Department for Education

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



Secretary of State

 Portrait

Bridget Phillipson
Secretary of State for Education

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

Conservative
Laura Trott (Con - Sevenoaks)
Shadow Secretary of State for Education
Junior Shadow Ministers / Deputy Spokesperson
Conservative
Baroness Barran (Con - Life peer)
Shadow Minister (Education)
Neil O'Brien (Con - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Shadow Minister (Education)
Ministers of State
Catherine McKinnell (Lab - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Minister of State (Education)
Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab - Life peer)
Minister of State (Education)
Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State
Stephen Morgan (Lab - Portsmouth South)
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Janet Daby (Lab - Lewisham East)
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Seema Malhotra (LAB - Feltham and Heston)
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
There are no upcoming events identified
Debates
Wednesday 2nd April 2025
Select Committee Docs
Tuesday 25th March 2025
15:10
Select Committee Inquiry
Wednesday 29th January 2025
Further Education and Skills

The further education sector is currently navigating a series of reforms and challenges. In this inquiry the Education Committee will …

Written Answers
Thursday 3rd April 2025
Schools: Staffordshire
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (b) Staffordshire have received notices …
Secondary Legislation
Monday 10th March 2025
Teachers’ Pensions Schemes (Amendment) Regulations 2025
These Regulations amend the Teachers’ Pensions Regulations 2010 (“the 2010 Regulations”), the Teachers’ Pension Scheme Regulations 2014 (“the 2014 Regulations”) …
Bills
Tuesday 17th December 2024
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill 2024-26
A Bill to make provision about the safeguarding and welfare of children; about support for children in care or leaving …
Dept. Publications
Thursday 3rd April 2025
13:54

Department for Education Commons Appearances

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

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

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

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

Most Recent Commons Appearances by Category
View All Department for Education Commons Contibutions

Bills currently before Parliament

Department for Education does not have Bills currently before Parliament


Acts of Parliament created in the 2024 Parliament

Department for Education has not passed any Acts during the 2024 Parliament

Department for Education - Secondary Legislation

These Regulations amend the Teachers’ Pensions Regulations 2010 (“the 2010 Regulations”), the Teachers’ Pension Scheme Regulations 2014 (“the 2014 Regulations”) and the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (Remediable Service) Regulations 2023 (“the 2023 Regulations”).
These Regulations, which apply in England only, amend the Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Fees and Frequency of Inspections) (Children’s Homes etc.) Regulations 2015 (S.I. 2015/551) (“the Fees and Frequency of Inspections Regulations”).
View All Department for Education Secondary Legislation

Petitions

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

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

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

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4,416 Signatures
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Department for Education has not participated in any petition debates
View All Department for Education Petitions

Departmental Select Committee

Education Committee

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

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

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


11 Members of the Education Committee
Helen Hayes Portrait
Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Education Committee Member since 11th September 2024
Marie Tidball Portrait
Marie Tidball (Labour - Penistone and Stocksbridge)
Education Committee Member since 21st October 2024
Patrick Spencer Portrait
Patrick Spencer (Conservative - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Education Committee Member since 21st October 2024
Mark Sewards Portrait
Mark Sewards (Labour - Leeds South West and Morley)
Education Committee Member since 21st October 2024
Darren Paffey Portrait
Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Education Committee Member since 21st October 2024
Amanda Martin Portrait
Amanda Martin (Labour - Portsmouth North)
Education Committee Member since 21st October 2024
Caroline Johnson Portrait
Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Education Committee Member since 21st October 2024
Sureena Brackenridge Portrait
Sureena Brackenridge (Labour - Wolverhampton North East)
Education Committee Member since 21st October 2024
Jess Asato Portrait
Jess Asato (Labour - Lowestoft)
Education Committee Member since 21st October 2024
Caroline Voaden Portrait
Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Education Committee Member since 28th October 2024
Manuela Perteghella Portrait
Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Education Committee Member since 28th October 2024
Education Committee: Upcoming Events
Education Committee - Oral evidence
Higher Education and Funding
8 Apr 2025, 9:30 a.m.
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Education Committee - Oral evidence
Higher Education and Funding
8 Apr 2025, 9:30 a.m.
At 10:00am: Oral evidence
Sir Malcolm Press - Vice-President (England and Northern Ireland) at Universities UK
Professor Dame Jessica Corner - Executive Chair, Research England at UK Research and Innovation
Sir Philip Augar - Chair of the 2019 Independent Panel at Post-18 Education and Funding Review
At 10:45am: Oral evidence
Mr Raj Jethwa - Chief Executive at Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA)
Dr Hollie Chandler - Director of Policy at The Russell Group
Rachel Hewitt - Chief Executive at MillionPlus, The Association for Modern Universities
At 11:30am: Oral evidence
Alex Stanley - Vice-President of Higher Education at National Union of Students
Jo Grady - General Secretary at University College Union (UCU)
Andrew Bird - Chair at British Universities' International Liaison Association

