Stephen Morgan MP: speeches

Speeches

• 9 Dec 2024 · Primary School Breakfast Clubs · Hansard source

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  We take no lectures from the Conservative party on how it failed children over the last 14 years. I have heard providers’ concerns about early years funding, and I recognise the importance of local authorities and providers planning ahead for the pivotal expansion year. We will be updating the House very soon on that issue.

• 9 Dec 2024 · Primary School Breakfast Clubs · Hansard source

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  Schools with primary age pupils can now apply to become early adopters of the universal free breakfast club programme starting from April 2025. Up to 750 participating schools will be funded to provide access to a free universal breakfast club lasting at least 30 minutes that includes food.

• 9 Dec 2024 · Primary School Breakfast Clubs · Hansard source

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  This Government are committed to making quick progress to deliver on our commitment to offer a free breakfast club in every primary school to ensure that children are ready to learn at the start of the school day. The Chancellor has announced a tripling of investment in breakfast clubs, driving improvements to behaviour, attendance and attainment and, for parents, more choices over childcare.

• 9 Dec 2024 · Primary School Breakfast Clubs · Hansard source

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  Breakfast clubs offer a huge amount, including food and club provision. I encourage the hon. Member to consider that for roll-out in his constituency. More broadly, he will be aware of the ministerial taskforce focused on child poverty, which will report in the new year.

• 9 Dec 2024 · Primary School Breakfast Clubs · Hansard source

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  Parents and carers up and down the country are still struggling with the cost of living. As part of our mission to bring down barriers to opportunity, breakfast clubs give parents and carers the confidence that their child can access a breakfast, should they need one, and we are supporting families to work with the cost of childcare. It is a pity that the Conservatives cannot say whether they back our plan to deliver better life chances for all children in all parts of the country.

