Department for Education

The department has kept the Disclosure of Death Registration Information (DDRI) check under review with the scheme administrator to ensure that it continues to meet the objectives of both protecting members and the scheme.

The DDRI check was introduced as a proportionate means to ensure that recipients of pension payments from the Teachers’ Pensions Scheme continue to be eligible.

The process allows 28 days for a pensioner member to respond to an enquiry to certify their ongoing entitlement. Where a pension has been paused because confirmation has not been received within that timescale, it is normally reinstated within 10 working days with payment of any arrears. The scheme administrator is currently working on further enhancements, such as issuing additional notifications by alternative communication methods, including by email.

This approach avoids the need to require all recipients to confirm eligibility on an annual basis, and protects them, and taxpayers, from the consequences of any overpayments.

Ultimately, the Teachers’ Pension Scheme Pension Board provides oversight of the effectiveness of all elements of the administration of the scheme.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.

Following the Autumn Budget 2024, the department is providing an increase of £1 billion for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year. Together with additional funding for schools’ increased National Insurance contributions costs announced recently, this brings total high needs funding for children and young people with complex SEND to over £12 billion. Of that total, Suffolk County Council is being allocated over £124 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG), an increase of £10.3 million on the 2024/25 DSG high needs block, calculated using the high needs national funding formula (NFF). This NFF allocation is an 9% increase per head of their 2 to 18 year-old population, on their equivalent 2024/25 NFF allocation.

In addition to the DSG, local authorities will also receive a separate core schools budget grant (CSBG) in the 2025/26 financial year. This CSBG continues the separate grants payable in 2024/25, which are to help special schools and alternative provision with the costs of teachers’ pay and pension increases and other staff pay increases, as well as the additional funding in respect of the increase in employers’ National Insurance contributions. The department plans to publish individual local authorities’ allocations of this funding for 2025/26 in May 2025.

Mainstream schools are funded through the formula set by their local authority. The funding formula is decided by each local authority in consultation with its schools and often uses factors such as low prior attainment and free school meals to give an estimate of the number of children with special educational needs (SEN) a school is likely to have. Local authorities are required to delegate funds to a level that enables schools to meet the additional cost of pupils with SEN up to £6,000 per annum.

When a school can demonstrate that the costs of additional support required for a pupil with SEN exceed £6,000, the local authority should allocate additional funding to cover the excess costs. This may follow an education, health and care (EHC) needs assessment and the creation of an EHC plan, though local authorities have discretion to provide top-up funding to pupils without an EHC plan.

If a local authority issues an EHC plan, it is statutorily required to secure the special educational provision specified in the plan. Disagreements over the provision required and the associated costs should not stand in the way of a child or young person’s education.

The department is clear that we expect commissioning local authorities and all types of schools/colleges to work together so that agreement can be reached on the level of top-up funding required to enable suitable provision to be made for individual pupils and students. More information is available in the GOV.UK guidance ‘High needs funding: 2024 to 2025 operational guide’, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/high-needs-funding-arrangements-2024-to-2025/high-needs-funding-2024-to-2025-operational-guide#top-up-funding.

As the statutory responsible body, the local authority is responsible for the final decision about the level of funding required to secure the necessary provision. In determining the funding level, the local authority should have consulted with the school or college and should ensure their decision is evidence-based and reasonable. However, even where provision is specified in an EHC plan, there is no statutory requirement that a local authority must pay top-up funding at a particular rate requested by a school or college.

These are matters for His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver. I have asked him to write to the hon. Member for Aldridge-Brownhills directly and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

These are matters for His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver. I have asked him to write to the hon. Member for Aldridge-Brownhills directly and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Where a local authority has issued an education, health and care (EHC) plan for a child or young person, they must consult a school or college before naming it in the plan and the school or college can express concerns about being named.

When responding to a local authority on a consultation about being named in an EHC plan, the school can make representations in relation to its total pupil population and its capacity, where it feels that admitting the pupil might have an impact on the efficient education of other pupils already in the school. This is a matter that the local authority would need to carefully consider in reaching its decision about whether to proceed to name the school. If the local authority goes ahead and names it in the plan, then the school or college is under a statutory duty to admit the child or young person.

A school can make a complaint to my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education if it feels that a local authority has not carried out its statutory duties appropriately, such as where the school suspects the local authority did not follow due processes in reaching a decision to name it on an EHC plan. However, whilst that complaint is being resolved, because the school is named in the EHC plan, it must admit the child with immediate effect.

The department knows that many children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) struggle to find a suitable school placement that is close to their home and meets their needs. This government is committed to addressing this by improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special schools cater to those with the most complex needs.

We work with the sector as valued partners to ensure that every child or young person with SEND can access a school placement that meets their needs, including in mainstream where appropriate. In doing so, we want to improve pupil outcomes and experiences and restore parents’ trust.

Education, health and care (EHC) plans should be used to monitor children and young people’s progress towards their outcomes and longer term aspirations. Local authorities have a statutory duty to review EHC plans every 12 months as a minimum.

