Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether people with a Level 5 foundation degree can undertake the Teacher Degree Apprenticeship in primary education to achieve a Level 6 qualification and Qualified Teacher Status concurrently without completing a separate top-up year.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
We recognise the importance of clear training routes to ensure schools have the skilled teachers they need. The Teacher Degree Apprenticeship enables trainees to gain a full undergraduate degree alongside Qualified Teacher Status while working in a school.
To be eligible, applicants must meet the entry requirements set out in the Initial Teacher Training criteria and the learner eligibility requirements set out in the Apprenticeship Funding Rules. Individuals with an existing Level 5 qualification may apply. More information on eligibility and how to apply is available on the Get Into Teaching website here: https://getintoteaching.education.gov.uk/.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to include mandatory training on the climate emergency within Initial Teacher Training and the Early Career Framework.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework (ITTECF) is universal and designed to work for all new teachers regardless of subject, phase, or school. Whilst the ITTECF underpins what all new teachers should learn, it is not a curriculum. Training providers and schools can design a curriculum based on the ITTECF and which is responsive to the needs of the participants and individual school settings.
Beyond the ITTECF, decisions relating to teachers’ professional development rest with schools, headteachers, and teachers themselves as they are in the best position to judge their own requirements.
We recognise that continuous improvement is essential in transforming the training and support for all new teachers, and to review the experiences and needs of early career teachers as well as trainees. This is why we have committed to a full review of the programme in 2027 to ensure it continues to provide the best possible support for trainees and early career teachers.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the press release titled “10-year plan to revitalise schools and colleges for every child”, published on 11 February 2026, what is the estimated total cost of establishing an inclusion base in every secondary school.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
On Wednesday 11 February, the department set out our ambition that, in time, every secondary school will have an inclusion base.
Where new places are needed, this can be supported by the £3.7 billion in high needs capital that we are investing between 2025/26 and 2029/30. This funding is allocated to local authorities, who know their schools and will determine how best to spend funding to meet local need. £740 million of this funding has already been allocated, and allocations for 2026/27 will be published in the spring.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the press release titled “10-year plan to revitalise schools and colleges for every child”, published on 11 February 2026, by when does the government expect every secondary school to have an inclusion base.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
On Wednesday 11 February, the department set out our ambition that, in time, every secondary school will have an inclusion base.
Where new places are needed, this can be supported by the £3.7 billion in high needs capital that we are investing between 2025/26 and 2029/30. This funding is allocated to local authorities, who know their schools and will determine how best to spend funding to meet local need. £740 million of this funding has already been allocated, and allocations for 2026/27 will be published in the spring.
Asked by: Calum Miller (Liberal Democrat - Bicester and Woodstock)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of changing the (i) interest rate, for example to CPI, for existing student loan borrowers and (ii) maximum period before student loans are written off for existing borrowers on the public finances.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Reducing the interest rate charged to existing student loan borrowers would lead to reduced future repayments due to some borrowers paying off their loans faster, and therefore represent a cost to the public purse.
Increasing the maximum period before student loans are written off for existing borrowers would generate a saving for public finances due to additional repayments being made by borrowers who would otherwise have had their loans written off.
Plan 5 loans were introduced by the previous government for new undergraduate students starting courses from the 2023/24 academic year onwards and, compared to the Plan 2 loans they replaced, combine reduced interest rates with a ten year extension to the loan repayment term and a lower repayment threshold. Impacts were published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reform-equality-impact-assessment.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she has taken to promote British heritage in the national curriculum.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Following the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review we are revising the national curriculum. We will publicly consult from summer 2026, and fully implement the new full national curriculum for first teaching from September 2028.
Our refreshed national curriculum will strengthen pupils’ understanding of British heritage, particularly through a robust understanding of our nation’s history, through teaching of our fundamental British values in citizenship, and in English through drawing on a recognised body of English literature.