• 25 Nov 2024 · Holidays in School Term Time · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Edward, and I welcome to his place the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Harborough, Oadby and Wigston (Neil O’Brien), who made some very reasonable remarks. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Lichfield (Dave Robertson) for introducing the debate and all Members who have contributed, on both sides of the House. Let me start by acknowledging the points made by Members across the Chamber on the issue of holidays in particular. I sympathise with families who, for a variety of reasons, wish to avoid the busier and more expensive periods. As we heard from Members, including a number of former teachers, school attendance is clearly an important issue that a lot of people in this country care deeply about. This Government are acting decisively to tackle absence via a new approach rooted in responsibility, partnership and belonging. That includes supporting schools and recognising that they have important responsibilities to create a welcoming, engaging and inclusive environment for children, and it also include parents’ legal responsibility to send their children to school every day that they can. That is why we will not automatically grant two weeks of term-time absence to every pupil. Tackling absence from school is at the heart of our mission to break down barriers to opportunity. Sometimes, of course, children are too poorly to attend school, but we are currently facing an absence epidemic in this country, with one in five children persistently absent, missing the equivalent of a day every other week. Thanks to the hard work of the sector, there has been progress, but we remain a long way off pre-pandemic levels. If children are not in school, it does not matter how effective or well supported teaching or learning is, as they will not benefit. That is why the Government have the highest possible expectations of all children’s attendance at school, and why we will ensure that school is the best place for every child, with free breakfast clubs in primary schools so that every child is on time and ready to learn; better mental health support through access to specialist mental health professionals in every school; and inclusion for children with special educational needs and disabilities within mainstream settings right across the age range. We will make sure that parents are supported to send their children to school and that schools are supported to welcome them. The reason that this such a top priority for the Government is that we know the overwhelming benefits of regular school attendance for children’s attainment, mental wellbeing and long-term development. The most recent DFE data shows that an increase in absence is associated with dramatic reductions in attainment, with 18% fewer children who miss two weeks of the school year achieving good GCSE results compared with those who are in almost every day. Other independent studies support that finding. Some Members have questioned whether that evidence applies specifically to absence for holidays, and there is clear evidence that it does. Analysis undertaken by the Office of the Children’s Commissioner in 2023, for example, shows that any amount of holiday during term time is associated with lower GCSE results. We also know that absence for term-time holidays cannot be seen in isolation. Children inevitably miss some school due to childhood illnesses, and based on the most recent census data, a child who is taken out of school for a two-week holiday every year and has an average number of days off for sickness and medical appointments will have missed the equivalent of a full year of school by the time they finish year 11 at age 16. Let me repeat that: a child who takes a fortnight’s term-time holiday and has an average number of days off due to illness will miss a full school year over the course of their education. I have spoken about how we are adopting an approach rooted in partnership and belonging, and I would like to highlight that term-time holidays do not impact only the child missing school. Children thrive on stability, and a steady churn of absences disrupts the learning of every child. The hard work by school staff to cultivate a sense of community and belonging is wasted, and teachers have to replan lessons, making it more difficult for them to cover the curriculum. Even if we assume that that takes just one minute per missed day, it adds up to the equivalent of 1,000 teachers working full-time on nothing else for an entire year. The impact of absence on other children is not spread equally; it hits the children who already face greater barriers to opportunity the hardest. Research by the National Foundation for Educational Research shows that in year groups where there was higher absence, disadvantaged pupils had worse attainment. A number of hon. Friends and Members have raised points on children with SEND. We know that parents have struggled to get the right support for their children, particularly through the long and difficult EHCP process. We have announced extra funding for this year: over £1 billion to help schools with the additional costs that they face, including the costs of supporting their pupils with SEND. We will work across the sector to provide support for children with SEND and to restore parents’ trust. We know that some pupils face more complex barriers to attendance. This can include pupils who have long-term physical or mental health conditions or special educational needs and disabilities. However, those children have the same right to an education as any other pupil. It is also worth noting that the national framework for penalty notices strengthens protections for SEND parents in, for example, absence cases other than holiday, including an expectation that attendance support will have been provided before a penalty notice is used. Our updated guidance on attendance includes more detail about additional support where a pupil is not attending due to unmet or additional needs. It sets out clear expectations on how schools, local authorities and wider services should work together to access and provide the right support to improve attendance. A number of Members raised issues relating to holiday prices and term times. Of course, we recognise the concerns that they raised on behalf of their constituents about the cost of holidays at peak times. However, travel companies, airlines and hotels are private companies that set their prices based on their costs, competition and profit margins. The Government do not have the authority to dictate pricing strategies for private companies and businesses. However, as has been mentioned, schools and local authorities have the flexibility to plan term dates, and to hold inset days and other occasional such days at less busy times of the year, which can help families to plan breaks at times that suit them. For example, I know of councils and school trusts, including in my constituency, that have trialled a two-week half term or slightly later summer holidays. Similar points were made by the Liberal Democrat spokesperson, the hon. Member for St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire (Ian Sollom). I stress that we are interested in anything more that holiday companies and other businesses in the sector can do to make holidays in peak times more affordable for families. Several Members made remarks about penalty notices, which came into force following a national consultation. They are designed to embed our support-first approach and to improve consistency and fairness across the country, but they should always be used as a last resort. On bereavement, our guidance requires schools to take a support-first approach. Schools have the discretion to authorise a leave of absence in exceptional circumstances. In conclusion, I once again thank all Members for their contributions. I acknowledge the strength of feeling behind them and that family holidays can be enriching activities, but we are not ashamed of the importance that we place on children attending school. Absence is one of the biggest barriers to success for children and young people. Minimising absence of any kind is crucial if we are to ensure that they reach their full potential, and we will continue to work in collaboration with the sector to take steps to achieve that.

