Every parliamentary written question tabled by Andy McDonald this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 1–20 of 27 · Department for Education
How many pupils with education, health and care plans in the Tees Valley combined authority area and its Middlesbrough and Stockton-on-Tees local authority areas were initially placed in mainstream schools and subsequently secured a specialist placement following a successful tribunal appeal in each of the last three years.
The information requested is not held by the department.
What guidance her Department provides to local authorities on the SEND support that should be available to children with education, health and care plans while families are awaiting the outcome of a tribunal appeal.
The special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) Code of Practice is statutory guidance for local authorities and other organisations that work with children with SEND. It explains the duties, policies and procedures in Part 3 of the Children and Families Act 2014. The Code sets out the support that families should receive from local authorities whilst they are awaiting the outcome of their Tribunal appeal. It explains that, in such circumstances, local authorities should continue to ensure the provision that is set out in an education, health and care (EHC) plan is delivered. It also stipulates that amendments to the cessation of EHC plans are not lawful whilst an appeal is ongoing. This is to ensure continuity of support for children and young people.
What assessment her Department has undertaken of specialist school place sufficiency in Tees Valley combined authority area and its Middlesbrough and Stockton-on-Tees local authority areas in each of the next five years.
The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places, including for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), sits with local authorities. To support this, the department has announced at least £3 billion of high needs capital funding for 2026/27 to 2029/30. We will confirm local authority allocations for the 2026/27 share of this funding in the spring.This builds on the £740 million invested in 2025/26. Of this funding, Middlesbrough has been allocated just over £1.4 million and Stockton-on-Tees has been allocated just over £2.2 million.Additionally, there are two planned schools in the special and alternative provision free schools pipeline in these local authorities: a 100 place special school in Middlesbrough and a 100 place alternative provision in Stockton-on-Tees. The local authorities have the option to continue with central delivery of these schools but are currently considering our offer of alternative funding to deliver these places themselves, in line with my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education’s written statement of 15 December 2025.High needs revenue funding allocations for specialist provision in Middlesbrough and Stockton-on-Tees have increased to over £44 million and over £46 million respectively in the 2025/26 financial year and will continue at these increased levels in 2026/27.
How many new specialist school places are planned to be created in Tees Valley combined authority area and its Middlesbrough and Stockton-on-Tees local authority areas under Departmental programmes in each of the next five years.
The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places, including for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), sits with local authorities. To support this, the department has announced at least £3 billion of high needs capital funding for 2026/27 to 2029/30. We will confirm local authority allocations for the 2026/27 share of this funding in the spring.This builds on the £740 million invested in 2025/26. Of this funding, Middlesbrough has been allocated just over £1.4 million and Stockton-on-Tees has been allocated just over £2.2 million.Additionally, there are two planned schools in the special and alternative provision free schools pipeline in these local authorities: a 100 place special school in Middlesbrough and a 100 place alternative provision in Stockton-on-Tees. The local authorities have the option to continue with central delivery of these schools but are currently considering our offer of alternative funding to deliver these places themselves, in line with my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education’s written statement of 15 December 2025.High needs revenue funding allocations for specialist provision in Middlesbrough and Stockton-on-Tees have increased to over £44 million and over £46 million respectively in the 2025/26 financial year and will continue at these increased levels in 2026/27.
What capital and revenue funding allocations have been made to local authorities in Tees Valley combined authority area and its Middlesbrough and Stockton-on-Tees local authority areas for specialist school places and SEND resource bases in the current spending period.
The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places, including for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), sits with local authorities. To support this, the department has announced at least £3 billion of high needs capital funding for 2026/27 to 2029/30. We will confirm local authority allocations for the 2026/27 share of this funding in the spring.This builds on the £740 million invested in 2025/26. Of this funding, Middlesbrough has been allocated just over £1.4 million and Stockton-on-Tees has been allocated just over £2.2 million.Additionally, there are two planned schools in the special and alternative provision free schools pipeline in these local authorities: a 100 place special school in Middlesbrough and a 100 place alternative provision in Stockton-on-Tees. The local authorities have the option to continue with central delivery of these schools but are currently considering our offer of alternative funding to deliver these places themselves, in line with my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education’s written statement of 15 December 2025.High needs revenue funding allocations for specialist provision in Middlesbrough and Stockton-on-Tees have increased to over £44 million and over £46 million respectively in the 2025/26 financial year and will continue at these increased levels in 2026/27.
