theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Andrew Rosindell:To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what guidance the Church of England provides to clergy on gender ideology. \p Marsha De Cordova: The Church of England does not provide specific standalone guidance to clergy on gender ideology.

On complex issues the House of Bishops may from time to time publish guidance and advice for clergy, designed to inform local response. This has included the 2020 book ‘Living in Love and Faith’, which is available to view or order on the Church of England website.

Following a vote of the General Synod in 2017 to welcome and affirm transgender people, the House of Bishops provided guidance in 2018 called ‘Pastoral Guidance for use in conjunction with the Affirmation of Baptismal Faith in the context of gender transition.’

Within Church of England schools, clergy and teachers are advised to align with the “Pastoral Principles”: www.churchofengland.org/about/general-synod/structure/house-bishops/pastoral-principles

Guidance is also available in ‘Flourishing for All: Anti-bullying Guidance for Church of England Schools’ (updated April 2025): www.churchofengland.org/about/education-and-schools/education-publications/anti-bullying-guidance-church-england-schools
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Andrew Rosindell:To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what guidance the Church of England provides to clergy on the principle of freedom of speech. \p Marsha De Cordova: The National Church Institutions do not provide specific guidance to clergy on the principle of freedom of speech.

In the Guidelines for the Professional Conduct of the Clergy it states that:

“The reputation of the Church in the community depends to a great extent on the integrity and example of its clergy, who should recognize their role as public representatives of the Church. Their lives should enhance and embody the communication of the gospel.” [paragraph 9.1]

“Ministers must not be members or active supporters of any political party or other organization whose constitution, policies, objectives, activities or public statements are incompatible with the teaching of the Church of England, as defined by the House of Bishops, in relation to the equality of persons or groups of different races.” [Paragraph 9.6]

“The clergy must remember that they are public figures whose opinions when proffered have weight and significance. In using social media ministers should always assume that anything they post or contribute is in the public domain and will be shared. The power of the internet for doing harm as well as good must always be borne carefully in mind and weighed before saying anything which may prove be damaging to oneself as well as to others.” [paragraph 11.11 ]

“The clergy are placed in a position of power and authority over others, in pastoral relationships, with lay colleagues, and sometimes with other ministers. In all forms of ministry, in leadership, teaching, preaching and presiding at worship, the clergy should resist all temptation to exercise power inappropriately. This power needs to be used to sustain others and harness their strengths, and not to abuse, bully, manipulate or denigrate.” [paragraph 12.2]

The full Guidelines are published on the Church of England website at The Guidelines | The Church of England
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Dr Al Pinkerton:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that students with additional needs have access to mandatory online homework platforms in Surrey Heath constituency. \p Olivia Bailey: Schools determine homework volume and format in collaboration with staff, pupils, parents, and governors. Digital tools can support learning and enhance parental engagement by providing visibility into tasks and progress. However, access to devices remains uneven. In 2024, 34% of parents reported their child lacked continuous access to a device for online schoolwork. Schools should offer alternative homework options for pupils with limited device access.

The department is committed to ensuring all students, including those with additional needs, can safely and effectively use digital tools. While data for Surrey Heath isn’t available, the department has published digital accessibility standards to help schools implement inclusive technology strategies. The 'Plan Technology for Your School' service supports strategic digital planning. The department continues working with schools and providers to ensure no child is left behind.
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Rebecca Paul:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential merit of allowing nannies to offer funded hours under the Free Childcare for Working Parents programme. \p Olivia Bailey: It is the government’s ambition that all families have access to high-quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change.

Nannies are an unregulated part of the sector because they are employed by parents to provide care to children in their home. Parents alone are responsible for deciding the services that a nanny provides, which may or may not include early education. Parents also arrange the payment of income tax and National Insurance contributions and organise security checks for those that they employ. For this reason, successive governments have not engaged in private arrangements between the two parties.

Officials remain in touch with the National Nanny Association and we keep all such policies under review.
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Andrew Rosindell:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that the year 8 reading test is used to direct interventions and not be used as a bench marking exercise for schools. \p Georgia Gould: This government is determined to drive up standards for young people. Reading holds the key to the rest of the curriculum, with pupils who struggle to read so often struggling across the board, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The department will introduce a new, statutory reading test in year 8 to ensure a focus on reading in key stage 3. This builds on the wider support we are providing to drive up standards in reading, including training and resources for secondary school teachers to help them support readers at all levels, with a particular focus on struggling readers in secondary school who are at risk of falling behind. This training should reach 75% of secondary schools this academic year.