• 18 Nov 2024 · Primary School Breakfast Clubs · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Slough (Mr Dhesi) for securing a debate on this important subject, and for his characteristically passionate contribution on behalf of his constituents. I also thank all those who have made interventions tonight. This Government believe that all children deserve access to a brilliant education, regardless of who they are, where they come from or their parents’ income. We want to work hand in hand with the sector to deliver a system that means that children start school ready to learn, ready to seize opportunities and ready to get on in life. The Government made a manifesto commitment to introduce free breakfast clubs for primary school children, and we confirmed in the autumn Budget that we will triple our investment in breakfast clubs to more than £30 million in the 2025-26 financial year. That funding will support breakfast clubs in up to 750 early adopter schools from as early as April next year, as part of our test-and-learn phase, ahead of national roll-out. I urge my hon. Friend to encourage schools in his constituency to apply when bidding opens. That is the first step in the Government’s commitment to funding breakfast clubs in all state schools with primary-aged children. That investment includes our continued support for 2,700 schools that are on the existing national school breakfast programme. One of those schools is Montem Academy, a primary school in Slough in my hon. Friend’s constituency. Breakfast clubs will remove barriers to opportunity by ensuring that primary school children, no matter their circumstance, are ready to start the school day. That will help to drive improvements in behaviour, attendance and attainment. Breakfast clubs offer much more than just food. They can serve as a welcoming space for children, providing valuable opportunities for them to play, learn and socialise at the beginning of the school day. They will also provide families with more affordable childcare choices and increase parents’ ability to work more hours. It is important that children eat healthily across the school day. Breakfast clubs in every primary school, along with the continued provision of free school meals to disadvantaged children, will play an important role in combating hunger and making sure that children can listen and concentrate throughout the school day. As my hon. Friend identifies, it is important that children eat nutritious food at school. The school food standards define the foods and drinks that must be provided, those that are restricted and those that must not be provided. They apply to food and drink provided to pupils on school premises and during an extended school day up to 6 pm. That includes breakfast clubs. Compliance with standards is mandatory for maintained schools, academies and free schools. The standards restrict foods high in fat, salt and sugar, including high-sugar foods and confectionery. They ensure that children get the energy and nutrition that they need across the school day, and that pupils always have healthy options. My hon. Friend asked about timeframes. He will know that we have already taken decisive action by announcing in the King’s Speech that, under the children’s wellbeing Bill, every primary school in England will offer a free breakfast club. Legislating for breakfast club provision will give schools the certainty that they need. I can confirm that the Bill will come to the House as soon as parliamentary time allows. In conclusion, I once again thank my hon. Friend for securing a debate on this important topic. I look forward to working with him and other hon. and right hon. Members across the House who have contributed to tonight’s debate, as we deliver our manifesto commitment on free breakfast clubs in all primary schools to secure the best start in life for every child, in every part of the country. Question put and agreed to.

• 4 Nov 2024 · Childcare Accessibility · Hansard source

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  Ensuring that parents have access to affordable and high-quality childcare is a priority for this Government. We will focus on greater opportunities for every family to access early education, and on greater opportunities for children to thrive and develop. As an initial step, we have announced the bidding round for the first 300 school-based nurseries from next September.

• 4 Nov 2024 · Childcare Accessibility · Hansard source

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  We are helping members of the workforce to develop the skills and confidence that will enable them to work effectively with children with SEND, and reviewing early years funding arrangements to ensure that they meet the needs of those children. I should be happy to meet my hon. Friend or visit her constituency to understand the issues that her local providers are facing.

• 4 Nov 2024 · Childcare Accessibility · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for his question. We have a child-centred Government, and early years is a priority for the Secretary of State. We will focus on reforming the childcare system to ensure that it is fit for purpose for the future and of high quality for all young people. We are taking the sector’s concerns seriously, and we want to ensure there is a sustainable system going forward.

• 4 Nov 2024 · Knife Crime: Preventive Education · Hansard source

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  We want to make sure that every school and college across our country is a safe environment for children to learn. I am happy to meet the hon. Member to understand those issues in more detail.

• 4 Nov 2024 · Knife Crime: Preventive Education · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for raising such an important topic and highlighting the good work of the Greater Manchester violence reduction unit. As well as the work on the RSHE curriculum, the Government will create a new young futures programme, intervening early to stop young people being drawn into crime through preventive action and learning from best practice across the country. It is vital that we have a system that can identify and support those young people who need it most, be they victims or potential perpetrators.

• 4 Nov 2024 · Knife Crime: Preventive Education · Hansard source

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  What schools teach can play an important part, alongside wider activity, in the Government’s safer streets mission and tackling knife crime. Relationships, sex and health education includes content on situations that lead to young people carrying knives, including criminal exploitation, county lines operations and grooming relationships. We are reviewing the content to ensure that it remains relevant and protects children’s wellbeing.

