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1693294

	registered interest
	date	04/03/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Parents
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of parenting programmes on (a) levels of expenditure associated with (i) child and adult mental health and (ii) youth anti-social behaviour and (b) the proportion of parents able to return to the workplace as a result of a reduction in school refusal rates.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	16740
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/03/2024 answer text <p>The department is clear that parents should do everything they can to ensure that their child is in school every day. Regular school attendance is vital for children’s attainment, mental wellbeing and long-term development. It is crucial that the department has a system of support in place to ensure every child attends school every day, ready to learn and thrive.</p><p>The government’s ‘Working Together to Improve School Attendance’ guidance, which will become statutory ahead of the next school year, includes a core set of functions that local authority attendance support staff, whether titled education welfare officers, attendance officers or early help practitioners, are expected to provide free of charge to all schools and funded centrally through the Central Schools Service Block and Supporting Families Grant. Some early adopters have reported benefits from integrating attendance into other services, and providing better, more joined up whole family support, that has the potential to reduce demand for higher cost crisis services over time.</p><p>The department’s attendance mentors pilot sees mentors supporting a group of persistently absent pupils and their families, on a one-to-one basis, to help identify and address their barriers to education. The department has had positive feedback from parents, pupils and schools who have engaged with the attendance mentors programme and have started to see some promising impact data. The department has recently announced an additional investment of £15 million to expand mentoring into ten new areas over the next three years.</p><p>The government’s Supporting Families programme continues to work with families where attendance issues are a significant concern. ‘Getting a good education’ is a headline indicator in the national Supporting Families Outcomes Framework, which requires sustained good attendance for all children in the family, across two consecutive school terms. It is important that those identifying attendance issues begin to explore and identify any issues which may be behind the attendance problems, including any needs and circumstances in the wider family as part of Early Help Assessment processes.</p><p>The department’s reforms are starting to make a difference. There were 440,000 fewer pupils persistently absent or not attending in 2022/23 than in the year before. Overall absence during the 2023/24 autumn term was 6.8%, down from 7.5% in the 2022/23 autumn term.</p><p>Alongside this, the department is currently considering options for widening access to parenting support through family hubs and is undertaking assessments of the effectiveness and value for money of evidence-based parenting programmes, as well as other forms of support for parents. As part of this work to inform future fiscal events, the department will consider the downstream economic impacts of parenting programmes.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston question first answered 28/03/2024 17:31:21 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1693883

	registered interest
	date	05/03/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Foster Care: Lincolnshire
	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 increase the number of foster care placements in (a) South Holland district and (b) Lincolnshire.
	tabling member constituency	South Holland and The Deepings
	tabling member printed	Sir John Hayes
	uin	17041
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/03/2024 answer text <p>Lincolnshire County Council is participating in the £45 million Families First for Children Pathfinder, which came out of the department’s children’s social care implementation strategy Stable Homes, Built on Love. The pathfinder aims to rebalance children’s social care away from costly crisis intervention to more meaningful and effective early support.</p><p> </p><p>As part of the pathfinder, the department is working with a select number of local areas to test significant changes to how local areas help children and young people. This includes increasing support at the earlier end of the system, with the aim of keeping children with birth parents or wider family where safe to do so. This will help to reduce the number of children looked after and therefore drive down demand for foster care or other placements.</p><p> </p><p>There is support available from the department where children are unable to stay with their birth families and foster care placements are sought. Lincolnshire County Council are being supported by the Fosterlink support service. Fosterlink provides support for local authorities to improve the way they recruit foster carers by reviewing current processes to identify areas for service and practice improvements, as well as creating a national network in which to share best practice.</p><p> </p><p>More broadly, the department is investing over £36 million this parliament to deliver a fostering recruitment and retention programme, so foster care is available for more children who need it. This will boost approvals of foster carers, as well as taking steps to retain the foster carers we have.</p><p> </p><p>Greater financial support for foster carers will help improve the experiences of all children in care. For the second year running, the department is uplifting the National Minimum Allowance (NMA) above the rate of inflation. For 2024/2025, the NMA will increase by 6.88%. This is on top of a 12.43% NMA increase in 2023/24.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, the department estimates that changes to tax and benefit allowances will give the average foster carer an additional £450 per year as well as simplifying the process for self-assessment returns for most foster carers.</p><p> </p><p>The department will also build on this investment since 2014 of over £8 million to help embed the Mockingbird programme, an innovative model of peer support for foster parents and the children in their care where children benefit from an extended family environment.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston question first answered 28/03/2024 17:30:31 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
	tabling member	350 label Biography information for Sir John Hayes