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Education Committee - Oral evidence
Higher Education and Funding
8 Apr 2025, 9:30 a.m.
At 10:00am: Oral evidence
Professor Dame Jessica Corner - Executive Chair, Research England at UK Research and Innovation
Sir Philip Augar - Chair of the 2019 Independent Panel at Post-18 Education and Funding Review
At 10:45am: Oral evidence
Mr Raj Jethwa - Chief Executive at Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA)
Dr Hollie Chandler - Director of Policy at The Russell Group
Rachel Hewitt - Chief Executive at MillionPlus, The Association for Modern Universities
At 11:30am: Oral evidence
Alex Stanley - Vice-President of Higher Education at National Union of Students
Jo Grady - General Secretary at University College Union (UCU)
Andrew Bird - Chair at British Universities' International Liaison Association

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Education Committee - Oral evidence
Higher Education and Funding
8 Apr 2025, 9:30 a.m.
At 10:00am: Oral evidence
Professor Dame Jessica Corner - Executive Chair, Research England at UK Research and Innovation
Sir Philip Augar - Chair of the 2019 Independent Panel at Post-18 Education and Funding Review
Professor Malcolm Press CBE - Vice President (England and Northern Ireland) at Universities UK
At 10:45am: Oral evidence
Mr Raj Jethwa - Chief Executive at Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA)
Dr Hollie Chandler - Director of Policy at The Russell Group
Rachel Hewitt - Chief Executive at MillionPlus, The Association for Modern Universities
At 11:30am: Oral evidence
Alex Stanley - Vice-President of Higher Education at National Union of Students
Jo Grady - General Secretary at University College Union (UCU)
Andrew Bird - Chair at British Universities' International Liaison Association