Development of the new statutory test will be led by the Standards and Testing Agency (STA), experts in assessments who will work independently from ministers on the test’s contents. The STA will work with the sector to develop the test, including undertaking trials of test materials. Like the phonics screening check, school-level results will not be published. However, individual schools will receive their own pupils' results and will be able to access national, regional, and local authority data to ensure their pupils are on track.
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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department plans to take to help ensure young people with special educational needs have transition support post-secondary school. \p Georgia Gould: Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

Being supported towards greater independence and employability can be life-transforming for learners with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

All professionals working with them should share high aspirations and have a good understanding of what support is effective in enabling children and young people to achieve their ambitions.

As set out in the SEND Code of Practice, all SEND learners should be prepared for adulthood. This means being prepared in the following four areas:

The SEND Code of Practice is available in full at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25.

Local authorities must plan early for transition, review and update education, health and care plans to reflect post-16 aspirations, consult with providers, secure named provision and ensure impartial advice and support to promote continued participation in education or training.
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Tom Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Government’s new school-based nurseries will be operated by the public or private sector. \p Olivia Bailey: High quality early years is central to our mission to break down the barriers to opportunity, give every child the best possible start in life and is essential to our Plan for Change. School-based nurseries are one part of our diverse and vibrant early years landscape, and this government is boosting availability and access to early years places through the School-based nursery programme.

The programme’s new and expanded nurseries are being delivered both by schools and private, voluntary and independent (PVI) providers. 27 of the 300 schools awarded funding in phase 1 of the School-based nurseries programme partnered with a PVI provider.

Phase 2 of the programme will continue to encourage these partnerships. Schools have until 11 December to apply for up to £150,000 of capital funding.

The department will continue working closely with the early years sector to scale the programme effectively, ensuring new provision meets the needs of children, parents and schools, and works within the local market.
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Ian Lavery:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what measures are in place to ensure that children from low-income families in the North East have access to high-quality early years education; and what additional support is being provided to reduce disparities in readiness for primary school. \p Georgia Gould: The government’s Plan for Change commits to giving children the best start in life. From age 2, children in low-income families, those with education, health and care plans, and looked-after children are eligible for 15 hours of funded early education.

Disadvantaged children may also receive the early years pupil premium (EYPP).

From April 2025, this was increased by 45%. From next year, we will provide additional funding to extend EYPP in areas most in need, and test different approaches to using this funding to understand how best to maximise its impact.

As part of the Opportunity Mission, £37 million has been awarded to 300 primary schools to create or expand nurseries.

The department is establishing Best Start Family Hubs to provide greater support for families. Local authorities are also developing ambitious Best Start local plans to meet the milestone to get a record number of children school ready every year by 2028.
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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the technology state schools require pupils to have. \p Olivia Bailey: The department does not require pupils to own specific technology and does not hold information on individual pupil requirements. Our policy focuses on ensuring schools have the right infrastructure to support teaching and learning.

We have set six core digital and technology standards for schools and colleges to meet by 2030: broadband internet, wireless networks, network switches, digital leadership and governance, filtering and monitoring, and cyber security. These standards provide the foundations for safe and reliable connectivity at school and ensure safeguarding is a priority. Schools can use the ‘Plan technology for your school’ service to assess readiness and plan upgrades.
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Ian Lavery:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether they plan to increase or redistribute funding to schools in the North East. \p Georgia Gould: The schools national funding formula (NFF) is used to allocate core funding for mainstream schools in England. We have now published the NFF for 2026/27, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-funding-formula-for-schools-and-high-needs-from-2025.

Through the NFF, the North East is receiving £2,341 million in provisional funding for mainstream schools in the 2026/27 financial year. This represents an increase of £62 million compared to the 2025/26 financial year.

These figures are based on pupil numbers from the 2025/26 dedicated schools grant (DSG). Final allocations will be based on updated pupil numbers in the 2026/27 DSG.