The local authority should provide a list of children and young people who will require a review of their EHC plan that term to all headteachers and principals of schools, colleges and other institutions attended by children or young people with EHC plans, at least two weeks before the start of each term. This will enable professionals to plan attendance at review meetings and/or provide timely advice or information about the child or young person where necessary.

The department has issued guidance on EHC plan reviews in the special educational needs and disabilities Code of Practice which explains the roles and responsibilities of local authorities and schools in the review process, as well as other relevant professionals.

On 18 March 2025, the department announced its intention to launch a National Centre for Arts and Music Education to promote opportunities for children and young people to pursue their artistic and creative interests in school, including through the government’s network of Music Hubs. Our intention is to launch in September 2026, with a delivery lead appointed through an open procurement. Further details will be released in due course, including on engagement with music education partners.

To support the delivery of music education, the government has committed £79 million per year for the Music Hubs programme, inclusive of the 2024/25 academic year. The 43 Music Hubs partnerships across England offer a range of services, including musical instrument tuition, instrument loaning and whole-class ensemble teaching. To widen access to musical instruments, the government is investing £25 million in capital funding for musical instruments, equipment and technology from the 2024/25 academic year. This funding enables Music Hubs partnerships to better cater to the needs of the children and young people they work with.

The government is also investing £2 million to support the Music Opportunities Pilot over a four year period from the 2024/25 to 2027/28 academic years, backed by a further £3.85 million funding from Arts Council England and Youth Music. This pilot is delivered by Young Sounds UK in 12 areas of the country and aims to help disadvantaged children and young people, as well as those with special educational needs and disabilities, to learn how to play an instrument of their choice or learn to sing to a high standard.

The government believes creative subjects like music, art and drama are important elements of the rounded and enriching education every child deserves.

On 18 March 2025, the department announced its intention to launch a National Centre for Arts and Music Education to promote opportunities for children and young people to pursue their artistic and creative interests in school, including through the government’s network of Music Hubs. Our intention is to launch in September 2026, with a delivery lead appointed through an open procurement. Further details will be released in due course, including on engagement with music education partners.

To support the delivery of music education, the government has committed £79 million per year for the Music Hubs programme, inclusive of the 2024/25 academic year. The 43 Music Hubs partnerships across England offer a range of services, including musical instrument tuition, instrument loaning and whole-class ensemble teaching. To widen access to musical instruments, the government is investing £25 million in capital funding for musical instruments, equipment and technology from the 2024/25 academic year. This funding enables Music Hubs partnerships to better cater to the needs of the children and young people they work with.

The government is also investing £2 million to support the Music Opportunities Pilot over a four year period from the 2024/25 to 2027/28 academic years, backed by a further £3.85 million funding from Arts Council England and Youth Music. This pilot is delivered by Young Sounds UK in 12 areas of the country and aims to help disadvantaged children and young people, as well as those with special educational needs and disabilities, to learn how to play an instrument of their choice or learn to sing to a high standard.

The government believes creative subjects like music, art and drama are important elements of the rounded and enriching education every child deserves.

Schools are required to identify and address the special educational needs (SEN) of the pupils they support and, in the case of mainstream settings, to use their best endeavours to make sure that a child or young person who has SEN gets the support they need. This includes asking local authorities to carry out an education, health and care (EHC) needs assessment, if necessary.

All schools should apply the ‘graduated approach’ that is outlined in the SEND Code of Practice, which means identifying a child’s needs, planning appropriate support, implementing that support and reviewing it regularly to ensure it continues to meet the identified needs. Through this, schools should develop personalised approaches to supporting the unique needs of individual pupils. If necessary, the local authority can be asked to carry out an EHC needs assessment.

In addition, all mainstream schools and maintained academy schools, including free schools, must have a qualified teacher, or the headteacher, designated as the special educational needs coordinator (SENCO).

SENCOs have day-to-day responsibility for the operation of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) policy and co-ordination of specific provision made to support individual pupils with SEND, including those who have EHC plans.

Schools should ensure that the SENCO has sufficient time and resources to carry out these functions. This should include providing SENCOs with sufficient administrative support and time away from teaching to enable them to fulfil their responsibilities in a similar way to other important strategic roles within a school.

I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket to the answer of 31 March 2025 to Question 41687.

The government is fully committed to delivering the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) as set out in the Autumn Budget 2024. From the LLE’s launch in January 2027, the Office for Students (OfS) will regulate all providers offering LLE-funded provision.

The OfS has made clear that they expect to restart work on registrations, degree awarding powers and university title in August 2025, although the changes will remain under review until then. We understand that the OfS will keep providers updated throughout this period about their plans, including confirming application arrangements from August onwards. The government supports the reasons for the temporary pause in order for the OfS to refocus their efforts on provider financial sustainability. As the independent regulator, it is for the OfS to process registrations in the manner they deem most appropriate.

