Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of implementing the recommendation of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse to appoint a Cabinet level Minister with responsibility for children.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
In April 2025, the government published its Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Progress Update, which responded to each of the 20 recommendations form the final report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.
The government agrees with the importance of having a clear focus on children across government, including at Cabinet level. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, is the Cabinet minister for children and a Keeping Children Safe ministerial board has been established to drive and mainstream the strong collective cross-government focus on children’s wellbeing, safety and opportunity. This will bring together ministers from the government departments with a key role on issues affecting children.
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 reduce the level of school absences among working class students.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Absence is a key barrier to opportunity. Children need to be in school to achieve and thrive. The government recognises that some pupils, including those eligible for free school meals, face additional barriers to regular attendance. This is why the department is rolling out free breakfast clubs in all primary schools from April 2026. Schools can also use Pupil Premium to fund evidence‑based attendance and behaviour support.
Our statutory ‘Working Together to Improve School Attendance’ guidance supports the attendance of all children, including those families on lower incomes.
We provide real‑time data and attendance toolkits so schools, trusts and local authorities can diagnose drivers of absence and adopt practice, including bespoke attendance targets, personalised roadmaps back to pre‑pandemic levels, and benchmarking against statistically similar schools.
This month, the regional improvement for standards and excellence (RISE) attendance and behaviour hubs will launch fully with support reaching 4500 schools nationally with intensive one-to-one support for up to 500 schools every year.
Our attendance mentoring programme is supporting 10,000 persistently absent children in ten areas with some of the worst attendance rates.
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 her Department last reviewed statutory safety standards for nurseries.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The safety of our youngest children is our utmost priority and the department continually monitors and reviews safeguarding requirements to make sure children are kept as safe as possible.
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework sets the standards and requirements early years providers must meet to ensure that children are kept healthy and safe. The framework is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/68c024cb8c6d992f23edd79c/Early_years_foundation_stage_statutory_framework_-_for_group_and_school-based_providers.pdf.pdf. In September 2025, changes were introduced to strengthen the safeguarding requirements in the EYFS, including clearer expectations on safer recruitment, child absences, safer eating, safeguarding training, and whistleblowing.
A new safeguarding training annex now sets out what training must cover. To support providers, a free online safeguarding training package is being developed with the NSPCC, aligned to the new requirements.
An expert panel will also be appointed to consider whether CCTV should be mandated and to set out best practice, technical guidance and clear expectations for the use of CCTV and digital devices.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to require CCTV in nursery settings to improve safeguarding for children.
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 framework is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-framework--2.
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. While CCTV can support safeguarding, it is most effective when combined with strong safeguarding cultures, supported by training, supervision and effective oversight.
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: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has plans to strengthen the Ofsted inspection process for early years settings to improve child safety outcomes.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Through our Best Start in Life strategy, we are investing in raising the quality, frequency and consistency of early years inspections to improve child safety outcomes. We continually monitor and review requirements to make sure children are kept as safe as possible.
Ofsted began inspecting under the revised Education Inspection Framework on 10 November and settings now receive an Ofsted report card following an inspection which will provide a much clearer and broader picture of their performance. From April, Ofsted will receive further investment to improve inspection quality and consistency through stronger quality assurance and targeted inspector training. We are also funding Ofsted to inspect all new providers within 18 months of opening and move towards inspecting all providers at least once every four years, compared to the current six-year window. We will also work to introduce reporting on nursery chains to address issues spanning across groups of providers.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of current guidance on safer sleep practices in nursery settings; and whether she has plans to introduce statutory requirements on safer sleep 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, 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, which is available here: https://www.nhs.uk/baby/caring-for-a-newborn/sudden-infant-death-syndrome-sids/.
In September 2024, the department collaborated with The Lullaby Trust to produce guidance available on the Foundation Years platform. This covers unsuitable sleeping products, suitable sleeping surfaces and the safe use of blankets.
Ofsted inspects early years providers against the requirements of the EYFS, including safeguarding and children’s welfare. Early years inspectors are experienced professionals with relevant knowledge of safer sleep practice and can assess compliance with statutory requirements.
To make the existing requirements clearer for all, we plan to add further detail to the EYFS frameworks. We have worked with safer sleep experts, including The Lullaby Trust, on proposed new wording and plan to introduce these changes as soon as possible.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when he plans to launch the consultation on updating school food standards.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department aims to revise the school food standards and is engaging with stakeholders to ensure they support our work to create the healthiest generation of children in history. We intend to consult on these revisions and further details on timings will be available in due course.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has plans to introduce monitoring arrangements to assess compliance with the updated school food standards once they are in force.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department aims to revise the School Food Standards and is engaging with stakeholders to ensure they support our work to create the healthiest generation of children in history.
School governors and trustees have a statutory duty to ensure compliance, holding school leaders to account for meeting the School Food Standards. Through our review, we will engage with the sector on a range of matters, including improving compliance.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has had recent discussions with (a) the Campaign for Gigi and (b) The Lullaby Trust on reforms to early years safeguarding standards.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
In June 2025, my hon. Friend, the former Minister for Early Education met with Genevieve’s parents and The Lullaby Trust to discuss the campaign for Gigi’s proposals. In January 2026, I also met with Genevieve’s parents and The Lullaby Trust to continue these discussions. The department will continue to consider these as part of our ongoing review of the safeguarding requirements for early years settings.
Since these meetings, policy officials have continued to engage with the Lullaby Trust to consider the lessons that can be learned from previous serious incidents and to ensure that children are kept as safe as possible. To make the existing requirements clearer for all, we plan to add further detail to the early years foundation stage (EYFS) frameworks. The department has worked with safer sleep experts, including The Lullaby Trust, on proposed new wording and plan to introduce these changes as soon as possible.
The department is also in contact with the Campaign for Gigi and will be keeping them updated regarding our ongoing review of early years safeguarding requirements, including those around digital devices and CCTV.
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 adequacy of Ofsted's inspection framework to ensure nurseries and other early years settings enforce safe sleeping practices.
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, which is available here: https://www.nhs.uk/baby/caring-for-a-newborn/sudden-infant-death-syndrome-sids/.
In September 2024, the department collaborated with The Lullaby Trust to produce guidance available on the Foundation Years platform. This covers unsuitable sleeping products, suitable sleeping surfaces and the safe use of blankets.
Ofsted inspects early years providers against the requirements of the EYFS, including safeguarding and children’s welfare. Early years inspectors are experienced professionals with relevant knowledge of safer sleep practice and can assess compliance with statutory requirements.
To make the existing requirements clearer for all, we plan to add further detail to the EYFS frameworks. We have worked with safer sleep experts, including The Lullaby Trust, on proposed new wording and plan to introduce these changes as soon as possible.