We will support teachers to draw on content that meets the needs of their pupils and embodies a modern and forward-looking Britain.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to introduce targets and funding commitments for climate education across all key stages.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Young people have consistently expressed a strong desire for more education on climate change, nature and sustainability. Teachers have also highlighted that limited visibility and emphasis on climate topics in the national curriculum has made it difficult to develop effective provision in this area.
Climate education was already present in the science and geography curricula. The Curriculum and Assessment Review recommended stronger climate education and sustainability content across the curriculum, with detailed engagement and earlier sequencing with climate education in subjects such as geography, science, design and technology and citizenship.
Work is now underway to embed content on climate change, nature and sustainability across the curriculum and sequence knowledge throughout the key stages.
Funding is already committed for the National Education Nature Park to provide curriculum-linked activities and resources for all key stages, and for supporting climate action plans via the Climate Ambassador Programme and Sustainability Support for Education. Climate action plans encourage settings from early years to further education to consider how they take a holistic approach to climate across four key pillars of adaptation, biodiversity, curriculum and decarbonisation.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the benefits of updating the Education Act 1944 with regard to distance thresholds for school transport.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government is committed to creating opportunities for all children so that they can achieve and thrive. The department’s home-to-school travel policy aims to make sure that no child is prevented from accessing education by a lack of transport.
The eligibility criteria are set out in the Education Act 1996 and were amended by the Education and Inspections Act 2006. Whilst the statutory walking distances have been in place since the 1940s, children within walking distance can now also have free travel if they cannot walk to school because of their special educational needs, disability or mobility problem, or because the route is unsafe. Extended rights to home to school travel now support school choice for children from low-income families where the cost of transport may otherwise be a barrier. We do not currently have any plans to change the existing statutory framework for home to school travel.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of improved early intervention and diagnostic methodologies for children with special educational needs on levels of SEND provision in local authorities.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Effective early identification and intervention is critical in improving the outcomes of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Access to support should not be dependent on a child or young person having a diagnosis, and a diagnosis alone does not help a teacher know what strategies to use to support that child in the classroom.
As set out in the SEND reform consultation document “Putting Children and Young People First”, the department will develop National Inclusion Standards. These will set out evidence-informed tools, strategies and approaches for educators to draw on to identify and support children and young people with additional needs, before those needs escalate. By 2028, we will have invested up to £15 million to build the evidence base for, and then provide, National Inclusion Standards.
In addition, government-backed research delivered by UK Research Innovation in partnership with the department will aim to develop and roll out approaches for the early identification, strengths and needs assessment, and support of children and young people with special educational needs.
The department and NHS England continue to track the progress that the Surrey Local Area Partnership is making following its Ofsted/CQC SEND inspection in September 2023, which found inconsistent experiences and outcomes for children and young people with SEND, alongside providing on-going advice, support and challenge.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of improving methodologies for (a) early intervention and (b) diagnosis of children with special educational needs in (i) Surrey and (ii) Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Effective early identification and intervention is critical in improving the outcomes of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Access to support should not be dependent on a child or young person having a diagnosis, and a diagnosis alone does not help a teacher know what strategies to use to support that child in the classroom.
As set out in the SEND reform consultation document “Putting Children and Young People First”, the department will develop National Inclusion Standards. These will set out evidence-informed tools, strategies and approaches for educators to draw on to identify and support children and young people with additional needs, before those needs escalate. By 2028, we will have invested up to £15 million to build the evidence base for, and then provide, National Inclusion Standards.
In addition, government-backed research delivered by UK Research Innovation in partnership with the department will aim to develop and roll out approaches for the early identification, strengths and needs assessment, and support of children and young people with special educational needs.
The department and NHS England continue to track the progress that the Surrey Local Area Partnership is making following its Ofsted/CQC SEND inspection in September 2023, which found inconsistent experiences and outcomes for children and young people with SEND, alongside providing on-going advice, support and challenge.