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Education Committee - Oral evidence
Further Education and Skills
22 Apr 2025, 2 p.m.
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Education Committee: Previous Inquiries
The impact of COVID-19 on education and children’s services Support for Home Education Behaviour and discipline in schools Careers Guidance for Young People The role of School Governing Bodies School sports following London 2012 School Partnerships and Cooperation School Direct Recruitment 2013-14 Great teachers-follow up The role and performance of Ofsted Services for young people Participation in education and training for 16-19 year olds English Baccalaureate Residential children's homes Underachievement in Education by White Working Class Children School Places Ofsted Annual Report in Education 2012-13 Child Well-Being in England 16 Plus Care Options Academies and free schools Children First follow-up PSHE and SRE in schools Fairer Schools Funding 2015-16 one-off Exams for 15-19 year olds in England - follow up Foundation Years: Sure Start children’s centres – Government response Department for Education Annual Report 2012-13 Extremism in Birmingham Schools Careers guidance for young people: follow-up Apprenticeships and traineeships for 16 to 19 year olds Pre-appointment hearing: Children's Commissioner Ofsted Schools and Further Education and Skills Annual Report 2013-14 Evidence check: National College for Teaching and Leadership inquiry Sure Start children’s centres: Follow up Evidence check: Starting school inquiry The work of the Committee in the 2010-15 Parliament Priority Schools Building Programme inquiry The work of Ofsted inquiry The role of Regional Schools Commissioners inquiry Responsibilities of the Secretary of State for Education The work of Ofqual Purpose and quality of education in England inquiry Supply of teachers inquiry Holocaust education inquiry Mental health and wellbeing of looked after children inquiry The Children's Commissioner for England Education in the north inquiry Fourth Industrial Revolution Life chances inquiry Special educational needs and disabilities inquiry School and college funding inquiry The future of the Social Mobility Commission inquiry Nursing apprenticeships inquiry Appointment of the Chair of the Social Mobility Commission Knife crime inquiry Opportunity areas inquiry Children’s social care workforce inquiry Adult skills and lifelong learning inquiry Appointment of the Chair of the Office for Students inquiry Alternative provision inquiry Fostering inquiry Integrity of public examinations inquiry The quality of apprenticeships and skills training inquiry Accountability hearings Value for money in higher education inquiry Post-16 education area reviews inquiry School funding reform inquiry Adult skills and lifelong learning Appointment of the Ofsted Chief Inspector inquiry Fostering inquiry Primary assessment inquiry The impact of exiting the European Union on higher education inquiry Selective education inquiry Narey review of children's residential care inquiry Social Work Reform inquiry Financial management at the Department for Education Appointment of the Ofqual Chief Regulator Multi-academy trusts inquiry Left behind white pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds Home Education Support for childcare and the early years Persistent absence and support for disadvantaged pupils Teacher recruitment, training and retention Ofsted’s work with schools Screen Time: Impacts on education and wellbeing Financial Education Impact of industrial action on university students Children’s social care Boys’ attainment and engagement in education International students in English universities Reform of level 3 qualifications Solving the SEND Crisis Further Education and Skills Accountability hearings Adult skills and lifelong learning Children’s social care workforce Education in the north Fourth Industrial Revolution Integrity of public examinations Knife crime Life chances Opportunity areas School and college funding Special educational needs and disabilities

50 most recent Written Questions

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

26th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the validation process for new phonics programmes is.

I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Carlisle to the answer of 29 March 2025 to Question 36216.

Catherine McKinnell
Minister of State (Education)
26th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the University of Florida's UFLI phonics programme.

I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Carlisle to the answer of 29 March 2025 to Question 36216.

Catherine McKinnell
Minister of State (Education)
26th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many individual representations her Department has received from Staffordshire County Council on the (a) funding and (b) quality of SEND provision in North Staffordshire in each of the last five years.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. The department is committed to taking a community-wide approach in collaboration with local area partnerships, improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special schools cater to those with the most complex needs.

To support this, high needs funding will increase by £1 billion in the 2025/26 financial year, compared to the 2024/25 financial year. This will bring total high needs funding to over £12 billion.

Of that total, Staffordshire County Council is being allocated over £143 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG), an increase of £10.4 million on this year’s DSG high needs block, calculated using the high needs national funding formula (NFF). This NFF allocation is an 8.7% increase per head of their 2 to 18 year-old population, on their equivalent 2024/25 financial year 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 the 2024/25 financial year, 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 the 2025/26 financial year in May 2025.

Following the last Ofsted/Care Quality Commission visit, departmental officials have been working with Staffordshire County Council to closely monitor progress against the areas for improvement identified by inspectors. An Accelerated Progress Plan is in place and progress is monitored regularly.

The areas for improvement were:

  • Area 1: Co-production was weak. Parents felt that the local area did not listen to them or their child. The ‘tell it once’ approach was not embedded. The area’s relationships with schools and families were fragile.
  • Area 2: The quality of education, health and care (EHC) plans was poor. Health and care workers did not contribute to the process effectively. The targets and outcomes in plans were not aspirational enough. The annual reviews of EHC plans were often not completed on time or did not contribute effectively to the review of the children and young people’s needs or the support and help they received.

The department has appointed a SEND Advisor, along with a bespoke package of support from the Research and Improvement for SEND Excellence Consortium, to support and work alongside the Local Area Partnership.

