Department for Education

We want to ensure that all families who need it are able to claim the support they are eligible for. Creating a new threshold for free school meals will ensure that all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit are eligible, making it easier for parents to understand their entitlement.

The government is also taking action to make it quicker and easier for both families and local authorities to get children signed up for free school meals by rolling out improvements to the eligibility checking system used to verify entitlement to free school meals.

The Child Poverty Taskforce will publish a Child Poverty Strategy in the autumn that will deliver measures to tackle the structural and root causes of child poverty. The Taskforce will continue to explore all available levers to drive forward short and long-term action across government to reduce child poverty.

The department’s statutory guidance on the purpose, principles for practice and expected outcomes of children’s social care that should be achieved so children and young people can grow up to achieve and thrive is in the Children’s Social Care National Framework.

The second outcome of the national framework sets out the expectation that children’s social care “needs to consider how to unlock family networks and identify kinship carers to be a source of support, whenever children and young people need help, protection, or care”.

The support available to help embed the national framework in practice is available in the accompanying advice. Further, the kinship care statutory guidance for local authorities sets out a framework for the provision of support to kinship families, and how family networks can be engaged to support the needs of children throughout the children’s social care system, including those unable to live with their parents.

This government is committed to tackling child poverty, with our ambitious Child Poverty Strategy due to be published in the autumn.

The publication will set out how we intend to monitor and evaluate the impacts of the strategy from this year and in future years, including understanding how this varies across the UK and for different groups.

As part of the strategy, the Child Poverty Taskforce is prioritising better local services, especially in the early years, for children living in poverty. We have announced close to £1.5 billion over the next three years on improving family services and early years education. Best Start Family Hubs are backed by £500 million of this investment between 2026 and 2029.

Details of how the Child Poverty Strategy interacts with other policies across government will be set out when the strategy is published, including child health.

The Strategy will be UK wide, drawing on devolved and reserved levers and working closely with devolved governments.

This government is committed to tackling child poverty, with our ambitious Child Poverty Strategy due to be published in the autumn.

The publication will set out how we intend to monitor and evaluate the impacts of the strategy from this year and in future years, including understanding how this varies across the UK and for different groups.

As part of the strategy, the Child Poverty Taskforce is prioritising better local services, especially in the early years, for children living in poverty. We have announced close to £1.5 billion over the next three years on improving family services and early years education. Best Start Family Hubs are backed by £500 million of this investment between 2026 and 2029.

Details of how the Child Poverty Strategy interacts with other policies across government will be set out when the strategy is published, including child health.

The Strategy will be UK wide, drawing on devolved and reserved levers and working closely with devolved governments.

This government is committed to tackling child poverty, with our ambitious Child Poverty Strategy due to be published in the autumn.

The publication will set out how we intend to monitor and evaluate the impacts of the strategy from this year and in future years, including understanding how this varies across the UK and for different groups.

As part of the strategy, the Child Poverty Taskforce is prioritising better local services, especially in the early years, for children living in poverty. We have announced close to £1.5 billion over the next three years on improving family services and early years education. Best Start Family Hubs are backed by £500 million of this investment between 2026 and 2029.

Details of how the Child Poverty Strategy interacts with other policies across government will be set out when the strategy is published, including child health.

The Strategy will be UK wide, drawing on devolved and reserved levers and working closely with devolved governments.

The department does not hold a comprehensive record of all events organised by Civil Service networks since 2017. However, we are able to provide a list of Civil Service network events that were advertised within the department from 2020 onwards. It is important to note that whilst these events were shared with staff, we cannot confirm whether they were organised by departmental colleagues as part of their participation in cross-Civil Service networks, or whether they were arranged independently by the networks and simply shared with departmental colleagues.

The following events were advertised within the department:

