Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of enabling voluntary controlled schools to apply for urgent capital support funding.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

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

The majority of capital funding for improving the school estate is provided through annual School Condition Allocations for large responsible bodies, such as local authorities, large multi-academy trusts and large voluntary aided school bodies, to decide how to invest based on local knowledge of need. Small or stand-alone academy trusts and sixth form colleges instead bid for funding through the Condition Improvement Fund. The amount of funding available through each route is calculated using the same funding methodology.

In 2025/26, Norfolk Council were allocated almost £5.5 million to invest across its maintained schools, including voluntary controlled schools in South Norfolk constituency.

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

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

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of enabling voluntary controlled schools to apply for the condition improvement fund.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

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

The majority of capital funding for improving the school estate is provided through annual School Condition Allocations for large responsible bodies, such as local authorities, large multi-academy trusts and large voluntary aided school bodies, to decide how to invest based on local knowledge of need. Small or stand-alone academy trusts and sixth form colleges instead bid for funding through the Condition Improvement Fund. The amount of funding available through each route is calculated using the same funding methodology.

In 2025/26, Norfolk Council were allocated almost £5.5 million to invest across its maintained schools, including voluntary controlled schools in South Norfolk constituency.

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

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

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support school condition allocations-funded schools with urgent school estate upgrades.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

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

The majority of capital funding for improving the school estate is provided through annual School Condition Allocations for large responsible bodies, such as local authorities, large multi-academy trusts and large voluntary aided school bodies, to decide how to invest based on local knowledge of need. Small or stand-alone academy trusts and sixth form colleges instead bid for funding through the Condition Improvement Fund. The amount of funding available through each route is calculated using the same funding methodology.

In 2025/26, Norfolk Council were allocated almost £5.5 million to invest across its maintained schools, including voluntary controlled schools in South Norfolk constituency.

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

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

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the press notice of 15 December 2025 entitled Ofqual fines Pearson £2 million for rule breaches affecting thousands of students, how many students were affected by each of the three cases for which Ofqual fined Pearson, broken down by qualification and year.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

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

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the number of people who will no longer have transitional protection funding for free school meals by ethnicity after the 2025-26 financial year.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

We have set aside over £1 billion in funding over the multiyear spending review period to cover the cost of additional free meals, after taking into account the removal of protections. The action we are taking will ensure that over 500,000 additional children and pupils will receive a free and nutritious lunchtime meal.

Transitional protections have been in place since 2018 to ensure no one who gained free school meals (FSM) eligibility would lose it while Universal Credit was rolled out. The department intends to bring transitional protections to an end once the new eligibility is introduced. We have not yet carried out analysis by cohort characteristics to understand which pupils may no longer be eligible.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the number of people who will no longer have transitional protection funding for free school meals by location after the 2025-26 financial year.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

We have set aside over £1 billion in funding over the multiyear spending review period to cover the cost of additional free meals, after taking into account the removal of protections. The action we are taking will ensure that over 500,000 additional children and pupils will receive a free and nutritious lunchtime meal.

Transitional protections have been in place since 2018 to ensure no one who gained free school meals (FSM) eligibility would lose it while Universal Credit was rolled out. The department intends to bring transitional protections to an end once the new eligibility is introduced. We have not yet carried out analysis by cohort characteristics to understand which pupils may no longer be eligible.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the number of children with SEND who will no longer have transitional protection funding for free school meals after the 2025-26 financial year.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

We have set aside over £1 billion in funding over the multiyear spending review period to cover the cost of additional free meals, after taking into account the removal of protections. The action we are taking will ensure that over 500,000 additional children and pupils will receive a free and nutritious lunchtime meal.

Transitional protections have been in place since 2018 to ensure no one who gained free school meals (FSM) eligibility would lose it while Universal Credit was rolled out. The department intends to bring transitional protections to an end once the new eligibility is introduced. We have not yet carried out analysis by cohort characteristics to understand which pupils may no longer be eligible.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the number of children in (a) rural and (b) urban areas who will no longer have transitional protection funding for free school meals after the 2025-26 financial year.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

We have set aside over £1 billion in funding over the multiyear spending review period to cover the cost of additional free meals, after taking into account the removal of protections. The action we are taking will ensure that over 500,000 additional children and pupils will receive a free and nutritious lunchtime meal.

Transitional protections have been in place since 2018 to ensure no one who gained free school meals (FSM) eligibility would lose it while Universal Credit was rolled out. The department intends to bring transitional protections to an end once the new eligibility is introduced. We have not yet carried out analysis by cohort characteristics to understand which pupils may no longer be eligible.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children will lose transitional protection funding for free school meals by each key stage group in 2025.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

We have set aside over £1 billion in funding over the multiyear spending review period to cover the cost of additional free meals, after taking into account the removal of protections. The action we are taking will ensure that over 500,000 additional children and pupils will receive a free and nutritious lunchtime meal.

Transitional protections have been in place since 2018 to ensure no one who gained free school meals (FSM) eligibility would lose it while Universal Credit was rolled out. The department intends to bring transitional protections to an end once the new eligibility is introduced. We have not yet carried out analysis by cohort characteristics to understand which pupils may no longer be eligible.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which metrics were used to decide which of the previously-approved free schools went ahead.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Mainstream projects were evaluated against consistent criteria on the need for places, value for money, and whether they would provide a distinctive or innovative education offer or risk negatively impacting other local schools.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment has been made of the adequacy of multiagency responses to bullying in schools, online and through messaging platforms which disrupt the learning of young people and cause distress and harm.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

Bullying is unacceptable and must be tackled to ensure schools are supportive environments where pupils can thrive. We know that evidence suggests that cyberbullying is often linked to face-to-face bullying.

All schools are legally required to have a behaviour policy with measures to prevent all forms of bullying. It is for schools to decide when to involve external agencies. Schools should contact the police where they believe an offence may have been committed.

The government is providing access to specialist mental health professionals in every school by expanding mental health support teams.

To support schools further with preventing and tackling bullying, the department has recently launched procurement for an expert, evidence-led review of anti-bullying best practice to inform a practical resource for schools.

Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence Attendance and Behaviour Hubs will focus on supporting senior leaders in schools to develop cultures with high expectations for attendance and behaviour, with robust processes for following up poor behaviour.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she plans to take to support schools and colleges in Newbury in the transition to V Levels.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department is currently consulting on post-16 pathways, including the introduction of V Levels. The consultation closes on 12 January 2026.

All schools and colleges, including those in Newbury, will be supported through the transition to V Levels by access to a comprehensive package of guidance and resources. Dedicated online information will provide timely updates and practical materials to help providers prepare for delivery. Clear guidance will set out the structure and requirements of the new qualifications, supporting staff understanding and effective implementation. Exemplar pathway documents will assist providers in planning learner routes, while study programme guidance will explain how V Levels can be used to develop meaningful programmes of study.

In addition, we expect awarding organisations to supply specifications, sample assessments and training materials to support accurate delivery and assessment. Together, these measures will provide schools and colleges with the clarity and confidence needed for the successful implementation of V Levels.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish her internal Departmental assessments of the potential impact of screentime on children in schools.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

Mobile phones have no place in school. Schools should prohibit the use of mobile phones and other smart technology with similar functionality to mobile phones throughout the school day, including during lessons, the time between lessons, breaktimes and lunchtime, as set out in the ‘Mobile phones in schools’ guidance, published in 2024 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mobile-phones-in-schools. The department expects all schools to take steps in line with this guidance to ensure mobile phones do not disrupt pupils’ learning.

There are no current assessments the department intends to publish.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish her internal Departmental assessments of the potential impact of smartphones on children in schools.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

Mobile phones have no place in school. Schools should prohibit the use of mobile phones and other smart technology with similar functionality to mobile phones throughout the school day, including during lessons, the time between lessons, breaktimes and lunchtime, as set out in the ‘Mobile phones in schools’ guidance, published in 2024 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mobile-phones-in-schools. The department expects all schools to take steps in line with this guidance to ensure mobile phones do not disrupt pupils’ learning.

There are no current assessments the department intends to publish.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children (i) in Fylde and (ii) across Lancashire are expected to benefit from the increased Early Years Pupil Premium.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

On the 15 December we announced the local authority funding rates for 2026/2027. From April 2026, the Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) will be increased by an additional 15% to £1.15 an hour, equivalent to up to £655 a year. Statistics at a parliamentary constituency level are not readily available, but in January 2025 there were 3,149 children in Lancashire who received EYPP. Figures for children in receipt of the early years pupil premium in Lancashire from 2018 to 2025 can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/dd3e2106-cef2-4e89-49e4-08de398c3998.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to publish data on school swimming attainment.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The department is processing the information gathered on school swimming attainment, which was received through the physical education and sport premium digital expenditure reporting return. We will publish a summary of quality assured data in due course.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will review the (a) age and (b) quality of school buildings in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

I refer the right hon. Member for South Holland and The Deepings to the answer of 31 October 2025 to Question 83935.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to meet to meet the ambition for kinship care set out by the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Following the Care Review, the government appointed the first ever National Kinship Care Ambassador and updated the Kinship Care Statutory Guidance for Local Authorities, which can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/670d3ed5e84ae1fd8592f2fa/Kinship_Care_-_statutory_guidance_for_local_authorities__October_2024.pdf.

The government has also extended both the delivery of over 140 kinship carer peer support groups across England and the virtual school head role (on a non-statutory basis) to include championing the education, attendance, and attainment of children in kinship care.

Through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, we will mandate all local authorities in England to publish their local kinship offer and offer Family Group Decision Making at pre-proceedings where that is in the child’s best interests.

The department will soon launch a Kinship Allowance Pilot to support eligible kinship carers with the costs of raising a child, which will support up to 4,500 children in kinship care in pilot local authorities. Any wider rollout of this will be informed by findings of the evaluation.

Kinship leave is also in scope of government’s parental leave review, which will recommend improvements to the current parental leave system.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to deliver accessible training and support services for kinship carers.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Following the Care Review, the government appointed the first ever National Kinship Care Ambassador and updated the Kinship Care Statutory Guidance for Local Authorities, which can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/670d3ed5e84ae1fd8592f2fa/Kinship_Care_-_statutory_guidance_for_local_authorities__October_2024.pdf.

The government has also extended both the delivery of over 140 kinship carer peer support groups across England and the virtual school head role (on a non-statutory basis) to include championing the education, attendance, and attainment of children in kinship care.

Through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, we will mandate all local authorities in England to publish their local kinship offer and offer Family Group Decision Making at pre-proceedings where that is in the child’s best interests.

The department will soon launch a Kinship Allowance Pilot to support eligible kinship carers with the costs of raising a child, which will support up to 4,500 children in kinship care in pilot local authorities. Any wider rollout of this will be informed by findings of the evaluation.

Kinship leave is also in scope of government’s parental leave review, which will recommend improvements to the current parental leave system.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to extend the Kinship Allowance programme to all eligible local authorities.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Following the Care Review, the government appointed the first ever National Kinship Care Ambassador and updated the Kinship Care Statutory Guidance for Local Authorities, which can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/670d3ed5e84ae1fd8592f2fa/Kinship_Care_-_statutory_guidance_for_local_authorities__October_2024.pdf.

The government has also extended both the delivery of over 140 kinship carer peer support groups across England and the virtual school head role (on a non-statutory basis) to include championing the education, attendance, and attainment of children in kinship care.

Through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, we will mandate all local authorities in England to publish their local kinship offer and offer Family Group Decision Making at pre-proceedings where that is in the child’s best interests.

The department will soon launch a Kinship Allowance Pilot to support eligible kinship carers with the costs of raising a child, which will support up to 4,500 children in kinship care in pilot local authorities. Any wider rollout of this will be informed by findings of the evaluation.

Kinship leave is also in scope of government’s parental leave review, which will recommend improvements to the current parental leave system.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to financially support kinship carers.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Following the Care Review, the government appointed the first ever National Kinship Care Ambassador and updated the Kinship Care Statutory Guidance for Local Authorities, which can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/670d3ed5e84ae1fd8592f2fa/Kinship_Care_-_statutory_guidance_for_local_authorities__October_2024.pdf.