Catherine McKinnell
Minister of State (Education)
26th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she plans to take to ensure all staff working with children and young people have the appropriate training to identify and support children with speech, language and communication challenges.

All teachers are teachers of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). High quality teaching is central to ensuring that pupils with SEND are given the best possible opportunity to achieve in their education, and early language skills are vital to enable children to thrive in the early years and later in life, including for all aspects of later attainment in school.

This is why the department’s new combined Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework (ITTECF) contains significantly more content related to adaptive teaching and supporting pupils with SEND, including content on supporting pupils’ oral language skills, and our Universal SEND Services training programme helps school and further education workforces to identify and meet the needs of children and young people with SEND earlier and more effectively.

The department is also co-funding the Early Language Support for Every Child and Partnerships programme with NHS England, which utilises pre-qualification speech and language therapy Support Assistants in early years and primary settings, and the Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools builds teacher and staff capacity to identify and meet the needs of neurodivergent children, including those with speech and language needs.

The department are continuing funding support for the 11,100 schools registered for the Nuffield Early Language Intervention programme. As of January 2024, we estimate that the programme has screened 650,000 children in the last four years and supported over 211,000 four and five year-olds since the pandemic.

To continue to build workforce capability, the department has recently commissioned Newcastle University and University College London to review the most effective tools, strategies and approaches for teachers and other relevant staff in mainstream settings to identify and support children and young people, including around speech, language and communication needs.

Catherine McKinnell
Minister of State (Education)
28th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the level of funding available for Music Hubs.

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 believes creative subjects like music, art and drama are important elements of the rounded and enriching education every child deserves. Future programme budgets will be considered as part of the spending review and subsequent business planning process.

Catherine McKinnell
Minister of State (Education)
26th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to help ensure that Ofsted assessments include a requirement for schools to provide SEND training for all teachers.

This is a matter for His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver. I have asked him to write to the hon. Member for Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire directly and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Catherine McKinnell
Minister of State (Education)
26th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (b) Staffordshire have received notices of finance from Staffordshire County Council.

Staffordshire County Council reported that 13 maintained schools were subject to a notice of financial concern during the 2023/24 financial year.

The department does not hold details of which schools these were, nor does it hold details at a level lower than County Council.

Catherine McKinnell
Minister of State (Education)
26th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of teaching assistants who are on temporary contracts.

Education is a devolved matter, and as such the response below outlines the information for schools in England only.

As of November 2023, the latest date for which data is available, there was a headcount of 395,585 teaching assistants (282,925 full-time equivalent) employed by state-funded schools with a contract of 28 days or longer. Of these, 22,224, equivalent to 5.6%, (14,277, 5.0%, full-time equivalent) were reported to be employed on a temporary contract.

In addition, support staff who are not directly employed by the school or local authority and who are in school on census day (early November each year) with a contract or service agreement lasting fewer than 28 days are recorded as ‘third-party support staff’. As of November 2023, the latest date for which data is available, schools reported there was a headcount of 14,908 third-party support staff with a post of teaching assistant (full-time equivalent is not collected).

​Information on the school workforce, including the number of teaching assistants, is published in the ‘School workforce in England’ statistical publication which is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.

Catherine McKinnell
Minister of State (Education)
26th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy that the existing level of funding for Education and Health Care Plans will be provided in Newton Abbot constituency in 2025-26.

I refer the hon. Member for Newton Abbot to the answer of 17 March 2025 to Question 35870.

Catherine McKinnell
Minister of State (Education)
26th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to introduce universal dyslexia screening within the first two years of primary school to help ensure (a) early identification and (b) support for dyslexic children.

I refer the hon. Member for Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire to the answer of 31 March 2025 to Question 40829.

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

Catherine McKinnell
Minister of State (Education)
26th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to make dyslexia training mandatory for (a) classroom educators and (b) on-going continued professional development.

I refer the hon. Member for Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire to the answer of 31 March 2025 to Question 40829.

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

Catherine McKinnell
Minister of State (Education)
26th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has plans to increase registration fees for social workers.

