Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the success of Government initiatives launched between 2010 and 2024 in narrowing the attainment gap in schools.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Despite the efforts of dedicated staff, our school system is not serving all children well, with unacceptable disparities in attainment existing across all phases of education and all areas of the country.
Disadvantaged children, especially white working-class children, and those with special educational needs and disabilities are not succeeding as they should.
The attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and all other pupils remains high and persistent at both primary and secondary.
The ‘Every Child Achieving and Thriving’ white paper establishes the department’s plan to improve the outcomes of all children and young people.
When children born under this government finish secondary school, it is our ambition that all children achieve higher standards and the disadvantage gap will be halved, equating to 30,000 more disadvantaged young people passing their English and maths GCSEs than today.
To deliver this we will provide family support to help more disadvantaged children arrive at reception school ready, strengthen teacher recruitment and retention, broaden the curriculum and offer high-quality enrichment opportunities.
Asked by: Hannah Spencer (Green Party - Gorton and Denton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to publish the latest School Teachers' Review Body report on teacher’s pay; and what discussions she has had with head teachers and their representatives on (a) the publication date of that report and (b) the potential impact this date will have on the adequacy of the amount of time schools get to plan their budgets for September.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government has received the School Teachers’ Review Body’s 36th Report. As is the case each year once the report is received, the government is now in the process of discussing the recommendations and will publish the report, in addition to the government’s response, and launch the statutory consultation as soon as those discussions have concluded, making every effort to give schools as much notice of the impact on school budgets as is possible.
Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help improve levels of attainment among working class pupils.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Too many children are held back by their background. That is why, through the Opportunity Mission, we will break the link between background and future success.
The ‘Every child achieving and thriving’ White Paper establishes the department’s plan to improve the outcomes of all children, building on support at home with a stretching, enriching and inclusive school experience. Our ambition is that all children achieve higher standards and the disadvantage gap is halved. This equates to 30,000 more disadvantaged young people passing their English and maths GCSEs than today.
Additionally, we are driving standards through new RISE teams, a refreshed high-quality curriculum and assessment system and recruiting 6,500 additional teachers - as well as taking action to address barriers to learning.
Alongside this, around £3.2 billion is being provided in the 2026/27 financial year to state-funded schools in England through the pupil premium, to support disadvantaged pupils so they achieve and thrive in education.
'Giving every child the best start in life' sets out the immediate steps to deliver on our commitment to make early education and childcare more accessible and affordable. We have rolled out the expansion of government funded hours so that working parents can now access 30 hours per week from the term after their child turns nine months. We’ve also announced Best Start Family Hubs, backed by £500 million, and launched the Better Futures Fund, a new £500 million fund to break down barriers to opportunity for up to 200,000 vulnerable children and young people.
Finally, our Child Poverty Strategy will lift 550,000 children out of poverty by 2030. This includes the expansion of free school meals. Providing over half a million disadvantaged children with a free lunchtime meal will lead to higher attainment, improved behaviour and better outcomes.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Runnymede Trust Excluded: Misrecognition, control and the Roma experience in Bradford schools, published on 25 March; and what plans they have to implement its recommendations.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department recognises the issues faced by Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children and young people, and how schools and others can make a positive difference.
We are currently reviewing the report’s findings alongside existing evidence on school exclusions and ethnic disparities. This assessment will inform our ongoing work to ensure that behaviour and attendance policies are applied fairly and that schools are supported to meet the needs of all pupils, including Roma communities.
Under the Equality Act 2010, schools must not discriminate against pupils on the basis of their ethnic background. We have already published guidance for schools on complying with this duty.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many foreign nationals claiming student loan or a maintenance loan dropped out of their courses in the last academic year for which data is available.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The number of student loan borrowers who are not UK Nationals and withdrew from their latest recorded course in 2024/25 was 15,000 (to the nearest 500).
The department and the Student Loans Company have strengthened the quality and consistency of data in this area and now hold reliable information on borrowers’ UK national status and nationality.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish student loan repayment data, broken down by national origin, for the last academic year for which data has been collated.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The number of student loan borrowers who are not UK Nationals and withdrew from their latest recorded course in 2024/25 was 15,000 (to the nearest 500).
The department and the Student Loans Company have strengthened the quality and consistency of data in this area and now hold reliable information on borrowers’ UK national status and nationality.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have issued guidance to local authorities in England about special school expansion and historical special educational needs and disability deficits; and if so, whether they will publish it.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department has issued guidance relevant to special school expansion in high needs provision capital allocations. This sets out how councils should assess need, plan delivery routes for new capacity, and, where appropriate, expand or refurbish existing special schools, while also strengthening mainstream inclusion through inclusion bases.
Guidance on Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) deficits has also been published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement. The explanatory note confirms that High Needs Stability Grant payments, covering up to ninety per cent of high needs related DSG deficits accrued up to the end of the 2025/26 financial year, will only be released once a Local Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Reform Plan has been approved. This requirement was reiterated in the material circulated alongside the Local SEND Reform Plan commission.
All documents are available on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to Measure What Matters' report entitled National Testimony Collection, published on 16 October 2025, what steps her Department is taking to address failures by local authorities to comply with guidance on the provision of SEND support to children, including those with an education, health and care plan.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The Schools White Paper sets out unequivocal expectations for every local authority on the quality and timeliness of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) support, including planning school places effectively and providing the expert support that schools and families need, with significant investment in local authorities to transform SEND support.
In March 2026 we commissioned local authorities, together with their integrated care boards, to develop SEND reform plans by June 2026.
The department will use these plans to hold them accountable to deliver strong outcomes for children and young people with SEND and will act decisively where progress does not materialise. Where failure is persistent, we will not hesitate to use the full range of intervention powers including removing the licence to deliver SEND services.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will hold discussions with exam boards on offering GCSEs in Tamil.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Decisions about which languages to offer at GCSE in England are taken by four independent awarding organisations – AQA, OCR, Pearson Edexcel and WJEC – rather than by central government. These organisations have the freedom to create a Tamil GCSE based on the subject content for modern foreign languages set by the department. This decision would be informed by several factors, including the level of demand from schools and the proportion of the population in the UK speaking the language.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what (a) estimate her Department has made of the number and (b) assessment of the adequacy of availability of trained professionals required to meet the Experts at Hand plan.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Poole to the answer of 24 March 2026 to Question 121419.