Asked by: Baroness Debbonaire (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the extent, and (2) the impact, of the provision of arts and culture activities for children in schools by external organisations.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Participation in the arts brings a range of benefits for children and young people. In addition to the value of arts engagement in and of itself, the Education Endowment Fund’s teaching and learning toolkit, for example, reports positive impacts on academic outcomes in other curriculum areas, as well as benefits to children’s wellbeing and attitudes to learning.
There is a range of support available to schools from external organisations to help them provide arts and cultural activities. The government will be publishing a new enrichment framework this academic year, which will encourage partnership working and signpost to organisations, such as Arts Council England.
We are also committed to revitalising arts as part of the reformed national curriculum and qualifications, with high-quality support for teachers of these subjects through the new National Centre for Music and Arts, and our music hubs network.
Asked by: Lord Bird (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to introduce an auto-enrolment system for all children eligible for free school meals.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. We want to make sure that every family that needs support can access it.
The government is introducing a new eligibility threshold for free school meals so that all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit will be eligible for free school meals from September 2026. This will make it easier for parents to know whether their children are entitled to receive free meals. This new entitlement will mean over 500,000 of the most disadvantaged children will begin to access free meals, lifting 100,000 children out of poverty and putting £500 per child back in families’ pockets.
We are also rolling out improvements to the Eligibility Checking System, the digital portal currently used by local authorities to verify if a child meets the eligibility criteria for free lunches. Giving parents and schools access will accelerate eligibility checks, making it easier to check if children are eligible for free meals.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the professional overview board of the National Inclusion Standards will include (a) speech and language therapists and (b) other experts on speech, language and communication.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Isle of Wight East to the answer of 23 March 2026 to Question 121270.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the consistency of local authorities’ approaches to allocating high needs element three funding to further education colleges; and whether her Department plans to introduce national guidance.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Where a child or young person with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) has an education, health and care (EHC) plan, the local authority must secure the special educational provision specified in the plan. The allocation of top-up funding to the school or college often helps secure that provision.
Our national guidance on allocation of high needs top-up funding (sometimes called element 3) is set out in section 7 of the 2026 to 2027 high needs funding operational guide here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/high-needs-funding-arrangements-2026-to-2027/high-needs-funding-2026-to-2027-operational-guide#highneedstopfunding. This includes guidance that local authorities should collaborate with neighbouring local authorities when reviewing and developing their top-up funding bands, with a view to bringing more consistency to the levels of top-up funding for schools and colleges used routinely for placements by more than one local authority. The guidance also refers to conditions of grant that require local authorities to make timely payments of top-up funding.
In February, we launched our SEND reform consultation to build on existing good practice and improve inclusivity and support in schools and colleges. These include reforms to the allocation of funding and to accountability, which will create a simpler, fairer and more collaborative system focused on outcomes, replacing bureaucracy with clarity and trust.
Asked by: Alex McIntyre (Labour - Gloucester)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the performance of secondary schools in Gloucester constituency.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Data shows that a significant Attainment 8 gap between selective grammar schools in Gloucester and non-selective schools, with a 30+ point gap between the highest (Denmark Road, 72.9) and lowest scoring (Gloucester Academy, 36.6) schools. Grammar schools drive the locally authority average (50.3 compared to the national average of 46). Schools with lower attainment 8 scores serve more disadvantaged populations locally.
Overall secondary attendance trend in the Gloucester constituency is improving, increasing from 90.4% in 2023/24 to 90.9%, in 2024/25. Note the national average is 90.9% and local authority average is 91.5%.
Overall, Ofsted ratings demonstrate an improvement trend in schools in Gloucester. Holmleigh Park and Gloucester Academy have improved from an ‘Inadequate’ Ofsted judgement, to ‘Good’. The department continues to work closely with local partners to closely monitor this continuing trend of improvement.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how the proposed fast‑track route for early intervention will be defined, including eligibility thresholds, time limits and approved evidence‑based programmes.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
To achieve this, we will work with the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), and NHS England to enable better information sharing between health professionals and local authorities. This will speed up the process of matching children to the right specialist provision package and create a more direct route to specialist provision for those with the most complex needs at the earliest stage.
We have asked for feedback on this proposal as part of the consultation and will build on these responses to develop this policy in partnership with parents, local authorities, settings, DHSC and NHS England.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what mechanisms are in place to monitor local authorities’ compliance with statutory duties relating to high needs element 3 funding; and whether her Department plans to strengthen oversight to ensure that all eligible students receive appropriate support in a timely manner.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Where a child or young person with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) has an education, health and care (EHC) plan, the local authority must secure the special educational provision specified in the plan. The allocation of top-up funding to the school or college often helps secure that provision.
Our national guidance on allocation of high needs top-up funding (sometimes called element 3) is set out in section 7 of the 2026 to 2027 high needs funding operational guide here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/high-needs-funding-arrangements-2026-to-2027/high-needs-funding-2026-to-2027-operational-guide#highneedstopfunding. This includes guidance that local authorities should collaborate with neighbouring local authorities when reviewing and developing their top-up funding bands, with a view to bringing more consistency to the levels of top-up funding for schools and colleges used routinely for placements by more than one local authority. The guidance also refers to conditions of grant that require local authorities to make timely payments of top-up funding.
In February, we launched our SEND reform consultation to build on existing good practice and improve inclusivity and support in schools and colleges. These include reforms to the allocation of funding and to accountability, which will create a simpler, fairer and more collaborative system focused on outcomes, replacing bureaucracy with clarity and trust.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she is taking steps to help reduce classroom sizes in primary schools.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only. Measures are in place to limit and reduce class sizes, particularly for younger children. Legislation caps the size of an infant class at 30 pupils per qualified teacher. Infant classes are those in which most pupils turn five, six, or seven during the school year. Current data shows the average infant class size is 26.2 pupils, a decrease of 0.4 compared with the previous year.
There is no statutory limit on class sizes for older children aged eight and above. Schools have the flexibility to organise these classes according to local needs and circumstances, ensuring pupils receive the support they need to achieve and thrive. The average primary class size, covering both infant and junior classes, is 26.4 pupils, down by 0.2 from last year.
These trends, alongside the statutory infant class limit, demonstrate that current measures are helping to keep class sizes manageable in primary schools.
Asked by: Lord Vaizey of Didcot (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many prospective chairs of school governors and prospective school governors fail identity checks through Verifile as a percentage of the total who are required to use the Verifile service.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department does not hold this data, as it does not carry out identity checks on maintained school governors or those on local governing bodies in academy trusts. The governing body for a maintained school and the academy trust for a trust local governing body are responsible for ensuring such checks are conducted.
Asked by: Lord Vaizey of Didcot (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what reasons have been identified for prospective chairs of school governors and prospective school governors failing identity checks when using the Verifile service.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department does not hold this data, as it does not carry out identity checks on maintained school governors or those on local governing bodies in academy trusts. The governing body for a maintained school and the academy trust for a trust local governing body are responsible for ensuring such checks are conducted.