The government has also extended both the delivery of over 140 kinship carer peer support groups across England and the virtual school head role (on a non-statutory basis) to include championing the education, attendance, and attainment of children in kinship care.

Through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, we will mandate all local authorities in England to publish their local kinship offer and offer Family Group Decision Making at pre-proceedings where that is in the child’s best interests.

The department will soon launch a Kinship Allowance Pilot to support eligible kinship carers with the costs of raising a child, which will support up to 4,500 children in kinship care in pilot local authorities. Any wider rollout of this will be informed by findings of the evaluation.

Kinship leave is also in scope of government’s parental leave review, which will recommend improvements to the current parental leave system.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what specialist support is available to adoptive parents of children with experience of trauma.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

This financial year, the department has invested £50 million in the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund, giving adopted and kinship children access to therapeutic services that stabilise placements and offer specialist support to both adoptive children and parents.

The department has approved applications for nearly 14,000 children since April, for both therapy and specialist assessments.

In addition, the department is providing £3 million this year to Adoption England to develop more multidisciplinary teams in Regional Adoption Agencies. These joint teams, working with local health partners, enable families to receive holistic and high quality support.

Adoption England is also working with Adoption Support and Local Authority Children’s ‘front door services’ to develop a much more joined-up approach to how services engage with families. The aim is to agree a protocol on collaboration so that families receive a far stronger range of support.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support she is providing to local authorities to help ensure they have a sufficient number of foster carers to meet local demand.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Foster care is one of my top priorities as Minister. The department is already investing £25 million of transformation funding for foster care, which is additional to the £15 million announced at the Autumn Budget covering the 2025/26 financial year. We are already working with over 60% of local authorities in England to transform the way they recruit and retain foster carers. The Spending Review also set aside funding for renovating and extending foster care homes.

However, we know we need to go further and faster with recruiting and retaining more carers and we will set out more detail on our planned investments and reforms for fostering in due course.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of toilet provision at primary schools in North Shropshire constituency.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Under the School Premises Regulations 2012 or The Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014, for maintained schools and academies respectively, each school’s responsible body must ensure that schools are maintained so that pupils’ health, safety and welfare is ensured.

The same regulations require that Responsible Bodies provide suitable toilets for pupils, which means they must consider factors such as the number, age and special requirements of pupils using the toilets.

The full set of the first Condition Data Collection (CDC1) data is presented at school or regional level in the House of Commons library here: https://depositedpapers.parliament.uk/depositedpaper/2285521/details. A summary of the CDC1 data can be accessed in the CDC1 key findings report here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/condition-data-collection-2-cdc2-programme.

CDC1 ran from 2017 and 2019 and includes all government funded schools in England. The successor programme, CDC2, reviews and refreshes CDC1 data. It does not yet cover all schools in scope and is due to complete in 2026.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data her Department holds on the number of primary schools without indoor toilets.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Under the School Premises Regulations 2012 or The Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014, for maintained schools and academies respectively, each school’s responsible body must ensure that schools are maintained so that pupils’ health, safety and welfare is ensured.

The same regulations require that Responsible Bodies provide suitable toilets for pupils, which means they must consider factors such as the number, age and special requirements of pupils using the toilets.

The full set of the first Condition Data Collection (CDC1) data is presented at school or regional level in the House of Commons library here: https://depositedpapers.parliament.uk/depositedpaper/2285521/details. A summary of the CDC1 data can be accessed in the CDC1 key findings report here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/condition-data-collection-2-cdc2-programme.

CDC1 ran from 2017 and 2019 and includes all government funded schools in England. The successor programme, CDC2, reviews and refreshes CDC1 data. It does not yet cover all schools in scope and is due to complete in 2026.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of encouraging the use of school grounds by communities to increase access to sports; and what plans she has to provide funding for upgrades to facilities.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

On 4 December, the department launched a new programme, ‘Maximising Value for Pupils’, which will support schools and trusts maximise value from the investment in the school system, so every pound is delivering for children. A key pillar of the programme will be to make the most of financial and physical assets and we have committed to engage schools and trusts to understand how we can best support them to do so.

Many schools and trusts are already using their assets for community benefit, which may include making school grounds and facilities available for local sports clubs. We want to ensure this social value is maintained while also supporting opportunities to maximise value from their assets. We are investing almost £3 billion per year by 2034/35 in capital maintenance and renewal to improve the condition of school and college buildings and grounds, rising from £2.4 billion in 2025/26.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the decision to reduce the therapy limit for the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund on children using that fund.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The government made the difficult decision to cut the fair access limit in April to ensure that the fund remained financially sustainable and available to help as many children and their families as possible. As a result, this year the department has helped 14,000 children. This financial year we have invested £50 million into the adoption and special guardianship support fund. We have approved applications for nearly 14,000 children since April, for both therapy and specialist assessments. We continue to review the impact of the changes to funding made in April 2025.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding her Department has provided for programmes that support the mental health of teachers and school staff in the last 12 months.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The department is funding the charity, Education Support, to deliver free mental health and wellbeing support to school and college leaders. Professional supervision enables leaders to work with qualified and experienced supervisors to develop strategies to support their mental wellbeing.

A new three-year contract was awarded to Education Support to deliver this support from April 2024 to March 2027 at a value of up to £1.5 million with the aim of supporting approximately 2,500 leaders. Over 1,300 leaders have been supported since April 2024.

Funding figures for the last 12 months are not available. For the 2025/26 financial year, approximately £500,000 is expected to be spent.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions her Department has had with Derbyshire County Council on the adequacy of support for children with special educational needs and disabilities in Bolsover constituency.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

A joint local area special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) inspection was undertaken by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in September 2024, which found widespread and systemic failings leading to significant concerns about the experiences and outcomes of children and young people with SEND.

An improvement notice was issued on 14 January 2025. Ofsted and the CQC approved the priority action plan submitted by the local area partnership (LAP), and a monthly, independently chaired, assurance board monitor’s progress.

The department has put in place systems to track outcomes against the LAPs plan. This includes commissioning a SEND adviser to work collaboratively with an NHS England adviser to challenge, support and monitor progress. Additional support is provided through an intervention support fund, and training through a consortium led by the Council for Disabled Children. Council leaders have written to the department setting out their progress and confirming their commitment to making the improvements necessary.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what measures will be put in place to prevent any widening of attainment gaps between students with differing levels of access to digital technology when on-screen assessments are introduced.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Ofqual is consulting on a controlled approach to any further adoption of on-screen assessment that protects standards, fairness and teachers’ ability to prepare students effectively. Under its proposals, most GCSEs, AS and A levels will continue to be assessed with pen and paper. Each exam board would be limited to introducing a maximum of two new on-screen specifications, but not in the most popular subjects.

It will be entirely optional for schools and colleges to offer on-screen assessments if they are confident in their ability to deliver them fairly. To support fairness, Ofqual is proposing that exam boards must offer separate specifications for paper-based and on-screen qualifications and maintain standards to ensure that it is no easier or harder to achieve a given grade, regardless of which specification is taken.

Students will not be permitted to use their own laptops for exams to prevent unfairness arising from differences in device quality or access. Ofqual has published an equality impact assessment alongside the consultation and will refine it following analysis of consultation responses.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the level of compliance of Multi Academy Trusts with statutory guidance on charging for school-time activities, including WOW days, curriculum-required trips and transport to compulsory swimming lessons.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The Education Act 1996 prohibits schools from charging for education provided during school hours, subject to very limited exceptions. The department publishes guidance to assist schools to comply with the law on charging for school activities. Parents who have concerns about their school’s charging policy should raise this with the school. They may be able to complain to my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, if they remain unsatisfied once they have exhausted the school’s complaints procedure.

The department has a strong policy presumption against the disposal of school playing fields and has a set of criteria used to assess applications for consent. These include assessing whether the school can continue to meet its curriculum needs. The department gives consent only if the criteria are met, and where the proceeds from sales are to be reinvested in improvements to sports and education facilities.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate she has made of the average waiting time for SEND assessments in each local authority in England.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Information on the number and percentage of education, health and care (EHC) plans issued within the statutory 20 week deadline, with and without statutory exceptions to that deadline applying, is part of the latest statistical release published on 26 June 2025 at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-health-and-care-plans/2025.

The table linked below shows the number and proportion of plans issued within, and over, the statutory 20-week deadline, excluding where statutory exceptions to that deadline apply, for each local authority in England during the 2024 calendar year: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/adbf152d-5d22-42d2-c78b-08de38576300.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the incidence of academy trusts undertaking new capital projects on school playing fields while requesting parental contributions for curriculum activities that schools are not permitted to charge for.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The Education Act 1996 prohibits schools from charging for education provided during school hours, subject to very limited exceptions. The department publishes guidance to assist schools to comply with the law on charging for school activities. Parents who have concerns about their school’s charging policy should raise this with the school. They may be able to complain to my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, if they remain unsatisfied once they have exhausted the school’s complaints procedure.

The department has a strong policy presumption against the disposal of school playing fields and has a set of criteria used to assess applications for consent. These include assessing whether the school can continue to meet its curriculum needs. The department gives consent only if the criteria are met, and where the proceeds from sales are to be reinvested in improvements to sports and education facilities.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what comparative data her Department holds on the proportion of 16-24 year olds not in education, employment or training (a) who were previously eligible for free school meals and (b) overall.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department publishes statistics on those aged 16 to 24 who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) for England from the Labour Force Survey (LFS): NEET age 16 to 24, available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/neet-statistics-annual-brief/2024.

At the end of 2024, the proportion of the 16 to 24 population who were NEET was estimated to be 13.6%. Data is not available for those NEET who attended state schools nor who were previously eligible for free school meals, as this is not collected in the LFS.

Official statistics for 16 to 18 destination measures show the percentage of pupils not continuing to a sustained education, apprenticeship or employment destination in the year after completing 16 to 18 study, that is 6 months of continual activity. The latest publication includes destinations in 2023/24 by characteristics breakdown, for those finishing 16 to 18 study in 2022/23. Data on those who were not recorded as continuing to a sustained education, apprenticeship or employment destination is available for state-funded mainstream schools and colleges, and by free school meals eligibility here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/9e5bf7ed-27f0-49f3-b1bd-08de39895a0e.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that all pupils are able to purse vocational education pathways in Lincolnshire.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper, published on 20 October, set out our vision for a world-leading skills system which breaks down barriers to opportunity, meets student and employers’ needs, widens access to high quality education and training, supports innovation, research, and development and improves people’s lives.

It sets out our plans to introduce V Levels, which will sit alongside A levels and T Levels, and will become the pathway for vocational qualifications at level 3 for 16 to 19 year olds, sitting alongside the academic and technical pathways. We will also introduce two clear post-16 pathways at level 2 for further study and for occupations. We have launched a consultation on these measures, which will close on 12 January 2026. Full details are accessible at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/post-16-level-3-and-below-pathways.

Skills England has also been established to ensure we have the highly trained workforce needed to deliver the national, regional and local skills needs of the next decade.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what evaluation has been undertaken of access to specialist educational provision for children with acquired brain injuries; and whether additional support is planned for emerging specialist schools such as those in Stockton-on-Tees.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Children who have had a brain injury can be affected in different ways. Some brain injuries will result in a special educational need (SEN) or a medical need, whilst others may affect a child in other ways. In whatever way a brain injury manifests, it is essential that the pupil’s individual needs are identified and supported appropriately.

Schools must make arrangements to support their pupils with medical conditions and must make reasonable adjustments to their practices, procedures and policies and not discriminate against their disabled pupils.

The governing body should ensure that sufficient staff have received suitable training and are competent before they take on responsibility to support children with medical conditions. They should also ensure that any members of school staff who provide support to pupils with medical conditions, or those with SEN, are able to access information and other teaching support materials as needed.

