Written questions by Jogee.

How many individual representations her Department has received from Staffordshire County Council in relation to SEND provision in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (b) North Staffordshire in each of the last five years.

The information is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. The department is committed to taking a community-wide approach in collaboration with local area partnerships, improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special schools cater to those with the most complex needs.Following the last Ofsted/Care Quality Commission visit, departmental officials have been working with Staffordshire County Council and hold regular discussions to closely monitor progress against the areas for improvement identified by inspectors. An Accelerated Progress Plan is in place and progress is monitored regularly.The areas for improvement were:Area 1: Co-production was weak. Parents felt that the local area did not listen to them or their child. The ‘tell it once’ approach was not embedded. The area’s relationships with schools and families were fragile.Area 2: The quality of education, health and care (EHC) plans was poor. Health and care workers did not contribute to the process effectively. The targets and outcomes in plans were not aspirational enough. The annual reviews of EHC plans were often not completed on time or did not contribute effectively to the review of the children and young people’s needs or the support and help they received. The department has appointed a SEND Advisor along with a bespoke package of support from the Research and Improvement for SEND Excellence Consortium to support and work alongside the Local Area Partnership.

What steps she is taking to ensure that Skills England helps create green skills in all decarbonising sectors.

The department is working to ensure that learners and businesses can access the skills needed to deliver the green economy.Skills England will play a key role, using up-to-date analysis to identify skills gaps in the green and wider economy, and ensuring there is a comprehensive suite of training and education to meet those skills. It will identify the training that can be accessed through the Growth and Skills Offer and prioritise the eight growth-driving sectors, which includes the clean energy industries. The government will ensure workers in high-carbon sectors are supported during the transition to net zero, for instance through targeted reskilling initiatives such as the Energy Skills Passport and localised skills interventions.Collaborating with industry, regional partners and trade unions, we are creating clear pathways into secure, well-paid, and high quality clean energy jobs. An example of this is Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs), where there is a statutory requirement for LSIPs to consider the skills, capabilities or expertise required in relation to jobs that directly or indirectly support net zero targets, climate change and other environmental goals. The LSIPs process will be overseen by Skills England.

How many individual representations her Department has received from Staffordshire County Council on the (a) funding and (b) quality of SEND provision in North Staffordshire in each of the last five years.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. The department is committed to taking a community-wide approach in collaboration with local area partnerships, improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special schools cater to those with the most complex needs.To support this, high needs funding will increase by £1 billion in the 2025/26 financial year, compared to the 2024/25 financial year. This will bring total high needs funding to over £12 billion.Of that total, Staffordshire County Council is being allocated over £143 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG), an increase of £10.4 million on this year’s DSG high needs block, calculated using the high needs national funding formula (NFF). This NFF allocation is an 8.7% increase per head of their 2 to 18 year-old population, on their equivalent 2024/25 financial year NFF allocation.In addition to the DSG, local authorities will also receive a separate core schools budget grant (CSBG) in the 2025/26 financial year. This CSBG continues the separate grants payable in the 2024/25 financial year, which are to help special schools and alternative provision with the costs of teachers’ pay and pension increases and other staff pay increases, as well as the additional funding in respect of the increase in employers’ National Insurance contributions. The department plans to publish individual local authorities’ allocations of this funding for the 2025/26 financial year in May 2025.Following the last Ofsted/Care Quality Commission visit, departmental officials have been working with Staffordshire County Council to closely monitor progress against the areas for improvement identified by inspectors. An Accelerated Progress Plan is in place and progress is monitored regularly.The areas for improvement were:Area 1: Co-production was weak. Parents felt that the local area did not listen to them or their child. The ‘tell it once’ approach was not embedded. The area’s relationships with schools and families were fragile.Area 2: The quality of education, health and care (EHC) plans was poor. Health and care workers did not contribute to the process effectively. The targets and outcomes in plans were not aspirational enough. The annual reviews of EHC plans were often not completed on time or did not contribute effectively to the review of the children and young people’s needs or the support and help they received.The department has appointed a SEND Advisor, along with a bespoke package of support from the Research and Improvement for SEND Excellence Consortium, to support and work alongside the Local Area Partnership.

