Department for Education

All free school projects were evaluated in line with consistent criteria focusing on assessing the need for places and value for money. This included considering whether projects would provide a distinctive local offer and whether they would risk negatively impacting other local schools or colleges.

A temporary pause in Summer 2025 was quickly lifted and the programme is continuing as normal. Schools wishing to take forward solar projects via a Power Purchase Agreement should apply in the usual way following available guidance.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there were 23,930 aim enrolments and 19,320 aim achievements on Essential Digital Skills qualifications in England by adult further education and skills learners. In the 2023/24, academic year there were 28,430 and 22,310 respectively. These figures are published in additional supporting files accompanying the ’Further education and skills’ accredited official statistics publication and have been available since November 2025. The ‘Further education and skills’ publication is available at:

https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/further-education-and-skills/2024-25.

Aim enrolments and aim achievements are separate measures and should not be used to infer progress within an academic year. Additionally, learners may undertake or achieve more than one learning aim in an academic year.

Achievement rates for Essential Digital Skills qualifications are published in the national achievement rate tables in the ‘Further education and skills’ publication. The latest published data, available since March 2025, covers the 2023/24 academic year in England and is available at:

https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/5137b787-5c7f-41c5-9510-08de4155ee12.

We have written to trusts, local authorities and members of Parliament setting out the position on individual projects, as well as offering more detailed feedback.

The department considered whether there was a strong need for the school in the medium term. We assessed published School Capacity data (SCAP24), in line with the department’s longstanding approach to assessing pipeline projects, as well as other data from local authorities, such as plans for future housing developments.

We also considered forecast costs of delivering each school, delivery issues such as finding a suitable site and whether projects would provide a distinctive local offer or risk negatively impacting other local schools.

Final decisions on projects where a ‘minded to cancel’ letter was issued, will be made once trusts and local authorities have had the opportunity to submit any new evidence. Representations should be made by 30 January 2026.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education meets with Cabinet colleagues, including my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on the actions she is taking to secure high quality education for all pupils, but has not met to discuss agricultural education as a discrete issue.

The national curriculum is a framework designed to give teachers the flexibility to cover particular topics in greater depth if they wish. For example, giving them the freedom to teach about agriculture within the geography and science curricula.

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When a young person has an education, health and care plan, they are eligible for the adoption and special guardianship support fund up to the age of 25. This is on the basis that these young people are likely to be in the greatest longer-term need. Otherwise, young people are eligible up to the age of 21.

As part of our Plan for Change, we are determined to fix the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system and restore the trust of parents. We will do this by ensuring schools have the tools to better identify and support children before issues escalate. We will bring forward a full Schools White Paper early this year, building on the work we have already done to create a system that is rooted in inclusion.

To support the development of the reforms, we are drawing on insights from experts, including the department’s Expert Advisory Group for Inclusion and the Neurodivergence Task and Finish Group, who were established to provide an expert view and make recommendations on how to best meet the needs of neurodivergent children and young people within mainstream education settings.

The department has also launched a further period of listening and engagement to strengthen co-creation, listening to children and young people, parents, experts, and education professionals across the country, so that lived experience and partnership are at the heart of the solutions.

The Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) plays a vital role in safeguarding children by overseeing the management of allegations made against adults who work with children in any capacity.

The department is aware of proposals to introduce independent LADOs, including a recommendation from the Children’s Commissioner in September 2025.

To ensure this vital role is delivered consistently and effectively across all local authorities, we continue to work with key stakeholders across the sector including the Office of the Children’s Commissioner on key policy developments and to explore how the role of LADO can be strengthened. Evidence and intelligence gathered through this engagement will be considered alongside wider stakeholder input to inform future policy development.

​​In order for the UK to participate in Erasmus+, EU regulations require the UK to establish a National Agency separate to any existing government department to manage the indirect management actions of the programme. The European Commission entrusts the distribution of indirect management funding to the National Agency to bring Erasmus+ as close as possible to its beneficiaries. National Agencies promote and implement the Erasmus+ Programme at the national level and are the link between the European Commission and participating organisations at local, regional, and national levels.

