Catherine McKinnell MP: speeches

Speeches

• 19 Jun 2025 · Water Safety Education · Hansard source

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  As I said, we are working with sector organisations on the content of the curriculum, and we are working with the sector on the delivery of these programmes. I could go into detail on Ofsted and the changes we are making on accountability, but I do not believe there is time in this debate. However, I take the challenge and I will take that away. I agree that not only do we need to say that children should have these things, but we need to make sure that they are armed with the knowledge that we know will keep them safe. A number of Members, inspired by my hon. Friend the Member for West Ham and Beckton (James Asser), have mentioned public information campaigns. That brought to my mind the story of Evan Crisp from Newcastle. Six years ago, Evan and his friends were at Beadnell bay in Northumberland, celebrating finishing their exams, as we know lots of young people will be doing at the moment. He was caught in a rip and was swept out to sea. As Evan lost sight of the beach, he recalled an RNLI advert that he had seen very briefly—only for a minute—before a film that he had gone to see. Everyone who falls unexpectedly into cold water wants to follow the same instinct: to swim hard, to fight the cold water. Yet when people fight, the chances are that they will lose. Cold water will make you gasp uncontrollably. Breathe in water and you will drown. If you just float until the cold-water shock has passed, you can control your breathing and have a far better chance of staying alive. Evan followed that advice and managed to hold on to consciousness for 45 minutes until he was rescued. He feels incredibly grateful to be alive because he knows that many people do not have that opportunity. He did not learn that information at school, but from a public information campaign. I will therefore take away the asks that have been made—they are not necessarily for my Department, but for the Government more broadly. Many useful suggestions have been made in our discussions, and we can take those away and work on them. It is clear from this debate that water safety must be a part of every child’s education. Alongside the national curriculum, education settings should have access to a wide range of engaging programmes, so that young people can know how to enjoy water safely. It can be done and it should be done. I am delighted that representatives from RLSS UK, Swim England, RNLI and the Canal and River Trust have all agreed to meet me to discuss their work to support water safety education in schools. I am grateful for their ongoing work in that area. I am also grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Southampton Itchen, the APPG on water safety education and all Members who contributed to this important debate. My final word goes to the families who have been affected by the terrible loss of a loved one, and in particular Joe Abbess’s family, who are here today. Your brave campaigning will save lives, so thank you.

• 19 Jun 2025 · Water Safety Education · Hansard source

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  I join Members in congratulating my hon. Friend the Member for Southampton Itchen (Darren Paffey) on securing a debate on this incredibly important topic in this very timely week and on his powerful opening speech. I was truly saddened to hear of the deaths of his constituent Joe Abbess and Sunnah Khan at Bournemouth beach in June 2023. I extend my heartfelt condolences to their families and pay tribute to Vanessa Abbess for her campaigning. I thank the hon. Member for Harborough, Oadby and Wigston (Neil O’Brien) for paying such thorough tribute to all Members for their contributions. If I am honest, he has saved me the task, as he did real credit to the widespread and important contributions that have been made. A number of Members present are clearly working very hard in Parliament on water safety issues, and it is a real honour to work with them. I welcome the engagement from my hon. Friend the Member for Southampton Itchen on this topic and wish him every success in his new role as chair of the all-party parliamentary group on water safety education. By holding this debate, we alert more people to the issue of water safety, and we spread understanding of the dangers of water, particularly in this hot weather. As mentioned by my right hon. Friend the Member for Oxford East (Anneliese Dodds), we must remember those who have been affected. There have been many names mentioned and many tragic stories, and by remembering them today, we save lives and prevent tragedies from happening to others. I want to put on record how sorry I am to hear about Serren Bennet, who is still missing from Redcar beach. My thoughts go out to her family and friends and to the emergency services, who will be working incredibly hard to find her. This is a timely debate, as we mark the Royal Life Saving Society UK’s Drowning Prevention Week. I am pleased to support this important campaign. Each year, it reminds us of the sobering truth that drowning is one of the leading causes of accidental death in the UK, and children remain a very vulnerable group. As parents, carers and educators, we have a shared responsibility to ensure that every child understands the fundamentals of water safety. By having conversations with children about water safety and providing practical learning, we can equip children with the knowledge and skills to recognise danger, know how to respond in an emergency and enjoy water safely, which is fundamentally what we want for children. Schools have a vital role in achieving this aim.

