Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of air quality in classrooms in Surrey.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department has not assessed the air quality of classrooms in Surrey.
The department regularly reviews its guidance to ensure that it aligns with best practice and industry standards in order to deliver high-quality school environments.
Between January 2022 and April 2023, the department provided over 9,000 air cleaning units to over 1,300 settings that had been identified with poor ventilation. The department has published guidance on how to use CO2 monitors and air cleaning units, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/using-co-monitors-and-air-cleaning-units-in-education-and-care-settings.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve the air quality of classrooms.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department has not assessed the air quality of classrooms in Surrey.
The department regularly reviews its guidance to ensure that it aligns with best practice and industry standards in order to deliver high-quality school environments.
Between January 2022 and April 2023, the department provided over 9,000 air cleaning units to over 1,300 settings that had been identified with poor ventilation. The department has published guidance on how to use CO2 monitors and air cleaning units, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/using-co-monitors-and-air-cleaning-units-in-education-and-care-settings.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of children eligible for free school meals who are not currently receiving them in Epsom and Ewell constituency.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. We have now announced that we are extending free school meals (FSM) to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026. This will lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty and put £500 back in families’ pockets, supporting parents in decisive action to improve lives ahead of the Child Poverty Strategy coming later this year.
Providing over half a million children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds with a free, nutritious lunchtime meal every school day will also lead to higher attainment, improved behaviour and better outcomes, meaning children get the best possible education and chance to succeed in work and life.
The department publishes data on FSM eligibility and the number of eligible pupils taking a free school meal on school census day in the annual 'Schools, pupils and their characteristics' accredited official statistics. These statistics can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics/2024-25.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending existing provisions for mandatory Relationships, Sex and Health Education under the Children and Social Work Act 2017 to ensure everyone under the age of 18 can access (a) guidance and (b) support.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Relationships and sex education (RSE) is at the core of the personal development tutorial system in post-16 settings that enables students to discuss important issues relating to their lives as active adult citizens.
As well as learning about British values, resilience, financial literacy and how to navigate the world of work, students participate in debates about respect, consent, coercive control, misogyny, domestic abuse and stereotyping, considering the impact of negative behaviours.
Ofsted’s inspection regime includes personal development. Its judgement evaluates a college’s intent to provide for the personal development of learners and the quality of the way it does this, and education in healthy relationships is one of the areas of focus.
The department has engaged an expert college leader and former Chair of the National Association of Managers of Student Services to develop a RSE toolkit to help colleges deliver high-quality, consistent lessons. This will provide delivery advice and tutorial materials, giving both sixth form college staff and general further education college staff the confidence and skills to deliver on personal development effectively, and to tackle misogyny head on. The toolkit is due to be launched in November.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has considered making relationships, sex and health education mandatory in (a) sixth form colleges and (b) other further education institutions.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Relationships and sex education (RSE) is at the core of the personal development tutorial system in post-16 settings that enables students to discuss important issues relating to their lives as active adult citizens.
As well as learning about British values, resilience, financial literacy and how to navigate the world of work, students participate in debates about respect, consent, coercive control, misogyny, domestic abuse and stereotyping, considering the impact of negative behaviours.
Ofsted’s inspection regime includes personal development. Its judgement evaluates a college’s intent to provide for the personal development of learners and the quality of the way it does this, and education in healthy relationships is one of the areas of focus.
The department has engaged an expert college leader and former Chair of the National Association of Managers of Student Services to develop a RSE toolkit to help colleges deliver high-quality, consistent lessons. This will provide delivery advice and tutorial materials, giving both sixth form college staff and general further education college staff the confidence and skills to deliver on personal development effectively, and to tackle misogyny head on. The toolkit is due to be launched in November.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department is considering replacing the Dance and Drama Awards scheme with the Lifelong Learning Entitlement.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) will not be replacing the Dance and Drama Awards (DaDA) grant scheme. The LLE will provide individuals with a loan entitlement to the equivalent of four years’ post-18 education to use over their working lives (£38,140 in today’s fees). The LLE will eventually be replacing the advanced learner loans scheme for levels 4 to 6.
