Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has plans to strengthen the Ofsted inspection process for early years settings to improve child safety outcomes.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Through our Best Start in Life strategy, we are investing in raising the quality, frequency and consistency of early years inspections to improve child safety outcomes. We continually monitor and review requirements to make sure children are kept as safe as possible.
Ofsted began inspecting under the revised Education Inspection Framework on 10 November and settings now receive an Ofsted report card following an inspection which will provide a much clearer and broader picture of their performance. From April, Ofsted will receive further investment to improve inspection quality and consistency through stronger quality assurance and targeted inspector training. We are also funding Ofsted to inspect all new providers within 18 months of opening and move towards inspecting all providers at least once every four years, compared to the current six-year window. We will also work to introduce reporting on nursery chains to address issues spanning across groups of providers.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of current guidance on safer sleep practices in nursery settings; and whether she has plans to introduce statutory requirements on safer sleep in early years settings.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework, which early years providers are required to follow, includes a requirement for babies to be placed down to sleep in line with the latest government safety guidance, which is available here: https://www.nhs.uk/baby/caring-for-a-newborn/sudden-infant-death-syndrome-sids/.
In September 2024, the department collaborated with The Lullaby Trust to produce guidance available on the Foundation Years platform. This covers unsuitable sleeping products, suitable sleeping surfaces and the safe use of blankets.
Ofsted inspects early years providers against the requirements of the EYFS, including safeguarding and children’s welfare. Early years inspectors are experienced professionals with relevant knowledge of safer sleep practice and can assess compliance with statutory requirements.
To make the existing requirements clearer for all, we plan to add further detail to the EYFS frameworks. We have worked with safer sleep experts, including The Lullaby Trust, on proposed new wording and plan to introduce these changes as soon as possible.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will review arrangements allowing academies to act as admissions authorities, particularly for children who (a) live within a school’s designated catchment area but do not attend a primary school operated by the school’s sponsoring trust and (b) attend a trust‑run primary school outside the catchment area receiving higher priority for admission; and what steps she is taking to ensure that admissions policies do not disadvantage local children.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Admission arrangements are set and applied locally. Provided they are lawful and comply with the School Admissions Code, it is for the school’s admissions authority to decide what criteria to set, as long as they are fair, clear and objective.
Admission authorities may choose to give priority to children living within a designated catchment area or those attending named feeder schools, however, these must be clearly defined and made on reasonable grounds.
Admission authorities must consult locally before making any changes to their admission arrangements, or at least once every seven years, to ensure they continue to meet local need.
Once a school’s admission arrangements have been determined, anyone who believes they are unfair or unlawful may submit an objection to the Schools Adjudicator. Where the Adjudicator finds that a school’s admission arrangements are unfair or unlawful, they must be revised.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the scope and timescale will be for the review of the childcare system; and what estimate she has made of the number of working parents in Windsor and Maidenhead who are unable to access Government-funded childcare places due to insufficient local provider capacity.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The government is committed to giving every child the best start in life. As announced in the Autumn Budget 2025, the department will lead a review of childcare provision. This review aims to simplify the system for providers and families, improving access and strengthening the impact of government support.
The department does not hold the specific data requested. The department publishes information on the number of parents that have obtained eligibility codes (to allow them access to the expansion to the early education entitlements) and how many of those codes have been validated by a childcare provider. These figures are available for each local authority. It should be noted that failure to validate a childcare eligibility code does not always mean the parent could not find a place and some parents may obtain an eligibility code but chose later to not use it. The data is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/6c795555-7148-4429-b1e3-08de39895a0e. The data is as of 22 September 2025.
Under Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006, local authorities must ensure sufficient childcare provision to meet parental requirements in their area. Parents unable to secure a government-funded place should contact their local authority if they cannot access a place.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether mainstream or special free school projects in the Maidenhead constituency are affected by the review of the free schools pipeline set out in her written ministerial statement of 15 December 2025.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
There are no mainstream or special and alternative provision free schools planned in the Maidenhead constituency.
In line with the statement made by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education to the House on 15 December, we are making a funding package available to the local authority so they can deliver the places planned for the school themselves more quickly and with a greater focus on mainstream inclusion where appropriate. There is one planned special school in Windsor and Maidenhead local authority
For the planned special school in Windsor and Maidenhead, the local authority has a choice about whether to continue with the school or take the funding package. The department will fund the capital delivery of schools the local authority chooses to proceed with in the usual way.
