Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans must specify the special educational provision required to meet each of the child or young person\u2019s special educational needs. It is the responsibility of the local authority to secure the special educational provision specified in the plan. The department does not collect data on the specific types of special educational provision that are included in EHC plans.<\/p>
<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4761", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for David Johnston"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Wantage"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "David Johnston"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2023-09-07", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2023-09-07T12:57:29.977Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "60"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2023-07-19", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Special Educational Needs: Sign Language"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many Education, Health and Care Plans included funding for courses in British Sign Language in each of the last five years.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4532", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Derek Thomas"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "St Ives"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Derek Thomas"} ], "uin" : "195121"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1650830", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Education"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1650830/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The government has not assessed the accessibility of British Sign Language (BSL) classes for those who are ineligible for the adult education budget (AEB). However, the AEB targets a wide range of individuals, including, but not limited to, UK nationals, other non-UK nationals, certain EU nationals and their family members, and individuals with certain types of immigration status (such as refugee status and those with indefinite leave to remain) and some asylum seekers.<\/p>
Funding is available through the AEB for qualifications in or focussing on BSL up to and including level 2. About 60% of the AEB has been devolved to Mayoral Combined Authorities and the Greater London Authority, who determine which provision to fund for learners who live in their areas. The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) provides the remaining funding for learners who live in non-devolved areas, which includes St Ives Constituency.<\/p>
ESFA funded AEB qualifications include, for example, the Level 1 Award in BSL which allows learners to communicate in BSL on a range of topics that involve simple, everyday language use, thereby giving them the basic skills and confidence in production and reception of BSL. It will depend on an individual\u2019s circumstances as to whether they are entitled to free provision or expected to meet part of the cost, through co-funding. Where community learning providers offer BSL courses, those providers are responsible for determining the course fees, including levels of fee remission.<\/p>
For parents learning BSL on an AEB funded course, there is also additional support available. The AEB provides funding to colleges and providers to help adult learners overcome barriers preventing them from accessing learning. Providers have discretion to help learners meet costs such as transport, accommodation, books, equipment, and childcare. Learning support funding also helps colleges and training providers to meet the additional needs of learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and the costs of reasonable adjustments, as set out in the Equality Act 2010.<\/p>
<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4806", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Claire Coutinho"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "East Surrey"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Claire Coutinho"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2023-07-12", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2023-07-12T16:39:36.157Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "60"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2023-07-06", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "British Sign Language: Adult Education"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the accessibility of British Sign Language classes for parents of (a) deaf children and (b) children with hearing loss who are ineligible for grants under the adult education budget; and what alternative steps the Government is taking to help support those parents to learn how to communicate with their children.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4532", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Derek Thomas"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "St Ives"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Derek Thomas"} ], "uin" : "192889"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1646660", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Education"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1646660/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The department recognises that the quality of Alternative Provision placements in Cornwall is variable, and is also aware of the pressures that the reduced number of places has on schools. The department is engaging closely with the local authority and trusts in the local area to increase standards through supporting and challenging specialist trusts to ensure they are consistently delivering high quality provision, and encouraging strong mainstream trusts to consider working in the specialist sector in order to diversify provision in the area over time.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4806", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Claire Coutinho"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "East Surrey"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Claire Coutinho"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2023-06-27", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2023-06-27T12:34:51.71Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "60"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2023-06-22", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Alternative Education: Cornwall"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of alternative provision placements in Cornwall; and what assessment he has made of the impact of the number of placements available on schools\u2019 budgets.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4532", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Derek Thomas"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "St Ives"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Derek Thomas"} ], "uin" : "190824"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1646661", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Education"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1646661/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
Local authorities are statutorily responsible for securing the special educational provision specified in a child or young person\u2019s Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan.<\/p>