Mainstream schools must use their best endeavours to meet the special educational needs of their pupils, which includes those with acquired brain injury. Where needs are more complex the school may request the local authority to conduct an education, health and care needs assessment.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps are being taken to improve early identification of cognitive, behavioural, and emotional needs arising from acquired brain injury in children, particularly within school settings.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Children who have had a brain injury can be affected in different ways. Some brain injuries will result in a special educational need (SEN) or a medical need, whilst others may affect a child in other ways. In whatever way a brain injury manifests, it is essential that the pupil’s individual needs are identified and supported appropriately.

Schools must make arrangements to support their pupils with medical conditions and must make reasonable adjustments to their practices, procedures and policies and not discriminate against their disabled pupils.

The governing body should ensure that sufficient staff have received suitable training and are competent before they take on responsibility to support children with medical conditions. They should also ensure that any members of school staff who provide support to pupils with medical conditions, or those with SEN, are able to access information and other teaching support materials as needed.

Mainstream schools must use their best endeavours to meet the special educational needs of their pupils, which includes those with acquired brain injury. Where needs are more complex the school may request the local authority to conduct an education, health and care needs assessment.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment has been made of the adequacy of training for teachers and education support staff on recognising and supporting pupils with acquired brain injuries.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Children who have had a brain injury can be affected in different ways. Some brain injuries will result in a special educational need (SEN) or a medical need, whilst others may affect a child in other ways. In whatever way a brain injury manifests, it is essential that the pupil’s individual needs are identified and supported appropriately.

Schools must make arrangements to support their pupils with medical conditions and must make reasonable adjustments to their practices, procedures and policies and not discriminate against their disabled pupils.

The governing body should ensure that sufficient staff have received suitable training and are competent before they take on responsibility to support children with medical conditions. They should also ensure that any members of school staff who provide support to pupils with medical conditions, or those with SEN, are able to access information and other teaching support materials as needed.

Mainstream schools must use their best endeavours to meet the special educational needs of their pupils, which includes those with acquired brain injury. Where needs are more complex the school may request the local authority to conduct an education, health and care needs assessment.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support students with dyslexia in the context of the Curriculum and Assessment Review Final Report and the SEND white paper.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The government is committed to ensuring that all pupils receive the support they need to achieve and thrive, including those with dyslexia. The Curriculum and Assessment Review emphasised inclusion and high standards for all, recommending evidence-led resources to help teachers adapt curricula for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). We know that effective early identification and intervention is critical to improving the outcomes for children and young people with SEND. We are strengthening the evidence base of what works to improve early identification in mainstream settings. This includes recently published evidence reviews from University College London which highlight the most effective tools, strategies and approaches to identify and support different types of needs

The department also recently announced new government-backed research into SEND identification, which will aim to develop and test effective approaches to help the early identification of children needing tailored educational support.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 2 December 2025 to Question 95257 on Children: Data protection, if she will publish a Data Privacy Impact Assessment on the entire Bill.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

A single Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) cannot be conducted on the entire Bill. DPIAs are intended to evaluate specific data processing activities that may present high risks to individuals’ data protection rights, rather than entire pieces of legislation. The department has ensured that all Bill provisions involving personal data comply with data protection legislation by consulting the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) under Article 36 of UK GDPR.

We continue to engage with the ICO key measures, such as the Consistent Identifier and Children Not in School (CNIS) measures, to identify and mitigate any data protection risks. In line with our commitment to transparency, we will publish summaries of these DPIAs to provide assurance that children’s data will be processed lawfully and securely once the measures become operational.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the answer of 28 November 2025 to question 93149, if she will publish the Programme-level Key Performance Indicators for RISE advisors.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The department is committed to transparency and accountability. To that end, we will publish the aggregated information on programme-level performance measures and key performance indicators so stakeholders can see how the programme is delivering against its objectives.

Advisers, whether working with targeted schools or through the universal offer, play a vital role in achieving these programme-level outcomes. Their work is aligned to the overarching measures that define success for the programme.

The department does not intend to publish individual adviser objectives. These are part of personal performance management and may constitute personal data, that cannot be disclosed under data protection requirements.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools in Telford constituency have applied for funding to provide a) free breakfast clubs and b) funded nurseries places in all rounds of applications up to and including 6 December 2025; and how many of those applications have been successful.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The department launched the free breakfast club early adopter scheme in April 2025 to test and learn what works in delivering free breakfast clubs in 750 state-funded schools across England. Early adopter schools were selected to ensure a wide range of representation across different school types, sizes and geographical areas. In Telford, one school is taking part in the scheme. National rollout will begin in April 2026, and the first cohort of applications closed on 5 December. Successful applicants will be announced in due course.

High quality early years education is central to the department’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity, give every child the best possible start in life and is essential to our Plan for Change. This government is boosting availability and access through the School-based Nursery Programme. In phase 1 of the programme, one primary school in Telford applied and was awarded funding. Phase 2 closed on 11 December, with successful schools to be announced in due course.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the (a) name, (b) job title, (c) annual remuneration, (d) time commitment and (e) expected end date is for each direct ministerial appointment in her Department.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The department does not currently have any direct ministerial appointments.

Details of any exceptional public appointments and all other regulated public appointments at the department can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/department-for-education-non-executive-appointments.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how the Department plans to monitor the potential impact of changes to independent school fees on (a) schools and (b) services in Surrey Heath constituency.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The department does not monitor impact on changes to private school fees. This is a matter for individual schools.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how are post-16 options such as apprenticeships, technical qualifications and other vocational routes being reformed; and what outcomes data she plans to publish on progression and earnings.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

This government is transforming the apprenticeships offer into a new growth and skills offer, which will provide greater flexibility to employers and learners, and support the Industrial Strategy. In August, the government introduced new foundation apprenticeships for young people in targeted sectors, and shorter duration apprenticeships.

In October, we published a consultation which sets out our proposals for reformed qualifications pathways at level 3 and level 2. This includes a third, vocational pathway at level 3 called V Levels, and two new pathways at level 2 through the Further Study pathway and the Occupational pathway. The consultation closes on 12 January 2026 and can be accessed here: https://consult.education.gov.uk/technical-education-and-qualifications-reform/post-16-level-3-and-below-pathways/supporting_documents/post-16-level-3-and-below-pathways-consultationpdf.

The department publishes an annual official statistics publication which presents the employment, earnings and learning outcomes of further education learners. The statistics can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/further-education-outcomes/2021-22#explore-data-and-files.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what measures she will use to evaluate the effect of the National Year of Reading 2026 on closing the gender attainment gap.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Reading for pleasure brings a range of benefits, including strong links with attainment. However, research by the National Literacy Trust shows that in 2025, just one in three children aged 8 to 18 reported enjoying reading, with teenage boys regularly reporting the lowest levels of reading enjoyment.

That is why the department is launching the National Year of Reading, a UK-wide campaign to address the steep decline in reading enjoyment amongst children, young people and adults

Grounded in existing evidence and new research by an external research agency, the campaign is designed to deliver meaningful impact during 2026 and beyond.

The impact of the National Year of Reading will be measured through an independent external evaluation. The evaluation will examine how the campaign influences reading behaviours, connects with audiences and shapes attitudes towards reading, particularly among the campaign’s priority audiences: teenage boys, early years children, and families from disadvantaged communities. It will also assess the wider impact on the literacy sector and the foundations for long-term change. The findings will be published in 2027.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what guidance they have issued to the Regional Department for Education Directors about the implementation of the Equality Act 2010 in schools in the maintained system.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

It is a school's responsibility to ensure they meet the requirements in the Equality Act 2010, including complying with the Public Sector Equality Duty. The department provides guidance to help schools understand their duties under the Act.

Enforcement of equality legislation is the role of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), which offers advice, supports legal cases, and can take regulatory action against organisations that breach the law.

If someone believes a school has not complied with the Equality Act, they should first follow the school’s complaints procedure. They can also seek advice from the Equality Advisory and Support Service, which advises and assists people on issues relating to equality and human rights. If, after completing the school’s process, they feel their complaint was mishandled, they may complain to the department, which will review whether the school followed their complaints process correctly.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what processes the Regional Department for Education Directors has in place to monitor the implementation of the Equality Act 2010 by academies.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

It is a school's responsibility to ensure they meet the requirements in the Equality Act 2010, including complying with the Public Sector Equality Duty. The department provides guidance to help schools understand their duties under the Act.

Enforcement of equality legislation is the role of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), which offers advice, supports legal cases, and can take regulatory action against organisations that breach the law.

If someone believes a school has not complied with the Equality Act, they should first follow the school’s complaints procedure. They can also seek advice from the Equality Advisory and Support Service, which advises and assists people on issues relating to equality and human rights. If, after completing the school’s process, they feel their complaint was mishandled, they may complain to the department, which will review whether the school followed their complaints process correctly.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what guidance they have issued to the Regional Department for Education Directors about the implementation of the Equality Act 2010 in academies.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

It is a school's responsibility to ensure they meet the requirements in the Equality Act 2010, including complying with the Public Sector Equality Duty. The department provides guidance to help schools understand their duties under the Act.

Enforcement of equality legislation is the role of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), which offers advice, supports legal cases, and can take regulatory action against organisations that breach the law.

If someone believes a school has not complied with the Equality Act, they should first follow the school’s complaints procedure. They can also seek advice from the Equality Advisory and Support Service, which advises and assists people on issues relating to equality and human rights. If, after completing the school’s process, they feel their complaint was mishandled, they may complain to the department, which will review whether the school followed their complaints process correctly.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to increase early identification of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The department knows that effective early identification and intervention is critical in improving the outcomes of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.

To support settings to identify need early, the department is strengthening the evidence base of what works to improve early identification in mainstream settings. Recently published evidence reviews from University College London will help to drive inclusive practices, as they highlight what the best available evidence suggests are the most effective tools, strategies and approaches for teachers and other relevant staff in mainstream settings to identify and support children and young people with different types of needs.

We also recently announced new government-backed research into special educational need identification, which will be delivered by UK Research Innovation in partnership with the department. This will aim to develop and test trusted and effective approaches to help the early identification of children needing targeted educational support.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much of the announced SEND funding will be allocated to Surrey County Council.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

In December, the department announced at least £3 billion for high needs capital between 2026/27 and 2029/30 to support children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities or who require alternative provision. We will confirm local authority allocations for this funding in the spring.

This builds on the £740 million invested in 2025/26. which is on track to create around 10,000 new specialist places, of which Surrey Council was allocated just over £16 million for 2025/26.

This funding is intended to create facilities within mainstream schools that can deliver more intensive support adapted to suit the pupils’ needs. It can also be used to adapt mainstream schools to be more accessible and create special school places for pupils with the most complex needs.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that schools provide equal access to school reports, parents’ evening information, and other communications for separated and separating parents.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The department’s parental responsibility guidance sets out how schools should communicate with non-resident parents. The guidance states that ’school and local authority staff must treat all parents equally, unless a court order limits a parent’s ability to make educational decisions, participate in school life or receive information about their child’.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the availability of anonymised data relevant to children with irregular migrant status who are enrolled in schools.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Every child who is resident in England has a right to a school place irrespective of their nationality or immigration status therefore this data is not collected.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment has been made of the potential impact of financial barriers such as maintenance loans, accommodation costs, unpaid placements on working-class students in higher education; and what reforms are being considered to improve retention alongside initial access.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department recognises the impact the cost of living crisis on students. To help students from the most disadvantaged backgrounds progress into and excel in higher education, we will future proof our maintenance loan offer by increasing maintenance loans in line with forecast inflation every academic year. We will also provide extra support for care leavers, who will automatically become eligible to receive the maximum rate of maintenance loan.

We will reintroduce maintenance grants, providing full-time higher education students from low-income households studying subjects aligned with the government’s missions and Industrial Strategy with up to £1,000 extra support per year from 2028/29.

Further, we will develop options to address regional disparities in access and tackle systemic barriers in the journey to higher education for disadvantaged students. To deliver this we have brought together a task and finish group to focus on how the system can best widen access for those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of college provision for construction courses in Surrey Heath constituency.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

We have established 10 Construction Technical Excellence Colleges (CTECs), one for each region of the country and one cross-regional CTEC. These CTECs will work with all construction providers and other key stakeholders across their region to deliver on the objectives of the CTEC programme, which includes boosting construction skills provision in direct response to local and national employer needs.