A National Agency will be appointed in due course to deliver Erasmus+ for the UK.

​​In order for the UK to participate in Erasmus+, EU regulations require the UK to establish a National Agency separate to any existing government department to manage the indirect management actions of the programme. The European Commission entrusts the distribution of indirect management funding to the National Agency to bring Erasmus+ as close as possible to its beneficiaries. National Agencies promote and implement the Erasmus+ Programme at the national level and are the link between the European Commission and participating organisations at local, regional, and national levels.

A National Agency will be appointed in due course to deliver Erasmus+ for the UK.

Post-16 providers must record work placement activities as part of planned hours for each student for funding purposes and this data is not publicly available. Small scale sample audit checks are undertaken by the department.

Schools and colleges self-report institution level data on the proportion of students undertaking work experience by academic year. Data captured through the Compass+ online self-assessment tool shows that the majority of students in 74% schools and colleges had an experience of the workplace in the 2024/25 academic year.

The department is funding the Careers & Enterprise Company to deliver the first phase of activity to prepare schools and employers to deliver the government’s commitment to ensure every pupil has access to two weeks’ worth of work experience during their secondary education.

The table below details how many visas the department and named arm’s length bodies have sponsored since July 2024:

As at 31 March 2025, 84% (3,360) of all children’s homes were privately owned and operated.

Ofsted publish annual data on children’s social care in England. This includes data on the number of homes and the different types of social care providers. The latest data is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/childrens-social-care-in-england-2025.

The government is taking forward work to reshape the children’s social care placement’s market, including increasing the number of foster carers so that more children can be looked after in family-based environments and encouraging more non-profit, local authority, and social investment backed providers to enter the market.

The department currently forecasts around 240,000 additional English Plan 2 loans (4.8% of all English Plan 2 loans for which borrowers are eligible to make repayments) will see a repayment in financial year 2030/31 given the announced threshold freeze when compared to a scenario with inflationary increases to thresholds. These are current estimates and are subject to change given updates to economic forecasts and other key forecast inputs.

The department will release an equalities impact assessment, including the impact on the number of borrowers forecast to make obligatory repayments, alongside other borrower impacts.

The department has agreed terms with the European Commission that represent a fair balance between the UK’s contribution and the benefits the programme offers, which paved the way for UK participation.

We have agreed a 30% discount compared to the default terms in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement as well as a review of the UK’s participation in the programme ten months after our association, including data concerning demand for funding in the UK. Any continued UK participation in Erasmus+ under the next Multiannual Financial Framework will be informed by our experience of association in 2027.

Erasmus+ costs will be funded above the department’s Spending Review settlement and scored in the usual way at the next fiscal event.

The department recognises the importance of school sport in promoting all pupils’ wellbeing and educational outcomes. In support of this, we have provided a grant of up to £300,000 a year to a consortium led by the Youth Sport Trust to deliver Inclusion 2028 with the aim to provide advice, guidance and training to upskill teachers and the school workforce to deliver high quality, inclusive PE. The grant supports the Inclusive Education Hub, an online platform of resources to help schools make PE and sport more inclusive.

In November 2025, the government published its response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review. The department is working closely with specialists in the education sector to make changes to the national curriculum for PE and will ensure they continue to increase and improve opportunities for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities to be physically active. There will be public consultation on the updated curriculum Programmes of Study, to seek views on the content before they are finalised.

The government has committed to ensuring that schools are equipped to support pupils with medical conditions effectively and inclusively. The current statutory guidance, ‘Supporting pupils at school with medical conditions,’ will be updated to reflect best practice and recent developments.

We intend to consult later this year on revised guidance. This consultation will seek views from schools, parents, health professionals, and other stakeholders on proposals to strengthen how schools meet their duties, including improvements to allergy safety and broader medical condition management.