In the North East, average per pupil funding through the schools NFF will be £6,852 in the 2026/27 financial year. This compares to £6,671 per pupil in the 2025/26 financial year. The 2025/26 comparison figure includes the schools budget support grant and National Insurance contributions grants that were paid outside the NFF in 2025/26, to ensure a fair comparison.
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Pippa Heylings:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her planned timeline is for the (a) new oracy framework and (b) combined oracy, writing and reading framework. \p Georgia Gould: The department welcomes the Curriculum and Assessment Review’s focus on oracy. Expressing oneself fluently and communicating well is crucial for life and work, and an important vehicle for social justice.

We will make sure that communication skills are more clearly expressed through revised programmes of study. We will also create a primary oracy framework and a combined secondary oracy, writing and reading framework to be published following the revised national curriculum.

The primary oracy framework will support teachers to help their pupils become confident, fluent speakers by the end of key stage 2. This will build on our primary frameworks for reading and writing.
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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of schools’ policies on mobile phones and learning disruption. \p Olivia Bailey: The department’s guidance on mobile phones in schools, published in February 2024, is clear that schools should prohibit the use of devices with smart technology throughout the school day, including during lessons, transitions and breaks.

​The department expects all schools to take steps in line with this guidance to ensure mobile phones do not disrupt pupils’ learning.

​Research from the Children’s Commissioner, with responses from nearly all schools and colleges in England, shows that the overwhelming majority of schools (99.8% of primary schools and 90% of secondary schools) already have policies in place that limit or restrict the use of mobile phones during the school day.
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Andrew Rosindell:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to revise exam access arrangements to enable dyslexic learners to gain SPaG marks where they can demonstrate correct use of assistive technology. \p Georgia Gould: The independent regulator of qualifications (Ofqual) is responsible for ensuring the exam system is fair and accessible for all students. Under the Equality Act 2010, awarding organisations must make reasonable adjustments where a disabled person would otherwise be disadvantaged when taking exams and assessments. These adjustments are designed to remove barriers without changing the nature of the assessment.

Exams and assessments must give a valid and reliable measure of the student’s knowledge, skills, and understanding for that qualification.

In line with the recommendations made by the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, the department will work with Ofqual and awarding organisations to ensure that accessibility implications are fully considered for all young people throughout the qualification development process.
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Freddie van Mierlo:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of the statutory training (a) SENCOs and (b) teachers receive on dyscalculia. \p Georgia Gould: The department is committed to improving support for all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including pupils with dyscalculia.

National Professional Qualifications (NPQs) are available to education professionals at all levels. From 2024, the NPQ for Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators became the mandatory qualification for SENCOs. This will play a key role in ensuring SENCOs consistently receive high quality, evidence-based training, allowing them to fulfil their central role in supporting pupils with SEND.

We know some children face real challenges in maths, particularly those with dyscalculia and other special educational needs. We are supporting schools through our national RISE Maths Hubs, helping teachers deliver effective, inclusive lessons.
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Helen Morgan:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to (a) track school days lost due to dental problems and (b) reduce that number through preventive oral health programmes. \p Olivia Bailey: The use of absence Code M and Code I allows schools to track pupils’ medical appointments and illness respectively. Accurate use and tracking of absence codes enables schools to know their pupils, understand why they are absent and provide appropriate support when it is needed.

Medical appointments and dental appointments are both marked using Code M. Schools are not expected to routinely request evidence of a medical or dental appointment. However, parents should get the school’s agreement in advance if it has not been possible to book the appointment outside of school hours.

If schools request further information about the nature of the medical appointment or illness, additional details may be recorded on the school’s Management Information System.

The Department of Health and Social Care is taking action to prevent dental problems, where tooth decay is the most significant for children. This includes implementing a national supervised toothbrushing programme, introducing healthier baby food standards and placing restrictions on junk food advertising.
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Callum Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what monitoring arrangements her Department has in place to evaluate the impact of the attendance improvement roadmap on pupil outcomes. \p Olivia Bailey: To monitor progress against our journey to return to pre-pandemic levels of attendance and beyond, the department collects comprehensive attendance data to track trends and identify what is working well and where the system needs support.

Our world leading data tools allow us to monitor real time attendance across all state-funded schools. By analysing this data at national, regional, and school level, we can assess progress towards pre-pandemic levels and ensure interventions are targeted where they will have the greatest impact on pupil outcomes.

Support provided through Attendance and Behaviour Hubs and our expanded mentoring programme, is subject to ongoing monitoring and quality assurance by regional advisers and will be independently evaluated to assess their impact on attendance and pupil outcomes.

