Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of the reduction in the number of exams on school standards.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The independent Curriculum and Assessment Review acknowledged that young people in England sit more hours of exams than their peers in many other countries. As GCSEs are reformed, the department will work closely with Ofqual and exam boards to reduce exam time by 2.5 to 3 hours for the average student. In analysis submitted to the Review, Ofqual considered that a reduction of 10% is feasible with current content levels whilst balancing reliability and effects on teaching and learning. We will ensure that any amendments maintain high standards and protect the integrity and validity of the assessment system.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
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 reductions to exam times on students.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The independent Curriculum and Assessment Review acknowledged that young people in England sit more hours of exams than their peers in many other countries. As GCSEs are reformed, the department will work closely with Ofqual and exam boards to reduce exam time by 2.5 to 3 hours for the average student. In analysis submitted to the Review, Ofqual considered that a reduction of 10% is feasible with current content levels whilst balancing reliability and effects on teaching and learning. We will ensure that any amendments maintain high standards and protect the integrity and validity of the assessment system.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many placements British individuals will have through rejoining the Erasmus scheme in 2027 in (1) universities, (2) schools, (3) adult learning, and (4) sports opportunities.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government remains committed to providing opportunities to study and work abroad, especially for those participants from disadvantaged backgrounds. We expect that over 100,000 people could benefit from mobility and partnership opportunities from Erasmus+ participation in 2027/28. Placement totals will depend on the length of each placement and grant rates. The Erasmus+ Work Programme sets out budget thresholds for education by sector. Thresholds for 2027 will be published in the 2027 Erasmus+ Work Programme.
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 15 December (HL12482), when they expect to publish their response to their consultation, Post-16 level 3 and below pathways, closing on 12 January 2026.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The results of the consultation on Post-16 Level 3 and Below Pathways and the department's response will be published on GOV.UK in spring 2026.
Asked by: Lord Knight of Weymouth (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the conclusions of the local child safeguarding practice review of Mossbourne Victoria Park Academy will inform their advice to schools in England on behaviour management; and, if so, how.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
All schools are required by law to have a behaviour policy which outlines effective strategies that will encourage good behaviour.
The Behaviour in Schools guidance is clear that any policy must be lawful, proportionate, and reasonable and comply with the school’s duties under the Equality Act 2010 and the Education and Inspections Act 2006.
The report recommends that the federation should consult its communities on its behaviour policy, including how best to reflect the government’s expectations on proportionality, dignity and reasonable adjustments. The department continues to engage with Mossbourne Federation to ensure that it implements any changes needed in response to the review’s findings and those from its own review, led by Anne Whyte KC.
The Behaviour in Schools guidance is kept under regular review and will be updated as necessary.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her department has to support wards receiving funding through the Pride in Place programme in a) Telford, b) West Midlands and c) England.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The Pride in Place Programme is being led by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and is the government’s flagship communities programme, which empowers local people to shape the future of their neighbourhood. Supported by up to £5 billion in funding over ten years, this programme represents a long-term strategy to fix the foundations in hundreds of communities across the country.
The department’s contributions to educational improvements in Telford and Wrekin include:
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will publish guidance on recruiting impartial school governors.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government’s guidance on the constitution of school governing bodies explains that the most robust governing bodies welcome and thrive on diversity of viewpoints, skills, experiences and backgrounds. This ensures open debate, effective decision-making, and prevents dominance by a single perspective. It promotes inclusivity, strategic challenge, and decisions in the best interests of the school community. As public officeholders, governors must uphold the seven Nolan principles of public life. Additionally, governors must ensure compliance with the law on political impartiality in schools.
Governors, associate members and governance professionals must declare their interests to ensure that transparent strategic decision-making can take place.
Schools should publish governors’ relevant business, financial and pecuniary interests on their website.
There are comparable expectations for academy trusts.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the press release entitled Schools to save millions as Government launches agency profit cap, published on 4 December 2025, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of that policy on the availability of agency staff for schools.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Supply teachers and supply staff perform a valuable role, and the department is grateful for their important contribution to schools across the country.
Schools, academies and local authorities are responsible for the recruitment of their supply staff, which includes deciding whether to use private supply agencies to fill temporary posts or cover teacher absence.
The measure will cap profits of private agencies and does not affect supply teacher pay. Therefore, we should not see any negative impact on the availability and number of supply teachers as a direct result of this policy.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of funding SEND provision from within her Department’s existing RDEL core budget of £69 billion in 2028-29 on provision of existing Educational resources.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government has set out its position on page 105 of the budget document, confirming that special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) pressure will be absorbed within the overall government departmental expenditure limits (DEL) budget from the financial year 2028/29 onwards such that we would not expect local authorities to need to fund future special educational needs costs from general funds.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 15 December 2025 to Question 85962 on Special Educational Needs: Hearing Impairment, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of making support for families available from birth.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department is committed to ensuring that all children, including deaf and hard of hearing children, have the best possible start in life. The NHS Newborn Hearing Screening Programme aims to identify permanent moderate, severe, and profound deafness and hearing impairment in newborn babies. Screening is offered to all babies in England.
Funding is available to support children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including deaf and hard of hearing children, to access early education and childcare. This includes special educational needs inclusion funding and disability access funding.
Further, in December 2025, the department announced access to early SEND support across the country through Best Start Family Hubs. In every local authority next year, councils are being tasked with recruiting a dedicated SEND practitioner for every hub to provide direct, family-facing support. The new offer will help parents identify emerging needs sooner, and support vital join-up between early years settings, health visitors and SEND teams, including for young children with hearing impairments.