The government will continue to engage closely with the OfS and providers to support timely transition arrangements for the launch of the LLE. The government, together with the OfS, will provide further information on the regulation of providers under the LLE in spring 2025.

The government is fully committed to delivering the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) as set out in the Autumn Budget 2024. From the LLE’s launch in January 2027, the Office for Students (OfS) will regulate all providers offering LLE-funded provision.

The OfS has made clear that they expect to restart work on registrations, degree awarding powers and university title in August 2025, although the changes will remain under review until then. We understand that the OfS will keep providers updated throughout this period about their plans, including confirming application arrangements from August onwards. The government supports the reasons for the temporary pause in order for the OfS to refocus their efforts on provider financial sustainability. As the independent regulator, it is for the OfS to process registrations in the manner they deem most appropriate.

The government will continue to engage closely with the OfS and providers to support timely transition arrangements for the launch of the LLE. The government, together with the OfS, will provide further information on the regulation of providers under the LLE in spring 2025.

The UK supports all Cypriot students, including those in the North, to access UK higher education networks and institutes. In line with the rest of the international community with the sole exception of Turkey, the UK does not recognise the self-declared ‘Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’ as an independent state. Several UN Security Council Resolutions limit links between UK and the north of Cyprus.

The department aims to deliver high quality advice and support for every potential teacher, enabling them to successfully apply for initial teacher training (ITT) through our Get Into Teaching service and our modernised in-house digital recruitment services. The total running costs of these services for the 2024/25 financial year are £36.5 million. This includes a range of programmes such as the Get Into Teaching Information service, Apply for Teacher Training service and the Teaching Internships programme.

Decisions about which languages to offer at GCSE in England are taken by the four independent awarding organisations, AQA, OCR, Pearson Edexcel and WJEC, rather than by central government. Awarding organisations are free to produce a GCSE in any modern language, including Ukrainian. This decision would be informed by several factors, including the level of demand from schools and the proportion of the population in the UK speaking the language.

The government stands steadfast behind the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian government. The department is proud to support children and families from Ukraine during their transition to a new life and to do our part to support the Ukrainian people. The department launched the UK-Ukraine School Partnerships Programme in January, which supports UK-based Ukrainian students’ cultural ties to Ukraine and builds cross-cultural understanding among our pupils.

The department does not collect information centrally on families that have experienced adoptions that break down.

The department publishes information on whether children starting to be looked after in any given year were known to have been previously adopted. The latest information available relates to the year ending 31 March 2024 and is in the table ‘CLA starting during the year by characteristics – National’ of the ‘Children looked after in England’ statistical release which can be found at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/92f77d0d-7e95-45a1-f1db-08dd5cc661f7. This includes information on any known previous permanence arrangement for a child starting to be looked after.

Information for the year ending 31 March 2025 will be published in autumn 2025.

Effective use of technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) can power the future of learning by improving access to education and outcomes, reducing staff workload and running operations more efficiently.

Important developments in AI education policy in England include our updated policy paper on the use of generative AI in education, which sets out this government’s core messages on AI use in education. The paper reinforces key messages on safety and provides updated information on intellectual property and data protection considerations as well as regulator approaches.

In January 2025, to ensure the safety of our children, the department announced that leading global tech firms had jointly committed to making AI tools for education safer by design. Google, Microsoft, Adobe and Amazon Web Services are amongst the firms who have helped develop a set of expectations AI tools should meet to be considered safe for classroom use.

To support a clear ask from teachers and leaders, the department is developing online resources and guidance to help teachers and leaders use AI safely in their setting. This will be published in spring.

The department will also be appointing a task and finish group to advise on digital, AI and technology in order to increase the future pipeline of talent with digital and AI specific skills and prepare children and young people to be ready for an AI and tech-enabled world, as well as making the most of opportunities to use AI and educational technology (EdTech) to drive better teaching and learning.

In addition to this work with schools and colleges, the government is committed to ensuring that everyone has the skills, access, support and confidence to engage in our modern digital society and economy, whatever their circumstances. That is why we are working closely with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), who recently published an action plan on digital inclusion. The full publication can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/digital-inclusion-action-plan-first-steps/digital-inclusion-action-plan-first-steps.

This government is determined to tackle the generational challenge of school absence. Missing school regularly is harmful to a child’s attainment, safety and physical and mental health, which limits their opportunity to succeed. There is evidence that more students are attending school this year compared to last, thanks to the sector’s efforts, although 1.6 million children remain persistently absent, missing 10% or more of lessons.

The department has a national approach to supporting all schools to tackle absence, including those in the South Suffolk constituency. Central to this approach is stronger expectations of local authorities and schools, as set out in the ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ guidance which was made statutory on 19 August 2024 and can be accessed here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66bf300da44f1c4c23e5bd1b/Working_together_to_improve_school_attendance_-_August_2024.pdf. The guidance promotes a 'support first' approach, encouraging schools, trusts and local authorities to work with families in addressing attendance barriers.