Thanks to the efforts of the sector, absence is moving in the right direction, with children gaining over five million more days in school last year compared to the previous year.
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Callum Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what communication her Department has had with academy trusts in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency on attendance improvement plans. \p Olivia Bailey: The department engages regularly with academy trusts on attendance improvement through a range of channels.

In the last academic year, we hosted 12 regional conferences for secondary school and trust leaders focusing solely on the attendance challenge through our regional improvement for standards and excellence (RISE) programme. The conferences covered data analysis and shared practical strategies. Feedback from school and trust leaders was strong, and was supported by increased engagement with our data tool.

The department also provides targeted communications through webinars, newsletters and direct correspondence to school and trust leaders. This includes updates on new resources such as the Attendance Improvement Toolkit and support available through our RISE Attendance and Behaviour Hubs.
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Jen Craft:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps (a) her Department and (b) its public bodies are taking to (i) develop and (ii) use artificial intelligence approaches to British Sign Language. \p Olivia Bailey: The department's internal AI team have recently begun the process of looking at the development of AI solutions that can enhance accessibility for British Sign Language (BSL).

We are assessing available tools and looking to adapt them to fit the identified needs. Our aim is to ensure equitable access and compliance with the BSL Act 2022. We will be taking a phased approach to demonstrate value, and aim to position the department as a leader in inclusive, AI-driven education.

There are opportunities to use AI to accelerate the creation of accessible content across public services. If public bodies trial the use of AI in approaches to BSL, they would be required to conform with both Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and the Service Standard, and must conduct research with disabled people, including Deaf users and, where appropriate to the service provision, those who use sign language or a sign language interpreter to interact with the service.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of waiving fines for parents judged to be responsible by the headteacher for taking their children out of school during term for holidays. \p Olivia Bailey: ​The department has no plans to review our approach to term-time holidays. Schools can grant pupils a leave of absence for exceptional circumstances at their discretion, judging each application on the specific facts. However, generally a holiday would not constitute an exceptional circumstance. The school year is structured in a way that provides plenty of time for holidays outside of term-time. Schools and local authorities also have considerable flexibility to plan term dates themselves, and hold inset days and other occasional days at quieter times of the year, helping families to plan breaks at times that suit them.

​Where term-time holidays are taken without permission, it is right that the law protects children’s right to a full-time education. ​The national framework for penalty notices is designed to improve fairness by ensuring they are considered at a consistent point across the country, and on an individual basis, preventing schools from having blanket rules.​
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Charlotte Cane:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her Department's policy to create a single childcare register to replace the current registration processes. \p Olivia Bailey: It is the department’s ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change.

There are currently two registers, the early years register and the general childcare register. We are in regular dialogue with Ofsted about the registers and, as with all our systems, we continue to monitor their operational effectiveness. There are no current plans to alter the structure of the registers.
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James Naish:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of funding provided to nurseries to deliver the extended free childcare hours without financial shortfall. \p Olivia Bailey: It is the department’s ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, improving the life chances for every child and the work choices for every parent.

In the 2025/26 financial year alone, the department has provided over £8 billion for the early years entitlements, increasing to over £9 billion in 2026/27.

The department has announced the largest ever increase to early years pupil premium since its introduction and have delivered a significant tranche of supplementary funding of £75 million through the early years expansion grant.

The department wants to ensure the sector is financially sustainable and confident as it continues to deliver the entitlements and high quality early years provision going forward.
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Jayne Kirkham:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the proportion of school supply spending that is retained by private agencies rather than paid to teachers; and what assessment she has made of the impact on school budgets. \p Georgia Gould: The department does not hold data on the proportion of supply spending retained by agencies.

According to school financial returns, in the 2023/24 financial year, local authority maintained schools spent approximately £522 million on agency supply teaching staff whilst, in the 2023/24 academic year, academies spent approximately £898 million. The total school budget was £58 billion for the 2023/24 financial year.

The department’s 2024 ‘Use of supply teachers in schools’ research found that on average a secondary supply agency teacher cost a school £291 per day, whilst the daily take-home pay for a secondary supply teacher was £150. This suggests that agencies retain around 48% of the spend for secondary supply on average, which covers profit, on-costs and operational costs.

