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46239

	registered interest
	date	01/04/2014
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the incidence of truancy was in schools in the latest period for which figures are available; and what steps he is taking to reduce it and to involve parents in those efforts.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	194633
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/04/2014 answer text <p>Since the report by Charlie Taylor on improving school attendance, the Government's focus has been on reducing absence overall and encouraging schools to address patterns of poor attendance early.</p><p> </p><p>To help schools do this, the Department for Education reduced the threshold at which pupils were classified as persistent absent, from 20% to 15% of sessions missed. In 2012, we increased the level of the school attendance penalty fines, from £50 and £100 to £60 and £120 respectively, and in 2013 reduced the overall timescales for paying fines from 42 to 28 days. The second most common reason for absence is family holiday, so we tightened the law in September 2013 so that headteachers could only grant requests for leave during term time in exceptional circumstances.</p><p> </p><p>Our reforms are working. In 2012/13, 300,895 pupils were persistently absent, down from 433,130 in 2009/10 - a fall of almost a third. 130,000 fewer pupils were missing 15% of school in 2012/13 compared to 2010/11. Overall absence rates are down from 6.3% of possible sessions missed in 2008/09 to 5.2% in 2012/13.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency South West Norfolk answering member printed Elizabeth Truss question first answered 07/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 4097 label Biography information for Elizabeth Truss
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

64921

	registered interest
	date	01/07/2014
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Adoption
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the time taken to adopt a child.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	203216
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/07/2014 answer text <p>Major reforms in the Children and Families Act 2014 are helping to speed up the legal adoption process for children in England, support quicker matching and ensure earlier placement of children with foster families who may go on to adopt them. Adoption scorecards were introduced in 2012 and are driving improvements locally. We implemented a new adopter approval process last year and under this new process prospective adopters can now be approved in just six months. New training materials and other tools have been developed by the College of Social Work and Research in Practice to improve the skills of social workers so they are better placed to quickly judge what is best for each child. In 2012-13, the number of adopters was 34% up on the year before.</p> answering member constituency Crewe and Nantwich answering member printed Mr Edward Timpson question first answered 07/07/2014 15:28:29 answering member 1605 label Biography information for Edward Timpson
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

78506

	registered interest
	date	16/07/2014
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Young People: Carers
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to improve the support available to young carers; and what discussions she has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on improving such support.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	206399
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>Improving support for carers of all ages is a priority for this Government. The Department for Education has provided over £2.7 million of funding to The Children’s Society and Carers Trust over four years between 2011 and 2015 to work with local authorities and voluntary and community organisations. This has helped to promote ‘whole family’ approaches to supporting young carers and identify and share existing good practice.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We have also made significant changes to the law relating to young carers that will take effect from April 2015. Section 96 of the Children and Families Act 2014 delivers four things: it consolidates and simplifies the legislation relating to young carers’ assessments, making rights and duties clearer to both young people and practitioners; it extends the right to an assessment of needs for support to all young carers under the age of 18 regardless of who they care for, what type of care they provide or how often they provide it; it makes it clear to local authorities that they must carry out an assessment of a young carer’s needs for support on request or when the need becomes apparent; and it provides the appropriate links between children’s and adults’ legislation to enable local authorities to align the assessment of a young carer with an assessment of the person they care for.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>These changes will work with provisions in the Care Act that also support the combining of children’s and adults’ assessments, and the draft guidance on a whole family approach to assessing and supporting adults. Together they will provide a clear legislative framework that will support local authorities to consider the needs of the whole family, deliver coordinated packages of support and protect children and young people from excessive or inappropriate caring roles.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The legislative changes outlined above only affect young carers in England. The Department for Education has not discussed them with the Northern Ireland Executive.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Crewe and Nantwich answering member printed Mr Edward Timpson question first answered 22/07/2014 15:07:37 answering member 1605 label Biography information for Edward Timpson previous answer version 11718 answering member constituency Crewe and Nantwich answering member printed Mr Edward Timpson answering member 1605 label Biography information for Edward Timpson
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

