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349166

registered interest
date	09/06/2015
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children: Day Care
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if it is her policy that parents on zero-hours contracts will be eligible for 30 hours a week free childcare under the Government's proposals for free childcare.
tabling member constituency	Washington and Sunderland West
tabling member printed	Mrs Sharon Hodgson
uin	1768
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/06/2015 answer text <p>The additional free childcare will be available to working parents with three- and four-year-olds. We recognise that many flexible ways of working exist in the modern working environment. Further information on the detail of which parents will qualify will be made available in due course.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Surrey answering member printed Mr Sam Gyimah question first answered 16/06/2015 14:29:01 answering member 3980 label Biography information for Mr Sam Gyimah
tabling member	1521 label Biography information for Mrs Sharon Hodgson

349167

registered interest
date	09/06/2015
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children: Day Care
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what criteria the Government plans to set for parents to qualify as working parents and be able to access 30 hours a week free childcare under its proposals for free childcare provision.
tabling member constituency	Washington and Sunderland West
tabling member printed	Mrs Sharon Hodgson
uin	1769
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/06/2015 answer text <p>The additional hours will be available to families where both parents are working (or the sole parent is working in a lone parent family). Further information on the detail of which parents will qualify will be announced in due course.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Surrey answering member printed Mr Sam Gyimah question first answered 16/06/2015 14:27:05 answering member 3980 label Biography information for Mr Sam Gyimah
tabling member	1521 label Biography information for Mrs Sharon Hodgson

349206

registered interest
date	09/06/2015
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Pupils: Holidays
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 ensure that pupils are not taken out of schools for holidays in term time.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	1680
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2015 answer text <p>We want schools to reduce their overall absence rates because evidence shows there is a link between regular school attendance and high levels of academic attainment [1]. In September 2013 we changed the law so that schools in England can only grant leave of absence in exceptional circumstances. The most recent figures show that almost 2.4 million fewer school days were missed because of term-time family holidays in the 2013/14 academic year, compared to the 2012/13 academic year.</p><p>[1] <a href="http://tinyurl.com/nazrpd2" target="_blank">http://tinyurl.com/nazrpd2</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 17/06/2015 16:35:11 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

349209

registered interest
date	09/06/2015
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Schools: Capital Investment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the workings of the Educational Funding Agency Regional Framework Agreement; and if she will change that Agreement to enable more local construction companies to bid for contracts.
tabling member constituency	South West Devon
tabling member printed	Mr Gary Streeter
uin	1596
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2015 answer text <p>We would not be able to deliver school buildings without the substantial involvement of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the country.</p><p> </p><p><br> The regional framework is just one of a number of procurement routes used by the Education Funding Agency for the delivery of central programmes, for example the free schools programme uses a wide of variety of procurement routes, including local arrangements. In addition the vast majority of capital funding for schools is distributed directly to academies, local authorities and other responsible bodies who are free to select the procurement method which best suits their needs. The use of Education Funding Agency frameworks is not mandated and it continually reviews those frameworks and procurement methods to ensure SMEs and local businesses are not unduly excluded.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Crewe and Nantwich answering member printed Edward Timpson question first answered 17/06/2015 14:37:15 answering member 1605 label Biography information for Edward Timpson
tabling member	234 label Biography information for Sir Gary Streeter