Our aim is to ensure that every child can access education safely and confidently, regardless of their health needs.

Educational psychologists play a critical role in the support available to children and young people, including those with special educational needs and disabilities. That is why we are already investing more than £21 million to train 400 more educational psychologists over two cohorts, starting their studies in 2024 and 2025. This is in addition to the £10 million currently being invested in the training of more than 200 educational psychologists who began their training in September 2023.

As these trainees complete their studies, they will join the workforce to support local authority educational psychology services, including contributing to statutory assessments. Trainees who have had their training funded by the department are required to remain in local authority employment for a minimum period. For trainees beginning their course in September 2024, this period is three years.

Educational psychologists play a critical role in the support available to children and young people, including those with special educational needs and disabilities. That is why we are already investing more than £21 million to train 400 more educational psychologists over two cohorts, starting their studies in 2024 and 2025. This is in addition to the £10 million currently being invested in the training of more than 200 educational psychologists who began their training in September 2023.

As these trainees complete their studies, they will join the workforce to support local authority educational psychology services, including contributing to statutory assessments. Trainees who have had their training funded by the department are required to remain in local authority employment for a minimum period. For trainees beginning their course in September 2024, this period is three years.

Further education (FE) colleges, rather than the government, are responsible for setting and negotiating staff pay and terms and conditions within colleges.

In May 2025, the department announced a further £190 million investment for colleges and other 16 to 19 providers in addition to the £400 million of extra funding we already planned to spend on 16 to 19 education in financial year 2025/26.

Across the Spending Review period, we will provide £1.2 billion of additional investment per year in skills by 2028/2029.

This significant investment will ensure there is increased funding to colleges and other 16 to19 providers to enable the recruitment and retention of expert teachers in high value subject areas, and interventions to retain top teaching talent

Targeted recruitment incentives of up to £6,000 (after tax) are available for eligible early career FE teachers working in key science, technology, engineering and mathematics and technical shortage subjects, in disadvantaged schools and colleges (including in Sixth Form Colleges). This payment is separate to teachers’ usual pay.

The department always assesses the impact of changes on vulnerable children. This included reviewing the equalities impact assessment, which was deposited in the House Libraries in July. The funding available through the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) still enables children in Yeovil to access a significant package of support, tailored to meet their individual needs. The department’s delivery partner is routinely processing ASGSF applications within a few days of receipt, including those relating to children in Yeovil.

The department always assesses the impact of changes on vulnerable children. This included reviewing the equalities impact assessment, which was deposited in the House Libraries in July. The funding available through the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) still enables children in Yeovil to access a significant package of support, tailored to meet their individual needs. The department’s delivery partner is routinely processing ASGSF applications within a few days of receipt, including those relating to children in Yeovil.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

All schools are encouraged to mark Holocaust Memorial Day, and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education wrote to schools in 2025 highlighting the importance of commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day. The annual marking of Holocaust Memorial Day is an important moment in the calendar where we remember the six million Jewish men, women and children killed by the Nazis and the millions more murdered under Nazi persecution.

The Holocaust is the only historic event which is compulsory within the current national curriculum for history at key stage 3. The government has made a commitment that the Holocaust will remain a compulsory topic in the reformed national curriculum, which will also be required teaching in academy schools when it is implemented.

The department actively supports schools to provide high quality teaching on the Holocaust through University College London Centre for Holocaust Education’s continuous professional development work, and through the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Lessons from Auschwitz’s programme. In addition, the Supporting Holocaust Survivor Testimony in Teaching programme will support schools in using recorded Holocaust survivor testimony in their teaching.

Anyone who is a parent, as recognised under education law, can participate in their child’s education and there is a general principle that pupils are to be educated in accordance with the wishes of their parents. Section 9 of the Education Act 1996 can be accessed here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/56/section/9.