North Kent College is the CTEC for the south-east and will be working across the region to deliver on the objectives of the programme.

We recognise that many colleges have waiting lists for construction courses, so the department is investing £195 million capital funding announced as part of the construction skills package to expand construction skills capacity in the areas across the country, both in CTECs and their partner colleges. More detail on how areas such as Surrey Heath can access this funding will be set out in the new year.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking with the devolved administrations to facilitate the sharing of best practice and models of reform of special educational needs provision throughout the UK.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

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

​As part of our Plan for Change, we are determined to fix the special educational needs and disabilities system and restore the trust of parents by ensuring schools have the tools to better identify and support children before issues escalate. We’re continuing to engage closely with children, parents and experts as we develop plans to ensure all children get the outcomes and life chances they deserve. 

The department engages the devolved governments at ministerial and official level on a range of areas, which allows a sharing of collective knowledge and experience as well as collaborative working on shared interests and challenges to deliver better outcomes for people across the UK.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase the availability of sign language education courses.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

There are a variety of British Sign Language (BSL) qualifications available, from Level 1 through to Level 6. This includes Level 1 and 2 accredited qualifications offered by the Institute of British Sign Language, Signature and ABC Awards.

There are also funds available for adults who want to learn new skills through the Adult Skills Fund (ASF), which fully funds or co-funds skills provision for eligible adults aged 19 and above from pre-entry to level 3. 68% of the ASF is devolved to 13 strategic authorities, including the East Midlands Authority, who are responsible for ASF provision to their residents. The Department for Work and Pensions is responsible for the remaining ASF and makes funding available for a range of qualifications including the Level 1 Award in BSL.

The government, working with Ofqual, has also developed the content and assessment arrangements for a new BSL GCSE.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to follow the government of Scotland in providing matched funding for incentivised learning of life skills for young people in care through the Share Foundation’s Stepladder PLUS programme.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

​​We want to ensure that children leaving care have stable homes, access to health services, support to build lifelong loving relationships and are engaged in education, employment and training.

​

​We recognise the importance of financial skills, such as that provided through the Stepladder Plus programme, in achieving this aim. The department currently supports the use of this programme through its contract, for the provision of Junior ISA savings accounts to children in care, with The Share Foundation. We do not have any plans to provide match funding at this time.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire are able to offer swimming lessons to pupils.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

It is a requirement of the PE national curriculum that schools must provide swimming and water safety lessons to pupils in either key stage 1 or 2. Whilst academies are not required to follow the national curriculum, they must provide a broad and balanced curriculum. The department is processing information gathered on swimming and water safety through the Digital Expenditure Reporting Return and will publish a summary of quality assured data in the new year.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 2 December (HL12136), whether they plan to conduct a formal review of the law relating to (1) collective worship, and (2) religious education, in schools in England in response to the Supreme Court's ruling in JR87 [2025] UKSC 40; and if so, what the scope and timetable of that review will be.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

​​We are continuing to review the Supreme Court judgement to establish whether there are any implications for religious education or collective worship in England and will say more in due course. ​

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department provides to local authorities on reviewing care plans where new diagnoses of (a) special educational needs, (b) disabilities or (c) neurodevelopmental conditions are identified after a child has entered foster care.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department has published a comprehensive suite of guidance to ensure that children in care have their needs identified and supported, as part of a dynamic and continuous cycle of care planning. This includes:

• The Children Act 1989 guidance, Volume 2.
• Promoting the health and wellbeing of looked-after children (joint Department for Education and Department of Health and Social Care guidance).
• Promoting the educational outcomes of looked-after children.
• The Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice.

As part of this, each child must have a care plan, bringing together information from assessment across the dimensions of their developmental needs, incorporating a health plan and a personal education plan. Reviews must occur within 20 days of entering care, again within three months, and at least every six months thereafter, and can be brought forward if circumstances change significantly, including to account for significant health, medical events, or diagnoses.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make proposals to support pupils with medical conditions, including allergies.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units to make arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions. Schools should ensure they are aware of any pupils with medical conditions and have policies and processes in place to ensure these can be well managed. Any member of school staff providing support to a pupil with medical needs should have received suitable training.

The government has committed to reviewing the statutory guidance on Supporting Pupils with Medical Conditions at School (2015), and we intend to consult on revised guidance. The current guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3.

Our aim is to ensure that schools are better equipped to support all pupils with medical conditions as part of our wider ambition to create more inclusive schools through the forthcoming Schools White Paper.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment has her Department made of the potential merits of incorporating history-based video games to enhance learning.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Schools are trusted to use their judgement to choose high quality resources and deliver their lessons in ways that work best for their pupils.

The independent Curriculum and Assessment Review has recommended that the department works with experts to assess the validity of digital practice in subjects, and we will consider inclusion of relevant digital content in the national curriculum based on this process.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps is she taking to ensure that the National Curriculum includes immersive experiences.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The government response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review, published on 5 November, sets out our plans for a refreshed curriculum to ensure that all pupils develop the knowledge and skills that we know are essential for life, work and innovation.

Schools are trusted to use their judgement to choose high quality resources and deliver their lessons in ways that work best for their pupils.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what factors determined the timing between the publication of the consultation on the SEND white paper on 2 December 2025 and the first engagement event on 3 December 2025; and whether that notice period aligns with her Department’s standards for effective public consultation.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The department has undertaken extensive engagement over the past year, holding more than 100 events with children, young people, parents and other stakeholders to inform our work on special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

The SEND national conversation, launched on 2 December, is not a formal consultation but an expansion of this ongoing engagement, designed to broaden participation and ensure parents’ voices are heard. The first events were scheduled promptly to maintain momentum and provide early opportunities for families to contribute. The Council for Disabled Children has promoted the regional engagement sessions, which are now fully subscribed, and further online events run by the department remain open for sign‑up.

A formal consultation will take place following publication of the Schools White Paper next year, in line with the department’s standards for effective public consultation, to continue the conversation on reform and gather views on specific proposals.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of expanding the National Curriculum to embed (a) critical and creative thinking, (b) problem solving, (c) communication and (d) collaboration skills to support the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The government response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review sets out our plan to ensure that all pupils develop the knowledge and skills that we know are essential for life, work and innovation.

When refreshing the national curriculum, we will identify where subject-specific disciplinary skills are not clearly described or not emphasised adequately, and then ensure that these are properly reflected in those subjects’ programmes of study. For example, creative thinking in computing, critical thinking in history or problem solving in maths.

Furthermore, we will be extending citizenship to primary schools to introduce important financial literacy to pupils from an earlier age; reforming computing education to equip more young people with the digital skills they need for the future; and creating a new oracy framework to help pupils become confident, fluent speakers, setting them up for leadership roles in the workplace.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will bring forward policy proposals to make access to PE and sport at school a right for all disabled children.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The department is committed to giving every pupil the chance to participate in PE and sport while at school. This government has committed funding of up to £300,000 this financial year to the Youth Sport Trust to deliver Inclusion 2028, a programme to upskill the school workforce to deliver high quality, inclusive PE, school sport and physical activity to pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The programme also funds the Inclusive Education Hub, an online platform of resources to help schools make their PE and sport more inclusive.

Schools also receive capital funding directly through core funding. The government is investing almost £3 billion per year by 2034/35 in capital maintenance and renewal to improve the condition of the school and college estate, rising from £2.4 billion in 2025/26.

Following my right hon. friend, the Prime Minister’s announcement on 19 June 2025, we are establishing a new PE and school sport partnerships network to ensure all children and young people, including those with SEND, have access to high quality PE and school sport.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 14 February to Question 29521, on Teachers: Music, for what reason the Department does not collect curriculum data from primary schools on the subjects taught by individual teachers; and whether consideration has been given to collecting such data in order to identify the number of primary teachers specialising in music.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Information on the school workforce, including the number of teachers in state-funded schools and teacher entrants and leaver rates, is published in the ‘School workforce in England’ statistical publication, which is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england/2024.

The department publishes secondary subject level entrant numbers and leaver rates as part of the ‘Postgraduate initial teacher training targets’ (PGITT) publication, the most recent version of which is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/postgraduate-initial-teacher-training-targets/2025-26.

To note that the entrant and leaver rates included within this publication are calculated for a specific purpose which is to produce the primary and secondary PGITT targets and teachers that arrive from or leave to the special/pupil referral unit phase are counted within the rates. This is a different methodology than used to calculate the overall national and phase level teacher entrant and leaver rates in the school workforce census and so the rates are not directly comparable. These data will be updated when new targets are published in Spring 2026.

The department collects and publishes data on the degree subjects held by primary school teachers. The number of primary school teachers who hold a music degree or degree in a music-related subject is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/1a4752ff-957f-4676-b1dd-08de39895a0e. This data has been available since 31 July 2025.

1.7% of secondary school music teachers were aged 60 or over in 2024/25. There is no single set retirement age for teachers. The department does not collect information on subjects taught in primary schools.

The department does not collect curriculum data from primary schools on the subjects taught by individual teachers. Unlike secondary teachers, who specialise in individual subjects, primary school teachers typically instruct across the whole curriculum. Gathering detailed data on which subjects each teacher delivers would require extensive additional reporting, increasing administrative workload.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department collects data on the (a) degree subjects of primary school teachers and (b) number of primary school teachers who hold a music degree or degree in a music-related subject.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Information on the school workforce, including the number of teachers in state-funded schools and teacher entrants and leaver rates, is published in the ‘School workforce in England’ statistical publication, which is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england/2024.

The department publishes secondary subject level entrant numbers and leaver rates as part of the ‘Postgraduate initial teacher training targets’ (PGITT) publication, the most recent version of which is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/postgraduate-initial-teacher-training-targets/2025-26.

To note that the entrant and leaver rates included within this publication are calculated for a specific purpose which is to produce the primary and secondary PGITT targets and teachers that arrive from or leave to the special/pupil referral unit phase are counted within the rates. This is a different methodology than used to calculate the overall national and phase level teacher entrant and leaver rates in the school workforce census and so the rates are not directly comparable. These data will be updated when new targets are published in Spring 2026.

The department collects and publishes data on the degree subjects held by primary school teachers. The number of primary school teachers who hold a music degree or degree in a music-related subject is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/1a4752ff-957f-4676-b1dd-08de39895a0e. This data has been available since 31 July 2025.

1.7% of secondary school music teachers were aged 60 or over in 2024/25. There is no single set retirement age for teachers. The department does not collect information on subjects taught in primary schools.

The department does not collect curriculum data from primary schools on the subjects taught by individual teachers. Unlike secondary teachers, who specialise in individual subjects, primary school teachers typically instruct across the whole curriculum. Gathering detailed data on which subjects each teacher delivers would require extensive additional reporting, increasing administrative workload.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of primary and secondary school music teachers are within 5 years of retirement age.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Information on the school workforce, including the number of teachers in state-funded schools and teacher entrants and leaver rates, is published in the ‘School workforce in England’ statistical publication, which is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england/2024.

The department publishes secondary subject level entrant numbers and leaver rates as part of the ‘Postgraduate initial teacher training targets’ (PGITT) publication, the most recent version of which is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/postgraduate-initial-teacher-training-targets/2025-26.

To note that the entrant and leaver rates included within this publication are calculated for a specific purpose which is to produce the primary and secondary PGITT targets and teachers that arrive from or leave to the special/pupil referral unit phase are counted within the rates. This is a different methodology than used to calculate the overall national and phase level teacher entrant and leaver rates in the school workforce census and so the rates are not directly comparable. These data will be updated when new targets are published in Spring 2026.

The department collects and publishes data on the degree subjects held by primary school teachers. The number of primary school teachers who hold a music degree or degree in a music-related subject is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/1a4752ff-957f-4676-b1dd-08de39895a0e. This data has been available since 31 July 2025.