• October 2020: Cross-network Black History Month launch (Civil Service Race Forum).
• 26 November 2020: Celebrating Carers (Civil Service Carers Network).
• 4 December 2020: Disability and Accessibility in the Civil Service (Civil Service Disability Network).
• 25 February 2021: LGBT+ History Month – Section 28 and its Legacy (Civil Service LGBT+ Network).
• 3 March 2021: Eating Disorders Awareness Week (Civil Service Eating Disorder Network).
• 4 March 2021: Eating Disorder Ask an Expert (Civil Service Eating Disorder Network).
• 10 June 2021: Young Adult Carers in the Civil Service (Civil Service Carers Network).
• 24 December 2021: Whitehall Carol Service (Christians in Government).
• 25 January 2022: Holocaust Memorial Day (Civil Service Jewish Network).
• 17 February 2022: From Sad to Glad (Christians in Government).
• 3 March 2022: From Panic to Peace (Christians in Government).
• 17 March 2022: From Loathing to Living (Christians in Government).
• 31 March 2022: From Despair to Hope (Christians in Government).
• 27 March 2023: Whitehall Easter Service (DfE Christian Network and Christians in Government UK).
• 14 December 2023: BSL Christmas Coffee Morning (Civil Service Deaf and Hard of Hearing Network).
• 30 April 2025: Climate and Environment Awareness Session (Civil Service Climate and Environment Network).
• 17 October 2025: Black History Month – Raising Black Achievement (Civil Service Race Forum).

The department’s main Whitehall building, Sanctuary Buildings, has 70 single sex cubicles, 16 urinals and 22 non-gendered universal toilets (individual self-contained lockable toilet rooms which contain a toilet, washbasin and hand-drying facilities). This is in addition to 11 wheelchair accessible toilets.

The department’s probation policy and guidance advises managers on the steps to take to assess a new employee’s suitability for the post and provides support to enable them to succeed. It also advises on the steps to take where performance, attendance or conduct are not satisfactory. This can include exiting the employee or extending their probation to provide further evidence for a final decision on their suitability.

The department does not hold complete information on probation outcomes centrally and it could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

The department’s probation policy and guidance advises managers on the steps to take to assess a new employee’s suitability for the post and provides support to enable them to succeed. It also advises on the steps to take where performance, attendance or conduct are not satisfactory. This can include exiting the employee or extending their probation to provide further evidence for a final decision on their suitability.

The department does not hold complete information on probation outcomes centrally and it could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

All state funded schools are required to teach first aid as part of the statutory health education set out in the relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) statutory guidance. Independent schools are required to cover health education as part of their responsibility to provide personal, social, health and economic education.

The statutory RSHE guidance includes basic first aid for primary school children, for example dealing with common injuries, such as head injuries, and pupils in secondary schools are taught further first aid, for example specifically how to administer CPR and the purpose of defibrillators and how to use them.

Schools also have the autonomy to decide how they teach first aid, including teaching additional topical content and which resources to use. Many schools incorporate additional content, which can include how pupils should deal with a first response emergency situation, including how to respond to knife wounds, drug misuse and road traffic injury.

The department’s defibrillator programme completed in 2023 and was the largest rollout of defibrillators across England to date and provided over 20,000 defibrillators to almost 18,000 schools, ensuring that all state-funded schools in England have access to a device.

Defibrillators are designed so they can be used by anyone with no prior training. As part of the department’s roll out, we provided awareness videos to schools showing how simple defibrillators can be to use, and asked schools to share these videos in staff meetings and assemblies.

All state funded schools are required to teach first aid as part of the statutory health education set out in the relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) statutory guidance. Independent schools are required to cover health education as part of their responsibility to provide personal, social, health and economic education.

The statutory RSHE guidance includes basic first aid for primary school children, for example dealing with common injuries, such as head injuries, and pupils in secondary schools are taught further first aid, for example specifically how to administer CPR and the purpose of defibrillators and how to use them.

Schools also have the autonomy to decide how they teach first aid, including teaching additional topical content and which resources to use. Many schools incorporate additional content, which can include how pupils should deal with a first response emergency situation, including how to respond to knife wounds, drug misuse and road traffic injury.

The department’s defibrillator programme completed in 2023 and was the largest rollout of defibrillators across England to date and provided over 20,000 defibrillators to almost 18,000 schools, ensuring that all state-funded schools in England have access to a device.

Defibrillators are designed so they can be used by anyone with no prior training. As part of the department’s roll out, we provided awareness videos to schools showing how simple defibrillators can be to use, and asked schools to share these videos in staff meetings and assemblies.

All state funded schools are required to teach first aid as part of the statutory health education set out in the relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) statutory guidance. Independent schools are required to cover health education as part of their responsibility to provide personal, social, health and economic education.

The statutory RSHE guidance includes basic first aid for primary school children, for example dealing with common injuries, such as head injuries, and pupils in secondary schools are taught further first aid, for example specifically how to administer CPR and the purpose of defibrillators and how to use them.