What the expected delivery timescales and associated capital funding allocations are for new specialist school places in Tees Valley combined authority area and its Middlesbrough and Stockton-on-Tees local authority areas.
The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places, including for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), sits with local authorities. To support this, the department has announced at least £3 billion of high needs capital funding for 2026/27 to 2029/30. We will confirm local authority allocations for the 2026/27 share of this funding in the spring.This builds on the £740 million invested in 2025/26. Of this funding, Middlesbrough has been allocated just over £1.4 million and Stockton-on-Tees has been allocated just over £2.2 million.Additionally, there are two planned schools in the special and alternative provision free schools pipeline in these local authorities: a 100 place special school in Middlesbrough and a 100 place alternative provision in Stockton-on-Tees. The local authorities have the option to continue with central delivery of these schools but are currently considering our offer of alternative funding to deliver these places themselves, in line with my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education’s written statement of 15 December 2025.High needs revenue funding allocations for specialist provision in Middlesbrough and Stockton-on-Tees have increased to over £44 million and over £46 million respectively in the 2025/26 financial year and will continue at these increased levels in 2026/27.
What proportion of Education, Health and Care Plan assessments for children in the Middlesbrough and Thornaby East constituency were completed within the statutory 20-week timescale in the last year; and how many decisions in those cases were subsequently overturned or amended following SEND tribunal proceedings.
Information on the number of education, heath and care (EHC) plans issued with 20 weeks during 2024, in both Middlesbrough and Stockton on Tees local authorities, is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/d93eb816-ebba-4148-eb03-08de29d3af56. Information on the number of EHC needs assessments undertaken, their outcomes and the numbers which were subject to a tribunal during 2024 is shown in the table below:Number of EHC needs assessments where the outcome was to issue an EHC planNumber of EHC needs assessments where the outcome was not to issue an EHC planMiddlesbrough Total number of EHC needs assessments3140Number of tribunals related to the assessment decision00Number of tribunals related to the assessment for other reasons70Stockton on TeesTotal number of EHC needs assessments43341Number of tribunals related to the assessment decision94Number of tribunals related to the assessment for other reasons100 An EHC needs assessment may be subject to a tribunal relating to the outcome of the assessment, or for other reasons relating to the content of any EHC plan that is subsequently issued. Information at constituency level is not available.
How many (a) specialist school places and (b) resourced mainstream places for pupils with Education, Health and Care Plans are available in (i) Middlesbrough local authority area and (ii) Stockton-on-Tees local authority area; and what plans she has to increase specialist provision in those areas.
As of May 2024, Middlesbrough has 681 special school places, and 369 special educational needs (SEN) unit or resourced provision places. Stockton-on-Tees has 667 special school places and 207 SEN unit or resourced provision places.The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places, including for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), sits with local authorities. The department supports local authorities to provide suitable school places for children and young people with SEND through annual high needs capital funding, including through the £740 million confirmed for the 2025/26 financial year. Of this funding, Middlesbrough has been allocated £1.4 million and Stockton-on-Tees has been allocated £2.2 million.This funding is intended to create resourced provision adapted to support pupils needs. It can also be used to adapt mainstream schools to be more accessible and to create special school places for pupils with the most complex needs.
What steps she is taking to improve provision for children with special educational needs and disabilities in Middlesbrough and Thornaby East ahead of the publication of the forthcoming SEND White Paper.
