Department for Education

The government is committed to harnessing the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) to improve the productivity of the Civil Service and the quality of public services. Ministers, special advisers and officials may only use generative AI tools that have been approved by their department for official use.

Within the department, colleagues are encouraged to use Microsoft Copilot Chat as the approved enterprise chatbot. Claude is also sanctioned for use by a limited number of technical staff. These tools are configured to ensure departmental data is held securely and is not used to train publicly available AI models.

The use of publicly available or consumer versions of generative AI tools, including ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Grok and DeepSeek is not permitted for use with departmental information.

The use of generative AI across government is governed by the Generative AI Framework for HMG and the AI Playbook.

The School Food Standards set the mandatory nutritional framework for food and drink provided in state‑funded schools in England. Since the Standards were introduced in 2014, the dietary recommendations on free sugar, fibre and sweeteners have changed and the proportion of children living with obesity is high.

The department is committed to raising the healthiest generation ever, so we are consulting on proposed updates to the School Food Standards in England to ensure that all food served at school better reflects current nutritional guidance and supports children’s health, wellbeing and learning.

The consultation is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/school-food-standards-updating-the-legislative-framework.

As part of our proposals, we are consulting on removing fruit juice and combination drinks from school meal services. We are also proposing to limit available drinks to water, semi-skimmed or skimmed milk, lactose free milk and certain plant-based drinks, with a restricted range of low or no sugar drinks permitted in secondary schools.

Since July 2024, the department has engaged with thousands of children, young people, parents, families, professionals and local authorities. As part of the National Conversation held between December 2025 and January 2026, the department reached over 8,000 people through online and in-person events.

This engagement continued during the consultation phase through a programme of regional events, and work with children and young people, including activity led by the Council for Disabled Children. During the 12-week consultation period, this programme combined Ministerial oversight, targeted expert input and public participation, ensuring that families, practitioners and young people could engage meaningfully with the proposals. This included a department-led consultation workshop with the National Association of Special Schools on 29 April 2026.

The Chief Executive of the National Association of Special Schools attended a meeting I chaired on 21st April, alongside other special school representatives, to discuss how we can further embed specialist expertise within initial teacher training as part of our plans to improve the SEND system. These discussions are ongoing.

I continue to engage widely with the specialist, schools and FE sectors, as well as parents and young people as we carefully review all responses submitted through our special educational needs and disabilities consultation.

Local authorities are responsible for identifying, assessing and meeting the needs of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and should communicate openly with children, young people and their families.

The SEND Code of Practice sets out that they must consult children, young people, parents and carers when preparing and reviewing their Local Offer. The department supports family involvement through funding Parent Carer Forums, regional participation events and local information, advice and support services.

Where parents disagree with particular decisions, they can use local complaints processes, and, for EHC (education, health and care) related issues, seek early resolution through mediation and appeal to a First-tier Tribunal.

Area SEND inspections provide independent evaluation of local arrangements, and the department, alongside NHS England, provides support and challenge to local area partnerships, including through the use of intervention, which we propose to strengthen, where the quality of local provision is not acceptable.

I refer the hon. Member for Newbury to the answer of 04 June 2026 to Question 4398.

'Renewing Fostering: homes for 10,000 more children’ commits to creating 10,000 more foster placements by April 2029, providing a foster placement for every child who needs one. Using Ofsted trends in new approval and deregistration rates of foster households (converted into placements), we project a continued decline in fostering capacity without intervention. This forecast provides the department's baseline for the target. It is difficult to estimate the true number of foster carers required.

Our demand estimate is based on:

• Children currently entering children’s homes could be placed in foster care.
• Additional capacity needed to reduce the movement of children from current foster places into children’s homes.
• Further places are required to improve placement matching, ensuring children have more than one suitable foster carer.

Combined, these factors indicate 10,000 additional places will be needed by April 2029. This estimate contains uncertainty and does not reflect likely reductions in demand from reforms such as the Families First Partnership.

The department has recently undertaken a consultation on the future of adoption support, including a proposal to devolve funding to local level, inviting evidence on the potential impacts. We are currently reviewing responses and will continue to engage with stakeholders on a range of issues. No decisions have been made at the current time.