• 4 Nov 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  We are committed to improving school buildings, where we want our children to achieve and thrive, but that will not be a quick fix. Bury council has been awarded £1.8 million for the financial year to improve its school buildings, including The Derby high school. Last week, this Government increased next year’s capital allocation for England to £2.1 billion, some £300 million more than last year. I will, of course, be happy to meet with my hon. Friend—

• 4 Nov 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I met Helen Blythe last week, and I will happily meet the hon. Member to take forward her concerns.

• 4 Nov 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  We are proud of the investment that we are making in school buildings. I would be delighted not only to meet my hon. Friend but to visit his constituency.

• 4 Nov 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I am very happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss the matter.

• 4 Nov 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I note the hon. Member’s point on that specific college. As he will know, the Chancellor committed £1.4 billion at the Budget to drive the delivery of the current school rebuilding programme for next year. Over the coming weeks and months, we will work with trusts and local authorities to identify which schools will be in scope. [ Official Report , 21 November 2024; Vol. 757, c. 3WC.] (Correction)

• 30 Oct 2024 · Childcare: Black Country · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Twigg. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Dudley (Sonia Kumar) for securing a debate on this important subject, especially on such a busy day in the House. I know already that she is a real champion for children and young people in her constituency. This Government believe that all children, regardless of who they are, where they come from or their parents’ income, deserve access to high-quality early education. This mission-driven Government have committed to the best start in life pillar, reinforcing the importance of available and affordable high-quality early years education and childcare. The new Government are committed to delivering the childcare entitlements that families have been promised, giving every child the opportunity to have the best start in life. Local authorities and early years providers have worked diligently to deliver the latest expansion of entitlements in September, and more than 320,000 parents are already accessing a place. Over the weekend, we confirmed £1.8 billion to support the expansion to 2025-26 and a further £15 million of capital funding to expand school-based nurseries. Eligible working parents of children aged nine months are currently entitled to 15 hours of Government-funded childcare a week for 38 weeks a year. From September next year, this will increase again to 30 hours, but we have to be honest with parents in the Black Country and across the country about the scale of that final, more challenging phase. Around 70,000 additional places and 35,000 early years educators are needed to deliver the expansion to 30 hours next September. Our analysis tells us that more than half of local areas need to increase their capacity by between 10% and 20% to meet the demand for next September and that the highest uplifts are needed in some of the most disadvantaged areas. We will continue to work tirelessly to bridge the gaps ahead of next September. However, in some parts of England, though parents may receive the hours they were promised, they may not get their first choice of nursery or childminder. I know from my engagement with councils that local authorities are working hard to generate growth in available places and to develop the workforce they need. My Department has regular contact with each local authority in England to discuss the sufficiency of their childcare places and the issues they are facing. Where needed, it links local authorities with Childcare Works, an organisation contracted by the Department, to support them. The size and quality of early education and childcare provision in the Black Country is significant. Across Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton, there are around 770 providers that provide approximately 32,000 places. My hon. Friend will be pleased to know that local authorities in the Black Country area are not reporting any issues with their sufficiency. As my hon. Friend rightly states, high-quality early years education plays a crucial role in improving children’s life chances. It has a positive impact on children’s outcomes in the short and long term, particularly for the most disadvantaged. Under this Government, growing the early years education system will not come at the cost of quality. We have already announced the extension of the early years stronger practice hubs programme until at least March 2025, with a continued focus on supporting children from disadvantaged backgrounds. In July, the Government committed to extend the funding of evidence-based early language interventions in primary schools, so that every child can find their voice. We will also drive up standards in early maths education and increase the quality of provision. Following consultation, with strong support from the sector, we have published our response to proposals to strengthen safeguarding requirements in the early years foundation stage statutory framework. The Department will implement all the proposals, including those on safer recruitment, child absences, safer eating, safeguarding training and paediatric first aid training. Additionally, new proposals on providing employment references and supporting whistleblowing will be introduced. These changes are set to be implemented from September 2025 and will formalise existing best practices to ensure that all early years educators have the knowledge and support they need to deliver safe, high-quality early education and childcare. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Dudley for securing this important debate, and I thank all Members who have contributed. The Government will continue to work hand in hand with the sector to deliver an early years system that gives every child a firm foundation and sets them up for their next stages in life. Question put and agreed to.

