Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the role of early years settings is in helping to identify and support the needs of SEND children.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The government recognises the important role the early years sector plays in early intervention to ensure the right support is put in place for children as soon as possible
The early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework sets the standards and requirements that all early years providers must follow. It stipulates that providers must have arrangements in place to support children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and that all providers who are funded by the local authority to deliver early education places must have regard for the SEND code of practice.
On 7 July, we published our commitment to giving every child the best start in life. This means a stronger focus on early identification, inclusive access to early years education, and tailored family support.
We have already invested in the Early Language Support for Every Child programme, as well as the Nuffield Early Language Intervention, supporting children in the early years with their speech and language.
We are looking at wider SEND reforms and interventions to give children and young people the opportunities they need to achieve and thrive.
Asked by: Laura Trott (Conservative - Sevenoaks)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of using evidence-based parenting programmes, like Triple P and Incredible Years, to ensure more families receive more support to manage their children’s online activities.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
As part of our ‘Giving every child the best start in life’ strategy, the department is investing in evidence-based parenting and home learning environment interventions delivered through Best Start Family Hubs.
These interventions are designed to strengthen children’s social, emotional and behavioural wellbeing and promote positive parent-child interactions, encouraging families to chat, play and read together. They help parents create balanced routines that may include using screens as a tool for learning while also supporting activities away from screens, fostering healthy habits and strong relationships.
The department is working in partnership with the National Centre for Family Hubs, the Foundations - What Works Centre for Children & Families, and Nesta to ensure local areas can identify and implement the most effective programmes. This approach will promote greater consistency and quality across the country and support our ambition for 75% of children to achieve a good level of development by 2028.
Protecting children online is a priority, and we will continue to build the evidence base on the impact of screen time on children and listen to parents, children and schools to help us improve our guidance and our understanding of emerging needs and gaps.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools have raised concerns with her Department regarding a) the adequacy of funding for free school meals and breakfast clubs where pupils have religious dietary requirements b) what the nature of these concerns has been c) and how each concern has been addressed.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department spends over £1.5 billion annually supporting free school meals provision to around 3.5 million school pupils. Officials meet regularly with the sector to gather feedback.
The government sets out required minimum standards for school food in the school food standards to ensure that children are served healthy, nutritious meals. The government is reviewing the standards and will be engaging widely with the sector, including faith groups, throughout this process.
We have confirmed over £30 million of funding for the current 2025/26 financial year and around £80 million for the 2026/27 financial year for free breakfast clubs. From April 2026, mainstream schools will be funded at a new increased rate of £25 a day, plus £1 per pupil per day who attends the club. We continue to learn through our programme evaluation and sector engagement, including with faith groups.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data her Department holds on school attendance rates in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire in the last five years.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department publishes figures from the school census on pupil absence in England on a termly basis. The most recent published data relates to the autumn and spring terms of the 2024/25 academic year, and the latest full academic year is 2023/24, available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/pupil-absence-in-schools-in-england/.
The published data includes absence rates by local authority and school. School level data includes identifiers that can be used to link the parliamentary constituency for the school using the ‘Get Information About Schools’ website, which is available here: https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/.
The latest absence release has been available since 23 October 2025.
Asked by: Edward Argar (Conservative - Melton and Syston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her contribution of 4 November 2024, official report column 46, and to WPQ UIN 53062, (a) on what date the leak inquiry commenced, (b) on what date it concluded and (c) when its findings will be made public.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The investigation remains ongoing and all reasonable lines of inquiry will be pursued.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of adding veterinary medicine to the list of second-degree courses eligible for tuition fee loans, including the potential impact on (a) access to the veterinary profession and (b) the UK’s veterinary workforce.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
To ensure the student finance system remains sustainable, students who already hold a qualification at an equivalent or higher-level qualification (ELQ) to that of their current course are not normally eligible for tuition fee or maintenance loans. An exception has been made to these rules to encourage access to certain professions, including veterinary medicine. Students undertaking a full-time second degree in veterinary medicine starting before 1 January 2027 will qualify for maintenance support for the duration of their course.
This position will change under the Lifelong Learning Entitlement, which will replace higher education student finance loans from 1 January 2027. An additional loan entitlement will be made available for a limited number of priority subjects, such as medicine. These are courses required to address priority skills needs and that align with the government’s Industrial Strategy.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding hi Department provided for programmes that promote the use of artificial intelligence in schools.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department does not mandate or promote any specific materials or programmes as it is for schools to decide what to use. The department has provided over £6 million of funding since July 2024 to support safe and effective use of artificial intelligence (AI) in schools, including £2 million for Oak National Academy to develop its AI lesson planning assistant, Aila, and joint-funding the Education Content Store pilot along with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
The department has also funded free support materials for staff in schools and colleges, developed by the Chiltern Learning Trust and the Chartered College of Teaching.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions have (a) ministers, and (b) officials had with the Office for Students on the presence of Confucius Institutes in the UK.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Ministers and officials regularly meet with the Office for Students to discuss a wide range of topics, including international partnerships. The government welcomes these partnerships, including with China, many of which make strong contributions to our society. Universities have a responsibility to ensure that any partnership, including with a Confucius Institute, is managed appropriately and is compliant with their legal duties and regulatory requirements.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
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 ringfencing receipts from the international student levy for funding in higher education and skills.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
As set out in the Budget Document, the income raised by the Levy will be fully reinvested into higher education and skills, including to fund maintenance grants for disadvantaged students studying priority courses.
Asked by: Calvin Bailey (Labour - Leyton and Wanstead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of flat-rate per-pupil funding for breakfast clubs in mainstream schools on the accessibility of these clubs for pupils with SEND.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Following the success of the 750 early adopters, where we invested £30 million in the 2025/26 financial year, the department is now moving to national rollout, raising the budget to £80 million to fund an additional 2,000 schools joining the programme between April 2026 and March 2027.
The department has used the rich learning from the early adopters, existing programmes and costs to determine funding rates for national rollout, and this has been tested and refined with schools. This includes mainstream schools with special educational needs and disabilities pupils.
The funding rate for national rollout will take this learning into account and provide schools with the autonomy they need to allocate funding to promote inclusive access and ensure the offer reaches those who need it most.
The department will provide further information on the funding for national rollout in the near future, alongside specifics on eligibility, funding, and expectations.