Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to expand the use of play based and exploratory learning approaches within Key Stage 1 to support children’s cognitive, social, and emotional development.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Curriculum and Assessment Review examined whether England’s curriculum and assessment system is fit for purpose and meets the needs of children and young people. The government’s response set out key national curriculum reforms the department will take forward. We are not commissioning any further research into how the key stage 1 national curriculum should be reformed.
Schools are expected to organise the school day and week in pupils’ best interests, providing a full‑time education suited to their age, aptitude and ability, while allowing time for play and other activities.
The department is working to ensure all children and young people can access a range of enrichment opportunities as part of our mission to break down barriers to opportunity. In some schools, these opportunities may encourage children and young people to play.
Giving young children the best start in life underpins the government’s opportunity mission. Early years are crucial to children’s health, development and life chances. The early years foundation stage statutory framework recognises that play is essential for children’s wellbeing, learning and development, and emphasises the importance of creating cultures that support high quality play.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much revenue has been generated from the application of VAT to private school fees to date and how this revenue has been allocated.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The government has estimated that ending tax breaks for private schools will raise £1.8 billion a year by 2029/30. At the Autumn Budget 2025, the re-costing of the measure showed it will raise around £40 million per year more than originally forecast. This will raise essential revenue to help fund public services, including supporting the 94% of children in state schools.
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 adequacy of early intervention support for families where children display harmful or aggressive behaviour at home in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The national rollout of Family Help, Multi-Agency Child Protection and Family Group Decision Making reforms is being delivered through the Families First Partnership (FFP) programme.
The programme is backed by £2.4 billion in funding over the next three years, which is ringfenced for spend on prevention.
Multi-disciplinary Family Help teams will prioritise supporting the whole family, wrapping support around them and intervening at the earliest opportunity to prevent challenges escalating, including for families where children display harmful or aggressive behaviour at home. Local partnerships should use population needs assessments to identify agencies, services and practitioners needed in their multi‑disciplinary teams.
The FFP programme team in the department will work closely with all local authorities, including Surrey, to monitor progress and provide support. In 2025/26, Surrey local authority received £5.1 million of ringfenced funding for the delivery of FFP, and based on indicative allocations they will receive £10.1 million in 2026/27.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
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 the transition from the Early Years Foundation Stage to Year 1 on children’s wellbeing.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department recognises that moving between key stages can be challenging for some children, and that children’s experience of school can significantly impact their attendance, attainment and wellbeing.
This government is committed to giving every child the best start in life, ensuring they have what they need to achieve and thrive in school. The Early Years Foundation Stage statutory framework aims to ensure children have the skills and knowledge needed to thrive and make a successful transition to later schooling.
The government is expanding mental health support teams, so all schools can access specialist mental health professionals, supporting their whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing, and providing early intervention.
The department will also publish a best practice framework to help schools improve pupil experience and engagement. As part of this work, we will consider the evidence around effective transitions strategies that can promote and support children’s wellbeing.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions, if any, they have had with the Office for Students about priorities and criteria for category C1 strategic funding for university courses.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Strategic Priorities Grant (SPG) is one of our main higher education funding levers and provides support for high-cost subjects. Funding is allocated by the Office for Students (OfS) based on subject classifications. Subjects are grouped into price groups (A, B, C1.1, and C1.2), which reflect the cost of delivering those courses.
As set out in the 2025/26 SPG guidance letter from my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education to the OfS, we are working with the OfS to review and reform the high-cost subject funding, including price group C1, to ensure that it best aligns with the government’s growth mission and is targeted effectively towards provision that supports the industrial strategy and future skills needs.
We are working closely with the OfS to understand the impact of any changes to SPG funding, and the department will issue guidance to the OfS in due course setting out our funding priorities for 2026/27.
Asked by: David Baines (Labour - St Helens North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will take steps to require the provision of CCTV in early years settings.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework sets the standards and requirements early years providers must meet to ensure that children have the best start in life and are kept healthy and safe.
The EYFS requires providers to have safeguarding policies that address the use of mobile phones, cameras, and other electronic devices with imaging and sharing capabilities. Decisions about installing and using CCTV are for individual providers, subject to safeguarding and data protection requirements.
As part of the department’s ongoing review of safeguarding requirements, an expert advisory panel will be appointed to inform sector guidance on the safe and effective use of CCTV and digital devices within safeguarding. This guidance will consider whether CCTV should be mandated and will set out best practice, technical advice and clear expectations.
Asked by: David Baines (Labour - St Helens North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will consider the potential merits of making safer sleep training for early years staff mandatory.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework, which early years providers are required to follow, includes a requirement for babies to be placed down to sleep in line with the latest government safety guidance here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/sudden-infant-death-syndrome-sids/.
To make the existing requirements clearer for all, the department plans to add in more detail to the EYFS frameworks. We have worked with safe sleep experts including the Lullaby Trust on proposed new wording. We plan to make these changes as soon as possible.
The ‘Early years qualification requirements and standards’ document sets out the minimum qualification requirements, including the qualifications criteria at levels 2 and 3, that staff must meet to be recognised as level 2, level 3 or level 6 members of staff for the purpose of working within the EYFS staff:child ratios. The document is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-qualification-requirements-and-standards.
Both the level 2 and level 3 criteria include knowledge of rest and sleep provision, with level 3 also including use of equipment, furniture and materials safely with regard for sleep safety.
Asked by: Juliet Campbell (Labour - Broxtowe)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to upgrade the teacher training curriculum to include mandatory training on how to teach dyslexic children.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
On 16 January we announced plans for a new expectation on schools and other settings to ensure staff receive training on SEND and inclusion, supported by £200m investment during this Parliament into government-backed training courses and materials.
The department recently introduced a new training framework for trainee and early career teachers. The initial teacher training and early career framework (ITTECF), which became mandatory from September 2025, sets out the minimum entitlement to training for all new teachers. This framework includes more content on adaptive teaching and supporting pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). For example, developing an understanding of different pupil needs and learning how to provide opportunities for success for all pupils, including those with dyslexia. We are committed to continuous improvement and will be reviewing the ITTECF in 2027, which will focus on the support we provide trainees and early career teachers in teaching pupils with SEND.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 11 November 2025 to Question 87556, how long the pause on the introduction of new electric vehicle salary sacrifice schemes in the public sector will last; and if she will publish the planned timetable for the cross‑government review of those schemes.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The review and decision on new electric vehicle salary sacrifice schemes for academy trusts is being led by HM Treasury. The department remains in contact with HM Treasury on this issue and will inform academy trusts when a decision has been made.
Asked by: Naz Shah (Labour - Bradford West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help tackle regional variations in disabled children’s social care in the context of the publication of the Law Commission’s report on 16 September 2025.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Law Commission published its final report on 16 September 2025 following a department commissioned review in April 2023 of the legal framework for disabled children’s social care.
The report makes 40 recommendations, which we are now considering, with a focus on simplifying and strengthening the system to better support disabled children and their families. In line with the protocol agreed between the Lord Chancellor and the Law Commission, the department must provide an initial response within six months and a full response within one year, setting out which recommendations will be accepted, rejected or modified, and any implementation timeline.
As we prepare our formal response to the Law Commission, we believe the national rollout of Family Help, a seamless, non-stigmatising offer of support delivered by multi-disciplinary, community-based teams, is already beginning to address the intended outcomes of the report and reduce regional variations. This includes special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) trained professionals as leading practitioners. Through Family Help, we are taking steps to remove the stigma from asking for help, with more SEND professionals available in integrated front doors for families to access practical support without judgement unnecessarily burdensome assessments.