• 17 Oct 2024 · Government’s Childcare Expansion · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for her tireless work speaking up for children, young people and parents up and down the country. As she rightly says, we are working hard with the early years sector to recruit the staff we need, including through the extended recruitment campaign Do Something Big, so that we attract more people to work in the early education system and ensure there are good training pathways into careers in early education. We are resetting relationships with staff across the education sector to ensure they are respected and valued for the important work they do. School-based nurseries currently have lower turnover and have the option to use some staff flexibly between reception and early years in primary schools. I am looking forward to cracking on with delivering on those commitments.

• 17 Oct 2024 · Government’s Childcare Expansion · Hansard source

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  Childminders are a key part of the childcare market, providing more choice and flexibility for parents. From next month, the Government plan to implement new flexibilities to help childminders join and stay in the profession. That will include enabling childminders to work from non-domestic premises, as I mentioned in my statement, and increasing the number of childminders who can work together; that will improve children’s access to new experiences out of the home and encourage socialisation. As we seek to deliver a sea change in our approach to early years, we want partners, including childminders, to work closely with us to push for better.

• 17 Oct 2024 · Government’s Childcare Expansion · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for his question. Early years provision was cast off under the Tories, and we are bringing it back into the fold as a crucial part of our education system. We are committed to giving every young person the best start in life, and I look forward to working with him to make that happen.

• 17 Oct 2024 · Government’s Childcare Expansion · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for his question. I have heard that message loud and clear from parents in constituencies up and down the country. Where providers seek to put up fresh barriers to access, we will not tolerate them. We will make guidance in this area as clear and consistent as possible to support hard-pressed families as we deliver this sea change in early years provision.

• 17 Oct 2024 · Government’s Childcare Expansion · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for his question and congratulate him on being selected for the Select Committee. I agree that we should be shocked by the Conservatives’ response to today’s statement. This Government are focused on the issues that make the biggest difference to working people across the country, so that we can deliver the change we need. Today’s announcement is an example of how we will go about doing that. I am very keen to meet my hon. Friend to discuss these issues further, and I appreciate his thanks to those in the sector for the hard work that they do in his constituency.

