Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, does she intend to answer question UIN113162 given that it is now more than 7 weeks overdue.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The response to Written Parliamentary Question 113162 was published on 20 April 2026.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of school initial teacher training providers sending trainee teachers to conferences and work shops promoting the concept of white privilege on schools' ability to comply with sections 406 and 407 of the Education Act 1996.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
All Initial Teacher Training (ITT) courses leading to QTS must incorporate the Initial Teacher Training Early Career Framework (ITTECF) in full. The ITTECF is based on the best available evidence of what makes high-quality teaching and sets out the critical core content that new teachers need to be successful as they join the teaching profession.
The framework does not require ITT courses to include content on white privilege theory and/or schools' ability to comply with sections 406 and 407 of the Education Act 1996.
ITT courses must be designed so that trainees can demonstrate that they meet all the Teachers' Standards at the appropriate level. Part two of the Teachers’ Standards sets clear standards for teachers’ personal and professional conduct, including not undermining British values and promoting mutual respect and tolerance of different views. Regular Ofsted inspection of ITT providers considers their training content and how providers prepare trainees to meet all expected professional behaviours.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what monitoring her Department undertakes of recruitment and selection practices by organisations in receipt of public funds.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department does not monitor the recruitment and selection approaches in place across other employers except in some specific situations, for example on the approach to the remuneration of some senior academy trust executive leaders.
All individuals working in public roles within the education sector are expected to comply with the Seven Principles of Public Life, which includes making decisions fairly and on merit.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of cuts to teacher training bursaries in 26/27 on teacher recruitment in Lincolnshire.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government committed, in our Plan for Change, to recruiting an additional 6,500 new expert teachers across secondary and special schools, and in colleges, over the course of this parliament.
We are making progress. The latest workforce data reported over 2,300 more secondary and special school teachers in 2024/25 than in 2023/24, and this year over 32,000 trainees began training, a rise of 11% on the previous year.
Initial teacher training (ITT) bursaries are offered to incentivise more applications to ITT courses. In reviewing these annually, we take account of historic recruitment, forecast economic conditions, and teacher supply need in each subject. We are continuing to offer bursaries worth up to £29,000 tax-free to encourage more talented people to train to teach key subjects such as mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing.
In addition, we offer a Targeted Retention Incentive worth up to £6,000 after tax for mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing teachers in the first five years of their careers who work in disadvantaged schools. In Lincolnshire, there are 56 schools where teachers are eligible for these payments.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the (a) number and (b) variety of available work experience places for under 18s in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Post-16 providers must record work placement activities as part of planned hours for each student for funding purposes and this data is not publicly available. Small scale sample audit checks are undertaken by the department.
Schools and colleges self-report institution level data on the proportion of students undertaking work experience by academic year. Data captured through the Compass+ online self-assessment tool shows that the majority of students in 74% schools and colleges had an experience of the workplace in the 2024/25 academic year.
The department is funding the Careers & Enterprise Company to deliver the first phase of activity to prepare schools and employers to deliver the government’s commitment to ensure every pupil has access to two weeks’ worth of work experience during their secondary education.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to make adoption records available to adults who were adopted.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
I refer the hon. member for Sleaford and North Hykeham to the answer of 14 October 2025 to question 77488.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of (a) named day questions and (b) ordinary written questions were responded to by her Department within the required timescale in (i) May 2025, (ii) June 2025, (iii) July 2025, (iv) August 2025, (v) September 2025, (vi) October 2025 and (vii) November 2025.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department attaches great importance to the effective and timely handling of questions from Members of Parliament. Between April and December 2025, the department has received 100% more written parliamentary questions (WPQs) versus the same period last year.
The below table provides the proportion of (a) named day and (b) ordinary written parliamentary questions answered with the required timescales for the months requested.
| Named Day questions answered on time (%) | Ordinary questions answered on time (%) |
May-25 | 35.6 | 67.3 |
Jun-25 | 56.9 | 77.0 |
Jul-25 | 48.5 | 70.9 |
Aug-25 | - | - |
Sep-25 | 45.1 | 42.9 |
Oct-25 | 38.8 | 52.1 |
Nov-25 | 47.6 | 58.0 |
Notes on the data:
The House of Commons Procedure Committee monitors departmental PQ performance and publishes a report of the government’s consolidated PQ data following the end of each session.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of children receiving education in state funded special schools were born abroad.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The requested information is not held by the department.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of children with education, health and care plans were born abroad.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The requested information is not held by the department.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department plans to provide to schools on ensuring that biological girls have access to female-only (a) spaces, (b) sports and (c) facilities.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
Single-sex spaces based on biological sex are protected in law and will always be protected by this government.
The department is currently reviewing the draft non-statutory guidance for schools and colleges on gender questioning children, in addition to reviewing the statutory guidance on relationships, sex and health education. The guidance on gender questioning children will reflect the legal protection for single-sex spaces and facilities in schools, as well as the Equality Act protection for single-sex sport in schools to ensure fairness and safety.
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has been clear that children’s wellbeing must be at the heart of this guidance and, as such, the government is looking carefully at the consultation responses, discussing with stakeholders and considering the relevant evidence, including the final report of the Cass Review which was published post-consultation, before setting out next steps.