Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of banning phones in schools; and whether she plans to make banning phones in schools compulsory.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Mobile phones have no place in schools.
The department’s new, stronger guidance on mobile phones in schools is clear that all schools should be mobile phone-free by default. Pupils should not have access to their devices during lessons, break times, lunch times, or between lessons.
Research from the Children’s Commissioner, published in April 2025, shows that the overwhelming majority of schools - 99.8% of primary schools and 90% of secondary schools - already have policies in place that limit or restrict the use of mobile phones during the school day.
The guidance will be implemented through behaviour management in schools, and by setting out clear expectations for teachers and school staff, while our Attendance and Behaviour Hub-lead schools will support other schools to implement and enforce a mobile phone policy where needed.
For the first time, Ofsted will check school mobile phone policy on every inspection, with schools expected to be phone-free by default. Ofsted will examine both schools' mobile phone policies and how effectively they are implemented when judging behaviour during inspections
In addition, a consultation will identify the next steps in the government’s plan to boost children’s wellbeing online, ensuring they have a healthy relationship with mobile phones and social media.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many civil servants employed by their Department work in roles primarily focused on (a) transgender policy, (b) diversity, (c) equity and (d) inclusion; and at what annual salary cost.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department currently employs three civil servants in roles focused on diversity,
equity and inclusion. Following a review of all job titles across the department, we can confirm that there are no roles whose primary focus is transgender policy.
Within the central human resources diversity and inclusion team, staffing aligns with standard departmental grading structures for the 2025/26 financial year. The team includes:
Information on roles and salaries for members of the department and its arm's length bodies
is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/disclosure-of-scs-posts-and-salary-information.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has met with representatives of Kinship's #ValueOurLove campaign to discuss potential reforms to the kinship care system.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government recognises the important role that kinship carers play in caring for some of the most vulnerable children. The government is determined to give every child the opportunities they deserve, and kinship carers play a crucial role in delivering this.
Departmental officials and I regularly engage with the charity Kinship as well as other key sector stakeholders to discuss and consult on ongoing and future reforms to the kinship care system.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of safeguarding in nursery settings.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The safety of our youngest children is our utmost priority and the department continually monitors and reviews safeguarding requirements to make sure children are kept as safe as possible.
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework sets the standards and requirements early years providers must meet to ensure that children are kept healthy and safe. It is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/68c024cb8c6d992f23edd79c/Early_years_foundation_stage_statutory_framework_-_for_group_and_school-based_providers.pdf. In September 2025, changes were introduced to strengthen the safeguarding requirements in the EYFS, including clearer expectations on safer recruitment, child absences, safer eating, safeguarding training and whistleblowing.
A new safeguarding training annex now sets out what training must cover. To support providers, a free online safeguarding training package is being developed with the NSPCC, aligned to the new requirements.
We are also appointing an expert panel to inform whether CCTV should be mandated within early years settings, along with the development of guidance on the safe and effective use of digital devices and CCTV within safeguarding, setting out best practice, technical information and clear expectations.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps will be taken to ensure that school leaders, exam officers, teachers, parents and students are fully consulted during the 12-week consultation on regulating on-screen assessments.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department recognises the importance of securing responses from teachers, school leaders, exams officers, parents and students, and Ofqual is committed to achieving diverse representation.
To support this, Ofqual is engaging these groups through targeted briefings with representative bodies, dedicated stakeholder sessions and a clear communications campaign. This includes a teacher focused blog and social media activity, alongside proactive media briefings ahead of launch which generated widespread national, local and sector coverage. The department is also promoting the consultation via its own channels and stakeholder networks, and is planning to support Ofqual with stakeholder engagement activities during its consultation period.
Ofqual has also published a comprehensive evidence base reflecting views from these groups, which informed its proposals. It will monitor responses and adapt outreach to ensure strong participation.
Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help reduce the level of school absences among working class students.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Absence is a key barrier to opportunity. Children need to be in school to achieve and thrive. The government recognises that some pupils, including those eligible for free school meals, face additional barriers to regular attendance. This is why the department is rolling out free breakfast clubs in all primary schools from April 2026. Schools can also use Pupil Premium to fund evidence‑based attendance and behaviour support.
Our statutory ‘Working Together to Improve School Attendance’ guidance supports the attendance of all children, including those families on lower incomes.
We provide real‑time data and attendance toolkits so schools, trusts and local authorities can diagnose drivers of absence and adopt practice, including bespoke attendance targets, personalised roadmaps back to pre‑pandemic levels, and benchmarking against statistically similar schools.
