Catherine McKinnell MP: speeches

Speeches

• 8 Oct 2024 · SEND Provision: East of England · Hansard source

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  I will take away the hon. Lady’s suggestion. I want to set out today how we want to improve our whole education system to serve children in the best way possible regardless of their needs, and especially, given the subject of this debate, children with special educational needs and disabilities. We want to reform the system to achieve that across the board. We know that for many years, parents have been frustrated, but we are determined to fix the system, and I will repeat and reiterate that. However, this starts with being honest with families about the challenges in the system. We urgently need to improve inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, and we need to make sure that there are special schools that can cater for those with complex needs. We are determined to restore parents’ trust that their child will get the support that they need to flourish, no matter their additional need or disability. My hon. Friend the Member for Thurrock (Jen Craft) spoke powerfully about these issues. We know that effective early identification and intervention is key to reducing the impact of a special educational need or disability in the long term. That is why we announced the extended funding for the Nuffield Early Language Intervention programme to continue it into next year, so that we make sure that children get the extra support they need to find their voice and to give them the best start to their education. But there are no quick fixes for these deep-rooted issues. After 14 years, we know that the system is really struggling. It is in desperate need of reform and it is vital that we fix it. That is why we have started this work already; it is a priority for us, but it will take time. We are clear that we cannot do this alone, which is why we will work with those in the sector as essential and valued partners to ensure that our approach is fully planned and delivered together with parents, schools, councils and the expert staff who go above and beyond every day to look after the children in their care. We are acting as quickly as we can to respond to the urgent cost pressures in the SEND system, which are causing real financial problems across the east of England and nationally. Many hon. Members have referred to those problems today. Before the parliamentary recess, we announced a new core schools budget grant, which will provide special and alternative provision schools with an extra £140 million of funding this financial year. Some £13.6 million of that has been allocated to local authorities in the east of England region. That is in addition to the high needs funding allocations for children and young people with complex special educational needs and disabilities, and the existing teachers’ pay and pensions grants. The Department for Education’s budgets for the next financial year have not yet been decided. How much high-needs funding is distributed to local authorities, schools and colleges will depend on the Government’s spending review, which is due to be announced at the end of the month. That means that next year’s high allocation funding to local authorities has not been published to the normal timescales, but we are working across Government to announce next year’s allocations for local authorities as soon as we can. I take on board the comments in that regard from the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for North West Norfolk. Resolving the problems with the SEND system—I repeat this point—will not be easy or quick, and it will not happen as quickly as we or any families who need it want it to happen. But I am keen that we deliver long-term solutions together, and I am grateful for the contributions from across the House on these important issues, because I know that we all want the same thing. As well as making sure that we have better outcomes from the investment made in young people, it is important that there is a fair education funding system and that it directs funding to where it is needed. The hon. Member for Mid Norfolk (George Freeman) raised this issue, and we want to make sure that we have a system that allocates funding in the fairest and most appropriate way possible. However, it will take time to look at that formula, and we will consider carefully the impacts of any changes on local authorities. Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission jointly inspect local area SEND provision to ensure that there is joined-up support for children and young people. Those inspections enable the Department for Education to intervene in cases of significant concern and to work with local authorities and professional advisers to address areas of weakness. My hon. Friend the Member for Ipswich (Jack Abbott) raised this issue, and I, too, am concerned that the SEND inspections in central Bedfordshire and Peterborough in 2019, and in Hertfordshire and Suffolk in 2023, found significant concerns about the experiences and outcomes of children with SEND. The issues raised in the inspection reports are serious. The Government need to be confident that the right actions to secure sustainable and rapid improvement are being taken in these areas. The 2023 inspection report for Southend-on-Sea is also notable. While not being found to have serious concerns, the judgment by Ofsted and the CQC relating to the partnership’s “inconsistent experiences and outcomes for children and young people” highlights the need to work closely with local area partnerships to support and help to drive crucial improvements. It is essential that rapid action is taken to improve SEND services in areas where they are not meeting the need, and that leaders accept collective responsibility and accountability for delivering on agreed actions. That will require a relentless focus on improvement across all service providers so that children, young people and families can access the support they need. Department for Education officials will continue to work closely with these local areas over the coming months to ensure that the necessary progress is being made. For local area partnerships that have yet to be inspected under the new framework, meetings will also continue with SEND leads to keep abreast of emerging issues and concerns, as well as gathering evidence of good practice. Areas that do this well can share that with other local authorities, other regions and nationally. Specialist place sufficiency was raised by a number of Members, including my hon. Friend the Member for Norwich North (Alice Macdonald). Local authorities can use their high needs capital funding to deliver new places in mainstream and special schools, as well as in other specialist settings. It can also be used to improve the suitability and accessibility of existing buildings. Suffolk, for example, has been allocated £23 million in high needs capital funding between 2022 and 2025, and the east of England region as a whole received £236 million. As my hon. Friend the Member for North West Cambridgeshire (Sam Carling) mentioned, in addition to specialist places, it is right that this Government are committed to working with councils, school leaders and other sector partners nationally, and in the east of England, to develop a more inclusive education system within mainstream settings. To ensure the high and rising standards that we want to see in our schools, we have to deliver the right places at the right time and in the right sufficiency. Hon. Members have raised the issue of exclusions— I am very conscious of the time, but I take on board the concerns. A framework is in place that must be followed to ensure that these decisions are made correctly. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Lowestoft again for bringing these matters forward. We recognise that the SEND system needs to improve. We acknowledge the difficulties faced too often in securing the right support for children with SEND. I am determined that that will change. My final word must go to all those working in education, health and care, in the interests of our children and young people with special educational needs, both in the east of England and across the country. Together, we will deliver the best for all our children and young people, no matter their special educational needs or disabilities.

