Written questions by Dance.

What steps she is taking to help reduce inequalities in access to educational psychologists.

Awaiting answer.

What steps she is taking to align apprenticeship policy with youth employment patterns.

Awaiting answer.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of including full time professional educational psychologists working through (a) traded services, (b) multi-academy trusts and (c) private practice in official data on the educational psychologist workforce.

Awaiting answer.

What steps she is taking to help reduce inequalities in Dedicated Schools Grant funding.

Awaiting answer.

What assessment she has made of the quality of the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills' (Ofsted) training materials that suggest children with autism are at increased risk of being susceptible to extremism.

Awaiting answer.

Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that the proposed Education for All Bill does not adversely impact (a) parents and (b) guardians’ legal recourse to challenge the number of hours of occupational therapy for children with Special Educational Needs.

Awaiting answer.

What steps she is taking to ensure that the proposed Education for All Bill does not adversely impact (a) parents and (b) guardians' legal recourse to appeal the details of a child’s individual Special Educational Needs and Disabilities support.

Awaiting answer.

What steps she is taking to ensure that the proposed Education for All Bill allows children in Yeovil constituency with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities to receive support from a teaching assistant when required.

Awaiting answer.

What steps she is taking to ensure that the proposed Education for All Bill does not adversely impact (a) parents and (b) guardians’ legal recourse to challenge the number of hours of speech and language therapy provided for their child.

Awaiting answer.

What steps she is taking to fund services for deaf learners in (a) Yeovil constituency (b) Somerset and (c) England.

Awaiting answer.

What steps he is taking to ensure staff working in specialist deaf education settings have access to appropriate professional (a) development and (b) support.

Awaiting answer.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of supporting educational settings in Yeovil constituency with the delivery of Romanian language.

Decisions about which languages are taught in schools are made locally. Individual schools are free to decide which languages to offer as part of their curriculum and the government does not prescribe which languages should be taught or how they should be delivered. ​ In making these decisions, schools should consider the needs and interests of the communities they serve. Commercial and free resources are available to help schools who may wish to teach Romanian.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of extending Pupil Premium funding to support 16-19-year-olds from disadvantaged backgrounds in (a) Yeovil constituency, (b) Somerset and (c) England.

Awaiting answer.

What steps she is taking to ensure that service children with SEND are included in (a) initial teacher training, (b) continuing professional development, (c) SEND practitioner training and (d) school leadership training.

Awaiting answer.

When she will provide details on how the role of the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities tribunal will be reformed.

Awaiting answer.

Whether guidance on universal screening for neurodivergence will be included in the proposed National Inclusion Standards.

The department will appoint an independent panel of experts, selected for their skills, knowledge, and professional standing, and led by health and education co-chairs, to design the National Inclusion Standards and Specialist Provision Packages.The National Inclusion Standards will set out what ordinarily available provision should be in every setting across the 0 to 25 system, as well as the evidence-based tools, strategies and approaches for educators to draw on to identify and support children and young people with additional needs, including for those who are neurodivergent.New government-backed research led by UK Research and Innovation will develop and test approaches to early identification, including screening tools, that can be embedded in education settings nationwide. Together, these measures are intended to ensure that every child receives the right support at the right time, helping them to thrive both in education and beyond.

What steps she is taking to ensure that service children with SEND are included in (a) initial teacher training, (b) continuing professional development, (c) SEND practitioner training and (d) school leadership training.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of expanding secondary school breakfast provision in (a) Yeovil constituency, (b) Somerset and (c) England.

Through our Opportunity Mission, this government will ensure that all children get the best start in life. We are committed to rolling out free breakfast clubs in all schools with primary-aged pupils, helping to build strong foundations in the first years of school. It is right that we start from supporting the youngest children.The National School Breakfast Programme (NSBP) is an inherited scheme from the previous government, providing subsidised breakfast food only to schools in disadvantaged areas via a national supplier, Family Action. This contract will end in July 2026.In November 2025, we announced that all NSBP-participating schools with primary-aged pupils had been offered a place on the free breakfast club programme from September 2026. We also confirmed that all NSBP schools with secondary-aged pupils will continue to be supported to an equivalent value for the 2026/27 academic year so that these schools can continue to offer breakfast to their pupils.Further details will be provided to these secondary schools in due course.

What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help children with special educational needs and disabilities from mobile military families access continuous specialised support at school.

As part of the consultation on the government’s special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms, I recently attended a roundtable hosted by the Armed Forces Community All-Party Parliamentary Group. I met representatives from armed forces families and the charities that support them to hear first-hand about the challenges they face.The government is consulting on its proposed SEND reforms that would support children from mobile families. We are proposing that new National Inclusion Standards will set out support that should be available in every mainstream setting, and a nationally consistent set of Specialist Provision Packages will provide comprehensive, evidence-based support for children and young people with the most complex needs underpinning education health and care (EHC) plans which will help end the postcode lottery in support. Additionally, EHC plans and new Individual Support Plans will be digital, which will support service children by facilitating smoother transitions when they move between schools or local authorities.Schools receive targeted funding through the Service Pupil Premium, with over £26 million allocated in 2026/27. The rate increased to £360 per eligible pupil in 2026. Schools can use this funding flexibly to provide pastoral, academic and transition support to mitigate the effects of mobility and parental deployment, supported by the department and Ministry of Defence’s joint guidance.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of ensuring free school meals provide (a) sustainable, (b) nutritious and (c) locally sourced food.

The action we are taking to extend free school meals to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit will ensure that over 500,000 additional children will receive a free and nutritious lunchtime meal, pulling 100,000 children out of poverty.We are consulting on proposed updates to the School Food Standards in England to ensure that all food served at school, including at breakfast and lunch, better reflects current nutritional guidance and support children’s health, wellbeing and learning. Details of this consultation are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/school-food-standards-updating-the-legislative-framework We will consider guidance for the new standards in due course.The government remains committed to our ambition that half of all food served in public settings is either locally sourced or certified to higher environmental standards and we are open to considering all lawful means of achieving this. We are working closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs as they develop the Good Food Cycle vision.