Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of male underrepresentation in the teaching workforce in primary schools on the attainment gap between boys and girls.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
As my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has said, the department wants to see more male teachers teaching, guiding and leading the boys in their classrooms.
Men are underrepresented across the education workforce. This is broadly in line with international trends and has remained stable over time in England
Recruiting and retaining expert teachers is critical to the government’s mission to break down the barriers to opportunity for every child, as high-quality teaching is the in-school factor that has the biggest positive impact on a child’s outcomes.
We ensure men are featured regularly in our recruitment marketing campaign “Every Lesson Shapes a Life”, with men in the focal role in our last two major TV campaigns.
Whilst the department does not have evidence to draw a direct link between gender of teachers and pupil outcomes, we are clear that schools should be an environment where all children feel a genuine sense of belonging.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to provide a response to Question 93556 on Schools: Standards, tabled on 21 November 2025.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
I can confirm that a response has been submitted to the hon. Member for South Basildon and East Thurrock to Question 93556.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2025 to Question 77869 on Teachers: Disclosure of Information, whether her Department plans to consider the experiences of teachers subject to non‑disclosure agreements in settlement contracts when developing the conditions to be set out in forthcoming regulations.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
School leaders are best placed to make staffing decisions to ensure the workforce reflects the needs of their pupils. That is why schools are provided the freedom to manage employment of all their staff. The department is not the employer of any school staff.
Where school employers use settlement agreements, they are required to comply with employment law. Settlement agreements are entirely voluntary, and employees do not have to enter into them if they do not agree with the proposed content. Academy trusts must comply with the Academies Financial Handbook if they are considering making a settlement agreement. The handbook can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/academy-trust-handbook.
Settlement agreements often include a confidentiality clause, however, the law is clear that confidentiality clauses cannot be used to prevent someone from making a protected disclosure, such as whistleblowing. Further information about whistle blowing for employees can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/whistleblowing.
In addition, the government has introduced a new measure, through the Employment Rights Act 2025, that will address the misuse of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) by employers. The government will consult on the conditions under which NDAs can still be validly made, known in the legislation as an ‘excepted agreement’.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of changing the national curriculum to increase awareness of cancer prevention amongst pupils in Yeovil constituency.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
It is important to educate people about causes and symptoms of cancer, and we are supportive of efforts to do this at an early age.
Revised relationships, sex and health education statutory guidance was published on 15 July 2025. Cancer awareness and other specific cancer-related content is included. At secondary school, as part of their studies on health protection and prevention and understanding the healthcare system, pupils will be taught the importance of taking responsibility for their own health, including regular self-examination and screening.
Schools may teach about cancer awareness in other areas of the current national curriculum. The secondary science curriculum ensures pupils are taught about non-communicable diseases, such as cancer, and the impact of lifestyle factors. In design and food technology, schools should highlight the importance of nutrition. We are developing a new national curriculum with teachers, curriculum experts, pupils and parents, which schools will start teaching from September 2028.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many nights were spent in hotels by Departmental staff in financial year 2024-25 by the star rating of the hotel.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department has access to records of hotel accommodation used by employees; however, this information is not collected or categorised by hotel star rating. In 2024/25, employees booked 8,367 hotel nights, equivalent to an average 1.06 nights per employee.
The department’s travel and expenses policy ensures value for money by setting clear limits for hotel costs: £160 per night in London and £110 per night elsewhere. Employees are expected to book within these caps through approved channels.
Where accommodation cannot reasonably be secured within these limits, any higher‑cost booking must receive prior approval from a Senior Civil Servant (Deputy Director or above). Such approval is granted only where there is a clearly evidenced business or critical operational need.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help support children in schools to develop their vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation and listening skills.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department recognises the importance of speaking and listening skills, which has been very clearly set out by the recent Curriculum and Assessment Review. As part of our English curriculum reform, we will make sure that communication skills inherent in curriculum subjects are more clearly expressed through revised programmes of study. We will revise the English and drama programmes of study to add more clarity and specificity in speaking and listening, as well as ensuring that the reformed English language GCSE focusses on the features and use of language as a form of communication. We will also create a new oracy framework to sit alongside the national curriculum that will support primary teachers to help their pupils become confident, fluent speakers, as well as a new secondary oracy, reading and writing framework, which will enable secondary teachers to connect and embed all three of those vital skills in each of their subjects as part of a whole school strategy.