• 11 Jun 2025 · Outdoor Education · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Dr Huq. I was so gripped by speech made by the hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale (Tim Farron) that I forgot to get any water; I will pour some while I am starting, in case I get a frog in my throat. I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on securing this important debate and the incredible passion with which he presents these issues. It is, rightly and understandably, not the first time he has raised them with me. I admire his passion, particularly because he represents a part of the world that has an absolute abundance of outdoor riches and opportunities. For him to advocate so strongly for children who do not necessarily have those opportunities on their doorstep is truly admirable, and I respect the arguments he is making in that regard. I also agree that children and young people need to have that rich experience. As the Minister for School Standards, I know there are many demands on the curriculum and a lot of interest in the curriculum and assessment review, in the hope that it will deliver a broad and rich curriculum, enrichment and opportunities for all young people. Fundamentally, as a Government, we are determined in our mission to break down barriers to opportunity; we know that, as children grow and develop, giving them opportunities and a rich and broad curriculum is not only right, but what drives high and rising standards. The two things are not unrelated. I do not have time to pay tribute to all the other contributions, but there is clearly a lot of passion in the Chamber about this subject. The hon. Gentleman set out very well the arguments for why we need to enable children and young people to have experiences that will help them develop resilience and build skills for life, so that they can handle life’s ups and downs. For many people, spending time outdoors is how they take care of their mental and physical health. The hon. Gentleman will be reassured to know that a growing body of evidence links access to nature to a range of positive health outcomes for young people; it helps them to develop a deeper understanding not only of our planet and the world in which we live, but their place within it. There is nothing more humbling than the sight of an enormous mountain or a huge lake, and I agree with him on the importance of being able to have those experiences. We need an evidence base before we implement or mandate any changes in our school system. I need to discuss that so that I can come on to the hon. Gentleman’s asks at the end of my speech. To build on the evidence that we already have, we are supporting research by the University of Oxford, which is looking at how the mental health and wellbeing of young people can be improved through nature-based programmes that would be delivered by schools. Outputs from this research will be published with the Department for Education and shared during summer this year. That further research will help us to understand the specific benefits of spending time in nature and ascertain which nature-based activities provide the strongest impacts and outcomes for young people. However, as the hon. Gentleman also passionately set out, access to the benefits provided by nature is unevenly distributed among children and young people, with the most disadvantaged being the least likely to reap the rewards. Children in deprived areas have less access to green space and spend less time in it than those in the most affluent areas. Deprived inner city areas have only a fifth of the amount of good quality green space as the most affluent and children in the most deprived areas spend 20% less time outside. That inequity impacts health, wellbeing, development and career choices. It puts barriers in place for people that can last throughout their lifetime. As a Government, we are determined to break those down. In April 2022, the Department for Education published “Sustainability and climate change: a strategy for the education and children’s services systems”. Through that, we have emphasised the importance of young people growing up with an appreciation of nature and a strong understanding of climate change and its causes, and of ensuring that they have the skills to help to create a sustainable future for us all. We believe that education settings have to play their part in shaping a sustainable future and helping young people develop responsible behaviours and a sense of responsibility for the world in which we live. I appreciate that it is not quite the same as being in the beautiful Lake district, but the National Education Nature Park is delivered in partnership with the Natural History Museum and the Royal Horticultural Society, and it is helping to deliver on the vision by bringing together all the land from across education settings into a vast virtual nature park. It inspires children and young people to get involved in taking practical action to improve the biodiversity of their school grounds, while developing a greater connection to nature and learning about its role in climate change. Through the National Education Nature Park, children and young people can participate in outdoor education at low or no cost and within the boundaries of their own education setting.