Local authorities have until 27 February 2026 to make their decisions, and we will confirm the total funding for all local authorities, as well as the schools that are going ahead, in due course after that date.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help increase early years workforce recruitment and retention in Windsor and Maidenhead; and whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of her proposed funding rate increases on provider ability to offer competitive wages in that area.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department is supporting recruitment through our national ‘Do something Big’ marketing campaign and financial incentives to new and returning educators in areas of most need. Our delivery support contractor, Childcare Works, is supporting local authorities and providers with one-to-one targeted support.
We are committed to strengthening career pathways and championing early years teachers as part of our Best Start in Life strategy. To boost retention and attract new talent, we plan to more than double the number of funded training places on early years initial teacher training by 2028, and roll out a new degree apprenticeship route, with financial support for employers to deliver this.
In 2026/27, we expect to provide over £9.5 billion for the early years entitlements, more than doubling the government’s commitment to funded childcare since 2023/24. This will fund a full year of the expanded entitlements and an above inflation increase to funding rates. These increases also continue to reflect in full forecast cost pressures on the early years sector, including National Living Wage increases announced at the Autumn Budget 2025. Early education is delivered by a mixed market who set their own rates of pay. It is then up to those providers how they choose to spend this funding.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her written ministerial statement of 15 December 2025 on Investment in high needs places, how many of the 50,000 new specialist SEND places will be allocated to Windsor and Maidenhead local authority; and what assessment she has made of the adequacy of SEND provision in that area.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places, including for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), sits with local authorities. To support local authorities with this duty, in December, the department announced at least £3 billion for high needs capital between 2026/27 and 2029/30 to support children and young people with SEND or who require alternative provision. We will confirm local authority allocations for 2026/27 in the spring.
This funding builds on the £740 million invested in 2025/26, which is on track to create around 10,000 new specialist places. Of this funding, Windsor and Maidenhead has been allocated just under £1.29 million.
This funding is intended to create specialist facilities within mainstream schools that can deliver more intensive support adapted to suit the pupils’ needs. It can also be used to adapt mainstream schools to be more accessible and create special school places for pupils with the most complex needs.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to introduce standardised digital literacy guidance for schools to teach children critical evaluation skills for assessing the reliability of online information.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Following the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review’s final report on 5 November, the department will update the national curriculum to prepare young people for life and work in a changing world. In line with the Review’s recommendations, refreshed programmes of study will include critical thinking skills, in addition to digital and media literacy and artificial intelligence.
To ensure consistency, we are legislating so that academies will be required to teach the refreshed national curriculum alongside maintained schools. Content will be shaped through expert engagement, with a public consultation on draft proposals next year.
Currently, media literacy is taught through citizenship, relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) and computing, whilst digital literacy is addressed in computing and RSHE. To support teachers now, the department-funded National Centre for Computing Education provides free resources and continuing professional development, including materials on messaging in digital media, the credibility of sources and identifying ‘fake’ news and edited images.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when her Department plans to publish further details on (a) how V Levels will align with (i) T Levels and (ii) A Levels in the post-16 qualification framework and (b) other matters relating to V Levels.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
On 20 October 2025, the department set out plans to introduce V Levels, a third, vocational pathway at level 3. V Levels will sit alongside A levels and T Levels and will offer a vocational alternative to these academic and technical routes. We launched a consultation on post-16 level 3 and below pathways, closing on 12 January 2026. This can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/post-16-level-3-and-below-pathways. The results of the consultation and the department's response will be published in 2026.
This government remains strongly committed to T Levels and will continue to encourage their growth. T Levels are delivering fantastic results for students, providing the technical skills needed for progression into further study and training or skilled work. Where a learner wants in-depth knowledge of a subject area, they should study the T Level, compared to the V Level which allows learners more flexibility to explore different areas and which we generally expect will be the size of one A level.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to provide guidance to education providers on the introduction of the new Technical Occupational Qualification in Social Care from September 2026.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
For detailed information specific to individual qualifications, the department advises education providers to consult the relevant Awarding Organisation. These organisations are responsible for developing and delivering qualifications and will provide tailored guidance to support providers in their delivery of the Technical Occupational Qualification in Social Care from September 2026.
The department provides comprehensive support materials to help education providers in implementing newly reformed qualifications, including Technical Occupational Qualifications. This includes hosting a toolkit, model pathways, resources for careers advisers, video explainers, links to webinars, newsletters, and the webpage: https://support.tlevels.gov.uk/hc/en-gb/sections/16829562632850-Qualifications-Review.
These resources are regularly updated to ensure providers have access to the latest advice and are signposted to broader support where appropriate.
The department remains committed to maintaining and enhancing guidance materials to ensure continued support for providers throughout the reform process.