• 9 Sept 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I recognise the concerns the hon. Lady raises. The Government intend to take time to consider the various funding formulas the Department and local authorities currently use to allocate funding for schools. It is really important that we have a fair education funding system that directs funding to where it is needed, and I would be happy to meet her to discuss the particular challenges in her area.

• 9 Sept 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  We recognise the challenges that my hon. Friend raises, which is why the Government will introduce changes, so that state-funded schools can be asked to co-operate with local authorities on admissions and place planning. Local authorities have a responsibility to allocate all applicants a school place on national offer day. If children in his area are still without places, I would be happy to meet him, and to support him in resolving those issues.

• 9 Sept 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady raises a concern that many have raised. She will have seen the level of concern at the special educational needs inheritance that this Government have taken on. Current safety valve agreements will continue to operate, as they are agreed, but we will look at their use going forward. I would be happy to meet her to discuss the particular challenges in her area.

• 9 Sept 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The curriculum assessment review, led by experts, will focus on the evidence—what we know from here and abroad about how we can best help children of all ages and abilities to learn, and that includes children with special educational needs. I am sure that those conducting the review will want to investigate different approaches to the primary curriculum, including those mentioned by my hon. Friend, but I would not want to pre-empt the review’s conclusions and recommendations.

• 9 Sept 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The Secretary of State has set out extensive responses to extensive questions on the inherited challenges in the SEND system. We recognise the issues that the hon. Gentleman raised, and will be happy to meet him and his colleagues around his local authority area to discuss this further.

• 9 Sept 2024 · Teacher Recruitment · Hansard source

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  As a first step in our mission to break down barriers to opportunity, we will recruit 6,500 additional teachers. We have kickstarted the recruitment campaigns, and made a 5.5% pay award, resetting the relationship with the education workforce. We will re-establish teaching as an attractive expert profession after years of damage under the previous Government.

• 9 Sept 2024 · Teacher Recruitment · Hansard source

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  I want teachers to not only remain in the profession, but to thrive in it. That is why we are listening and acting on feedback. The Department, alongside school leaders, has developed a workload reduction toolkit and the education staff wellbeing charter. We will deliver a range of measures to make teaching a better valued and respected profession.

• 9 Sept 2024 · Teacher Recruitment · Hansard source

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  We accepted the School Teachers Review Body’s recommendation of a 5.5% award for teachers and leaders in maintained schools in England from September. It is a substantial award that recognises the hard work of those in our teaching profession. We recognise the challenges in the FE sector also and the issues that the hon. Lady outlines. We will continue to keep the matter under review, because we want to ensure that every child has the best opportunities, whether that is in our school system or in our FE sector.

