day basis, to manage the safety and maintenance of their schools and to alert us if there is a concern with a building.</p><p>The Department has acted decisively and proactively to tackle this issue. This Government has taken more proactive action on RAAC than any other in the UK. The Department issued comprehensive guidance in 2018, and subsequent years, to all responsible bodies highlighting the potential risks associated with RAAC and supporting them to identify this within their buildings, as well as to take appropriate steps in meeting their obligations to keep buildings safe. The most recent guidance is available at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reinforced-autoclaved-aerated-concrete-estates-guidance" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reinforced-autoclaved-aerated-concrete-estates-guidance</a>.</p><p>There are over 22,000 schools and colleges in England, and the vast majority are unaffected. A significant proportion of the estate was built outside the period where RAAC was used, with around one third of the estate built since 2001, therefore, the Department has focused efforts on buildings built in the post-war decades.</p><p>The Department issued a questionnaire in March 2022, asking responsible bodies to inform the Department of any suspected RAAC identified in their estates. Responsible bodies have submitted questionnaires for over 98% of schools with blocks built in the target era, of which there are 14,900. We are pressing all remaining schools to get checks completed, to determine which schools require surveys.</p><p>The Department is contacting responsible bodies to help them respond to this request and to advise on what needs to be done, so that they can establish whether they believe they have RAAC. This work will continue until we have a response for all target era schools.</p><p>Schools and colleges where RAAC is suspected are being fast tracked for surveying, which is used to confirm whether RAAC is actually present. All schools and colleges that have already told us they suspect they might have RAAC will be surveyed within a matter of weeks, in many cases in a matter of days.</p><p>All schools where RAAC is confirmed are provided with a dedicated caseworker to support them and help implement a mitigation plan and minimise the disruption to children’s learning.</p><p>Across Government, Departments have been asked to report on the current picture of suspected and confirmed RAAC in their estates as soon as possible. This will be updated on a regular basis as new buildings are identified and surveying and remediation are carried out. The Department for Education published lists of education settings confirmed as having RAAC on Wednesday 6 September, and committed to providing further updates.</p><p>Schools will contact parents where RAAC is identified and inform them of any impacts on their child. The vast majority of schools are unaffected. Any parents that are unsure if their child’s school is affected should contact their school directly.</p><p>While some short term disruption is inevitable, all available measures will be taken to minimise disruption to pupil learning and ensure that pupils continue to receive face-to-face teaching. Where there is any disturbance to face-to-face education, schools will prioritise attendance for vulnerable children and young people and children of key workers. The guidance published by the Department in August also includes guidance on provision for pupils with SEND and sets out expectations that schools continue to provide free school meals to eligible pupils.</p><p>The Department will fund emergency mitigation work needed to make buildings safe, including installing alternative classroom space where necessary. Where schools and colleges need additional help with revenue costs, like transport to locations or temporarily renting a local hall or office, the department will provide that support for all reasonable requests. The Department will also fund longer term refurbishment projects, or rebuilding projects where these are needed, to rectify the RAAC issue in the long term.</p><p>All previously confirmed Schol Rebuilding Programme projects announced in 2021 and 2022 will continue to go ahead. A full list of confirmed projects can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-rebuilding-programme-schools-in-the-programme" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-rebuilding-programme-schools-in-the-programme</a>.</p><p>Further information on RAAC in education settings is available on the Education Hub: <a href="https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/09/06/new-guidance-on-raac-in-education-settings/" target="_blank">https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/09/06/new-guidance-on-raac-in-education-settings/</a><a href="https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/09/04/new-guidance-on-raac-in-education-settings/" target="_blank">.</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb grouped question UIN 195297 195298 195299 197045 197366 197369 197478 197492 197557 197558 197559 197603 197613 197809 197863 197864 197870 197920 197971 197972 197973 197974 198246 198247 198384 198393 198465 198466 198467 198572 198573 198575 199083 199254 199665 199666 199670 question first answered 18/09/2023 20:03:34 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
	tabling member	4822 label Biography information for Feryal Clark

1658613

	registered interest
	date	06/09/2023
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Children: Social Services
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of Birmingham Council issuing a Section 114 notice on children’s social (a) care and (b) services in Birmingham.
	tabling member constituency	Dulwich and West Norwood
	tabling member printed	Helen Hayes
	uin	198152
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/09/2023 answer text <p>Councils are responsible for their own finances and the decision to issue a Section 114 notice is one taken locally. The issuing of a notice means the council is subject to a 21-day spending prohibition during which the council may not enter into any new spending agreement without approval by the Chief Financial Officer.</p><p>Birmingham City Council are tightening their current financial controls, and a framework will be set in place to ensure they have a complete grip, whilst ensuring that statutory and key services to children and vulnerable people are not affected because of these controls.</p><p>The Department for Education, along with colleagues from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and the SEND Commissioner remain in regular contact with Birmingham City Council and will continue to monitor the situation closely.</p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston grouped question UIN 198202 question first answered 15/09/2023 13:15:44 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
	tabling member	4510 label Biography information for Helen Hayes

