Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential implications of the policies set out in the Cabinet Office policy paper entitled UK-EU Summit - Common Understanding, updated on 19 May 2025, for the future of the Turing Scheme.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government remains committed to providing opportunities to study and work abroad, especially for those students from disadvantaged backgrounds. That is why we have agreed to work towards association to the Erasmus+ programme on much better financial terms for the UK. The Turing Scheme is now in its fifth year, with placements starting this September. Details on the future of the Turing Scheme will be shared in due course.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of support available to secondary school pupils who have not been awarded 5 GCSE's.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
All 16 to 19 study programmes should be tailored to support students to progress to education at a higher level or into employment, or should prepare them for adult life.
These study programmes should include substantial qualifications that stretch students. Students who are not awarded 5 GCSEs may take other level 2 qualifications to prepare them for employment or further study.
Any student on a 16 to 19 study programme, who has not yet achieved an English and/or maths GCSE grade 4 or higher, must continue studying these subjects.
In the 2025/26 academic year, the department has increased 16 to 19 funding for English and maths delivery and to help with the additional costs associated with teaching and supporting students who have not yet achieved English and/or maths GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 by the end of year 11.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential implications for her policies of the report entitled Moved During Exams, published by the charity Become; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure greater stability and improve educational outcomes for children in care.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Statutory care planning guidance is clear that everything should be done to minimise school changes and ensure transitions are well-planned and supported. Where a change is unavoidable, the child’s Personal Education Plan should set out arrangements to reduce disruption, particularly during exams and other key periods in their education.
The government is introducing measures to rebalance the placement market, improve regulation and commissioning of placements, and bring greater visibility to the prices local authorities are paying. This includes addressing the barriers that prevent homes for looked-after children being established where they are needed.
Through the department’s Plan for Change, we’re investing £2 billion 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 mean more placements are available, allowing children to be placed closer to home and school when in their best interests.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential implications for its policies of the National Literacy Trust’s report entitled Children and young people's writing in 2025, published on 12 June 2025.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
High and rising school standards, with excellent foundations in reading, writing and mathematics, are at the heart of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child, in every region of the country, the best start in life.
In the 2025/26 financial year, the government has committed £27.7 million to support and drive high and rising standards in reading and writing. This summer, the department will publish a Writing Framework which will be a first step to support schools in delivering high-quality writing provision across England.
The department recognises the important work of organisations such as the National Literacy Trust in promoting reading and writing and will continue to engage with them on this important issue.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of holiday clubs for parents of children with disabilities.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The government is 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.
Local authorities and their providers have flexibility about how they deliver HAF provision to best serve the needs of children and families in their area. The department encourages all local authorities to have a rich mix of provision catering for children with different interests and of different ages. There is flexibility in how the programme can be delivered to children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or additional needs.
When assessing the requirements of children with SEND or additional needs, local authorities should ensure that the provision they fund through the HAF programme is fully compliant with the Equality Act 2010. This will include making sure that they, and the providers they work with, put in place any reasonable adjustments which are required to ensure that children with a disability are not subject to discrimination.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help ensure that disabled students entering higher education receive (a) timely and (b) appropriate support from Student Finance England.
Answered by Janet Daby
The department and the Student Loans Company (SLC) are committed to ensuring that disabled students domiciled in England and entering higher education receive timely and appropriate support through the Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA).
Eligible students undergo a Study Needs Assessment (SNA), which identifies their individual needs. These are then compiled into a Needs Assessment Report and are submitted to SLC for approval, helping to ensure that students receive the right support efficiently, and enabling them to access higher education with confidence and the resources they need to succeed.
In previous years, approximately 40% of DSA applications are submitted at the start of the academic year. However, this year, SLC has worked with UCAS to encourage earlier applications. This has resulted in a higher volume of submissions ahead of the 2025/26 academic year. To manage this, SLC has increased resourcing to improve processing times and ensure students receive funding promptly.
Additionally, SLC’s suppliers, Capita and Study Tech, have recruited more Needs Assessors to offer flexible assessment scheduling. SLC continues to monitor demand and capacity throughout the academic cycle to maintain effective support for students.
Current processing times for DSA and other applications can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/sfe-current-application-timescales.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of not awarding marks for spelling, punctuation and grammar for exams in subjects other than English.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
I refer the hon. Member for Eastleigh to the answer of 12 June 2025 to Question 57812.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a national dyslexia strategy.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
I refer the hon. Member for Eastleigh to the answer of 12 June 2025 to Question 57810.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to increase funding certainty for schools over a multi-year period.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
The overall core schools budget is increasing by £3.7 billion in the 2025/26 financial year, meaning that it will total £65.3 billion, compared to £61.6 billion in the 2024/25 financial year. This is a 6% overall increase.
The government is considering how it can support schools to plan their budgets from the perspective of both their funding and their costs. The teacher pay award this year has been announced two months earlier than last year as part of the government’s ambition to improve the pay round process. This is alongside £615 million of additional funding to support schools with their overall costs, including staff pay awards.
Budgets for the 2026/27 financial year and beyond are still to be agreed and this includes the 2026/27 Core Schools Budget. This will be subject to the multi-year spending review, which the department expects to be concluded later this month.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of students taking heritage language GCSEs in the academic year 2024-25.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
Provisional data on GCSE entries for the 2024/25 academic year will be published by Ofqual on 12 June 2025.
The department will publish provisional key stage 4 performance statistics for the 2024/25 academic year in October 2025.