The government has committed to a continuation of the Music and Dance Scheme. Providers will be informed of future funding shortly.

Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) allocations by financial year are available at the following:

• 2026/27 financial year: https://skillsfunding.service.gov.uk/view-latest-funding/national-funding-allocations/DSG/2026-to-2027.
• 2025/26 financial year: https://skillsfunding.service.gov.uk/view-latest-funding/national-funding-allocations/DSG/2025-to-2026.
• 2024/25 financial year: https://skillsfunding.service.gov.uk/view-latest-funding/national-funding-allocations/DSG/2024-to-2025.
• 2023/24financial year: https://skillsfunding.service.gov.uk/view-latest-funding/national-funding-allocations/DSG/2023-to-2024.
• 2022/23 financial year: https://skillsfunding.service.gov.uk/view-latest-funding/national-funding-allocations/DSG/2022-to-2023.
• 2021/22financial year: https://skillsfunding.service.gov.uk/view-latest-funding/national-funding-allocations/DSG/2021-to-2022.

The total High Needs Block allocation for each local authority can be found in the ‘Allocations_summary’ sheet, in the column ‘High needs block (£s)’.

The allocations for 2026/27 are subject to further updates later this year.

Examination centres are required to follow the ‘Joint Council for Qualifications’ guidance which sets out requirements on training invigilators, including how to detect and prevent malpractice, such as the misuse of technology.

Our reformed system will focus on earlier, more accurate identification of need, ensuring children and young people receive the right support at the earliest possible point without relying on diagnosis. The National Inclusion Standards will include whole school, universal approaches, as well as tools and approaches to identify and respond to needs through the targeted/targeted plus layers of support. These new Standards will support teachers to notice and identify where children or young people may be experiencing barriers to their learning, and suggest evidence-based approaches to support them.

Experts at Hand will also provide expert advice direct into settings to support staff to identify needs, without the need for bureaucratic hurdles.

The proposal is for Individual Support Plans (ISPs) to provide a record of need and provision for any child or young person receiving targeted, targeted plus or specialist support in school or college developed with children and parents/carers.

We have carefully assessed the impact of all our proposals and this is included in our published SEND reform: equalities impact assessment and SEND reform: child’s rights impact assessment.

Under our proposed reforms, Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) will continue to exist, guaranteeing statutory entitlements to education and health provision, with content agreed in consultation with young people and parents. Children and young people will be eligible for an EHC plan in the reformed system, if they need the support set out in a specialist provision package which will provide comprehensive, evidence-based support.

After a 12 week consultation period including over 200 engagement events, meetings and roundtables, the consultation has now closed and we are carefully considering responses.

Our reformed system will focus on earlier, more accurate identification of need, ensuring children and young people receive the right support at the earliest possible point without relying on diagnosis. The National Inclusion Standards will include whole school, universal approaches, as well as tools and approaches to identify and respond to needs through the targeted/targeted plus layers of support. These new Standards will support teachers to notice and identify where children or young people may be experiencing barriers to their learning, and suggest evidence-based approaches to support them.

Experts at Hand will also provide expert advice direct into settings to support staff to identify needs, without the need for bureaucratic hurdles.

The proposal is for Individual Support Plans (ISPs) to provide a record of need and provision for any child or young person receiving targeted, targeted plus or specialist support in school or college developed with children and parents/carers.

We have carefully assessed the impact of all our proposals and this is included in our published SEND reform: equalities impact assessment and SEND reform: child’s rights impact assessment.

Under our proposed reforms, Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) will continue to exist, guaranteeing statutory entitlements to education and health provision, with content agreed in consultation with young people and parents. Children and young people will be eligible for an EHC plan in the reformed system, if they need the support set out in a specialist provision package which will provide comprehensive, evidence-based support.

After a 12 week consultation period including over 200 engagement events, meetings and roundtables, the consultation has now closed and we are carefully considering responses.