1658742

	registered interest
	date	06/09/2023
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Social Services: Birmingham
	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 help ensure that (a) children's safeguarding, (b) social care and (c) other essential services continue in Birmingham.
	tabling member constituency	Solihull
	tabling member printed	Julian Knight
	uin	198202
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/09/2023 answer text <p>Councils are responsible for their own finances and the decision to issue a Section 114 notice is one taken locally. The issuing of a notice means the council is subject to a 21-day spending prohibition during which the council may not enter into any new spending agreement without approval by the Chief Financial Officer.</p><p>Birmingham City Council are tightening their current financial controls, and a framework will be set in place to ensure they have a complete grip, whilst ensuring that statutory and key services to children and vulnerable people are not affected because of these controls.</p><p>The Department for Education, along with colleagues from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and the SEND Commissioner remain in regular contact with Birmingham City Council and will continue to monitor the situation closely.</p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston grouped question UIN 198152 question first answered 15/09/2023 13:15:44 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
	tabling member	4410 label Biography information for Julian Knight

1658547

	registered interest
	date	06/09/2023
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Teachers: Sick Leave and Vacancies
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to reduce (a) permanent vacancies and (b) sickness absences among teachers.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	198045
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/09/2023 answer text <p>Education is a devolved matter, and this response outlines relevant information for England only.</p><p> </p><p>Recent data shows that there are now over 468,000 full time equivalent (FTE) teachers in state funded schools in England, which is an increase of 27,000 (6%) since 2010. This makes it the highest number of FTE teachers on record since the School Workforce Census began in 2010.</p><p> </p><p>The Department is taking action to increase teacher recruitment and retention and reduce vacancies. The Department accepted, in full, the School Teachers’ Review Body’s recommendations for the 2023/24 pay award for teachers and head teachers, resulting in a pay award of 6.5%. This is the highest pay award for teachers in over thirty years. The Department has put in place tax free bursaries worth £27,000 and tax free scholarships worth £29,000 , to encourage talented trainees in key subjects such as mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing to apply to teacher training.</p><p> </p><p>Additionally, the Department supports schools and trusts with their recruitment through Teaching Vacancies. The Department’s free vacancy listing service for state funded schools in England can be found here: <a href="https://teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/" target="_blank">https://teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/</a>.</p><p> </p><p>Staff wellbeing is a crucial element of our commitment to recruit and retain more teachers. The Department has published a range of resources to help schools address teacher workload issues, prioritise staff wellbeing and support schools to introduce flexible working practices.</p><p> </p><p>The Department has worked in partnership with the education sector and mental health experts to develop the Education Staff Wellbeing Charter which can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/education-staff-wellbeing-charter" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/education-staff-wellbeing-charter</a>. Building on a successful pilot, the Department is also funding the charity, Education Support, to provide professional supervision and counselling to school and college head teachers . Over 1000 head teachers have benefitted from this support so far and the Department recently announced the expansion of the programme, by doubling places for this year. School and college leaders can find support by visiting Education Support's website, which is available at: <a href="https://www.educationsupport.org.uk/get-help/help-for-your-staff/wellbeing-services/school-and-fe-leaders-service/" target="_blank">https://www.educationsupport.org.uk/get-help/help-for-your-staff/wellbeing-services/school-and-fe-leaders-service/</a>.</p><p> </p><p>The Department does not provide guidance on teachers’ sick leave. For most teachers, sick leave entitlements are set out in the Burgundy Book national agreement. This is an agreement on conditions of service between Unions and Local Authorities, facilitated by the Local Government Association, which the Department has no jurisdiction or input into. The vast majority of Local Authorities follow the terms of the Burgundy Book scheme, which is incorporated into their teachers’ contracts of employment.</p><p> </p><p>All schools must ensure that they oversee the health and welfare of their staff and should have a clear sickness absence management policy. Governing bodies may find it helpful to refer to Acas’s Managing Absence guidance, available at: <a href="https://www.acas.org.uk/creating-absence-policies" target="_blank">https://www.acas.org.uk/creating-absence-policies</a>.</p><p> </p><p>The Health and Safety Executive also provides extensive advice on managing sickness absence and returning to work, which includes a toolkit to help with absence management, which can be found here: <a href="https://www.hse.gov.uk/sicknessabsence/" target="_blank">https://www.hse.gov.uk/sicknessabsence/</a>.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 15/09/2023 13:14:49 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1658575

