Written questions by Jogee.

What steps she is taking to support care leavers in Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency.

The department is committed to ensuring that, regardless of where they live, care leavers have access to stable housing, health services, support to build lifelong loving relationships, and opportunities in education, employment, and training.All local authorities are required to publish a local offer for care leavers. This outlines both the statutory support they are entitled to and any discretionary services the authority provides. To strengthen this, the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will make the Staying Close programme a national offer for eligible care leavers. This will require local authorities to assess whether care leavers need support to find and maintain suitable accommodation, and access services related to health, wellbeing, relationships, education, and employment, and provide that support where their welfare requires it.The Bill will also enhance the local offer by strengthening requirements around accommodation and promoting joint working between leaving care and housing teams.Local housing authorities currently owe duties to those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. To better support care leavers, the Bill removes the intentional homelessness test for eligible individuals, ensuring they receive the housing support they need without unnecessary barriers.

What steps her Department is taking to reduce the gap between the lowest and highest achievers in GCSE english performance.

On 5 February 2025, the government announced a £2 million investment to drive high and rising standards in reading and writing. We know that supporting pupils to build strong foundations in reading and writing will give them the tools to succeed in key stage 4 and beyond. Therefore, from September, building on the success of phonics, teachers will receive additional training to help children progress from the early stages of phonics in reception and year 1 through to reading fluently by the time they leave primary school. This will be delivered through the English Hubs programme.Building on this, secondary schools will get funded support to foster a strong whole-school reading culture, and in January 2026 they will get access to the Unlocking Reading programme, a continuing professional development package delivered by FFT Education on behalf of the department, aimed at boosting reading through evidence-based strategies.Ensuring pupils build strong foundations in the early years and key stage 1, and offering further guidance and support on best-practice in the teaching of reading and writing in key stage 2 and 3, will prepare pupils for GCSEs in key stage 4.

What steps her Department is taking to reduce the gap between the lowest and highest achievers in GCSE science performance.

High and rising school standards are central to the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and the key to strengthening outcomes for all children and young people. The best way of helping schools to support lower attainers and drive standards in GCSE science performance is to ensure high quality science teaching at all levels, by helping schools to recruit and retain good teachers.For those training to teach in the 2025/26 academic year, there is a bursary worth £29,000 tax-free or a scholarship worth £31,000 tax-free to train to teach high priority subjects, such as chemistry and physics. There is also a £26,000 tax-free bursary for biology.For the 2025/26 academic year, the department is also offering a targeted retention incentive, worth up to £6,000 after tax, for physics and chemistry teachers in the first five years of their careers who choose to work in disadvantaged areas. This will support recruitment and retention of specialist teachers in these subjects and in the schools and areas that need them most.The department also funds the Subject Knowledge for Physics Teaching programme, a series of blended learning courses with modules available each term to support non-specialist teachers of key stage 3 and 4 physics to enhance their subject knowledge.

What assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the article by The University of Manchester entitled Making headlines: Young people’s social media use and navigating media narratives, published on 9 June 2025.

The department notes the article published by the University of Manchester, and officials have recently discussed its content with the authors. Media literacy skills are embedded across the curriculum, including citizenship, computing, English and relationships, sex and health education, which together develop critical thinking, research skills, an understanding of the media in shaping opinion and how to be a discerning consumer of information online, including through social media.The independent Curriculum and Assessment Review’s interim report noted the rise of artificial intelligence and trends in digital information and that it is necessary that the curriculum keep pace with these changes, including a renewed focus on digital and media literacy and critical thinking skills. The Review’s final report and recommendations will be published in autumn with the government’s response.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that schools in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency and (b) Staffordshire are able to offer high quality music education through (i) the national curriculum and (ii) in music education.

As part of the government’s Opportunity Mission, the department wants to widen access to music education.Music Hubs continue to play a vital role across England, with grant funding of £76 million for the 2025/26 academic year. This includes nearly £2.2 million for the Hub partnership led by The Music Partnership, covering Shropshire, Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent, Telford and Wrekin, and includes support for schools in Newcastle-under-Lyme and wider Staffordshire.The department is also investing £2 million to support the Music Opportunities Pilot over four years, helping disadvantaged children and those with special educational needs and disabilities learn to play instruments or sing to a high standard in schools across 12 pilot areas. This includes Sir Thomas Boughey Academy in Newcastle-under-Lyme. The government established the Curriculum and Assessment Review to seek to deliver a rich, broad, inclusive and innovative curriculum, including music. The final report and government response will be published this autumn. Following this, we will legislate so that academies will teach the reformed national curriculum, alongside maintained schools. This will ensure music is an entitlement for pupils in every state-funded school.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure more students from less affluent areas are taught by trained maths teachers.