1.7% of secondary school music teachers were aged 60 or over in 2024/25. There is no single set retirement age for teachers. The department does not collect information on subjects taught in primary schools.

The department does not collect curriculum data from primary schools on the subjects taught by individual teachers. Unlike secondary teachers, who specialise in individual subjects, primary school teachers typically instruct across the whole curriculum. Gathering detailed data on which subjects each teacher delivers would require extensive additional reporting, increasing administrative workload.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what comparative data her Department holds on the proportion of 16-24 year olds not in education, employment or training (a) who attended state schools and (b) overall.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department publishes statistics on those aged 16 to 24 who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) for England from the Labour Force Survey (LFS): NEET age 16 to 24, available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/neet-statistics-annual-brief/2024.

At the end of 2024, the proportion of the 16 to 24 population who were NEET was estimated to be 13.6%. Data is not available for those NEET who attended state schools nor who were previously eligible for free school meals, as this is not collected in the LFS.

Official statistics for 16 to 18 destination measures show the percentage of pupils not continuing to a sustained education, apprenticeship or employment destination in the year after completing 16 to 18 study, that is 6 months of continual activity. The latest publication includes destinations in 2023/24 by characteristics breakdown, for those finishing 16 to 18 study in 2022/23. Data on those who were not recorded as continuing to a sustained education, apprenticeship or employment destination is available for state-funded mainstream schools and colleges, and by free school meals eligibility here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/9e5bf7ed-27f0-49f3-b1bd-08de39895a0e.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the closure of arts-based courses at universities and colleges on the culture and economy of towns and cities.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

​​Arts-based courses are an important part of the creative sector’s contribution to society and the economy.

​Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs) are designed to ensure training provision meets local labour market needs. We have placed stronger expectations on higher education (HE) providers, through statutory guidance, to actively engage with LSIPs and consider them when shaping their course offer, supporting local economic growth.

​For this academic year, strategic priorities grant recurrent (programme) funding allocation for world-leading small and specialist providers is being maintained at £57.4 million. This is in line with the government’s priorities to maximise growth and opportunity for students, HE providers and the economy. For performing and creative arts courses at all approved (fee cap) providers, the per student funding rate for eligible courses is being maintained at £130.54 for this academic year.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what processes the Regional Department for Education Directors has in place to monitor the implementation of the Equality Act 2010 by schools in the maintained system.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

It is a school's responsibility to ensure they meet the requirements in the Equality Act 2010, including complying with the Public Sector Equality Duty. The department provides guidance to help schools understand their duties under the Act.

Enforcement of equality legislation is the role of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), which offers advice, supports legal cases, and can take regulatory action against organisations that breach the law.

If someone believes a school has not complied with the Equality Act, they should first follow the school’s complaints procedure. They can also seek advice from the Equality Advisory and Support Service, which advises and assists people on issues relating to equality and human rights. If, after completing the school’s process, they feel their complaint was mishandled, they may complain to the department, which will review whether the school followed their complaints process correctly.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many minutes of citizenship teaching per week will be required for a primary school class when that subject becomes compulsory.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The national curriculum does not specify how much time should be dedicated to individual subjects at either primary or secondary school. The department trusts school leaders and teachers to design their curriculum and lessons to meet the requirements in a way that is appropriate for their pupils.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she plans to take to improve a) universal, b) targeted and c) specialist speech, language and communication support.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Speech and Language Therapists (SaLTs) play a critical role in early intervention for children and young people. By breaking down communication barriers, they unlock learning, inclusion, and opportunity for every child.

The department is working closely with the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England to improve access to community health services, including speech and language therapy, for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. This includes extending the Early Language and Support for Every Child programme, trialling new ways of working to better identify and support children with speech, language and communication needs in early years settings and primary schools.

We are also continuing to grow the pipeline. In addition to the undergraduate degree route, speech and language therapists can also train via a degree apprenticeship. This route is now in its fourth year of delivery and offers an alternative pathway to the traditional degree route into a successful career as a speech and language therapist.

Further plans to bolster this critical workforce will be set out in the forthcoming Schools White Paper.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what has been the market share of (a) private equity firms, and (b) sovereign wealth funds in the additional needs sector in each year since 2020.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Based on publicly available information, we understand that approximately 300 independent special schools (34% of the sector), educating around 14,000 pupils, are owned by fifteen private equity funds, including sovereign wealth funds (SWF). Within these 300 schools, two sovereign wealth funds, Abu Dhabi and Qatar, own 42 schools (5% of the total market). The Qatar Investment Authority acquired Senad Group in 2008, while Mubadala Capital (part of the Abu Dhabi SWF) acquired Witherslack Group from a UK private equity firm in 2021. SWF owned six independent special schools in 2020, increasing to the current level in 2021.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many requests her Department has received from schools for sign-off of confidentiality clauses in staff settlement agreements in each of the last three financial years; and how many of those requests were approved.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The requirement for academy trusts to obtain prior approval from the department for confidentiality clauses associated with staff severance payments was introduced in October 2025 and is set out in paragraph 5.13 of the academy trust handbook, which is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/academy-trust-handbook/academy-trust-handbook-2025-effective-from-1-september-2025.

The revision was made to reflect HM Treasury’s updated guidance on public sector exit payments, which states that Treasury approval is required if the payment is novel, contentious or repercussive. Settlement agreements that contain confidentiality clauses are included within this description. As this requirement was only introduced in October 2025, annual data is not currently available.

For local authority-maintained schools, the responsibility and oversight for such decisions will be managed locally.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to introduce policies requiring schools to give both parents equal access to information about their child’s education, regardless of parental separation status.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The department’s parental responsibility guidance sets out how schools should communicate with non-resident parents. The guidance states that ’school and local authority staff must treat all parents equally, unless a court order limits a parent’s ability to make educational decisions, participate in school life or receive information about their child’.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the additional cost of special educational needs provision in England in each of the next three years.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

To support specialist provision, in December, the department announced at least £3 billion for high needs capital between 2026/27 and 2029/30. This builds on the £740 million invested in 2025/26, which is on track to create around 10,000 new specialist places.

The department will publish its plans for reform to the special educational needs system in the new year.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the inclusion of the book 'Pigeon English' in the English GCSE curriculum in England and Wales.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Schools have the autonomy to choose the specific books and resources they use within the framework of the national curriculum. The department defines the genres of literature that must be covered, but does not prescribe individual authors or texts, other than Shakespeare which must be taught. At GCSE level, exam boards set out a range of set texts in their specifications, and schools are free to select those they wish to teach.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that schools educate pupils about the Holocaust in a way that counters misinformation and denial; and what assessment she has made of the adequacy of curriculum guidance on that subject.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

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

The government funds a set of programmes to support Holocaust teaching that provide high quality, rigorous education about the Holocaust and tackle misinformation, denial and distortion.

The department funds teachers’ professional development in this subject through University College London’s Centre for Holocaust Education, and the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Lessons from Auschwitz project gives students aged 16 to 18 the opportunity to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau.

In addition, the Supporting Holocaust Survivor Testimony in Teaching programme will support schools in using recorded Holocaust survivor testimony in their teaching. The programme will include resources on use of new technological innovations in this area to help teacher and student digital literacy, critical engagement with AI tools and recognition of AI-generated misinformation.

Schools can also access wider resources available to tackle Holocaust distortion, including through the Oak National Academy.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to publish a revised delivery timeline for issuing all outstanding Remedial Service Statements to retired teachers affected by Transitional Protection.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

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

The combination of these factors means an accurate delivery timetable is not available at present. The department continues to monitor progress and is working closely with the scheme administrator to streamline processes and introduce automation where possible. Any pension adjustments arising from members’ choices will be backdated with interest to ensure members are not financially disadvantaged.

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

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the availability of low-quality, online children’s content on levels of SEND diagnosis.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Research from the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education demonstrates that rates of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) identification are increasing internationally, and England is one of the countries with a relatively higher percentage change of pupils identified with SEND. The research is available here: https://www.european-agency.org/activities/data/cross-country-reports

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care announced on 4 December the launch of an independent review into prevalence and support for mental health conditions, ADHD and autism so children, young people and adults can receive the right support

The SEND code of practice: 0 to 25 years makes it clear that meeting the needs of a child with special educational needs does not require a diagnostic label or test. Instead, we expect teachers to monitor the progress of all pupils and put support in place where needed. The guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support schools seeking to attain purchasing power agreements for solar panels.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Autumn Budget 2025 indicated that departments could consider private sources of finance, including Public Private Partnerships, to decarbonise the public sector estate. The department is exploring how this could be applied to schools, including the potential use of Power Purchase Agreements for solar installations. Based on research to date there is an estimated capacity on the school estate in its current roof condition to generate up to 1.9 gigawatts of electricity.

The Great British Energy Solar Partnership for Schools is already investing £100 million to install solar and other energy efficiency interventions on 250 schools and colleges. The department ‘s sustainability website also provides support for all schools on reducing their emissions, including some low-cost approaches.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support creative education in schools.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Education is a devolved matter, and this response relates to state-funded schools in England only.

On 5 November, the government issued the response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review, setting out the changes that will be made to the national curriculum, as well as reforms to qualifications, school accountability and enrichment. The first teaching of a refreshed curriculum will be September 2028, and will include improvements in music, art and design, dance in PE, and drama in English.

We will also consult on an improved version of Progress 8 that balances a strong academic core with breadth.

Next year, the National Centre for Arts and Music Education will support excellent teacher training in the arts, boost partnerships between schools and cultural organisations and promote arts opportunities.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of secondary school music teachers left the profession in each year from 2010 to 2025; and how that proportion compares to those that joined in each of those same years.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Information on the school workforce, including the number of teachers in state-funded schools and teacher entrants and leaver rates, is published in the ‘School workforce in England’ statistical publication, which is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england/2024.

The department publishes secondary subject level entrant numbers and leaver rates as part of the ‘Postgraduate initial teacher training targets’ (PGITT) publication, the most recent version of which is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/postgraduate-initial-teacher-training-targets/2025-26.

To note that the entrant and leaver rates included within this publication are calculated for a specific purpose which is to produce the primary and secondary PGITT targets and teachers that arrive from or leave to the special/pupil referral unit phase are counted within the rates. This is a different methodology than used to calculate the overall national and phase level teacher entrant and leaver rates in the school workforce census and so the rates are not directly comparable. These data will be updated when new targets are published in Spring 2026.

The department collects and publishes data on the degree subjects held by primary school teachers. The number of primary school teachers who hold a music degree or degree in a music-related subject is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/1a4752ff-957f-4676-b1dd-08de39895a0e. This data has been available since 31 July 2025.

1.7% of secondary school music teachers were aged 60 or over in 2024/25. There is no single set retirement age for teachers. The department does not collect information on subjects taught in primary schools.

The department does not collect curriculum data from primary schools on the subjects taught by individual teachers. Unlike secondary teachers, who specialise in individual subjects, primary school teachers typically instruct across the whole curriculum. Gathering detailed data on which subjects each teacher delivers would require extensive additional reporting, increasing administrative workload.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of retention rates among secondary school music teachers compared to other subject teachers between 2015 and 2025.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Information on the school workforce, including the number of teachers in state-funded schools and teacher entrants and leaver rates, is published in the ‘School workforce in England’ statistical publication, which is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england/2024.

The department publishes secondary subject level entrant numbers and leaver rates as part of the ‘Postgraduate initial teacher training targets’ (PGITT) publication, the most recent version of which is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/postgraduate-initial-teacher-training-targets/2025-26.

To note that the entrant and leaver rates included within this publication are calculated for a specific purpose which is to produce the primary and secondary PGITT targets and teachers that arrive from or leave to the special/pupil referral unit phase are counted within the rates. This is a different methodology than used to calculate the overall national and phase level teacher entrant and leaver rates in the school workforce census and so the rates are not directly comparable. These data will be updated when new targets are published in Spring 2026.