The department is investing £1.6 billion in an Inclusive Mainstream Fund to support the development of a more inclusive education system. Over £500 million per year will be provided to early years, schools and colleges to boost their existing core funding for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to help them strengthen their inclusive offer.

Settings should deploy funding to help build an inclusive core offer, based on the commonly occurring needs and barriers to learning and participation faced by their cohort and to support the delivery of evidence-based targeted support for those who need it.

Targeted support may include small group interventions based on evidence-informed strategies and approaches to alleviate persistent barriers to learning, delivered by school staff. Targeted plus support will include support from external experts including speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, as well as signposting to specialists from Alternative Provision or Specialist settings, delivered through a new Experts at Hand service. We are investing around £1.8 billion over the next three years for local area partnerships, including local authorities and integrated care boards, to develop a new ‘Experts at Hand’ offer, strengthening mainstream education through access to health and specialist education support.

We will roll out a new national training programme supporting educators to identify and respond to children’s needs backed by £200 million investment, to train staff across nurseries, schools and colleges with the first wave of training materials coming online from September.

Statutory guidance for Virtual School Heads (VSHs) sets out what Personal Education Plans (PEPs) must cover and the outcomes they should support. The department does not mandate, endorse or have oversight of any specific electronic PEP (ePEP) platforms. Decisions about whether to use an ePEP system, and which system to procure, rest with individual local authorities.

Our ‘Data Protection in Schools’ guidance supports schools and local authorities to understand their legal responsibilities when using third-party software. As data controllers, local authorities are responsible for ensuring that any systems they use to record, store, or share information comply with data protection law and safeguarding standards, including where sensitive information about children in care is processed.

To reinforce this, we have engaged with the National Association of Virtual School Heads to reiterate the importance to their members of working closely with relevant teams across their local authority to ensure robust data security, assurance and compliance when procuring and operating systems that hold children’s data.

We are committed to publishing updated statutory guidance for VSHs prior to the introduction of new duties on VSHs in September 2027. As part of this work, we will restate the above requirements for local authority due diligence on data governance, security and safeguarding when using third party software to support the role of the VSH.

Statutory guidance for Virtual School Heads (VSHs) sets out what Personal Education Plans (PEPs) must cover and the outcomes they should support. The department does not mandate, endorse or have oversight of any specific electronic PEP (ePEP) platforms. Decisions about whether to use an ePEP system, and which system to procure, rest with individual local authorities.

Our ‘Data Protection in Schools’ guidance supports schools and local authorities to understand their legal responsibilities when using third-party software. As data controllers, local authorities are responsible for ensuring that any systems they use to record, store, or share information comply with data protection law and safeguarding standards, including where sensitive information about children in care is processed.

To reinforce this, we have engaged with the National Association of Virtual School Heads to reiterate the importance to their members of working closely with relevant teams across their local authority to ensure robust data security, assurance and compliance when procuring and operating systems that hold children’s data.

We are committed to publishing updated statutory guidance for VSHs prior to the introduction of new duties on VSHs in September 2027. As part of this work, we will restate the above requirements for local authority due diligence on data governance, security and safeguarding when using third party software to support the role of the VSH.

Statutory guidance for Virtual School Heads (VSHs) sets out what Personal Education Plans (PEPs) must cover and the outcomes they should support. The department does not mandate, endorse or have oversight of any specific electronic PEP (ePEP) platforms. Decisions about whether to use an ePEP system, and which system to procure, rest with individual local authorities.

Our ‘Data Protection in Schools’ guidance supports schools and local authorities to understand their legal responsibilities when using third-party software. As data controllers, local authorities are responsible for ensuring that any systems they use to record, store, or share information comply with data protection law and safeguarding standards, including where sensitive information about children in care is processed.

To reinforce this, we have engaged with the National Association of Virtual School Heads to reiterate the importance to their members of working closely with relevant teams across their local authority to ensure robust data security, assurance and compliance when procuring and operating systems that hold children’s data.

We are committed to publishing updated statutory guidance for VSHs prior to the introduction of new duties on VSHs in September 2027. As part of this work, we will restate the above requirements for local authority due diligence on data governance, security and safeguarding when using third party software to support the role of the VSH.

