Department for Education

On 12 June, the department launched a public consultation on proposed subject content for a new natural history GCSE. The consultation is open from 12 June to 4 September, and we will consider feedback carefully before finalising the subject content.

It is for schools to choose the qualifications they offer at key stage 4, and for pupils to choose the qualifications they take. We have worked with stakeholders to develop content which is high-quality, rigorous, and which represents a worthwhile course of study. As the GCSE is finalised, the department will consider the delivery of the GCSE.

It is for schools to employ the best qualified teachers for any particular posts, taking into account relevant skills and experience as well as formal training and qualifications. As with other GCSEs, we will not set additional requirements for natural history teaching.

On 12 June, the department launched a public consultation on proposed subject content for a new natural history GCSE. The consultation is open from 12 June to 4 September, and we will consider feedback carefully before finalising the subject content.

It is for schools to choose the qualifications they offer at key stage 4, and for pupils to choose the qualifications they take. We have worked with stakeholders to develop content which is high-quality, rigorous, and which represents a worthwhile course of study. As the GCSE is finalised, the department will consider the delivery of the GCSE.

It is for schools to employ the best qualified teachers for any particular posts, taking into account relevant skills and experience as well as formal training and qualifications. As with other GCSEs, we will not set additional requirements for natural history teaching.

The department is not required to complete a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) because personal data will be processed locally. Should this change, the department will conduct and publish a DPIA.

To date, pilot data has been processed locally. The next stage of piloting is under development and individual organisations’ responsibilities are still being determined.

Using the NHS number as the consistent identifier is separate from any health-related information or datasets. From piloting to date, improving connectivity enabled significant improvements in accuracy of records as well as easier location and retrieval of key information relevant to safeguarding children so reducing risk of falling through cracks between public services.

Responsibility for data governance of any data linkage initiative sits with the relevant data controllers. There are many instances of data linkage in place to support safeguarding and welfare of children. In the case of the consistent identifier project, the department, the Department of Health and Social Care, and the NSHSHS Executive are working closely together to ensure that any use of the NHS Number during pilot activity has appropriate governance in place.

Palantir or subsidiaries are not currently involved in work to pilot the Consistent Identifier. Any future organisation which wishes to connect and store the Consistent Identifier will have to satisfy the strict information governance criteria associated with storing and processing that number.

The department is not required to complete a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) because personal data will be processed locally. Should this change, the department will conduct and publish a DPIA.

To date, pilot data has been processed locally. The next stage of piloting is under development and individual organisations’ responsibilities are still being determined.

Using the NHS number as the consistent identifier is separate from any health-related information or datasets. From piloting to date, improving connectivity enabled significant improvements in accuracy of records as well as easier location and retrieval of key information relevant to safeguarding children so reducing risk of falling through cracks between public services.

Responsibility for data governance of any data linkage initiative sits with the relevant data controllers. There are many instances of data linkage in place to support safeguarding and welfare of children. In the case of the consistent identifier project, the department, the Department of Health and Social Care, and the NSHSHS Executive are working closely together to ensure that any use of the NHS Number during pilot activity has appropriate governance in place.

Palantir or subsidiaries are not currently involved in work to pilot the Consistent Identifier. Any future organisation which wishes to connect and store the Consistent Identifier will have to satisfy the strict information governance criteria associated with storing and processing that number.

The department is not required to complete a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) because personal data will be processed locally. Should this change, the department will conduct and publish a DPIA.

To date, pilot data has been processed locally. The next stage of piloting is under development and individual organisations’ responsibilities are still being determined.

Using the NHS number as the consistent identifier is separate from any health-related information or datasets. From piloting to date, improving connectivity enabled significant improvements in accuracy of records as well as easier location and retrieval of key information relevant to safeguarding children so reducing risk of falling through cracks between public services.

Responsibility for data governance of any data linkage initiative sits with the relevant data controllers. There are many instances of data linkage in place to support safeguarding and welfare of children. In the case of the consistent identifier project, the department, the Department of Health and Social Care, and the NSHSHS Executive are working closely together to ensure that any use of the NHS Number during pilot activity has appropriate governance in place.

Palantir or subsidiaries are not currently involved in work to pilot the Consistent Identifier. Any future organisation which wishes to connect and store the Consistent Identifier will have to satisfy the strict information governance criteria associated with storing and processing that number.

The department is not required to complete a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) because personal data will be processed locally. Should this change, the department will conduct and publish a DPIA.