Recruiting and retaining high-quality teachers is critical to the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity. This is why the government’s Plan for Change has committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 new expert teachers in secondary and special schools and in our colleges, over the course of this Parliament.The department has announced an initial teacher training financial incentives package for the 2025/26 recruitment cycle worth £233 million, including bursaries worth £29,000 tax-free and scholarships worth £31,000 tax-free mathematics.For 2024/25 and 2025/26, mathematics teachers in the first five years of their careers who choose to work in disadvantaged schools will also receive a targeted retention incentive worth up to £6,000 after tax.Our High Potential Initial Teacher Training (HPITT) programme, delivered by Teach First, specifically supports schools in disadvantaged communities to recruit the teachers they need. Over the last three cohorts in 2022, 2023 and 2024, an average of 82% of HPITT participants across all subjects have been placed in disadvantaged schools.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of increasing the breadth of subjects students study at A-Level on (a) life chances, (b) employability and (c) the economy.

High and rising school standards are at the heart of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give children and young people the best life chances. The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, covering ages 5 to 18, chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE.The Review aims to ensure that the assessment system captures the strengths of every child and young person and the breadth of curriculum and prepare children with the skills for future life and work.The independent Review’s interim report sets out that many areas of the curriculum and assessment system are working well, including A levels.During the panel’s next phase of work, it is addressing subject-specific challenges, aiming to ensure a rich, broad, inclusive and innovative curriculum that readies young people for life and work.The Review’s final report and recommendations will be published in autumn, at which point the government will respond.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the current maths curriculum in the context of increasing demand for data skills.

​High and rising standards across education, from early years to adulthood, are the key to unlocking stronger outcomes and a better future for children and young people. Our new regional improvement for standards and excellence (RISE) teams are now working closely with schools, including Maths Hubs to sharing best practice and put in place targeted plans to drive-up performance in schools needing extra support.The department funded, school-led network of Maths Hubs across both primary and secondary schools, focusses on reducing attainment gaps by providing school-to-school support with mathematics subject knowledge and pedagogy training for teachers. In addition, the department funds the Maths Champions programme working with early years settings to boost young children’s basic number skills, and the Advanced Mathematics Support Programme supporting disadvantaged students with an aptitude for mathematics to go on to further study.The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, covering ages 5 to 18, chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE. The Review is closely examining the key challenges to attainment for young people and the barriers which hold children back from the opportunities and life chances they deserve, to help us ensure high standards for all. The Review’s interim report, published in March, recognised the need for the curriculum to respond to social and technological change, including to consider what opportunities might be offered around the rise of artificial intelligence and trends in digital information demand.Please note that in the context of international standings in PISA tests, this response extends only to England as education is a devolved matter.

What steps her Department is taking to reduce the gap between the lowest and highest achievers in GCSE maths performance.

​High and rising standards across education, from early years to adulthood, are the key to unlocking stronger outcomes and a better future for children and young people. Our new regional improvement for standards and excellence (RISE) teams are now working closely with schools, including Maths Hubs to sharing best practice and put in place targeted plans to drive-up performance in schools needing extra support.The department funded, school-led network of Maths Hubs across both primary and secondary schools, focusses on reducing attainment gaps by providing school-to-school support with mathematics subject knowledge and pedagogy training for teachers. In addition, the department funds the Maths Champions programme working with early years settings to boost young children’s basic number skills, and the Advanced Mathematics Support Programme supporting disadvantaged students with an aptitude for mathematics to go on to further study.The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, covering ages 5 to 18, chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE. The Review is closely examining the key challenges to attainment for young people and the barriers which hold children back from the opportunities and life chances they deserve, to help us ensure high standards for all. The Review’s interim report, published in March, recognised the need for the curriculum to respond to social and technological change, including to consider what opportunities might be offered around the rise of artificial intelligence and trends in digital information demand.Please note that in the context of international standings in PISA tests, this response extends only to England as education is a devolved matter.

What steps her Department is taking to improve the UK’s PISA mathematics performance.