• 9 Sept 2024 · Teacher Recruitment · Hansard source

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  Breaking down barriers to opportunity is a key mission for this Government and the Scottish Labour party. The SNP has seen attainment gaps widen and child poverty soar, but we will transform our education system so that all young people get the opportunities that they deserve, by driving high and rising standards across our education system. That is the change that this Labour Government will deliver.

• 9 Sept 2024 · Teacher Recruitment · Hansard source

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  We recognise the challenges that the hon. Lady sets out. We are facing an incredibly challenging fiscal position. From the previous Government, we inherited a £22 billion black hole to make up. This is about the opportunities of young people in this country, and we take the issues that she outlines incredibly seriously. We will continue to do what we can within the fiscal envelope that we have, and within the system that we have inherited. That is why we honoured the recommendations of the STRB review, and we will continue to do what we can in FE.

• 5 Sept 2024 · SEND Provision · Hansard source

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  I appreciate the issue my hon. Friend is raising, and I will come on to that, because I appreciate that there have been a lot of comments from Members today on the national funding formula and how it works. I would like to make some progress, so if hon. Members will allow me, there are a number of issues that I would like to respond to, particularly in relation to the hon. Member for Leeds East, who tabled this debate. Despite the fact that high needs funding for children and young people with complex special educational needs and disabilities is rising to higher and higher levels, confidence in the system is low, tribunal rates are increasing and there are increasingly long waits for support. Far too many children with special educational needs fall behind their peers. They do not reach the expected level in fundamental reading, writing and maths skills, with just one in four pupils achieving expected standards at the end of primary school. That is a system that is “lose, lose, lose”, as the former Education Secretary described. Families are struggling to get their child the support they need and, more importantly, deserve. So many hon. Members have spoken on behalf of families that they represent and demonstrated that struggle today. After years in which parents have been frustrated by reform programmes being delayed and by promises not being delivered, this Labour Government want to be honest with families. We are absolutely committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as to ensuring that special schools can cater to those with the most complex needs. We want to restore parents’ trust that their child will get the support that they need to flourish. We know that early identification and intervention is key to ensuring that the impacts of any special educational need or disability is minimised, or reduced, for the long term. That is why we very quickly announced the continuation of funding for the Nuffield Early Language Intervention—NELI—programme, to make sure that it can continue for 2024-25. We know that early speech and language intervention will help these children and young people to find their voices. We also know that there are no quick fixes for these deep-rooted issues. After 14 years, I can scarcely see a system that is so broken or in such desperate need of reform. That is why we are absolutely determined to fix it, and we have started work already. It is a priority for this Department to fix our SEND system, but we know that we cannot do it alone. We have to work with the sector and valued partners, and we have to make sure that our approach is fully planned and delivered together with parents, schools, councils and expert staff—we know they are already going above and beyond for our children, but we can do so much better. As I have already mentioned, many Members have raised concerns about the national funding formula, so the Government acted as quickly as we could to respond to some of the immediate cost pressures in the SEND system. We know that they are causing incredible financial difficulties in some local authorities, so before the parliamentary recess we announced a new core schools budget grant to provide special and alternative provision schools with over £140 million of extra funding in this financial year, to help with the extra costs of the teacher pay award and the outcome of the negotiations about increased pay for support staff as well. That money is in addition to the high needs funding allocation for children and young people with complex special needs and disabilities. However, despite those record levels of investment, I know that families are still fighting the system, because it is not delivering. The Department for Education’s budget for 2025-26 has not yet been decided, and how much high needs funding is distributed to local authorities, schools and colleges next year will depend on the next stage of the Government’s spending review, due to be announced in October. That means that the high needs allocations have not been published within the normal timescale, but we are working at pace to announce next year’s funding allocations. We are acutely aware of the pressures that local authorities face, not only because they are supporting the increasing needs of young people and children, but because of the financial pressures that the Government as a whole face because of the economic climate we have inherited. It will not be easy or quick to solve those problems, but we really want to work on long-term solutions and we want to work together with others on these important issues. That includes looking at the national funding formula. We will take time to consider whether to make changes to it. We will of course consider the impact on any local authorities and, as my hon. Friend the Member for West Lancashire (Ashley Dalton) mentioned, on particular areas that have made representations in relation to the formula.