As part of our Plan for Change, the department is determined to fix the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system and restore the trust of parents. We expect mainstream schools to welcome pupils from across the whole community, including pupils who may need additional support. All schools have a duty to support children and young people with SEND and to cooperate with local partners.Ofsted’s new focus on inclusion during inspection will strengthen accountability on schools for meeting the needs of children with SEND. Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission last inspected Middlesbrough Local Area Partnership (LAP) in 2023, where the partnership received a positive inspection outcome.The department will support the mainstream workforce to increase their SEND expertise and encourage schools to set up Resourced Provision or SEN units to increase capacity in mainstream schools. Departmental officials meet with Middlesbrough Council regularly to discuss the delivery of SEND services. In meetings, the LAP is challenged on current data and how future plans will improve services and support children and young people with SEND in Middlesbrough.The department is providing an increase of £1 billion for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year. Total high needs funding for children and young people with complex SEND is over £12 billion in 2025/26. Of that total, Middlesbrough is being allocated over £41 million through the high needs funding block of their dedicated schools grant.
What data her Department holds on the impact of long-term stays in temporary accommodation on (a) children’s physical and mental health and (b) children’s educational outcomes; and what steps they are taking to mitigate any negative effects identified.
The Child Poverty Strategy sets out a range of measures to support families in need of temporary accommodation.The government will end the unlawful placement of families in bed and breakfasts beyond the six-week limit and work with the NHS to end the practice of discharging mothers with newborn babies into bed and breakfasts or other unsuitable housing.The government will provide £950 million through the fourth and largest round of the Local Authority Housing Fund from April 2026 to deliver up to 5,000 high quality homes for better temporary accommodation by 2030.A new legal duty will also be introduced for councils to notify schools, health visitors, and GPs when a child is placed in temporary accommodation, so no child is left without support.The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government will also introduce a clinical code on children in temporary accommodation to improve data collection, with the aim of preventing further deaths caused by gaps in health care provision.
What assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the response of workforce unions to the pay awards set out in her Department's response to the School Teachers Pay Review Body report.
Pay for teachers and leaders in maintained schools is set through an annual statutory process with independent recommendations made by the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB).In making recommendations, the STRB consider a range of written and oral evidence from statutory consultees, including the department, employer representatives and unions. This year, that process has resulted in the government accepting the STRB‘s recommendation for a 4% pay award for teachers and leaders in maintained schools.Combined with last year’s 5.5% award, this above-inflation pay award means school teachers will see an increase in their pay of almost 10% over two years.The department has also brought in changes to encourage flexible working and to more fairly reward part-time teachers for taking on additional responsibilities.Unions continue to engage positively with, and make valuable contributions towards, the pay round process. Unions involved with the process (including NEU, NASUWT, Community, NAHT, and ASCL) have published statements in response to the announcement, which are available on their websites.
What assessment her Department has made of the level of confidence of workforce unions in the School Teachers Pay Review Body process.
Pay for teachers and leaders in maintained schools is set through an annual statutory process with independent recommendations made by the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB).In making recommendations, the STRB consider a range of written and oral evidence from statutory consultees, including the department, employer representatives and unions. This year, that process has resulted in the government accepting the STRB‘s recommendation for a 4% pay award for teachers and leaders in maintained schools.Combined with last year’s 5.5% award, this above-inflation pay award means school teachers will see an increase in their pay of almost 10% over two years.The department has also brought in changes to encourage flexible working and to more fairly reward part-time teachers for taking on additional responsibilities.Unions continue to engage positively with, and make valuable contributions towards, the pay round process. Unions involved with the process (including NEU, NASUWT, Community, NAHT, and ASCL) have published statements in response to the announcement, which are available on their websites.
What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Government's proposed pay award on service provision.
High-quality teaching is the in-school factor that has the biggest positive impact on a child’s educational outcome. Ensuring there are sufficient, high-quality staff in our schools is therefore critical. This is why the government has pledged to recruit 6,500 additional expert teachers.On 22 May, we announced this year’s above-inflation pay award of 4% which, combined with the 5.5% pay award last year, will mean school teachers in maintained schools will see an increase in their pay of almost 10% over two years.The department is also ensuring that further financial incentives are targeted where the need for them is greatest. For example, we are offering targeted retention payments of up to £6,000 per year to teachers of key subjects working in disadvantaged areas in the first 5 years of their careers. We have also announced an initial teacher training financial incentives package for the 2025/26 recruitment cycle worth £233 million, a £37 million increase on the last cycle. This includes a range of measures, including bursaries worth £29,000 tax-free and scholarships worth £31,000 tax-free, to encourage talented trainees to teach key subjects.We are already seeing positive signs that this investment and approach is starting to deliver. New government data shows there are 2,346 more teachers in secondary and special schools in England compared to last year, an increase of 1,400 and 900 respectively from the year before. Over 2,000 more people are also training to become secondary school teachers this year and over 2,500 more teachers are expected to stay in the profession over the next three years.