As set out in the Children and Social Work Act 2017, Social Work England (SWE) is responsible for setting the level of the registration fee for social workers. Before determining the level of any fee, including any change, SWE must both consult publicly and gain the approval of my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education. Further information is available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2017/16/part/2/enacted#section-36-4.

SWE’s public consultation runs until 13 May 2025 and is available at: https://www.socialworkengland.org.uk/news/public-consultation-on-changes-to-our-fees-is-now-open/.

Janet Daby
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
26th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help ensure the adequacy of support for children in kinship care.

The department is taking a number of steps to ensure that children in kinship care get the support that they need to thrive. This includes promoting their educational and mental health needs and supporting the people who care for them.

From September 2024, the department expanded the role of virtual school heads on a non-statutory basis to include championing the education, attendance and attainment of children in kinship care, ensuring that more children in kinship care receive the help they need to thrive at school. The department is now mandating this through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.

In addition, the department is providing over £3 billion of pupil premium funding to improve the educational outcomes of disadvantaged pupils in England, including looked after and previously looked after children. Schools can direct pupil premium spending where the need is greatest, including to pupils with other identified needs, such as children in kinship care. Schools can also use pupil premium on whole class approaches that will benefit all pupils, such as on high quality teaching.

Some children in kinship care will be able to access the adoption and special guardianship support fund, which helps adoptive and special guardianship order children and their families access therapeutic interventions related to trauma and attachment.

Children in kinship care will also benefit from this government’s commitment to improving mental health support for all children and young people. The government will deliver on this commitment through providing access to specialist mental health professionals in every school, so every young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate. We will also recruit an additional 8,500 new mental health staff to treat children and adults, and open new Young Futures hubs with access to mental health support workers.

The steps the government is taking to improve support for kinship carers will also improve the support children living in kinship care receive. In October, the department announced £40 million to trial a new kinship allowance in up to ten local authorities. This pilot will test whether paying an allowance will help support more children to live and thrive with a kinship carer.

In addition, the government has provided over 140 peer support groups and a package of training and support for all kinship carers to access across England. The increased financial support, emotional support and training kinship carers receive should help them in their role as carers and enhance the support they give the children in their care.

Janet Daby
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
31st Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to extend the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund beyond the end of the 2024-25 financial year for those recipients not eligible for split funding.

On 1 April, it was announced that the adoption and special guardianship support fund would continue into 2025/26, with a budget of £50 million. A further announcement about arrangements for applications will be made as soon as possible. All applications will continue to be assessed on an individual basis in line with published criteria.

Janet Daby
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
31st Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of recipients will lose entitlement to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund on 31 March 2025.

On 1 April, it was announced that the adoption and special guardianship support fund would continue into 2025/26, with a budget of £50 million. A further announcement about arrangements for applications will be made as soon as possible. All applications will continue to be assessed on an individual basis in line with published criteria.

Janet Daby
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
27th Feb 2025
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the legal fulfilment of the statutory duty of every local authority to provide sufficient childcare places.

The department has regular contact with each local authority in England about their sufficiency of childcare and any issues they are facing.  No local authorities are reporting that they are unable to meet their sufficiency duty. Under Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006, local authorities are responsible for ensuring that the provision of childcare is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents in their area. Part B of the ’Early education and childcare’ statutory guidance for local authorities highlights that local authorities are required to report annually to elected council members on how they are meeting their duty to secure sufficient childcare, and to make this report available and accessible to parents. The full guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-education-and-childcare.

Where local authorities report sufficiency challenges, we discuss what action they are taking to address those issues and, where needed, support the local authority with any specific requirements through our childcare sufficiency support contract.

Baroness Smith of Malvern
Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
26th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what criteria her Department is using to allocate funding for school solar panel installation; and what steps she is taking to ensure that the most energy-inefficient school buildings are prioritised.

This £80 million partnership programme between the department and Great British Energy is targeting 200 schools and colleges in the 2025/26 academic year.