We continue to explore ways to support schools to obtain value for money when hiring supply staff.
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Dr Roz Savage:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department spent on SEND tribunal appeals in the last 12 months. \p Georgia Gould: The department paid His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service £13.471 million in 2024/25 to cover the operational costs of the SEND Tribunal, including administration, estates and salaries, for special educational needs appeals for children and young people aged 5 to 16.
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Lewis Cocking:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding has been provided to schools to support pupils for whom English is an additional language in each of the last three years. \p Georgia Gould: Schools attract additional funding through the English as an additional language (EAL) factor in the schools national funding formula (NFF), for pupils recorded as having entered state education in England during the last three years, and whose first language is not English.

The below table sets out the proportion of funding provided through the EAL factor in the NFF from 2023/24 financial year to 2025/26 financial year.

Year

Proportion of total funding through NFF

2025/26 financial year

1.1%

2024/25 financial year

1.1%

2023/24 financial year

1.0%

The NFF is used to allocate funding to local authorities. How much individual schools receive depends on their local authority’s local funding formula.
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Laurence Turner:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which schools in Birmingham are part of the partnerships for inclusion of neurodiversity in schools programme. \p Georgia Gould: Listed below are the schools in Birmingham which are part of the partnerships for inclusion of neurodiversity in schools programme (PINS).

Birmingham Local Authority Schools participating in PINS:

Local authority area

Year 1 - 2024/25

Year 2 - 2025/26

Birmingham

Broadmeadow Infant School

Albert Bradbeer Primary Academy

Birmingham

Broadmeadow Junior School

Al-Furqan Primary School

Birmingham

Gilbertstone Primary School

Elms Farm Community Primary School

Birmingham

Grestone Academy

Greet Primary School

Birmingham

Highfield Junior and Infant School

Kings Rise Academy

Birmingham

Holly Hill Methodist CofE Infant School

Leigh Primary School

Birmingham

James Watt Primary School

Lozells Junior and Infant School and Nursery

Birmingham

Kitwell Primary School

Oasis Academy Woodview

Birmingham

Mapledene Primary School

Robin Hood Academy

Birmingham

Nansen Primary School

Rookery School

Birmingham

Oasis Academy Blakenhale Infants

St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School

Birmingham

Oasis Academy Blakenhale Junior

St Michael's Church of England Primary School

Birmingham

Oasis Academy Short Heath

St Wilfrid's Catholic Junior and Infant School

Birmingham

Princethorpe Infant School

Topcliffe Primary School

Birmingham

Princethorpe Junior School

Ward End Primary School

Birmingham

Reaside Academy

Wheelers Lane Primary School

Birmingham

St John's CofE Primary School

Woodgate Primary School

Birmingham

St Martin de Porres Catholic Primary School

Wychall Primary School

Birmingham

The Rosary Catholic Primary School

Wyndcliffe Primary School

Birmingham

Timberley Academy

Heathfield Primary School

Birmingham

Yardley Wood Community Primary School

Birmingham

St Vincent's Catholic Primary School

Birmingham

St Francis Catholic Primary School

School data accurate as at 8 October 2025.
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Valerie Vaz:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the impact on UK publishers' exports of free access in overseas markets to UK government funded educational resources from Oak National Academy. \p Georgia Gould: The department is keeping the geo-restriction of Oak National Academy’s (Oak) resources under review. Oak does not promote or market its resources overseas.

The department recently completed a new market impact assessment of Oak, which was published in September 2025, and is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/oak-national-academy-independent-review-and-market-impact-assessment.
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James MacCleary:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2025 to Question 80538 on Teachers: Workplace Pensions, whether Teachers' Pensions plan to inform retired teachers of the timeline for receipt of rollback statements. \p Georgia Gould: Recalculating benefits for retired members is a complex process, requiring adjustments for tax, interest, and system functionality once a member has received their Remediable Service Statement (RSS) and responded with their remedy period choice.

Although the administrator resumed issuing Remediable Service Statements earlier this year, not all cases could be completed within the original timeframe. The administrator will keep affected members informed of revised timelines through established channels, including ‘My Pension Online’ and the Teachers’ Pensions website. The latest update is available here: https://www.teacherspensions.co.uk/news/public-news/2025/07/remediable-service-statement-rss-choices-payments.aspx. As responsibility for this work transitions to the new administrator of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme in summer 2026, the department is working with Tata Consultancy Services to finalise the timeline for issuing all RSSs. Once the timeline is confirmed, it will be communicated to relevant members.

