Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of standardising complaint procedures for (a) schools and (b) trusts to ensure that (i) parents and (ii) guardians have the same opportunity to access those procedures.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department is working closely with the Improving Education Together group to improve the complaints system. We are exploring how to reset the relationship between schools and parents through encouraging informal resolution, reducing duplication, and clarifying roles and responsibilities. Where schools cannot resolve complaints, they should be passed quickly to the right body. We expect to provide more detail in the Schools White Paper.
The department has published best practice guidance for maintained schools and academies, including model complaints policies, and this can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-complaints-procedures and https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/setting-up-an-academies-complaints-procedure/best-practice-guidance-for-academies-complaints-procedures.
Complaints can be escalated to the department once a school’s process has been exhausted, unless the complainant has been obstructed. Once received, officials check whether the school’s complaints policy complies with relevant guidance and regulations.
The department values the dedication and expertise of the school workforce and is committed to working with them to re-establish teaching as an attractive, expert profession.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of assessing (a) schools' and (b) trusts' complaint procedures to ensure that the complaint process is adequately (i) accessible and (ii) understandable.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department is working closely with the Improving Education Together group to improve the complaints system. We are exploring how to reset the relationship between schools and parents through encouraging informal resolution, reducing duplication, and clarifying roles and responsibilities. Where schools cannot resolve complaints, they should be passed quickly to the right body. We expect to provide more detail in the Schools White Paper.
The department has published best practice guidance for maintained schools and academies, including model complaints policies, and this can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-complaints-procedures and https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/setting-up-an-academies-complaints-procedure/best-practice-guidance-for-academies-complaints-procedures.
Complaints can be escalated to the department once a school’s process has been exhausted, unless the complainant has been obstructed. Once received, officials check whether the school’s complaints policy complies with relevant guidance and regulations.
The department values the dedication and expertise of the school workforce and is committed to working with them to re-establish teaching as an attractive, expert profession.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will hold discussions with (a) universities and (b) students' unions on introducing (i) safety frameworks, (ii) standardised risk assessments, (iii) training and (iv) a duty to report incidents in relation to student-led outdoor activities.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
I refer the hon. Member for North Cornwall to the answer of 5 June 2025 to Question 54501.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to ensure that (a) universities and (b) students' unions have a duty of care to students while undertaking student-led outdoor activities.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
I refer the hon. Member for North Cornwall to the answer of 5 June 2025 to Question 54501.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of allowing flexibility for term-time absences for children from families employed in the (a) agricultural and (b) tourism sectors.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The department has high expectations for all pupils’ attendance. Parents are legally responsible for ensuring regular attendance if their child is of compulsory school age and registered at a school.
Taking children out of school for holidays can significantly disrupt their education. Missing one week each year, combined with typical absences for illness, can add up to two full terms missed by year 11. This also disrupts teaching and impacts the wider class.
While holidays can be enriching, the school year allows ample time for breaks outside of term time. Schools do have discretion to approve leave in exceptional circumstances, but holidays generally do not qualify.
The department understands some sectors face pressures at peak times, but we are not aware of any employer that prohibits leave during every school holiday. Schools also have flexibility to plan term dates and inset days to help families manage their schedules.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her correspondence to the Interim Chair of the Office for Students, dated 19 May 2025, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on the reprioritisation of high-cost subject funding away from journalism courses.
Answered by Janet Daby
We have made difficult decisions, driven by the challenging fiscal inheritance, regarding the allocation of Strategic Priorities Grant (SPG) funding. We are protecting support for high-cost subjects that are essential to delivery of our Industrial Strategy and protecting core funding to support access to higher education for disadvantaged groups.
Subjects that will no longer receive high-cost subject funding (media studies, journalism, publishing, and information services) are valued by the government, but they are not as expensive to deliver. We acknowledge their importance alongside numerous other subjects that do not attract SPG high-cost subject funding, which include mathematics, history and languages.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of requiring academy trusts to publish full budgets.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
All academy trusts must publish an annual report and accounts, which are audited by a registered statutory auditor. As part of their annual reports and accounts, academy trusts must also publish details of their objectives, achievements and future plans, including what they have done to promote value for money in support of these projects.
In addition, financial information on individual schools, including a breakdown of their income and expenditure, is available on GOV.UK through the Schools Financial Benchmarking and Insight Tool, at: https://financial-benchmarking-and-insights-tool.education.gov.uk/.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
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 introducing a cap on the proportion of academy trust budgets that can be spent on senior leadership salaries.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
The department sets out its expectations on pay for academies and academy trusts in the Academy Trust Handbook (ATH), which is published on GOV.UK, and available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66a3909aab418ab055592dda/Academy_trust_handbook_2024_FINAL.pdf.
The ATH requires that:
In addition, the department’s ‘Setting executive salaries’ guidance outlines the key contextual factors that trusts should be considering when setting or reviewing executive salaries. This guidance is published on GOV.UK and is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/setting-executive-salaries-guidance-for-academy-trusts/setting-executive-salaries-guidance-for-academy-trusts.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the funding provided to early years providers for meeting the cost of a nursery place.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
It is our ambition that all families have access to high-quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life. This is key to the government’s Plan for Change, which starts with reaching the milestone of a record number of children being ready for school. That also means ensuring the sector is financially sustainable and confident as it continues to deliver entitlements and high-quality early years provision going forward.
That is why, despite tough decisions to get public finances back on track, the government is continuing to prioritise and invest, supporting early education and childcare providers with the costs they face. In the 2025/26 financial year alone, the department plans to spend over £8 billion on early years entitlements. We have also announced the largest ever uplift to the early years pupil premium, increasing the rate by over 45% compared to 2024/25 financial year, equivalent to up to £570 per eligible child per year.
In addition, the department is providing £75 million for the early years expansion grant to support the sector as it prepares to deliver the final phase of expanded childcare entitlements from September 2025, recognising the significant level of expansion needed and the effort and planning this will require. We are also providing £25 million of funding to support public sector employers with increased National Insurance contributions through the early years National Insurance Contributions grant.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support nurseries with the cost of providing the expanded funded childcare hours.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
It is our ambition that all families have access to high-quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life. This is key to the government’s Plan for Change, which starts with reaching the milestone of a record number of children being ready for school. That also means ensuring the sector is financially sustainable and confident as it continues to deliver entitlements and high-quality early years provision going forward.
That is why, despite tough decisions to get public finances back on track, the government is continuing to prioritise and invest, supporting early education and childcare providers with the costs they face. In the 2025/26 financial year alone, the department plans to spend over £8 billion on early years entitlements. We have also announced the largest ever uplift to the early years pupil premium, increasing the rate by over 45% compared to 2024/25 financial year, equivalent to up to £570 per eligible child per year.
In addition, the department is providing £75 million for the early years expansion grant to support the sector as it prepares to deliver the final phase of expanded childcare entitlements from September 2025, recognising the significant level of expansion needed and the effort and planning this will require. We are also providing £25 million of funding to support public sector employers with increased National Insurance contributions through the early years National Insurance Contributions grant.