Statutory guidance for Virtual School Heads (VSHs) sets out what Personal Education Plans (PEPs) must cover and the outcomes they should support. The department does not mandate, endorse or have oversight of any specific electronic PEP (ePEP) platforms. Decisions about whether to use an ePEP system, and which system to procure, rest with individual local authorities.

Our ‘Data Protection in Schools’ guidance supports schools and local authorities to understand their legal responsibilities when using third-party software. As data controllers, local authorities are responsible for ensuring that any systems they use to record, store, or share information comply with data protection law and safeguarding standards, including where sensitive information about children in care is processed.

To reinforce this, we have engaged with the National Association of Virtual School Heads to reiterate the importance to their members of working closely with relevant teams across their local authority to ensure robust data security, assurance and compliance when procuring and operating systems that hold children’s data.

We are committed to publishing updated statutory guidance for VSHs prior to the introduction of new duties on VSHs in September 2027. As part of this work, we will restate the above requirements for local authority due diligence on data governance, security and safeguarding when using third party software to support the role of the VSH.

Ofsted are now delivering the renewed education inspection framework, with new training for inspectors, including updates on the Prevent duty, which no longer includes reference to children with autism.

The department knows care leavers have some of the worst long-term life outcomes in society. We are determined to address this so that all care leavers have support to build enduring relationships and stable homes.

Through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act, we will roll out the Staying Close programme to support care leavers up to the age of 25; require each local authority to publish information about its arrangements for supporting care leavers’ transition to adulthood; change housing legislation so that care leavers cannot be found intentionally homeless; and introduce new corporate parenting responsibilities for government departments and relevant public bodies.

The government collects national data on care leavers through the Children Looked After in England including adoptions dataset. This is published annually, and provides information on accommodation, education, training and employment and is used to monitor outcomes and inform policy development and the targeting of support for children and young people leaving care nationally.

The department knows care leavers have some of the worst long-term life outcomes in society. We are determined to address this so that all care leavers have support to build enduring relationships and stable homes.

Through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act, we will roll out the Staying Close programme to support care leavers up to the age of 25; require each local authority to publish information about its arrangements for supporting care leavers’ transition to adulthood; change housing legislation so that care leavers cannot be found intentionally homeless; and introduce new corporate parenting responsibilities for government departments and relevant public bodies.

The government collects national data on care leavers through the Children Looked After in England including adoptions dataset. This is published annually, and provides information on accommodation, education, training and employment and is used to monitor outcomes and inform policy development and the targeting of support for children and young people leaving care nationally.

'The educational journeys of children in secure settings’ is an independent report written by the Children’s Commissioner. The Children's Commissioner is an independent person appointed under the provisions of the Children's Act 2004. The department does not hold the underlying data and is therefore unable to confirm the specific settings referenced.

The department recognises that demographic change requires local areas to adapt to changing demand for school places.

Schools are funded on the basis of pupil numbers in the previous October census. This gives schools with falling rolls some time to reorganise staffing before their funding is affected.

Falling rolls funding is also provided to local authorities for schools seeing a short-term decrease in pupil numbers. We have also broadened the scope of growth and falling rolls funding to allow local authorities to use growth funding to meet the revenue costs of removing surplus places.

As announced in our Education Estates Strategy, we are also supporting local areas to plan budgets strategically. We are developing a decision-making framework for the use of mainstream school space through demographic change, with publication expected in autumn 2026.

The PE national curriculum makes specific reference to swimming and water safety, stating that all primary pupils must learn to swim competently and confidently over a distance of at least 25 metres, use a range of strokes effectively and perform safe self-rescue in different water-based situations.

The department has made changes to the statutory relationships, sex and health education guidance for schools to ensure all pupils are taught about the water safety code, supporting them to be safe in different types of water.

GCSE English Language and IGCSE English Language are distinct qualifications, which are assessed and regulated in different ways.

GCSE English Language qualifications in England are regulated by Ofqual, with subject content set by the Department. These GCSEs are assessed through examinations only, with no coursework contributing to the final grade.

