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 potential impact of male underrepresentation in the teaching workforce in primary schools on the attainment gap between boys and girls.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
As my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has said, the department wants to see more male teachers teaching, guiding and leading the boys in their classrooms.
Men are underrepresented across the education workforce. This is broadly in line with international trends and has remained stable over time in England
Recruiting and retaining expert teachers is critical to the government’s mission to break down the barriers to opportunity for every child, as high-quality teaching is the in-school factor that has the biggest positive impact on a child’s outcomes.
We ensure men are featured regularly in our recruitment marketing campaign “Every Lesson Shapes a Life”, with men in the focal role in our last two major TV campaigns.
Whilst the department does not have evidence to draw a direct link between gender of teachers and pupil outcomes, we are clear that schools should be an environment where all children feel a genuine sense of belonging.
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 she plans to provide a response to Question 93556 on Schools: Standards, tabled on 21 November 2025.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
I can confirm that a response has been submitted to the hon. Member for South Basildon and East Thurrock to Question 93556.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help support children in schools to develop their vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation and listening skills.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department recognises the importance of speaking and listening skills, which has been very clearly set out by the recent Curriculum and Assessment Review. As part of our English curriculum reform, we will make sure that communication skills inherent in curriculum subjects are more clearly expressed through revised programmes of study. We will revise the English and drama programmes of study to add more clarity and specificity in speaking and listening, as well as ensuring that the reformed English language GCSE focusses on the features and use of language as a form of communication. We will also create a new oracy framework to sit alongside the national curriculum that will support primary teachers to help their pupils become confident, fluent speakers, as well as a new secondary oracy, reading and writing framework, which will enable secondary teachers to connect and embed all three of those vital skills in each of their subjects as part of a whole school strategy.
We are also considering whether and how the sequencing of grammatical content in the curriculum should be changed, to enable pupils to master concepts and use them in context.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of changing the national curriculum to increase awareness of cancer prevention amongst pupils in Yeovil constituency.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
It is important to educate people about causes and symptoms of cancer, and we are supportive of efforts to do this at an early age.
Revised relationships, sex and health education statutory guidance was published on 15 July 2025. Cancer awareness and other specific cancer-related content is included. At secondary school, as part of their studies on health protection and prevention and understanding the healthcare system, pupils will be taught the importance of taking responsibility for their own health, including regular self-examination and screening.
Schools may teach about cancer awareness in other areas of the current national curriculum. The secondary science curriculum ensures pupils are taught about non-communicable diseases, such as cancer, and the impact of lifestyle factors. In design and food technology, schools should highlight the importance of nutrition. We are developing a new national curriculum with teachers, curriculum experts, pupils and parents, which schools will start teaching from September 2028.
Asked by: Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to (1) track, and (2) publish, the number of learning days lost to extreme weather events, such as those that cause flooding or overheating.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department publishes attendance data, including reasons for absence such as setting closures.
Decisions on closures rest with individual settings and responsible bodies, based on their own risk assessments.
Closures should be a last resort, with the priority to keep settings open where safe. Settings are expected to provide remote education and the department’s emergency planning guidance explains how schools should deliver remote education. The guidance can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/emergency-planning-and-response-for-education-childcare-and-childrens-social-care-settings/emergency-planning-and-response-for-education-childcare-and-childrens-social-care-settings#exam-and-assessment-disruption.
Drawing on lessons from Covid, the department has strengthened monitoring of disruptions to provide faster support and reduce lost learning time.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many schools have mental health support teams.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
9,986 out of 24,149 (41%) schools in England were supported by an NHS-funded Mental Health Support Team (MHST) in March 2025. This data on the coverage of MHSTs in England in 2024/25 can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/transforming-children-and-young-peoples-mental-health-provision. This has been available since 16 May 2025 at national, regional and local authority level and since 10 July 2025 at constituency level. Around six in ten pupils nationally are expected to have access to an MHST by March 2026, and we will accelerate the roll out to reach full national coverage by 2029.
Data on MHST coverage is collected annually, as part of the government's commitment to expand MHSTs to every school, so every child and young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate.
Asked by: Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many schools have implemented measures to be climate resilient in (1) a two degree centigrade, and (2) a four degree centigrade, rise in average global temperatures.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As part of our Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy, we are helping all education settings to develop and implement climate action plans through a package of online and in person support. All climate action plans include taking action to become more climate resilient.
The department’s specification for the design and construction of new school buildings includes the requirement that they are built for a 2 degree rise in average global temperatures, and future-proofed for a 4 degree rise.
Engagement with the support has been positive. The department does not currently collect data relating to the number of schools with plans.
Asked by: Baroness Boycott (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many schools have produced climate action plans.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As part of our Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy, we are helping all education settings to develop and implement climate action plans through a package of online and in person support. All climate action plans include taking action to become more climate resilient.
The department’s specification for the design and construction of new school buildings includes the requirement that they are built for a 2 degree rise in average global temperatures, and future-proofed for a 4 degree rise.
Engagement with the support has been positive. The department does not currently collect data relating to the number of schools with plans.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 6 January 2026 to Question 99801, what the estimated annual amount (a) accrued in interest and (b) repaid by British citizens with students loans was in each of the last five financial years.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Department for Education and the Student Loans Company (SLC) are undertaking work to improve the quality and consistency of demographic data held across their systems, to support the timely answering of parliamentary questions. Changes in the application process over time, including the transition to electronic applications, mean that demographic data held for earlier cohorts can be held differently across multiple SLC systems and repayment and interest calculations continue to include these early borrowers.
As a result, it is not currently possible to produce robust repayment figures broken down by British citizen status within the required timescales. Once this work is complete, the department expects to be able to provide more detailed information in response to such questions.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the report from the All Party Parliamentary Group for Adoption and Permanence entitled Adoptee Voices, published on 28 January 2026, if she will take steps with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to ensure mental health provision is available for adoptees that is trauma and adoptee-informed.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The ‘Adoptee Voices’ publication enabled the department to hear directly from adoptees and about their experience of trauma and mental health provision, such provision must be informed by lived experience as well as clinical evidence. The department recently published a consultation, ‘Adoption Support that Works for All’, confirming that we are working in partnership with the Department of Health and Social Care to design their new pilot to improve mental health support for children in care and their families. This pilot will include support for adoptive families starting in one area and aims to test an integrated model of mental health support for children and families
Alongside this, we are expanding our investment in Regional Adoption Agency multi‑disciplinary teams, which bring together social care, health and education professionals to deliver a holistic package of assessment and support for adopted children and their families.