To date, pilot data has been processed locally. The next stage of piloting is under development and individual organisations’ responsibilities are still being determined.

Using the NHS number as the consistent identifier is separate from any health-related information or datasets. From piloting to date, improving connectivity enabled significant improvements in accuracy of records as well as easier location and retrieval of key information relevant to safeguarding children so reducing risk of falling through cracks between public services.

Responsibility for data governance of any data linkage initiative sits with the relevant data controllers. There are many instances of data linkage in place to support safeguarding and welfare of children. In the case of the consistent identifier project, the department, the Department of Health and Social Care, and the NSHSHS Executive are working closely together to ensure that any use of the NHS Number during pilot activity has appropriate governance in place.

Palantir or subsidiaries are not currently involved in work to pilot the Consistent Identifier. Any future organisation which wishes to connect and store the Consistent Identifier will have to satisfy the strict information governance criteria associated with storing and processing that number.

The department is not required to complete a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) because personal data will be processed locally. Should this change, the department will conduct and publish a DPIA.

To date, pilot data has been processed locally. The next stage of piloting is under development and individual organisations’ responsibilities are still being determined.

Using the NHS number as the consistent identifier is separate from any health-related information or datasets. From piloting to date, improving connectivity enabled significant improvements in accuracy of records as well as easier location and retrieval of key information relevant to safeguarding children so reducing risk of falling through cracks between public services.

Responsibility for data governance of any data linkage initiative sits with the relevant data controllers. There are many instances of data linkage in place to support safeguarding and welfare of children. In the case of the consistent identifier project, the department, the Department of Health and Social Care, and the NSHSHS Executive are working closely together to ensure that any use of the NHS Number during pilot activity has appropriate governance in place.

Palantir or subsidiaries are not currently involved in work to pilot the Consistent Identifier. Any future organisation which wishes to connect and store the Consistent Identifier will have to satisfy the strict information governance criteria associated with storing and processing that number.

Access to high-quality information is essential for applicants to make confident and well-informed decisions about what and where to study.

The department is working with the Office for Students (OfS), UCAS, and sector partners to improve the quality and accessibility of information on graduate employment rates, earnings, and the nature of graduate work available to prospective students. This includes improving the prominence of Discover Uni, which allows applicants to compare outcomes across providers.

Higher education providers are required under the OfS regulatory framework to give due regard to Competition and Markets Authority guidance on consumer protection. This includes providing accurate information to prospective students about course outcomes and destinations before any offer is accepted. The OfS is currently consulting on ways to strengthen this protection.

The terms of an Erasmus+ grant are set out in a Grant Agreement. An example of a Model Grant Agreement is available at: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/common/agr-contr/ls-mga_en.pdf.

The conditions and procedures for a grant reduction are set out at Article 28, which notes that a reduction can be applied at beneficiary termination, final payment or afterwards, and that the amount of the reduction will be calculated for each beneficiary concerned and proportionate to the seriousness and the duration of the errors, irregularities or fraud or breach of obligations, by applying an individual reduction rate to their accepted EU contribution.

As of 21 June 2026, there were 4,900 (to the nearest hundred) Plan 2 student loan borrowers with a positive balance registered with the Student Loans Company (SLC) whose recorded postcodes fall within the South Holland and The Deepings constituency. This may include borrowers who were resident in the constituency at the point of application (including at parental addresses) and who have not subsequently updated their address with the SLC.

In the Erasmus+ programme, direct actions are implemented directly by the European Commission, usually through its executive agency, the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA).

The majority of funding is distributed through indirect actions delegated by the European Commission to National Agencies in participating countries, which brings Erasmus+ as close as possible to its beneficiaries and to adapt to the diversity of national education, training and youth systems.

Each of these granting authorities can choose to apply proportionate financial corrections in the instance of errors, irregularities or fraud or breach of obligations under the Model Grant Agreement. Further information is available at: https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/programme-guide/part-a/priorities-of-the-erasmus-programme/implements.

Our higher education (HE) sector is world leading, and most graduates are significantly better off as a result of undertaking HE. However, analysis recently published by the Institute for Fiscal Studies highlights variation in outcomes, with negative returns concentrated in certain subjects.

We want to ensure all students receive good value from their studies. That is why we will legislate to limit the growth of some courses that lead to poor earnings returns at some providers, when parliamentary time allows.

This will not be a blanket cap on overall numbers, but a focused measure to help the sector prioritise provision which delivers good value for students and the taxpayer. We will engage a wide range of stakeholders to inform the development of this policy and further details on the proposed design of these changes will be provided in due course.

