Asked by: Baroness Debbonaire (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the numbers of children in England being offered teaching at school in (1) Mandarin, (2) Spanish, (3) Hindi, and (4) Arabic.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government is committed to supporting the teaching of modern foreign languages in England’s schools. Schools are free to choose which languages they teach at primary and secondary level. When deciding which languages to offer, schools will consider the needs of the communities they serve.
The department does not hold information on the number of children being taught Mandarin, Spanish, Hindi or Arabic in school. However, we can provide the following information on GCSE entries: in 2025, 73% of state-funded secondary schools in England entered at least one pupil for GCSE Spanish (2,719 schools), compared with 28% for GCSE Arabic (1,030 schools) and 31% for GCSE Chinese (1,154 schools).
The department does not hold data for Hindi, as this is offered as an iGCSE qualification, not GCSE. Schools may be used as exam centres for local heritage language schools, so we do not know if the teaching for these exams took place in schools or elsewhere.
Asked by: Baroness Debbonaire (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of children who have and who have not been taught to read music by (1) age 11 and (2) age 16 in England.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In the current national curriculum, pupils should be taught to use and understand staff and other musical notations at key stage 2 from ages 7 to 11, and to use staff and other relevant notations appropriately and accurately at key stage 3 from ages 11 to 14. The department does not hold information on whether pupils are taught to read music but Ofsted’s most recent subject report, based on visits to 25 primary and 25 secondary schools, found that pupils do not consistently develop secure musical knowledge and skills over time, including in notation and reading music.
The independent Curriculum and Assessment Review published its final report on 5 November 2025. The government has issued a response to the report, setting out planned changes to the music curriculum to ensure pupils develop a strong foundation in the three pillars of musical understanding, technical, constructive and expressive, including how to read music. The first teaching of a refreshed curriculum will be September 2028, following planned consultation to launch in September.
Asked by: Baroness Debbonaire (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the extent, and (2) the impact, of the provision of arts and culture activities for children in schools by external organisations.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Participation in the arts brings a range of benefits for children and young people. In addition to the value of arts engagement in and of itself, the Education Endowment Fund’s teaching and learning toolkit, for example, reports positive impacts on academic outcomes in other curriculum areas, as well as benefits to children’s wellbeing and attitudes to learning.
There is a range of support available to schools from external organisations to help them provide arts and cultural activities. The government will be publishing a new enrichment framework this academic year, which will encourage partnership working and signpost to organisations, such as Arts Council England.
We are also committed to revitalising arts as part of the reformed national curriculum and qualifications, with high-quality support for teachers of these subjects through the new National Centre for Music and Arts, and our music hubs network.
Asked by: Baroness Debbonaire (Labour - Life peer)
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 trends in entries for art and design GCSEs and A-levels on the future ability of creative industries to recruit skilled staff.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The government set out plans for addressing the skills needs of the creative industries in the Creative Industries Sector Vision published by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in June. As the vision sets out, the skills needs of the creative industries are complex and qualifications needed to enter the wide range of posts available in the industry will vary. In light of this, an assessment of the specific impact of art and design GCSE and A-level entry on the creative industry has not been carried out. The department is, however, delivering a wide range of skills programmes and reforms to deliver the skills needed by employers in this industry.
Employers in the Creative and Design sector have developed 58 high-quality apprenticeship standards including Creative Venue Technician, VFX artist, and Media Production Coordinator. Alongside this, T Levels, which are aligned to the same employer-led standards as apprenticeships, will also support the pipeline of talent into the creative industries. New T Levels in Craft and Design, and Media, Broadcast and Production will be rolled out in 2024.
The department’s reforms to higher technical education (level 4/5) include the introduction of Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs). These are current (and new) level 4-5 qualifications approved, and quality marked by the Institute for Apprenticeships & Technical Education as providing the skills demanded in the workplace by employers. 31 Digital HTQs launched for AY 22/23. Creative and Design HTQs will be available for teaching from September 2025.
Asked by: Baroness Debbonaire (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer of 25 February 2021 to Question 155406 on Children: Day Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the 30 hours of free childcare a week to full-time postgraduate students.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Shadow Minister (Equalities)
The government is not currently planning to extend the 30 hours of free childcare a week. However, the department recognises the value of parents continuing in education and we provide a range of support for students in further or higher education to assist them with childcare.
All parents are eligible for the universal 15 hours of free early education, which is available to all three and four-year-olds, regardless of family circumstances.