Every state school in England should now be sharing their daily attendance register data with the department, local authorities and trusts. These bodies can access this data through a secure, interactive dashboard which is maintained by the department, allowing them to target attendance interventions more effectively.

The department recognises the importance of creating opportunities within the sector to share existing best practice on how to improve attendance. This is why the government set up a network of 31 attendance hubs, who have offered support to 2,000 schools and shared their strategies and resources for improving attendance.

In addition to this work, the department is improving the existing evidence on which interventions work to improve attendance. Over £17 million is being invested across two mentoring projects that will support at least 12,000 pupils in 15 areas. These programmes will be evaluated and the effective practice shared with schools and local authorities nationally.

The department recently announced that new regional improvement for standards and excellence (RISE) teams will support all state schools by facilitating networking, sharing best practice across areas, and empowering schools to better access support and learn from one another. Improving school attendance is one of four national priorities for RISE teams.

School attendance is also supported by broader investments, such as funded breakfast clubs across all primary schools to ensure children start their day ready to learn.

The department will provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every school, new Young Futures hubs, including access to mental health support workers, and an additional 8,500 new mental health staff to treat children and adults.

Schools can also allocate pupil premium funding, which has now increased to over £2.9 billion for the 2024/25 financial year, to support pupils with identified needs to attend school regularly.

​As part of my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Transformation Fund announced in the Spring Statement and building on the £15 million investment in the Autumn Budget 2024, the department will provide an additional £25 million over two years, beginning in the 2026/27 and 2027/28 financial years, for foster care as part of Children’s Social Care Reform. We expect this funding to help recruit an additional 400 fostering families, provide better peer to peer support for foster carers, and ensure more children in care have stability through ensuring a foster care placement is available to them when needed.

​Currently, there are ten fostering regional programmes active across England, collaborating with 64% of all local authorities to recruit, retain and support foster carers. The department plans to move towards full national roll-out in the next financial year. This supports retention and support for carers through the recruitment of short break foster carers, who provide high quality care for children while their usual foster carers take a break.

This programme also includes an expansion of ‘The Mockingbird Family Model’, an innovative evidence-based approach involving six to ten families grouped into a constellation around a hub home carer. Mockingbird includes peer support, respite and training. It was found to substantially improve retention by an independent evaluation, which showed that participating households were 82% less likely to deregister than households who did not participate.

The department also funds Fosterline, a free independent source of advice and support to current and prospective carers.

To improve retention, the department is also acting on areas that matter to foster carers. The allegations process is a key contributor to high levels of foster carer deregistration, and the department is committed to improving practice and guidance in this area. The department has also begun conversations with the sector about proposed changes to delegated authority, ensuring that all foster carers have delegated authority by default in relation to day-to-day parenting of the child in their care.

Financial support plays a role in retaining and supporting foster carers. The National Minimum Allowance (NMA) was introduced by the Labour government in 2007 and has kept pace with inflation over time. Current levels of the NMA have been uplifted by 3.55% for the 2025/2026 financial year and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/support-for-foster-parents/help-with-the-cost-of-fostering.

Finally, we encourage fostering services to adopt the Fostering Network’s ‘Foster Carer Charter’, which sets out clear principles of what support should be available to foster carers.

Regarding ‘unsuccessful’ placements, the department publishes statistics for children looked after in England only, not Wales. Statistics for other countries in the UK are the responsibility of the devolved administrations.

The department does not collect information on whether placements for children looked after were successful or not. These placements can end for a wide range of reasons and there is no specific category recorded as an ‘unsuccessful placement’.

The latest information on the main reason for placement changes during the 2023/24 reporting year is published in the ‘Children looked after in England’ statistical release at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/c3ae926d-83e8-4ec9-3213-08dd6b9d125f.

​As part of my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Transformation Fund announced in the Spring Statement and building on the £15 million investment in the Autumn Budget 2024, the department will provide an additional £25 million over two years, beginning in the 2026/27 and 2027/28 financial years, for foster care as part of Children’s Social Care Reform. We expect this funding to help recruit an additional 400 fostering families, provide better peer to peer support for foster carers, and ensure more children in care have stability through ensuring a foster care placement is available to them when needed.

​Currently, there are ten fostering regional programmes active across England, collaborating with 64% of all local authorities to recruit, retain and support foster carers. The department plans to move towards full national roll-out in the next financial year. This supports retention and support for carers through the recruitment of short break foster carers, who provide high quality care for children while their usual foster carers take a break.

This programme also includes an expansion of ‘The Mockingbird Family Model’, an innovative evidence-based approach involving six to ten families grouped into a constellation around a hub home carer. Mockingbird includes peer support, respite and training. It was found to substantially improve retention by an independent evaluation, which showed that participating households were 82% less likely to deregister than households who did not participate.

The department also funds Fosterline, a free independent source of advice and support to current and prospective carers.

To improve retention, the department is also acting on areas that matter to foster carers. The allegations process is a key contributor to high levels of foster carer deregistration, and the department is committed to improving practice and guidance in this area. The department has also begun conversations with the sector about proposed changes to delegated authority, ensuring that all foster carers have delegated authority by default in relation to day-to-day parenting of the child in their care.