To offer LLE provision, providers will need to be registered with the Office for Students. Funding for the 2026/27 academic year will be subject to confirmation in the government’s spending review.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has had discussions with the Office for Students on introducing greater flexibility for specialist conservatoire-style performing arts institutions.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
All registered providers are expected to meet the same conditions of registration. It is important that all students benefit from the same level of protection, no matter where or how they choose to study. The Office for Students (OfS) takes a provider’s context into account when making its regulatory judgements.
The OfS welcomes specific feedback from providers where they feel they are experiencing disproportionate regulatory burden to ensure they can find the right balance.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Level 6 Trinity Diploma in Professional Musical Theatre will be in scope of the Lifelong Learning Entitlement when it is introduced.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) will transform the post-18 student finance system to create a single funding system.
The LLE will replace higher education student finance loans and eventually replace the Advanced Learner Loan (ALL) scheme for levels 4 to 6. In the first instance, some courses will transfer from being ALL-funded to being LLE-funded upon the LLE’s introduction. This is the case for the Level 6 Diploma in Professional Musical Theatre, which will transfer and therefore be in scope for the LLE. For courses which are being transferred for LLE launch, the relevant providers, including the awarding organisation, Trinity College London, were notified of the transfer outcomes in March 2025.
The ‘List of Qualifications approved for funding’ can be found at the following link by filtering by LLE: https://www.qualifications.education.gov.uk/.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will add young carers to the Daily Attendance reporting programme.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government is committed to breaking down barriers of opportunity for all young people, including young carers who provide a critical role caring for their loved ones.
Young carers were added to the school census in the 2022/23 academic year. This change has raised both awareness and the profile of young carers in schools by, for the first time, providing hard data on both the numbers of young carers in schools and their education. The number of schools returning data on young carers as part of the census has been low. The last annual spring census showed that 72% of schools did not record any young carers in 2024, which is an improvement on the 79% of schools with zero returns in 2023. The department recognises that this is not good enough, and we hope to see an improvement in coverage and quality in the next spring census, due in June. We will monitor the quality of school census data on young carers for consideration for future inclusion in the daily collection. In the meantime, we are continuing to work closely with the sector to encourage better identification, recording and support for young carers in schools.
Absence from school is almost always a symptom of wider needs and barriers that a family are facing, including where pupils may have caring responsibilities at home. The department’s statutory guidance ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ takes a ‘support first’ approach where pupils and families, including young carers, should receive holistic, whole-family support to help them overcome the barriers to attendance they are facing.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Carer's Trust press release entitled Carers Trust launches landmark young carers covenant to transform the lives of over one million children, published on 13 March 2024, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of requiring (a) schools and (b) colleges to have a (i) young carers lead and (ii) policy to improve educational opportunities for young carers.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is committed to helping all young people, including young carers, thrive in education. We continue to work closely across government to strengthen the visibility and support of young carers both at home and in educational settings.
Young carers as a specific group were added to the school census in the 2022/23 academic year, allowing schools to identify their students who are providing care for the first time. The census data is creating a new evidence base on the educational outcomes of young carers across England, shining a light on how many young carers are in our schools and the impact that caring can have on their education.
The government recognises the importance of encouraging schools and local authorities to work closely with young carers and their families to identify their needs and provide tailored support, ensuring they do not miss out on vital educational opportunities.
The statutory guidance ‘Keeping children safe in education’ requires designated safeguarding leads to undergo training to provide them with the knowledge and skills to carry out their role. This includes having a good understanding of, and an alertness to, the needs of young carers.
The Children’s Social Care National Framework provides clarity on the outcomes that leaders and practitioners should achieve when supporting children, young people, and families, including young carers. The framework emphasises the importance of multi-agency collaboration, which includes schools as key partners in supporting the wellbeing and educational outcomes of children, particularly those involved with social care services and young carers. This includes drawing on the expertise of virtual school heads, designated safeguarding leads and designated teachers.
Since 2021 virtual school heads have had a non-statutory, strategic duty to promote the educational outcomes of all children with a social worker, including young carers whose families receive, or have received, social services support, enabling earlier intervention to address the educational barriers these children can face. The department is now making this role statutory through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which will enable local authorities to prioritise these children’s educational outcomes, ensuring they receive the support they need to succeed in education.