1695299

	registered interest
	date	12/03/2024
	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 recent estimate she has made of the number of children learning in the 15% of the school estate with the greatest repair need.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne North
	tabling member printed	Catherine McKinnell
	uin	18154
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/03/2024 answer text <p>The first ever review of the condition of the school estate was the Property Data Survey, which was carried out between 2012 and 2014, and covered 85% of the school estate. This government introduced the Condition Data Collection (CDC), the first ever comprehensive survey of the school estate and one of the largest data collection programmes of its kind in Europe. Almost all government funded schools in England were visited as part of CDC during 2017 to 2019. Thanks to the department’s evidence led approach, following the James Review of Capital in 2011, this government has been able to allocate capital funding based on consistent data on condition need. This is the first UK government in history to allocate capital funding based on a national assessment of condition need.</p><p> </p><p>The department’s plan to ensure schools are well maintained is working. CDC2, the successor programme to CDC, is underway and is due to complete in 2026. Early indications of the department’s CDC2 data collection to date, and feedback from responsible bodies, shows that in almost every case where a D grade component was identified in the CDC1 report, it has since been addressed.</p><p> </p><p>CDC uses floor area of buildings rather than pupil numbers as a consistent approach to assessing buildings. Key findings from the CDC1 programme can be found here: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/989912/Condition_of_School_Buildings_Survey_CDC1_-_key_findings_report.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/989912/Condition_of_School_Buildings_Survey_CDC1_-_key_findings_report.pdf</a>.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds question first answered 28/03/2024 17:28:10 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
	tabling member	4125 label Biography information for Catherine McKinnell

1695301

	registered interest
	date	12/03/2024
	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, pursuant to the Answer of 22 November 2023 to Question 519 on Schools: Buildings, what progress her Department has made on the system-built block assessment; and whether she has made an estimate of the number of schools where safety issues have been raised.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne North
	tabling member printed	Catherine McKinnell
	uin	18156
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/03/2024 answer text <p>The department follows Health and Safety Executive guidance on building safety issues, and monitors reports from Collaborative Reporting for Safer Structures, the Institution of Structural Engineers, and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors for any bulletins on safety that may impact the school estate.</p><p> </p><p>Where the department is alerted to significant safety issues with a building that cannot be managed with local resources, the department provides additional support on a case-by-case basis. There are no areas within schools open to pupils where there is a known immediate safety issue.</p><p> </p><p>The department is working with the sector to establish a research study of several system-built frame types to establish how these buildings will age.</p><p> </p><p>Following the National Audit Office’s recommendation in their June 2023 report on Condition of School Buildings, the department is consulting external academic and other experts on the proposed research into system-built blocks through a workshop in late March 2024.</p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds question first answered 28/03/2024 17:31:38 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
	tabling member	4125 label Biography information for Catherine McKinnell

1695978

	registered interest
	date	13/03/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Free Schools: Liverpool
	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 delay to the opening of King's Leadership Academy Wavetree.
	tabling member printed	Lord Storey
	uin	HL3263
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/03/2024 answer text <p>To open a free school the Secretary of State must be satisfied that there is a suitable and deliverable site for the school. In order to deliver a suitable site for the school, a sequence of planning applications are required. The first of these has been submitted.</p><p> </p><p>Officials are engaging with Liverpool City Council and Local Planning Authority officers to meet their planning requirements for the scheme but despite the best efforts of all parties, it is not possible to implement all of the necessary requirements in time to achieve a September 2024 opening.</p><p> </p><p>While a free school project is in the pre-opening phase, local authorities cannot offer firm places at a school under the co-ordinated admissions process. Therefore, any offers of pupil places for King’s Leadership Academy Wavertree are conditional, to ensure all pupils have a firm and secure start to the school year at another school in the area.</p><p> </p><p>The local authority has confirmed it is able to place secondary school pupils in Liverpool for September 2024 without Kings Leadership Academy Wavertree, and officials continue to work closely with the local authority and planning authority to progress this scheme as swiftly as possible for a future opening of the school.</p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 27/03/2024 12:58:52 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
	tabling member	4238 label Biography information for Lord Storey