Schools also have the autonomy to decide how they teach first aid, including teaching additional topical content and which resources to use. Many schools incorporate additional content, which can include how pupils should deal with a first response emergency situation, including how to respond to knife wounds, drug misuse and road traffic injury.

The department’s defibrillator programme completed in 2023 and was the largest rollout of defibrillators across England to date and provided over 20,000 defibrillators to almost 18,000 schools, ensuring that all state-funded schools in England have access to a device.

Defibrillators are designed so they can be used by anyone with no prior training. As part of the department’s roll out, we provided awareness videos to schools showing how simple defibrillators can be to use, and asked schools to share these videos in staff meetings and assemblies.

All state funded schools are required to teach first aid as part of the statutory health education set out in the relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) statutory guidance. Independent schools are required to cover health education as part of their responsibility to provide personal, social, health and economic education.

The statutory RSHE guidance includes basic first aid for primary school children, for example dealing with common injuries, such as head injuries, and pupils in secondary schools are taught further first aid, for example specifically how to administer CPR and the purpose of defibrillators and how to use them.

Schools also have the autonomy to decide how they teach first aid, including teaching additional topical content and which resources to use. Many schools incorporate additional content, which can include how pupils should deal with a first response emergency situation, including how to respond to knife wounds, drug misuse and road traffic injury.

The department’s defibrillator programme completed in 2023 and was the largest rollout of defibrillators across England to date and provided over 20,000 defibrillators to almost 18,000 schools, ensuring that all state-funded schools in England have access to a device.

Defibrillators are designed so they can be used by anyone with no prior training. As part of the department’s roll out, we provided awareness videos to schools showing how simple defibrillators can be to use, and asked schools to share these videos in staff meetings and assemblies.

The move to independence is a critical milestone in any young person’s life. Care leavers should expect the same level of care and support that others would expect from a parent.

The local authority responsible for their care should make sure they have the skills, confidence, support and opportunities to thrive. This includes offering them more than one chance as they grapple with the responsibilities of adulthood.

Ofsted is responsible for assessing the adequacy of support for care leavers in each local authority and, as part of its inspection of local authority children’s services, has a specific remit to set out the key strengths and areas for improvement on the experiences and progress of care leavers.

We recognise the additional challenges faced by young people who are placed into care outside their home local authority area. This can leave them with few local connections to either the area they are currently living in, or the area they are expected to return to, and has restricted their access to social housing upon leaving care. We have introduced an exemption to address this so that, as of July 2025, the local area connection test no longer applies to care leavers.

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.

Nationally, 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 advice and guidance. Virtual School Heads also work with schools to promote the education of children in kinship care and ensure their needs are met and kinship carers in Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend can benefit from this.

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

This government is absolutely committed to freedom of speech and academic freedom in universities. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, confirmed to Parliament plans for the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 earlier this year. The new approach will create a more proportionate, balanced and less burdensome approach to protecting academic freedom and freedom of speech.

​​The following provisions came into force from 1 August 2025:

• ​​Strengthened higher education (HE) provider duties in relation to securing freedom of speech and promoting the importance of freedom of speech and academic freedom.

• ​​A requirement for HE providers to put in place effective codes of practice on academic freedom and freedom of speech.

• ​​A ban of non-disclosure agreements in HE for staff and students where there is a complaint about bullying, harassment, or sexual misconduct.

• ​​ A requirement for the Office for Students to promote free speech and to provide advice and guidance in support of it.

The department is using the findings from the early adopter phase to inform the national roll out of free breakfast clubs. We’re also committed to continuing to learn throughout national roll out and have robust evaluation activity in place, including looking at take up. This will be critical to the programme’s delivery and ensuring that the programme is evidence informed and capable of demonstrating value for money. This will be shared with the public in line with the appropriate government social research guidelines.

In secondary schools, democracy is currently taught through the national curriculum for citizenship, with an optional GCSE available in citizenship studies. Political education is not compulsory post-16, but providers are free to teach it if they wish. When political issues are discussed, schools must offer pupils a balanced presentation of opposing views and should not present materials in a politically biased or one-sided way.

On 5 November, the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review published its final report, which includes recommendations for a refreshed curriculum and assessment system in England. The government’s response to the report recognises the importance of developing young people’s understanding of democratic institutions and processes and commits to strengthening citizenship content to improve progression across all key stages.

