Department for Education

The department publishes data on entry into English Baccalaureate subjects in the annual Key stage 4 performance statistics release available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/key-stage-4-performance/2024-25. The latest data has been available since 16 October 2025.

Funding of approximately £36.5 million is committed for the 2025/26 academic year for the Music and Dance Scheme, which provides income assessed bursaries to enable exceptionally talented children, regardless of their personal and financial circumstances, to attend specialist music and dance institutions.

The international student levy will fund the reintroduction of targeted maintenance grants for disadvantaged students to break down barriers to opportunity through our Plan for Change.

This will help support more students from the lowest income households progress into and excel in higher education. This will also support our national Opportunity Mission, through which the government is breaking the damaging link between background and success.

The government will set out further details on the levy at Autumn Budget.

We expect the UK to remain a highly attractive study destination. Our world-class higher education sector can offer a fulfilling and enjoyable experience to international students from around the world.

The international student levy will fund the reintroduction of targeted maintenance grants for disadvantaged students to break down barriers to opportunity through our Plan for Change.

This will help support more students from the lowest income households progress into and excel in higher education. This will also support our national Opportunity Mission, through which the government is breaking the damaging link between background and success.

The government will set out further details on the levy at Autumn Budget.

We expect the UK to remain a highly attractive study destination. Our world-class higher education sector can offer a fulfilling and enjoyable experience to international students from around the world.

The department does not collate or publish data on the proportion of ultra-processed foods in school meals. The School Food Standards regulate the food and drink provided at both lunchtime and at other times of the school day, and restrict foods high in fat, salt and sugar, as well as low quality reformed or reconstituted foods.

Governing boards have a responsibility to ensure compliance and should appropriately challenge the headteacher and the senior leadership team to ensure the school is meeting its obligations. To support governors, the department, along with the National Governance Association, launched an online training course on school food for governors and trustees. This training is designed to improve understanding of the Standards and give governing boards confidence to hold their school leaders to account on their whole school approach to food.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

The department is committed to raising the healthiest generation ever. To ensure quality and nutrition in meals for the future, we are working with experts across the sector to revise the School Food Standards, so every school is supported with updated nutrition guidance.

The Relationships and sex education and health education (RSHE) statutory guidance states that by the end of primary school, pupils should know what constitutes a healthy diet, the principles of planning and preparing a range of healthy meals, the characteristics of a poor diet, and the risks associated with unhealthy eating and other behaviours (e.g. the impact of alcohol on diet or health). The guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education.

The latest Accredited Official Statistics release ‘Funded early education and childcare’ for January 2025 was published on 17 July 2025. Statistics are not readily available at constituency level. Figures on the number of three and four-year-old children registered for the universal entitlement in Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland, and the North East between January 2023 and 2025 are available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/b250b87d-7a41-4383-6814-08de1ade192d.

The department and its arm’s length bodies have not incurred any expenditure on the installation of electric vehicle charging facilities or purchased any electric vehicles since 4 July 2024.

The department is committed to raising the healthiest generation ever. The healthy schools rating scheme celebrates the positive actions that schools are delivering in terms of healthy living, healthy eating and physical activity, and supports schools in identifying further actions that they can take in this area.

Healthy eating is covered in science and design and technology in the national curriculum as well as in health education, as part of the relationships, sex and health education curriculum.

The School Food Standards restrict foods high in fat, salt and sugar, as well as low quality reformed or reconstituted foods. Governing Boards have a responsibility to ensure compliance with the School Food Standards and should appropriately challenge the headteacher and the senior leadership team to ensure the school is meeting its obligations.

In our Plan for Change we have set a milestone of a record proportion of children starting school ready to learn. We will measure our progress through 75% of children at the end of reception reaching a good level of development in the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile assessment by 2028.

The government has committed to working with the sector to better support parents in poorer and rural areas. We have announced over £400 million of funding to create tens of thousands of places in new and expanded school-based nurseries to help ensure more children can access the quality early education where it is needed and get the best start in life. The first phase of the programme is creating up to 6,000 new nursery places, with schools reporting over 5,000 have been made available in September 2025.

The department has regular contact with each local authority in England about their sufficiency of childcare and any issues they are facing. Where local authorities report sufficiency challenges, we discuss what action they are taking to address those issues and, where needed, support the local authority with any specific requirements through our childcare sufficiency support contract.