349238

registered interest
date	09/06/2015
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children in Care
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 on improving outcomes for looked after children by improving (a) the collection of data and (b) quality of care.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	1535
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2015 answer text <p>The educational attainment of looked after children has improved over recent years at key stages 2 and 4, absence and exclusion rates have fallen, and offending and substance misuse rates have also fallen. Latest statistics are published in the statistical first release 'Outcomes for children looked after by local authorities': <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/outcomes-for-children-looked-after-by-local-authorities" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/outcomes-for-children-looked-after-by-local-authorities</a>. It is not possible to attribute these improvements to single factors such as data collection improvements.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The department, working with its key users and interested parties, is regularly making improvements to the annual looked after children data collection from local authorities. Through our work to provide timely and relevant transparency information, the department is striving to help drive local and national improvement in the outcomes for looked after children. For example, in 2014, for the first time, information was collected on the activity and accommodation of care leavers aged 19, 20 and 21 (previously it was just 19-year-olds), which enables a fuller understanding of the numbers of young people who are not in education, employment or training when they leave care. In 2016, in order to help understand the causes of placement instability, the department will begin to collect data on the reason for placement moves.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Significant progress has been made in recent years to improve the quality of care. The department has taken steps to streamline and strengthen the assessment and approval for foster carers and improve their recruitment and retention. The department has also taken steps to encourage social workers to give foster carers a more active role in day-to-day decisions. New qualifications requirements have been introduced to improve the level of skills for care workers and children’s homes. In April 2015, new quality standards regulations were introduced in order to improve the experience of children in residential care. These new quality standards can be found online here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/355577/Guide_to_the_children_s_homes_regulations.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/355577/Guide_to_the_children_s_homes_regulations.pdf</a></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The department has invested £36 million over the last four years in developing, testing and embedding evidence based interventions for looked-after children and those on the edge of care or custody. Long-term foster care as a distinct placement type was introduced in April 2015 to ensure that long-term arrangements are planned, stable and made in the best interests of the child. The department is also funding a two-year programme, until March 2016, to develop more effective ways of supporting vulnerable children through the Innovation Programme.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We are committed to improving transitions from care. To that end we published a cross-departmental care leaver strategy in 2013 and a ‘one year on’ report in 2014 setting out the ways in which the strategy improved services for this group of young people.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Crewe and Nantwich answering member printed Edward Timpson question first answered 17/06/2015 15:24:52 answering member 1605 label Biography information for Edward Timpson
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

349267

registered interest
date	09/06/2015
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Arts: Primary Education
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 the creative curriculum in primary schools; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Stevenage
tabling member printed	Stephen McPartland
uin	1605
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2015 answer text <p>We recognise that the arts form an integral part of a child’s education and believe strongly that every child should experience a high-quality arts and cultural education throughout their time at school.</p><p> </p><p>Music, and art and design are statutory subjects in the national curriculum and must be studied by all pupils in maintained primary schools from the age of five.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, for 2012-16, we have allocated over £470 million to a diverse range of music and arts education programmes that are designed to improve access to the arts and culture for all children, regardless of their background, and to develop talent across the country.</p><p>These programmes include support for 123 music education hubs, which are charged with ensuring that every child sings and learns to play a musical instrument, the Shakespeare Schools Festival, and programmes designed to encourage more primary school pupils to visit museums and to understand their local heritage.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 17/06/2015 16:26:49 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4093 label Biography information for Stephen McPartland

349270

registered interest
date	09/06/2015
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children in Care
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to improve support and training for foster carers and key workers in children's homes on (a) helping children overcome past experiences and (b) building positive relationships with children.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	1611
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/06/2015 answer text <p>New mandatory qualifications for those working in and managing children’s homes were introduced in January 2015. These assess the key workers’ ability to build positive attachments and relationships with children and provide support for children who have experienced harm or abuse. On 6<sup>th</sup> April, the Children’s Homes Regulations 2015 came into force. The regulations introduced new quality standards, ambitious in the outcomes they set out for children in residential care. Staff are being trained and supported to meet the quality standards through a one year implementation programme, funded by the Department for Education.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The government has invested significantly in supporting local authorities to embed evidence based interventions, offering training and support to foster carers, kinship carers, birth parents, residential workers and adopters. These interventions include ‘Keeping foster and kinship carers safe and supported’ (KEEP) and ‘Multidimensional treatment foster care’ (MTFC) which enable foster carers to support children and young people to build on their strengths, address the difficulties in every area of their lives and promote placement stability by building the skills and confidence of carers. Through the Innovation Programme, the Department is also supporting the introduction of the ‘Mockingbird project’, focusing on support for kinship and foster carers looking after adolescents.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Crewe and Nantwich answering member printed Edward Timpson question first answered 16/06/2015 14:57:21 answering member 1605 label Biography information for Edward Timpson
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