1696585

	registered interest
	date	18/03/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Boarding Schools: Special Educational Needs
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Barran on 11 March (HL2772, HL2773, HL2811), who are the owners of each of the 55 independent residential special schools mentioned in that answer; and which of those schools are identified as needing improvement by Ofsted.
	tabling member printed	Lord Warner
	uin	HL3342
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/04/2024 answer text <p>Of the 55 independent residential special schools, five are identified as requiring improvement by Ofsted. One further school met the standards since the previous answer was provided. These schools are The Forum School, Wilds Lodge School, Pioneer TEC, The Fitzroy Academy and The Grange Therapeutic School. Nine schools offer under 20 residential placements, eight schools offer 20 to 40 residential placements, and 38 schools offer residential placements for over 40. None are approved for a single child only.</p><p> </p><p>When the department registers an independent school, it establishes who the proprietor will be, and runs suitability checks on the proprietor. The proprietor is ultimately responsible for the operation of the school. The proprietor is included on the register of independent schools. The department does not record the ultimate beneficial owner of the school. The registered proprietor of each of the 55 independent residential special schools is shown in the attachment provided titled ‘Table of Independent Residential Special Schools’.</p><p> </p><p>Of the 26 residential maintained special schools, six are identified as requiring improvement by Ofsted. These schools are Holly House Special School, Barndale House School, Greenbank School, Kings Mill School, Lindsworth School and Lexden Springs School. One school offers under 20 residential placements, three schools offer 20 to 40 residential placements, and 23 schools offer residential placements for over 40. None are approved for a single child only.</p><p> </p><p>Of the 33 residential non-maintained special schools (NMSS), three are identified as requiring improvement by Ofsted. This number has increased by one since the previous answer provided as the department has identified an additional NMSS that is listed on the register of schools as a further educational college rather than a school. These schools are St Vincent’s School, New College Worcester, and Breckenbrough School. No schools offer under 20 residential placements, one school offers 20 to 40 residential placements, and 32 schools offer residential placements for over 40. None are approved for a single child only.</p><p> </p><p>Of the 34 residential special academy and free schools, four require improvement according to Ofsted. One school no longer offers residential placements since the previous answer provided. These schools are Brompton Hall School, Langham Oaks, Pencalenick School and Charlton Park Academy. No schools offer under 20 residential placements, two schools offer 20 to 40 residential placements, and 32 schools offer residential placements for over 40. None are approved for a single child only.</p><p> </p><p>Historical data does not allow a comparison to be made on Residential Special Schools compared to 2010 and 2015. Data for recorded school types is available in the department’s data releases, which is included in the attached documents titled ‘Index of Tables’ and ‘Table of School Characteristics’.</p><p> </p><p>Local authorities must ensure there are sufficient school places for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities. Residential provision may be the right way to meet the needs of some children and young people, but it places them at greater risk by removing them from their families and local support networks. While there will always be a small group of children who require more intensive round-the-clock care alongside their education or healthcare in a residential setting, this should be less necessary as the department better meets children’s needs in mainstream schools and non-residential special schools and provide more early and intensive support for families.</p><p> </p><p>Individual schools are responsible for ensuring they can meet the needs of the children and young people they educate. All residential special schools are required to follow and are inspected against the residential special schools’ national minimum standards (NMS). These standards can be found on the GOV.UK website: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/647f53155f7bb700127fa5c9/Residential_special_schools_national_minimum_standards.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/647f53155f7bb700127fa5c9/Residential_special_schools_national_minimum_standards.pdf</a>.</p><p> </p><p>Amongst other things, the NMS set out the importance of suitably qualified and trained staff, along with a requirement for care staff to have at least a relevant Level 3 qualification. Part D, ‘Health and Wellbeing’, provides comprehensive standards to ensure staff are meeting pupils’ needs, including ensuring pupils have access to appropriate support services. Children and young people in residential special schools away from home are entitled to access local health services in the same way as all children and young people are. Some providers also offer and commission their own clinical expertise and support for children in their residential special schools. Additionally, the National Autism Trainer Programme, funded by NHS England and led by Anna Freud provides a co-produced autism Train the Trainers approach that has been offered free of charge for staff working in residential special schools and colleges to better support them to understand the needs and experiences of autistic children and young people.</p><p> </p><p>Children and young people may only be placed in a special school if they have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan. If the placement is no longer suitable for the child or young person, the local authority responsible for the EHC plan will need to review it and consider amending it, following the statutory processes set out in the Children and Families Act 2014.</p><p> </p><p>In the meantime, local authorities have a duty to arrange suitable education for any pupil of compulsory school age who, because of illness, exclusion, or other reasons, would not get a suitable education without such provision. This education must be full time, unless a pupil’s medical needs mean that full-time education would not be in their best interests.</p><p>It is up to local authorities to determine the most appropriate alternative provision for a child, but they should take into account the views of the pupil, their parents and other professionals.</p><p> </p><p>The department has published statutory guidance on alternative provision, which local authorities must have regard to. The guidance is available on the GOV.UK website: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/alternative-provision" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/alternative-provision</a>.</p> answering member printed Baroness Barran attachment 1 file name HL3342 HL3343 HL3344 HL3345 HL3346 HL3347_table_of_Independent_Residential_Special_Schools.xlsx title Table of Independent Residential Special Schools 2 file name HL3342 HL3343 HL3344 HL3345 HL3346 HL3347_index_of_tables.xlsx title Index of Tables 3 file name HL3342 HL3343 HL3344 HL3345 HL3346 HL3347_table_of_school_characteristics.xlsx title Table of School Characteristics grouped question UIN HL3343 HL3344 HL3345 HL3346 HL3347 question first answered 03/04/2024 14:49:03 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
	tabling member	1732 label Biography information for Lord Warner