The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) has considered the impact of processed foods on health in 2023 and 2025, and recommends that on balance, most people are likely to benefit from reducing their consumption of processed foods high in energy, saturated fat, salt and free sugars and low in fibre.

The School Food Standards already restrict foods high in fat, salt and sugar, as well as low quality reformed or reconstituted foods, but to ensure quality and nutrition in meals for the future, the department is working with with experts across the sector to revise the School Food Standards, so every school is supported with updated nutrition guidance.

The School Food Standards apply to food and drink provided to pupils on school premises up to 6pm and include vending machines.

The department publishes data on free school meals (FSM) in its annual ‘Schools, pupils and their characteristics’ publication, available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics/2024-25. The most recent data was published on 5 June, and the next publication is planned for summer 2026.

To access FSM data for the Ely and East Cambridgeshire constituency for the 2024/25 academic year, refer to the file titled 'School level underlying data 2025 (CSV, 22 MB)', located in the 'Additional supporting files' section.

To access data from previous academic years, visit the 'Releases in this series' section on the publication website. Then, locate the 'School level underlying data' file under 'Additional supporting files'.

The guidance ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023’ is clear that local authorities should have a comprehensive range of services in place to respond to local needs. It also requires safeguarding partners to publish a threshold document setting out what services are delivered in their area across different levels of need, including targeted early help and statutory children’s social care, including under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989.

Any support and services provided under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989 are consensual. If there are concerns that a child has suffered significant harm or is likely to do so, a referral should be made to local authority children’s social care.

Reforms to family help being delivered through the Families First Partnership programme are seeking to improve timely access to services. We are already seeing examples of senior therapists being embedded into multi-disciplinary teams to provide direct therapeutic support to families.

High and rising standards are at the heart of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best life chances.

Following the recommendations of the Curriculum and Assessment Review published on 5 November 2025, we will revise the English curriculum to ensure that there is more emphasis on speaking, listening and drama, alongside creating a new primary oracy framework and a new combined secondary oracy, reading and writing framework to support its implementation.

The government has also committed £27.7 million this financial year to support and drive high and rising standards in reading. This includes supporting the teaching of phonics, early language and reading for pleasure via the English Hubs programme.

We will also build secondary schools' capacity to support students with reading needs by providing new reading training from January 2026.

Additionally, on 7 July 2025, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education announced that 2026 will be the National Year of Reading. The National Year of Reading is a UK-wide campaign to address the steep decline in reading enjoyment amongst children, young people and adults. More information is available at www.goallin.org.uk.

The department does not collect local authority level data on the number of children in all types of kinship care placements. As such, we are unable to provide figures for Hexham constituency, Northumberland, Newcastle, or the North East. Some local authorities may publish their own data online, which can be found through individual local authorities websites or direct contact requests for more detailed local information.

Nationally, the department does collect data on children in formal kinship care arrangements, such as those placed with family or friends foster carers. This data is published annually in the Children Looked After statistics.

Local authorities in England are responsible for setting out a Kinship Local Offer, which outlines the support available to kinship carers and the children they care for. This offer should cover all types of kinship care arrangements, both formal and informal, and can include information on financial support, legal advice, training and peer support and educational and emotional wellbeing services.

Support is available to kinship carers through peer to peer support groups and a programme of training, delivered by the charity Kinship. This includes free workshops, events and access to free support and advice, as well as support from virtual school heads, who promote the education of children in kinship care and help schools better support their needs.

The department does not collect local authority level data on the number of children in all types of kinship care placements. As such, we are unable to provide figures for Hexham constituency, Northumberland, Newcastle, or the North East. Some local authorities may publish their own data online, which can be found through individual local authorities websites or direct contact requests for more detailed local information.

Nationally, the department does collect data on children in formal kinship care arrangements, such as those placed with family or friends foster carers. This data is published annually in the Children Looked After statistics.

Local authorities in England are responsible for setting out a Kinship Local Offer, which outlines the support available to kinship carers and the children they care for. This offer should cover all types of kinship care arrangements, both formal and informal, and can include information on financial support, legal advice, training and peer support and educational and emotional wellbeing services.

Support is available to kinship carers through peer to peer support groups and a programme of training, delivered by the charity Kinship. This includes free workshops, events and access to free support and advice, as well as support from virtual school heads, who promote the education of children in kinship care and help schools better support their needs.

The department does not collect local authority level data on the number of children in all types of kinship care placements. As such, we are unable to provide figures for Hexham constituency, Northumberland, Newcastle, or the North East. Some local authorities may publish their own data online, which can be found through individual local authorities websites or direct contact requests for more detailed local information.