Local authorities have flexibility to determine how to allocate high needs funding, including top up funding, in line with their statutory duties under the Children and Families Act 2014. In doing so, they must take account of the costs that would reasonably be expected to be met from a maintained school’s core budget or an academy’s general annual grant.

The department’s operational guidance advises local authorities on ways in which they can administer high needs top-up funding transparently, consistently and in accordance with the relevant conditions of grant. The department follows up any evidence of breaches of those grant conditions.

The operation of the high needs funding system is currently under review, with the aim of supporting the reforms that we have set out in the schools white paper.

I refer my hon. Friend, the member for Warrington North to the answer of 30 June 2026 to Question 13129.

The department is working collaboratively with the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) and the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) to strengthen PE and school sport.

As a result of this work, we are investing over £1 billion in PE and school sport over the next three years, including £580 million for a new PE and School Sports Partnership Network, £200 million of capital investment in facilities, and a transitional payment of PE Premium. The department will continue to work closely with DCMS and DHSC on the design and delivery of the Partnership Network.

I refer my hon. Friend, the member for Warrington North to the answer of 30 June 2026 to Question 13129.

While VAT is a matter for His Majesty’s Treasury, the department recognises that the VAT status of further education (FE) providers remains an issue of interest to the sector. The government continues to look into the VAT position of FE colleges, noting my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister’s commitment to look into this issue when it was raised at the Liaison Committee in December 2025. The government keeps all taxes under review and any changes would be announced at a fiscal event.

It is compulsory for all pupils to study science at key stage 4 and, since the 2024/25 academic year, it has been compulsory for all pupils to study science at GCSE. Following the Curriculum and Assessment Review, the government is ensuring science is made accessible to all pupils pre and post-16, giving them the best opportunity to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Technical Awards at key stage 4 allow pupils to engage with a sector and build foundational knowledge and practical skills relevant to engineering and technology pathways. We will review the current suite of Technical Awards from 2027, focusing on attainment and other relevant data, progression to post-16 pathways and overall purpose.

Post-16 technical and vocational pathways are being reformed to provide clearer choices for all students looking to pursue careers in engineering and technology, with the introduction of V Levels alongside existing T Levels in a range of subjects including Digital and Engineering and Manufacturing.

The National Centre for Computing Education delivers the ‘I Belong’ programme, which supports schools to address the barriers to girls’ participation in computing and increase uptake of computing qualifications.

From September 2025, the Advanced Maths Support Programme introduced a new programme to increase girls’ progression to A Level mathematics.

The amounts that the department spent on translation services in the two years prior to the 2022/23 financial year are:

On the 1 April 2020 the department moved the management of its transactional finance services and record of account in-house. The department does not hold expenditure information in the equivalent structure prior to that date.

Compliance with the School Food Standards is mandatory for maintained schools, academies and free schools.

The department is strengthening accountability by making school food more transparent to parents and the community, and by proposing a named lead governor responsible for holding leadership to account where standards are not met.

The department is working with a range of stakeholders on appropriate standards of accountability as we develop the final standards.

The department’s spending on translation services in the 2025/26 financial year increased by £20,573.80 compared with the 2024/25 financial year. As outlined in the department’s response to Question 11236, the increase in expenditure predominantly relates to:

• £6,226.18 – translation of departmental safeguarding guidance for parents, relating to children in out-of-school settings.
• £4,100.54 – translation of consultation documents affecting disabled students, into British Sign Language.
• £9,120.00 – translation services provided for overseas delegates attending the UK-hosted Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence in Education summit.

There were no comparable, high-value translation activities undertaken by the department in 2024/25, where translation costs were £1,159.02 and related to:

• A ‘Childcare Choices’ leaflet.
• Kinship care.

As a core part of our £3.7 billion high needs capital investment between 2025 and 2030, the department will invest in a transformational expansion of inclusion bases so they become a core part of every local education offer. According to the school census, 1 in 13 schools, or 1 in 7 secondary schools and 1 in 15 primary schools, have a local authority commissioned inclusion base. Additionally, in the January 2026 school omnibus survey the majority of primary school leaders (53%) and a large majority of secondary school leaders (85%) said that their school had a separate dedicated space used to support pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

We will introduce new data collection measures which will record which settings are operating a base and the pupils accessing it, to provide additional oversight.

In the SEND reform consultation, we set an ambition that in time, we expect every secondary school will have an inclusion base, with an equivalent number of places in local primary schools.