Schools commonly communicate with the resident parent, but if a non-resident parent requests to receive communications separately, the school should provide it to that parent direct, after satisfying itself that the individual is the child’s parent. If a parent is unhappy with a school’s actions, they can complain to the school.

The department is investing almost £3 billion per year in capital maintenance by 2034/35 to improve the condition of the school and college estate, rising from £2.4 billion in 2025/26.

As part of this, Norfolk Council received a School Condition Allocation of almost £5.5 million for the 2025/26 financial year to invest across its maintained schools, including voluntary controlled schools in South Norfolk constituency. We expect to set out allocations for the 2026/27 financial year in the spring.

The department expects local authorities to carefully prioritise investment based on evidence of need, so that school buildings remain safe, operational and compliant with relevant regulations. Voluntary controlled schools should speak to their local authority about any issues so that they are considered when prioritising current and future investment.

The department provides additional advice and support to responsible bodies on a case-by-case basis where there are significant and urgent safety issues with buildings that cannot be managed independently.

Guidance relating to parental responsibility requires all parents to be treated equally, unless a court order limits a parent’s ability to make educational decisions, participate in school life or receive information about their child. The guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dealing-with-issues-relating-to-parental-responsibility/understanding-and-dealing-with-issues-relating-to-parental-responsibility.

The guidance referred to is non-statutory but does set out some of the duties on schools that must be complied with. Failure to comply with a duty should first be referred to the school via its complaint procedure. Once the school’s complaint procedure is completed in full, if the parent is dissatisfied with the school’s handling of their complaint, they can contact the department via the customer complaint portal, which can be accessed at: https://customerhelpportal.education.gov.uk/.

The non-statutory guidance, ‘Understanding and dealing with issues relating to parental responsibility’, is currently being updated to reflect changes that came into effect under the School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024. The updated version will be published later this year.

Eligibility for student finance is determined by several criteria, including residency status, the type of course, its location, the student’s previous study history, and whether they already hold a higher education qualification.

Students residing in England who hold settled status and have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands (the Channel Islands and Isle of Man) for the three years preceding the first day of the first academic year of their course will be eligible for student finance, subject to meeting all other eligibility criteria. To qualify, this period of residence must not have been wholly or mainly for the purpose of receiving full-time education.

The government is investing almost £20 billion in the School Rebuilding Programme (SRP) from 2025/26 through to 2034/35, delivering rebuilding projects at over 500 schools across England within the existing programme and expanding the SRP with a further 250 schools to be selected.

The department plans to launch a nomination process early this year to identify schools for the next 250 places. Responsible bodies will be invited to submit schools for assessment at that point. We will publish full details on GOV.UK when the process launches.

Voluntary controlled schools are eligible for consideration under the SRP, alongside other state funded schools and sixth form colleges in England. The responsible body for a voluntary controlled school is the relevant local authority.

The UK and European Commission have reached an agreement in principle for the UK’s association to Erasmus+ in 2027.

The department expects that over 100,000 people could benefit from mobility and partnership opportunities from participation in 2027. Our immediate focus is on realising the benefits of Erasmus+ association in 2027.

The department has funded Adoption England with £8.8 million in the 2025/26 financial year to help develop national approaches for adoption services. This will help ensure the consistency of high quality adoption services across the country. This includes the development of a new framework of support, ‘Becoming a Family’, for the first 12 to 18 months of placement.

Adoption England’s work also involves increasing awareness of trauma informed practice across its workforce and with key partners including schools. We also recently consulted on new standards for social workers, which include recognising and responding to trauma. We will respond to the consultation shortly, and the new standards will underpin a strengthened early career support training offer for newly qualified social workers.

The department has funded Adoption England with £8.8 million in the 2025/26 financial year to help develop national approaches for adoption services. This will help ensure the consistency of high quality adoption services across the country. This includes the development of a new framework of support, ‘Becoming a Family’, for the first 12 to 18 months of placement.

