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1699082

	registered interest
	date	26/03/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Special Educational Needs: Staff
	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 encourage more people to consider a career as a (a) SEND teacher and (b) member of support staff in a SEND school.
	tabling member constituency	Bosworth
	tabling member printed	Dr Luke Evans
	uin	20786
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2024 answer text <p>High-quality, well-supported teaching is the single most important in-school factor in improving outcomes for children, and it is particularly important for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds and those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). That is why, on top of last years’ teacher pay award of 6.5%, which was the highest in over thirty years, the department ensures that an additional SEND allowance of up to £5,009 per year must be paid to teachers in a SEND post that requires a mandatory special educational needs qualification and involves teaching pupils with SEND.</p><p>The department is further encouraging people to consider becoming teachers, including teachers of SEND, through its Get into Teaching service and marketing campaign. The campaign provides inspiration and support to explore a career in teaching and directs people to the Get into Teaching service’s website.</p><p>Through the website, prospective trainees can access support and advice through expert one-to-one Teacher Training Advisers, a contact centre, and a national programme of events. The long-standing campaign has established a strong brand identity for teaching over time and continues to do so across the teacher lifecycle, supporting initial teacher training (ITT) recruitment whilst aiming to raise the status and improve perceptions of the profession over time.</p><p>The department has put in place a range of measures, including bursaries worth £28,000 tax-free and scholarships worth £30,000 tax-free, to encourage talented trainees to key subjects such as mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing. The ITT financial incentives package for the 2024/25 recruitment cycle is worth up to £196 million, a £15 million increase on the last cycle.</p><p>The department is also offering a Levelling Up Premium worth up to £3,000 after tax for mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing teachers in the first five years of their careers who choose to work in disadvantaged schools, including in Education Investment Areas. For 2024/25 and 2025/26, the department will be doubling the rates of the Levelling Up Premium to up to £6,000 after tax. This will support recruitment and retention of specialist teachers in these subjects and in the schools and areas that need them most.</p><p>The department has published a range of resources to help address teacher workload and wellbeing and support schools to introduce flexible working practices. Similarly, it has convened a workload reduction taskforce to explore how the department can go further to support trust and school leaders to minimise workload for teachers and leaders.</p><p>The government values and appreciates the dedication, professionalism and hard work of support staff, and knows that they play a key role in supporting children and young people with SEND. The department’s education reforms gave schools the freedom to make their own decisions about recruitment, pay, conditions, and use of support staff. Schools should have this freedom as they are best placed to understand their pupils’ needs. To support schools recruit and train teaching assistants, schools can access up to £7,000 in levy funding through the recently revised Level 3 Teaching Assistant apprenticeship.</p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston question first answered 19/04/2024 12:02:42 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
	tabling member	4781 label Biography information for Dr Luke Evans

1698476

	registered interest
	date	25/03/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Academic Freedom
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 21 March 2024 to Question 17725 on Academic Freedom, whether she has had recent discussions with the Office for Students on whether (a) higher education institutions and (b) students’ unions will have enough time to implement the guidance on securing free speech within the law before those obligations enter into force.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
	tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
	uin	20287
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2024 answer text <p>My right hon. Friend, the Member for East Sussex, and former Minister for Children, Families and Wellbeing with responsibility for freedom of speech in the department, met with Professor Arif Ahmed in 2023 following his appointment, and discussed plans for implementation of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act (the Act) over the next two years. I also met with Arif Ahmed on 16 January 2024. The intention has always been for the Office for Students (OfS) to publish any guidance within good time of the Act coming into force to allow the sector sufficient time to consider it. The expectation expressed was that any guidance pertaining to the provisions that come into force on 1 August 2024 would be published by summer 2024, giving the sector the summer period to implement it into their practices.</p><p> </p><p>The department understands that the OfS continues to work towards these timelines as set out on their website here: <a href="https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/quality-and-standards/freedom-of-speech/changes-to-regulation/" target="_blank">https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/quality-and-standards/freedom-of-speech/changes-to-regulation/</a>, although precise timings are a matter for the OfS.</p><p> </p><p>A draft version of the guidance that the OfS intend to issue following consultation has already been published for the sector to consider here: <a href="https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/media/fsvjdljh/regulatory-advice-24-guidance-related-to-freedom-of-speech.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/media/fsvjdljh/regulatory-advice-24-guidance-related-to-freedom-of-speech.pdf</a>.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston question first answered 19/04/2024 11:54:40 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
	tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1698628