How many schools in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (b) Staffordshire have received notices of finance from Staffordshire County Council.

Staffordshire County Council reported that 13 maintained schools were subject to a notice of financial concern during the 2023/24 financial year.The department does not hold details of which schools these were, nor does it hold details at a level lower than County Council.

What assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the number of appeals against Special Educational Needs and Disabilities decisions in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency and (b) Staffordshire; and if she will meet the hon. Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme to discuss the impact of those appeals on families in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

The last Ofsted/Care Quality Commission inspection of Staffordshire special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) services took place in February 2022 and identified two outstanding areas of weakness. An Accelerated Progress Plan is in place and progress is monitored regularly. The department has appointed a SEND Advisor along with a bespoke package of support from the Research and Improvement for SEND Excellence Consortium to support the Local Area Partnership.The department knows that many parents struggle to get the right support for their children, particularly through what can be a long and difficult education, health and care (EHC) plan application and appeals process. We understand the urgency and the need to drive improvements but also are mindful that there are no quick fixes and want to take a considered approach to deliver sustainable system reform.The department is working closely with experts on SEND reform, recently appointing a Strategic Advisor for SEND, who will play a key role in engaging the sector, including leaders, practitioners, children, and families, as we consider next steps.We published independently commissioned insight, that suggests if the system is extensively improved through early intervention and better resourcing in mainstream schools, it could lead to many more needs being met without an EHC plan in a mainstream setting. This would remove the need for a Tribunal appeal.As the Minister responsible for SEND and high needs, the hon. Member for Newcastle-Under-Lyme can contact my office and I would be pleased to meet with him to discuss these matters.

What discussions she has had with the Institute of Physics since 5 July 2024.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has not had any meetings with the Institute of Physics since 5 July 2024. However, departmental officials maintain regular engagement with the Institute of Physics.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the number of (a) physics, (b) chemistry and (c) biology teachers in (i) Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency and (ii) Staffordshire.

As of the department’s latest census data covering the 2023/24 academic year, for the five out of seven secondary schools that returned curriculum data in Newcastle-under-Lyme, there are seven, five and eight teachers of physics, chemistry and biology respectively. For the 47 out of 71 secondary schools that returned curriculum data in the Staffordshire local area, there are 69, 92 and 107 teachers of physics, chemistry and biology respectively. For further key details regarding this data, please see the attached table.

What steps she is taking to support youth democracy in (a) primary schools, (b) secondary schools, (c) alternative provision and (d) sixth forms and colleges in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

This government is committed to improving the rates of electoral registration and encouraging the engagement of young people and has committed to lowering the voting age to 16 for all elections in the UK.It is up to schools, sixth forms, further education providers and alternative provision settings to decide what steps to take to support youth democracy in the context of their duty to promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs. Ofsted’s inspection framework assesses how well schools, colleges and independent learning providers promote the values.For secondary schools, democracy is currently taught through the national curriculum for citizenship at key stages 3 and 4, which covers parliamentary democracy, the key elements of the constitution of the United Kingdom, the power of government and how citizens and Parliament hold it to account. Primary schools can choose to teach citizenship, using non-statutory programmes of study at key stages 1 and 2.Support for curriculum delivery is available through optional, free and adaptable resources from Oak National Academy (Oak). Oak launched its new curriculum sequences for secondary citizenship earlier this academic year, with the full package of curriculum resources expected to be available by autumn 2025.The UK Parliament run educational tours for pupils, youth and community groups to see how Parliament works in action. The UK Parliament also produce resources which can be downloaded or ordered for free, tailored to different age groups.The Department for Culture, Media and Sport funds the UK Youth Parliament (UKYP) to support young people to engage in the democratic process. Every two years, the UKYP runs ‘Make Your Mark’, open to all 11 to 18-year-olds in the UK, to enable them to vote on what are the most important issues for young people.

How many children deemed to be at risk of abuse or neglect are home schooled in (a) Staffordshire and (b) England.

