Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many schools which are currently Ofsted graded “Requires Improvement” or equivalent but were graded “Good” or “Outstanding” at their last inspection; and what plans they have at national level to provide school improvement support to these schools.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
As part of this government’s plan to deliver a better accountability system that sets clear expectations, encourages improvement and spreads excellence, the use of single headline grades was stopped in September 2024, and it is our intention to introduce school report cards from the next academic year. As of 28 February 2025, there are 924 schools graded ‘requires improvement’, which were graded ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ in their previous inspection.
The department is strengthening its tools for faster and more effective school improvement. These schools will be eligible for our new Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence (RISE) universal service to drive high and rising standards. RISE teams will signpost schools to effective practice, encourage peer-to-peer support, and bring schools together to share their knowledge and innovation. This includes organising regional events, conferences and networking opportunities, aligned to our four national priorities of attainment, attendance, mainstream inclusion and reception year quality.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to increase funding through the Dedicated Schools Grant to areas with (a) below average allocations and (b) deficits.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The schools national funding formula (NFF) distributes core funding for 5-16 year old pupils in mainstream state-funded schools in England. The NFF allocates funding based on schools’ and pupils’ characteristics. In the current NFF, the vast majority of funding is allocated based on pupil numbers and characteristics.
It is not the purpose of the NFF to give every school the same level of per-pupil funding. It is right that schools with lots of pupils with additional needs – such as those indicated by measures of deprivation, low prior attainment, or English as an additional language – receive extra funding to help them meet the needs of all their pupils. In addition, schools in more expensive areas, like London, attract higher funding per pupil than other parts of the country to reflect the higher costs they face.
The department does not fund schools based on their reserves or deficits. Schools who do find themselves in financial difficulty should contact their local authority if they are a maintained school and the department if they are an academy to see what additional support might be available.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure disabled children can access social care support.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government is taking forward significant reform of children’s social care, with the aim to rebalance the system towards earlier intervention and ensure that all children and families can access the right help at the point of need, rather than needing to meet a particular threshold. This is particularly the case for children with disabilities, whose need is potentially different from others who may require help and support from children’s social care. Disabled children may require support for the entirety of their childhood and sit across children’s social care, education and health, and their support offer should be adjusted to reflect this.
To that end, on Thursday 20 March, I announced the launch of the national Families First Partnership Programme, including the publication of the Families First Programme guide. The guide has been produced to support safeguarding partnerships across England implement Family Help and multi-agency child protection reforms and make greater use of Family Group Decision Making. The guide can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/families-first-partnership-programme.
The programme is backed by over £500 million of investment in the 2025/26 financial year, made available through England’s final local government finance settlement (LGFS) for the 2025/26 financial year. This doubles direct investment into preventative support, ensuring access to support at the earliest opportunity, which over time, we expect to safely reduce the number of looked after children, keeping more families together. More information on the LGFS can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/final-local-government-finance-settlement-england-2025-to-2026.
Programmes delivered by local government over many years have paved the way for these reforms, including evidence from the Supporting Families, and Strengthening Families, Protecting Children programmes. We will also take forward lessons so far from the ten local areas part of the Families First for Children Pathfinder. Best practice for improving the support provided to disabled children includes appointing special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) specialist lead practitioners to lead work with families and recruiting SEND expertise into local authorities’ ‘front doors’ to ensure timely and effective decision making and promote access to services at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has for Family Hubs after the 2025-26 financial year; and whether her Department plans to provide a multi-year pledge to fund the Family Hubs and Start for Life program beyond this period.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government’s Plan for Change sets out a commitment to give every child the best start in life. Progress on this commitment will be measured by assessing whether 75% of five-year-olds are reaching a good level of development in the Early Years Foundation Stage assessment, which looks at children’s development across areas such as language, personal, social and emotional development, and mathematics and literacy, by 2028.
Delivering this will require strengthening and co-ordinating family services to improve support through pregnancy and early childhood. This includes continuing to invest in and build up Family Hubs and Start for Life programmes.