Adoption England’s work also involves increasing awareness of trauma informed practice across its workforce and with key partners including schools. We also recently consulted on new standards for social workers, which include recognising and responding to trauma. We will respond to the consultation shortly, and the new standards will underpin a strengthened early career support training offer for newly qualified social workers.

The department keeps all support funded through the Disabled Students’ Allowance under regular review to ensure that it continues to meet the needs of disabled students. Any future changes will be communicated publicly.

The department understands that some families face challenges with securing education, health and care (EHC) plans in a timely way. We are committed to restoring confidence in the system of support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) so that they all get the opportunities they need to achieve and thrive in their education.

The department publishes annual SEN2 data on EHC plans and assessments, including timeliness. This informs performance monitoring and targeted support. Local authorities performing poorly receive additional oversight and specialist advice.

The department continues to monitor and work closely with local authorities that have issues with EHC plans timeliness. This includes, where needed, providing specialist SEND Adviser support to help identify the barriers to carrying out the EHC plan process in a timely way and to put in place practical plans for recovery.

A new SEND inspection framework launched in January 2023, with all local areas to be inspected by 2027, to improve outcomes for children and young people with SEND.

Since 2014, local authorities are have been required to allocate funding to their local mainstream schools according to a formula that includes factors relating to the likely incidence of special educational needs (SEN) amongst their pupils, and to identify an amount within each school’s overall budget as a guide to what they might need to spend on supporting those pupils, including those with education, health and care plans. Schools are then expected to cover additional costs in respect of SEN pupils up to £6,000 per pupil. For annual costs in excess of £6,000, the local authority should allocate top-up funding from their high needs budgets. The government is providing over £12 billion high needs funding to local authorities in the 2025/26 financial year.

Mainstream school funding is increasing by 2.6% per pupil in the 2026/27 financial year compared to 2025/26. This will support mainstream schools with ongoing costs, including the costs of SEN support. When the Schools White Paper is published later this year, it will set out additional funding for both schools and local authorities to drive forward much needed reform of the SEN and disability system.

The department will set out the full Schools White Paper later in the new year, building on the work we have already done to create a system that is rooted in inclusion, where children receive high quality support early on and can thrive at their local school. Impact assessments will be produced alongside final reform proposals when published in the Schools White Paper.

The department does not hold information on the length of time that children and young people wait for an education, health and care (EHC) needs assessment to be carried out.

The department does publish information on the number of EHC plans that are issued within the statutory 20-week timeframe. The number and percentage of plans issued within this timeframe (excluding cases where exceptions apply) for both Cambridgeshire and England are available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/b46a4968-aafd-4bd6-948a-08de4155ee12.

Information at constituency level is not available.

Information on EHC plans maintained by local authorities, including requests for an EHC needs assessment, the number of assessments carried out, the number where a decision is made to assess, and the number of plans issued within 20 weeks, are included in the annual statistical release. The latest January 2025 statistics were published in June 2025 here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-health-and-care-plans/2025.

The department does not hold information on the length of time that children and young people wait for an education, health and care (EHC) needs assessment to be carried out.

The department does publish information on the number of EHC plans that are issued within the statutory 20-week timeframe. The number and percentage of plans issued within this timeframe (excluding cases where exceptions apply) for both Cambridgeshire and England are available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/b46a4968-aafd-4bd6-948a-08de4155ee12.

Information at constituency level is not available.

Information on EHC plans maintained by local authorities, including requests for an EHC needs assessment, the number of assessments carried out, the number where a decision is made to assess, and the number of plans issued within 20 weeks, are included in the annual statistical release. The latest January 2025 statistics were published in June 2025 here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-health-and-care-plans/2025.

Every parent should be able to trust that their child is safe at school, online and in their relationships. But too often toxic ideas are taking hold early and going unchallenged. In December 2025, this government published a new strategy to tackle violence against women and girls. We want to protect young people and drive forward education on healthy relationships, and we will be investing £11 million to pilot the best interventions in schools over the next three years.