Working parents of three and four-year-olds may be eligible for an additional 15 hours of free childcare if they earn the equivalent of 16 hours a week at national minimum or living wage and under £100,000 per year. This entitlement aims to help working parents with the costs of childcare, so they can take up paid work if they want to, or work additional hours. Students who participate in paid work in addition to their studies and meet the income requirements will be eligible for the additional hours.
Parents who meet these income criteria may also be able to receive support from Tax Free Childcare, which can be worth up to £2,000 per year for children aged 0-11, or up to £4,000 per year for disabled children until the age of 17.
In addition to the above, eligible students starting a postgraduate master’s degree can receive a postgraduate master’s loan of up to £11,836 for students starting their courses in the 2022/23 academic year. The loan is intended as a contribution to the cost of study, rather than to specifically cover tuition fees or livings costs.
Further information on the childcare offers available to parents can be found at: https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.
Asked by: Baroness Debbonaire (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she will take to improve staff retention at nurseries and other early years childcare settings.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Shadow Minister (Equalities)
The department is providing a package of training, qualifications, expert guidance, and targeted support for the early years sector to focus on the development of the youngest and most disadvantaged children, and to help address retention challenges. We are funding a range of programmes, including additional funding for graduate level specialist training, leading to early years teacher status and an accredited level 3 early years special education needs coordinator qualification. More information on the early years education recovery programme can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-education-recovery-programme.
The department also has a range of support for staff who take advantage of training opportunities. For example, the early years initial teacher training programme includes an employer incentive payment to cover trainee travel costs, to support release time for trainee mentoring and for other associated costs such as purchasing training materials. Similarly, across all three phases of the professional development programme, nurseries and childminders receive a day rate for programme attendees, to cover various costs including travel and subsistence and to cover for staff absence. Our early years experts and mentors, recruited from the sector to support those most in need, will be paid a day rate to ensure costs do not fall to their employer.
Asked by: Baroness Debbonaire (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to address staffing gaps in nursery and childcare sectors in Bristol West constituency.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Shadow Minister (Equalities)
The department acknowledges that recruitment and retention are key issues for the early years sector in England. Supporting the early years workforce continues to be a priority for the department, and we are working proactively with the sector and local authorities, including those in the Bristol West area, to build our understanding of the situation and how we might support the sector to attract more staff to work in early years education and childcare.
The department is providing a package of training, qualifications, expert guidance, and targeted support for the early years sector to focus on the development of the youngest and most disadvantaged children and help to address existing recruitment and retention challenges. This includes providing additional funding for graduate level specialist training leading to early years teacher status and an accredited level 3 early years special education needs coordinator (SENCO) qualification. More information on the early years education recovery programme can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-education-recovery-programme.
Asked by: Baroness Debbonaire (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 28 September 2022 to Question 51633 on Schools: Solar Power, how many school buildings in Bristol West constituency were inspected as part of the Condition Data Programme.
Answered by Jonathan Gullis
The Department is preparing detailed analysis of the data collected for the Condition Data Collection (CDC) programme and plan to publish the details by the end of the year.
The key, high-level findings of the CDC programme, were published in May 2021 in the report ‘Condition of School Buildings Survey – Key Findings’.
The report is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/989912/Condition_of_School_Buildings_Survey_CDC1_-_key_findings_report.pdf.
The Department has no plans to make a statement.
Asked by: Baroness Debbonaire (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to his Answer of 27 September 2022 to Question 51628 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in Bristol West constituency have one or more buildings classified in Category D of condition need; how long each of those buildings has been classified in that category; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jonathan Gullis
The Department is preparing detailed analysis of the data collected for the Condition Data Collection (CDC) programme and plan to publish the details by the end of the year.
The key, high-level findings of the CDC programme, were published in May 2021 in the report ‘Condition of School Buildings Survey – Key Findings’.
The report is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/989912/Condition_of_School_Buildings_Survey_CDC1_-_key_findings_report.pdf.
The Department has no plans to make a statement.
Asked by: Baroness Debbonaire (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) Ofsted-registered childminders work in and (b) children aged (i) one to three and (ii) four to 11 live in constituency Bristol West; what assessment he has made of the adequacy of childcare provision in that constituency; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
A breakdown in the number of Ofsted registered childminders who are working, and the number of children aged 1-3 and 4-11 by parliamentary constituency and local authorities requested, can be found in the attached table. Childminders are generally the most affordable and flexible form of childcare and form an important part of the broader childcare market.
Under Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006, local authorities are responsible for ensuring that the provision of childcare is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents in their area. At present, all local authorities report that they are fulfilling their duty to ensure sufficient childcare.