Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support the implementation of high quality continuous provision in Key Stage 1 to ensure effective progression from the Early Years Foundation Stage.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Schools must decide how to best support children’s transitions from the early years foundation stages (EYFS) phase into key stage 1. Some schools continue elements of the pedagogical approach of the EYFS into Year 1 to enable a gradual transition. The EYFS Profile Assessment at the end of reception helps guide teachers in deciding how to meet the needs of each cohort and child.
The government’s response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review set out how we will be reforming the curriculum and assessment system, which will include changes at key stage 1.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of children receiving SEND transport support where the responsible adult has access to a vehicle through the Motability Scheme.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The Education Act 1996 requires local authorities to arrange free home-to-school travel for eligible children. A child’s eligibility is not affected by any further benefits or allowances they or their parents may receive.
The department does not collect or hold information about the number of children receiving home to school travel from their local authority where the responsible adult has access to a vehicle through the Motability Scheme.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will review section 1.37 of the School Admissions Code 2021 to assess the potential benefits of requiring all schools designated with a religious character to prioritise all looked-after and previously looked-after children in their admissions arrangements, regardless of faith.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department values the contribution schools with a religious character make to a diverse school system, and it is important faith schools can set admissions criteria that work for their local circumstances.
As a minimum, faith schools must give priority to looked after children and previously looked after children of the faith before giving priority to other children of faith. Faith schools may also choose but are not required to give top priority to looked-after and previously looked after children regardless of faith.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the cost to the public purse of her proposed maternity pay reforms; and how she plans to fund this additional cost.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
This government is committed to tackling recruitment and retention challenges and supporting teachers to stay in the profession and thrive.
The recent Schools White Paper announced our commitment to fund improvements to maternity pay for school and college teachers, leaders and support staff. From September 2027/28, school teachers and leaders will see their period of full maternity pay, doubled from the current offer of 4 weeks of full pay to 8 weeks. The announcement responds to evidence that women aged 30 to 39 are the largest group of leavers from the school teacher workforce in terms of volume, which could be linked to choosing between a career and having a family.
While we are not able to share the exact funding amount at this stage, we will fully fund the improved maternity offer at a national level and are currently finalising the estimates.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of maternity pay reforms on teacher retention.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
This government is committed to tackling recruitment and retention challenges and supporting teachers to stay in the profession and thrive.
The recent Schools White Paper announced our commitment to fund improvements to maternity pay for school and college teachers, leaders and support staff. From September 2027/28, school teachers and leaders will see their period of full maternity pay, doubled from the current offer of 4 weeks of full pay to 8 weeks. The announcement responds to evidence that women aged 30 to 39 are the largest group of leavers from the school teacher workforce in terms of volume, which could be linked to choosing between a career and having a family.
While we are not able to share the exact funding amount at this stage, we will fully fund the improved maternity offer at a national level and are currently finalising the estimates.
Asked by: Tristan Osborne (Labour - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking with schools to help reduce the number of minors being treated for drug use, including in Medway.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Schools and colleges have a critical role to play in protecting children and keeping them safe. Keeping children safe in education (KCSIE), available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2, is the statutory guidance that all schools and colleges must have when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.
The statutory curriculum for health education requires all pupils in state-maintained schools to be taught the facts about legal and illegal harmful substances and the associated risks to physical and mental wellbeing, including smoking, alcohol use and drug-taking.
By the end of secondary school, pupils should know the facts about which drugs are illegal, the risks of taking illegal drugs, including the increased risk of potent synthetic drugs being added to illegal drugs, the risks of illicit vapes containing drugs, illicit drugs and counterfeit medicines, and the potential health harms, including the link to poor mental health.
This complements content about substances within the national curriculum for science.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has for SEND practitioners to be provided with training on how to support children with speech, language and communication challenges.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department recently announced an investment of £15 million to establish new speech and language therapist (SaLT) advanced practitioners in every integrated care board geographical area, to get more SaLTs working in educational settings. These advanced practitioners will be qualified speech and language therapists.
The government is also investing £200 million to give all staff in schools, colleges and early years settings the training they need to better support pupils with special educational needs and disabilities, including those with speech, language and communication needs in mainstream settings.
This is in addition to £3.4 million being invested this year in the Early Language Support for Every Child programme, helping to identify and respond to speech and language needs, continued investment in the Nuffield Early Language Intervention, which has demonstrated significant impact on speech and language skills particularly for disadvantaged pupils, and an expansion of English Hubs programme from the 2026/27 academic year to include intensive language and literacy support.
Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has plans to increase the number of state school students able to study Latin and the Classics.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government is committed to supporting a broad and balanced curriculum that is inclusive and accessible to all pupils. The study of classics and ancient languages can teach pupils valuable lessons in history, politics and art that are still relevant today. All schools are free to include Latin, Ancient Greek and classics as part of their curriculum, and there are GCSEs and A levels available in all three subjects.
The department has worked with organisations such as Classics for All, The Classical Association and Hands Up Education to ensure schools are aware of free support available to help teach these subjects.
We also continue to provide bursaries for trainee language teachers, including ancient languages. For the 2026/27 academic year, this will be £20,000.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of trends in the level of the use of (i) physical restraint and (ii) isolation practices in schools; what steps her Department is taking to reduce the use of these practices; and when updated guidance for schools and parents will be published on this matter.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The government recognises that the use of restrictive interventions, such as physical restraint and seclusion, can have a significant and long-lasting effect on the pupils, staff members and parents involved, as well as other class members.
For this reason, we have recently updated the restrictive interventions, and the use of reasonable force in schools guidance. This aims to support schools to proactively minimise the need to use such interventions through early support, prevention and de-escalation strategies.
The ‘Behaviour in schools’ guidance outlines expectations around the use of removal from the classroom which some schools refer to as isolation. Schools should ensure that removal for any pupil is for the minimum amount of time necessary, and that removal is used consistently, proportionately, and in a way that supports the pupil’s reintegration into the classroom.
The guidance makes clear to schools that they should collect, review and analyse data internally to assess the use of restrictive interventions and removal, so that improvements to these practices can be identified.
As outlined in the Schools White Paper, we will spread best practice through refreshed resources to support schools to deliver calm, caring and inclusive environments.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, a) what is the current RAB charge for Plan 2 loans, and b) how has this changed year-on-year since 2019.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The current Resource Accounting and Budgeting (RAB) charge for Plan 2 loans in England is 32.2%. The RAB charge for Plan 2 loans has changed as follows since 2019:
RAB charges (Financial Year) | Plan 2 |
2019/20 | 53.0% |
2020/21 | 54.0% |
2021/22 | 45.0% |
2022/23 | 28.5% |
2023/24 | 29.8% |
2024/25 | 32.2% |
Many factors can influence the RAB charge, including modelling methodology, economic determinants and policy decisions. The last cohort of Plan 2 loan borrowers took their first loans in the 2022/23 academic year, the latest RAB charge covers outlay for borrowers still receiving Plan 2 loans in the 2024/25 financial year.