IGCSE English Language is a different qualification that is not regulated by Ofqual and includes a coursework component as part of its assessment.

The UK National Information Centre assesses the comparability of overseas qualifications with UK qualifications, including those in English.

The department is taking a range of steps to improve working conditions for parents working in schools.

The Employment Rights Act 2025 provides for the establishment of the School Support Staff Negotiating Body (SSSNB). This will be a new statutory body with a remit to negotiate pay, terms and conditions, and advise on training and career progression for school support staff.

We have committed to fund improvements to maternity pay for school and college teachers, leaders and support staff. From the academic year 2027/28, schoolteachers and leaders will see their period of full maternity pay doubled from four weeks to eight weeks. We will also enable the SSSNB to prioritise maternity pay in its first year of operation to negotiate an equivalent improvement for support staff.

Wider government reforms which will also apply to schools over time, include the introduction of new requirements on pay gap reporting and workforce action plans, alongside changes to flexible working. We are also developing a new workforce retention programme to launch this autumn to reduce workload, improve wellbeing and diversity and increase availability of flexible working.

On 15 April 2026, the department announced the Experts at Hand and Local Authority Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Transformation Fund. This grant will be paid to local authorities, including in Cambridgeshire, in one annual instalment, at the end of June 2026.

More information on the distribution methodology, permitted use of funding as well as indicative allocations for local authorities can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/experts-at-hand-local-authority-send-transformation-fund/experts-at-hand-local-authority-send-transformation-fund-funding-for-local-authorities-2026-to-2027.

The Music and Dance Scheme provides means-tested bursaries so high achieving students in music and dance can secure world-class specialist training regardless of financial circumstances, including at eight private schools. Since 1 January 2025, the standard rate of 20% VAT has applied to all education services, vocational training and boarding services provided by private schools for a charge. This academic year, grant funding to the schools included an additional £4 million to meet the costs of VAT linked to the bursaries themselves.

The matter of VAT for private school fees was subject to a consultation led by HM Treasury and the government response was first published July 2024 and updated October 2024.

The Music and Dance Scheme provides means-tested bursaries so high achieving students in music and dance can secure world-class specialist training regardless of financial circumstances, including at eight private schools. Since 1 January 2025, the standard rate of 20% VAT has applied to all education services, vocational training and boarding services provided by private schools for a charge. This academic year, grant funding to the schools included an additional £4 million to meet the costs of VAT linked to the bursaries themselves.

The matter of VAT for private school fees was subject to a consultation led by HM Treasury and the government response was first published July 2024 and updated October 2024.

We propose in future only children and young people who require the support of a Specialist Provision Package (SPP) will be eligible for an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan.

The provision offer set out in the Specialist Provision Packages will underpin the entitlements in an EHC plan, and we propose that only those children and young people who need a Specialist Provision Package will have an EHC plan in future.

These Packages will be developed by experts, including with parents, and overseen by an independent panel of experts which the department has now appointed. The panel will be responsible for developing and reviewing the National Inclusion Standards and Specialist Provision Packages, improving the quality of evidence across the across the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system and ensuring alignment between the layers of support.

We are committed to co-designing the needs assessment process for those who may need the support of an EHC plan and a Package, including working with families, children and young people, educators and health and care experts. We will strengthen the needs assessment process so it is clearer, simpler and reflects the voice of parents, carers and the child or young person.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has not had any discussions with AQA regarding the impact of wage stagnation or staff strike action.

Ofqual, the independent regulator of exams and assessments in England, oversees awarding organisations, including AQA, by conducting readiness reviews, evaluating their governance and ability to manage key delivery risks.

The department has received assurances from Ofqual that AQA has contingency processes in place to mitigate any risks to exam delivery.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has not had any discussions with AQA regarding the impact of wage stagnation or staff strike action.

Ofqual, the independent regulator of exams and assessments in England, oversees awarding organisations, including AQA, by conducting readiness reviews, evaluating their governance and ability to manage key delivery risks.

The department has received assurances from Ofqual that AQA has contingency processes in place to mitigate any risks to exam delivery.

