Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will take steps to ensure that funding is a) ring-fenced for the early years workforce and b) adequate for the needs of children with SEND.

The department provides early years funding through the dedicated schools grant, which is ring-fenced for education and subject to pass through requirements. Under the School and Early Years Finance Regulations, local authorities must pass at least 97% of early years entitlement funding to providers in 2026/27, up from 96% in 2025/26, with up to 3% retained for centrally delivered functions. This means that the vast majority of funding reaches frontline provision.

In addition, from 2026/27 the Inclusive Early Years Fund will provide targeted support over the next three years to build capacity in the early years sector to meet the needs of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The £200 million SEND training package announced in January also includes a new national training programme for all early years practitioners, which will be free to access.

We will be reviewing early years funding, including SEND funding, as part of the early years funding consultation this summer.