• 5 Sept 2024 · SEND Provision · Hansard source

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  It is an honour to serve under you as Chair, Mr Betts. I congratulate the hon. Member for Leeds East (Richard Burgon) on securing a debate on this incredibly important subject. The fact that it is so well attended shows how important it is. I pay tribute to all hon. Members who have managed to make their contributions today, ensuring that their constituents’ voices are heard. I would like to be able to respond to all the individual points, but the sheer volume of speakers will make that challenging. I also pay tribute to those present who have prepared speeches but have not been able to deliver them. I know their constituents want their voices to be heard in this debate as well, and I pay tribute to the effort that Members put in to attend and to show such a level of support.

• 5 Sept 2024 · SEND Provision · Hansard source

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  I appreciate my hon. Friend’s concern, and this Government are absolutely committed to strengthening children’s entitlement to excellent provision that meets their needs and that is readily available, locally wherever possible. That is a key focus of any changes that we wish to see made in this area.

• 5 Sept 2024 · SEND Provision · Hansard source

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  I will say again and again that we are absolutely committed to ensuring that every child’s entitlement to have the best education possible, in their local area and where they need it, can be delivered under our system. Nothing says more about the state of our nation than the wellbeing of our children. However, one of the great casualties of the last 14 years has been our children’s wellbeing, their development and their opportunities. Under the last Government, we saw relative child poverty soar, the rates of children presenting with mental health conditions skyrocketing, and more and more children languishing on waiting lists. It now falls to the Labour Government to rebuild opportunities for our children. That is why we have bold ambitions and why we are determined to deliver on them. I thank hon. Members for bringing this matter forward today and all Members who have contributed to this debate. However, most of all I want to acknowledge the hard work being done by so many people working in education, health and care who support our children and young people with special educational needs. We know that work is challenging, but we thank them for their commitment and their service.

• 5 Sept 2024 · SEND Provision · Hansard source

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  I will—last one!

• 5 Sept 2024 · SEND Provision · Hansard source

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  I really am short of time. On inspection, we welcome the publication of the Big Listen response this week. We want to work with Ofsted to consider how outcomes for children with SEND can better demonstrate inclusion, and we want every school to be driving to be as inclusive as it can be, so that mainstream provision is provided for as many children as possible. In the interests of fairness, I will give way just one more time.

• 5 Sept 2024 · SEND Provision · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention. I think she speaks for many here today, and many of those watching this debate as well. We are listening; we are committed; we want to work across the sector and with everyone here in order to turn this around. More than 1.6 million children and young people in England have special educational needs, and we know that, for far too long, too many families have been let down by a system that is not working. As mentioned already, the former Secretary of State for Education described the system as “lose, lose, lose”, and I know there is agreement in this room that that is very much the case.

• 5 Sept 2024 · SEND Provision · Hansard source

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  I will give way in a moment. The strength of feeling on this issue is clear. Most of all, I reassure the Chamber that this Government are absolutely committed to tackling it. It is key to breaking down the barriers to opportunity to give every child the best start in life, and that includes all those with special educational needs and disabilities, to give them the right start in life to have a successful education and to lead happy, healthy and productive lives. I warn the Chamber that I will not be able to take many interventions, but I will take one from my hon. Friend the Member for Derby North (Catherine Atkinson), who got in so fast.