The department collects and publishes data on the degree subjects held by primary school teachers. The number of primary school teachers who hold a music degree or degree in a music-related subject is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/1a4752ff-957f-4676-b1dd-08de39895a0e. This data has been available since 31 July 2025.

1.7% of secondary school music teachers were aged 60 or over in 2024/25. There is no single set retirement age for teachers. The department does not collect information on subjects taught in primary schools.

The department does not collect curriculum data from primary schools on the subjects taught by individual teachers. Unlike secondary teachers, who specialise in individual subjects, primary school teachers typically instruct across the whole curriculum. Gathering detailed data on which subjects each teacher delivers would require extensive additional reporting, increasing administrative workload.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the current use of AI in schools.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

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

The department recognises the transformative potential of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) use in schools when used safely and effectively. However, we also recognise that evidence is still emerging on GenAI use in schools.

That is why the department collects biennial evidence via the Technology in Schools survey, with our most recent report published on 27 November 2025 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/technology-in-schools-survey-report-2024-to-2025.

We also collect more regular evidence via Omnibus Surveys and work closely with the sector and stakeholders to understand how we are pioneering safe and effective adoption of AI in schools. We have published guidance and toolkits for educators, launched the EdTech Evidence Board pilot to build confidence in education technology (EdTech) products, and developed product safety expectations with industry partners. We are also funding innovation through initiatives such as Oak National Academy’s AI lesson planning assistant.

Our approach balances opportunity with risk, prioritising child-centred design, safeguarding, data protection and evidence-based pedagogy.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve the quality and supply of industry placements for T Levels.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

T Levels are providing fantastic opportunities for young people to progress into skilled jobs and careers, and 96% of students completed their industry placement last year.

The department supports employers to host high quality placements through guidance, workshops and direct support. The department’s digital ’Connect’ service supports local providers and employers to connect with each other and our updated delivery approaches allow greater flexibility for providers to design a high quality placement experience.

We provide targeted support for industry placements in specific areas, with seven industry placement coordinators currently in local NHS integrated care systems, and an employer support fund supporting small and medium-sized enterprises and priority sectors with the essential costs of hosting a placement.

The national ’Skills for Life’ campaign raises awareness of skills development and promotes T Levels, ensuring businesses and learners understand their value, and our network of over 1,000 T Level Ambassadors builds T Level understanding and engagement in the business community.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to raise the maximum reimbursement Student Finance England can provide for incorrect advice above £500.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Student Finance England is a service provided by the Student Loans Company (SLC).

The SLC is a non-departmental public body and therefore is issued its own delegated authority letter by the department. However, its delegated authority limits cannot exceed those delegated to the department by His Majesty’s Treasury (HMT). For consolatory payments (ex-gratia payments) to individuals, the limit is £500.

HMT are reviewing delegated authority limits for all government departments, as set out in the Office for Value for Money’s document ‘Reforming the spending control and accountability framework’, published on 26 October alongside the Budget. HMT and the department will consider any implications for the SLC’s delegations, in light of any changes which may be made to department’s delegations following this review.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential implications for her policies of the 2025 Key Stage 2 SATs results for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities; and what steps are being taken to help reduce disparities in attainment.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

This government is focused on securing an excellent education for every child and young person to enable them to achieve and thrive.

Following the government response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review report, we are working on development of a reformed curriculum and assessment system that is ambitious for every child, ensuring those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) leave school with the skills and knowledge they need.

Our English Hubs programme is dedicated to improving the teaching of reading, and our Reading Ambition for All programme will improve outcomes for children in primary who need additional support with reading, including those with SEND. We are also expanding Continuing Professional Development for primary and secondary teachers to strengthen reading instruction for all pupils.

We know some children face real challenges in maths. That’s why we’re supporting schools through our national Maths hubs, helping teachers deliver effective, inclusive lessons.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions her Department has had with local authorities regarding the number of special educational needs and disabilities school places required to meet the needs of children in Surrey Heath constituency.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places, including for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), sits with local authorities. To support local authorities with this duty, in December, the department announced at least £3 billion for high needs capital between 2026/27 and 2029/30, to support children and young people with SEND or who require alternative provision. This builds on the £740 million invested in 2025/26, which is on track to create around 10,000 new specialist places. Of this year’s funding, Surrey has been allocated £16.1 million.

This funding is intended to create specialist facilities within mainstream schools that can deliver more intensive support adapted to suit the pupils’ needs. It can also be used to adapt mainstream schools to be more accessible and to create special school places for pupils with the most complex needs.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has issued guidance to schools following the inquest into the death of Benedict Blythe.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The department has not issued any guidance to schools following the inquest into the tragic death of Benedict Blythe.

The department encourages schools, colleges and settings to use resources such as those published in the allergy guidance for schools as part of their work to fulfil their statutory duties to manage allergy risks. This guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-food-standards-resources-for-schools/allergy-guidance-for-schools.

The government has committed to reviewing the statutory guidance on supporting pupils with medical conditions at school (2015), and we intend to consult on revised guidance. The current guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3.

Our aim is to ensure that schools are better equipped to support all pupils with medical conditions as part of our wider ambition to create more inclusive schools through the forthcoming Schools White Paper.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with relevant stakeholders on securing funding for repair and maintenance works on the early years building at The Brigg Infant School in South Normanton.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Ensuring schools and colleges have the resources and buildings they need is a key part of the department’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every young person the best start in life.

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

As part of this, the Embark Multi Academy Trust, which The Brigg Infant School joined in May, received an annual School Condition Allocation of £1,690,088 for the 2025/26 financial year. The department expects to set out allocations for the 2026/27 financial year in the spring. The school should speak to the Trust about any issues with its buildings, so the Trust can consider them when prioritising investment to improve the condition of its schools.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress she has made on the automatic registration of eligible children for free school meal entitlements.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. Introducing a new eligibility threshold for free school meals so that all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit will be eligible for free school meals from September 2026 will make it easier for parents to know whether they are entitled to receive free meals. This new entitlement will mean over 500,000 of the most disadvantaged children will begin to access free meals, pulling 100,000 children out of poverty.

The department is also rolling out improvements to the Eligibility Checking System which will make it easier for local authorities, schools and parents to check if children are eligible for free meals.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many overseas investors have been involved in the additional needs sector in each year since 2020.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Based on publicly available information, we understand that, of the fifteen private equity funds who own independent special schools (ISS), five are based outside the UK (Jersey, Guernsey, USA, Qatar and Abu Dhabi), together owning 170 units (19%) with nine thousand pupils (27%). We cannot say how many individual investors these five funds represent, nor can we say how many overseas investors have invested in the remaining ten UK-based private equity funds who own ISS units.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 2 December 2025 to Question 93135, to provide a list of meetings between Departmental officials and each (a) trust chief (b) stakeholder group, (c) representative body, and (d) union regarding RISE advisors.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The information is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of the primary assessment system on pupil wellbeing, including for pupils with SEND.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Primary assessments were reviewed as part of the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, led by Professor Becky Francis. The review panel published their final report last month, concluding that the primary assessment system is generally working well and that the assessments are important for evaluating pupils’ progress.

The report made some recommendations to improve the system, including revising the key stage 2 writing assessments and teacher frameworks to support fluent writing. The report also recommended exploring options for increasing inclusivity in assessments where they may not be as accessible for certain groups of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities, particularly for the phonics screening checks and the multiplication tables check. The government has accepted these recommendations and the Standards and Testing Agency is now working on their implementation.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what consideration her Department has given to alternative models of primary assessment.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Primary assessments were reviewed as part of the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, led by Professor Becky Francis. The review panel published their final report last month, concluding that the primary assessment system is generally working well and that the assessments are important for evaluating pupils’ progress.

The report made some recommendations to improve the system, including revising the key stage 2 writing assessments and teacher frameworks to support fluent writing. The report also recommended exploring options for increasing inclusivity in assessments where they may not be as accessible for certain groups of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities, particularly for the phonics screening checks and the multiplication tables check. The government has accepted these recommendations and the Standards and Testing Agency is now working on their implementation.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support is in place to support local authorities with Best Start Family Hubs to ensure their offer is effective and evidence-based.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

Through the delivery grant, all local authorities will receive funding from the department for developing and implementing Best Start local plans. This includes funding for a Best Start in Life system leadership function to take forward transformation activity locally, connecting and integrating local partners to respond to local needs.

Further detail on this was shared with local authorities via funding allocation letters on 7 November, covering the three financial years 2026-29. Evidence based intervention (EBI) menus have also been developed and shared to support local authorities in selecting programmes that are both impactful and feasible to deliver starting from April 2026.

Local authorities will be supported to embed and enhance their family hubs models, be ambitious in their approach, and integrate EBIs. The National Centre for Family Hubs, which is a delivery support provider is also working closely with local authorities to help them to identify the right EBIs suited to their population needs.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she plans to put in place measures to safeguard the (a) mental health and wellbeing and (b) ability to enrol in multi-year course programmes of children who be subject to temporary refugee status reviews every 30 months.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department will work with the Home Office as they carefully consider the appropriate pathways and wider provision for asylum-seeking families with children. We will continue to focus on ensuring vulnerable children are protected and their welfare safeguarded.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed asylum policy changes on the continuity of education for children in families facing relocation or deportation.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department will work with the Home Office as they carefully consider the appropriate pathways and wider provision for asylum-seeking families with children. We will continue to focus on ensuring vulnerable children are protected and their welfare safeguarded.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it mandatory for all schools to hold spare AAIs, and ensure relevant staff are trained in their use.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The Human Medicines (Amendment) Regulations 2017 have allowed all schools to buy adrenaline auto-injectors (AAI devices) without a prescription for emergency use on children who are at risk of anaphylaxis but whose own device is not available or not working.

The Department of Health and Social Care has published non-statutory guidance to accompany this legislative change, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/using-emergency-adrenaline-auto-injectors-in-schools.

The department is working with DHSC and NHS England to consider how we might extend the availability of adrenaline auto-injectors in schools.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of centralising SEND funding on the needs of individual children.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The department is not planning to centralise special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) funding.

The department is continuing to engage closely with children, parents and experts as we develop plans to ensure all children get the outcomes and life chances they deserve. We will be setting out further steps in the new year and are keeping under review the funding arrangements to help ensure that mainstream schools are inclusive for children with SEND. It is important that we establish a fair school funding system that directs funding to where it is needed.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her written ministerial statement of 15 December 2025 on Investment in high needs places, how many of the 50,000 new specialist SEND places will be allocated to Windsor and Maidenhead local authority; and what assessment she has made of the adequacy of SEND provision in that area.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places, including for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), sits with local authorities. To support local authorities with this duty, in December, the department announced at least £3 billion for high needs capital between 2026/27 and 2029/30 to support children and young people with SEND or who require alternative provision. We will confirm local authority allocations for 2026/27 in the spring.

This funding builds on the £740 million invested in 2025/26, which is on track to create around 10,000 new specialist places. Of this funding, Windsor and Maidenhead has been allocated just under £1.29 million.

This funding is intended to create specialist facilities within mainstream schools that can deliver more intensive support adapted to suit the pupils’ needs. It can also be used to adapt mainstream schools to be more accessible and create special school places for pupils with the most complex needs.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of SEND spaces needed in South Basildon and East Thurrock to meet forecast demand.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places, including for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), sits with local authorities. To support local authorities with this duty, in December, the department announced at least £3 billion for high needs capital between 2026/27 and 2029/30, to support children and young people with SEND or who require alternative provision. This builds on the £740 million invested in 2025/26, which is on track to create around 10,000 new specialist places. Of this funding, Thurrock council has been allocated just under £2 million, and Essex has been allocated just under £21 million.

This funding is intended to create specialist facilities within mainstream schools that can deliver more intensive support adapted to suit the pupils’ needs. It can also be used to adapt mainstream schools to be more accessible and to create special school places for pupils with the most complex needs.