The department recently published guidance for schools and local authorities to help them set up and deliver high quality provision in inclusion bases, as well as support improvements in existing bases. Ofsted considers the quality of provision in inclusion bases and will use the guidance to help inform inspections.

As a core part of our £3.7 billion high needs capital investment between 2025 and 2030, the department will invest in a transformational expansion of inclusion bases so they become a core part of every local education offer. According to the school census, 1 in 13 schools, or 1 in 7 secondary schools and 1 in 15 primary schools, have a local authority commissioned inclusion base. Additionally, in the January 2026 school omnibus survey the majority of primary school leaders (53%) and a large majority of secondary school leaders (85%) said that their school had a separate dedicated space used to support pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

We will introduce new data collection measures which will record which settings are operating a base and the pupils accessing it, to provide additional oversight.

In the SEND reform consultation, we set an ambition that in time, we expect every secondary school will have an inclusion base, with an equivalent number of places in local primary schools.

The department recently published guidance for schools and local authorities to help them set up and deliver high quality provision in inclusion bases, as well as support improvements in existing bases. Ofsted considers the quality of provision in inclusion bases and will use the guidance to help inform inspections.

The fiscal impact of student loans is measured by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The statistics the ONS publishes are independent, following methodologies designed in consultation with the international statistical community and in line with the European System of Accounts.

The ONS treats student loans partly as loans, since some portion will be repaid, and partly as capital transfers, since some will not.

Under this partitioned loan-transfer approach, what counts to public sector net borrowing and public sector net financial liabilities is the transfer less modified interest, the interest accruing on the loan portion.

The fiscal impact of student loans is measured by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The statistics the ONS publishes are independent, following methodologies designed in consultation with the international statistical community and in line with the European System of Accounts.

The ONS treats student loans partly as loans, since some portion will be repaid, and partly as capital transfers, since some will not.

Under this partitioned loan-transfer approach, what counts to public sector net borrowing and public sector net financial liabilities is the transfer less modified interest, the interest accruing on the loan portion.

As of December 2025, there were 24,900 childminders registered with Ofsted, and a further 1,900 childminders registered with a childminder agency. It is not possible to confirm how many childminders with an active registration are currently practicing.

The government maintains the higher education (HE) system under review to ensure it delivers good outcomes for students and value for money for the taxpayer.

The Office for Students identified some providers recruiting students with insufficient English language proficiency to undertake the rigorous studies that an HE course demands. Students must not be mis-sold courses they are not equipped to undertake.

As announced on 25 June, we will consult in the autumn to canvass views on whether and how the government might introduce a minimum English language requirement for accessing student finance. We will be testing how the government should balance robust standards with supporting access and participation for students from different backgrounds and protected characteristics. We are keen to hear views from a wide range of groups and people, and we will carefully consider the equalities impact before making any changes.

Breaktime Plus is a short breaks programme run by Lancashire County Council. Local authorities have a duty to publish their own short breaks offer, and the government has supported them in this by publishing the lessons learned from the Short Breaks Innovation Programme in February 2026. This report includes a range of approaches to improving the effectiveness, accessibility and efficiency of short breaks provision.

The government is also carefully considering the recommendations made by the Law Commission in its September 2025 report on disabled children's social care. The Commission highlighted the importance of short breaks as a key form of support for disabled children and their families. Ministers are considering the Commission's findings and recommendations and intend to publish the government's response in the autumn.

On 19 January 2026, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education also launched updated Generative AI Product Safety standards, ensuring artificial intelligence (AI) tools used in education are safe by design. The new standards, shaped by feedback from over a thousand pupils, include protections for cognitive development and emotional wellbeing to ensure AI strengthens learning rather than replacing it. We published the first world-leading safety expectations in January 2025, developed alongside leading global tech firms.

The government’s national Digital Wellbeing consultation received 116,000 responses, with 90% of parents calling for an outright ban on social media for children. As a result, we are taking power away from tech companies, including those who produce so-called AI ‘romantic companion’ chatbots, designed to simulate sexual relationships or roleplay with users, who will have to enforce a minimum age of 18. Similar intimate functionalities will be restricted for under-18s on AI chatbots more widely.

The department recently worked with Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, considering the evidence from neuroscience research on the effects of digital content on children's development and learning.

The Government Social Research profession will continue to champion the safe, ethical and appropriate use of AI in research.

Data provided in this response is specifically in relation to the High Potential Initial Teacher Training programme (HPITT) delivered by Teach First.