There will be a cluster of around 45 schools in each of the North West, North East and West Midlands, selected based on deprivation levels and other factors such as roof capacity. Each cluster will also include a further education college which will work with the contractors appointed to promote careers in renewables to support growth in the construction and renewables workforce. There will also be a minimum of ten schools in each of the government office regions to ensure some regional spread.

This is just one element of the department’s strategy to ensure that the school estate is sustainable. We are providing support for all schools and colleges to get started on their journey towards net zero via our new online ‘Sustainability Support for Education’ platform and our climate ambassador programme.

Stephen Morgan
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
27th Feb 2025
To ask His Majesty's Government what analysis they have carried out of the uptake of existing free breakfast club and childcare provision in primary schools in England; and what percentage of pupils attend such clubs regularly.

The Government Social Research release ‘Parent, pupil and learner panel: 22/23 March/April wave’ found that as of March 2023, 36% of parents with primary aged children reported that they had used some kind of wraparound childcare for their primary aged children since the start of term, equating to around 1.6 million children. The full release is attached and can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1170040/Parent__pupil_and_learner_panel_-_2022_to_2023_-_March_and_April_wave.pdf.

Findings from the ‘School and college voice: February 2024’ report show that 72% of primary school leaders (excluding special schools) said their school offers childcare both before and after school, but this includes paid for childcare and clubs with only limited spaces available.

Baroness Smith of Malvern
Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
11th Mar 2025
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the additional cost of children who transfer into the state education system as a result of changes to business rates for private schools.

The government’s impact note on the removal of eligibility of private schools for business rates charitable relief estimates an extremely limited impact from the business rates policy taking effect, with any movement estimated to represent 0.03% of the total state school pupil population in England. This impact note is attached and can be found here: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/59-01/0129/ImpactNote.pdf.

Removing the eligibility for business rates charitable relief from private schools will raise approximately £140 million per year. Based on average per-pupil spending in England for the 2024/25 financial year, the government expects the revenue costs of pupils entering the state sector as a result of the business rates measure in England to steadily increase to a peak of around £20 million per annum after several years.

Baroness Smith of Malvern
Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
26th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what contracts have been agreed by her Department for (a) designing and (b) constructing new school buildings that are net zero in operation; and what the value was of each contract.

The department’s building projects are currently delivered through our £7 billion construction framework 2021 (CF21) which was published under the previous government. The specification for that framework requires buildings to be net zero carbon in operation. Signed contract values are published on GOV.UK, normally within 30 days of the contract being signed, and are available here: https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder.

Stephen Morgan
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
26th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support adoption services.

On 2 April, the department confirmed funding of £8.8 million for Adoption England to improve the recruitment of adopters, matching of children, and family support during the 2025/26 financial year.

This includes 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 regional adoption agencies work closely with adopters 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.

On 1 April, it was announced that the ASGSF would continue into 2025/26, with a budget of £50 million. A further announcement about arrangements for applications will be made as soon as possible. We remain committed to supporting families, who play an essential role in providing stable and loving homes for children in need.

Janet Daby
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
25th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether children who attend school in a different local authority area to the one in which they reside are funded at the level of (a) the local authority their school is in or (b) the local authority where they reside.

The schools national funding formula (NFF) allocates funding for mainstream schools. The funding levels vary between local authority areas, and the funding that mainstream schools receive is determined by the local authority that they are in, rather than where their pupils live. In any given year, mainstream schools are allocated funding based on pupil numbers and characteristics at the time of the previous October census. This means that for the 2025/26 financial year, schools are allocated funding based on the pupils they had at the time of the October 2024 census.

Children with complex special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are mainly funded by the local authority in whose area they reside. Local authorities are allocated high needs funding for this purpose and their allocations are calculated through a high needs NFF which uses data relating to the children resident in their area. The local authority allocates the majority of this high needs funding to mainstream and special schools, both those located in the authority’s area and those elsewhere, in respect of the children with SEND resident in their area for whom they have statutory responsibilities.