• 11 Jun 2025 · Outdoor Education · Hansard source

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  Yes. The particular Nature Education Park is for schools to use and adapt as required. I appreciate the concern that the hon. Gentleman raises. Ensuring that all children have access to an excellent education is a priority for this Government, and that includes children with special educational needs and disabilities. One of the things I want to focus on is our absolute determination that all children have access to a wide range of enrichment activities. That is an important part of our mission as a Government to break down barriers to opportunity. That might mean Duke of Edinburgh’s award participation, accessing outdoor education through the combined cadet force, accessing local youth services or building trips into outdoor education settings. The Department has committed to publishing an enrichment framework. That will be non-statutory, but there will be very clear guidance for schools on developing their enrichment offer. For some schools, that will include a variety of outdoor education opportunities. I want to be clear about mandatory class time in a natural setting. The Department does not—and cannot, under the Education Act 2002—prescribe how class time should be used to deliver the national curriculum subject content and certainly cannot prescribe activities outside school time. Setting a minimum expectation for access to nature would remove the school’s discretion over the additional content of its curricula, which they are enabled to tailor to their local environment and to choose what to do within their extracurricular activities and timetable. The hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale knows that many schools choose to do that. Pupil premium funding is regularly used by schools to ensure equal access to those opportunities and that cost is not a barrier for some families to participate. I was chatting to people at a school just last week about that very thing—making sure that all the activities made available to all students are fully funded by the school. More generally, we are focusing on the quality of teacher training because, as the hon. Gentleman mentioned, some teachers do not feel confident. We are investing in teacher training because teachers know how to get the best for their students and need support and training to offer the best opportunities for the students in their area if they deem that taking classes outside will aid their learning. Geography is a good example of where taking students on outdoor activities will certainly enhance learning, but there are many examples in other subjects as well. I am afraid that I have no time left to respond to the other, specific concerns that the hon. Gentleman raised, but I am more than happy to respond further in writing. I did not want to take away his opportunity to come back with a final comment, if that is the order of the day.

• 22 May 2025 · School Teachers’ Review Body: Recommendations · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady is—understandably so, given the calling of this urgent question despite a statement being due imminently—getting ahead of herself, and we are doing an awful lot more than breakfast clubs. I have listed just some of what we are doing, but we are working incredibly hard across the board. Schools will work very hard to make sure that their budgets maximise the outcomes for children, and we will continue to support them to do that. That means having a Department that steps up. It does not stand back and criticise; it steps up. It means supporting the buying that schools do, and making sure they are getting the best value for money in all the purchasing they do. It means supporting them with their maintenance and management. It means supporting them with energy costs. We know that expenditure on energy is a big cost for schools, and the Department can provide support with good contracts that get much better value for money. It is similar with banking and with teacher vacancies. Schools can save a significant amount of money using the products available from the Department for Education, which we are continuing to provide, and they can use the tools available to see how they are doing and also what other schools are doing well. We will continue to support schools to maximise—

• 22 May 2025 · School Teachers’ Review Body: Recommendations · Hansard source

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  There was an awful lot of imagining in the hon. Lady’s question, and understandably so—less understandable, though, in relation to some of her comments. The statement is due today, and the hon. Lady will have to await it, as will all Members of this House and those who are keenly looking at their schools’ budgets to ensure they can provide the best education possible. I know that is what schools are rightly focused on doing, and we are focused on supporting them to do that. I gently remind Opposition Members that this is the earliest STRB announcement in a decade, because we recognise how important budgeting is for schools and how important it is that they have this information in a timely way. That was not respected under the previous Government. We want to provider this information in good time and give notice as early as possible, so that schools can plan the excellent outcomes for children that I know they are striving for. We will also support them to use their funding as efficiently as possible. The Department has worked on a whole suite of productivity initiatives, as well as support for schools to manage energy costs and banking costs and to minimise any expenditure that is not on the frontline, supporting children. That is what we will continue to do.

• 18 Mar 2025 · Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill · Hansard source

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  Parents who are doing the right thing—home-educating their children and providing a suitable education in a safe environment—have nothing to be concerned about in relation to these measures. They are intended to ensure that no child falls through the cracks, and that is what we are delivering.