HM Treasury published a tax information and impact note (TIIN) on applying VAT to independent school fees, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-on-private-school-fees/applying-vat-to-private-school-fees#who-is-likely-to-be-affected. The note contains information on the impacts on individuals and families, and the government’s estimates of the number of pupils expected to enter the state sector as a result of this policy. The government does not collect pupil-level data from private schools and therefore cannot track pupil movements out of private schools into the state sector. Latest published figures confirm that pupil numbers remain within historical patterns seen for over 20 years, with no evidence of excessive pressure on the state system. The department works with local authorities to help them fulfil their duty to secure school places, including for children with special educational needs and disabilities.

The reforms to VAT and business rates, ending the exemptions which private schools previously enjoyed, are expected to raise £1.8 billion a year by 2029/30. This measure will raise essential revenue that will be invested in our public services, such as our £3.7 billion increase to school funding in 2025/26, taking core school funding to £65.3 billion compared to £61.6 billion in 2024/25.

HM Treasury published a tax information and impact note (TIIN) on applying VAT to independent school fees, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-on-private-school-fees/applying-vat-to-private-school-fees#who-is-likely-to-be-affected. The note contains information on the impacts on individuals and families, and the government’s estimates of the number of pupils expected to enter the state sector as a result of this policy. The government does not collect pupil-level data from private schools and therefore cannot track pupil movements out of private schools into the state sector. Latest published figures confirm that pupil numbers remain within historical patterns seen for over 20 years, with no evidence of excessive pressure on the state system. The department works with local authorities to help them fulfil their duty to secure school places, including for children with special educational needs and disabilities.

The reforms to VAT and business rates, ending the exemptions which private schools previously enjoyed, are expected to raise £1.8 billion a year by 2029/30. This measure will raise essential revenue that will be invested in our public services, such as our £3.7 billion increase to school funding in 2025/26, taking core school funding to £65.3 billion compared to £61.6 billion in 2024/25.

HM Treasury published a tax information and impact note (TIIN) on applying VAT to independent school fees, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-on-private-school-fees/applying-vat-to-private-school-fees#who-is-likely-to-be-affected. The note contains information on the impacts on individuals and families, and the government’s estimates of the number of pupils expected to enter the state sector as a result of this policy. The government does not collect pupil-level data from private schools and therefore cannot track pupil movements out of private schools into the state sector. Latest published figures confirm that pupil numbers remain within historical patterns seen for over 20 years, with no evidence of excessive pressure on the state system. The department works with local authorities to help them fulfil their duty to secure school places, including for children with special educational needs and disabilities.

The reforms to VAT and business rates, ending the exemptions which private schools previously enjoyed, are expected to raise £1.8 billion a year by 2029/30. This measure will raise essential revenue that will be invested in our public services, such as our £3.7 billion increase to school funding in 2025/26, taking core school funding to £65.3 billion compared to £61.6 billion in 2024/25.

HM Treasury published a tax information and impact note (TIIN) on applying VAT to independent school fees, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-on-private-school-fees/applying-vat-to-private-school-fees#who-is-likely-to-be-affected. The note contains information on the impacts on individuals and families, and the government’s estimates of the number of pupils expected to enter the state sector as a result of this policy. The government does not collect pupil-level data from private schools and therefore cannot track pupil movements out of private schools into the state sector. Latest published figures confirm that pupil numbers remain within historical patterns seen for over 20 years, with no evidence of excessive pressure on the state system. The department works with local authorities to help them fulfil their duty to secure school places, including for children with special educational needs and disabilities.

The reforms to VAT and business rates, ending the exemptions which private schools previously enjoyed, are expected to raise £1.8 billion a year by 2029/30. This measure will raise essential revenue that will be invested in our public services, such as our £3.7 billion increase to school funding in 2025/26, taking core school funding to £65.3 billion compared to £61.6 billion in 2024/25.

HM Treasury published a tax information and impact note (TIIN) on applying VAT to independent school fees, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-on-private-school-fees/applying-vat-to-private-school-fees#who-is-likely-to-be-affected. The note contains information on the impacts on individuals and families, and the government’s estimates of the number of pupils expected to enter the state sector as a result of this policy. The government does not collect pupil-level data from private schools and therefore cannot track pupil movements out of private schools into the state sector. Latest published figures confirm that pupil numbers remain within historical patterns seen for over 20 years, with no evidence of excessive pressure on the state system. The department works with local authorities to help them fulfil their duty to secure school places, including for children with special educational needs and disabilities.