Nationally, the department does collect data on children in formal kinship care arrangements, such as those placed with family or friends foster carers. This data is published annually in the Children Looked After statistics.

Local authorities in England are responsible for setting out a Kinship Local Offer, which outlines the support available to kinship carers and the children they care for. This offer should cover all types of kinship care arrangements, both formal and informal, and can include information on financial support, legal advice, training and peer support and educational and emotional wellbeing services.

Support is available to kinship carers through peer to peer support groups and a programme of training, delivered by the charity Kinship. This includes free workshops, events and access to free support and advice, as well as support from virtual school heads, who promote the education of children in kinship care and help schools better support their needs.

Where a child is accommodated under Section 20 of the Children Act 1989, our care planning regulations and statutory guidance are clear that there should be a robust care planning and decision-making process to meet the day-to-day needs of the child. Where reunification is in the best interests of the child and will safeguard and promote their welfare, the local authority should set out the support and services to be provided once the child returns home, including suitable education provision.

The department has not carried out an assessment of the cost to local authorities incurred in cases where there has not been suitable educational provision and children have remained in voluntary foster care.

The department’s children’s social care reforms include the national rollout of the Families First Partnership programme, which will embed a new approach to Family Help and greater use of family group decision making. Family Help will wrap support around families where children in care may be able to return home safely. This includes bringing in relevant agencies or individuals from school attendance teams to support sustainable reunification.

Where a child is accommodated under Section 20 of the Children Act 1989, our care planning regulations and statutory guidance are clear that there should be a robust care planning and decision-making process to meet the day-to-day needs of the child. Where reunification is in the best interests of the child and will safeguard and promote their welfare, the local authority should set out the support and services to be provided once the child returns home, including suitable education provision.

The department has not carried out an assessment of the cost to local authorities incurred in cases where there has not been suitable educational provision and children have remained in voluntary foster care.

The department’s children’s social care reforms include the national rollout of the Families First Partnership programme, which will embed a new approach to Family Help and greater use of family group decision making. Family Help will wrap support around families where children in care may be able to return home safely. This includes bringing in relevant agencies or individuals from school attendance teams to support sustainable reunification.

This government is rolling out free breakfast clubs in all primary schools, with £80 million funding available from April 2026 to bring free breakfast clubs to an additional 2,000 schools. It builds on the more than £30 million the department has invested this year to test and learn free breakfast clubs in 750 early adopter schools.

In addition, since September last year more than 50,000 new before and after school places have been delivered in schools to help working families, with more expected before March 2026. We are working with local authorities, schools, and childcare providers on the next phase with a focus on sustaining childcare places, expanding provision where there is demand, and strengthening the childcare market overall.

​​Foster care is one of my top priorities as Minister. The department is already investing £25 million of transformation funding for foster care, which is additional to the £15 million announced at the Autumn Budget covering the 2025/26 financial year. We are already working with over 60% of local authorities in England to transform the way they recruit and retain foster carers.

​However, we know we need to go further and faster with recruiting and retaining more carers to create a system which provides the best possible home for children in care.

​The department will be setting out a comprehensive package of measures to improve recruitment and retention, increase the number of foster carers, and expand the types of foster care available to meet children's needs. These changes will bring meaningful benefits to thousands of fostered children. We will set out more detail on our planned investments and reforms for fostering in due course. ​

The department will provide transitional protection funding to institutions facing a significant reduction in funding. From calculating the initial 2026/27 large programme uplift (LPU) for each institution, the department will look at how these compare with the LPU in the 2025/26 academic year.

Institutions providing the International Baccalaureate retain the freedom to continue doing so, regardless of the changes to the LPU.

​The response to Written Parliamentary Question 83934 was published on 13 November.

This is a matter for Ofqual, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. I have asked its Chief Regulator, Sir Ian Bauckham, to write to the hon. Member for Meriden and Solihull East, and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

​​The government has set out its plans to permanently remove reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) from schools and colleges.

​By the end of this Parliament, every school and college in England that is not being fully or substantially rebuilt will be RAAC-free.

​Alongside this, every school needing to be rebuilt through the School Rebuilding Programme, will be in delivery, with half having started already.

​​The government needs to ensure that the student funding system is financially sustainable, and funding arrangements are reviewed each year. The department will continue to engage with the Department for Health and Social Care to consider the financial support that medical students receive.

