Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help reduce the attainment gap between children on Free School Meals and their peers.

‘Every child achieving and thriving’ establishes the department’s plan to deliver improved outcomes for all children, regardless of their background or where they live. Our ambition is for all children to achieve higher standards and for the disadvantage gap to be halved.

The department’s approach is comprehensive and includes rebuilding early family support, improving teacher recruitment and retention so every child benefits from high-quality teaching, broadening the curriculum alongside access to high-quality enrichment, and launching two place-based missions, Mission North East and Mission Coastal, to drive improvement in areas where outcomes remain stubbornly low.

The government has introduced the Enrichment Expansion Programme funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and delivered in partnership with the department, which will work with over 400 schools in the most disadvantaged areas.

The department is also taking steps to support schools and parents to work in partnership by establishing minimum expectations for parental engagement. Successful parental engagement can have a particularly significant impact for the most disadvantaged.

On English and maths, the department is funding the RISE English and Maths Hubs programmes to help schools improve teaching practice and pupil outcomes.

Additionally, we are providing around £3.2 billion of pupil premium funding in the 2026/27 financial year to help raise the educational outcomes of disadvantaged 5 to 16-year-olds. We will also introduce government funded pupil premium strategy reviews for schools that need additional support. These targeted reviews will equip school leaders to improve outcomes for disadvantaged children.