This month, the regional improvement for standards and excellence (RISE) attendance and behaviour hubs will launch fully with support reaching 4500 schools nationally with intensive one-to-one support for up to 500 schools every year.
Our attendance mentoring programme is supporting 10,000 persistently absent children in ten areas with some of the worst attendance rates.
Asked by: Peter Lamb (Labour - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment has been made of the HAF programme’s impact on reducing child food insecurity and supporting families during school holidays.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The government remains committed to the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme, ensuring children eligible for free school meals (FSM) can access enriching activities and healthy meals during school holidays. Over £600 million has been confirmed for the programme for the next three financial years from 2026/27. This multi-year commitment provides local authorities with stability and certainty, enabling longer term planning, procurement and investment to drive more effective and efficient delivery.
For the 2026/27 financial year, eligibility for HAF will remain at the existing FSM threshold, targeting support to those who need it most. Future eligibility will be kept under review and any changes communicated in due course.
An external evaluation commissioned by the department in 2021 found HAF successfully provided children with nutritious food whilst supporting parents to work and bringing financial relief. In a recent external survey of 20,000 parents and carers, over nine in ten reported that HAF reduced money worries during holidays and made it easier to work, alongside positive findings on the nutritional value and enjoyment of the food.
The department is committed to the continued assessment of HAF’s impact and will be conducting an evaluation during the three year funding period.
Asked by: Peter Lamb (Labour - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to expand eligibility for the HAF programme to include children from low-income families not currently in receipt of free school meals.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The government remains committed to the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme, ensuring children eligible for free school meals (FSM) can access enriching activities and healthy meals during school holidays. Over £600 million has been confirmed for the programme for the next three financial years from 2026/27. This multi-year commitment provides local authorities with stability and certainty, enabling longer term planning, procurement and investment to drive more effective and efficient delivery.
For the 2026/27 financial year, eligibility for HAF will remain at the existing FSM threshold, targeting support to those who need it most. Future eligibility will be kept under review and any changes communicated in due course.
An external evaluation commissioned by the department in 2021 found HAF successfully provided children with nutritious food whilst supporting parents to work and bringing financial relief. In a recent external survey of 20,000 parents and carers, over nine in ten reported that HAF reduced money worries during holidays and made it easier to work, alongside positive findings on the nutritional value and enjoyment of the food.
The department is committed to the continued assessment of HAF’s impact and will be conducting an evaluation during the three year funding period.
Asked by: Peter Lamb (Labour - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure sustainable, inflation-linked funding for the holiday activities and food programme.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The government remains committed to the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme, ensuring children eligible for free school meals (FSM) can access enriching activities and healthy meals during school holidays. Over £600 million has been confirmed for the programme for the next three financial years from 2026/27. This multi-year commitment provides local authorities with stability and certainty, enabling longer term planning, procurement and investment to drive more effective and efficient delivery.
For the 2026/27 financial year, eligibility for HAF will remain at the existing FSM threshold, targeting support to those who need it most. Future eligibility will be kept under review and any changes communicated in due course.
An external evaluation commissioned by the department in 2021 found HAF successfully provided children with nutritious food whilst supporting parents to work and bringing financial relief. In a recent external survey of 20,000 parents and carers, over nine in ten reported that HAF reduced money worries during holidays and made it easier to work, alongside positive findings on the nutritional value and enjoyment of the food.
The department is committed to the continued assessment of HAF’s impact and will be conducting an evaluation during the three year funding period.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when her Department last reviewed statutory safety standards for nurseries.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The safety of our youngest children is our utmost priority and the department continually monitors and reviews safeguarding requirements to make sure children are kept as safe as possible.
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework sets the standards and requirements early years providers must meet to ensure that children are kept healthy and safe. The framework is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/68c024cb8c6d992f23edd79c/Early_years_foundation_stage_statutory_framework_-_for_group_and_school-based_providers.pdf.pdf. In September 2025, changes were introduced to strengthen the safeguarding requirements in the EYFS, including clearer expectations on safer recruitment, child absences, safer eating, safeguarding training, and whistleblowing.
A new safeguarding training annex now sets out what training must cover. To support providers, a free online safeguarding training package is being developed with the NSPCC, aligned to the new requirements.
An expert panel will also be appointed to consider whether CCTV should be mandated and to set out best practice, technical guidance and clear expectations for the use of CCTV and digital devices.