91263

	registered interest
	date	09/09/2014
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Foster Care
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many fostered children have been separated from their siblings in each of the last five years.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	208773
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/09/2014 answer text <p>The data requested is not held centrally. <br><br>The Department for Education is clear that siblings should be placed together where possible. While the data requested is not held centrally, Action for Children published research on 8 September highlighting the importance of keeping siblings together where this is in their best interests. This research can be found online at:</p><p><a href="http://www.actionforchildren.org.uk/news/archive/2014/september/keeping-siblings-together" target="_blank">www.actionforchildren.org.uk/news/archive/2014/september/keeping-siblings-together</a></p><p>The Department is working closely with councils to help them recruit more foster carers who can meet the needs of children harder to place, such as sibling groups.</p><p>Nationally, fostering services are improving their recruitment of foster carers. In 2013 the Government announced a new package of support totalling £750,000 to help local authorities boost foster care recruitment by broadening the range of people who foster.</p><p>This funding is supporting four consortia partnerships of local authorities and independent fostering services, two of which have made increasing the number of foster carers that can care for sibling groups a priority. We plan to share the learning from the consortia in 2015.</p><p>We would also welcome bids to the Innovation Programme from local authorities who may like to test new, innovative approaches to addressing this issue.</p> answering member constituency Crewe and Nantwich answering member printed Mr Edward Timpson grouped question UIN 208774 question first answered 25/09/2014 13:36:35 answering member 1605 label Biography information for Edward Timpson
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

91264

	registered interest
	date	09/09/2014
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Foster Care
	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 reunite siblings who have been placed in separate foster homes.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	208774
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/09/2014 answer text <p>The data requested is not held centrally. <br><br>The Department for Education is clear that siblings should be placed together where possible. While the data requested is not held centrally, Action for Children published research on 8 September highlighting the importance of keeping siblings together where this is in their best interests. This research can be found online at:</p><p><a href="http://www.actionforchildren.org.uk/news/archive/2014/september/keeping-siblings-together" target="_blank">www.actionforchildren.org.uk/news/archive/2014/september/keeping-siblings-together</a></p><p>The Department is working closely with councils to help them recruit more foster carers who can meet the needs of children harder to place, such as sibling groups.</p><p>Nationally, fostering services are improving their recruitment of foster carers. In 2013 the Government announced a new package of support totalling £750,000 to help local authorities boost foster care recruitment by broadening the range of people who foster.</p><p>This funding is supporting four consortia partnerships of local authorities and independent fostering services, two of which have made increasing the number of foster carers that can care for sibling groups a priority. We plan to share the learning from the consortia in 2015.</p><p>We would also welcome bids to the Innovation Programme from local authorities who may like to test new, innovative approaches to addressing this issue.</p> answering member constituency Crewe and Nantwich answering member printed Mr Edward Timpson grouped question UIN 208773 question first answered 25/09/2014 13:36:35 answering member 1605 label Biography information for Edward Timpson
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

92964

	registered interest
	date	13/10/2014
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Sexting
	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 sexting.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	210260
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/10/2014 answer text <p>The safety of children online is a priority for the Government. As part of the new programmes of study for computing, e-safety will be taught at all four key stages. The programmes of study cover responsible, respectful and secure use of technology. They will also ensure that pupils are taught age-appropriate ways of reporting any concerns they may have about what they see or encounter online.</p><p> </p><p>There is progression in the content across the key stages to reflect the different and escalating risks that young people face as they get older; initially relating to online content, then to the conduct of, and contact with, other people online. Pupils can also be taught about this topic as part of Sex and Relationship Education (SRE). The PSHE Association, Brook and the Sex Education Forum have produced supplementary guidance for schools to help them to teach SRE; this advice covers ‘sexting’, including explaining the law and pointing teachers towards further resources.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) has an important role to play. As a UK law enforcement body it can apply the full range of policing powers in tackling the sexual abuse of children. CEOP has also developed a specific educational resource to tackle ‘sexting’, which is designed for use by teachers, parents and young people.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Mr Nick Gibb question first answered 20/10/2014 15:18:25 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