We are also considering whether and how the sequencing of grammatical content in the curriculum should be changed, to enable pupils to master concepts and use them in context.
Asked by: Tom Morrison (Liberal Democrat - Cheadle)
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 the requirement to resit Maths and English GCSEs until passing on young people starting their careers and pursuing vocational further education and apprenticeships.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Level 2 English and mathematics skills are essential for progression in work and further study, and providers are required to continue teaching English and/or mathematics to students aged 16 to 19 without these skills. Learners aged 16 to 18 at the start of their apprenticeship are required to achieve English and/or maths qualifications as an exit requirement.
The department does not set entry requirements for further education (FE) courses and guidance is clear that decisions to enter students into English and mathematics exams should be based on readiness to improve their grade.
The Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper outlined further support for providers to improve outcomes for all students, on study programmes. We have introduced teaching hours requirements and will also introduce new Level 1 preparation for GCSE qualifications. We are working with the FE Commissioner to share effective practice. Proposed reforms to level 2 and 3 vocational and technical pathways will also be designed to ensure there is sufficient time to continue studying English and mathematics.
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of outstanding Plan 2 student loan debt in the year the first loans become eligible to be written off; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of that debt on Government finances.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The oldest Plan 2 loans will become eligible for cancellation in 2046. For the England-domiciled 2012/13 cohort, the first to receive Plan 2 loans, we forecast a total of £17,036 million in loan balances (including interest) will be cancelled at the end of their 30-year repayment periods.
These cancellations are accounted for at the point of loan outlay. The future cancelled debt is reflected in both the national accounts and the department’s accounts in the year the loan is issued and is then updated annually. It will not result in further losses when the loans reach the end of their 30-year write-off period.
The treatment of student loans in the national accounts is in line the methodology published by the Office for National Statistics and can be found here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/governmentpublicsectorandtaxes/publicsectorfinance/methodologies/studentloansinthepublicsectorfinancesamethodologicalguide.
Asked by: Tom Morrison (Liberal Democrat - Cheadle)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support she is providing to students who want to pursue a creative course for further education but cannot due to not obtaining English and Maths GCSEs despite resits.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Level 2 English and mathematics skills are essential for progression in work and further study, and providers are required to continue teaching English and/or mathematics to students aged 16 to 19 without these skills. Learners aged 16 to 18 at the start of their apprenticeship are required to achieve English and/or maths qualifications as an exit requirement.
The department does not set entry requirements for further education (FE) courses and guidance is clear that decisions to enter students into English and mathematics exams should be based on readiness to improve their grade.
The Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper outlined further support for providers to improve outcomes for all students, on study programmes. We have introduced teaching hours requirements and will also introduce new Level 1 preparation for GCSE qualifications. We are working with the FE Commissioner to share effective practice. Proposed reforms to level 2 and 3 vocational and technical pathways will also be designed to ensure there is sufficient time to continue studying English and mathematics.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure schools tackle gender-specific online harm.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The updated relationships, sex and health education guidance ensures that, from September 2026, schools will address gender‑based online harms including from pornography, deepfakes, sextortion and misogynistic content. It places new emphasis on challenging misogyny and supporting pupils to recognise and report harmful behaviours and to understand the impact of harmful online influencers.
In December 2025, the government published a new strategy to tackle violence against women and girls. We want to protect young people and drive forward education on healthy relationships. We will invest £11 million to pilot the best interventions in schools over the next three years.
‘Keeping children safe in education’, the statutory safeguarding guidance which schools must have regard to, has been strengthened significantly in recent years to reflect evolving online risks. Online safety is embedded throughout, making clear the importance of ensuring a whole school approach to keeping children safe both online and offline.