Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department plans to take to assess the adequacy of the accessibility to parents of recent childcare announcements made by her Department.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
In 2025/26, the department plans to provide over £8 billion for the early years entitlements, an additional £2 billion compared to 2024/25, saving eligible families who use their full entitlement £7,500 a year on average. The government will provide an additional £1.6 billion per year by 2028/29, compared to 2025/26, to continue the expansion of government-funded childcare for working parents.
The department has announced over £400 million of funding to create tens of thousands of places in new and expanded school-based nurseries to help ensure more children can access the quality early education where it is needed and get the best start in life. The first phase of the programme is creating up to 6,000 new nursery places, with schools reporting over 5,000 have been made available in September 2025.
The department has regular contact with each local authority in England about their sufficiency of childcare and any issues they are facing. Where local authorities report sufficiency challenges, we discuss what action they are taking to address those issues and, where needed, support the local authority with any specific requirements through our childcare sufficiency support contract.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how her Department plans to integrate feedback from schools on the adequacy of funding for the breakfast clubs programme.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
We have always been committed to rolling free breakfast clubs out nationally and the test and learn phase was put in place to inform how best to do so.
We have been listening to schools and other stakeholders throughout this phase and will continue to work with them to learn from our early adopters and inform national rollout. Further information on national rollout will be announced later in the Autumn term.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to reduce funding for the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department has made very significant investments into 16-19 education funding. The base rate of funding per student has increased to £5,105 in the 2025/26 academic year, up over 5% on last year. We must make this funding work hard, tilting it towards key priorities.
That is why we have announced that the additional funding previously available for a range of larger 16 to 19 programmes will be focused in future on supporting larger than normal mathematics and high value A level programmes to support the pipeline of students for priority sectors. It remains a choice for institutions as to whether they offer this provision. International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma achievement is included in the 16 to 19 performance tables. There are also newly approved IB Alternative Academic Qualifications that can form part of a diploma, available for delivery from August 2025.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her Department's policy is on the continued provision of the International Baccalaureate Diploma in state schools.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department has made very significant investments into 16-19 education funding. The base rate of funding per student has increased to £5,105 in the 2025/26 academic year, up over 5% on last year. We must make this funding work hard, tilting it towards key priorities.
That is why we have announced that the additional funding previously available for a range of larger 16 to 19 programmes will be focused in future on supporting larger than normal mathematics and high value A level programmes to support the pipeline of students for priority sectors. It remains a choice for institutions as to whether they offer this provision. International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma achievement is included in the 16 to 19 performance tables. There are also newly approved IB Alternative Academic Qualifications that can form part of a diploma, available for delivery from August 2025.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department has made very significant investments into 16-19 education funding. The base rate of funding per student has increased to £5,105 in the 2025/26 academic year, up over 5% on last year. We must make this funding work hard, tilting it towards key priorities.
That is why we have announced that the additional funding previously available for a range of larger 16 to 19 programmes will be focused in future on supporting larger than normal mathematics and high value A level programmes to support the pipeline of students for priority sectors. It remains a choice for institutions as to whether they offer this provision. International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma achievement is included in the 16 to 19 performance tables. There are also newly approved IB Alternative Academic Qualifications that can form part of a diploma, available for delivery from August 2025.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the number of children with SEND moving from the independent to state school sector; and what proportion this represents of the overall amount of people moving from the independent to state sectors.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The latest school census data from January 2025 shows private school pupil numbers remain firmly within historical patterns seen for over 20 years. The data is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics/2024-25.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to ensure that the risks of (a) cold water, (b) open water and (c) drowning are covered in the national curriculum.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
Swimming and water safety is a vital life skill and that is why pupils are taught to swim and how to be safe in and around water at primary school. Swimming and water safety are compulsory elements of the primary physical education (PE) curriculum at key stages 1 and 2. It includes teaching on how to perform safe-self rescue in different water-based situations.
The department also supports schools to provide swimming and water safety lessons through teacher training and resources and the PE and Sport Premium for top-up lessons.
Schools also have the flexibility to include content on water safety as part of relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) or personal, social, health and economic education, to equip pupils with an understanding of the risks and enable them to make informed decisions. The department is currently reviewing the statutory RSHE curriculum, including looking at whether additional content on water safety should be added.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she is taking steps with Cabinet colleagues to help young people with special educational needs and disabilities to enter the workplace; and what steps the Government is taking to help ensure those young people have the opportunity to reach their full potential in the workforce.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Shadow Minister (Equalities)
The department is working across government to ensure that all young people, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), have access to a world-class education, supporting them to achieve positive outcomes.
With the right preparation and support, the majority of young people with SEND are capable of sustained, paid employment. All professionals working with them should share that presumption. They should provide the career advice and support that helps young people to develop the skills and experience, and achieve the qualifications, that they need to succeed in their careers.
The government is committed to supporting pathways to employment for disabled young people, including, for example, through strengthening the Supported Internship programme. The department is investing approximately £18 million until 2025 to build capacity in the Supported Internships Programme and support more young people with Education Health and Care plans into employment.
The department is supporting the Department for Work and Pensions to pilot an Adjustments Passport that will help to smooth the transition into employment and support people changing jobs, including people with SEND. The Adjustments Passport will capture the in-work support needs of the individual and empower them to have confident discussions about adjustments with employers.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to help ensure that all teachers receive training to support students with dyspraxia in the classroom; and what steps she is taking to monitor the effectiveness of that training.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Shadow Minister (Equalities)
The Teachers’ Standards set clear expectations that teachers must understand the needs of all pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). All trainees who achieve Qualified Teacher Status must demonstrate that they can adapt teaching to respond to the needs of all pupils, including those with SEND.
To support all teachers in meeting these standards, the department is implementing high-quality teacher training reforms which begin with initial teacher training and continue throughout career progression. These reforms are designed to ensure teachers have the skills to support all pupils to succeed, including those with SEND.
The Universal Services Programme, which began in May 2022, aims to reach 70% of schools and colleges and will help the school and further education workforce to identify and meet the needs of children and young people with SEND, earlier and more effectively. It will also help them to successfully prepare children and young people for adulthood, including employment.
The department is committed to gathering evidence about the implementation and impact of the reforms, to ensure that it provides the best support for new teachers entering the profession. To support this, we are working with the Education Endowment Foundation to ensure a comprehensive package of evaluation activity.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will take steps to help ensure that teachers are trained to deliver water safety education in the classroom.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Swimming and water safety is a compulsory part of the National Curriculum at Key Stages 1 and 2. There are no specific statutory requirements for secondary schools to provide swimming and water safety lessons. Compulsory health education requires that schools teach a sound understanding of risk and provide pupils with the knowledge necessary to make informed decisions on their wellbeing and health.
The Department is working in partnership with members of the National Water Safety Forum, in particular Royal Life Saving Society UK and Swim England to support schools to teach primary and secondary pupils important aspects of water safety.
This support includes online lessons on Oak National Academy and resources for pupils in Key Stages 1, 2 and 3, launched by the National Water Safety Forum, as part of the Royal Life Saving Society UK’s Drowning Prevention Week in July 2022.