The department and NHS England have been supporting the Local Area Partnership (LAP) in Lincolnshire to improve its special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) services through the development of their strategic plan, with regular engagement meetings. The LAP is currently developing their SEND reform plan, commissioned by the department in March 2026, and due for submission in June 2026.

From September, the government is providing upfront investment for schools, colleges and early years providers to intervene early in meeting the needs of children and young people with SEND, through our inclusive mainstream fund worth £1.6 billion over three years.

In addition, every local area is being funded to create a new Experts at Hand service, providing mainstream education settings with access to healthcare professionals like speech and language therapists and education experts such as educational psychologists to work directly with children and support staff to put in place appropriate support and interventions.

We will roll out a new national training programme supporting educators to identify and respond to children’s needs backed by £200 million investment, to train staff across nurseries, schools and colleges with the first wave of training materials coming online from September.

This is supported by investment to create an additional 60,000 school places for children with SEND through inclusion bases, new special or alternative provision school places and adaptations to mainstream, ensuring appropriate education facilities for all our children.

Ofsted has a crucial role to play in upholding standards in children’s social care and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) services through inspection. In 2024 Ofsted conducted the Big Listen, the biggest consultation in Ofsted’s history. The consultation identified the need to revise how Ofsted inspects, grades and reflects the realities of children’s lives through inspection.

The department is working closely with Ofsted to update its children’s social care inspection frameworks in line with the wider reform agenda, including embedding a focus on family help and the continuum of need, so that children and families are getting the right help at the right time. Ofsted introduced initial revisions in April 2026 and will consult in summer 2026 on further reforms for 2027.

We are also working with Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission as they revise the Area SEND inspection framework to reflect clarified statutory roles for local authorities and integrated care boards, and wider SEND reform.

From September, the government is providing upfront investment for schools, colleges and early years providers to intervene early in meeting the needs of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), through the inclusive mainstream fund worth £1.6 billion over three years. Over time, this will be supported through the development of National Inclusion Standards, enabling teachers to draw on evidence-based strategies to identify and support children and young people with additional needs, including those with neurodivergent conditions such as autism and ADHD.

In addition, every local area is being funded to create a new Experts at Hand service, providing mainstream education settings with access to healthcare professionals like speech and language therapists and education experts such as educational psychologists to work directly with children and support staff to put in place appropriate support and interventions.

The department will roll out a new national training programme supporting educators to identify and respond to children’s needs backed by £200 million investment, to train staff across nurseries, schools and colleges with the first wave of training materials coming online from September.

This is supported by investment to create an additional 60,000 school places for children with SEND through inclusion bases, new special or alternative provision school places and adaptations to mainstream, ensuring appropriate education facilities for all our children. As part of this, we will publish inclusive design guidance to support local authorities and settings to use their estate to support inclusion, by improving accessibility for children with neurodivergence, disabilities, or other types of SEN.

I refer the hon. Member for Fareham and Waterlooville to the answer of 2 June 2026 Question 2037.

New free school projects that are centrally delivered by the department typically progress through six key stages: pre‑feasibility (including finding a suitable site), feasibility, procurement, design and planning, construction and handover, and post‑completion use. Utilising delivery data from the past 5 years, average durations are up to a year for feasibility, 18 months for procurement, and 18-24 months for construction. Delivery timelines can be impacted by a number of factors such as securing a suitable site and constraints, planning or environmental issues, and market conditions affecting costs and materials.

For Lime Academy March, a site off Kingswood Road has been identified and lease terms are under negotiation. The school is planned to provide 210 places for pupils aged 2–19. Capital costs are not yet confirmed at this stage. Current assumptions indicate an opening date no earlier than September 2029.

All social workers in England must meet Social Work England’s professional standards, which set the minimum requirements for safe and effective practice, including promoting the rights, strengths and wellbeing of people, families and communities. Social workers complete initial education and training courses which are approved by the regulator against the education and training standards. In addition, in recognising the impact of trauma, the recently published child and family social worker early career standards and the forthcoming lead child practitioner standards, alongside the National Framework, will be used to underpin a new career-spanning development offer for social workers from autumn 2027 to support a confident and skilled workforce.