1696586

	registered interest
	date	18/03/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Boarding Schools: Special Educational Needs
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Barran on 11 March (HL2772, HL2773, HL2811), how many of the 26 maintained residential special schools, the 32 non-maintained residential special schools, and the 35 academy and free residential special schools mentioned in the answer require improvement according to Ofsted; and what are the names of those schools.
	tabling member printed	Lord Warner
	uin	HL3343
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/04/2024 answer text <p>Of the 55 independent residential special schools, five are identified as requiring improvement by Ofsted. One further school met the standards since the previous answer was provided. These schools are The Forum School, Wilds Lodge School, Pioneer TEC, The Fitzroy Academy and The Grange Therapeutic School. Nine schools offer under 20 residential placements, eight schools offer 20 to 40 residential placements, and 38 schools offer residential placements for over 40. None are approved for a single child only.</p><p> </p><p>When the department registers an independent school, it establishes who the proprietor will be, and runs suitability checks on the proprietor. The proprietor is ultimately responsible for the operation of the school. The proprietor is included on the register of independent schools. The department does not record the ultimate beneficial owner of the school. The registered proprietor of each of the 55 independent residential special schools is shown in the attachment provided titled ‘Table of Independent Residential Special Schools’.</p><p> </p><p>Of the 26 residential maintained special schools, six are identified as requiring improvement by Ofsted. These schools are Holly House Special School, Barndale House School, Greenbank School, Kings Mill School, Lindsworth School and Lexden Springs School. One school offers under 20 residential placements, three schools offer 20 to 40 residential placements, and 23 schools offer residential placements for over 40. None are approved for a single child only.</p><p> </p><p>Of the 33 residential non-maintained special schools (NMSS), three are identified as requiring improvement by Ofsted. This number has increased by one since the previous answer provided as the department has identified an additional NMSS that is listed on the register of schools as a further educational college rather than a school. These schools are St Vincent’s School, New College Worcester, and Breckenbrough School. No schools offer under 20 residential placements, one school offers 20 to 40 residential placements, and 32 schools offer residential placements for over 40. None are approved for a single child only.</p><p> </p><p>Of the 34 residential special academy and free schools, four require improvement according to Ofsted. One school no longer offers residential placements since the previous answer provided. These schools are Brompton Hall School, Langham Oaks, Pencalenick School and Charlton Park Academy. No schools offer under 20 residential placements, two schools offer 20 to 40 residential placements, and 32 schools offer residential placements for over 40. None are approved for a single child only.</p><p> </p><p>Historical data does not allow a comparison to be made on Residential Special Schools compared to 2010 and 2015. Data for recorded school types is available in the department’s data releases, which is included in the attached documents titled ‘Index of Tables’ and ‘Table of School Characteristics’.</p><p> </p><p>Local authorities must ensure there are sufficient school places for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities. Residential provision may be the right way to meet the needs of some children and young people, but it places them at greater risk by removing them from their families and local support networks. While there will always be a small group of children who require more intensive round-the-clock care alongside their education or healthcare in a residential setting, this should be less necessary as the department better meets children’s needs in mainstream schools and non-residential special schools and provide more early and intensive support for families.</p><p> </p><p>Individual schools are responsible for ensuring they can meet the needs of the children and young people they educate. All residential special schools are required to follow and are inspected against the residential special schools’ national minimum standards (NMS). These standards can be found on the GOV.UK website: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/647f53155f7bb700127fa5c9/Residential_special_schools_national_minimum_standards.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/647f53155f7bb700127fa5c9/Residential_special_schools_national_minimum_standards.pdf</a>.</p><p> </p><p>Amongst other things, the NMS set out the importance of suitably qualified and trained staff, along with a requirement for care staff to have at least a relevant Level 3 qualification. Part D, ‘Health and Wellbeing’, provides comprehensive standards to ensure staff are meeting pupils’ needs, including ensuring pupils have access to appropriate support services. Children and young people in residential special schools away from home are entitled to access local health services in the same way as all children and young people are. Some providers also offer and commission their own clinical expertise and support for children in their residential special schools. Additionally, the National Autism Trainer Programme, funded by NHS England and led by Anna Freud provides a co-produced autism Train the Trainers approach that has been offered free of charge for staff working in residential special schools and colleges to better support them to understand the needs and experiences of autistic children and young people.</p><p> </p><p>Children and young people may only be placed in a special school if they have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan. If the placement is no longer suitable for the child or young person, the local authority responsible for the EHC plan will need to review it and consider amending it, following the statutory processes set out in the Children and Families Act 2014.</p><p> </p><p>In the meantime, local authorities have a duty to arrange suitable education for any pupil of compulsory school age who, because of illness, exclusion, or other reasons, would not get a suitable education without such provision. This education must be full time, unless a pupil’s medical needs mean that full-time education would not be in their best interests.</p><p>It is up to local authorities to determine the most appropriate alternative provision for a child, but they should take into account the views of the pupil, their parents and other professionals.</p><p> </p><p>The department has published statutory guidance on alternative provision, which local authorities must have regard to. The guidance is available on the GOV.UK website: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/alternative-provision" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/alternative-provision</a>.</p> answering member printed Baroness Barran attachment 1 file name HL3342 HL3343 HL3344 HL3345 HL3346 HL3347_table_of_Independent_Residential_Special_Schools.xlsx title Table of Independent Residential Special Schools 2 file name HL3342 HL3343 HL3344 HL3345 HL3346 HL3347_index_of_tables.xlsx title Index of Tables 3 file name HL3342 HL3343 HL3344 HL3345 HL3346 HL3347_table_of_school_characteristics.xlsx title Table of School Characteristics grouped question UIN HL3342 HL3344 HL3345 HL3346 HL3347 question first answered 03/04/2024 14:49:04 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
	tabling member	1732 label Biography information for Lord Warner