​High and rising standards across education, from early years to adulthood, are the key to unlocking stronger outcomes and a better future for children and young people. Our new regional improvement for standards and excellence (RISE) teams are now working closely with schools, including Maths Hubs to sharing best practice and put in place targeted plans to drive-up performance in schools needing extra support.The department funded, school-led network of Maths Hubs across both primary and secondary schools, focusses on reducing attainment gaps by providing school-to-school support with mathematics subject knowledge and pedagogy training for teachers. In addition, the department funds the Maths Champions programme working with early years settings to boost young children’s basic number skills, and the Advanced Mathematics Support Programme supporting disadvantaged students with an aptitude for mathematics to go on to further study.The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, covering ages 5 to 18, chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE. The Review is closely examining the key challenges to attainment for young people and the barriers which hold children back from the opportunities and life chances they deserve, to help us ensure high standards for all. The Review’s interim report, published in March, recognised the need for the curriculum to respond to social and technological change, including to consider what opportunities might be offered around the rise of artificial intelligence and trends in digital information demand.Please note that in the context of international standings in PISA tests, this response extends only to England as education is a devolved matter.

What assessment she has made of the link between trends in the number of international students and the number of courses at universities.

This government’s position on international students is clear. We are committed to a United Kingdom that is outward looking and welcomes international students who make a positive impact on the UK’s higher education (HE) sector, our economy and society as a whole.The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects and publishes data on student enrolments across UK HE providers.Counts of student enrolments in UK HE providers by permanent address are published in Table 1 of HESA’s Student Data and can be accessed here: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/table-1.

What recent steps she has taken to support universities with funding challenges.

To support universities in stabilising their financial positions, the Office for Students (OfS) will continue dedicating significant resources to ensuring the sector's financial sustainability. The department has appointed Professor Edward Peck as the substantive Chair of the OfS, where he will play a key role in strengthening this commitment while also expanding opportunities in higher education (HE).Additionally, we have made the difficult decision to increase tuition fee limits by 3.1% for the 2025/26 academic year, aligning with inflation.The department will outline its plans for HE reform in the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper, set to be published this summer.

What recent steps she has taken to encourage youth democracy in schools in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (b) Staffordshire.

Democracy forms a central part of the national curriculum for citizenship at key stages 3 and 4. Primary schools can choose to teach citizenship at key stages 1 and 2, following the non-statutory framework for citizenship.Schools have considerable flexibility to organise the content and delivery of their curriculum and enrichment programme, including to suit their local context. This can include providing opportunities for pupil participation in democratic processes, subject to schools meeting their obligations to ensure political balance.UK Parliament run educational tours for pupils, youth and community groups to see how Parliament works in action. UK Parliament also produce resources which can be downloaded or ordered for free, tailored to different age groups.The Department for Culture, Media and Sport funds the UK Youth Parliament (UKYP) to support young people to engage in the democratic process. Every two years, the UKYP runs ‘Make Your Mark’, a youth vote open to all 11 to 18 year-olds in the UK, for them to be able to vote on what are the most important issues for young people.

What her priorities are for the Education World Forum.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education was pleased to host the Education World Forum in London from 18 to 21 May, with over 140 education and skills Ministers from around the world joining. The forum supports the government’s priorities and our Growth and Opportunity Missions through engaging with international Ministers and showcasing our international education strengths and offer. It is a key opportunity to demonstrate UK government leadership in this area and a valuable soft power event.The theme of this year’s event, ‘From stability to growth: Building stronger, bolder better education together’, allowed us to discuss and learn from each other across multiple priority areas in education such as artificial intelligence and technology in education, skills for the future, early years, and special educational needs and disabilities, among many others.

If she will meet with the hon. Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme to discuss the merits of ensuring the skills required for the ceramics industry are met through (a) the national curriculum and (b) her plan for apprenticeships.

The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, covering ages 5 to 18. The Review is looking at all subjects and wants to ensure a rich, broad, inclusive and innovative curriculum that readies young people for life and work. The Review’s final report and recommendations will be published in the autumn, at which point the government will respond.The department will continue to support learners who wish to have a career in the ceramic industry through its technical education offer, with a range of qualifications available including T Levels, where there is an option to specialise in ceramic making, and apprenticeships.Employers have developed the level 3 craft technician apprenticeship standard, which includes a ceramicist option. The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) is working to agree an end-point assessment organisation to enable starts onto this standard. IfATE’s functions will shortly transfer to my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education to be implemented in future by Skills England.

What steps she plans to take with (a) Skills England and (b) Technical Excellence Colleges to support the provision of high-quality technical education by Institutes of Technology.