The government does not intend to introduce legislation to make Child’s Rights Impact Assessments a statutory requirement at this time.

The department is working closely with Cabinet Office and other government departments to strengthen the consideration of children and young people’s interests within overall risk planning, including in relation to pandemics and other emergencies.

Initial teacher training (ITT) bursaries are offered to incentivise more applications to ITT courses. As such, we review bursaries annually to take account of several factors, including recruitment to date, forecast economic conditions, and teacher need in each subject. The purpose of the scheme is to target resources to where the evidence shows need is highest.

Between the 2023/24 and 2025/26 academic years, postgraduate ITT recruitment increased by 55% in music, 119% in art and design and 71% in religious education, amongst the largest increases across all subjects. Partly due to this improved recruitment and higher retention of existing teachers, the need for new postgraduate trainee teachers in the 2026/27 academic year has reduced in all three subjects.

The department will continue to assess the need for trainee teachers across all subjects and will review the bursaries on offer accordingly, prior to announcing the bursary offer for the 2027/28 academic year this autumn.

It is a long-established precedent that information about the discussions that have taken place in Cabinet and its committees, including their attendance and how often they have met, is not normally shared publicly.

The department is investing in all mainstream settings to ensure they have the capacity, expertise and resources to support children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

This includes a new training package, backed by £200 million, to ensure that staff across early years, schools and post-16 settings can be trained to support pupils with SEND. We are also investing £1.6 billion in an Inclusive Mainstream Fund to support the development of a more inclusive education system.

We will develop National Inclusion Standards that set out evidence-informed tools, strategies and approaches for educators to draw on to identify and support children and young people with additional needs.

We are investing around £1.8 billion over the next three years for local area partnerships to develop a new ‘Experts at Hand’ offer so that mainstream settings can more easily access specialist expertise, including educational psychologists, speech and language therapists (SaLTs) and occupational therapists without needing to wait for a diagnosis. To support this, we are investing over £40 million to train more educational psychologists and get more SaLTs working in education settings.

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act received Royal Assent on 29 April. Different sections of the Act will be commenced, brought into force and given legal effect and implemented, at varying timescales depending on the specific measure, as well as when the associated secondary legislation and guidance, where relevant, has been updated or finalised. Once measures are brought into force, and where relevant, the department will publish further information about monitoring compliance. This approach applies to any relevant special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision within the Act.

As expected with legislation, post-implementation legislative scrutiny will be carried out where necessary to assess the effectiveness of the policy in practice and to consider any modifications that may be recommended, within the usual timescale of three to five years after Royal Assent.

On wider SEND reform, the Education for All Bill will enable the delivery of the SEND reform proposals, as set out in the White Paper, that require legislative underpinning and will be introduced in Parliament when Parliamentary time allows.

The department is committed to raising the healthiest generation ever. The action we are taking to extend free school meals to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit will ensure that over 500,000 additional children and pupils from the most disadvantaged households will receive a free and nutritious lunchtime meal, pulling 100,000 children out of poverty.

We are ensuring that the proposed updated School Food Standards fully support the provision of free school meals. The changes we propose to make are related to increasing fibre, reducing sugar and further restricting foods higher in fat, sugar and salt, in line with the latest nutritional advice set by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition.

We are consulting on the proposed updates to the School Food Standards and the consultation will run until 12 June 2026. Details of the consultation can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/school-food-standards-updating-the-legislative-framework.

At the Autumn Budget 2025, £5 million was announced for books and reading materials for secondary schools in England to support reading for pleasure.

This funding will be split between all state‑funded secondary schools in England with key stage 3 and key stage 4 cohorts. The department has been engaging with the sector and industry to consider how best to distribute the funding and support schools maximise value for money.

The department intends to issue the funding during the National Year of Reading 2026. Schools will have autonomy and flexibility over when to spend their allocation. The department recognises the importance of certainty for schools and librarians and will provide further information as soon as decisions on distribution and allocations are finalised.