The department continues to monitor progress and is working closely with the scheme administrator to streamline processes and introduce automation where possible. Any pension adjustments arising from members’ choices will be backdated with interest to ensure members are not financially disadvantaged.
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Anneliese Midgley:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which schools in surrounding areas Knowsley A-level students are attending. \p Georgia Gould: The 2024/25 Individualised Learner Record and school census data shows that Knowsley students are undertaking A level learning aims at the following schools and colleges:

School/college name

Number of A levels studied by Knowsley learners

All Saints Catholic High School

3

Archbishop Blanch CofE High School

31

Bellerive FCJ Catholic College

9

Broughton Hall Catholic High School

65

Calderstones School

10

Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School

72

Carmel College

913

Deyes High School

10

Dixons Broadgreen Academy

8

Gateacre School

20

Great Sankey High School

3

Holly Lodge Girls' College

6

Hugh Baird College

32

King David High School

25

Liverpool College

32

Liverpool Life Sciences UTC

17

Maghull High School

12

Maricourt Catholic High School

16

Ormskirk School

6

Rainhill High School

49

Riverside College Halton

325

Southport Education Group

15

St Anselm's College

3

St Edward's College

112

St Francis Xavier's College

40

St Hilda's Church of England High School

32

St John Bosco Arts College

8

St Julie's Catholic High School

73

St Margaret's Church of England Academy

11

St Michael's Church of England High School

3

The Belvedere Academy

40

The Blue Coat School

89

The City of Liverpool College

90

The Studio School Liverpool

13

University of Liverpool Mathematics School

8

Weatherhead High School

2

Winstanley College

198

Wirral Grammar School for Boys

3

Wirral Grammar School for Girls

3

Grand total

2,419
wrans/answers2025-11-24 conversation_115
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-24 conversation_115

Callum Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what baseline data her Department uses to determine school-specific attendance improvement targets. \p Olivia Bailey: The department uses a combination of national and school-level data to determine each school’s attendance baseline improvement expectation (ABIE), which sets out the minimum improvement expected over an academic year.

ABIEs include a context-based factor, which compares a school’s previous year attendance with that of statistically similar schools. Similar schools are identified using characteristics such as free school meal eligibility, special educational needs, deprivation, funding levels, and region.

The reports headteachers receive also include pre-pandemic attendance benchmarks and local authority averages, providing schools with a “ladder of ambition” against which to benchmark improvements.
wrans/answers2025-11-24 conversation_116
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-24 conversation_116

Mike Wood:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to prevent discrimination against children from independent schools in the provision of public services. \p Olivia Bailey: Access to public services is based on need, not the type of school a child attends. Parents or carers concerned about their child’s health can consult a GP, who may refer them to relevant National Health Services (NHS). The NHS provides care free at the point of use and considers referrals based on clinical need, ensuring equity regardless of school type.
wrans/answers2025-11-24 conversation_117
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-24 conversation_117

Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Government to crackdown on bad behaviour and boost attendance, published on 31 August 2025, if she will publish a list of schools receiving targeted support. \p Olivia Bailey: The regional improvement for standards and excellence attendance and behaviour hubs programme is intended to provide support to senior leaders to improve their whole-school attendance and behaviour practice. Participation in the programme will be voluntary, although schools with specific attendance or behaviour challenges will be encouraged to participate. Given this is a supportive initiative, the department does not intend to publish the names of the schools receiving enhanced support through the programme.
wrans/answers2025-11-24 conversation_118
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-24 conversation_118

Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Over half a million children to benefit from funded childcare, published 1 September 2025, whether she has made an estimate on the average additional number of hours worked this will result in; and if she will make an estimate of the total (i) economic value and (ii) cost to the public purse of the policy. \p Olivia Bailey: It is the department’s ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, improving opportunity for every child and work choices for every parent.

From 1 September, eligible working parents of children aged nine months and older are now benefiting from 30 hours of funded childcare. Reaching this milestone means hundreds of thousands of families are better able to balance work and family life.

Central estimates for the financial benefits of extending early years education and childcare entitlements were published in April 2024 by the National Audit Office, which indicate, as of March 2024, a benefit-to-cost ratio of £1.26:£1.00, and a total estimated benefit of £15.972 billion, based on a total estimated cost of £12.723 billion.