​The cost of studying medicine is one of the important factors deterring working class students from applying to medicine. The Department for Health and Social Care is exploring options to improve financial support to students from the lowest socio-economic background so they are able to thrive at medical school.

​Students attending years 5 and 6 of undergraduate medical courses and years 2 to 4 of graduate entry medical courses qualify for NHS bursaries. The government has increased the NHS Bursary tuition fee contributions, maintenance grants and all allowances for the current academic year, 2025/26, by forecast inflation, 3.1%, based on the RPIX inflation index.

​Medical students qualifying for NHS bursaries support also qualify for reduced rate non-means tested loans for living costs from the department. The government has increased reduced rate loans by 3.1% for the 2025/26 academic year, in line with percentage increases to maximum loans for living costs in non-bursary years.

​To help students from the most disadvantaged backgrounds progress and excel in higher education, the government will introduce targeted, means-tested maintenance grants before the end of this Parliament. These grants will support students studying courses aligned with the government’s missions and the Industrial Strategy, funded by a levy on income from international student fees. We will also future proof our maintenance loan offer by increasing loans for living costs in line with forecast inflation every academic year from 2026/27 onwards, and provide extra support for care leavers, who will automatically become eligible to receive the maximum rate of maintenance loan.

​We will confirm the percentage increase to loans for living costs for the 2026/27 academic year in-line with updated inflation forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility published alongside the Autumn Budget.​

The department has made very significant investments into 16 to 19 education funding. The base rate of funding per student has increased to £5,105 in 2025/26, up over 5% on last year. We must make this funding work hard, tilting it towards key priorities. That is why we have announced that we will focus large programme uplift funding (LPU), which is on top of the base funding, on those large programmes which include maths, further maths and other high value A levels. We have informed institutions most affected by the change in LPU funding that we will calculate transitional protection funding for one year. This should enable institutions to support students in completing larger programmes that will no longer attract the LPU. 16 to 19 funded institutions have the freedom to decide how they use their funding for the provision they offer, including whether they offer the International Baccalaureate. The impact of the scenarios referred to in the questions will depend on choices made by institutions.

The department has made very significant investments into 16 to 19 education funding. The base rate of funding per student has increased to £5,105 in 2025/26, up over 5% on last year. We must make this funding work hard, tilting it towards key priorities. That is why we have announced that we will focus large programme uplift funding (LPU), which is on top of the base funding, on those large programmes which include maths, further maths and other high value A levels. We have informed institutions most affected by the change in LPU funding that we will calculate transitional protection funding for one year. This should enable institutions to support students in completing larger programmes that will no longer attract the LPU. 16 to 19 funded institutions have the freedom to decide how they use their funding for the provision they offer, including whether they offer the International Baccalaureate. The impact of the scenarios referred to in the questions will depend on choices made by institutions.

The department has made very significant investments into 16 to 19 education funding. The base rate of funding per student has increased to £5,105 in 2025/26, up over 5% on last year. We must make this funding work hard, tilting it towards key priorities. That is why we have announced that we will focus large programme uplift funding (LPU), which is on top of the base funding, on those large programmes which include maths, further maths and other high value A levels. We have informed institutions most affected by the change in LPU funding that we will calculate transitional protection funding for one year. This should enable institutions to support students in completing larger programmes that will no longer attract the LPU. 16 to 19 funded institutions have the freedom to decide how they use their funding for the provision they offer, including whether they offer the International Baccalaureate. The impact of the scenarios referred to in the questions will depend on choices made by institutions.

The department has made very significant investments into 16 to 19 education funding. The base rate of funding per student has increased to £5,105 in 2025/26, up over 5% on last year. We must make this funding work hard, tilting it towards key priorities. That is why we have announced that we will focus large programme uplift funding (LPU), which is on top of the base funding, on those large programmes which include maths, further maths and other high value A levels. We have informed institutions most affected by the change in LPU funding that we will calculate transitional protection funding for one year. This should enable institutions to support students in completing larger programmes that will no longer attract the LPU. 16 to 19 funded institutions have the freedom to decide how they use their funding for the provision they offer, including whether they offer the International Baccalaureate. The impact of the scenarios referred to in the questions will depend on choices made by institutions.