What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the real terms value of pay awards through the School Teachers Pay Review Body process in the 2025-26 financial year on trends in the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of school teachers.
Pay for teachers and leaders in maintained schools is set through an annual statutory process with independent recommendations made by the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) based on a range of evidence, including the real terms value of teacher pay.While in power, this government has accepted their recommendations in full.This year’s pay award of 4% exceeds forecasts for inflation and provides a competitive salary for both new and existing teachers. Based on forecasts for inflation across the 2025/26 academic year, this is a real-terms increase of around 1.5%.The department wants teaching to be an attractive and expert profession, to ensure that our children have the expert teachers they need to achieve and thrive and tackle recruitment and retention issues. That is also why we are committed to delivering the manifesto pledge to recruit 6,500 teachers across secondary and special schools, and in our colleges, over the course of this Parliament and there are already signs that our Plan for Change is working.The workforce has grown by 2,346 full-time equivalent between 2023/24 and 2024/25, in secondary and special schools over the last year. Additionally, our future school teacher pipeline is growing. As of May 2025, there are 11% more trainees who have accepted offers to train as secondary subjects, including in priority subjects such as physics, where we have seen a 43% increase in acceptances compared to last year.
What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing regularised direct pay negotiations with workforce trades unions on (a) recruitment and (b) retention.
Pay for teachers and leaders in maintained schools is set through an annual statutory process with independent recommendations made by the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB).In making recommendations, the STRB consider a range of written and oral evidence from statutory consultees, including the department, employer representatives and unions. This year, that process has resulted in the government accepting the STRB‘s recommendation for a 4% pay award for teachers and leaders in maintained schools.Combined with last year’s 5.5% award, this above-inflation pay award means school teachers will see an increase in their pay of almost 10% over two years.The department has also brought in changes to encourage flexible working and to more fairly reward part-time teachers for taking on additional responsibilities.Unions continue to engage positively with, and make valuable contributions towards, the pay round process. Unions involved with the process (including NEU, NASUWT, Community, NAHT, and ASCL) have published statements in response to the announcement, which are available on their websites.
What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the real terms value of pay awards through the School Teachers Pay Review Body process on teachers in each year since 2010.
Pay for teachers and leaders in maintained schools is set through an annual statutory process with independent recommendations made by the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) based on a range of evidence, including the real terms value of teacher pay.While in power, this government has accepted their recommendations in full.This year’s pay award of 4% exceeds forecasts for inflation and provides a competitive salary for both new and existing teachers. Based on forecasts for inflation across the 2025/26 academic year, this is a real-terms increase of around 1.5%.The department wants teaching to be an attractive and expert profession, to ensure that our children have the expert teachers they need to achieve and thrive and tackle recruitment and retention issues. That is also why we are committed to delivering the manifesto pledge to recruit 6,500 teachers across secondary and special schools, and in our colleges, over the course of this Parliament and there are already signs that our Plan for Change is working.The workforce has grown by 2,346 full-time equivalent between 2023/24 and 2024/25, in secondary and special schools over the last year. Additionally, our future school teacher pipeline is growing. As of May 2025, there are 11% more trainees who have accepted offers to train as secondary subjects, including in priority subjects such as physics, where we have seen a 43% increase in acceptances compared to last year.
What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of implementing a long-term strategy to improve school teachers’ pay in real terms through the School Teachers' Pay Review Body process.