1696587

	registered interest
	date	18/03/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Boarding Schools: Special Educational Needs
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Barran on 11 March (HL2772, HL2773, HL2811), how many of the 148 residential schools mentioned in the answer are approved for (1) under 20 residential placements, (2) 20 to 40 such placements, and (3) over 40 such placements; and whether there are any places approved for a single child only.
	tabling member printed	Lord Warner
	uin	HL3344
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/04/2024 answer text <p>Of the 55 independent residential special schools, five are identified as requiring improvement by Ofsted. One further school met the standards since the previous answer was provided. These schools are The Forum School, Wilds Lodge School, Pioneer TEC, The Fitzroy Academy and The Grange Therapeutic School. Nine schools offer under 20 residential placements, eight schools offer 20 to 40 residential placements, and 38 schools offer residential placements for over 40. None are approved for a single child only.</p><p> </p><p>When the department registers an independent school, it establishes who the proprietor will be, and runs suitability checks on the proprietor. The proprietor is ultimately responsible for the operation of the school. The proprietor is included on the register of independent schools. The department does not record the ultimate beneficial owner of the school. The registered proprietor of each of the 55 independent residential special schools is shown in the attachment provided titled ‘Table of Independent Residential Special Schools’.</p><p> </p><p>Of the 26 residential maintained special schools, six are identified as requiring improvement by Ofsted. These schools are Holly House Special School, Barndale House School, Greenbank School, Kings Mill School, Lindsworth School and Lexden Springs School. One school offers under 20 residential placements, three schools offer 20 to 40 residential placements, and 23 schools offer residential placements for over 40. None are approved for a single child only.</p><p> </p><p>Of the 33 residential non-maintained special schools (NMSS), three are identified as requiring improvement by Ofsted. This number has increased by one since the previous answer provided as the department has identified an additional NMSS that is listed on the register of schools as a further educational college rather than a school. These schools are St Vincent’s School, New College Worcester, and Breckenbrough School. No schools offer under 20 residential placements, one school offers 20 to 40 residential placements, and 32 schools offer residential placements for over 40. None are approved for a single child only.</p><p> </p><p>Of the 34 residential special academy and free schools, four require improvement according to Ofsted. One school no longer offers residential placements since the previous answer provided. These schools are Brompton Hall School, Langham Oaks, Pencalenick School and Charlton Park Academy. No schools offer under 20 residential placements, two schools offer 20 to 40 residential placements, and 32 schools offer residential placements for over 40. None are approved for a single child only.</p><p> </p><p>Historical data does not allow a comparison to be made on Residential Special Schools compared to 2010 and 2015. Data for recorded school types is available in the department’s data releases, which is included in the attached documents titled ‘Index of Tables’ and ‘Table of School Characteristics’.</p><p> </p><p>Local authorities must ensure there are sufficient school places for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities. Residential provision may be the right way to meet the needs of some children and young people, but it places them at greater risk by removing them from their families and local support networks. While there will always be a small group of children who require more intensive round-the-clock care alongside their education or healthcare in a residential setting, this should be less necessary as the department better meets children’s needs in mainstream schools and non-residential special schools and provide more early and intensive support for families.