Contributions
1,330 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDChildren’s Wellbeing and Schools BillMy Lords, I rise to speak to the amendments in group six, tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Barran. Amendments 44, 47 and 48 seek to require practitioners to keep records of…22 May 2025HANSARDChildren’s Wellbeing and Schools BillMy Lords, since the very first inquiry into the tragic death of Dennis O’Neill in 1945, we have seen time and again that poor information sharing lies at the heart of serious…22 May 2025HANSARDChildren’s Wellbeing and Schools BillI am glad that the noble Lord reinforced my point—I think I am in big trouble with my son for having outed him in this debate. I am glad to hear that other excellent teachers have…22 May 2025HANSARDChildren’s Wellbeing and Schools BillGood training is already provided for teachers and teaching assistants, but my point was that the role of the education lead practitioner would both enable and need more training…22 May 2025HANSARDChildren’s Wellbeing and Schools BillI am not sure that picking off experts is the way the department has engaged in consultation or engagement so far, nor will it do in the future. I am realistic: over my time in…22 May 2025HANSARDChildren’s Wellbeing and Schools BillThe noble Baroness, Lady Barran, said that she did not want to undermine the good work happening in Warwickshire by pointing out a general downturn in the number of child…22 May 2025HANSARDChildren’s Wellbeing and Schools BillWe are now on group three on multi-agency child protection teams. As I have already said, these teams seek to address the problems we repeatedly see when children are seriously…22 May 2025HANSARDChildren’s Wellbeing and Schools BillWe have come on to more understandable consideration of how the teams will work in practice, particularly with respect to local authority responsibility. Multi-agency child…22 May 2025HANSARDChildren’s Wellbeing and Schools BillI wholeheartedly agree with the noble Lord on his final point. That is exactly the objective in what we are trying to do here. Whether or not the evaluation, after a relatively…22 May 2025HANSARDSocial Mobility: Sutton Trust Opportunity IndexThe scheme that the noble Baroness talks about sounds interesting and important, and I shall certainly undertake for the department to look at it in detail. She makes an important…22 May 2025HANSARDSocial Mobility: Sutton Trust Opportunity IndexMy noble friend makes a very important point. It is for employers to ensure that they provide access to the types of opportunities that will enable young people to experience…22 May 2025HANSARDSocial Mobility: Sutton Trust Opportunity IndexI am sure the noble Baroness is right that there are particular challenges in rural areas—and, particularly, as she identifies, in terms of the pockets of poverty found there,…22 May 2025HANSARDSocial Mobility: Sutton Trust Opportunity IndexI think that the lessons that were learned are feeding every aspect of the work that is happening across the opportunity mission. For example, there is the need for high-quality…22 May 2025HANSARDSocial Mobility: Sutton Trust Opportunity IndexThe whole Government are responsible for ensuring that young people’s opportunity is not determined by where they come from or other factors of their background. That is why the…22 May 2025HANSARDSocial Mobility: Sutton Trust Opportunity IndexThe noble and gallant Lord makes an important point. I was discussing exactly that point with the Minister for Veterans just a couple of weeks ago; as he says, we were talking…22 May 2025HANSARDSocial Mobility: Sutton Trust Opportunity IndexFunding is important, which is why the Government will consider the national funding formula and ensure that it focuses on the right places and addresses need in the way the right…22 May 2025HANSARDSocial Mobility: Sutton Trust Opportunity IndexMy Lords, the Sutton Trust’s valuable report highlights that too many children face barriers to success because of who they are or where they come from. That is why, through the…22 May 2025HANSARDAssistive TechnologyThe noble Earl is right that that research—which, to be fair, happened under the last Government—is an important basis on which we can now expand the ability to use, and improve…20 May 2025HANSARDAssistive TechnologyMy noble friend is right. I made the point about the training provided to SENCOs, which means that there is capacity within schools to make sure that all teachers have an…20 May 2025HANSARDAssistive TechnologyThe noble Lord is right that SENCOs play an important role in identifying a need for assistive technology. That is why SENCOs receive specific training on how to use assistive…20 May 2025