• 11 Feb 2025 · Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill (Thirteenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale (Tim Farron) for his campaign to promote the positive effects of outdoor learning on young people. He clearly has the advantage of living in and representing one of the most beautiful parts of the world. We believe that all children and young people should have the opportunity to learn about and connect with nature. Access to green space has been shown to have positive impacts on the physical, mental and emotional wellbeing of young people. The national education nature park provides opportunities for children and young people to benefit from spending time in nature, as well as to take positive climate action and to drive solutions to address the growing concerns about climate change and biodiversity loss. The nature park is a key initiative of the Department for Education’s sustainability and climate change strategy, which was launched in 2022. In the light of progress in the past three years, we are now beginning a process of refreshing and updating the strategic vision for sustainability in the education sector. We are also working with the University of Oxford on research intended to assess the evidence of the impact of nature-based programmes, delivered through schools, on the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people. Once those results are published, I will be happy to share them with the hon. Member for St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire. The Government are committed to improving mental health support for all children and young people, and to giving them access to a variety of enrichment opportunities at school. Those are both important parts of our mission to break down barriers to opportunity, helping pupils to achieve and thrive in education. There is no statutory requirement to offer extracurricular activities, but the majority of schools do because those activities complement a rich and broad curriculum. Schools include a wide range of activities, such as enabling students to take part in the Duke of Edinburgh’s award scheme, supporting them to access local youth services, and building in trips to outdoor education settings. It is right that schools should be free to decide what activities to offer their pupils so as to best support their development, to help them work with others as part of a team, and to support positive wellbeing. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s adventures away from home fund provides bursaries for disadvantaged or vulnerable young people to participate in day trips and residentials to outdoor spaces. There are bursaries available for young people aged 11 to 18—or up to 25 for those with special educational needs and disabilities—who face significant barriers to participation and are under-represented in the sector. We are also extending local authority statutory duties to include promoting the educational achievement of all children living in kinship care, within the meaning of the proposed new section 22I(1) of the Children Act 1989, which will be inserted by the Bill. We will also extend virtual school heads’ duty to provide information and advice to include all children living with a special guardian or a child arrangement order, where the child is living with a kinship carer, within the meaning of proposed new section 22I(6). On that basis, I ask the hon. Member for St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire to withdraw new clause 11 and not to press new clause 12 to a vote.

• 11 Feb 2025 · Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill (Fourteenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  I am grateful for the opportunity to discuss governance structures in schools and academies. I sincerely thank the incredible volunteer force, which is a vital part of our system. I have such admiration for those in our communities who step up and invest their precious time and energy in our schools and young people. Governors and trustees work tirelessly in the interests of pupils and students in what we recognise is an often challenging environment. We really do owe them a debt of thanks.

• 4 Feb 2025 · Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill (Ninth sitting) · Hansard source

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  High-quality teaching is available for those who want to teach in further education settings or early years settings. Early years teacher status is available for those wishing to specialise in teaching babies and young children. There is an optional professional status, qualified teacher learning and skills status, available to further education teachers. None of those things are the subject of this Bill, which deals specifically with primary and secondary schools in the state sector, including local authority maintained schools, special schools and academies. There is a range of city technology colleges, studio schools and university technical colleges that offer a particular curriculum or focus in some respect on a particular artistic, technical or vocational education. We want to ensure that they have the flexibility that they require to employ specialist teachers with a range of expertise, knowledge and experience to deliver that education effectively. The intention of the clause is to extend the already well-functioning qualified teacher status in the maintained sector to all primary and secondary schools so that parents know that their child has a core offer—it is not just about qualified teacher status; it is about the national curriculum, which we will get on to, and I am sure we will have additional debate on the teacher pay floor and conditions—and teachers who work in state primary and secondary schools, whether they are a maintained schools or academy schools, know that there is a core offer for them to work in that environment. The purpose of the clause is to provide clarity about what both a teacher and a parent can expect from a school. I can go into more detail on specific points that hon. Members have made, but I believe I have covered most outstanding queries. I will leave it there, unless hon. Members have specific issues that they feel I have not addressed.