	registered interest
	date	25/03/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Schools: Carers
	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 implications for her policies of the number of schools that recorded zero young carers in their most recent school census return; and what steps her Department is taking to improve the identification of young carers in schools.
	tabling member constituency	Twickenham
	tabling member printed	Munira Wilson
	uin	20437
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2024 answer text <p>The most recent published census data on young carers is from January 2023, and can be found here: <a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics/2022-23" target="_blank">https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics/2022-23</a>.</p><p>You can find the number of young carers in each school in column JF of the school level underlying data file – see ‘School level underlying data - 2022/23 (csv, 22 Mb)’ under the heading ‘Additional supporting files’. 17,093 of the total 21,642 state-funded schools recorded no young carers. Statistics from the January 2024 school census will be published in June.</p><p>As this is a new data collection, the department expects the quality of the data returns to improve over time as the collection becomes established. All schools, except nursery schools, must send this information as part of the Spring school census. However, the recording and handling of the information is at the school’s discretion. In 2023, 79% of schools recorded no young carers.</p><p>Young carers make an enormous contribution in caring for their loved ones. The department wants to ensure that they are supported in their education and can take advantage of opportunities beyond their caring responsibilities.</p><p>The department added young carers to the annual school census in 2023, raising the visibility of young carers in the school system and, in time, providing the department with hard evidence on both the numbers of young carers and their educational outcomes.</p><p>The department will be incorporating young carers in the school-level annual school census for independent schools from early 2024 to ensure parity with the school census, which further builds on the department’s data on young carers across the school system.</p><p>The government has published information on how and where young carers can get help and support, encouraging them to speak to someone they trust at their school or college, like a teacher or school nurse, about their caring responsibilities and how this might affect them. As set out in ‘Keeping children safe in education’, the department require Designated Safeguarding Leads to undergo training to provide them with the knowledge and skills to carry out their role, which includes having a good understanding of, and alertness to, the needs of young carers. The guidance can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2</a>.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston grouped question UIN 20436 question first answered 19/04/2024 11:46:35 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
	tabling member	4776 label Biography information for Munira Wilson

1698627

	registered interest
	date	25/03/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Schools: Carers
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools recorded zero young carers in their most recent school census return.
	tabling member constituency	Twickenham
	tabling member printed	Munira Wilson
	uin	20436
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2024 answer text <p>The most recent published census data on young carers is from January 2023, and can be found here: <a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics/2022-23" target="_blank">https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics/2022-23</a>.</p><p>You can find the number of young carers in each school in column JF of the school level underlying data file – see ‘School level underlying data - 2022/23 (csv, 22 Mb)’ under the heading ‘Additional supporting files’. 17,093 of the total 21,642 state-funded schools recorded no young carers. Statistics from the January 2024 school census will be published in June.</p><p>As this is a new data collection, the department expects the quality of the data returns to improve over time as the collection becomes established. All schools, except nursery schools, must send this information as part of the Spring school census. However, the recording and handling of the information is at the school’s discretion. In 2023, 79% of schools recorded no young carers.</p><p>Young carers make an enormous contribution in caring for their loved ones. The department wants to ensure that they are supported in their education and can take advantage of opportunities beyond their caring responsibilities.</p><p>The department added young carers to the annual school census in 2023, raising the visibility of young carers in the school system and, in time, providing the department with hard evidence on both the numbers of young carers and their educational outcomes.</p><p>The department will be incorporating young carers in the school-level annual school census for independent schools from early 2024 to ensure parity with the school census, which further builds on the department’s data on young carers across the school system.</p><p>The government has published information on how and where young carers can get help and support, encouraging them to speak to someone they trust at their school or college, like a teacher or school nurse, about their caring responsibilities and how this might affect them. As set out in ‘Keeping children safe in education’, the department require Designated Safeguarding Leads to undergo training to provide them with the knowledge and skills to carry out their role, which includes having a good understanding of, and alertness to, the needs of young carers. The guidance can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2</a>.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston grouped question UIN 20437 question first answered 19/04/2024 11:46:35 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
	tabling member	4776 label Biography information for Munira Wilson

1701581

	registered interest
	date	16/04/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Students: Grants
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing non-repayable maintenance grants for higher education students from the least advantaged backgrounds.
	tabling member constituency	Canterbury
	tabling member printed	Rosie Duffield
	uin	22095
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2024 answer text <p>The government believes that income contingent student loans are a fair and sensible way of financing higher education (HE). It is only right that those who benefit from the system should make a fair contribution to its costs. The government have continued to increase maximum loans and grants for living and other costs for undergraduate and postgraduate students each year, with a 2.8% increase for the 2023/24 academic year and a further 2.5% increase announced for 2024/25.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, the government have frozen maximum tuition fees for the 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years. By 2024/25, maximum fees will have been frozen for seven successive years. The department believe that the current fee freeze achieves the best balance between ensuring that the system remains financially sustainable, offering good value for the taxpayer, and reducing debt levels for students in real terms.</p><p> </p><p>The government understands the pressures people have been facing with the cost of living and has taken action to help. The government have already made £276 million of student premium and mental health funding available for the 2023/24 academic year to support successful outcomes for students including disadvantaged students.</p><p> </p><p>The government have also made a further £10 million of support available to help student mental health and hardship funding for the 2023/24 academic year. This funding will complement the help universities are providing through their own bursary, scholarship and hardship support schemes. For the 2024/25 financial year, the government have increased the Student Premium (full-time, part-time, and disabled premium) by £5 million to reflect high demand for hardship support. Further details of this allocation for the academic year 2024/25 will be announced by the Office for Students in the summer.</p><p> </p><p>Overall, support to households to help with the high cost of living is worth £108 billion over 2022/23 to 2024/25, which is an average of £3,800 per UK household. The government believes this will have eased the pressure on family budgets, which will in turn enable many families to provide additional support to their children in HE to help them meet increased living costs.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Luke Hall question first answered 19/04/2024 10:24:10 answering member 4450 label Biography information for Luke Hall
	tabling member	4616 label Biography information for Rosie Duffield