The department has made very significant investments into 16 to 19 education funding. The base rate of funding per student has increased to £5,105 in 2025/26, up over 5% on last year. We must make this funding work hard, tilting it towards key priorities. That is why we have announced that we will focus large programme uplift funding (LPU), which is on top of the base funding, on those large programmes which include maths, further maths and other high value A levels. We have informed institutions most affected by the change in LPU funding that we will calculate transitional protection funding for one year. This should enable institutions to support students in completing larger programmes that will no longer attract the LPU. 16 to 19 funded institutions have the freedom to decide how they use their funding for the provision they offer, including whether they offer the International Baccalaureate. The impact of the scenarios referred to in the questions will depend on choices made by institutions.

The department has made very significant investments into 16 to 19 education funding. The base rate of funding per student has increased to £5,105 in 2025/26, up over 5% on last year. We must make this funding work hard, tilting it towards key priorities. That is why we have announced that we will focus large programme uplift funding (LPU), which is on top of the base funding, on those large programmes which include maths, further maths and other high value A levels. We have informed institutions most affected by the change in LPU funding that we will calculate transitional protection funding for one year. This should enable institutions to support students in completing larger programmes that will no longer attract the LPU. 16 to 19 funded institutions have the freedom to decide how they use their funding for the provision they offer, including whether they offer the International Baccalaureate. The impact of the scenarios referred to in the questions will depend on choices made by institutions.

The department has made very significant investments into 16 to 19 education funding. The base rate of funding per student has increased to £5,105 in 2025/26, up over 5% on last year. We must make this funding work hard, tilting it towards key priorities. That is why we have announced that we will focus large programme uplift funding (LPU), which is on top of the base funding, on those large programmes which include maths, further maths and other high value A levels. We have informed institutions most affected by the change in LPU funding that we will calculate transitional protection funding for one year. This should enable institutions to support students in completing larger programmes that will no longer attract the LPU. 16 to 19 funded institutions have the freedom to decide how they use their funding for the provision they offer, including whether they offer the International Baccalaureate. The impact of the scenarios referred to in the questions will depend on choices made by institutions.

St Martin’s School is a member of the department’s risk protections arrangement for schools (RPA). Regular stakeholder meetings, involving the RPA, Regions Group, and Education Estates officials, the loss adjuster, school, and trust are taking place. The RPA claim is progressing quickly, with primary pupils having been returned to face-to-face learning from 7 October.

St Martin’s School then began a phased reopening for secondary pupils following the securing of temporary accommodation to ensure a safe return to face-to-face education. The school has now undertaken the necessary repairs required to ensure the school site is safe to reoccupy.

Following the half-term break, 3 November was a planned inset day, and 4 November was dedicated to staff preparation to ensure classrooms were ready for the return of pupils. No pupils were on site either day. On 5 November, year 8 and 9 pupils returned to site, with year 10 pupils having returned on 6 November. From 7 November, all year groups were back in face-to-face education on the school site.

The school continue to work alongside the appointed loss adjustor and are being supported via the RPA.

It is our ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change. I can appreciate how devastating the closure of a nursery can be and the resulting impact this can have on families and the wider community. While the department does not hold the requested data, we can however confirm that childcare places in the South West region experienced a 5% increase in registered nursery places at group-based providers between 2023 and 2024.

The key measure of sufficiency is whether the supply of available places is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents and children. We have regular contact with each local authority in England about their sufficiency of childcare and any issues they are facing. Where local authorities report sufficiency challenges, we discuss what action the local authority is taking and, where needed, support with any specific requirements through our childcare sufficiency support contract. Childcare Works additionally provide one-to-one targeted support for local authorities who need it, alongside a wider package of support for all local authorities to support them to deliver the childcare expansion programme.

Mobile phones have no place in school.

Schools should prohibit the use of mobile phones and other smart technology with similar functionality to mobile phones throughout the school day, including during lessons, the time between lessons, breaktimes and lunchtime, as set out in the ‘Mobile phones in schools’ guidance, published in 2024.

The department expects all schools to take steps in line with this guidance to ensure mobile phones do not disrupt pupils’ learning.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, met with Esther Ghey at the start of November to discuss her Phone Free Education campaign.

The technical annex to the White Paper ‘Restoring control over the immigration system’ set out the initial modelling assumptions, which used the London Economics estimates of price elasticity commissioned by the department.

The department is doing further work on this and will set out further details on the levy at Autumn Budget.

For students starting in the 2024/25 academic year, the department estimates the average loan balance at the point of repayment to be £45,600, including interest accrued during study. This data is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/student-loan-forecasts-for-england/2024-25.

Under Plan 5 loan terms, 56% of these borrowers are expected to repay their loans in full and had assumed inflationary fee increases. Figures include balance associated with both maintenance and fee loans.