	registered interest
	date	06/09/2023
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Pupils: Absenteeism
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to reduce absence rates of pupils in secondary schools.
	tabling member constituency	Bolton North East
	tabling member printed	Mark Logan
	uin	198236
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/09/2023 answer text <p>This Government understands how important school attendance is for pupils’ education, wellbeing, and life chances. The Department’s approach to tackling attendance is a support-first strategy.</p><p>​</p><p>​The Department published stronger expectations of schools, trusts, governing bodies and Local Authorities in the ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ guidance. Schools are now expected to publish an attendance policy, appoint an attendance champion, and use data to identify and then support pupils at risk of becoming persistently absent. The Department deployed 10 expert attendance advisers to work with 155 Local Authorities and trusts to review practices, develop plans to improve and meet expectations set out in the guidance. To help identify children at risk of persistent absence and to enable early intervention, the Department established a timelier flow of pupil level attendance data through the daily attendance data collection. The ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ guidance can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-improve-school-attendance" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-improve-school-attendance</a>.</p><p>​</p><p>​The launch of the £2.32 million attendance mentor pilot aims to deliver intensive one-to-one support to a group of persistently and severely absent pupils from year 6 through to year 11. The findings from this pilot should enable schools, trusts, and Local Authorities to address persistent and severe absence more effectively. The Department recently launched new attendance hubs with ten lead schools sharing their effective practice on attendance with up to 600 partner schools, reaching hundreds of thousands of pupils. This is alongside intensive support to children in need through Virtual Schools Heads.</p><p>​</p><p>​The Secretary of State and I co-chair the ‘Attendance Action Alliance’ of national system leaders to work to remove barriers to attendance and reduce absence through pledges. This is in addition to the £5 billion that has been made available for education recovery, helping pupils to recover from the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic. This funding includes up to £1.5 billion on tutoring and nearly £2 billion of direct funding to schools so they can deliver evidence-based interventions based on pupil needs.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 15/09/2023 13:18:02 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
	tabling member	4815 label Biography information for Mark Logan

1658594

	registered interest
	date	06/09/2023
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Children: Exercise
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has taken recent steps to help ensure that children from nursery to school leaving age engage in a daily active mile.
	tabling member constituency	York Central
	tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
	uin	198136
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/09/2023 answer text <p>The Department has been working alongside The Daily Mile and Sport England to support more nurseries and schools to take up the Daily Mile. Sport England has committed nearly £2 million of public funding between 2018 and 2024 to increase participation and build sustainable partnerships. Currently over 8,000 nurseries and schools in England are signed up to take part.</p><p>The Department has promoted the Daily Mile to Early Years settings through the Department’s Foundation Years website. Local Authority Holiday Activity and Food programme (HAF) coordinators and providers have received information through webinars and weekly newsletters on the Daily Mile, highlighting the programme to provide physical activity in HAF clubs.</p><p>The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has highlighted the Daily Mile within ‘Get Active’, the Government’s new sport strategy, as a successful programme to raise physical activity levels of pupils. The strategy was published in August and introduces an ambition that all pupils should meet the Chief Medical Officers’ guidelines on physical activity, supported by a target of over 1 million more active pupils by 2030.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 15/09/2023 13:17:21 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
	tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1658614

	registered interest
	date	06/09/2023
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Special Educational Needs: Birmingham
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of Birmingham Council issuing a Section 114 notice on (a) services for children with special educational needs and disabilities and (b) the processing of Education, Health and Care plan applications.
	tabling member constituency	Dulwich and West Norwood
	tabling member printed	Helen Hayes
	uin	198153
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/09/2023 answer text <p>Councils are responsible for their own finances and the decision to issue a Section 114 notice is one taken locally. The issuing of a notice means the council is subject to a 21-day spending prohibition during which the council may not enter into any new spending agreement without approval by the Chief Financial Officer.</p><p>Birmingham City Council are tightening their current financial controls, and a framework will be set in place to ensure they have a complete grip, whilst ensuring that statutory and key services to children and vulnerable people are not affected because of these controls.</p><p>Departmental officials, along with colleagues from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and our Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Commissioner remain in regular contact with Birmingham City Council, and we will continue to monitor the situation closely.</p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston question first answered 15/09/2023 18:06:37 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
	tabling member	4510 label Biography information for Helen Hayes