Financial support plays a role in retaining and supporting foster carers. The National Minimum Allowance (NMA) was introduced by the Labour government in 2007 and has kept pace with inflation over time. Current levels of the NMA have been uplifted by 3.55% for the 2025/2026 financial year and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/support-for-foster-parents/help-with-the-cost-of-fostering.

Finally, we encourage fostering services to adopt the Fostering Network’s ‘Foster Carer Charter’, which sets out clear principles of what support should be available to foster carers.

Regarding ‘unsuccessful’ placements, the department publishes statistics for children looked after in England only, not Wales. Statistics for other countries in the UK are the responsibility of the devolved administrations.

The department does not collect information on whether placements for children looked after were successful or not. These placements can end for a wide range of reasons and there is no specific category recorded as an ‘unsuccessful placement’.

The latest information on the main reason for placement changes during the 2023/24 reporting year is published in the ‘Children looked after in England’ statistical release at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/c3ae926d-83e8-4ec9-3213-08dd6b9d125f.

​As part of my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Transformation Fund announced in the Spring Statement and building on the £15 million investment in the Autumn Budget 2024, the department will provide an additional £25 million over two years, beginning in the 2026/27 and 2027/28 financial years, for foster care as part of Children’s Social Care Reform. We expect this funding to help recruit an additional 400 fostering families, provide better peer to peer support for foster carers, and ensure more children in care have stability through ensuring a foster care placement is available to them when needed.

​Currently, there are ten fostering regional programmes active across England, collaborating with 64% of all local authorities to recruit, retain and support foster carers. The department plans to move towards full national roll-out in the next financial year. This supports retention and support for carers through the recruitment of short break foster carers, who provide high quality care for children while their usual foster carers take a break.

This programme also includes an expansion of ‘The Mockingbird Family Model’, an innovative evidence-based approach involving six to ten families grouped into a constellation around a hub home carer. Mockingbird includes peer support, respite and training. It was found to substantially improve retention by an independent evaluation, which showed that participating households were 82% less likely to deregister than households who did not participate.

The department also funds Fosterline, a free independent source of advice and support to current and prospective carers.

To improve retention, the department is also acting on areas that matter to foster carers. The allegations process is a key contributor to high levels of foster carer deregistration, and the department is committed to improving practice and guidance in this area. The department has also begun conversations with the sector about proposed changes to delegated authority, ensuring that all foster carers have delegated authority by default in relation to day-to-day parenting of the child in their care.

Financial support plays a role in retaining and supporting foster carers. The National Minimum Allowance (NMA) was introduced by the Labour government in 2007 and has kept pace with inflation over time. Current levels of the NMA have been uplifted by 3.55% for the 2025/2026 financial year and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/support-for-foster-parents/help-with-the-cost-of-fostering.

Finally, we encourage fostering services to adopt the Fostering Network’s ‘Foster Carer Charter’, which sets out clear principles of what support should be available to foster carers.

Regarding ‘unsuccessful’ placements, the department publishes statistics for children looked after in England only, not Wales. Statistics for other countries in the UK are the responsibility of the devolved administrations.

The department does not collect information on whether placements for children looked after were successful or not. These placements can end for a wide range of reasons and there is no specific category recorded as an ‘unsuccessful placement’.

The latest information on the main reason for placement changes during the 2023/24 reporting year is published in the ‘Children looked after in England’ statistical release at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/c3ae926d-83e8-4ec9-3213-08dd6b9d125f.

The total cost incurred by the department in providing translation services for the period 01/04/2024 to 25/03/2025 is £25,286.79. This is split between £24,820.60 for British sign language and braille support and £318.57 for other translation services.

The department has provided funding of £9 million in this financial year to Adoption England to improve adoption services in Regional Adoption Agencies (RAAs).

This includes £3 million of funding to develop more Centres of Excellence as multidisciplinary teams across the country to provide specialist and therapeutic support to families and the development of national standards for adoption support. It also includes a new framework for an early support core offer, ‘Becoming a Family’, for the first twelve to eighteen months of placement and an Adoption Support Plan to guide assessments of a family’s support needs. All are designed to improve support and reduce the risk of an adoption breakdown.

Adoption England are also planning work to develop a national protocol on how children’s services, front door services and adoption support teams work together to better support families at risk of adoption disruption.

Adoption England and RAAs work closely with adopters on all of their projects to improve adoption support services. This includes considering the latest evidence of why adoption disruptions have occurred in their agencies and across the country.

Since its inception in 2015, the department has provided over £400 million through the adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF) to provide therapeutic interventions for around 52,700 children who have left care under an adoption, special guardianship or child arrangements order. The interventions are designed to help children and their families to deal with their trauma and attachment difficulties and have been independently assessed to have helped prevent adoption breakdowns. ASGSF funding for the next financial year is currently subject to business planning discussions and an announcement will be made shortly.