The table below shows the total student teachers recruited to the HPITT programme in each of the last five cohorts.

The table below shows the percentage of trainees who completed the two year programme and overall dropout rate. For cohorts 2024/2025, we have provided our current performance data (correct at 31 May 2026) with actuals due to be confirmed at milestone points in the future.

Data for the 2025 cohort is based on the current withdrawal rates in year 1 of the program as provided by Teach First.

The table below shows the spending for the last five financial years on the HPITT programme (ex VAT).

This data is reported monthly by the department via a transaction report. We have provided a total of 12 months of financial data together within the table for each financial year. Individual reports are available on GOV.UK.

Data provided in this response is specifically in relation to the High Potential Initial Teacher Training programme (HPITT) delivered by Teach First.

The table below shows the total student teachers recruited to the HPITT programme in each of the last five cohorts.

The table below shows the percentage of trainees who completed the two year programme and overall dropout rate. For cohorts 2024/2025, we have provided our current performance data (correct at 31 May 2026) with actuals due to be confirmed at milestone points in the future.

Data for the 2025 cohort is based on the current withdrawal rates in year 1 of the program as provided by Teach First.

The table below shows the spending for the last five financial years on the HPITT programme (ex VAT).

This data is reported monthly by the department via a transaction report. We have provided a total of 12 months of financial data together within the table for each financial year. Individual reports are available on GOV.UK.

Data provided in this response is specifically in relation to the High Potential Initial Teacher Training programme (HPITT) delivered by Teach First.

The table below shows the total student teachers recruited to the HPITT programme in each of the last five cohorts.

The table below shows the percentage of trainees who completed the two year programme and overall dropout rate. For cohorts 2024/2025, we have provided our current performance data (correct at 31 May 2026) with actuals due to be confirmed at milestone points in the future.

Data for the 2025 cohort is based on the current withdrawal rates in year 1 of the program as provided by Teach First.

The table below shows the spending for the last five financial years on the HPITT programme (ex VAT).

This data is reported monthly by the department via a transaction report. We have provided a total of 12 months of financial data together within the table for each financial year. Individual reports are available on GOV.UK.

High-quality training is essential to supporting teacher retention, and this starts with Initial Teacher Training (ITT). In addition to the increased special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) content introduced through the Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework in September 2025, I am also actively working to strengthen ITT on SEND, and have convened sector experts to identify how we can further embed specialist expertise within initial teacher training to increase capacity in the system. This includes trainee placements in special schools to build greater SEND specialist capacity for new entrants in both mainstream and specialist settings.

The department is investing £200 million in our continuing professional development offer to ensure staff in every nursery, school and college receive training on SEND and inclusion, which will be supported with government-backed training materials and building on existing effective practice.

We are also investing around £1.8 billion over the next three years for local area partnerships to develop a new ‘Experts at Hand’ offer, which is designed to strengthen the capability of mainstream education settings by providing access to support specialists across health and education.

The department continuously monitors the emerging implications of artificial intelligence (AI) on education, including its use by pupils and teachers.

AI can have a transformative effect on education, supporting every child and young person to achieve and thrive in a rapidly evolving digital world, and enabling teachers do their jobs more efficiently, but only when it is implemented safely. Earlier this year, we announced our updated Generative AI Safety Standards, which aim to make AI for education safe by design.

AI and other digital technologies should enhance, but never replace, the human spark of learning. It is most effective when its use is overseen by a digitally confident workforce, and in instances when it can genuinely improve the learning experience.

Our published policy position on generative AI is evidence-based and sets out expectations for schools and colleges on safe, responsible and ethical use.

Within the relationships, sex and health education statutory guidance, pupils in secondary education are taught about county lines and exploitation. This includes developing pupils’ understanding of how to determine whether other children, adults, or sources of information are trustworthy, and how to recognise when a relationship may be unsafe, both for themselves and for others.

Where relevant topics are taught, pupils are made aware of the legal provisions that protect children and young people. This includes laws relating to grooming or exploiting children into criminal activity, such as gang involvement and county lines drug running.

Schools have the flexibility to tailor their curriculum to meet local needs, introducing topics earlier in an age-appropriate way while drawing on high-quality, evidence-based resources.

As a core component of our £3.7 billion high needs capital settlement, the department will invest in a transformational expansion of inclusion bases.

This funding is allocated to local authorities, who know their schools and will determine how best to spend funding to meet local need. In the 2026/27 financial year, Essex has been allocated £21.2 million for high needs provision capital allocation.