• 4 Feb 2025 · Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill (Tenth sitting) · Hansard source

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  I will need to write to the hon. Gentleman to answer that specific question, as I think it is more complex than he identifies. There are obviously schools that we know are underperforming, and that is where we want to target our resources. Those in special measures and those that require significant improvement will undergo academy conversion over the next 12 months. We probably have the number for that, but ongoing Ofsted inspections will identify new schools that will fall into that category, and they will need to be academised. We cannot predict that, and it would not be fair for us to do so. We have roughly 312,000 children at schools that we have already identified as struggling schools that are not getting any support or intervention. We are directing targeted, mandated RISE support to them. Clearly, future schools will unfortunately fall into those categories as more Ofsted inspections are undertaken over the next year. I therefore do not have the exact figure as to how many will fall into whichever category. We obviously hope that schools will benefit from the universal RISE service that we will bring forward to support all schools to improve, regardless of their process. That, however, is part of the consultation; we will look to roll it out in due course. To be clear on the number of RISE advisers, we recognise that 20 seems like a small number, but they will be the facilitators of a much larger army of school improvement expertise that we know already exists in the system. That will be put together with schools that require support. By April, we will have 50 advisers as we are undertaking a recruitment process to bring in the best of the best for school improvement support. They will not deliver the school improvement but will ensure that school improvement is made available and matched up with schools that need it. As the right hon. Member for East Hampshire will know, the national leaders of education, who are school improvers, were deployed for a basic 10 days. That was obviously valuable, but RISE will draw on a much broader range of institutional capacity, and it will bring in more than one provider. There will be more help and expertise, and there will be more time and more money. We are not going to waste any time. We are investing in making sure that children do not spend one more day in a school that is not giving them the outcomes they deserve. I hope the Committee will agree to the clause standing part of the Bill.

• 30 Jan 2025 · Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill (Eighth sitting) · Hansard source

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  The proposal is fairly straightforward. It allows, for example, a secondary school to retain a branded tie and blazer while still being able to brand up to two items—either PE kit or daywear—according to their circumstances. Therefore, for the reasons I have outlined, I kindly ask the hon. Member for Harborough, Oadby and Wigston not to press his amendment 32. I now turn to Government amendments 8, 9 and 10, a group of technical and drafting amendments focused on the interaction between this Bill’s measures on school uniform and their application to hospital schools. Government amendment 8 corrects a drafting omission, ensuring that all forms of schools established in a hospital are correctly excluded from the new statutory limit on compulsory branded school uniform items. Given their nature, the vast majority of hospital schools do not require any form of uniform, branded or otherwise. We therefore want to avoid this legislation placing unnecessary obligations or administrative burdens on such schools. The Government recognise that schools established in a hospital operate in a very specialised medical environment, and it would therefore be inappropriate to bind any hospital schools to requirements or regulations that do not reflect the unique context in which they operate. Under the current wording of the Bill, some forms of schools established in a hospital—most notably, those established as academies or alternative provision academies—would not be excluded. Government amendment 8 corrects that omission. Government amendment 9 is a further technical amendment to ensure that in the revised definition of “relevant schools” in this clause there is no double exclusion of community or foundation special schools established in a hospital from the new limits on branded school uniform items. A double exclusion might have caused confusion. Therefore, the new drafting will ensure that such schools are only excluded once. Government amendment 10 is intended to correct an omission in the existing legislation in relation to hospital schools being required to have regard to statutory guidance that the Secretary of State must issue on the cost of school uniform. The amendment addresses the same drafting omission as Government amendment 8 and will ensure that all forms of schools established in a hospital, including academies, are correctly excluded from the requirement to have regard to guidance on the cost of school uniforms. As previously stated, this Government recognise that schools established in a hospital operate in a specialised medical environment. Therefore, it would be inappropriate to bind any hospital schools to follow guidance that does not reflect the unique context in which they operate. Government amendment 10 also ensures there is a consistent definition of “relevant schools” across the two legislative measures in relation to school uniform: the duty to have regard to guidance on the cost of school uniform and the new statutory limit on compulsory branded items. Therefore, for the reasons I have outlined, I kindly ask that the Committee agrees to these amendments. I now turn to clause 23. As we have said, the cost of school uniforms, especially branded items, has long been a major concern for parents. Despite the Department for Education issuing statutory guidance on the cost of school uniforms, too many schools continue to require excessive numbers of branded items, with some schools still requiring 10 or more different branded items. As I said earlier, having a small number of branded uniform items plays a valuable role in creating a sense of common identity among pupils and in reducing visible inequalities. However, branded items are often more expensive, so it is right to limit their use. Therefore, clause 23 limits the number of compulsory branded items of uniform that schools can require to three or fewer. To provide additional flexibility, secondary schools and middle schools will have the option to include an additional compulsory branded item if one of the items is a tie. These limits will enable more parents to buy more generic items from a range of retailers, allowing them to best control the cost of their children’s school uniform.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill (Sixth sitting) · Hansard source