The department holds no records of any complaints about the conduct or behaviour of any of its special advisors.

The department has diversity, equality and inclusion targets for Senior Civil Servants from ethnic minority backgrounds (13%) and staff with a disability (12%) only.

The median age of computers issued to officials is 3 years and 2 months.

The government has policies in place to support schools and local authorities to fulfil their duty to give due regard to the Armed Forces Covenant. This includes in specific areas of education provision, including school admissions.

The school admissions code already contains a number of measures to support service children in relation to school admissions.

These measures include requiring admission authorities to allocate school places in advance of a service family moving into the area, where a place is available, provided the application is accompanied by an official letter that declares a re-location date. Children of UK service personnel can also be admitted as exceptions to the infant class size limit if they move outside the normal admission round.

Furthermore, admission authorities are able to give priority in their oversubscription criteria to children in receipt of the Service Pupil Premium, and publicly funded boarding schools must give service children who qualify for Ministry of Defence financial assistance with the cost of boarding fees priority after looked after and previously looked after children.

Admission authorities are already able to give priority to siblings in their admissions criteria where they feel that is appropriate to their local circumstances, although they are not required to do so.

Through the Children’s Wellbeing and School Bill, this government is taking further steps to ensure a more robust safety net for children who struggle to secure a school place via the usual in-year admissions processes, by giving local authorities the levers they need to secure places for children more quickly and efficiently, when the usual in-year admissions processes fall short.

The government has policies in place to support schools and local authorities to fulfil their duty to give due regard to the Armed Forces Covenant. This includes in specific areas of education provision, including school admissions.

The school admissions code already contains a number of measures to support service children in relation to school admissions.

These measures include requiring admission authorities to allocate school places in advance of a service family moving into the area, where a place is available, provided the application is accompanied by an official letter that declares a re-location date. Children of UK service personnel can also be admitted as exceptions to the infant class size limit if they move outside the normal admission round.

Furthermore, admission authorities are able to give priority in their oversubscription criteria to children in receipt of the Service Pupil Premium, and publicly funded boarding schools must give service children who qualify for Ministry of Defence financial assistance with the cost of boarding fees priority after looked after and previously looked after children.

Admission authorities are already able to give priority to siblings in their admissions criteria where they feel that is appropriate to their local circumstances, although they are not required to do so.

Through the Children’s Wellbeing and School Bill, this government is taking further steps to ensure a more robust safety net for children who struggle to secure a school place via the usual in-year admissions processes, by giving local authorities the levers they need to secure places for children more quickly and efficiently, when the usual in-year admissions processes fall short.

The government has a robust safeguarding framework in place in the form of the ‘Keeping children safe in education’ (KCSIE) statutory guidance, which all schools and colleges must have regard to when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. The KCSIE guidance can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2.

This guidance clearly sets out the requirements regarding safer recruitment checks, including Disclosure and Barring Service checks, that schools and colleges should undertake for all staff, including external staff, and visitors, to ensure appropriate safeguarding measures are in place.

Employers must assess whether a conviction deems an individual to be suitable for a role, taking into account the nature of the offence, its relevance to the role and any safeguarding risks.

However, KCSIE stresses the importance of creating a culture of safer recruitment, ensuring that schools and colleges have robust processes and policies in place to ensure people who might pose a risk to children are not employed in education.

Teachers’ Pensions employs a wide range of communication methods to contact members of the scheme, including via member portal, website, telephone contact centre, webchat, text messaging, post, email and social media platforms.

The department regularly reviews contractual performance via an established management process to ensure the best possible service is provided to members of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme.

On 18 March, the department announced our intention to launch a new National Centre for Arts and Music Education. A key part of the National Centre’s role will be helping schools maximise the opportunities available with and through the cultural sector, through partnerships and relationships, which both schools and cultural providers tell us is needed.

The department’s intention is to launch the National Centre in September 2026, with a delivery lead appointed through an open procurement. Further details will be released in due course.

The creative industries grew by 35.4% between 2020 and 2023, which is approximately 1.5 times the 22.3% growth rate that the UK economy experienced during the equivalent period. In 2023, the creative industries contributed over £124 billion to the economy, accounting for approximately 5.2% of the UK’s total gross value added. By widening access to a high quality arts education, the National Centre will not only enrich our children’s lives, but also support a globally respected creative economy by opening up and encouraging career paths to a new generation of musicians, artists, film-makers and creatives.

In addition to the National Centre, the department announced the intention to develop an Enrichment Framework to support schools to offer pupils high quality creative and other extracurricular activities. We will work closely on this with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, in collaboration with a panel of experts. We have committed to publishing the new Enrichment Framework by the end of 2025. Further details will be released in due course.

The government has committed £79 million per year funding for the Music Hubs programme over the last three academic years, from 2022/23 to 2024/25, and a total of £25 million capital funding for musical instruments from academic year 2024/25. Future funding for the Music Hubs programme and National Centre is subject to the ongoing spending review.