It is for local authorities to assess the adequacy of amounts of top-up funding for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, in line with their statutory duties to secure the provision specified in the EHC plan.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4806", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Claire Coutinho"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "East Surrey"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Claire Coutinho"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2023-06-27", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2023-06-27T12:15:44.483Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "60"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2023-06-22", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Special Educational Needs: Cornwall"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of amounts of top-up funding for children with special educational needs and disabilities in Cornwall.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4532", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Derek Thomas"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "St Ives"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Derek Thomas"} ], "uin" : "190825"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1646662", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Education"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1646662/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
This Government is committed to providing a world class education system for all children. The Autumn Statement announced an additional investment of £2 billion in each of the 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years, above the totals announced at the Spending Review 2021. Total funding for both mainstream schools and high needs schools will total £58.8 billion in 2024/25. This is the highest ever level in real terms per pupil, as measured by the Institute for Fiscal Studies.<\/p>
Of the £2 billion of additional funding announced in the Autumn Statement, £400 million will be allocated to local authorities\u2019 high needs budgets, with a new condition placed on local authorities to ensure that a fair share of that will be passed directly to special schools and alternative provision. The remaining funding will be allocated to schools through the new Mainstream Schools Additional Grant (MSAG) and through boosting the pupil premium funding rates, which are increasing by 5% in 2023/24 compared to last year.<\/p>
For mainstream schools, additional funding through the MSAG is worth an average 3.4%, or £192, per pupil in 2023/24. This is being provided on top of the allocations based on the national funding formula (NFF) announced in July 2022. An average primary school with 200 pupils will receive approximately £35,000 in additional funding through the new MSAG, and an average secondary school with 900 pupils will receive approximately £200,000. This will support schools to manage costs.<\/p>
In March 2023, the Department made an offer on pay, conditions and workload to the education unions, as set out here: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/03/28/teacher-strikes-latest-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-teacher-pay-offer/<\/a>.<\/p> This offer set out that, taking account of the most up to date assumptions for both energy prices and support staff pay for 2023/24, the Department has calculated that a 4% teacher pay award should be affordable within existing funding. The Government\u2019s judgement of the affordability of teacher pay increases is, as usual, based on national figures which equate to the position for an average school. This assessment considers the impact of national level changes in energy prices, inflation and support staff pay for an average school to assess the affordability of teachers pay increases for schools. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) assessed that the most recent teachers\u2019 pay offer, if it had been accepted, would have meant school funding was still growing faster than costs.<\/p> Following unions\u2019 rejection of the Government\u2019s offer in March 2023, the independent School Teachers\u2019 Review Body has submitted its recommendations to the Government on teacher pay for 2023/24, as part of the normal process. The Department will be considering the recommendations and will publish its response in the usual way.<\/p> The Government has announced that from April 2023, the Energy Bill Discount Scheme will mean eligible schools will receive a discount on high energy bills until 31 March 2024. This replaces the previous Energy Bill Relief Scheme which ran from October 2022 to 31 March 2023 and provided a price reduction, protecting schools from excessively high energy bills over the winter period.<\/p> In addition to the support for schools\u2019 day to day running costs, as set out above, the Department allocated £500 million of additional capital funding in 2022/23 for schools, sixth form colleges, and Further Education (FE) colleges to help improve energy efficiency. This comprised £447 million for schools and sixth form colleges and £53 million for FE colleges to spend on capital improvements to buildings and facilities, prioritising works to improve energy efficiency. The Department has also published guidance for schools and colleges on steps for reducing energy use and small scale works to improve energy efficiency which can be implemented relatively quickly.<\/p> The Department recognises that every school\u2019s circumstances are different, and where schools are in serious financial difficulty, they should contact their local authority or the Education and Skills Funding Agency.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/111", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Nick Gibb"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Bognor Regis and Littlehampton"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Nick Gibb"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2023-07-07", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2023-07-07T16:23:46.283Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "60"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Education"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Education"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2023-06-22", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Teachers: Pay"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of energy costs on the ability of schools to fund teacher pay rises.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4532", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Derek Thomas"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "St Ives"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Derek Thomas"}
], "uin" : "190826"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1646663", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Education"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1646663/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " There are now over 468,000 full time equivalent (FTE) teachers in state funded schools in England, which is an increase of 2,800 (less than 1%) since last year, and an increase of 27,000 (6%) since 2010.<\/p> The Department wants to ensure there are excellent teachers where they are most needed. The Department knows there is further to go to improve recruitment in some subjects.<\/p> \u200bIn October 2022, the Department announced an Initial Teacher Training (ITT) financial incentives package worth up to £181 million for those starting ITT in 2023/24, which is a £52 million increase on 2022/23. The package includes bursaries worth £27,000 tax free and scholarships worth £29,000 tax free, to encourage talented trainees to teach in key subjects, such as physics, chemistry, and computing. More information on the financial incentives package can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/funding-initial-teacher-training-itt/funding-initial-teacher-training-itt-academic-year-2023-to-2024<\/a>.<\/p>