</p><p> </p><p>Individual schools are responsible for ensuring they can meet the needs of the children and young people they educate. All residential special schools are required to follow and are inspected against the residential special schools’ national minimum standards (NMS). These standards can be found on the GOV.UK website: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/647f53155f7bb700127fa5c9/Residential_special_schools_national_minimum_standards.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/647f53155f7bb700127fa5c9/Residential_special_schools_national_minimum_standards.pdf</a>.</p><p> </p><p>Amongst other things, the NMS set out the importance of suitably qualified and trained staff, along with a requirement for care staff to have at least a relevant Level 3 qualification. Part D, ‘Health and Wellbeing’, provides comprehensive standards to ensure staff are meeting pupils’ needs, including ensuring pupils have access to appropriate support services. Children and young people in residential special schools away from home are entitled to access local health services in the same way as all children and young people are. Some providers also offer and commission their own clinical expertise and support for children in their residential special schools. Additionally, the National Autism Trainer Programme, funded by NHS England and led by Anna Freud provides a co-produced autism Train the Trainers approach that has been offered free of charge for staff working in residential special schools and colleges to better support them to understand the needs and experiences of autistic children and young people.</p><p> </p><p>Children and young people may only be placed in a special school if they have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan. If the placement is no longer suitable for the child or young person, the local authority responsible for the EHC plan will need to review it and consider amending it, following the statutory processes set out in the Children and Families Act 2014.</p><p> </p><p>In the meantime, local authorities have a duty to arrange suitable education for any pupil of compulsory school age who, because of illness, exclusion, or other reasons, would not get a suitable education without such provision. This education must be full time, unless a pupil’s medical needs mean that full-time education would not be in their best interests.</p><p>It is up to local authorities to determine the most appropriate alternative provision for a child, but they should take into account the views of the pupil, their parents and other professionals.</p><p> </p><p>The department has published statutory guidance on alternative provision, which local authorities must have regard to. The guidance is available on the GOV.UK website: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/alternative-provision" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/alternative-provision</a>.</p> answering member printed Baroness Barran attachment 1 file name HL3342 HL3343 HL3344 HL3345 HL3346 HL3347_table_of_Independent_Residential_Special_Schools.xlsx title Table of Independent Residential Special Schools 2 file name HL3342 HL3343 HL3344 HL3345 HL3346 HL3347_index_of_tables.xlsx title Index of Tables 3 file name HL3342 HL3343 HL3344 HL3345 HL3346 HL3347_table_of_school_characteristics.xlsx title Table of School Characteristics grouped question UIN HL3342 HL3343 HL3345 HL3346 HL3347 question first answered 03/04/2024 14:49:04 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
	tabling member	1732 label Biography information for Lord Warner