Skills England will work with Technical Excellence Colleges (TECs) and Institutes of Technology (IoTs) to ensure they are supported in delivering the skills that local employers need, as aligned to the needs of national priority sectors.The government will transform further education colleges into specialist TECs to deliver the priority skills needed by employers to help drive economic growth at local and national level. This starts with £100 million, announced as part of a wider construction skills package, to establish ten construction TECs, with one in every English region to deliver the skills required to support the government’s Plan for Change in building 1.5 million homes by the end of this Parliament. TECs will work with IoTs as part of wider sectoral collaboration to ensure skills gaps across regions are addressed and the skills employers need to grow the economy are delivered.

What steps Skills England plans to take with Institutes of Technology to (a) coordinate technical education and (b) ensure that regional skills needs are met.

As part of its work with employers, providers and others across the skills system, Skills England will enable Institutes of Technology (IoTs) to support the delivery of skills local employers need, as aligned to the needs of national priority sectors.Skills England will work with mayoral strategic authorities and other forms of regional government and local organisations, such as employer representative bodies, to ensure that regional and national skills needs are met. Skills England will oversee the Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs) programme, including where LSIPs have identified IoTs’ role in meeting local skills needs.Skills England will continue to set out evidence and insights into skills gaps in the economy, building on the publication of its first report in September 2024.

What steps she is taking to ensure the effective distribution of funding for technical education to meet the needs of (a) students and (b) employers in (i) all and (ii) high-demand sectors.

16 to 19 funding enables students to take part in study programmes, which includes technical qualifications, or T levels. The department uses the 16 to 19 funding formula to calculate an allocation of funding to each institution, in each academic year, based on volumes and characteristics of students and their programmes. Additional funding is also available via the high value courses premium to encourage and support delivery of selected level 3 study programmes and T Levels.Additionally, in the 2025/26 academic year, the adult skills fund will be 68% devolved to mayoral strategic authorities. These authorities have autonomy in deciding how to use their funding to make decisions that are best for their areas. In non-devolved areas, the department uses five funding bands that reflect, amongst other considerations, the cost of the provision involved and skill needs of the economy.My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, also committed over £600 million over the Parliament to deliver up to 60,000 skilled construction workers, supporting the government’s infrastructure and housebuilding priorities. This includes additional funding to deliver more construction courses, skills bootcamps, foundation apprenticeships, industry placements, and the establishment of ten new Technical Excellence Colleges.

What steps her Department plans to take to encourage small and medium businesses to take up technical education opportunities; and if she will take steps to consult with those businesses on shaping the curriculum.

The department continues to support small and medium businesses to benefit from a range of technical education opportunities including apprenticeships, T Level industry placements, Higher Technical Qualifications, and Skills Bootcamps.For example, on T Levels we are actively engaging small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through our T Level Ambassador network and raising awareness and support of industry placements, including a new Employer Support Fund to help SMEs meet delivery costs, and on apprenticeships we pay full training costs for non-levy paying employers for young apprentices under the age of 22 and provide £1000 payments to employers who take on young apprentices under the age of 19.Employers are playing a more strategic role in the skills system, through working with providers, including through local skills improvement plans where they can help shape local curriculum offers and become more actively involved in the planning, design and delivery of further education provision.Skills England will work with employers to identify and fill skills gaps and build the highly trained workforce that employers need, delivering the national, regional and local skills needs of the next decade.

What steps she plans to take to ensure that the amount of funding available for technical education is aligned with the skills requirements for key industries.

Over £7.5 billion of funding for the 16 to 19 programme is being invested during the 2024/25 academic year, with funding available via the High Value Courses Premium to encourage and support the delivery of level 3 study programmes and T Levels in priority subject areas.Programme cost weightings support the delivery of higher cost vocational subject areas, which are often also areas of high value to the economy.Additionally, the department will provide approximately £1.4 billion in funding for the Adult Skills Fund (ASF) in the 2025/26 academic year and will have devolved 68% of the ASF to mayoral strategic authorities. These authorities have autonomy in deciding how to use their funding to make decisions that are best for their areas. In non-devolved areas, the department uses five funding bands that reflect, amongst other considerations, the cost of the provision involved and skills needs.My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, also committed over £600 million over the Parliament to deliver up to 60,000 skilled construction workers, supporting the government’s infrastructure and housebuilding priorities. This includes additional funding to deliver more construction courses, skills bootcamps, foundation apprenticeships, industry placements and the establishment of ten new Technical Excellence Colleges.