Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the press notice by Become entitled New research shows shockingly high numbers of children in care being moved during GCSEs and A-levels, published on 24 June 2025, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of that charity's findings that 17% of children in care moved school during Key Stage 4.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is committed to ensuring that looked-after children are supported to succeed in education and achieve positive outcomes. We recognise the critical importance of continuity and stability throughout a looked-after child’s life. Under the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review guidance and regulations, a child’s social worker should do everything possible to minimise disruption to their education. School changes should be minimised and any transitions well-planned and supported. Where a change to a child’s educational arrangements is unavoidable, their Personal Education Plan should set out arrangements to minimise disruption to education, especially during exam periods and other critical periods in their education.
The government is introducing measures, including through the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, to rebalance the market, improve regulation and commissioning of placements, and bring greater visibility to the prices local authorities are paying. This includes a focus on addressing the barriers that prevent homes from being established where they are needed.
Through our Plan for Change, we’re also investing £2 billion over this Parliament to give more children a safe, loving home, including expanding the children’s home estate, delivering more foster care placements and helping keep families together by providing targeted support before problems escalate.
These measures will provide greater placement availability, stability and ensure that, where it is in a child's best interests, they are placed closer to home.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the press release by Become entitled New research shows shockingly high numbers of children in care being moved during GCSEs and A-levels, published on 24 June 2025, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the number of children in care who moved school during their GCSE period.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is committed to ensuring that looked-after children are supported to succeed in education and achieve positive outcomes. We recognise the critical importance of continuity and stability throughout a looked-after child’s life. Under the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review guidance and regulations, a child’s social worker should do everything possible to minimise disruption to their education. School changes should be minimised and any transitions well-planned and supported. Where a change to a child’s educational arrangements is unavoidable, their Personal Education Plan should set out arrangements to minimise disruption to education, especially during exam periods and other critical periods in their education.
The government is introducing measures, including through the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, to rebalance the market, improve regulation and commissioning of placements, and bring greater visibility to the prices local authorities are paying. This includes a focus on addressing the barriers that prevent homes from being established where they are needed.
Through our Plan for Change, we’re also investing £2 billion over this Parliament to give more children a safe, loving home, including expanding the children’s home estate, delivering more foster care placements and helping keep families together by providing targeted support before problems escalate.
These measures will provide greater placement availability, stability and ensure that, where it is in a child's best interests, they are placed closer to home.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
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 moving home (a) in the lead up to and (b) during GCSE exams on care-experienced young people’s (i) educational attainment and (ii) future opportunities.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is committed to ensuring that looked-after children are supported to succeed in education and achieve positive outcomes. We recognise the critical importance of continuity and stability throughout a looked-after child’s life. Under the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review guidance and regulations, a child’s social worker should do everything possible to minimise disruption to their education. School changes should be minimised and any transitions well-planned and supported. Where a change to a child’s educational arrangements is unavoidable, their Personal Education Plan should set out arrangements to minimise disruption to education, especially during exam periods and other critical periods in their education.
The government is introducing measures, including through the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, to rebalance the market, improve regulation and commissioning of placements, and bring greater visibility to the prices local authorities are paying. This includes a focus on addressing the barriers that prevent homes from being established where they are needed.
Through our Plan for Change, we’re also investing £2 billion over this Parliament to give more children a safe, loving home, including expanding the children’s home estate, delivering more foster care placements and helping keep families together by providing targeted support before problems escalate.
These measures will provide greater placement availability, stability and ensure that, where it is in a child's best interests, they are placed closer to home.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 13 May 2025 to Question 49999 on Holiday Activities and Food Programme, whether she plans to continue the provision of funding for the Holidays and Activities Programme beyond the 2025-26 financial year.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government remains committed to the holiday activities and food (HAF) programme. We are currently working through the outcomes of the Spending Review and will share further information in relation to the future of the HAF programme in due course.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she plans to take to monitor compliance with the updated school food standards; and what support she plans to provide to schools that are not currently meeting those standards.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is engaging with stakeholders on revising the school food standards, to ensure they support our work to create the healthiest generation of children in history.
School governors and trustees have a statutory duty to ensure compliance with the school food standards.
To improve understanding of the school food standards and give governing boards confidence to hold their school leaders to account, the department, along with National Governance Association, developed an online training course on school food for governors and trustees.
The department is also working with the Food Standards Agency on next steps following the findings of the compliance pilot run by the department and the Food Standards Agency during the 2022/23 academic year.