1696588

	registered interest
	date	18/03/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Boarding Schools: Special Educational Needs
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Barran on 11 March (HL2772, HL2773, HL2811), whether the number of residential special schools in England has increased or decreased since (1) 2010, and (2) 2015; and what arrangements the Department for Education has in place to assess whether there is a shortage of such schools.
	tabling member printed	Lord Warner
	uin	HL3345
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/04/2024 answer text <p>Of the 55 independent residential special schools, five are identified as requiring improvement by Ofsted. One further school met the standards since the previous answer was provided. These schools are The Forum School, Wilds Lodge School, Pioneer TEC, The Fitzroy Academy and The Grange Therapeutic School. Nine schools offer under 20 residential placements, eight schools offer 20 to 40 residential placements, and 38 schools offer residential placements for over 40. None are approved for a single child only.</p><p> </p><p>When the department registers an independent school, it establishes who the proprietor will be, and runs suitability checks on the proprietor. The proprietor is ultimately responsible for the operation of the school. The proprietor is included on the register of independent schools. The department does not record the ultimate beneficial owner of the school. The registered proprietor of each of the 55 independent residential special schools is shown in the attachment provided titled ‘Table of Independent Residential Special Schools’.</p><p> </p><p>Of the 26 residential maintained special schools, six are identified as requiring improvement by Ofsted. These schools are Holly House Special School, Barndale House School, Greenbank School, Kings Mill School, Lindsworth School and Lexden Springs School. One school offers under 20 residential placements, three schools offer 20 to 40 residential placements, and 23 schools offer residential placements for over 40. None are approved for a single child only.</p><p> </p><p>Of the 33 residential non-maintained special schools (NMSS), three are identified as requiring improvement by Ofsted. This number has increased by one since the previous answer provided as the department has identified an additional NMSS that is listed on the register of schools as a further educational college rather than a school. These schools are St Vincent’s School, New College Worcester, and Breckenbrough School. No schools offer under 20 residential placements, one school offers 20 to 40 residential placements, and 32 schools offer residential placements for over 40. None are approved for a single child only.</p><p> </p><p>Of the 34 residential special academy and free schools, four require improvement according to Ofsted. One school no longer offers residential placements since the previous answer provided. These schools are Brompton Hall School, Langham Oaks, Pencalenick School and Charlton Park Academy. No schools offer under 20 residential placements, two schools offer 20 to 40 residential placements, and 32 schools offer residential placements for over 40. None are approved for a single child only.</p><p> </p><p>Historical data does not allow a comparison to be made on Residential Special Schools compared to 2010 and 2015. Data for recorded school types is available in the department’s data releases, which is included in the attached documents titled ‘Index of Tables’ and ‘Table of School Characteristics’.</p><p> </p><p>Local authorities must ensure there are sufficient school places for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities. Residential provision may be the right way to meet the needs of some children and young people, but it places them at greater risk by removing them from their families and local support networks. While there will always be a small group of children who require more intensive round-the-clock care alongside their education or healthcare in a residential setting, this should be less necessary as the department better meets children’s needs in mainstream schools and non-residential special schools and provide more early and intensive support for families.</p><p> </p><p>Individual schools are responsible for ensuring they can meet the needs of the children and young people they educate. All residential special schools are required to follow and are inspected against the residential special schools’ national minimum standards (NMS). These standards can be found on the GOV.UK website: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/647f53155f7bb700127fa5c9/Residential_special_schools_national_minimum_standards.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/647f53155f7bb700127fa5c9/Residential_special_schools_national_minimum_standards.pdf</a>.</p><p> </p><p>Amongst other things, the NMS set out the importance of suitably qualified and trained staff, along with a requirement for care staff to have at least a relevant Level 3 qualification. Part D, ‘Health and Wellbeing’, provides comprehensive standards to ensure staff are meeting pupils’ needs, including ensuring pupils have access to appropriate support services. Children and young people in residential special schools away from home are entitled to access local health services in the same way as all children and young people are. Some providers also offer and commission their own clinical expertise and support for children in their residential special schools. Additionally, the National Autism Trainer Programme, funded by NHS England and led by Anna Freud provides a co-produced autism Train the Trainers approach that has been offered free of charge for staff working in residential special schools and colleges to better support them to understand the needs and experiences of autistic children and young people.</p><p> </p><p>Children and young people may only be placed in a special school if they have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan. If the placement is no longer suitable for the child or young person, the local authority responsible for the EHC plan will need to review it and consider amending it, following the statutory processes set out in the Children and Families Act 2014.</p><p> </p><p>In the meantime, local authorities have a duty to arrange suitable education for any pupil of compulsory school age who, because of illness, exclusion, or other reasons, would not get a suitable education without such provision. This education must be full time, unless a pupil’s medical needs mean that full-time education would not be in their best interests.</p><p>It is up to local authorities to determine the most appropriate alternative provision for a child, but they should take into account the views of the pupil, their parents and other professionals.</p><p> </p><p>The department has published statutory guidance on alternative provision, which local authorities must have regard to. The guidance is available on the GOV.UK website: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/alternative-provision" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/alternative-provision</a>.</p> answering member printed Baroness Barran attachment 1 file name HL3342 HL3343 HL3344 HL3345 HL3346 HL3347_table_of_Independent_Residential_Special_Schools.xlsx title Table of Independent Residential Special Schools 2 file name HL3342 HL3343 HL3344 HL3345 HL3346 HL3347_index_of_tables.xlsx title Index of Tables 3 file name HL3342 HL3343 HL3344 HL3345 HL3346 HL3347_table_of_school_characteristics.xlsx title Table of School Characteristics grouped question UIN HL3342 HL3343 HL3344 HL3346 HL3347 question first answered 03/04/2024 14:49:04 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
	tabling member	1732 label Biography information for Lord Warner