75 local authorities with some of the highest levels of deprivation have received funding and there are now more than 400 Family Hubs open across those local authorities. The department is investing a further £126 million in the 2025/26 financial year to give every child the best start in life and deliver on the Plan for Change. Future funding decisions are subject to the multi-year spending review.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress she has made on launching a new National Music Education Network.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
On 18 March, the department announced its intention to launch a new National Centre for Arts and Music Education.
We intend to appoint the delivery partner for the Centre through an open, competitive procurement. We will engage with sector stakeholders to refine the details of the Centre ahead of the commercial process later this year. We will set out further detail shortly.
The National Centre will deliver on the manifesto commitment to deliver a Music Education Network. The department’s intention is to launch the National Centre in September 2026.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will undertake a review of the potential impact of increases in National Insurance contributions on the availability of SEND home-to-school transport provision.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Hinckley and Bosworth to the answer of 29 January 2025 to Question 26397.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help teach children about active travel to school.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Local authorities have a duty to promote the use of sustainable travel on journeys to and from places of education in their area. This includes children who are not eligible for free school travel provided by the local authority. Local authorities must publish a sustainable modes of travel strategy which sets out their vision for improving the infrastructure for sustainable travel and promoting sustainable travel to places of education. It should aim to provide health benefits for children and their families through active journeys and environmental improvements through reduced congestion and improved air quality. Further information is available in the department's statutory guidance for local authorities, which can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-to-school-travel-and-transport-guidance.
Active Travel England is the government’s executive agency responsible for promoting walking, wheeling and cycling as the preferred choice of travel in England. They support local authorities with grant funding for the development and construction of walking, wheeling and cycling facilities and schemes and are responsible for a number of schemes which promote active travel to school. Further information can be found at: https://www.activetravelengland.gov.uk/.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to encourage children to cycle to school.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Local authorities have a duty to promote the use of sustainable travel on journeys to and from places of education in their area. This includes children who are not eligible for free school travel provided by the local authority. Local authorities must publish a sustainable modes of travel strategy which sets out their vision for improving the infrastructure for sustainable travel and promoting sustainable travel to places of education. It should aim to provide health benefits for children and their families through active journeys and environmental improvements through reduced congestion and improved air quality. Further information is available in the department's statutory guidance for local authorities, which can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-to-school-travel-and-transport-guidance.
Active Travel England is the government’s executive agency responsible for promoting walking, wheeling and cycling as the preferred choice of travel in England. They support local authorities with grant funding for the development and construction of walking, wheeling and cycling facilities and schemes and are responsible for a number of schemes which promote active travel to school. Further information can be found at: https://www.activetravelengland.gov.uk/.
Asked by: Will Stone (Labour - Swindon North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason she has made changes to the levels of payments made out of the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund; if she will publish a risk assessment for this funding change; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the funding change on future numbers and proportions of looked-after children being diverted into (a) adoptive families and (b) other types of care.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The changes made to the adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF) were made so that funding can be accessed by the maximum number of children and families. The level of funding per child in 2025/26 will still allow adoptive and kinship families to access a significant package of therapeutic support.
The department always considers the impact of decisions on vulnerable children and reviews the risks of any policy changes.
The ASGSF is an important package of support, which is why we have continued to fund it. However, it is not the only support available to adoptive and kinship families. The department is funding Adoption England with £8.8 million this year to improve adopter recruitment and support, including innovative approaches to matching and the establishment of Centres of Excellence. We are also continuing to improve the support available to kinship families, including a £40 million package to trial a new kinship allowance to support family members and friends who take in children.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2025 to Question 37398 on Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund, if she will hold discussions with Adoption UK on funding for the adoption and special guardianship support fund.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
I meet regularly with key adoption stakeholders including Adoption UK and will continue to do so to discuss a wider variety of adoption issues, including the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund. Departmental officials also have regular meetings with Adoption UK to discuss issues relating to adoption.