As with all aspects of the school food standards review, the department will keep our approaches to compliance under consideration.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 13 May 2025 to Question 49999 on Holiday Activities and Food Programme, following the Spending Review 2025, whether the Holiday Activities and Food Programme will continue beyond March 2026; and whether the 500,000 children who are now eligible for free school meals will be eligible for the Holiday Activities and Food Programme.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government remains committed to the holiday activities and food (HAF) programme to ensure children who are eligible for free school meals can access enriching activities and healthy meals. More than £200 million has been allocated to the programme for 2025/26.
We are currently working through the outcomes of the Spending Review, and we will share further information in relation to the future of the HAF programme in due course.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of establishing the Holiday Activities and Food programme on a permanent basis.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is committed to the holiday activities and food (HAF) programme and the impact it has on children, young people and families. We are very pleased that the overall funding for the HAF programme in 2025/26 is again more than £200 million, with delivery across England taking place at Easter, summer and Christmas.
Funding beyond March 2026 is subject to the multi-year Spending Review and any decisions will be made as part of the Review taking place later this year.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the (a) Plan 5 student loan repayment threshold and (b) annual pay for someone on the minimum wage in a full-time job from 1 April 2025 on the net income of graduates with student loans.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
In 2022, the department conducted a government consultation to assess the impact of policy reforms on higher education funding and finance, including changes to repayment thresholds from Plan 2 to Plan 5. More details on the consultation can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/62223cfb8fa8f549071fc82c/Higher_education_policy_statement_reform_consultation_-_Equality_analysis.pdf.
Comparing the previous threshold of £28,470 under Plan 2 with the new threshold of £25,000 under Plan 5, the monthly repayments under the new repayment plan would result in an individual who was previously earning £28,470 and not repaying their loan, to now repaying approximately £26 per month.
From 1 April 2025, the National Minimum Wage has increased to £12.21 for workers aged 21 and over. If working a standard 37.5 hours per week, a minimum wage worker will earn £23,809.50, which is below the annual threshold for both Plans 2 and 5. This calculation is based on the average actual weekly hours of work for full-time workers.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help ensure the adequacy of support for children in kinship care.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is taking a number of steps to ensure that children in kinship care get the support that they need to thrive. This includes promoting their educational and mental health needs and supporting the people who care for them.
From September 2024, the department expanded the role of virtual school heads on a non-statutory basis to include championing the education, attendance and attainment of children in kinship care, ensuring that more children in kinship care receive the help they need to thrive at school. The department is now mandating this through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.
In addition, the department is providing over £3 billion of pupil premium funding to improve the educational outcomes of disadvantaged pupils in England, including looked after and previously looked after children. Schools can direct pupil premium spending where the need is greatest, including to pupils with other identified needs, such as children in kinship care. Schools can also use pupil premium on whole class approaches that will benefit all pupils, such as on high quality teaching.
Some children in kinship care will be able to access the adoption and special guardianship support fund, which helps adoptive and special guardianship order children and their families access therapeutic interventions related to trauma and attachment.
Children in kinship care will also benefit from this government’s commitment to improving mental health support for all children and young people. The government will deliver on this commitment through providing access to specialist mental health professionals in every school, so every young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate. We will also recruit an additional 8,500 new mental health staff to treat children and adults, and open new Young Futures hubs with access to mental health support workers.
The steps the government is taking to improve support for kinship carers will also improve the support children living in kinship care receive. In October, the department announced £40 million to trial a new kinship allowance in up to ten local authorities. This pilot will test whether paying an allowance will help support more children to live and thrive with a kinship carer.
In addition, the government has provided over 140 peer support groups and a package of training and support for all kinship carers to access across England. The increased financial support, emotional support and training kinship carers receive should help them in their role as carers and enhance the support they give the children in their care.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 17 December 2024 to Question 18517 on Natural History: GCSE, what progress she has made in her consideration of next steps on the implementation of a new GCSE in Natural History.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
This government recognises the importance of providing all children and young people with the knowledge, skills and behaviours to understand and develop a connection to the natural world, access green careers, and thrive in life and work in a world with a changing climate.
The government is therefore pleased to confirm that we will be moving ahead with a new GCSE in natural history. The GCSE will enable more young people to benefit from the opportunity to learn about the natural world in more depth at key stage 4. It will equip them to understand and respect the natural world and contribute to the protection and conservation of the environment locally, nationally and internationally.
The content of the new natural history GCSE will need to build on the curriculum content that pupils learn earlier in their schooling related to the natural world in subjects like science, geography and citizenship. We therefore plan to finalise and consult on proposed subject content for the new GCSE after the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review has concluded. The Review Group is expecting to publish its final report with recommendations in autumn 2025.