• 4 Sept 2024 · SEND Provision: Hertfordshire and Central Bedfordshire · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under you as Chair, Dr Huq. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Hitchin (Alistair Strathern) on securing this debate on an incredibly important subject. His excellent speech set out in great detail the challenges that far too many face in his local area. He is a champion for children and families in his constituency, and he shares this Government’s vision of breaking down the barriers to opportunity and ensuring all children receive the best start in life and the right support, so that they succeed in their education and lead happy, healthy and productive lives. I thank him for his kind words in opening. I assure him that improving the special educational needs and disabilities system across this country is a priority for this Government, and that includes improving services for children and young people with SEND in Central Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire. More than 1.6 million children and young people in England have special educational needs. We know that for far too long, as hon. Members on both sides of the House have set out, they have been let down by a system that is not working. The former Secretary of State for Education said that the system was “lose, lose, lose”, and she was right: far too many families have been failed. Despite high needs funding for children and young people with complex special educational needs and disabilities rising to higher and higher levels, confidence in the SEND system is low, tribunal rates are increasing and there are increasingly long waits for support. Far too many children with special educational needs fall behind their peers, and they do not reach the fundamental expected level in reading, writing and maths. Just one in four pupils achieved the expected standard at the end of primary school. Families struggle to get their child the support they need and, more importantly, deserve. That really must change. Parents have felt frustrated for years, and there have been constant delays to the reform programme; we see time and again that there is a lack of trust in the system. This Government want to be honest with families. We are committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, and ensuring that special schools can cater to those with the most complex needs. Fundamentally, we want to restore parents’ trust that their child will get the support they need to flourish. Effective early identification and intervention can reduce the impact that a special educational need or disability may have in the long term. That is why, in July, the Government announced that the funded support for the 11,100 schools registered for the Nuffield early language intervention programme will continue for the year 2024-25. We know that extra support with speech and language is so important to help young people find their voice. But there are no quick fixes for these deep-rooted issues. After 14 years, I have barely seen a system as broken. It is in desperate need of reform, so it is important that we fix it. I welcome the comments from the hon. Members for Mid Bedfordshire (Blake Stephenson) and for Broxbourne (Lewis Cocking), who recognise that this is an inherited challenge; so many of us in this House want to see it addressed. Let me be clear: we have started work already. Fixing our SEND system is a priority for the Department, but I have to be clear that it will take time and Government cannot do it alone. We will work with our essential and valued partners in the sector to ensure that our approach is fully planned and delivered. We will work together with parents, schools, councils and expert staff who, as my hon. Friend the Member for Hitchin rightly said, go above and beyond to support our children. We are acting as quickly as we can to respond to the cost pressures in the SEND system because they are causing real financial problems in some local authorities, including in Hertfordshire and Central Bedfordshire. Before the parliamentary recess we announced a new core schools budget grant, which will provide special and alternative provision schools with over £140 million of extra funding in the 2024-25 financial year to help with the extra costs of the teachers’ pay award and the outcome of the negotiations for support staff. That is in addition to the high needs funding allocations for children and young people with complex special educational needs and disabilities. Department for Education budgets have not yet been set for 2025-26. How much high needs funding is distributed to local authority schools and colleges next year will depend on the next stage of the Government spending review, due to be announced at the end of October. We are in listening mode to the challenges that are being set out today. That means that next year’s allocations of high needs funding have not been published to the normal timescales, but we are working across Government to announce next year’s allocations for Hertfordshire, Central Bedfordshire and other local authorities as soon as we possibly can. We are acutely aware of the financial pressures that local authorities are facing, not just from supporting young people with complex needs, but from what we have inherited as a whole with the economic climate and the challenges around that. Resolving these problems will not be quick or easy, and it is important that we take the time to develop long-term solutions to ensure that we take a long-term approach to tackling these issues. I welcome the opportunity to hear Members’ thoughts on how we can do that together as we go forward. We need to ensure that we get better outcomes from our investment for young people. It is important that we have a fair education funding system that directs funding to where it is needed and can make the most impact. One aspect of that is the national funding formula and the way in which the high needs funding allocated to local authorities is used. We need to take time, if there are any changes to that formula, to ensure that we consider the impact and get it right. As we know, Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission jointly inspect local area SEND provision. Those inspections enable the Department to intervene in areas of significant concern, and work with local authorities and professional advisers to address weaknesses. I am concerned that the SEND inspections in Central Bedfordshire in November 2019 and in Hertfordshire in July ’23 found significant concerns about the experiences and outcomes of children with special educational needs and disabilities. Ofsted and the CQC revisited Central Bedfordshire in July ’22, and found that three of the six initial areas of weakness had improved. Central Bedfordshire produced an accelerated progress plan to address the remaining areas of weakness, and the Department continues to monitor those areas. The issues raised in the inspection reports are serious. The Government need to be confident that the local area in Central Bedfordshire and the local area partnership in Hertfordshire are taking the right actions to secure rapid and sustainable improvement. We work alongside NHS England advisers, we meet every six months with local leaders and representatives from schools and colleges, and we have a parent carer forum to review and challenge progress on the accelerated progress plan. In Hertfordshire, the local area appointed Dame Christine Lenehan to chair an independent board to bring about rapid improvement. DFE officials, an NHS England adviser and a SEND adviser meet monthly with local leaders and Dame Christine to scrutinise and challenge the improvement plan. It is so important that that work is undertaken. I am conscious of time. I want to do justice to the excellent speech given by my hon. Friend the Member for Hitchin, but I fear I will not have time to address all the concerns that he raised; he went into quite some detail. I am keen to write to him with more details of the ongoing work in order to reassure him that many of the issues he raised are being tackled, and that the Department for Education is working to ensure that the improvement programmes are delivered. I thank him again for bringing this matter forward. We are all passionate about the SEND outcomes in his local area and right across the country. We recognise that the system needs to improve, we recognise the hardship that many families are facing, and we are determined that that will change. Like my hon. Friend, I thank everyone working in the SEND system to deliver better outcomes for all our children across the country. Motion lapsed (Standing Order No. 10(6)).