178949

	registered interest
	date	10/02/2015
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Internet: Bullying
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to prevent cyber-bullying of teenage schoolchildren.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	224105
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/02/2015 answer text <p>The Government believes that schools, internet providers and parents all have a role to play in keeping children and young people safe online.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>All schools must have a behaviour policy with measures to tackle bullying, including cyberbullying, and they are held closely to account by Ofsted. The Department for Education has issued advice to schools on preventing and tackling bullying and on supporting bullied children which includes cyberbullying. We have also recently issued advice aimed at parents on how to keep children safe online, spot the signs that a child may be being cyberbullied and what to do if it happens.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>In addition, e-safety is being taught at all four key stages of the curriculum and covers responsible, respectful and secure use of technology. Pupils are also taught age-appropriate ways of reporting any concerns they may have about what they see or encounter online.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Department is also providing around £4 million in funding to various anti-bullying organisations, such as the Diana Award, Kidscape and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Children%27s_Bureau" target="_blank">National Children's Bureau</a> (NCB), who work in schools to combat bullying, including cyberbullying. The NCB has produced a guide for schools on preventing and tackling cyberbullying of children with a special educational need or disability who are especially vulnerable to this form of bullying.</p><p> </p><p>Furthermore, we are currently considering bids through a £25 million voluntary and community sector grant programme to extend the work being undertaken by anti-bullying charities in schools. A £2 million grant is being offered in conjunction with the Government Equalities Office to support projects which tackle specifically homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying in schools.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>More widely, the Government continues to work to protect children online through the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UK_Council_for_Child_Internet_Safety" target="_blank">UK Council for Child Internet Safety</a> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UKCCIS" target="_blank">UKCCIS</a>) which brings together representatives from government, industry, law enforcement, academia, charities and parenting groups.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Mr Nick Gibb question first answered 23/02/2015 11:28:21 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

228123

	registered interest
	date	18/03/2015
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Children: Suicide
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she has taken in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools to reduce the incidence of suicide.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	228146
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/03/2015 answer text <p>Where schools have immediate concerns about the risk of suicide, their safeguarding role is set out in our statutory guidance, Keeping Children Safe in Education. This emphasises that schools should have a designated senior lead, with responsibility for the handling of safeguarding concerns, in place. Where schools have immediate concerns about the risk of suicide, an immediate referral should be made to children’s social care.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Schools can also play an important role in identifying mental health issues early and ensuring that pupils get support to prevent problems from escalating. One in ten children has a diagnosable mental health disorder and the Government is committed to improving support for these young people. The Department for Education is taking action to tackle the stigma around mental health, promote positive wellbeing, and to ensure pupils have the support and knowledge that they need to keep themselves healthy and safe.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>In order to support schools, the Department is publishing new guidance for both primary and secondary schools. This guidance is produced in conjunction with the Personal Social Health and Economic Education Association (PSHE). This will help them to provide age-appropriate teaching on a range of mental health problems, including anxiety, depression and self-harm. We are also updating the Mental Health and Behaviour guidance for schools, first published in June 2014<a title="" href="http://3dcpri-papp09/new_parliamentaryquestion/228146-%20Jim%20Shannon/Draft/228146%20-%20QA%20-%20200315.docx#_ftn1" target="_blank">[1]</a>. This is to ensure that current advice and guidance on supporting pupils mental health needs is reflected. The guidance helps schools to identify and support those with more severe needs and to make appropriate referrals to specialist mental health services. The ‘Future in Mind’ report, published on 17 March 2015<a title="" href="http://3dcpri-papp09/new_parliamentaryquestion/228146-%20Jim%20Shannon/Draft/228146%20-%20QA%20-%20200315.docx#_ftn2" target="_blank">[2]</a>, set out a clear set of ambitions for improving access to specialist mental health support for children and young people. Later this year we will be piloting joint training for points of contact in specialist mental health services and schools across 15 Clinical Commissioning Group areas; this will improve knowledge and referrals, so that pupils get the support they need more quickly.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Many schools already provide pupils with access to counselling services, providing children and young people with safe environments where they can discuss problems and receive support. The Department is publishing new guidance for primary and secondary schools on how to deliver good quality school-based counselling services to support their pupils.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Department knows that children and young people who are persistently bullied are more likely to suffer from poor mental health and emotional wellbeing. It is for this reason that we have made tackling bullying in schools a top priority. All schools must have a behaviour policy with measures to tackle bullying. Schools are held to account for their effectiveness by Ofsted.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><a title="" href="http://3dcpri-papp09/new_parliamentaryquestion/228146-%20Jim%20Shannon/Draft/228146%20-%20QA%20-%20200315.docx#_ftnref1" target="_blank">[1]</a> <a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mental-health-and-behaviour-in-schools--2" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/publications/mental-health-and-behaviour-in-schools--2</a>.</p><p><a title="" href="http://3dcpri-papp09/new_parliamentaryquestion/228146-%20Jim%20Shannon/Draft/228146%20-%20QA%20-%20200315.docx#_ftnref2" target="_blank">[2]</a> <a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/improving-mental-health-services-for-young-people" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/publications/improving-mental-health-services-for-young-people</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Surrey answering member printed Mr Sam Gyimah question first answered 23/03/2015 16:14:53 answering member 3980 label Biography information for Mr Sam Gyimah
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

