Latest news with #Department for Education
BBC News
21-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
More than £16m to be spent on education in North Lincolnshire
More than £16m is being spent expanding school places in North from a £7.7m Department for Education grant would be used to expand Baysgarth School in Barton-upon-Humber from 900 places to 1, additional £8.8m would be used provide increased support for children with special education needs across the Lincolnshire Council would also provide enhanced pre-school support as part of the national expansion of childcare for working parents to 30 hours a week. 'Long-term success' Councillor Julie Reed said: "We are committed to ensuring that every child has access to high quality education in a setting that meets their needs, and we are taking proactive steps to manage school capacity and respond to changes across our communities."The expansion and improvement of both mainstream and specialist provision reflects our ambition to support all learners, including those with additional needs, and to give families confidence in the future of local education. "These investments are not just about buildings - they're about opportunities, inclusion, and long-term success for our children and young people."Work would also be carried out to provide additional space for 24 extra places at St Luke's Primary School in schools would get heating systems replaced, additional roof insulation and double glazing to reduce their carbon emissions, the council to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here. Download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad or Google Play for Android devices.
The Sun
16-07-2025
- General
- The Sun
Parents could get free school meals for kids during summer holidays but they must apply NOW
PARENTS could get a helping hand with free school meals throughout the summer holidays. The Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme will offer support worth £100s after it was given the green light to run for another financial year. 1 It is funded by the Department for Education but is administered by local authorities, so each area varies in its offerings. Martin Lewis, the Money Saving Expert, has issued a warning to parents to apply for the scheme ahead of the deadline. He warned that HAF isn't automatic and even if you've had help during previous school holidays, you will have to apply each time. Parents will need to apply for free school meals every year before the school year starts in September. Most local authorities offer to help families with children in receipt of benefits-related free school meals. But local councils are also allowed to offer help to children outside of this group. The HAF programme was rolled out in England in 2021, following successful pilots between 2018 and 2020. The government says research has found the school holidays can be "pressure points" for families, leading to a "holiday experience gap". Children from low-income households are less likely to get access to organised out-of-school activities, more likely to experience social isolation and see their nutrition and physical health suffer. The HAF programme looks to address this, by providing free food and activities to children. The initiative is mostly for Reception-aged children up to Year 11. The application process and what help you can get varies based on where you live. For example, Waltham Forest Council, in North East London, is offering holiday clubs and a daily meal over the Easter school holidays to children on benefits-related free school meals. The provision is open to children from Reception up to Year 11. Children in the borough are entitled to four sessions across the holidays. If you are not eligible for the HAF programme in your local area, you might be able to get help via the Household Support Fund. The latest round of funding closes on March 31, but a new round is running from April 2025 until March 2026. The current round of funding is worth £421million and has been split between councils in England who then decide how to allocate their share. Free money is usually transferred to your bank account or you are awarded vouchers to spend on energy bills or at supermarkets. You usually qualify for help if you are on a low income, benefits or classed as vulnerable. Speak to your local council to see what help is on offer. You can find what council area you fall under by visiting
BBC News
10-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
School suspensions and exclusions rise to nearly a million in England
The number of school suspensions and exclusions in England has reached its highest level since 2006, Department for Education figures were 954,952 suspensions in state schools in 2023/24 - a 21% increase on the previous year - while exclusions also rose 16% to 10,885. While secondary school pupils comprised most suspensions, more than 100,000 were primary age - a number that has grown significantly.A suspended pupil must stay out of school for a fixed period of up to 45 days per school year, while those excluded are permanently removed. Individual pupils often account for more than one period of government says it is tackling the root causes of poor behaviour and is intensively supporting 500 schools with the worst behaviour. Persistent disruptive behaviour was the most common reason pupils were sent home, accounting for half of all suspensions and 39% half of the suspensions were among pupils getting support for special educational needs - who were three times more likely to be suspended than their classmates. Children on free school meals were also overrepresented, making up a quarter of the school population but 60% of Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders' union NAHT, said schools alone could not address the causes of poor behaviour. "Schools have a duty to provide a safe environment for all pupils and only use suspensions and exclusions when other options to ensure this have been exhausted," he said."The reasons for disruptive behaviour often lie beyond the school gates and have their roots in wider challenges, including everything from poverty to access to support with special educational needs and mental ill-health."The vast majority of suspensions - nine in 10 - occurred at secondary schools, with Year 9 having the highest rate. But primary-age suspensions rose too, up 24% on the previous vast majority (88%) of pupils who were excluded at primary school were getting support for special educational needs, compared with 46% of excluded secondary school pupils. Research from charity Chance UK, which supports families of excluded children in London, suggests that 90% of children who are excluded at primary school fail to pass GCSE English and Schmal, the charity's director, said Thursday's figures revealed a "very concerning picture" - particularly the rise in primary school suspensions. "Early intervention has to mean early. We can't wait until these children are teenagers to tackle this." Sarah - not her real name - is a mum of one in London. Her six-year-old son was suspended several times within his first few weeks at primary school for hitting other pupils and throwing things in said that even after school staff agreed that her son showed signs of autism, he continued to be sent out of class regularly and suspended, which made him feel "isolated". "Since he was three years old, my son has been labelled as the naughty and difficult kid when all he really needed was help," she said."I sought help as soon as I recognised that he needed additional support. But rather than helping me immediately, they waited until it was an emergency."Sarah eventually managed to move her son to a different mainstream school where he is getting more support, she to the figures, early education minister Stephen Morgan said the Labour government had "wasted no time in tackling the root causes of poor behaviour", including offering mental health support in every school and expanding free school pointed to its new attendance and behaviour hubs, which will directly support the 500 schools that "need the most help"."We're also continuing to listen to parents as we reform the SEND system, while already putting in place better and earlier support for speech and language needs, ADHD and autism," Morgan added.