It is ultimately up to local authorities to determine how to best prioritise their high needs capital funding to address local priorities.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the number of children with EHCPs whose preference was for a specialist school place, but were instead placed in a mainstream school.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places, including for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), sits with local authorities. To support local authorities with this duty, in December, the department announced at least £3 billion for high needs capital between 2026/27 and 2029/30, to support children and young people with SEND or who require alternative provision. This builds on the £740 million invested in 2025/26, which is on track to create around 10,000 new specialist places. Of this funding, Thurrock council has been allocated just under £2 million, and Essex has been allocated just under £21 million.

This funding is intended to create specialist facilities within mainstream schools that can deliver more intensive support adapted to suit the pupils’ needs. It can also be used to adapt mainstream schools to be more accessible and to create special school places for pupils with the most complex needs.

It is ultimately up to local authorities to determine how to best prioritise their high needs capital funding to address local priorities.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 3 December 2025 to Question 94577 on Special Educational Needs: Admissions, whether she has provided guidance on the number of additional SEND places required to meet forecast demand in Thurrock.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places, including for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), sits with local authorities. To support local authorities with this duty, in December, the department announced at least £3 billion for high needs capital between 2026/27 and 2029/30, to support children and young people with SEND or who require alternative provision. This builds on the £740 million invested in 2025/26, which is on track to create around 10,000 new specialist places. Of this funding, Thurrock council has been allocated just under £2 million, and Essex has been allocated just under £21 million.

This funding is intended to create specialist facilities within mainstream schools that can deliver more intensive support adapted to suit the pupils’ needs. It can also be used to adapt mainstream schools to be more accessible and to create special school places for pupils with the most complex needs.

It is ultimately up to local authorities to determine how to best prioritise their high needs capital funding to address local priorities.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the levels of unmet demand for SEND places in (a) Thurrock and (b) Basildon.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places, including for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), sits with local authorities. To support local authorities with this duty, in December, the department announced at least £3 billion for high needs capital between 2026/27 and 2029/30, to support children and young people with SEND or who require alternative provision. This builds on the £740 million invested in 2025/26, which is on track to create around 10,000 new specialist places. Of this funding, Thurrock council has been allocated just under £2 million, and Essex has been allocated just under £21 million.

This funding is intended to create specialist facilities within mainstream schools that can deliver more intensive support adapted to suit the pupils’ needs. It can also be used to adapt mainstream schools to be more accessible and to create special school places for pupils with the most complex needs.

It is ultimately up to local authorities to determine how to best prioritise their high needs capital funding to address local priorities.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps are being taken to ensure that modern foreign language qualifications are set and marked in line with Ofqual requirements and do not unfairly disadvantage particular groups of students.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Ofqual, the independent regulator of examinations and assessments in England, expects awarding organisations to manage risk in line with its General Conditions of Recognition, which are available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/ofqual-handbook.

The matters raised are for Ofqual to answer. I have, therefore, asked its Chief Regulator, Sir Ian Bauckham, to write to the hon. Member for Fylde directly and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions her Department has had with Ofqual regarding the risk management processes used by awarding organisations when introducing new qualifications.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Ofqual, the independent regulator of examinations and assessments in England, expects awarding organisations to manage risk in line with its General Conditions of Recognition, which are available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/ofqual-handbook.

The matters raised are for Ofqual to answer. I have, therefore, asked its Chief Regulator, Sir Ian Bauckham, to write to the hon. Member for Fylde directly and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve educational outcomes for boys with free school meal eligibility.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

​Too many children are held back by their background. The Opportunity Mission will break the link between background and future success.

Schools receive the pupil premium grant, worth over £3 billion in the 2025/26 financial year, to support the educational outcomes of disadvantaged pupils. Pupil premium eligibility includes pupils who have been recorded as eligible for free school meals (FSM) within the past six years.

​Our Child Poverty Strategy will lift 550,000 children out of poverty by 2030. This includes the expansion of FSM which will lift 100,000 children out of poverty by the end of this Parliament and put £500 back in families’ pockets. Providing over half a million disadvantaged children with a free lunchtime meal will lead to higher attainment, improved behaviour and better outcomes.

Additionally, we are driving standards in every school through regional improvement for standards and excellence teams, a refreshed high-quality curriculum and assessment system, and recruiting an additional 6,500 teachers.

However, we know that there is further work to do, which is why, through our schools white paper, we will build a school system that drives educational excellence for every child, regardless of background or circumstance.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress has been made on appointing people or groups to develop curriculum content following the recent tender process.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

In light of the government’s response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review, the department has now completed a tender process for the procurement of suppliers who will draft the reformed Programmes of Study for the National Curriculum.

The names of suppliers appointed to the framework and offered call off contracts will be confirmed in due course.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help improve levels of media literacy among vulnerable children who are more at risk online.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

​On 5 November, the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review published its final report which includes recommendations for a refreshed curriculum and assessment system in England. The government responded to this report and the response includes a commitment to ensure children are more digitally literate. This will be achieved by including media literacy in the new primary citizenship curriculum, and strengthening it in both the English curriculum, English language GCSE and in history. Furthermore, a refreshed computing curriculum will build digital confidence from an early age, including essential content on artificial intelligence.

​Work is now underway to deliver a new curriculum and assessment system that is ambitious for every child, rich in knowledge and strong on skills.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions the Department has had with relevant stakeholders in Northumberland to ensure parents have accessible information regarding the available safeguarding for extracurricular activities.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The government is committed to safeguarding children across all education settings, including extracurricular providers outside the statutory education and childcare system, referred to as out-of-school settings (OOSS). Local authorities are legally responsible for safeguarding and promoting the welfare all children in their area, regardless of the education setting they attend.

All OOSS have a legal duty of care to ensure the safety of children attending their settings. The department has published guidance for:

• Parents and careers – this outlines the safeguarding standards providers should have in place.
• Local authorities – to support them to meet their responsibilities for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children in their area.

The ‘Early education and childcare’ guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-education-and-childcare--2/early-education-and-childcare-effective-from-1-april-2025, and applies to:

• The duty on local authorities to secure sufficient childcare for parents to enable them to work or undertake education or training which could assist them to obtain work, including wraparound care (Part B).
• The provision of information, advice and assistance to parents (Part C).
• The provision of information, advice and training to childcare providers (Part D).

Whilst the department believes most out-of-school settings offer enriching education in a safe environment, we want this to be true for all. That is why the government held a call for evidence regarding sector safeguarding practices and invited views on approaches for further strengthening safeguarding, including potential regulation. This closed on 21 September and analysis is ongoing. We will respond in due course.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions the Department has had with relevant stakeholders in the Hexham constituency to ensure parents have accessible information regarding the available safeguarding for extracurricular activities.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The government is committed to safeguarding children across all education settings, including extracurricular providers outside the statutory education and childcare system, referred to as out-of-school settings (OOSS). Local authorities are legally responsible for safeguarding and promoting the welfare all children in their area, regardless of the education setting they attend.

All OOSS have a legal duty of care to ensure the safety of children attending their settings. The department has published guidance for:

• Parents and careers – this outlines the safeguarding standards providers should have in place.
• Local authorities – to support them to meet their responsibilities for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children in their area.

The ‘Early education and childcare’ guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-education-and-childcare--2/early-education-and-childcare-effective-from-1-april-2025, and applies to:

• The duty on local authorities to secure sufficient childcare for parents to enable them to work or undertake education or training which could assist them to obtain work, including wraparound care (Part B).
• The provision of information, advice and assistance to parents (Part C).
• The provision of information, advice and training to childcare providers (Part D).

Whilst the department believes most out-of-school settings offer enriching education in a safe environment, we want this to be true for all. That is why the government held a call for evidence regarding sector safeguarding practices and invited views on approaches for further strengthening safeguarding, including potential regulation. This closed on 21 September and analysis is ongoing. We will respond in due course.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions the Department has had with relevant stakeholders in the North East to ensure parents have accessible information regarding the available safeguarding for extracurricular activities.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The government is committed to safeguarding children across all education settings, including extracurricular providers outside the statutory education and childcare system, referred to as out-of-school settings (OOSS). Local authorities are legally responsible for safeguarding and promoting the welfare all children in their area, regardless of the education setting they attend.

All OOSS have a legal duty of care to ensure the safety of children attending their settings. The department has published guidance for:

• Parents and careers – this outlines the safeguarding standards providers should have in place.
• Local authorities – to support them to meet their responsibilities for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children in their area.

The ‘Early education and childcare’ guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-education-and-childcare--2/early-education-and-childcare-effective-from-1-april-2025, and applies to:

• The duty on local authorities to secure sufficient childcare for parents to enable them to work or undertake education or training which could assist them to obtain work, including wraparound care (Part B).
• The provision of information, advice and assistance to parents (Part C).
• The provision of information, advice and training to childcare providers (Part D).

Whilst the department believes most out-of-school settings offer enriching education in a safe environment, we want this to be true for all. That is why the government held a call for evidence regarding sector safeguarding practices and invited views on approaches for further strengthening safeguarding, including potential regulation. This closed on 21 September and analysis is ongoing. We will respond in due course.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to mandate antisemitism awareness education for (a) children and (b) teachers.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

There is no place for antisemitism in our society.

The Holocaust is the only historic event which is compulsory within the national curriculum for history at key stage 3. Teaching about antisemitism is integral to teaching this event. There are other opportunities in the curriculum for schools to teach about antisemitism, including through citizenship, relationships and religious education.

The department supports teachers through our Educate Against Hate website, which provides teachers with a range of free, quality-assured resources, including on building resilience to antisemitism, teaching about tolerance and rejecting discrimination.

The department has committed £7 million to fund projects and programmes to improve confidence and resilience in tackling antisemitism in education.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment the Department has made of the potential merits of continuing the use of Education, Health and Care Plans to support children with Special Education Needs and Disabilities with a guaranteed right to support in the North East.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

This government inherited a special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system that has failed to meet the needs of families for too long.

The department’s priority is improving outcomes for children and young people with SEND so they get every chance to achieve and thrive in their education, no matter where they are in the country.

We are continuing to engage closely with children, parents and experts as we develop plans to ensure all children and young people get the outcomes and life chances they deserve. The government's approach to SEND reform will be set out in a Schools White Paper, which will be published in the new year.

There will always be a legal right to additional support for children and young people with SEND. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has also set out our principles for SEND reform in her letter to the Chair of the Education Select Committee.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the support available to young people up to the age of 25 with education, health and care plans who are no longer accessing education.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

I refer the hon. Member for Chichester to the answer of 29 October 2025 to Question 84047.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which funding source is being used to provide the (a) daily stipend and (b) other expenses for regional improvement for standards and excellence advisors.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Regional improvement for standards excellence (RISE) teams have already paired over 350 schools with RISE advisers and supporting organisations, including some of our strongest trusts with a record of turning around struggling schools, to share expertise and boost standards. The RISE Adviser budget forms part of Regions Group's resource departmental expenditure limit programme budget.

Found: The Environment Agency worked with the Department for Education, the Geographical Association and Science

Found: theory, it could be the Department for Business and Trade on parental leave, or even the Department for Education

Found: DFE cannot direct public health or NHS officials to do something that DFE wants to do, but the Health

Found: We are in good discussions with the Department for Education.

Found: We have the Department for Education, with all the students in science and particularly STEM subjects

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what internal discussions her Department has had on the allocation of funding for the mathematical sciences within the 2026-27 Strategic Priorities Grant.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The allocation of funding for mathematical sciences within the 2026-27 Strategic Priorities Grant is the responsibility of the Department for Education (DfE). As such, there has been no specific internal discussion within the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) on this issue.