The reforms to VAT and business rates, ending the exemptions which private schools previously enjoyed, are expected to raise £1.8 billion a year by 2029/30. This measure will raise essential revenue that will be invested in our public services, such as our £3.7 billion increase to school funding in 2025/26, taking core school funding to £65.3 billion compared to £61.6 billion in 2024/25.

Best Start Family Hubs are key to our vision of joined-up services in the community, bringing together professionals from health and education, working with nurseries, childminders, schools, health services, libraries and local voluntary and community groups.

The department has confirmed over £500 million of funding allocated for the delivery of Best Start Family Hubs, parenting programmes and home learning environment support.

Through Best Start Family Hubs, all local authorities will deliver evidence-based interventions for families with 3 to 4 year-olds from April 2026. The department will be sharing a list of evidence-based interventions that have been developed in collaboration with expert partners and informed by sources such as the Foundations Guidebook and Nesta’s call for evidence. The list will favour evidence-based interventions that have undergone the most rigorous evaluation to reflect our ambition to support local authorities in investing in programmes most likely to have the greatest impact.

The department’s statutory guidance for local authorities provides advice on how they should determine which is a child’s nearest school. It says that where schools are within the statutory walking distance from the child’s home, local authorities should determine which is the nearest school by measuring the shortest walking route. Where the schools are beyond walking distance, local authorities may consider it more appropriate to measure the shortest road route or straight-line distance. Local authorities should make it clear in their school travel policy how they measure the distance from a child’s home to school.

The department and NHS England work together to support and challenge local areas to improve their special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) service delivery where required. This includes carrying out monitoring, support and challenge on any areas of identified weakness, both following an area SEND inspection by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission, or if those areas are identified outside of inspection timescales.

Where a local authority does not meet its duties, including in relation to securing provision in accordance with education, health and care plans, the department can take action that prioritises children’s needs and supports local areas to bring about rapid improvement. This includes a range of universal, targeted and intensive support through departmental programmes, such as our expert advisers and commissioners.

I refer the hon. Member for Chichester to the answer of 29 October 2025 to question 84112.

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill includes a proposal for compulsory Children Not in School registers and an accompanying duty on parents to give information for these registers. The department consulted on this proposal as part of its ‘Children Not in School’ consultation, which ran between April and June 2019. The consultation received almost 5,000 responses, 74% of which were from parents and young people.

The department knows that reading for pleasure is hugely important and brings a range of benefits.

That is why we are launching the National Year of Reading 2026, in collaboration with the National Literacy Trust. It aims to address long-term declines in reading enjoyment through engaging new audiences, reshaping public attitudes and building the systems needed to embed lasting, meaningful change.

On 29 September, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, committed over £10 million of funding to guarantee a library for every primary school by the end of this parliament. The government will set out further details of the scheme in due course.

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.

The department knows that reading for pleasure is hugely important and brings a range of benefits.

That is why we are launching the National Year of Reading 2026, in collaboration with the National Literacy Trust. It aims to address long-term declines in reading enjoyment through engaging new audiences, reshaping public attitudes and building the systems needed to embed lasting, meaningful change.

On 29 September, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, committed over £10 million of funding to guarantee a library for every primary school by the end of this parliament. The government will set out further details of the scheme in due course.

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.

The department recognises its responsibility to ensure the highest standards of data privacy and transparency in respect of personal data, and we are ensuring that this is prioritised as the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill progresses.

We are ensuring that measures outlined in the Bill align with data protection principles, as set out in the Data Protection Act 2018, UK General Data Protection Regulations (UK GDPR) and the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025.

The department has met its obligation under Article 36(4) of UK GDPR to consult with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) on all measures involving the use of personal data. We continue to engage with the ICO for measures relating to the single unique identifier and the children not in school.

The department is engaging with the ICO to ensure that data protection risks identified are properly mitigated and will publish summaries of the assessments once they are complete.

The department, in collaboration with NHS England, has extended the Early Language and Support for Every Child (ELSEC) programme to strengthen early identification and intervention for children with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) in early years settings and primary schools.

Under the Best Start in Life strategy, the department is investing in evidence-based initiatives such as the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI), which has demonstrated significant impact on oral language and early literacy, particularly for disadvantaged pupils.

Since 2021, English Hubs have delivered targeted professional development to enhance whole class early language provision, primarily in early years and key stage 1, with plans to expand support for reception classes.

Recognising the critical role of speech and language therapists, the department is working closely with the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England to improve access to community health services, including speech and language therapy, for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.

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'.