229372

	registered interest
	date	24/03/2015
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Special Educational Needs
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assistance is provided in schools for children with special educational needs; and what standards and targets her Department sets for the provision and delivery of such assistance.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	228928
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/03/2015 answer text <p>Schools in England have a legal duty to do all that they can to ensure that children with special educational needs get the support they need.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Advice to schools in England on carrying out this duty is given in the statutory guidance provided in the ‘Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice: 0-25 Years’.<a title="" href="http://3dcpri-papp09/new_parliamentaryquestion/228928-%20Jim%20Shannon/Draft/228928%20QA%20250315.docx#_ftn1" target="_blank">[1]</a></p><p> </p><p><a title="" href="http://3dcpri-papp09/new_parliamentaryquestion/228928-%20Jim%20Shannon/Draft/228928%20QA%20250315.docx#_ftnref1" target="_blank">[1]</a> <a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Crewe and Nantwich answering member printed Mr Edward Timpson question first answered 26/03/2015 10:01:56 answering member 1605 label Biography information for Edward Timpson
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

347980

	registered interest
	date	02/06/2015
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Food Technology
	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 promote in primary and secondary schools (a) participation in home economics by and (b) the catering industry as a career for boys.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	816
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/06/2015 answer text <p>Since the introduction of the new national curriculum for England, in September 2014, cooking and nutrition have been compulsory for both boys and girls from key stage 1 to key stage 3. Pupils can also take the new GCSE in food preparation and nutrition from September 2016. This qualification will be a valuable stepping stone for young people wishing to develop their skills, interests and career paths in food-related professions.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Our reforms to careers guidance in England are based on schools connecting pupils with employers, helping them to understand the breadth of career opportunities available. The new, independent Careers and Enterprise Company, announced by the Secretary of State for Education in December 2014, will help secondary schools to build these links. We also welcome the work of programmes such as Primary Futures, which help to broaden the aspirations of young people from an even earlier age.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Schools should consciously work to prevent all forms of stereotyping in the advice and guidance they provide in order to ensure that boys and girls from all backgrounds consider the widest possible range of careers. This is made clear in statutory guidance for schools, which underpins their careers duty.</p> answering member constituency East Surrey answering member printed Mr Sam Gyimah question first answered 08/06/2015 10:13:24 answering member 3980 label Biography information for Mr Sam Gyimah
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon