Department for Education

The Department for Education is responsible for children’s services and education, including early years, schools, higher and further education policy, apprenticeships and wider skills in England.



Secretary of State

 Portrait

Bridget Phillipson
Secretary of State for Education

Shadow Ministers / Spokeperson
Liberal Democrat
Lord Storey (LD - Life peer)
Liberal Democrat Lords Spokesperson (Education)
Munira Wilson (LD - Twickenham)
Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Education, Children and Families)

Conservative
Laura Trott (Con - Sevenoaks)
Shadow Secretary of State for Education
Junior Shadow Ministers / Deputy Spokesperson
Conservative
Baroness Barran (Con - Life peer)
Shadow Minister (Education)
Neil O'Brien (Con - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Shadow Minister (Education)
Ministers of State
Catherine McKinnell (Lab - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Minister of State (Education)
Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab - Life peer)
Minister of State (Education)
Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State
Stephen Morgan (Lab - Portsmouth South)
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Janet Daby (Lab - Lewisham East)
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Seema Malhotra (LAB - Feltham and Heston)
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
There are no upcoming events identified
Debates
Thursday 3rd July 2025
Select Committee Inquiry
Thursday 12th June 2025
Higher Education and Funding: Threat of Insolvency and International Student

The UK’s higher education sector is in trouble. Dozens of universities are making redundancies and cuts to courses, trying to …

Written Answers
Friday 4th July 2025
Graduates
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of trends in the number of university …
Secondary Legislation
Wednesday 11th June 2025
Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (Transfer of Functions etc) Act 2025 (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2025
These Regulations make amendments to secondary legislation in consequence of the coming into force of the Institute for Apprenticeships and …
Bills
Tuesday 17th December 2024
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill 2024-26
A Bill to make provision about the safeguarding and welfare of children; about support for children in care or leaving …
Dept. Publications
Friday 4th July 2025
11:14

Department for Education Commons Appearances

Oral Answers to Questions is a regularly scheduled appearance where the Secretary of State and junior minister will answer at the Dispatch Box questions from backbench MPs

Other Commons Chamber appearances can be:
  • Urgent Questions where the Speaker has selected a question to which a Minister must reply that day
  • Adjornment Debates a 30 minute debate attended by a Minister that concludes the day in Parliament.
  • Oral Statements informing the Commons of a significant development, where backbench MP's can then question the Minister making the statement.

Westminster Hall debates are performed in response to backbench MPs or e-petitions asking for a Minister to address a detailed issue

Written Statements are made when a current event is not sufficiently significant to require an Oral Statement, but the House is required to be informed.

Most Recent Commons Appearances by Category
Jun. 16
Oral Questions
Jul. 01
Written Statements
View All Department for Education Commons Contibutions

Bills currently before Parliament

Department for Education does not have Bills currently before Parliament


Acts of Parliament created in the 2024 Parliament

Introduced: 9th October 2024

A bill to transfer the functions of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education, and its property, rights and liabilities, to the Secretary of State; to abolish the Institute; and to make amendments relating to the transferred functions.

This Bill received Royal Assent on 15th May 2025 and was enacted into law.

Department for Education - Secondary Legislation

These Regulations make amendments to secondary legislation in consequence of the coming into force of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (Transfer of Functions etc) Act 2025 (c. 14). That Act abolishes the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (“the Institute”) and transfers its functions to the Secretary of State.
These Regulations amend the School Travel (Pupils with Dual Registration) (England) Regulations 2007 (S.I. 2007/1367) (the “2007 Regulations”). The 2007 Regulations modify section 508B(1) and (2) of, and paragraph 3(1) and (2) of Schedule 35C to, the Education Act 1996 in relation to the duties placed on local authorities in England to arrange free home to school travel for children who are registered at more than one school.
View All Department for Education Secondary Legislation

Petitions

e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.

If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.

If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).

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Department for Education has not participated in any petition debates
View All Department for Education Petitions

Departmental Select Committee

Education Committee

Commons Select Committees are a formally established cross-party group of backbench MPs tasked with holding a Government department to account.

At any time there will be number of ongoing investigations into the work of the Department, or issues which fall within the oversight of the Department. Witnesses can be summoned from within the Government and outside to assist in these inquiries.

Select Committee findings are reported to the Commons, printed, and published on the Parliament website. The government then usually has 60 days to reply to the committee's recommendations.


11 Members of the Education Committee
Helen Hayes Portrait
Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Education Committee Member since 11th September 2024
Marie Tidball Portrait
Marie Tidball (Labour - Penistone and Stocksbridge)
Education Committee Member since 21st October 2024
Mark Sewards Portrait
Mark Sewards (Labour - Leeds South West and Morley)
Education Committee Member since 21st October 2024
Darren Paffey Portrait
Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Education Committee Member since 21st October 2024
Amanda Martin Portrait
Amanda Martin (Labour - Portsmouth North)
Education Committee Member since 21st October 2024
Caroline Johnson Portrait
Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Education Committee Member since 21st October 2024
Sureena Brackenridge Portrait
Sureena Brackenridge (Labour - Wolverhampton North East)
Education Committee Member since 21st October 2024
Jess Asato Portrait
Jess Asato (Labour - Lowestoft)
Education Committee Member since 21st October 2024
Caroline Voaden Portrait
Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Education Committee Member since 28th October 2024
Manuela Perteghella Portrait
Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Education Committee Member since 28th October 2024
James Cleverly Portrait
James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Education Committee Member since 30th June 2025
Education Committee: Upcoming Events
Education Committee - Oral evidence
Curriculum and Assessment Review
8 Jul 2025, 9:30 a.m.
At 10:15am: Oral evidence
Professor Becky Francis CBE - Chief Executive Officer at The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF)

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Education Committee: Previous Inquiries
The impact of COVID-19 on education and children’s services Support for Home Education Behaviour and discipline in schools Careers Guidance for Young People The role of School Governing Bodies School sports following London 2012 School Partnerships and Cooperation School Direct Recruitment 2013-14 Great teachers-follow up The role and performance of Ofsted Services for young people Participation in education and training for 16-19 year olds English Baccalaureate Residential children's homes Underachievement in Education by White Working Class Children School Places Ofsted Annual Report in Education 2012-13 Child Well-Being in England 16 Plus Care Options Academies and free schools Children First follow-up PSHE and SRE in schools Fairer Schools Funding 2015-16 one-off Exams for 15-19 year olds in England - follow up Foundation Years: Sure Start children’s centres – Government response Department for Education Annual Report 2012-13 Extremism in Birmingham Schools Careers guidance for young people: follow-up Apprenticeships and traineeships for 16 to 19 year olds Pre-appointment hearing: Children's Commissioner Ofsted Schools and Further Education and Skills Annual Report 2013-14 Evidence check: National College for Teaching and Leadership inquiry Sure Start children’s centres: Follow up Evidence check: Starting school inquiry The work of the Committee in the 2010-15 Parliament Priority Schools Building Programme inquiry The work of Ofsted inquiry The role of Regional Schools Commissioners inquiry Responsibilities of the Secretary of State for Education The work of Ofqual Purpose and quality of education in England inquiry Supply of teachers inquiry Holocaust education inquiry Mental health and wellbeing of looked after children inquiry The Children's Commissioner for England Education in the north inquiry Fourth Industrial Revolution Life chances inquiry Special educational needs and disabilities inquiry School and college funding inquiry The future of the Social Mobility Commission inquiry Nursing apprenticeships inquiry Appointment of the Chair of the Social Mobility Commission Knife crime inquiry Opportunity areas inquiry Children’s social care workforce inquiry Adult skills and lifelong learning inquiry Appointment of the Chair of the Office for Students inquiry Alternative provision inquiry Fostering inquiry Integrity of public examinations inquiry The quality of apprenticeships and skills training inquiry Accountability hearings Value for money in higher education inquiry Post-16 education area reviews inquiry School funding reform inquiry Adult skills and lifelong learning Appointment of the Ofsted Chief Inspector inquiry Fostering inquiry Primary assessment inquiry The impact of exiting the European Union on higher education inquiry Selective education inquiry Narey review of children's residential care inquiry Social Work Reform inquiry Financial management at the Department for Education Appointment of the Ofqual Chief Regulator Multi-academy trusts inquiry Left behind white pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds Home Education Support for childcare and the early years Persistent absence and support for disadvantaged pupils Teacher recruitment, training and retention Ofsted’s work with schools Screen Time: Impacts on education and wellbeing Financial Education Impact of industrial action on university students Children’s social care Boys’ attainment and engagement in education International students in English universities Reform of level 3 qualifications Solving the SEND Crisis Further Education and Skills Higher Education and Funding: Threat of Insolvency and International Student Accountability hearings Adult skills and lifelong learning Children’s social care workforce Education in the north Fourth Industrial Revolution Integrity of public examinations Knife crime Life chances Opportunity areas School and college funding Special educational needs and disabilities

50 most recent Written Questions

(View all written questions)
Written Questions can be tabled by MPs and Lords to request specific information information on the work, policy and activities of a Government Department

26th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure awarding bodies for hair and beauty qualifications update their (a) guidance and (b) training to promote inclusivity for all (i) hair and (ii) skin types.

This is a matter for the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual). I have asked its Chief Regulator, Sir Ian Bauckham, to write to my hon. Friend, the member for Dudley directly and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Janet Daby
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
26th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding her Department provides for the provision of English for Speakers of Other Languages courses in the West Midlands Combined Authority area.

The department will provide approximately £1.4 billion in funding for the Adult Skills Fund (ASF) in the 2025/26 academic year to ensure that adult learners can access the education and training they need to get into employment or progress in work. The ASF supports a range of courses, including English for speakers of other languages (ESOL).

Currently, 62% of the ASF is devolved to 9 Mayoral Strategic Authorities, including West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), and the Greater London Authority. These authorities are responsible for the provision of ASF-funded adult education for their residents and allocation of the ASF to learning providers.

WMCA devolved ASF budget for the 2024/25 academic year was £133.7 million. WMCA decide what to spend their ASF budget on and this includes ESOL. By honouring the department’s commitments to combine and further devolve adult skills funding, we give those with local knowledge the power they need to make decisions that are best for their areas.

Janet Daby
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
19th Jun 2025
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 5 June (HLWS681), whether the Holiday Food and Activities Programme will be made available to the expanded group of children who will be eligible for means-tested free school meals from September 2026.

I refer my noble Friend to the answer of 13 June 2025 to Question 57800.

Baroness Smith of Malvern
Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
25th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she will take to ensure young people are supported in choosing from the range of (a) technical and (b) vocational options available to them after the end of the Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge contract in summer 2025.

Enabling access to apprenticeships and technical education remains a key part of this government’s education policy. There is a range of support available to schools, colleges, parents, careers and young people to support careers education and the promotion of apprenticeship and technical education options.

Young people, parents and carers, as well as schools and colleges seeking support to raise awareness of apprenticeships and technical education can continue to access:

  • The Skills for Careers Apprenticeships support page, which can be found here: https://www.skillsforcareers.education.gov.uk/pages/training-choice/apprenticeships.
  • The Careers and Enterprise Company’s (CEC) resource directory, which is available here: https://resources.careersandenterprise.co.uk/.
  • Amazing Apprenticeships which offers a wide range of resources and support for schools and colleges.
  • CEC’s network of Careers Hubs, covering 95% of schools and colleges, works with schools and colleges to support their careers education programmes.
  • CEC also supports enhanced Provider Access Legislation compliance which specifies schools must provide at least six encounters with approved providers of apprenticeships and technical education.
  • The Apprenticeship Ambassador Network of around 2,000 volunteers which visits institutions sharing compelling experiences about apprenticeships.
Janet Daby
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
25th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of Qatari funding on British universities.

As autonomous bodies independent of government, it is for universities to decide on effective business models and to how to manage their finances. The sector is free to attract foreign investment, including from Qatar and China, which can and does make a valuable contribution to our universities and wider economy. The latest data indicates that overall education-related exports and transnational education activity generated £32.29 billion in revenue for UK institutions in 2022, and developing international partnerships is a key strength of our system.

When collaborating with any international partners, the department expects the sector to be alert to a range of risks and conduct appropriate due diligence to comply with legislation and regulatory requirements. These range from financial sustainability responsibilities, to research security requirements and expectations to safeguard values, such as freedom of speech. As the independent regulator in England, it is the role of the Office for Students to monitor and assess registered providers’ compliance with all its conditions of registration.

The department, along with the Department for Business and Trade and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, is currently conducting a review of the international education strategy to ensure that it continues to be an effective tool in increasing the value of education exports and reflects the priorities of education stakeholders, businesses and Ministers.

Janet Daby
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
25th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the document entitled The UK's Modern Industrial Strategy, published on 23 June 2025, what steps she is taking to provide (a) targeted apprenticeship and (b) reskilling opportunities to people living in rural areas.

This government is transforming the apprenticeships offer into a new growth and skills offer, which will give greater flexibility to employers and learners and increase access to talent across the eight industrial strategy sectors.

The department will continue to rollout shorter duration and foundation apprenticeships to give more people across the country the opportunity to learn and earn in industrial strategy sectors. The first seven foundation apprenticeships will be available from August 2025, supporting young people into careers such as digital, engineering and manufacturing.

The department will also introduce short courses, funded through the growth and skills levy. These will also support industrial strategy sectors starting from April 2026.

The department will work with Skills England to identify the short courses which will be prioritised for the initial and subsequent rollouts and how these sit alongside apprenticeships and other training routes. We will set out further information in due course.

Janet Daby
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
26th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve the recruitment and retention of further education staff in rural areas.

The department has announced an additional £190 million for 16 to 19 education in 2025/26 to help colleges, schools, and other providers recruit and retain expert teachers. This is in addition to over £400 million already planned for 16 to 19 education, and £155 million to support increased National Insurance costs. It is separate from my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s £600 million investment to address construction sector skills shortages. This funding will be delivered nationally and support colleges across the country, including land-based colleges that play a vital role in rural areas.

To support early-career further education (FE) teachers in technical subjects, the department is offering retention payments of up to £6,000 after tax in 2024/25 and 2025/26, including in rural and coastal areas.

Our national 'Teach in FE' campaign raises awareness and directs prospective teachers, including industry professionals to job listings and support services.

We also run ‘Taking Teaching Further’, a two-year programme helping industry experts retrain as FE teachers.

Together, these initiatives support our pledge to recruit 6,500 new teachers across FE, secondary, and specialist schools during this Parliament, as part of our Plan for Change.

Janet Daby
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
25th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to provide financial support to (a) Eat That Frog in Torbay and (b) other community organisations which are support hubs for those who are (i) disabled and (ii) neurodivergent to ensure their long-time viability.

The relationship between the department and Eat that Frog, as with all providers, is through the funding of learners through an agreed, published funding methodology. The department does not fund institutions/providers core costs, as the funding is driven by the learner funding methodology. In this case, as a Specialist Post-16 Institution (SPI), Eat that Frog is funded through the high needs funding methodology which is a combination of funding directly from the department and funding from the learners’ local authority, through their dedicated schools grant.

Some of the programmes and support provided through Eat that Frog is outside the scope of departmental funding, for example employment support, and therefore their remit is much wider than that of the department.

Janet Daby
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
25th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of trends in the number of university graduates currently in non-graduate roles; and what assessment she has made of the adequacy of careers service support in assisting graduates in accessing graduate roles.

The department has not undertaken any specific assessment of trends of graduates in non-graduate roles. However, the Office for National Statistics have previously released data on numbers of graduates in non-graduate roles using one particular definition of graduate roles supplied by the Institute for Employment Research. The releases are for 2021 to 2022 and 2012 to 2020, and they show that the percentage of graduates in non-graduate roles has dropped from 37.2% in 2012 to 36.0% in 2020. The full 2021 to 2022 release is available here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/adhocs/1450onslocalgraduatesandnongraduatesemployedingraduateandnongraduaterolesnumbersandproportionsforukcountriesandregions2021and2022.

The full 2012 to 2020 release is available here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/adhocs/13929employedgraduatesinnongraduaterolesincityregions2012to2020.

While most universities provide graduate careers support, the National Careers Service complements this by offering personalised, accessible and impartial advice to all adults, including recent graduates.

Careers service support should assist graduates in accessing graduate roles, ensuring that they contribute to the economy and society through the skills that they acquire. The department knows from Skills England’s September 2024 report ‘Driving Growth and Widening Opportunities’ that many of England’s businesses are dependent on graduate skills.

Janet Daby
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
25th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the upcoming rise in undergraduate tuition fees on the take up of university courses by students from deprived backgrounds.

In January 2025, the government published an Equality Impact Assessment of the impact of changes to fee limits and student support for the 2025/26 academic year on undergraduate students with protected characteristics and disadvantaged students. This is available here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukia/2025/41/pdfs/ukia_20250041_en.pdf.

The department does not believe that the increase in tuition fee limits by forecast RPIX inflation of 3.1% for the 2025/26 academic year will significantly alter participation decisions for most students, as the value of tuition fees will remain unchanged in real terms and the corresponding increase in upfront tuition fee loans for the 2026/26 academic year will ensure that higher education remains free at the point of access for students eligible for support.

Janet Daby
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
26th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of withdrawing postgraduate-level apprenticeship funding on (a) recruitment and (b) retention in the independent advice sector.

I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Rushcliffe to the answer of 13 June 2025 to Question 57098.

Janet Daby
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
25th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it his policy to reconstitute Skills England as an independent body.

Skills England has been established as an executive agency of the Department for Education, a model of arm’s length body with a clearly defined status, established and governed in line with Cabinet Office guidance. As an executive agency, Skills England will be sufficiently independent so that it can focus on the delivery of its functions, at arm’s length from the department, while also ensuring sufficient proximity to inform decisions on skills policy and delivery quickly and efficiently. In carrying out its functions, Skills England will be scrutinised and supported by its independent chair and board.

In line with good practice for new arm’s length bodies, the government has committed to review Skills England between 18 and 24 months after it is set up. This review will include an assessment of whether the executive agency model is enabling Skills England to deliver its objectives.

Janet Daby
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
25th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to funding for level 7 apprenticeships on the number of chartered town planning apprenticeships.

I refer the hon. Member for Thirsk and Malton to the answer of 13 June 2025 to Question 57098.

Janet Daby
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
26th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will consider ring-fenced funding for adult learners of all ages to access accredited (a) training and (b) qualifications in social-welfare advice.

The department will provide approximately £1.4 billion in funding for the Adult Skills Fund (ASF) in the 2025/26 academic year. The ASF fully funds or co-funds education and skills training for eligible adults aged 19 and above from pre-entry to level 3, to help them gain the skills they need for work, an apprenticeship or further learning.

Currently, 62% of the ASF is devolved to nine mayoral strategic authorities and the Greater London Authority. These authorities are responsible for the provision of ASF-funded adult education for their residents and allocation of the ASF to learning providers. The department is responsible for the remaining ASF in non-devolved areas.

Colleges and grant funded providers in non-devolved areas have the freedom and flexibility to determine how they use their ASF, in line with the funding rules, and work with local stakeholders to determine what provision best meets local needs.

Janet Daby
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
26th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support university students with the cost of living.

The government recognises the impact that the cost-of-living crisis has had on students.

The government has therefore announced that maximum loans for living costs will increase by 3.1% for the 2025/26 academic year. A 3.1% increase is in line with forecast inflation based on the Retail Prices Index Excluding Mortgage (RPIX) inflation index.

We continue to provide means-tested non-repayable grants to low-income full-time students with children and adults who are financially dependent on them.

In addition, students with disabilities can apply for non-means tested disabled students’ allowance to support additional disability-related study costs. For the 2025/26 academic year, maximum dependants’ grants and disabled students’ allowance are being increased by 3.1%.

Students undertaking nursing, midwifery and allied health profession courses also qualify for additional non-repayable grant support through the NHS Learning Support Fund.

The department aims to publish our plans for higher education reform as part of the Post-16 Education and Skills Strategy White paper in the summer, and work with the sector and the Office for Students to deliver the change that the country needs.

Janet Daby
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
26th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to include skills training for nature restoration and ecological programmes as part of the new Technical Excellence Colleges.

The department is introducing Technical Excellence Colleges (TECs) to specialise in training skilled workforces which industry needs in priority sectors. This starts with the launch of ten construction TECs from September 2025. This will be followed by the launch of TECs to address shortages in engineering, which is critical to the skills needed in priority sectors including advanced manufacturing, clean energy industries, and digital and technologies.

The department will also invest in the estate and facilities needed to deliver priority training with £200 million capital investment via the Skills Mission Fund to tackle sector-specific shortages, including expanding TECs beyond construction.

Janet Daby
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
26th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she considered the potential merits of providing a higher level of funding to help support the implementation of the updated National Occupational Standards for hair and beauty qualifications.

It is appreciated that over time National Occupational Standards change. The department expects providers to use the available funding to undertake any changes required.

The department uses the 16 to 19 funding formula to calculate the funding to institutions each academic year for the students they recruit. Funding rates depend on the size of students’ study programmes or T Levels, regardless of the type of institution.

In the 2025/26 academic year, the department will increase the national funding rate for students aged 16 and 17 and students aged 18 and over with high needs by 5.4%, compared with 2024/25, to £5,105. Other funding bands will increase proportionately.

For adults, the department is spending £1.4 billion on the Adult Skills Fund (ASF) in the 2025/26 academic year, ensuring that adults can access the education and training they need to get into employment or progress in work.

Currently, 62% of the ASF is devolved to nine Mayoral Strategic Authorities and the Greater London Authority. These authorities are responsible for the provision of ASF-funded adult education for their residents and allocation of the ASF to learning providers. The department is responsible for the remaining ASF in non-devolved areas.

For the 2024/25 academic year, the department introduced five new funding rates that apply to non-devolved ASF. Under these new funding rates, 78% of qualifications have seen an increase in funding. There are a range of factors that influence the funding bands, such as skills needs and the cost of delivery.

Janet Daby
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
26th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to ensure that all local authorities provide family hubs in their community.

On 11 June, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, set out plans for spending and public sector reforms through the Spending Review 2025. This announcement confirmed departmental budgets for 2026/27 onwards and committed the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme, working with parents to help give children the best start in life.

This builds upon my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change, published in December 2024, which outlined the ambition to give children the best start in life by strengthening and joining up family services to improve support through pregnancy and early childhood.

We are working within the department and alongside the Department for Health and Social Care to share further information about what the Spending Review settlement means for the continuation and expansion of the programme. We recognise the importance of providing local authorities with certainty of future funding across the whole programme and we will share further information when we are able to.

Janet Daby
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
26th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that integrated family hubs are available in all communities.

On 11 June, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, set out plans for spending and public sector reforms through the Spending Review 2025. This announcement confirmed departmental budgets for 2026/27 onwards and committed the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme, working with parents to help give children the best start in life.

This builds upon my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change, published in December 2024, which outlined the ambition to give children the best start in life by strengthening and joining up family services to improve support through pregnancy and early childhood.

We are working within the department and alongside the Department for Health and Social Care to share further information about what the Spending Review settlement means for the continuation and expansion of the programme. We recognise the importance of providing local authorities with certainty of future funding across the whole programme and we will share further information when we are able to.

Janet Daby
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
26th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that all local authorities provide family hubs in their communities.

On 11 June, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, set out plans for spending and public sector reforms through the Spending Review 2025. This announcement confirmed departmental budgets for 2026/27 onwards and committed the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme, working with parents to help give children the best start in life.

This builds upon my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change, published in December 2024, which outlined the ambition to give children the best start in life by strengthening and joining up family services to improve support through pregnancy and early childhood.

We are working within the department and alongside the Department for Health and Social Care to share further information about what the Spending Review settlement means for the continuation and expansion of the programme. We recognise the importance of providing local authorities with certainty of future funding across the whole programme and we will share further information when we are able to.

Janet Daby
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
26th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of developing a national outcomes framework for family hubs.

On 11 June, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, set out plans for spending and public sector reforms through the Spending Review 2025. This announcement confirmed departmental budgets for 2026/27 onwards and committed the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme, working with parents to help give children the best start in life.

This builds upon my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change, published in December 2024, which outlined the ambition to give children the best start in life by strengthening and joining up family services to improve support through pregnancy and early childhood.

We are working within the department and alongside the Department for Health and Social Care to share further information about what the Spending Review settlement means for the continuation and expansion of the programme.

Janet Daby
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
26th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of developing a national outcomes framework for family hubs.

On 11 June, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, set out plans for spending and public sector reforms through the Spending Review 2025. This announcement confirmed departmental budgets for 2026/27 onwards and committed the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme, working with parents to help give children the best start in life.

This builds upon my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change, published in December 2024, which outlined the ambition to give children the best start in life by strengthening and joining up family services to improve support through pregnancy and early childhood.

We are working within the department and alongside the Department for Health and Social Care to share further information about what the Spending Review settlement means for the continuation and expansion of the programme.

Janet Daby
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
25th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she is taking steps to roll out family hubs in Battersea constituency.

On 11 June, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer set out plans for spending and public sector reforms through the Spending Review 2025. This announcement confirmed departmental budgets for 2026/27 onwards and committed that the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme, working with parents to help give children the best start in life.

This builds upon my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change, published in December 2024, which outlined the ambition to give children the best start in life by strengthening and joining up family services to improve support through pregnancy and early childhood.

We are working within the department and with the Department for Health and Social Care to share further information about what the Spending Review settlement means for the continuation and expansion of the programme. We recognise the importance of providing local authorities with certainty of future funding across the whole programme and we will share further information when we are able.

Janet Daby
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
25th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 May 2025 to Question 50632 on Schools: Broadband, if she will list the five schools in Bedfordshire.

The five schools due to receive a funded update to fibre this year in Bedfordshire are:

  1. Derwent Primary School, Central Bedfordshire, SG16 6BA.
  2. Eaton Bray Academy, Central Bedfordshire, LU6 2DT (completed).
  3. Milton Ernest CofE Primary School, Bedford, MK44 1RF (completed).
  4. Sheerhatch Primary School, Bedford, MK44 3TH.
  5. Slip End Village School, Central Bedfordshire, LU1 4DD.

Stephen Morgan
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
25th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when he plans to publish the revised School Food Standards; and what steps he is taking to consult (a) schools, (b) public health experts and (c) other stakeholders in the process.

To ensure quality and nutrition in meals for the future, the department is acting quickly with experts across the sector to revise the School Food Standards, so every school is supported with the latest nutrition guidance. We are currently engaging with a range of stakeholders to help us understand the challenges around school food.

We intend to consult on these revisions and further details will be available in due course. We understand the importance of hearing from schools as part of this work and will ensure there are appropriate opportunities for their engagement.

Stephen Morgan
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
26th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many of the 3,000 (a) new and (b) expanded school-based nurseries will be in Fylde.

At the Spending Review, the department announced almost £370 million of further funding to create tens of thousands of places in new and expanded school-based nurseries to ensure more children can access the high-quality early education they deserve and get the best start in life.

The department is currently planning the next phases of the programme, and we will be announcing the next steps shortly. We encourage eligible schools in Fylde to engage with their local authority and explore opportunities to participate in future rounds of funding.

Stephen Morgan
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
25th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many fines were issued to parents for unauthorised school absence in (a) Bromsgrove constituency and (b) Worcestershire in the last 12 months.

The information is not held by the department at constituency level.

Information on penalty notices for unauthorised absence is collected at local authority level. The latest available data, covering the 2023/24 academic year is available in the parental responsibility measures statistical release here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/parental-responsibility-measures/2023-24.

The number of penalty notices issued in Worcestershire in the 2023/24 academic year is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/e0dc750b-0698-49dc-a884-08ddb31391cd.

Stephen Morgan
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
25th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of learning through play in early years education.

The early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework sets standards and requirements for all early years providers to ensure every child has the best start in life and is prepared for school. The EYFS is clear that children learn through play and that play is essential for children’s development. For example, singing songs helps to develop language comprehension, vocabulary, self-expression and literacy. Practitioners should organise enabling environments and cultures for high-quality play, create games, and provide opportunity for indoor and outdoor play.

The ‘Children of the 2020s’ study is part of a programme of departmental research to improve our understanding of children’s progress throughout key phases of learning and education. The study follows over 8,500 families and their babies, born in England between September and November 2021. The second wave of data is due to be published in autumn, and we will assess that to consider future policy for early education, including learning through play.

Stephen Morgan
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
25th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of collecting data on the (a) length and (b) frequency of gaps in education for children in care that are the result of placement moves.

The department recognises the need to improve the data available about children’s social care, including making it more relevant to the experience of children and young people during periods of change.

A core part of this work includes understanding the data needs of the children’s social care sector as a whole and scoping ways in which data gaps may be addressed over time. This year the department has published new statistics on stability measures for children looked after, providing further insight on school, placement and social worker stability for these children, here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/stability-measures-for-children-looked-after-in-england/2024.

Existing statutory data is collected for children missing education, school attendance, and children in care. However, it is not yet possible to accurately link these datasets to obtain the information requested, as the children missing education data is collected at a local authority level, while data for children looked after, and school attendance is collected at a child level. Addressing data gaps in children’s social care will be a long-term endeavour due to the need to agree data standards and definitions, as well as redesign local authority and departmental systems before rolling out nationally.

Janet Daby
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
26th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the press notice by Become entitled New research shows shockingly high numbers of children in care being moved during GCSEs and A-levels, published on 24 June 2025, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of that charity's findings that 17% of children in care moved school during Key Stage 4.

The department is committed to ensuring that looked-after children are supported to succeed in education and achieve positive outcomes. We recognise the critical importance of continuity and stability throughout a looked-after child’s life. Under the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review guidance and regulations, a child’s social worker should do everything possible to minimise disruption to their education. School changes should be minimised and any transitions well-planned and supported. Where a change to a child’s educational arrangements is unavoidable, their Personal Education Plan should set out arrangements to minimise disruption to education, especially during exam periods and other critical periods in their education.

The government is introducing measures, including through the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, to rebalance the market, improve regulation and commissioning of placements, and bring greater visibility to the prices local authorities are paying. This includes a focus on addressing the barriers that prevent homes from being established where they are needed.

Through our Plan for Change, we’re also investing £2 billion over this Parliament to give more children a safe, loving home, including expanding the children’s home estate, delivering more foster care placements and helping keep families together by providing targeted support before problems escalate.

These measures will provide greater placement availability, stability and ensure that, where it is in a child's best interests, they are placed closer to home.

Janet Daby
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
26th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the press release by Become entitled New research shows shockingly high numbers of children in care being moved during GCSEs and A-levels, published on 24 June 2025, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the number of children in care who moved school during their GCSE period.

The department is committed to ensuring that looked-after children are supported to succeed in education and achieve positive outcomes. We recognise the critical importance of continuity and stability throughout a looked-after child’s life. Under the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review guidance and regulations, a child’s social worker should do everything possible to minimise disruption to their education. School changes should be minimised and any transitions well-planned and supported. Where a change to a child’s educational arrangements is unavoidable, their Personal Education Plan should set out arrangements to minimise disruption to education, especially during exam periods and other critical periods in their education.

The government is introducing measures, including through the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, to rebalance the market, improve regulation and commissioning of placements, and bring greater visibility to the prices local authorities are paying. This includes a focus on addressing the barriers that prevent homes from being established where they are needed.

Through our Plan for Change, we’re also investing £2 billion over this Parliament to give more children a safe, loving home, including expanding the children’s home estate, delivering more foster care placements and helping keep families together by providing targeted support before problems escalate.

These measures will provide greater placement availability, stability and ensure that, where it is in a child's best interests, they are placed closer to home.

Janet Daby
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
26th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of moving home (a) in the lead up to and (b) during GCSE exams on care-experienced young people’s (i) educational attainment and (ii) future opportunities.

The department is committed to ensuring that looked-after children are supported to succeed in education and achieve positive outcomes. We recognise the critical importance of continuity and stability throughout a looked-after child’s life. Under the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review guidance and regulations, a child’s social worker should do everything possible to minimise disruption to their education. School changes should be minimised and any transitions well-planned and supported. Where a change to a child’s educational arrangements is unavoidable, their Personal Education Plan should set out arrangements to minimise disruption to education, especially during exam periods and other critical periods in their education.

The government is introducing measures, including through the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, to rebalance the market, improve regulation and commissioning of placements, and bring greater visibility to the prices local authorities are paying. This includes a focus on addressing the barriers that prevent homes from being established where they are needed.

Through our Plan for Change, we’re also investing £2 billion over this Parliament to give more children a safe, loving home, including expanding the children’s home estate, delivering more foster care placements and helping keep families together by providing targeted support before problems escalate.

These measures will provide greater placement availability, stability and ensure that, where it is in a child's best interests, they are placed closer to home.

Janet Daby
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
25th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 21 May 2025 to Question 52391 on Private Education: VAT, if she will provide a breakdown of how the additional £460m will be spent.

The government believes it is right these changes were introduced as soon as possible in order to raise the funding needed to help deliver our commitments to public services, including those relating to education and young people. Together, the VAT and business rates reforms are expected to raise £1.8 billion per year by the 2029/30 financial year.

Stephen Morgan
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
25th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 21 May 2025 to Question 52040 on Private Education: VAT, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the five month preparation period for private schools.

The government believes it is right these changes were introduced as soon as possible in order to raise the funding needed to help deliver our commitments to public services, including those relating to education and young people. Together, the VAT and business rates reforms are expected to raise £1.8 billion per year by the 2029/30 financial year.

Stephen Morgan
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
25th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce the educational instability that children in care face.

The department is committed to ensuring that looked-after children are supported to succeed in education and achieve positive outcomes. We recognise the critical importance of continuity and stability throughout a looked-after child’s life.

Under the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review guidance and regulations, the child’s social worker should do everything possible to minimise disruption to their education. School changes should be minimised, and any transitions well-planned and supported. Where a change to a child’s educational arrangements is unavoidable, their personal education plan should set out arrangements to minimise disruption to education, especially during exam periods and other critical periods in their education.

The government is introducing measures, including through the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, to rebalance the market, improve regulation and commissioning of placements. The department is also investing £2 billion over this parliament to give more children a safe, loving home, including expanding the children’s home estate, delivering more foster care placements and helping keep families together by providing targeted support before problems escalate.

These measures will provide greater placement availability, stability and ensure that, where it is in a child's best interests, they are placed closer to home.

Janet Daby
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
16th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which schools in Bolsover constituency will receive funding from the school rebuilding programme.

The government has given a long-term commitment for funding through to 2034-35 to improve the condition of schools and colleges across England. We are investing almost £3 billion per year by 2034-35 in capital maintenance and renewal to improve the condition of the school and college estate, rising from £2.4 billion in 2025-26.

This is in addition to investment of almost £20 billion in the School Rebuilding Programme through to 2034-35, delivering rebuilding projects at over 500 schools across England within the existing Programme and expanding the School Rebuilding Programme, with a further 250 schools to be selected within the next two years.

The department invited responsible bodies to nominate schools to be considered for the School Rebuilding Programme in early 2022. There are currently no schools in the constituency of Bolsover in the programme. We will set out further details about the selection process for the additional 250 schools to be selected for the School Rebuilding Programme later this year.

For financial year 2025/26, Derbyshire County Council has been allocated a School Condition Allocation of £10,268,315 to invest across its maintained schools, including those in Bolsover constituency. Academy trusts and voluntary aided school bodies also have access to capital funding to improve the condition of their buildings. More details can be found on GOV.UK, including capital allocations and the outcomes of the Condition Improvement Fund, in which Model Village Primary School and Whaley Thorns Primary School in Bolsover constituency were successful.

Stephen Morgan
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
23rd Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of early interventions in the early years sector.

The government is committed to giving every child the best start in life by strengthening early intervention, supporting families to engage in play and communication, and enhancing the home learning environment. Our Plan for Change includes a national target for 75% of children to achieve a Good Level of Development by 2028 and increase school readiness.

There is strong evidence that the first 1,001 days, from conception to age two, are critical for a child’s cognitive, emotional and physical development. Through the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme, we are supporting families with joined-up services across health, education and early years. This includes support for infant feeding, perinatal mental health, parenting, early language development and the home learning environment.

As announced in last month’s Spending Review, the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme, ensuring more families across the country can access high quality, integrated support to give their children the best start in life.

In 2025/26, we are investing £10.7 million in home learning environment services through Family Hubs to help parents create language-rich, nurturing settings. Our Little Moments Together campaign provides free, accessible resources that encourage parents to chat, play and read with their children.

For school-age children, we continue to promote parental engagement in reading and learning at home, recognising the importance of sustained support throughout a child’s educational journey.

Stephen Morgan
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
23rd Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of learning through play in early years on children's development.

The government is committed to giving every child the best start in life by strengthening early intervention, supporting families to engage in play and communication, and enhancing the home learning environment. Our Plan for Change includes a national target for 75% of children to achieve a Good Level of Development by 2028 and increase school readiness.

There is strong evidence that the first 1,001 days, from conception to age two, are critical for a child’s cognitive, emotional and physical development. Through the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme, we are supporting families with joined-up services across health, education and early years. This includes support for infant feeding, perinatal mental health, parenting, early language development and the home learning environment.

As announced in last month’s Spending Review, the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme, ensuring more families across the country can access high quality, integrated support to give their children the best start in life.

In 2025/26, we are investing £10.7 million in home learning environment services through Family Hubs to help parents create language-rich, nurturing settings. Our Little Moments Together campaign provides free, accessible resources that encourage parents to chat, play and read with their children.

For school-age children, we continue to promote parental engagement in reading and learning at home, recognising the importance of sustained support throughout a child’s educational journey.

Stephen Morgan
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
23rd Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of promoting a culture of reading for pleasure in the home learning environment on the development of children in (a) the early years and (b) school-age children.

The government is committed to giving every child the best start in life by strengthening early intervention, supporting families to engage in play and communication, and enhancing the home learning environment. Our Plan for Change includes a national target for 75% of children to achieve a Good Level of Development by 2028 and increase school readiness.

There is strong evidence that the first 1,001 days, from conception to age two, are critical for a child’s cognitive, emotional and physical development. Through the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme, we are supporting families with joined-up services across health, education and early years. This includes support for infant feeding, perinatal mental health, parenting, early language development and the home learning environment.

As announced in last month’s Spending Review, the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme, ensuring more families across the country can access high quality, integrated support to give their children the best start in life.

In 2025/26, we are investing £10.7 million in home learning environment services through Family Hubs to help parents create language-rich, nurturing settings. Our Little Moments Together campaign provides free, accessible resources that encourage parents to chat, play and read with their children.

For school-age children, we continue to promote parental engagement in reading and learning at home, recognising the importance of sustained support throughout a child’s educational journey.

Stephen Morgan
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
23rd Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what policies her Department has on early intervention in early years education (a) during a child’s first 1001 days and (b) for children aged up to five.

The government is committed to giving every child the best start in life by strengthening early intervention, supporting families to engage in play and communication, and enhancing the home learning environment. Our Plan for Change includes a national target for 75% of children to achieve a Good Level of Development by 2028 and increase school readiness.

There is strong evidence that the first 1,001 days, from conception to age two, are critical for a child’s cognitive, emotional and physical development. Through the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme, we are supporting families with joined-up services across health, education and early years. This includes support for infant feeding, perinatal mental health, parenting, early language development and the home learning environment.

As announced in last month’s Spending Review, the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme, ensuring more families across the country can access high quality, integrated support to give their children the best start in life.

In 2025/26, we are investing £10.7 million in home learning environment services through Family Hubs to help parents create language-rich, nurturing settings. Our Little Moments Together campaign provides free, accessible resources that encourage parents to chat, play and read with their children.

For school-age children, we continue to promote parental engagement in reading and learning at home, recognising the importance of sustained support throughout a child’s educational journey.

Stephen Morgan
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
23rd Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to improve home learning environments to support literacy in (a) the early years and (b) school age children.

The government is committed to giving every child the best start in life by strengthening early intervention, supporting families to engage in play and communication, and enhancing the home learning environment. Our Plan for Change includes a national target for 75% of children to achieve a Good Level of Development by 2028 and increase school readiness.

There is strong evidence that the first 1,001 days, from conception to age two, are critical for a child’s cognitive, emotional and physical development. Through the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme, we are supporting families with joined-up services across health, education and early years. This includes support for infant feeding, perinatal mental health, parenting, early language development and the home learning environment.

As announced in last month’s Spending Review, the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme, ensuring more families across the country can access high quality, integrated support to give their children the best start in life.

In 2025/26, we are investing £10.7 million in home learning environment services through Family Hubs to help parents create language-rich, nurturing settings. Our Little Moments Together campaign provides free, accessible resources that encourage parents to chat, play and read with their children.

For school-age children, we continue to promote parental engagement in reading and learning at home, recognising the importance of sustained support throughout a child’s educational journey.

Stephen Morgan
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
23rd Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of a targeted place-based approach to service provision in the early years sector.

The government is committed to giving every child the best start in life by strengthening early intervention, supporting families to engage in play and communication, and enhancing the home learning environment. Our Plan for Change includes a national target for 75% of children to achieve a Good Level of Development by 2028 and increase school readiness.

There is strong evidence that the first 1,001 days, from conception to age two, are critical for a child’s cognitive, emotional and physical development. Through the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme, we are supporting families with joined-up services across health, education and early years. This includes support for infant feeding, perinatal mental health, parenting, early language development and the home learning environment.

As announced in last month’s Spending Review, the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme, ensuring more families across the country can access high quality, integrated support to give their children the best start in life.

In 2025/26, we are investing £10.7 million in home learning environment services through Family Hubs to help parents create language-rich, nurturing settings. Our Little Moments Together campaign provides free, accessible resources that encourage parents to chat, play and read with their children.

For school-age children, we continue to promote parental engagement in reading and learning at home, recognising the importance of sustained support throughout a child’s educational journey.

Stephen Morgan
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
23rd Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of community activities to support families with children in the early years.

The government is committed to giving every child the best start in life by strengthening early intervention, supporting families to engage in play and communication, and enhancing the home learning environment. Our Plan for Change includes a national target for 75% of children to achieve a Good Level of Development by 2028 and increase school readiness.

There is strong evidence that the first 1,001 days, from conception to age two, are critical for a child’s cognitive, emotional and physical development. Through the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme, we are supporting families with joined-up services across health, education and early years. This includes support for infant feeding, perinatal mental health, parenting, early language development and the home learning environment.

As announced in last month’s Spending Review, the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme, ensuring more families across the country can access high quality, integrated support to give their children the best start in life.

In 2025/26, we are investing £10.7 million in home learning environment services through Family Hubs to help parents create language-rich, nurturing settings. Our Little Moments Together campaign provides free, accessible resources that encourage parents to chat, play and read with their children.

For school-age children, we continue to promote parental engagement in reading and learning at home, recognising the importance of sustained support throughout a child’s educational journey.

Stephen Morgan
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
27th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her planned timetable is for the roll out of free breakfast clubs to all state‑funded schools with primary‑aged children; and what support her Department plans to provide schools to facilitate implementation of that programme.

The government is committed to delivering on its pledge to provide a free breakfast club in every state funded school with primary-aged children. This will ensure every child, regardless of circumstance, has a supportive start to the school day.

From the start of summer term 2025, the department has funded 750 schools to deliver a free breakfast club to early adopters.

We are currently working through the outcomes of the latest spending review and the departmental business planning processes. Further details will follow in due course.

Stephen Morgan
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
30th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what his Department's planned timetable is for the replacement of defective temporary buildings at Highcliffe School to be completed; and what guidance her Department has issued on the removal from use of life-expired temporary buildings.

School buildings are integral to high and rising standards and need to be fit for the future. That is why the government is committed to improving the condition of the school estate, and the School Rebuilding Programme (SRP) continues as part of that.

The department wrote to Patrick Earnshaw and Yvonne Dunning at HISP Multi-Academy Trust in July 2023 to inform them that Highcliffe School has been placed in group 2 of the SRP. Projects have been prioritised according to the condition of their buildings and other relevant criteria. We anticipate that Highcliffe School will commence with planning and feasibility work between January 2026 and March 2027, depending on the readiness of the school to enter the programme. SRP projects typically take between two and five years to deliver.

Specific start dates will be communicated to the school and responsible body at least a month in advance of project start and, where possible, the department will bring projects forward if we are able to do so. The scope of the works will be discussed with the school and responsible body once the project enters delivery.

Responsible bodies continue to have a responsibility for the safety and maintenance of the buildings in their care, including temporary buildings. The school will need to continue to maintain and keep buildings safe until the school enters delivery. This includes compliance with statutory duties to ensure the health and safety of building occupants.

Stephen Morgan
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
23rd Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 54726 on Schools: internet, what steps she is taking to ensure blocks on illegal content are (a) technically enforced and (b) cannot be overridden in all education settings.

Keeping children safe is an absolute priority for this government and schools play a critical role in this.

In England, schools must procure their own technology, including filtering and monitoring systems, and ensure they meet the statutory safeguarding requirements set out in the ‘Keeping children safe in education’ (KCSIE) statutory guidance and in the filtering and monitoring standards, in order to protect students from harmful and/or illegal content. Both are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2 and https://www.gov.uk/guidance/meeting-digital-and-technology-standards-in-schools-and-colleges/filtering-and-monitoring-standards-for-schools-and-colleges.

The standards require filtering systems to effectively block harmful and inappropriate content using regularly updated blocklists from the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) and the Counter-Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU). Schools cannot alter or disable these lists. Additionally, filtering providers must be members of the IWF, signed up to CTIRU, and committed to maintaining updates.

KCSIE signposts to resources to help schools make informed decisions to support safeguarding which, amongst others, includes a tool from South West Grid for Learning that allows schools to check whether their filtering provider is aligned with the necessary blocklists. This resource is available here: https://swgfl.org.uk/services/test-filtering/. We also funded the UK Safer Internet Centre to produce a series of webinars, which are available at: https://saferinternet.org.uk/blog/filtering-and-monitoring-webinars-available. We have also recently launched the plan technology for your school service which helps schools understand how to meet the standards. The guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/plan-technology-for-your-school.

Stephen Morgan
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
23rd Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of AI companion software on (a) children's mental health, (b) children's social skills and (c) trends in the level of children's loneliness.

The department is working to build evidence of the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) tools for education, both on the opportunities and the risks. We are supporting the sector to use AI safely.

We are funding the development of global guidelines for the safe and effective use of generative AI in education, in partnership with the OECD and, in January 2025, we announced that leading global tech firms had committed to making AI tools for education safer by design. Google, Microsoft, Adobe and Amazon Web Services have helped develop a set of expectations AI tools should meet to be considered safe for classroom use. These are accessible at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/generative-ai-product-safety-expectations/generative-ai-product-safety-expectations.

The Generative AI product Safety Expectations framework was announced on 22 January 2025 and we have published online materials to help all educators. These materials can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/using-ai-in-education-settings-support-materials.

Screens are prevalent in children's lives at home and in education. It is crucial to have protections like the Online Safety Act, while using technology to benefit children. Schools play a key role in promoting balanced technology use, minimising harmful content, and teaching online safety.

The department is working across government to implement the Online Safety Act and address technology-related risks, including AI in education, while maximising opportunities for these technologies to support education.

Stephen Morgan
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
23rd Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the fall in the number of children at independent schools was in line with her Department’s projections.

Pupil numbers remain firmly within expectations and higher than 2021/22. As a percentage of the overall school population, private school pupils have remained the same, at 6.5%. It has been between 6% and 7% for the last two decades.

Stephen Morgan
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
12th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many staff network events took place in her Department in May 2025; and what the names of those events were.

Staff networks are collaborative volunteer networks, organised by staff themselves rather than the department. As a result, events are organised by staff themselves, not the department. We are aware of the following events that these networks organised in May 2025.

In May 2025, four staff network events were held in the department as part of Dementia Week. The events were:

  1. Supporting Jewish People with Dementia.
  2. Self-Advocacy and Dementia.
  3. Reframing Dementia, Enabling Others.
  4. Faith, Love, and Dementia.
Janet Daby
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)