Catherine McKinnell
Minister of State (Education)
14th Mar 2025
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of children who have received deprivation of liberty orders in the past five years.

Depriving a child of their liberty must always be a last resort, but is sometimes necessary to keep that child, and others, safe. A small but growing number of children, often with complex behavioural needs, require a deprivation of liberty order for their own safety.

Data collected by Nuffield Family Justice Observatory shows that in the year leading up to July 2023, 1,389 applications were made to deprive a child of their liberty under a Deprivation of Liberty Order (DOLO) authorised under the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court. Data collected in this period suggests that the number of applications has more than doubled since 2020/21. This data is attached and can be accessed at: https://www.nuffieldfjo.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/CHILDR1.1.pdf.

His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service have been publishing data since December 2023, covering the period July to September 2023. Between Q3 2023 and Q2 2024, 1240 deprivation of liberty applications were made. There were 299 applications made between April and June 2024.

To understand the existing system and how we can achieve better outcomes for these children, the department has commissioned research consisting of a literature review, analysing children’s case files and undertaking case studies of three existing provisions developed in partnership with Integrated Care Boards. This research will provide insights into the characteristics of children who are, or have been, deprived of liberty and what has worked well for them. We aim to publish this research in summer 2025. We consistently seek insights from research and reports undertaken by different organisations, such as the Office of the Children’s Commissioner’s report in December 2024 on Illegal Children’s Homes, to ensure we are utilising the information in these resources in our policy development.

The department continues to work extensively with stakeholders across local authorities, the healthcare sector, cross-government, third sector and in academia to draw on relevant expertise throughout our policy development, which allows us to gain valuable insights about the characteristics of these children and what works well to improve their experience and outcomes.

Baroness Smith of Malvern
Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
25th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing children to attend specialist education settings in a different local authority to the one in which they reside.

Children and young people can attend specialist provision in any local authority, not just the one in which they reside.

Children and young people will be placed in special schools through the statutory process which the Children and Families Act 2014 prescribes for an education, health and care plan. Where pupils require alternative provision because they do not have a school place, the local authority is responsible for arranging a placement.

As of January 2024, 8.9% of special school pupils were educated outside the local authority where they live. More information on school and pupil characteristics can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics.

Catherine McKinnell
Minister of State (Education)
25th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the equity of per pupil school funding in Bedfordshire.

Every year the department uses the schools national funding formula (NFF) to distribute core funding for 5- to 16-year-old pupils in mainstream state-funded schools in England. In the current NFF, the vast majority of funding is distributed on the basis of pupil numbers and characteristics.

The purpose of the NFF is not to give every school the same level of per pupil funding. It is right that pupils with additional needs attract additional funding to help schools respond and meet their needs. In addition, schools in more expensive areas, like London, attract higher funding per pupil than other parts of the country to reflect the higher costs they face.

Through the dedicated schools grant, Bedford local authority is receiving over £179 million for mainstream schools in the 2025/26 financial year, which equates to £6,306 per pupil on average, excluding growth and falling rolls funding. Central Bedfordshire local authority is receiving almost £260 million, or £5,980 per pupil on average, for mainstream schools in the financial year 2025/26. Schools' final funding allocations are determined by local authority funding formulae and based on updated pupil numbers, so the final per pupil funding amounts for individual schools may differ.

Catherine McKinnell
Minister of State (Education)
25th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of equalising dedicated school grants for schools.

Every year the department uses the schools national funding formula (NFF) to distribute core funding for 5- to 16-year-old pupils in mainstream state-funded schools in England. In the current NFF, the vast majority of funding is distributed on the basis of pupil numbers and characteristics.

The purpose of the NFF is not to give every school the same level of per pupil funding. It is right that pupils with additional needs attract additional funding to help schools respond and meet their needs. In addition, schools in more expensive areas, like London, attract higher funding per pupil than other parts of the country to reflect the higher costs they face.

