Written questions by Cane.

Whether her Department is taking steps to ensure that chemistry education includes (a) green, (b) digital and (c) transferrable skills alongside technical knowledge of the subject.

The government recognises that science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects, such as chemistry, are vital for the UK’s future economic needs and to drive up productivity. Chemistry skills, in particular, are necessary for a range of careers within the green economy, including in growing sectors like carbon capture and hydrogen.The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, covering ages 5 to 18, chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE. The review will seek to deliver a curriculum that readies young people for life and work, building the knowledge, skills and attributes needed to thrive. The review group will publish an interim report in early spring and will publish its final report with recommendations this autumn. The department will take decisions on what changes to make to the curriculum in light of these recommendations.Oak National Academy, an independent arm’s length body which provides free, high quality, optional and adaptable curriculum resources for schools, has recently published new curriculum sequences and associated lesson resources in science from key stages 1 to 4, including chemistry. Within Oak’s science curriculum, it provides a broad range of resources to support teachers to teach about green skills, climate change and sustainability. This year, Oak is also introducing a new curriculum thread entitled ‘How can we live sustainably to protect Earth for a better future?’. This will form part of its secondary science curriculum and will support the growing emphasis of green skills in chemistry. As well as this, Oak’s chemistry lessons include a variety of data analysis tools to strengthen pupils’ digital competency. Its chemistry lessons include real-life applications of chemistry, such as industrial chemistry, environmental chemistry and material science to strengthen technical knowledge.

Whether her Department is taking steps to help increase access to (a) technical and (b) vocational pathways for (i) training and (ii) employment in the chemical sciences sector.

I refer the hon. Member for Ely and East Cambridgeshire to the answer of 19 February 2025 to Question 30787.

What steps her Department is taking to help support businesses to invest in skills and training.

Employers have a crucial role to play in the skills system, and the department wants all employers to invest in their workforce.The department’s post-16 education and skills strategy will set out how we will drive up employer investment in the skills needed by their workforce. We want to start a national conversation on the role that employers, government and learners have to play in funding education and training, as part of an approach that clarifies expectations of what the right mix of funding is for the skills system. We will work with employers and others as we develop the strategy.

What steps her Department is taking to support the mental health and well-being of school students.

This government is committed to improving mental health support for all children and young people. This is critical to high and rising standards in schools and breaking down barriers to opportunity, helping pupils to achieve and thrive in education. That is why the department has committed to providing access to specialist mental health professionals in every school. We will also be putting in place new Young Futures hubs, including access to mental health support workers and will recruit an additional 8,500 new mental health staff to treat children and adults. Mental Health Support Teams (MHST) continue to roll out in schools and colleges across the country. As of April 2024, MHSTs covered 44% of pupils in schools and learners in further education in England. MHSTs are expected to cover at least 50% of pupils by the end of March 2025. The department has also provided a resource hub for mental health leads signposting practical resources and tools to embed effective whole-school approaches. To further help schools identify and embed the most effective targeted support options for their setting, we also launched a targeted mental wellbeing toolkit. This practical guide and tool covers a range of evidence-based interventions.

If she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of trends in the number of (a) suspensions and (b) exclusions of pupils with SEND.

Schools can use sanctions as a measure to improve behaviour and, in the most serious cases, exclusion may be necessary to protect other pupils and staff from disruption and restore a safe, calm learning environment. The government supports headteachers in taking these difficult decisions. This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision (AP) 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, improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special schools cater to those with the most complex needs. We want to reduce numbers of preventable exclusions, including by using the expertise of AP schools. The statutory ‘Suspension and permanent exclusion’ guidance is clear that, in all cases, school leaders should consider early intervention strategies to address the underlying causes or contributing factors of a pupil’s disruptive behaviour before issuing an exclusion. This includes situations where a pupil has SEND. Schools should also consider using a multi-agency assessment for pupils who display persistent disruptive behaviour, which could include those with unidentified SEND. Schools should arrange such assessments when concerns arise, rather than waiting for a specific trigger.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of funding for further education.

This government is committed to driving economic growth and supporting opportunity for all. To help achieve these missions we announced £300 million in the 2025/26 financial year for further education (FE) at the Budget. We also announced £300 million of new capital funding for 2025/26 to support FE colleges to maintain, improve and ensure suitability of their estate.FE funding, including its adequacy, will be considered as part of the multi-year spending review which will take place later this year.

What steps her Department is taking to increase access to assessments for Special Educational Needs.

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. Through a graduated approach, it is the responsibility of teachers to monitor the progress of all pupils and put support in place where needed. Where a child who has special educational needs requires more support than the school they are in can usually provide, schools, parents or carers can ask the local authority to carry out an education, health and care (EHC) needs assessment. The department recognises the critical role of educational psychologists within the SEND system, including in their statutory contribution to EHC assessments. To support this, the department is investing over £21 million to train 400 more educational psychologists from 2024. This builds on the £10 million currently being invested in a cohort of over 200 trainees who began their training in September 2023. As these trainees complete their studies, they will join the workforce to support the capacity of local authority educational psychology services, including in delivering assessments.

If she will provide additional funding to help support kinship carers.

The government recognises the important role that kinship carers play in caring for some of the most vulnerable children. On 27 October 2024, the government announced a £40 million package to trial a new Kinship Allowance in up to ten local authorities to test whether paying an allowance to cover the additional costs of supporting the child can help increase the number of children taken in by family members and friends. The announcement is accessible here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-protects-education-priorities-in-face-of-inherited-22-billion-blackhole. The department will share further details on the process for selecting local authorities in due course. This is the single biggest investment made by government in kinship care to date. This investment could transform the lives of vulnerable children who can no longer live at home. The programme will begin in 2025 and decisions about future national rollout will be informed by the findings of the evaluation. The department will share further detail on the timetable and delivery of the programme in due course.