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  I thank both hon. Members for their probing of the clause. No amendment has been tabled, and there seems to be general agreement that the principle is right. Over-reliance on agency workers contributes to workforce instability, which has implications for both the workforce and the children it is there to serve. It also puts pressure on local authority budgets. I thank both hon. Members for recognising the challenging but hugely valuable work of social workers, which is often unrecognised and un-thanked. It is good that we take the opportunity to put on record our collective gratitude to them for the difficult work that they do. Many local authorities are already demonstrating success in transitioning agency workers into their permanent workforces. People who work in social care need the right environment so that they can thrive, personally and professionally. We recognise that regulation alone is not the answer, but the Government are supporting local authorities to attract and retain children’s social workers and provide positive working environments for all who work in children’s social care, because ultimately children will benefit. Local authorities will still be able to use agency workers if doing so is the most appropriate resourcing option and in line with the regulatory framework, but it is important to reduce local authority spend on agency staff and to allow local authorities to reinvest in the permanent children’s social care workforce. Statutory guidance that has already been issued on this matter has allowed the Government to act quickly to introduce a new framework. The framework focuses on social workers, but other Government Departments are working on the same issue. Guidance can be departed from in certain circumstances, so introducing regulations on the use of agency workers is appropriate and proportionate. It is important that we strengthen the regulatory framework on the use of agency workers in children’s social care to ensure that it is legally binding, so that we bring greater transparency and accountability to the use of agency workers, as the right hon. Member for East Hampshire suggested. We will continuously consider the evidence, ensuring that we take an informed approach to those regulations. There is a statutory duty to consult before introducing regulations. We commit to working in partnership with stakeholders across children’s social care, ensuring that any proposals that we introduce are proportionate and effective. We are also working with local authorities and regions on developing price caps. We will look at the data later this year, before introducing those changes, and the raised regulations will be subject to consultation and the affirmative procedure. With those comments and queries responded to, I hope that Members feel that they can support the clause.