1700509

	registered interest
	date	12/04/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Disabled Students' Allowances: Overseas Students
	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 with Cabinet colleagues of the potential (a) merits of extending eligibility for Disabled Students’ Allowance to international students and (b) impact of the existing eligibility criteria on educational inequalities in higher education.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	21396
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/04/2024 answer text <p>The government appreciates the significant economic and cultural contribution that international students make to UK higher education (HE). The department’s offer to international students remains very competitive and the department is committed to ensuring the UK remains a destination of choice for the brightest and best international students from across the globe.</p><p> </p><p>To be eligible for Disabled Students Allowance, students must: (a) meet the personal eligibility criteria for student finance within the Education (Student Support) Regulations 2011 and be studying a course designated for student support; and (b) have a disability as defined in the Equality Act 2010.</p><p>Entitlement to student support and home fee status is limited to eligible students who are undertaking HE courses offered by UK institutions that are designated for support. This is to ensure that the HE student finance system remains financially sustainable. The government has no plans to extend home fee status and student support to international students.</p><p> </p><p>All HE providers must fulfil their responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 in their support for all disabled HE students regardless of whether they are home or international students.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Luke Hall question first answered 18/04/2024 16:49:09 answering member 4450 label Biography information for Luke Hall
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1700556

	registered interest
	date	12/04/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Education: Exports
	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 (a) promote and (b) protect education exports.
	tabling member constituency	Stirling
	tabling member printed	Alyn Smith
	uin	21441
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/04/2024 answer text <p>The International Education Strategy (IES) is a UK wide strategy which commits to growing the value of education exports. An update to the department’s IES was published on 26 May 2023. This is the third annual progress update to the original 2019 IES. A link to the 2023 update can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/international-education-strategy-2023-update" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/international-education-strategy-2023-update</a>.</p><p> </p><p>The UK has met the IES international student ambition of 600 thousand per year by 2030 for two years running in both 2020/21 and 2021/22. The department is on track and will continue working towards the IES education export ambition of £35 billion per year by 2030 with £27.9 billion revenue in 2021. Data used to track progress against these two ambitions is published annually.</p><p>As the International Education Champion, Professor Sir Steve Smith continues to promote UK education export growth and supports ministers to engage in strategic discussions on progress on implementing the strategy with the education sector.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Luke Hall grouped question UIN 21440 question first answered 18/04/2024 16:40:37 answering member 4450 label Biography information for Luke Hall
	tabling member	4738 label Biography information for Alyn Smith

1700555

	registered interest
	date	12/04/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Higher Education: Overseas Students
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress her Department has made in implementing the objectives of the International Education Strategy to increase the (a) value of education exports and (b) number of international higher education students studying in the UK.
	tabling member constituency	Stirling
	tabling member printed	Alyn Smith
	uin	21440
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/04/2024 answer text <p>The International Education Strategy (IES) is a UK wide strategy which commits to growing the value of education exports. An update to the department’s IES was published on 26 May 2023. This is the third annual progress update to the original 2019 IES. A link to the 2023 update can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/international-education-strategy-2023-update" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/international-education-strategy-2023-update</a>.</p><p> </p><p>The UK has met the IES international student ambition of 600 thousand per year by 2030 for two years running in both 2020/21 and 2021/22. The department is on track and will continue working towards the IES education export ambition of £35 billion per year by 2030 with £27.9 billion revenue in 2021. Data used to track progress against these two ambitions is published annually.</p><p>As the International Education Champion, Professor Sir Steve Smith continues to promote UK education export growth and supports ministers to engage in strategic discussions on progress on implementing the strategy with the education sector.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Luke Hall grouped question UIN 21441 question first answered 18/04/2024 16:40:37 answering member 4450 label Biography information for Luke Hall
	tabling member	4738 label Biography information for Alyn Smith