1696589

	registered interest
	date	18/03/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Boarding Schools: Special Educational Needs
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Barran on 11 March (HL2772, HL2773, HL2811), what arrangements they have in place to ensure that the 148 residential special schools mentioned in that answer have ready access to psychiatric and clinical psychology services to meet the clinical needs of their residents, especially those with complex autism.
	tabling member printed	Lord Warner
	uin	HL3346
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/04/2024 answer text <p>Of the 55 independent residential special schools, five are identified as requiring improvement by Ofsted. One further school met the standards since the previous answer was provided. These schools are The Forum School, Wilds Lodge School, Pioneer TEC, The Fitzroy Academy and The Grange Therapeutic School. Nine schools offer under 20 residential placements, eight schools offer 20 to 40 residential placements, and 38 schools offer residential placements for over 40. None are approved for a single child only.</p><p> </p><p>When the department registers an independent school, it establishes who the proprietor will be, and runs suitability checks on the proprietor. The proprietor is ultimately responsible for the operation of the school. The proprietor is included on the register of independent schools. The department does not record the ultimate beneficial owner of the school. The registered proprietor of each of the 55 independent residential special schools is shown in the attachment provided titled ‘Table of Independent Residential Special Schools’.</p><p> </p><p>Of the 26 residential maintained special schools, six are identified as requiring improvement by Ofsted. These schools are Holly House Special School, Barndale House School, Greenbank School, Kings Mill School, Lindsworth School and Lexden Springs School. One school offers under 20 residential placements, three schools offer 20 to 40 residential placements, and 23 schools offer residential placements for over 40. None are approved for a single child only.</p><p> </p><p>Of the 33 residential non-maintained special schools (NMSS), three are identified as requiring improvement by Ofsted. This number has increased by one since the previous answer provided as the department has identified an additional NMSS that is listed on the register of schools as a further educational college rather than a school. These schools are St Vincent’s School, New College Worcester, and Breckenbrough School. No schools offer under 20 residential placements, one school offers 20 to 40 residential placements, and 32 schools offer residential placements for over 40. None are approved for a single child only.</p><p> </p><p>Of the 34 residential special academy and free schools, four require improvement according to Ofsted. One school no longer offers residential placements since the previous answer provided. These schools are Brompton Hall School, Langham Oaks, Pencalenick School and Charlton Park Academy. No schools offer under 20 residential placements, two schools offer 20 to 40 residential placements, and 32 schools offer residential placements for over 40. None are approved for a single child only.</p><p> </p><p>Historical data does not allow a comparison to be made on Residential Special Schools compared to 2010 and 2015. Data for recorded school types is available in the department’s data releases, which is included in the attached documents titled ‘Index of Tables’ and ‘Table of School Characteristics’.</p><p> </p><p>Local authorities must ensure there are sufficient school places for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities. Residential provision may be the right way to meet the needs of some children and young people, but it places them at greater risk by removing them from their families and local support networks. While there will always be a small group of children who require more intensive round-the-clock care alongside their education or healthcare in a residential setting, this should be less necessary as the department better meets children’s needs in mainstream schools and non-residential special schools and provide more early and intensive support for families.</p><p> </p><p>Individual schools are responsible for ensuring they can meet the needs of the children and young people they educate. All residential special schools are required to follow and are inspected against the residential special schools’ national minimum standards (NMS). These standards can be found on the GOV.UK website: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/647f53155f7bb700127fa5c9/Residential_special_schools_national_minimum_standards.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/647f53155f7bb700127fa5c9/Residential_special_schools_national_minimum_standards.pdf</a>.</p><p> </p><p>Amongst other things, the NMS set out the importance of suitably qualified and trained staff, along with a requirement for care staff to have at least a relevant Level 3 qualification. Part D, ‘Health and Wellbeing’, provides comprehensive standards to ensure staff are meeting pupils’ needs, including ensuring pupils have access to appropriate support services. Children and young people in residential special schools away from home are entitled to access local health services in the same way as all children and young people are. Some providers also offer and commission their own clinical expertise and support for children in their residential special schools. Additionally, the National Autism Trainer Programme, funded by NHS England and led by Anna Freud provides a co-produced autism Train the Trainers approach that has been offered free of charge for staff working in residential special schools and colleges to better support them to understand the needs and experiences of autistic children and young people.</p><p> </p><p>Children and young people may only be placed in a special school if they have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan. If the placement is no longer suitable for the child or young person, the local authority responsible for the EHC plan will need to review it and consider amending it, following the statutory processes set out in the Children and Families Act 2014.</p><p> </p><p>In the meantime, local authorities have a duty to arrange suitable education for any pupil of compulsory school age who, because of illness, exclusion, or other reasons, would not get a suitable education without such provision. This education must be full time, unless a pupil’s medical needs mean that full-time education would not be in their best interests.</p><p>It is up to local authorities to determine the most appropriate alternative provision for a child, but they should take into account the views of the pupil, their parents and other professionals.</p><p> </p><p>The department has published statutory guidance on alternative provision, which local authorities must have regard to. The guidance is available on the GOV.UK website: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/alternative-provision" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/alternative-provision</a>.</p> answering member printed Baroness Barran attachment 1 file name HL3342 HL3343 HL3344 HL3345 HL3346 HL3347_table_of_Independent_Residential_Special_Schools.xlsx title Table of Independent Residential Special Schools 2 file name HL3342 HL3343 HL3344 HL3345 HL3346 HL3347_index_of_tables.xlsx title Index of Tables 3 file name HL3342 HL3343 HL3344 HL3345 HL3346 HL3347_table_of_school_characteristics.xlsx title Table of School Characteristics grouped question UIN HL3342 HL3343 HL3344 HL3345 HL3347 question first answered 03/04/2024 14:49:04 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
	tabling member	1732 label Biography information for Lord Warner