Pay for teachers and leaders in maintained schools is set through an annual statutory process with independent recommendations made by the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) based on a range of evidence, including the real terms value of teacher pay.While in power, this government has accepted their recommendations in full.This year’s pay award of 4% exceeds forecasts for inflation and provides a competitive salary for both new and existing teachers. Based on forecasts for inflation across the 2025/26 academic year, this is a real-terms increase of around 1.5%.The department wants teaching to be an attractive and expert profession, to ensure that our children have the expert teachers they need to achieve and thrive and tackle recruitment and retention issues. That is also why we are committed to delivering the manifesto pledge to recruit 6,500 teachers across secondary and special schools, and in our colleges, over the course of this Parliament and there are already signs that our Plan for Change is working.The workforce has grown by 2,346 full-time equivalent between 2023/24 and 2024/25, in secondary and special schools over the last year. Additionally, our future school teacher pipeline is growing. As of May 2025, there are 11% more trainees who have accepted offers to train as secondary subjects, including in priority subjects such as physics, where we have seen a 43% increase in acceptances compared to last year.
What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of establishing a national energy contract for the school sector.
The department has assessed the potential benefits of establishing a national energy contract for the schools sector. We did this because many schools had been impacted when the war in Ukraine pushed prices to an all-time high in September 2022. Many had energy contracts due to be renewed at the time and ended up locked into long-term, fixed price contracts at peak prices. We recognised this would seriously impact future budgets.The department undertook research to understand the energy options available to schools, the challenges and complexities faced and how we could help.The research showed schools experienced difficulty in determining whether they had received a good deal, relying on brokers to get a better rate from energy providers than they could directly and frequently being expected to make quick decisions on energy deal proposals. Furthermore, the volatility of energy prices meant schools were often locked into expensive energy contracts which were hard to exit.The three key objectives of the pilot were to simplify the buying of energy, reduce risk, and secure best value for schools.During the pilot, the department identified if those benchmarked had used Crown Commercial Service’s V30 energy contract, mandated for central government, they would have saved an average of 36% on energy costs. This contract is flexibly priced, rather than fixed: some of the energy is bought up front, during the 30 months prior to delivery and also during the delivery period itself. This helps level out the peaks and troughs in market price variances.The service also offers wrap around contract management and simplifies the energy buying process for schools, reducing administrative and time burdens.
What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing a cap on chief executive pay in the school sector.
The department sets out our expectations on senior pay for academies and academy trusts in the Academy Trust Handbook, which is published on GOV.UK here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66a3909aab418ab055592dda/Academy_trust_handbook_2024_FINAL.pdf.The handbook requires that:An academy trust’s board of trustees ensures its decisions, when setting levels of executive pay (including salary and any other benefits), follow a robust evidence-based process.Academy trusts’ decisions on pay must be a reasonable and defensible reflection of the individual’s role and responsibilities.No individual can be involved in deciding their remuneration.Academy trusts must be transparent on pay and publish the number of employees whose benefits exceed £100,000 on their websites in £10,000 bandings. Where employees are also trustees, this information must be disclosed in £5,000 bandings.In addition, the department’s ‘Setting executive salaries’ guidance published on GOV.UK outlines the key contextual factors that trusts should be considering when setting or reviewing executive salaries. The guidance can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/setting-executive-salaries-guidance-for-academy-trusts/setting-executive-salaries-guidance-for-academy-trusts.
What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of reductions in funding for level seven healthcare apprenticeships on the delivery of the NHS long-term workforce plan.
The government is committed to spreading opportunities and economic growth, supported by a strong skills system.This government has an extremely challenging fiscal inheritance. There are tough choices that need to be taken on how funding should be prioritised in order to generate opportunities for young people that enable them to make a start in good, fulfilling careers, and the department will therefore be asking more employers to step forward and fund a significant number of level 7 apprenticeships themselves outside of the levy-funded Growth and Skills offer.The department has received a wide range of representations, which it is currently considering. These have been received directly and via Skills England, which has engaged with a wide range of stakeholders on this matter and has shared its findings with the department.The department recognises the importance of providing clarity as soon as possible on future funding for level 7 apprenticeships and will communicate next steps in due course.The department also continues to work across government to tackle the skills needs of different sectors, including addressing the skills gaps in the health and social care industry which were identified in Skills England’s first report on driving growth and widening opportunities.