The department collects data on children in elective home education (EHE) from local authorities. The latest data, including at the local authority level, is published here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/elective-home-education.The data collection includes whether a child is defined as a child in need (CIN) and if a child is the subject of a child protection plan (CPP). In England, around 1% of children in EHE were recorded as CIN and just under 0.5% of children in EHE have a CPP (1,600 and 500 children respectively in autumn 2024). Local authority level data is suppressed to protect confidentiality due to small numbers.Local authorities have a legal responsibility for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children in their area, including taking appropriate action where safeguarding concerns are identified.The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, introduced on 17 December, will place a duty on all local authorities in England to hold and maintain registers of children not in school in their area. These registers will help to identify those children who are not in school, including those who may be at risk of harm. Parents and certain providers of out-of-school education will be required to provide the local authority with the information needed for the registers and there will be sanctions for failing to do so. The Bill also includes a new requirement for parents to obtain local authority consent before they can home educate if their child is subject to a child protection enquiry or has a CPP. Local authorities will have new powers to require any home educated child to attend school if their home or learning environment is unsuitable. These proposals will strengthen the existing system of oversight for these children.

What steps she plans to take to increase the opportunities for young people at (a) school, (b) college and (c) university in (i) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (ii) Staffordshire to visit museums, theatres and art galleries.

The department wants all children and young people to have access to a variety of enriching experiences as an important part of our mission to break down barriers to opportunity. Educational visits are part of this ambition. The decision to undertake any educational visit is a matter for individual schools, colleges and higher education institutions to determine. As part of studying GCSE drama and A level drama and theatre studies, students are entitled to experience live theatre.More broadly, the government supports children and young people’s access to theatres, museums and galleries, for example through the Museums and Schools programme. The programme builds partnerships between schools and museums, including The Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in Stoke-on-Trent. 79% of Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisations, which include theatres, museums and galleries, work with children and young people.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a home education register.

The government is committed to the introduction of statutory children not in school registers, maintained by each local authority in England. These registers will include those children who are being educated at home, and parents will have a duty to provide information about their children and where and how they are receiving their education. These measures are part of the recently announced Children’s Wellbeing and School Bill, which was introduced in Parliament on Tuesday 17 December. As part of that Bill, we are also taking steps to require parents of some of our most vulnerable children to obtain local authority consent before they can move to home education. This will apply to children who are subject to ongoing enquiries under section 47 of the Children Act 2004, children who have a child protection plan, and children who are attending a special school. Where those children are already being educated at home, local authorities will be able to consider whether that is in their best interests and to assess the suitability of their home learning environment. If that leads to a determination that home education is not in the child’s best interests, the local authority will be able to issue a school attendance order.Local authorities currently maintain voluntary registers of home educated children in their area. This will be made a legal requirement and authorities also required to share data from their registers with my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education. This will allow us to develop a stronger understanding of home education numbers and drivers at local and national levels and determine policy responses where home education has been chosen for reasons other than the provision of suitable education to a child.

What the average staff to student ratio was in secondary schools in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (b) Staffordshire in each year since 2010.

Information on the school workforce, including the pupil to adult and pupil to teacher ratios at national, regional, local authority and individual school level, is published in the ‘School Workforce in England’ statistical publication here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.In the 2023/24 academic year, which is the latest data available, the ratio of pupils to teachers (qualified and unqualified) was 16:8 in state-funded secondary schools in England, the same as the previous year.The attached table provides the pupil to adult ratio and the pupil to teacher ratio for state-funded secondary schools in Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency, Staffordshire local authority and England for the 2010/11 to 2023/24 academic years.

Whether she plans to extend free ­breakfast clubs in primary schools in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (b) Staffordshire for pupils in (i) special schools and (ii) alternative provision.

The government is clear on the impact that breakfast clubs can have to support children to arrive at school ready to learn, which is why we are committed to introducing free breakfast clubs in every school with primary aged pupils.From April 2025, free breakfast clubs will be available in up to 750 early adopter schools, as part of a ‘test and learn’ phase, in advance of a national roll out.The new breakfast club offer, once rolled out nationally, will be available to every state funded school with primary aged children. It will both provide parents with more affordable childcare choices, supporting families with the cost of living, and support school attendance and attainment, ensuring children are set-up for the day and ready to learn.