Through the dedicated schools grant, Bedford local authority is receiving over £179 million for mainstream schools in the 2025/26 financial year, which equates to £6,306 per pupil on average, excluding growth and falling rolls funding. Central Bedfordshire local authority is receiving almost £260 million, or £5,980 per pupil on average, for mainstream schools in the financial year 2025/26. Schools' final funding allocations are determined by local authority funding formulae and based on updated pupil numbers, so the final per pupil funding amounts for individual schools may differ.

Catherine McKinnell
Minister of State (Education)
27th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that teacher pension payments are not suspended as a result of (a) administrative issues and (b) delays related to proof of life documentation.

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.

Catherine McKinnell
Minister of State (Education)
25th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of SEND funding in South Suffolk.

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.

Catherine McKinnell
Minister of State (Education)
25th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact on local authorities' ability to meet special educational needs because of delays by local authorities in reviewing schools' funding requests for Education, Health and Care Plans.

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.

Catherine McKinnell
Minister of State (Education)
25th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of removing one-word Ofsted judgements on parental (a) engagement and (b) understanding.

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.

Catherine McKinnell
Minister of State (Education)
25th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many new Full-Time Equivalent jobs in Ofsted are being created to support the transition to School Report Cards.

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.

Catherine McKinnell
Minister of State (Education)
25th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of schools being unable to challenge placement decisions made by local authorities on children with special educational needs.

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.

Catherine McKinnell
Minister of State (Education)
25th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department has issued to (a) local authorities and (b) schools on (i) annual reviews for EHC plans and (ii) the responsibilities of all parties involved.

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.

Catherine McKinnell
Minister of State (Education)
25th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what (a) statutory and (b) non-statutory bodies her Department is consulting on her plans for musical education.

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.

Catherine McKinnell
Minister of State (Education)
25th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress she has made on producing a plan for musical education.

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.

Catherine McKinnell
Minister of State (Education)
25th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the time spent by schools in requesting assessments for EHC plans on the provision of SEND services.

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.

Catherine McKinnell
Minister of State (Education)
25th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Government plans to introduce mandatory neurodiversity training for all teaching and support staff in schools, colleges and universities.

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

Catherine McKinnell
Minister of State (Education)
5th Mar 2025
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made towards the third category of registration with the Office for Students for smaller, specialist providers in support of accessing the Lifelong Learning Entitlement, including those offering Trinity College London’s Level 5 and 6 Professional Performing Arts Diploma.

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.

Baroness Smith of Malvern
Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
5th Mar 2025
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with stakeholders regarding a proportionate route to registration with the Office for Students designed for smaller, specialist providers in support of accessing the Lifelong Learning Entitlement, including those offering Trinity College London’s Level 5 and 6 Professional Performing Arts Diplomas accredited by the Council for Dance, Drama and Musical Theatre.

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.

Baroness Smith of Malvern
Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
13th Mar 2025
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to enhance academic partnerships between UK universities and higher education institutions in Northern Cyprus.

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.

Baroness Smith of Malvern
Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
27th Feb 2025
To ask His Majesty's Government what are the total annual running costs of the Department for Education’s teaching recruitment service.

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.

Baroness Smith of Malvern
Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
3rd Mar 2025
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will consider teaching Ukrainian to GCSE and A-level standards in some schools and commit to overcoming any obstacles preventing this from happening.

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.

Baroness Smith of Malvern
Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
27th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the number of families that have experienced adoption breakdown in the last 12 months.

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.

Janet Daby
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
17th Mar 2025
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that artificial intelligence technologies are used beneficially in education, and in particular to ensure that students from lower-income backgrounds have equal access to such technologies.

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.

Baroness Smith of Malvern
Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
25th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to tackle persistent absences in secondary schools in South Suffolk.

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.

Stephen Morgan
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
26th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the number of foster care placements that were unsuccessful in (a) England and (b) Wales in the 2023-24 financial year.

​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.

Janet Daby
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
26th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that local authorities provide sufficient support for foster carers.

​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.

Janet Daby
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
26th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help retain foster carers.

​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.

Janet Daby
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
24th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the total cost was of providing translation services in her Department in the last year.

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.

Janet Daby
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)