Borrowers will be liable to repay at a fixed percentage of earnings only when earning above the applicable student loan repayment threshold. Repayments are linked to the earnings, and not the rate of interest or the amount borrowed. Those earning below the student loan repayment threshold repay nothing. Where a borrower does not repay their loan in full by the end of the loan term, the remaining balance is cancelled, with no detriment to the borrower.

As of September 2025, there were 281 qualifications approved as Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs). These encompass thirteen occupational routes:

• Agriculture, Environmental and Animal Care
• Business and Administration
• Care Services
• Catering and Hospitality
• Construction and the Built Environment
• Creative and Design
• Digital
• Education and Early Years
• Engineering and Manufacturing
• Health and Science
• Legal, Finance and Accounting
• Protective Services
• Sales, Marketing and Procurement.

The list of approved qualifications is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/approved-higher-technical-qualifications.

In the 2023/24 academic year, the second year of the HTQ rollout, the department estimates that 4,370 students were enrolled on HTQs based on data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency and Individualised Learner Record student records.

Data covering participation and completion rates for HTQs in the 2024/25 academic year is not currently available.

As of September 2025, there were 281 qualifications approved as Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs). These encompass thirteen occupational routes:

• Agriculture, Environmental and Animal Care
• Business and Administration
• Care Services
• Catering and Hospitality
• Construction and the Built Environment
• Creative and Design
• Digital
• Education and Early Years
• Engineering and Manufacturing
• Health and Science
• Legal, Finance and Accounting
• Protective Services
• Sales, Marketing and Procurement.

The list of approved qualifications is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/approved-higher-technical-qualifications.

In the 2023/24 academic year, the second year of the HTQ rollout, the department estimates that 4,370 students were enrolled on HTQs based on data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency and Individualised Learner Record student records.

Data covering participation and completion rates for HTQs in the 2024/25 academic year is not currently available.

The department published its Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper on 20 October 2025, which sets out a comprehensive strategy to build a world-leading skills system to break down barriers to opportunity, meet student and employers’ needs, widen access to high quality education and training support innovation, research and development, and improve people’s lives.

Central to the department’s reforms will be Skills England providing an authoritative voice on the country’s current and future skills needs. Its work will inform policy and funding decisions, supporting employers in closing skills gaps.

The department is investing over £1 billion in skills packages in key areas identified in the Industrial Strategy. We are also transforming the apprenticeships offer into a new growth and skills offer. In August, we introduced new foundation apprenticeships in targeted sectors, as well as shorter duration apprenticeships, and will introduce short, flexible training courses to meet business needs from April 2026.

The independent Curriculum and Assessment Review’s work has been informed by a wealth of evidence from experts, stakeholders and the public, including over 7,000 responses to the call for evidence, and a range of research and polling. The Curriculum Review’s final report and the government’s response were published on 6 November.

​As set out in the interim report, regarding mathematics and English GCSE resits, the Review has considered a range of evidence, including student attainment and progress in these subjects, the characteristics of students studying these subjects and the impact of studying and achieving these subjects on students’ further studies and future lives.

​The post-16 education and skills strategy white paper introduces a package of support to improve the teaching of English and mathematics in further education, and enable more students to make progress towards and achieve a GCSE grade 4 or above in English and maths. This includes offering students new level 1 'preparation for GCSE' stepping stone qualifications that support students with lower prior attainment for successful GCSE resits the following year.

The department has agreed to work towards association to Erasmus+, on mutually agreed financial terms. Negotiations are under way, and the terms of association are subject to further discussions.

The current Erasmus+ programme is open to a broad audience and provides mobility opportunities for learners and staff across the education, training, youth and sport sectors including for school pupils and school staff. As part of the programme, schools can also develop partnerships and collaborate with other schools or educational organisations.

The department’s guidance on mobile phones in schools, published in February 2024, is clear that schools should prohibit the use of devices with smart technology throughout the school day, including during lessons, transitions and breaks.

We expect all schools to take steps in line with this guidance to ensure mobile phones do not disrupt pupils’ learning.

Research from the Children’s Commissioner published in April 2025, with responses from nearly all schools and colleges in England, shows that the overwhelming majority of schools (99.8% of primary schools and 90% of secondary schools) already have policies in place that limit or restrict the use of mobile phones during the school day.

We will continue to build a robust evidence base on the effectiveness of school mobile phone policies and keep the guidance under review.