Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of young people who have been off-rolled by schools and colleges while awaiting Education, Health and Care Plans in England.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department does not hold data on the number of children or young people who have been off-rolled while waiting for an education, health and care plan assessment.
This government is clear that off-rolling in any form is unacceptable, and we will continue to work closely with Ofsted to tackle it.
Pupils may leave a school roll for many reasons, including permanent exclusion, transfer to another school, or change of circumstances. All schools are legally required to notify the local authority when a pupil’s name is removed from the admissions register.
The law is clear that a pupil’s name can only be deleted from the admission register on the grounds prescribed in Regulation 9 of the School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024.
Our ambition is that all children with special educational needs (SEN) receive the right support to succeed. We are committed to strengthening the accountability system and to providing earlier intervention in mainstream schools for pupils with SEN.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of (a) the number of pupils suspended or sent home for not wearing the required school uniform and (b) lost school days as a result for the most recent year the data is available.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department does not hold the requested information. While statistics on suspension are collected by reason category, ‘not wearing the required school uniform’ is not included as a separate category.
The department publishes data on suspensions and permanent exclusions in state-funded schools in England. The most recent full academic year release, covering 2023/24, can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/suspensions-and-permanent-exclusions-in-england/2023-24. This has been available since 10 July 2025.
The department’s position is clear that it is for the headteacher to determine how to address breaches of the school’s uniform and appearance, in line with the school’s behaviour policy. We expect schools to respond to non-compliance, such as uniform breaches in a proportionate and fair way. Where a school imposes a sanction such as a suspension the formal exclusion process must be followed.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate has been made of the volume, proportion and value of food waste in (a) primary schools, (b) secondary schools, (c) colleges and (d) universities.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Schools, colleges and universities are responsible for their day-to-day running, including their meals service and waste management. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has engaged closely with the department and representative organisations from the education sector to raise awareness of the requirements and provide guidance and resources to support compliance.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the adherence of private children’s homes to notifying the receiving local authority of vulnerable young people being placed in their area.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department does not collect data on this activity. Ofsted conduct checks on compliance with notification processes as part of a home’s inspection, and if issues are found, this may impact their inspection rating.
The decision to place a child away from their local community should not be taken lightly, which is why it can only be made by those at director of children’s services level. The Care Planning, Placement and Case Review regulations and corresponding statutory guidance makes clear that both the local authority placing a child out of their area and those caring for looked-after children (including children’s homes) must inform the receiving local authority and all relevant safeguarding partners when a child has been placed within and/or leaves their boundaries.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of making mandatory directions to schools in England to ban mobile phones in the classroom.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Mobile phones have no place in school and school leaders already have the power to ban them.
The department’s guidance on mobile phones in schools, published in February 2024, is clear that schools should prohibit the use of devices with smart technology throughout the school day, including during lessons, transitions and breaks.
We expect all schools to take steps in line with this guidance to ensure mobile phones do not disrupt pupils’ learning. If pupils fail to follow those rules, schools have the power to confiscate devices.
Research from the Children’s Commissioner published in April 2025, with responses from nearly all schools and colleges in England, shows that the overwhelming majority of schools (99.8% of primary schools and 90% of secondary schools) already have policies in place that limit or restrict the use of mobile phones during the school day.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the factors causing increased numbers of Education, Health and Care Plans to be issued, including in Oldham.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
There are a range of views as to why demand for education, health and care (EHC) plans has increased. This is why the department is continuing an extensive programme of engagement to gather insight and evidence that allows us to shape a proposed reform programme that prioritises early intervention, fairness and effective evidence-based support.
As my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education outlined in her letter to the Chair of the Education Select Committee, we must move towards a system where high quality support is provided as soon as a need is identified, rather than only once an EHC plan is in place. Every school should be resourced and able to meet common and predictable needs, including as they change over time, without parents having to fight for support.
As part of our Plan for Change, we are determined to make changes to the special educational needs and disabilities system, restore the trust of parents by ensuring early years, schools and colleges have the tools to better identify need early, and support children and young people before issues escalate. We will share more information on plans for reform in a full Schools White Paper in the new year.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate has been made of the number of reports of child (a) sexual (b) criminal exploitation safeguarding failings at (1) private (2) local authority children’s homes in England since 2015.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
All registered children’s homes, whether privately run or local authority-operated, must notify Ofsted, the regulator for children’s social care, about certain serious incidents that happen to children in their care living with them and what they have done in response. The published data, available from April 2023, includes a category of ‘sexual exploitation’, which shows:
This data does not distinguish between private or local authority run homes and does not specify data on criminal exploitation.
Ofsted review the notifications received to ensure homes have acted to protect the child from immediate harm, and the information contained in the notifications informs their risk assessment and inspection scheduling.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of (a) primary and (b) secondary schools without libraries in England.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton to the answer of 22 October 2025 to question 81502.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of profit per placement for private children’s homes in England.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Competition and Markets Authority’s 2022 report on the children’s social care market found that the 15 largest providers of placements for looked-after children were making an average profit of 22.6% on children’s homes.
In addition, reports from Revolution Consulting found that aggregate profits among the top 20 children’s homes providers, measured using the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) method, increased from 18.8% to 19.8% between 2021 and 2022. In 2023, the average EBITDA margin was 19%, although this figure excludes Caretech, the largest provider.
The department’s work to improve the data that both we and local authorities have access to on the children’s social care placement market, and the financial oversight scheme we are legislating for through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, will enable greater central government oversight. This work will help us to keep the market under close review.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data her department holds on musical instrument take up by secondary school children by social class in England.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The information requested is not held centrally.
To support music education, the government has committed £76 million per year grant funding for the Music Hubs programme, including the 2025/26 academic year. The 43 Music Hub partnerships across England offer a range of services, including instrumental music tuition and instrument loans. To widen access to instruments, the government is also investing £25 million in capital funding for musical instruments, equipment and technology across the 2024/25 and 2025/26 academic years.