On 18 March, the department announced our intention to launch a new National Centre for Arts and Music Education. A key part of the National Centre’s role will be helping schools maximise the opportunities available with and through the cultural sector, through partnerships and relationships, which both schools and cultural providers tell us is needed.

The department’s intention is to launch the National Centre in September 2026, with a delivery lead appointed through an open procurement. Further details will be released in due course.

The creative industries grew by 35.4% between 2020 and 2023, which is approximately 1.5 times the 22.3% growth rate that the UK economy experienced during the equivalent period. In 2023, the creative industries contributed over £124 billion to the economy, accounting for approximately 5.2% of the UK’s total gross value added. By widening access to a high quality arts education, the National Centre will not only enrich our children’s lives, but also support a globally respected creative economy by opening up and encouraging career paths to a new generation of musicians, artists, film-makers and creatives.

In addition to the National Centre, the department announced the intention to develop an Enrichment Framework to support schools to offer pupils high quality creative and other extracurricular activities. We will work closely on this with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, in collaboration with a panel of experts. We have committed to publishing the new Enrichment Framework by the end of 2025. Further details will be released in due course.

The government has committed £79 million per year funding for the Music Hubs programme over the last three academic years, from 2022/23 to 2024/25, and a total of £25 million capital funding for musical instruments from academic year 2024/25. Future funding for the Music Hubs programme and National Centre is subject to the ongoing spending review.

On 18 March, the department announced our intention to launch a new National Centre for Arts and Music Education. A key part of the National Centre’s role will be helping schools maximise the opportunities available with and through the cultural sector, through partnerships and relationships, which both schools and cultural providers tell us is needed.

The department’s intention is to launch the National Centre in September 2026, with a delivery lead appointed through an open procurement. Further details will be released in due course.

The creative industries grew by 35.4% between 2020 and 2023, which is approximately 1.5 times the 22.3% growth rate that the UK economy experienced during the equivalent period. In 2023, the creative industries contributed over £124 billion to the economy, accounting for approximately 5.2% of the UK’s total gross value added. By widening access to a high quality arts education, the National Centre will not only enrich our children’s lives, but also support a globally respected creative economy by opening up and encouraging career paths to a new generation of musicians, artists, film-makers and creatives.

In addition to the National Centre, the department announced the intention to develop an Enrichment Framework to support schools to offer pupils high quality creative and other extracurricular activities. We will work closely on this with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, in collaboration with a panel of experts. We have committed to publishing the new Enrichment Framework by the end of 2025. Further details will be released in due course.

The government has committed £79 million per year funding for the Music Hubs programme over the last three academic years, from 2022/23 to 2024/25, and a total of £25 million capital funding for musical instruments from academic year 2024/25. Future funding for the Music Hubs programme and National Centre is subject to the ongoing spending review.

On 18 March, the department announced our intention to launch a new National Centre for Arts and Music Education. A key part of the National Centre’s role will be helping schools maximise the opportunities available with and through the cultural sector, through partnerships and relationships, which both schools and cultural providers tell us is needed.

The department’s intention is to launch the National Centre in September 2026, with a delivery lead appointed through an open procurement. Further details will be released in due course.

The creative industries grew by 35.4% between 2020 and 2023, which is approximately 1.5 times the 22.3% growth rate that the UK economy experienced during the equivalent period. In 2023, the creative industries contributed over £124 billion to the economy, accounting for approximately 5.2% of the UK’s total gross value added. By widening access to a high quality arts education, the National Centre will not only enrich our children’s lives, but also support a globally respected creative economy by opening up and encouraging career paths to a new generation of musicians, artists, film-makers and creatives.

In addition to the National Centre, the department announced the intention to develop an Enrichment Framework to support schools to offer pupils high quality creative and other extracurricular activities. We will work closely on this with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, in collaboration with a panel of experts. We have committed to publishing the new Enrichment Framework by the end of 2025. Further details will be released in due course.

The government has committed £79 million per year funding for the Music Hubs programme over the last three academic years, from 2022/23 to 2024/25, and a total of £25 million capital funding for musical instruments from academic year 2024/25. Future funding for the Music Hubs programme and National Centre is subject to the ongoing spending review.

For the 2024/25 academic year, the department adjusted the Music and Dance Scheme bursary contribution for families with a relevant income below £45,000 to account for the VAT introduction from January 2025. This methodology will be reviewed for future years and details will be set out in due course.

For the 2024/25 academic year, the department adjusted the Music and Dance Scheme bursary contribution for families with a relevant income below £45,000 to account for the VAT introduction from January 2025. This methodology will be reviewed for future years and details will be set out in due course.

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 government supports the teaching of Holocaust education in schools and colleges by funding teachers’ professional development in this subject through University College London’s Centre for Holocaust Education and the Holocaust Educational Trust’s ‘Lessons from Auschwitz’ project, which gives students aged 16 to 18 the opportunity to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau.