• 17 Oct 2024 · Government’s Childcare Expansion · Hansard source

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  With permission, I will make a statement on the Government’s plans to deliver additional places in school-based nurseries, and a clarification on Government action on so-called top-up fees for funded childcare hours. I will also update the House on the Government’s response to the consultation on safeguarding requirements in the early years foundation stage framework. The Secretary of State has promised a new era of child-centred government, working alongside the sector to deliver meaningful long-term reform of the early years system. The Government believe that all children deserve access to a brilliant early education, regardless of who they are, where they come from or their parents’ income. Today marks a significant step for thousands of families, as we begin the first stage of the Government’s plan to deliver 3,000 new or expanded school-based nurseries. From today, primary schools can apply for a grant of up to £150,000 from a £15 million capital funding pot to make the changes needed for their site to accommodate a nursery. The new or expanded nurseries are set to open across England from the start of the next school year. We have chosen to expand school-based nurseries because schools are at the heart of our communities. School-based nurseries cater for a higher proportion of children with special educational needs and disabilities, and offer a higher share of nursery places in the most deprived areas. To support our most vulnerable children and build on the existing market, the funding will be available for projects that are either school-run or delivered on the school’s site by private and voluntary providers or childminders. Schools will be asked to work with local authorities to demonstrate local parental demand for places. If there are primary schools that are interested in this programme but are not currently ready or eligible to host new nursery places, we encourage them to register an interest for the future. We expect funding to be allocated to successful schools in spring 2025 to support delivery of the first nursery places from September 2025. As we expand the childcare system, it is crucial that early education and childcare remains fair and accessible to all parents. That is why we are taking action to address situations where parents are facing high and additional charges on top of the funded entitlement hours. Those charges, which may include mandatory fees for nappies, lunch, or additional hours, should not be a condition for accessing a funded place. The vast majority of providers are working hard to make sure that parents can access their entitlements, but any sort of mandatory additional charging or preferential treatment towards parents who purchase optional extras is not acceptable. Over the next few months, my Department will engage with local authorities, providers and parents to develop and clarify guidance on this issue, including on so-called “top-up fees”. We will support local authorities to protect parents from overcharging. I turn to new childcare entitlements. In September, working parents of children aged nine months and above were able to access 15 hours per week of Government-funded early education for the first time. I can confirm that over 320,000 additional children are now accessing the new entitlement. Delivering the scheme has not been without difficulty and owes much to the collaboration between local authorities, providers and the work of my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, who has made ensuring the roll-out a priority. At the same time, we are helping the sector to deliver the necessary places for September 2025. This final, more challenging phase of the roll-out will increase the funded childcare entitlement of working parents to 30 hours per week. Trust matters in politics, which is why I want to reiterate this Government’s commitment to honouring the promise made by the last Government to deliver these entitlements, but the House should be in no doubt that this will be an extremely difficult task. There remains a significant shortage of staff and places. The Government’s spending watchdog has said that, in order to deliver the roll-out, in some parts of the country we will need to double or even triple capacity in order to provide the additional hours. There are substantial gaps to fill, left behind knowingly by the Conservative party. We must be honest with families about the fact that in some parts of England, while parents may receive the hours they were promised, they may not get their first choice of nursery or childminder. I assure the House that we will continue to work tirelessly to bridge the gaps in time for next September, and our plans to expand primary school-based nurseries will help us to deliver these entitlements. Our priority is to provide high-quality education and care for children while ensuring their safety, in order to give every child the best start in life. Today the Department published its official response to the consultation on proposals to strengthen safeguarding requirements in the statutory early years foundation stage framework. These reforms are set to be implemented from September 2025. The changes to be made to the framework are based on lessons learned from tragic past events, responses to our consultation, and feedback from safeguarding experts and the sector. The consultation received 1,470 responses, with strong support for all the proposals. The Department will therefore implement all the proposals, including those on safer recruitment, child absences, safer eating, safeguarding training, and paediatric first aid training. There will also be new proposals on providing employment references and supporting whistleblowing. These changes will formalise existing best practices, and will ensure that all early years educators have the knowledge and support that they need to deliver safe, high-quality early education and childcare. As many parents know, childminders are a key part of the early education and childcare market, providing choice and flexibility. We are already delivering childminder start-up grants to help new childminders with the costs of registering, and on 1 November we will introduce new flexibilities for childminders to help them join and stay in the profession. These changes will create a new category of childminder who can work entirely from non-domestic premises. The total number of people who can work together under a childminder’s registration will increase from three to four. Childminders will also have more flexibility to operate for more time outside domestic premises, for instance from a community hall or school. These new flexibilities will further support the Government’s commitment to rolling out expanded childcare entitlements and giving children the best start in life. Parents’ need for childcare does not stop when their children reach primary school age. Since July, we have allocated more than £130 million to local authorities to begin delivering these new places to parents of primary school age children as part of the national wraparound childcare programme. Initial delivery plans indicate that this programme will deliver up to 200,000 new childcare places, at either end of the school day, available in over 50% of all primary schools. However, we want to go further to support hard-working families and tackle disadvantage, which is why we committed ourselves in our manifesto to introducing free breakfast clubs in every primary school. Breakfast clubs can have a tremendously positive impact in helping children to arrive at school on time and ready to learn, while also helping working parents to have more choices in the workplace. From April 2025, free breakfast clubs will be available in up to 750 early adopter schools. That will be part of the test-and-learn phase, but new breakfast clubs, once rolled out nationally, will be available to every state-funded school with primary school age children, and will give parents more affordable childcare choices while also helping families with the cost of living. Children will be able to start the school day ready to learn, which will give them the best start in life and in their education. This Government are determined to break down barriers to opportunity. That must start before school, with high-quality early education that is both available and affordable. We inherited a pledge without a plan, so this Labour Government must work to deliver the change that families need. We will deliver places in new nurseries, tackle unfair “top-up fees”, and ensure that every child can have the best start in life. I commend this statement to the House.