• 12 Dec 2024 · SEND Provision: Autism and ADHD · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady has borne witness today to that family and young person facing that challenge. It is vital that we work together with parents, schools, councils, the health sector and expert staff, who we know go above and beyond to support children within education settings to achieve the changes that are clearly desperately needed. The hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire specifically focused the debate on support for autistic children and young people and those with ADHD. She will know from the work she has undertaken that we are seeing significant increases in the numbers of children and young people identified as autistic or with ADHD, and that is something we share in common with other countries around the world. We know families are facing significant challenges and that support needs to be in place, as she outlined, to ensure that those children can thrive in school. We absolutely recognise the long waiting times across the NHS for autism and ADHD assessments, and we are working to address them. As the hon. Lady identified, we need to ensure that mainstream schools and colleges can identify those needs and put support in place early, because the earlier a child gets the support and right environment in which to learn, the more chance that they will thrive and that some of the challenges they face will be mitigated. Ensuring that we have knowledgeable professionals in our schools and colleges is a key part of this. All teachers are teachers of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities, but we need to make sure those teachers have the skills and support to help all pupils succeed. As such, we are implementing a range of teacher training reforms that begin with initial teacher training and continue through early career teaching to middle and senior leadership. We have a universal SEND services contract, which provides SEND-specific courses and professional development for school and college staff. Through that contract, the Autism Education Trust offers a range of training and support for staff on how to support autistic children and young people. The contract began in May 2022, and over 200,000 professionals have received training from the Autism Education Trust and training partners. On 1 September 2024, this Government introduced a new mandatory leadership-level national professional qualification for SENCOs. We are making the changes, but it will take time for them to work through. Our partnerships for inclusion of neurodiversity in schools programme is also running in around 10% of schools, which is approximately 1,600 mainstream primary school settings. It is deploying specialists from both the health and education workforces and building better teaching and staff capacity to identify the needs of neurodivergent children. It provides opportunities to enhance support and improve outcomes for all children, taking a whole-school approach. It is a cross-Government programme backed by £13 million of investment, and it is a collaboration between the Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for Education and NHS England. Additionally, we have just established a neurodivergence task and finish group, bringing together a group of experts from various backgrounds to help us understand how to improve inclusivity in mainstream schools in a way that works for neurodivergent children and young people. We know that listening to children and young people and their families and understanding their experiences is a really important part of this work. That group met for the first time this week, and I look forward to seeing their recommendations on the best way that we can support these children’s needs. This is happening alongside our expert advisory group on inclusion and the work being done by Dame Christine Lenehan, our new strategic adviser on SEND. We are looking at all of these issues strategically across Government, as we urgently need to turn this situation around. I could go into the details of high needs funding, but I am very conscious of time. I appreciate the concerns that have been raised about the national funding formula. We prioritised speed over change this year—we needed to get the formula processed and out to schools and educational institutions—but we will obviously keep it under review to make sure the money is being spent in the most effective way to deliver the best outcomes for children. We have also allocated £740 million for high needs capital funding to support mainstream schools to adapt, if needed, to create more inclusive mainstream settings. I thank the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire again for bringing this matter forward. Ensuring that effective support is in place for young people is absolutely a priority of this Government. We know the hardship that far too many families have faced, and my final word of thanks goes to all those working in the interests of our children in our health, education and care systems. We will deliver the best for our children and young people, and I am confident that together we can achieve that. Question put and agreed to.

• 12 Dec 2024 · SEND Provision: Autism and ADHD · Hansard source

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  I absolutely recognise the challenge the hon. Gentleman has outlined, but it very much speaks to the point I was making, which is that we have published independently commissioned insights that suggest that if the education system as a whole was extensively improved, and if we had much better early intervention, which the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire rightly referred to, and better resourcing within mainstream schools, that could lead to tens of thousands more children and young people having their needs met without an education, health and care plan. Their needs would be met within a mainstream system and with their peers, without needing a specialist placement. Clearly, we need specialist places for children with the most complex needs, but to ensure we have those places, we need to improve inclusivity and expertise within mainstream schools, while ensuring that those special schools and places can cater to children with the most complex needs. I come back to the hon. Lady’s point about transition points for young people and how important it is for the whole system to be reformed. It is not good enough to reform just part of it, and for that great work to then be undone when a child or young person moves on to a new educational setting that does not provide the right support and environment for them. My point is that this situation is huge and complex. There is not a magic wand, and there is no overnight quick fix, but we are determined to change it, and we cannot do it alone. We need to work in partnership to achieve this.

• 4 Nov 2024 · School Curriculum: Workplace Skills · Hansard source

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  I congratulate my hon. Friend on his work on the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee. He has a long-established record of championing this issue in the House, and I agree with him. That is why our curriculum review will include speaking to employers as part of the consultation about the essential knowledge and skills that will support and enable students to adapt and thrive in the world and workplace of the future, as well as ensuring that we have that specialist knowledge in schools to support young people to thrive.

• 3 Sept 2024 · Ofsted · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman makes a characteristically thoughtful point, and I do not disagree with anything that he said. In fact, the report card system should give a much more holistic picture of school life. A parent knows their child, and they know the sort of school environment that will suit them. A report card system will enable the highlighting of areas where a school may be doing particularly well, and the areas where it may need to strive to improve. That will be useful for parents. It will also be useful for schools to know where they can improve, and it will be useful in driving high and rising standards for every child. We are absolutely determined to deliver that, and we see this as a key part of ensuring that that happens.