Provision is currently inconsistent across the country, which is why we are also going to improve data collection on which schools have inclusion bases so we can make sure that all pupils are given the support they need.

For the first time, departmental guidance has been produced to help settings and local authorities set up and deliver high-quality provision in inclusion bases, as well as support improvement of existing bases.

Technical Excellence Colleges (TECs) will draw on the experience and expertise of Institutes of Technology (IoTs), which have shown the benefits of collaborative working between employers, further education providers, and universities.

As system leaders, TECs have the autonomy and flexibility to shape and determine their partnerships locally and nationally, but the department has made it clear in our guidance that we expect TECs to work with IoT Partnerships. Many of the appointed TECs are part of existing IoTs.

All TECs will deliver via a hub and spoke model, working in collaboration with a network of providers to ensure that learners and employers across the country benefit. This way of working is critical to TEC success, which is why TECs are actively working together and with industry to ensure a cohesive system, supported by the department and other relevant governmental departments.

The government’s reform proposals strengthen legal duties that will help better support children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in mainstream settings. All children and young people will have access to an education that meets their needs, through earlier intervention, new training for all staff, better buildings and equipment, and every setting having access to expert professional support when it is needed.

We will place new duties on schools to support inclusive practice, including producing an Individual Support Plan for any child or young person receiving Targeted, Targeted Plus or Specialist support.

Alongside the SEND reform consultation, which we are now reviewing responses to, we have published both a children’s rights and equality impact assessment.

The Office for Students (OfS), the independent regulator of higher education in England, is responsible for monitoring the sector’s financial sustainability. Its most recent report on the sector’s financial health, published in May 2026, found that 35.8 per cent of providers recorded a deficit in 2024/25, an improvement on earlier forecasts of 44.2 per cent, however, deficits alone do not provide a complete picture of financial health

Key financial indicators are also published through the Higher Education Statistics Agency and in providers’ own financial statements

The department does not hold information on the twenty universities with the largest deficits. While the OfS collects provider-level data, it does not routinely rank institutions.

The Office for Students (OfS), the independent regulator of higher education in England, is responsible for monitoring the sector’s financial sustainability. Its most recent report on the sector’s financial health, published in May 2026, found that 35.8 per cent of providers recorded a deficit in 2024/25, an improvement on earlier forecasts of 44.2 per cent, however, deficits alone do not provide a complete picture of financial health

Key financial indicators are also published through the Higher Education Statistics Agency and in providers’ own financial statements

The department does not hold information on the twenty universities with the largest deficits. While the OfS collects provider-level data, it does not routinely rank institutions.

Under section 26 of the Children and Families Act 2014, local authorities and Integrated Care Boards have an existing duty to jointly commission the arrangements for the education, health and care of children and young people with Special educational needs and disability (SEND) in the local area.

In the SEND consultation, the government asked how to ensure the most effective use of SEND local partnerships through the SEND reforms. Partnership working includes the existing joint commissioning arrangements between local authorities and Integrated Care Boards.

The consultation has now closed. The department is carefully reviewing and taking into account all responses submitted to the consultation alongside feedback from over 200 engagement events we held over 12 weeks and will set out our response in due course.

On 24 June 2026, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs announced in a Written Ministerial Statement (Statement UIN HCWS144) that the government will provide support to enable eligible students in Gaza to depart and take up their places at UK universities for the 2026/27 academic year.

The department continuously monitors the emerging implications of artificial intelligence (AI) on education, including the impact on pupil learning, independent thinking, and academic integrity. Our published policy position on generative AI is evidence-based and sets out clear expectations for schools and colleges on safe, responsible and ethical use.

The department is working closely with Ofqual and the wider sector to assess and understand the risks that generative AI presents to the integrity of qualifications and assessment, and to ensure appropriate safeguards and mitigations are in place.

Parents have the right to educate their children in elective home education and many do so effectively in their children’s best interests.

Home education is not in itself a risk, however evidence from the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel highlights that school attendance is a protective factor for vulnerable children, highlighting the serious harm that has been experienced by some children withdrawn into home education. In addition, 96% of local authority respondents to the 2019 Children Not in School consultation believed Children Not in School registers were needed to support them to fulfil their education and safeguarding duties towards these children.

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act introduces compulsory Children Not in School registers and requires parents of some children known to children's social care or with the highest needs to get permission from the local authority before withdrawing their children from school for home education.