The Office for Budget Responsibility also estimated that 60,000 additional parents will enter work, and 1.5 million will increase their working hours by 2027/28, as a result of the policy.

Now the programme is in live delivery, the department will continue to monitor how these estimated benefits develop throughout the programme.
wrans/answers2025-11-24 conversation_119
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-24 conversation_119

Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to end child hunger in Devon. \p Olivia Bailey: This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child hunger. That is why the department is introducing a new eligibility threshold for free school meals (FSM). This ensures that all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit will be eligible from September 2026. This will provide over half a million children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds with a free, nutritious lunchtime meal every school day. Department for Work and Pensions data shows that 36,230 children in Devon will be eligible for FSM from September 2026.

The government remains committed to deliver on its pledge to provide a free breakfast club in every state-funded school with primary-aged children. This will ensure every child, regardless of circumstance, has a supportive start to the school day. Over 750 early adopter schools are already being funded to deliver free breakfast club places for their primary pupils, including 27 in Devon. An additional 2,000 schools will join the scheme between April 2026 and March 2027, benefitting around half a million more children.

Additionally, the holiday activities and food programme provides heathy meals, enriching activities and free childcare places to children from low-income families, benefiting their heath, wellbeing and learning.
wrans/answers2025-11-24 conversation_120
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-24 conversation_120

James Wild:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 27 June 2025 to Question 61218 on Government Departments: Reviews, how many lines of activity in her Department were considered as part of the zero based review. \p Olivia Bailey: At the Spending Review 2025, the government conducted the first zero-based review (ZBR) of department budgets in 18 years, with every line of spending scrutinised to ensure value for money.

Through the ZBR, the department carried out a line-by-line review of its current budgets. The review involved differing levels of granularity depending on the type and size of expenditure under review.

To ensure consistency in approach, cross-government guidance set expectations for the level of granularity each review should consider, recommending that departments review all spending within individual programme expenditure, at a minimum reflecting any lines of spending in excess of £1 million per annum.

Savings identified through this process will support delivery of the government's commitment for all departments to deliver at least 5% savings and efficiencies by 2028/29.
wrans/answers2025-11-24 conversation_121
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-24 conversation_121

Callum Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support mechanisms her Department has in place for schools in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency considered at risk of failing to meet attendance improvement targets. \p Olivia Bailey: Tackling absence is central to the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity. Children attended over 5.3 million additional days in the 2024/25 school year compared to the 2023/23 school year, with over 140,000 fewer pupils persistently absent.

Our statutory ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ guidance sets clear expectations for schools to take a support-first approach, using data to identify patterns and intervene early.

To support this, our attendance baseline improvement expectations (ABIEs) set out the minimum improvement expected over an academic year, based on each school’s context and previous year’s attendance. Schools’ progress against their ABIEs informs the type of support offered.

ABIEs are a starting point, not a limit. Schools are encouraged to work, towards pre-pandemic attendance levels or better. Indicative ABIEs are available now, with full introduction in 2026/27.

Alongside ABIEs, schools receive ‘similar schools’ reports which name higher-performing schools with comparable characteristics and provide advice on how to contact them to share strategies. Schools can also access an updated attendance improvement toolkit for practical advice on attendance improvement. For schools facing the greatest challenges, we are rolling out up to 90 Attendance and Behaviour Hubs, to deliver structured peer support and bespoke improvement plans.
wrans/answers2025-11-24 conversation_122
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-24 conversation_122

Mr Lee Dillon:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that families of children with SEND in rural areas have equitable access to early parenting support. \p Olivia Bailey: Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life sets out how the government will invest close to £1.5 billion over the next three years to expand and strengthen family services.

This will include £500 million for rolling out Best Start Family Hubs in every local authority. Each Best Start Family Hub will have a children and family services professional specifically trained in supporting parents of children with additional needs. This will help identify children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) who may need extra help, making links with local early years settings and health services. We will also fund more evidence based parenting offers and set clearer rules to ensure that funding is used on high quality parenting programmes.

This will be supported by a new national Best Start digital service, linked to ‘My Children’ on the NHS app, bringing together the advice and guidance parents need in one place, and linking families to local services.

The Families First Partnership programme is embedding Family Help as a seamless offer of family support delivered by multi-disciplinary, community based teams. This includes a broad range of professionals, including those working in SEND. The location of services will be determined by local authorities, with partners, and we encourage areas to consider family hubs as a location.