In addition, a further £2 million funding for Holocaust remembrance and education was committed at the Autumn Budget 2024. This will be used to support the ambition set by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister for all students to have the opportunity to hear a recorded survivor testimony. The department is currently exploring how it can support schools to fulfil this ambition.

I refer the hon. Member for Isle of Wight East to the answer of 28 March 2025 to Question 40354.

The department is committed to improving support for all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including those with dyslexia and other neurodiverse conditions. As part of this, the department is considering evidence on international best practice in its policymaking on special educational needs.

We are providing £1 billion more for high needs budgets in the 2025/26 financial year, bringing total high needs funding to £11.9 billion. This funding will help local authorities and schools with the increasing costs of supporting children and young people with complex SEND.

The Core Content Framework and the Early Career Framework, for trainee and Early Career Teachers (ECTs) respectively, cover the first three years or more at the start of a teacher’s career. They set out the core body of knowledge, skills and behaviours that define great teaching, and from September 2025 will be superseded by the combined Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework (ITTECF). This sets out a minimum entitlement to training and must be used by providers of initial teacher training and those delivering training to ECTs to create their curricula. The ITTECF contains significantly more content related to adaptive teaching and supporting pupils with SEND.

Measures have also been introduced to support the effective teaching of reading, including for those at risk of falling behind. This includes the English Hubs programme, the publication of the reading framework, and an updated list of high quality systematic synthetic phonics programmes for schools. Surrey Heath’s nearest English Hub is Wandle English Hub. Further information is available here: https://englishhubs.net/english_hubs/wandle-english-hub/.

The English Hubs programme is dedicated to improving the teaching of reading, with a focus on supporting children making the slowest progress in reading. As part of the continuous professional development provided by the English Hubs, the Reading Ambition for All programme has been launched to improve outcomes for children who need additional support with reading, including those with SEND.

The department is committed to improving support for all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including those with dyslexia and other neurodiverse conditions. As part of this, the department is considering evidence on international best practice in its policymaking on special educational needs.

We are providing £1 billion more for high needs budgets in the 2025/26 financial year, bringing total high needs funding to £11.9 billion. This funding will help local authorities and schools with the increasing costs of supporting children and young people with complex SEND.

The Core Content Framework and the Early Career Framework, for trainee and Early Career Teachers (ECTs) respectively, cover the first three years or more at the start of a teacher’s career. They set out the core body of knowledge, skills and behaviours that define great teaching, and from September 2025 will be superseded by the combined Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework (ITTECF). This sets out a minimum entitlement to training and must be used by providers of initial teacher training and those delivering training to ECTs to create their curricula. The ITTECF contains significantly more content related to adaptive teaching and supporting pupils with SEND.

Measures have also been introduced to support the effective teaching of reading, including for those at risk of falling behind. This includes the English Hubs programme, the publication of the reading framework, and an updated list of high quality systematic synthetic phonics programmes for schools. Surrey Heath’s nearest English Hub is Wandle English Hub. Further information is available here: https://englishhubs.net/english_hubs/wandle-english-hub/.

The English Hubs programme is dedicated to improving the teaching of reading, with a focus on supporting children making the slowest progress in reading. As part of the continuous professional development provided by the English Hubs, the Reading Ambition for All programme has been launched to improve outcomes for children who need additional support with reading, including those with SEND.

The Music and Dance Scheme grant funding of both private schools and Centres for Advanced Training relates to financing places via means-tested bursaries only and is not intended as direct funding to meet wider employment costs.

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The government has pledged to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) in the next decade. Education has a crucial role to play in tackling harmful behaviour and helping children and young people to develop empathy, boundaries and respect for difference.

Through compulsory relationships education, all pupils should already learn how to form positive and respectful relationships and develop an understanding of the concepts and laws around sexual harassment and sexual violence. The existing Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) statutory guidance emphasises that schools should be alive to issues such as everyday sexism, misogyny, homophobia and gender stereotypes, and take positive action to build a culture where these are not tolerated. It states that any occurrences should be identified and tackled. The guidance is clear that schools should provide pupils with the knowledge they need to recognise and report abuse, including emotional, physical and sexual abuse.

​​The department is currently reviewing the statutory RSHE curriculum for primary and secondary pupils, and as part of this review we are looking at how to ensure that relationships education effectively equips pupils to form healthy and respectful relationships. We are analysing consultation responses, talking to stakeholders and considering relevant evidence to determine what curriculum changes might be needed to complement our wider actions to tackle misogyny and VAWG.

The information held on the number of complaints is provided in the table below.

596,000 members of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme require Remediable Service Statements (RSSs), setting out member choices as part of the Transitional Protection remedy, for the age discrimination that was identified as part of the public service pension scheme reforms implemented under the previous government in 2015. Approximately 532,000 have been issued by the end of March 2025.

Departmental officials continue to work closely with the scheme administrator on plans to issue the remaining RSSs, as soon as is practical.

Where RSSs are taking longer to issue, affected members can be assured that any difference to pension in payment as a result of their remedy period choice is backdated to when the pension began, with interest applied.