1701008

	registered interest
	date	15/04/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Department for Education: Marketing
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of her Department’s (a) advertising and (b) marketing expenditure was on (i) local newspapers in print and online, (ii) national newspapers in print and online, (iii) social media, (iv) search engines, (v) broadcast and on-demand television and (vi) other channels in the most recent year for which data is available.
	tabling member constituency	Barnsley East
	tabling member printed	Stephanie Peacock
	uin	21743
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/04/2024 answer text <p>In 2022/23, the department continued to deliver communications activity in support of ministerial priorities and the wider government communications plan across its remit of skills, schools and families. This included campaigns to support the government’s ambitious skills reform programme, maximising take up of childcare entitlements, inspiring more people to teach in schools and a new campaign to attract professionals to share their skills by becoming teachers in further education.</p><p>Most communications continue to be delivered in–house at no additional cost, as part of cross-government campaigns or at low cost by supporting and co–ordinating partners’ activity. Government marketing plays a crucial role in achieving operational and policy objectives, as well as driving behaviour change. Where paid-for communications are used, these are subject to the Cabinet Office’s advertising, marketing and communications spending controls. These controls ensure that, where taxpayer money is being spent on government communications, it is cost-effective, co-ordinated and reflects functional standards and professional best practices. Paid-for communications also comply with government and departmental procurement or governance policies and processes.</p><p>The latest period for which final and consolidated total spend across all Department for Education campaigns is available for the 2022/23 financial year. Spend across the channels requested is outlined below:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Media type</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>22/23</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>TV and Broadcast Video on Demand</strong></p></td><td><p>£7,769,044</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Search Engine </strong></p></td><td><p>£3,215,500</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Social </strong></p></td><td><p>£4,842,978</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Print (local and national)</strong></p></td><td><p>£222,623</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Other channels</strong></p></td><td><p>£10,664,887</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Total </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£26,715,032</strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds question first answered 18/04/2024 15:57:59 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
	tabling member	4607 label Biography information for Stephanie Peacock

1698604

	registered interest
	date	25/03/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Special Educational Needs: Stockport Metropolitan Borough Counci
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 19 February 2024 to Question 13342 on Special Educational Needs, what steps her Department is taking to help Stockport Council (a) increase its capacity to undertake and (b) improve the quality of its education, health and care plan assessments.
	tabling member constituency	Stockport
	tabling member printed	Navendu Mishra
	uin	20456
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/04/2024 answer text <p>The cost of local authorities’ Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment and planning function is paid from authorities’ general fund from, for example, council tax, business rates or the Revenue Support Grant provided by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC). Any increase in capacity for the EHC needs assessment team must be met from the local authority’s general fund.</p><p>Stockport special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) Local Area Partnership’s Accelerated Progress Plan (APP), which has been in place since the Ofsted and Care Quality Commission (CQC) joint area SEND revisit in September 2022, includes actions to address the quality of EHC plans in the area. Department for Education officials and NHS (England) SEND advisers have been providing support, challenge and advice in monitoring the progress of the APP.</p><p>Stockport is also one of the 55 local areas which have been invited to join the government’s £85 million Delivering Better Value Programme to support local areas to achieve maximum value for money in delivering SEND provision, whilst maintaining and improving the outcomes they achieve. One of the workstreams being funded by this grant is ‘Governance and Accountability of SEN Support and EHC Needs Assessments’ through which the department is assisting Stockport to improve their EHC plan processes and the quality of plans.</p><p>The department wants to ensure that EHC needs assessments, where required, are conducted as quickly as possible, so that children and young people can access the support they need. In March 2023, the government set out its plans to reform and improve the SEND system through its SEND and alternative provision (AP) Improvement Plan. The plan commits to establishing a single national system that delivers for every child and young person with SEND so that they enjoy their childhood, achieve good outcomes and are well prepared for adulthood and employment.</p><p>In the short term, the department is working hard to improve the current EHC plan system through a range of measures to improve the SEND system. The department is investing heavily in the SEND system. Examples of the department’s investments include: improving specialist capacity by investing over £21 million to train 400 more educational psychologists from 2024, investing £2.6 billion between 2022 and 2025 to fund new special and AP places and improve existing provision (including announcing 41 new special free schools and 38 special free schools that are currently in the pipeline), investing £30 million to develop innovative approaches for short breaks for children, young people and their families over three years and investing over £7 million to fund extension of the Alternative Provision Specialist Taskforce pilot programme, (delivering now in 22 local authorities) to run until 2025.</p><p>The department is also putting in place measures to improve the SEND system in the longer term, so that where an EHC plan is needed they can be issued as quickly as possible, so that children and young people can access the support they need.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston grouped question UIN 20455 question first answered 18/04/2024 09:26:31 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
	tabling member	4811 label Biography information for Navendu Mishra