The updated relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) guidance, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education, significantly strengthens content including an emphasis on building healthy relationships skills from the start of primary school, focusing on kindness and respect. Pupils are expected to develop an understanding of the concepts and laws around misogyny, sexual harassment and sexual violence, including recognising sexism and misogyny and how to report abuse.

It emphasises opening conversations with young people about positive conceptions of masculinity and femininity, including how to identify and learn from positive male role models.

Through a whole school approach, positive action should be taken to build a culture where misogynistic attitudes and behaviour are not tolerated, and any occurrences are identified and tackled.

The information is not readily available or held centrally, and could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.

The department is working closely with the scheme administrator to process Remediable Service Statements (RSSs) as quickly and efficiently as possible. Several factors have affected the original delivery timeline, including technical dependencies, regulatory requirements, and coordination with external partners.

The administrator will keep affected members informed of revised timelines through established channels, including My Pension Online and its website. The latest update is available here: https://www.teacherspensions.co.uk/news/public-news/2025/11/timeline-for-sending-out-remediable-service-statements-rss.aspx. As responsibility for this work transitions to the new administrator of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme in Summer 2026, the department is working with Tata Consultancy Services to finalise the timeline for issuing all RSSs. Once the timeline is confirmed, it will be communicated to relevant members.

The department continues to monitor progress and is working closely with the scheme administrator to streamline processes and introduce automation where possible. Any pension adjustments arising from members’ choices will be backdated with interest to ensure members are not financially disadvantaged.

The department is progressing projects that will meet the needs of communities and provide a unique offer for students who would otherwise not have access, without damaging the viability of existing local schools and colleges.

We have written to trusts, local authorities and MPs setting out the position on individual projects as well as offering more detailed feedback.

All projects were evaluated in line with consistent criteria set out in a Written Ministerial Statement in October 2024, including published school capacity data (SCAP24), in line with the department’s longstanding approach to assessing pipeline projects, as well as other data from local authorities, such as plans for future housing developments.

Final decisions on projects where a ‘minded to cancel’ letter was issued will be made once trusts and local authorities have had the opportunity to submit any new evidence. Representations should be made by 30 January 2026.

All new department-delivered schools are designed and constructed to the department’s own school building standards. These standards include ventilation, thermal comfort and air quality and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/employers-requirements-part-b-generic-design-brief.

The standards are reviewed regularly and updated when necessary to meet industry best practice and any relevant legislation. An updated set of standards will be published in early 2026.

The department’s publication, ‘Building Bulletin 101: Guidelines on ventilation, thermal comfort and indoor air quality in schools’ (BB101), provides non-statutory guidance, and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-bulletin-101-ventilation-for-school-buildings.

The department reviews non-statutory guidance regularly and publishes updates only when necessary.

Each school’s responsible body, usually an academy trust or local authority, are responsible for ensuring that their schools comply with Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

This means they must have an up-to-date fire risk assessment, appropriate fire alarms and regular fire drills, to ensure they are as safe as possible and well prepared in the event of a fire.

The department supports schools by providing guidance on estates management and responsibility in the Good Estates Guide for Schools.

All schools are required by law to have a behaviour policy which outlines effective strategies that will encourage good behaviour.

The Behaviour in Schools guidance is clear that any policy must be lawful, proportionate, and reasonable and comply with the school’s duties under the Equality Act 2010 and the Education and Inspections Act 2006.

The report recommends that the federation should consult its communities on its behaviour policy, including how best to reflect the government’s expectations on proportionality, dignity and reasonable adjustments. The department continues to engage with Mossbourne Federation to ensure that it implements any changes needed in response to the review’s findings and those from its own review, led by Anne Whyte KC.

The Behaviour in Schools guidance is kept under regular review and will be updated as necessary.