(Winchester) (Con): I had
my latest session with Hampshire County
Council on Friday to go through every school in my
constituency. The Secretary of State will be pleased to know that
every single one is good or outstanding—the last one will be
there very soon.
I am concerned about access to child and adolescent mental health
services, as children cannot learn if they are not in the right
place mentally. I am also concerned about small rural primaries.
The heads of such schools in my constituency will take some
convincing that being part of a large multi-academy trust is the
answer to their problems. Given what the White Paper says about
all children being in an academy, can the Secretary of State
convince me of why the evidence says that is the answer?
The Secretary of State for Education (): My hon. Friend asks a
number of questions, which I will try to unpack. We will say more
on our work with the Department of Health and Social Care in the
SEND Green Paper tomorrow. Suffice it to say that local evidence,
the dashboard and that transparency will lead to much better
outcomes for families and children. He is right about rural
primaries; I have similar high-performing rural primaries in my
constituency. My message to them is that they do an excellent job
and, if they feel that they want to get together with other rural
primaries, we will support them in setting up a multi-academy
trust. Alternatively, where local authorities think they do a
great job supporting their schools, they can set up trusts. With
the White Paper, I am trying to ensure that we take everyone with
us on this journey because, ultimately, if we all remember what
we are in this for—to deliver better outcomes for every child at
the right place and the right time for that child— we will do the
right thing.