349296

registered interest
date	09/06/2015
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children: Mental Health
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 good mental health among (a) deaf children and young people in mainstream education and (b) such children and young people in other contexts.
tabling member constituency	Stretford and Urmston
tabling member printed	Kate Green
uin	1749
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/06/2015 answer text <p>The Government is committed to improving the mental health and wellbeing of all children and young people. Mainstream and special schools have a vital role to play in helping to promote good mental health for all their pupils as well as providing early support where mental health problems have been identified.</p><p> </p><p>To support them to do this, we have funded the PSHE Association to publish age-appropriate guidance to improve teaching about mental health within PSHE. This will be followed by a set of lesson plans spanning key stages 1-4 which will be available for schools to use by September 2015. More information can be found online here: <a href="https://www.pshe-association.org.uk/news_detail.aspx?ID=1435" target="_blank">https://www.pshe-association.org.uk/news_detail.aspx?ID=1435</a></p><p> </p><p>We recognise that prevalence of mental health problems is greater among deaf children. For children, the impact of deafness on their social &amp; psychological development as well as their communication, literacy and educational achievement can be dramatic. Good mental health is one of the four positive outcomes for all children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) that are at the heart of the recent SEND reforms. These reforms created a holistic and responsive approach to meeting the education, health and care needs of disabled children and young people, including those with hearing impairments.</p><p> </p><p>For those with more complex needs, including pupils in special schools, statements are being replaced by Education, Health and Care Plans. These are intended to cover the full range of the child or young person’s needs, including consideration of their mental health and wellbeing. This is to recognise the interaction between the issues they face and the need for joined up support. Children and young people should be involved in developing their EHC plan to ensure that their ambitions and the things that are important to them are reflected. The statutory guidance is available here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25</a></p><p> </p><p>Where mental health needs are identified it is important that suitable effective provision can be made. The Department of Health has begun identifying and taking forward actions on how we can provide therapeutic support to deaf people. In the meantime, Clinical Commissioning Groups are expected to recognise the importance of commissioning mental health services that are accessible to British Sign Language users and deaf people more generally.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Surrey answering member printed Mr Sam Gyimah question first answered 16/06/2015 14:32:14 answering member 3980 label Biography information for Mr Sam Gyimah
tabling member	4120 label Biography information for Kate Green

349324

registered interest
date	09/06/2015
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Schools: Finance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of whether the budget allocations to (a) local authority maintained schools and (b) schools receiving funding from the Education Funding Agency for 2015-16 and are projected to receive in 2016 and 2017 will be sufficient to fund (i) increases to employer's contributions to teachers' and support staff's pensions, (ii) increases in teachers' and support staff's salaries and (iii) other costs.
tabling member constituency	Enfield North
tabling member printed	Joan Ryan
uin	1717
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/06/2015 answer text <p>The Government is committed to protecting the schools budget, and will ensure that the funding schools receive increases as pupil numbers increase. On current pupil number forecasts, there will be a real-terms increase in the schools budget in this parliament. We will look carefully at the impact of changes in schools’ costs when making plans for education spending in 2016-17 and onwards, and will continue to provide information and guidance to help schools improve their efficiency and manage their finances.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Surrey answering member printed Mr Sam Gyimah question first answered 16/06/2015 14:33:13 answering member 3980 label Biography information for Mr Sam Gyimah
tabling member	166 label Biography information for Joan Ryan

349326

registered interest
date	09/06/2015
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, pursuant to the Answer of 4 June 2015 to Question 214, whether collaboration between her Department and the Department of Health has given rise to any measure intended to ensure that adoption is presented as an option to women with unwanted pregnancies; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Congleton
tabling member printed	Fiona Bruce
uin	1727
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2015 answer text <p>The Department for Education and the Department of Health are not taking forward any work to present adoption as an option to women with unwanted pregnancies. However, the NHS website offers advice for women on unwanted pregnancies, including reference to the option of considering adoption for the baby. More information can be found online at: <a href="http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Abortion/Pages/When-should-it-be-done.aspx" target="_blank">http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Abortion/Pages/When-should-it-be-done.aspx</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Crewe and Nantwich answering member printed Edward Timpson question first answered 17/06/2015 13:58:00 answering member 1605 label Biography information for Edward Timpson
tabling member	3958 label Biography information for Fiona Bruce