For this Academic Year 2025-26, more than two thirds of the £1.3 billion Strategic Priorities Grant budget allocated to providers will support the provision of high-cost subjects, for example medicine, dentistry; science, engineering and technology. DfE is reviewing the high-cost subject funding to ensure that this best aligns with the Government’s Growth Mission and is targeted effectively towards provision that supports the industrial strategy and future skills needs. DfE will issue guidance to the Office for Student (OfS) in due course setting out funding priorities for 2026/27.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much has been spent on training UK medical students in each of the last five years, and how many of those publicly-funded graduates did not secure Foundation or speciality training places in the NHS.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The following table sets out the total costs incurred by NHS England in providing medical education in England between 2021/22 and 2025/26, split by placement costs and bursaries:

Source: NHS England

Notes:

1. The Department of Health and Social Care does not have the information requested for the last five full financial years, so the accompanying table incorporates the forecast spend for 2025/26.
2. The Department of Health and Social Care does not hold information on the costs incurred by the Department for Education or by bodies that the Department for Education sponsors, such as the Student Loans Company or the Office for Students. These areas of DfE provision will include tuition and maintenance loans as well as the Strategic Priorities grant which supports high cost STEM subjects.

The United Kingdom Foundation Programme Office has sought to allocate Foundation Programme places to all eligible applicants in each of the past five years.

The General Medical Council (GMC) publishes data on the proportion of doctors completing foundation year two who have subsequently entered the specialty training pipeline in each subsequent year. The data does not differentiate between the place of undergraduate study of doctors but given over 90% of doctors completing foundation year two are United Kingdom graduates, the data provides a good proxy for progression on to specialty training. This data is available as part of the GMC’s National Training Survey at the following link:

https://edt.gmc-uk.org/progression-reports/recruitment-from-f2

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to develop a cross-department strategy on the use of artificial intelligence for children; and what steps they are taking to ensure that the UK leads in the use of safe and socially positive artificial intelligence by young people.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

DSIT engages with departments across government to ensure a coordinated approach to AI, including on child safety.

Generative AI services that allow users to share content with one another or that search live websites to provide search results are regulated under the Online Safety Act. These services must protect all users from illegal content and protect children from harmful content.

The Department for Education has also introduced the Generative AI Product Safety Expectations framework for educational settings.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of his Department's progress on increasing the processing capacity of the court system.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Government has made significant progress in increasing the processing capacity of the courts and tribunals system and remains committed to reducing backlog.

In the Crown Court for this financial year, we have allocated 111,250 sitting days - the highest number of sitting days on record and over 5,000 more than the previous Government funded for the last financial year.

In the Family Courts, reforms are already delivering results. Courts operating under the private law Pathfinder model are achieving some of the lowest case durations nationally, in South East Wales, for example, average duration fell from 37 weeks to 12 weeks on average. In addition, the Department for Education invested £10 million in 2024/25 to fund pilots aimed at reducing delays in family proceedings, with evaluation due to conclude in 2026.

Across the tribunals system, we are taking a comprehensive approach to improve productivity. Sitting day capacity has been set at or close to the maximum deliverable level. We are also promoting early dispute resolution to reduce unnecessary demand, including judicial Alternative Dispute Resolution pilots in the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Lady Chief Justice continue discussions on allocation for 2025-26 and we will say more in due course.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has been made of the potential merits of providing training to mental health teams on adapting their support to children with lifelong speech and language difficulties.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department of Health and Social Care is working closely with the Department for Education and NHS England to improve access to community health services, including speech and language therapy, for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.

In addition to the undergraduate degree route, speech and language therapists can now also train via a degree apprenticeship. This route is going into its fourth year of delivery and offers an alternative pathway to the traditional degree route into a successful career as a speech and language therapist.

In partnership with NHS England, the Department for Education has extended the Early Language and Support for Every Child programme, trialling new ways of working to better identify and support children with Speech, Language and Communication Needs in early years settings and primary schools.

At the Spending Review, we confirmed that we will deliver on our commitment to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers by the end of this Parliament, roll out mental health support teams to cover all schools in England by 2029/30 and expand NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement and Support schemes.

We have also already started piloting Neighbourhood Mental Health Centres. These pilots aim to provide open access care for anyone with a severe mental illness 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Our aim is to have one Neighbourhood Health Centre in each community that brings together National Health Service, local authority and voluntary sector services in one building to help create a holistic offer that meets the needs of local populations including children with lifelong speech and language difficulties.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has been made of the potential merits of providing training to mental health teams on support to children with lifelong speech and language difficulties.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department of Health and Social Care is working closely with the Department for Education and NHS England to improve access to community health services, including speech and language therapy, for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.

In addition to the undergraduate degree route, speech and language therapists can now also train via a degree apprenticeship. This route is going into its fourth year of delivery and offers an alternative pathway to the traditional degree route into a successful career as a speech and language therapist.

In partnership with NHS England, the Department for Education has extended the Early Language and Support for Every Child programme, trialling new ways of working to better identify and support children with Speech, Language and Communication Needs in early years settings and primary schools.

At the Spending Review, we confirmed that we will deliver on our commitment to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers by the end of this Parliament, roll out mental health support teams to cover all schools in England by 2029/30 and expand NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement and Support schemes.

We have also already started piloting Neighbourhood Mental Health Centres. These pilots aim to provide open access care for anyone with a severe mental illness 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Our aim is to have one Neighbourhood Health Centre in each community that brings together National Health Service, local authority and voluntary sector services in one building to help create a holistic offer that meets the needs of local populations including children with lifelong speech and language difficulties.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to reduce youth economic inactivity in rural communities.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

This Government is investing in all young people’s futures irrespective of where they live in Great Britain. At Budget, we announced more than £1.5 billion of investment over the next three years, funding £820 million for the Youth Guarantee to support young people to earn or learn, and an additional £725 million for the Growth and Skills Levy. Through the expanded Youth Guarantee, young people aged 16-24 across Great Britain are set to benefit from further support into employment and learning, including:

Support to find a job: For young people on Universal Credit who are looking for work, we are introducing a new Youth Guarantee Gateway, which over the next three years will offer nearly 900,000 16–24-year-olds a dedicated session, followed by four weeks of additional intensive support with a Work Coach. This new support will identify specific work, training, or learning opportunities locally for each young person and ensure they are supported to take those up. This support could be delivered at a Youth Hub.

Further expansion of Youth Hubs: We are expanding our network of Youth Hubs to over 360 locations so that all young people – including those not on benefits – can access opportunities and wider support in every local area of Great Britain. Youth Hubs will bring together partners from health, skills and the voluntary sector, working closely with Mayors and local authorities to deliver joined-up community-based support.

c300,000 additional opportunities for workplace experience and training: For young people on Universal Credit who are looking for work, we will create up to 150,000 additional work experience placements and up to 145,000 additional bespoke training opportunities designed in partnership with employers – Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs). At the end of each SWAP, employers offer a guaranteed job interview to participants.

The Youth Guarantee ensures paid work for eligible 18–21-year-olds in Great Britain who have been on Universal Credit and seeking work for 18 months. Through the Jobs Guarantee scheme, participants get six months of government-funded employment at minimum wage for 25 hours weekly, plus extra support to build skills and experience. The program aims for an 80% employment rate and includes safeguards for quality and fairness. It will benefit about 55,000 young people over three years.

Prevention: We are improving support for young people at risk of becoming NEET by enhancing data sharing, monitoring further education attendance, and using new tools to help local areas target assistance effectively. We are also funding work experience opportunities for high-risk pupils in state-funded Alternative Provision settings. These efforts build on measures from the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper announced earlier this autumn.

The Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Education are also working closely with the seven Mayoral Strategic Authorities in England who are delivering the eight Youth Trailblazers announced in the Get Britain Working white paper.

The West of England Combined Authority is running a Rural Access Pilot as part of its Youth Guarantee Trailblazer. This pilot focuses on supporting young people in rural areas by providing tailored employment coaching and practical transport solutions, alongside bursaries to cover work-related costs. A free travel pass is designed to remove transport barriers for young people in these areas, enabling them to access employment opportunities, training, and support services.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether the National Youth Strategy will help youth organisations to set boundaries and safeguarding protocols to protect young people and service providers.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

As part of the new National Youth Strategy, a £15 million investment will be delivered over three years to strengthen the youth sector workforce by increasing the number of youth workers, volunteers and wider trusted adults and providing upskilling opportunities. We will be working with the sector to design the workforce funding to ensure it meets needs and has the right expectations on safeguarding.

The Government has committed to supporting trusted adults to adhere to safeguarding standards and have the right understanding of the challenges young people are facing today. We will also continue to fund the National Youth Agency to deliver an online safeguarding and risk management hub to provide guidance, support and access to training resources for all organisations and individuals working with young people.

Beyond the measures above, the Department for Education held a Call for Evidence on Safeguarding in Out-of-School Settings, including youth clubs and other forms of youth work, between May and September this year. Analysis and further engagement are ongoing, before the Government responds in due course.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how she will ensure helping young people to develop relationships with trusted adults aligns with safeguarding expectations

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

As part of the new National Youth Strategy, a £15 million investment will be delivered over three years to strengthen the youth sector workforce by increasing the number of youth workers, volunteers and wider trusted adults and providing upskilling opportunities. We will be working with the sector to design the workforce funding to ensure it meets needs and has the right expectations on safeguarding.

The Government has committed to supporting trusted adults to adhere to safeguarding standards and have the right understanding of the challenges young people are facing today. We will also continue to fund the National Youth Agency to deliver an online safeguarding and risk management hub to provide guidance, support and access to training resources for all organisations and individuals working with young people.

Beyond the measures above, the Department for Education held a Call for Evidence on Safeguarding in Out-of-School Settings, including youth clubs and other forms of youth work, between May and September this year. Analysis and further engagement are ongoing, before the Government responds in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to Restoring Control Over the Immigration System: White Paper, whether her Department plans to apply the 5 and 10 year penalties for accessing public funds to those on limited leave to remain who are currently living in the UK and receiving benefits.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Data regarding how many people in the UK are subject to the ‘no recourse to public funds’ condition (NRPF) is currently in development and not ready for release. We will continue to explore what further information on NRPF can be produced. We are unable at this time to provide a specific timeframe for data publication or indeed confirm what will be published.

The earned settlement model is currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026. Details of the earned settlement scheme will be finalised following that consultation.

The consultation seeks views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement. Consideration will then be given, if appropriate, to how transitional arrangements may be designed to ease the impact of policy change, especially for individuals or groups already afforded permissions by the previous system.

The final model will also be subject to equality impact assessment, which the government has committed to publish in due course.

Free school meals are not classed as a 'public fund' for immigration purposes. It is the Department for Education who set the eligibility criteria for who can access free school meals.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) children and (b) adults are subject to the No Recourse to Public Funds condition.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Data regarding how many people in the UK are subject to the ‘no recourse to public funds’ condition (NRPF) is currently in development and not ready for release. We will continue to explore what further information on NRPF can be produced. We are unable at this time to provide a specific timeframe for data publication or indeed confirm what will be published.

The earned settlement model is currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026. Details of the earned settlement scheme will be finalised following that consultation.

The consultation seeks views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement. Consideration will then be given, if appropriate, to how transitional arrangements may be designed to ease the impact of policy change, especially for individuals or groups already afforded permissions by the previous system.

The final model will also be subject to equality impact assessment, which the government has committed to publish in due course.

Free school meals are not classed as a 'public fund' for immigration purposes. It is the Department for Education who set the eligibility criteria for who can access free school meals.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to protect children from gambling advertisements online.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

All gambling operators who advertise in the UK must comply with advertising codes, which are enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) independently of Government. These codes apply across all advertising platforms, and include a wide range of provisions designed to protect children from harm. In addition to rules on content and audience, operators must ensure that gambling advertising is not targeted at children. Earlier this year the Department for Education announced new statutory guidance for relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education, which includes more in depth education about the risks of gambling related harms. We will continue to monitor this area closely and take action where there is evidence to do so.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Education on the role of the mathematical sciences within future Strategic Priorities Grant funding.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The mathematical sciences sector is key to delivering the Government’s missions and plays an important role from advising government and business, to sharing expertise that underpins the innovation and scientific discovery that helps our country and economy thrive.

Ministers and officials in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) engage regularly with counterparts in the Department for Education (DfE) on a wide range of issues related to mathematical sciences and higher education funding. While we maintain this ongoing dialogue with the DfE, there have been no specific discussions on the role of mathematical sciences in the Office for Students’ Strategic Priorities Grant funding.

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