• 3 Sept 2024 · Ofsted · Hansard source

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  Ensuring that we meet the needs of children with special educational needs and their families is a key priority for the Government. We recognise that the system is broken and that there are too many families and too many children not getting the education that they deserve. We see this as part of the process of resetting that relationship and resetting the system so that we can have a school system that is inclusive, where that is appropriate, and so that we can have mainstream schools that serve the whole community. We will endeavour, as part of wider reforms that we are looking at, to ensure that we have a special educational needs system that meets the needs of every child in this country.

• 3 Sept 2024 · Ofsted · Hansard source

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  Hear, hear. We know that the system has been letting down children and families, and that we have a shortage of people who want to be teachers. We need to make sure we have a teaching workforce that can deliver the education that every child deserves. My hon. Friend puts it incredibly eloquently, and I very much agree that this is about resetting our system and resetting the Government’s relationship with families, so that they send their children to school and believe that school is the best place for their child, and with teachers, so that they know they are trusted, valued and supported to deliver what I know they went into teaching to deliver, and so that we encourage more people to become teachers.

• 3 Sept 2024 · Ofsted · Hansard source

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  We recognise that this is a first step on the journey towards removing single headline grades, which we see as reductive—we have widespread agreement on that—across all educational remits. At this stage, we are implementing it in schools as a matter of priority, but we will work with Ofsted and the sector over the next year to develop reporting arrangements across a whole range of areas for which Ofsted has responsibility.

• 3 Sept 2024 · Ofsted · Hansard source

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  We will continue to intervene in the worst-performing schools. Where a school would previously have been rated “inadequate”, the Government will still take action. We will issue academy orders, if required, in line with legal requirements. Inspection reports will continue to make it clear to parents if a school is in this situation, and Ofsted will continue to make it clear where a school is causing concern and if intervention is required by law. We will also ensure that, where schools need support, they get that support. We will roll out regional improvement teams to ensure that, where schools are struggling, they get the support they need, through a system that partners them with high-performing schools in the area to ensure that schools work together for the benefit of their whole community. We see that as a key part of driving the reforms that we want to see for every child.

• 3 Sept 2024 · Ofsted · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend puts the issues very well. We will consult on the report card system and take the time to ensure that we get it right, but we want to ensure that we have a clearer picture for parents by putting a clearer spotlight on a greater range of areas of performance, rather than a one-word overall judgment. For example, we want to give parents a better picture of the support that a school is providing for children with special educational needs. As part of the process, we will explore how to demonstrate that within the report card system.