Written questions by Khan.

What action she is taking to support school teachers who are responsible for administering healthcare to students with medical conditions.

Awaiting answer.

When she expects joint non-statutory guidance from the Department for Education, the Department for Health and Social Care and the NHS on how clinical healthcare is delivered in schools to be published.

Awaiting answer.

What steps her Department is taking to support local authorities with the provision of Education Otherwise Than At School.

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

What discussions she has had with the Association of Colleges on pay increases for further education staff.

Further education (FE) teachers are central to delivering high quality technical education. Last year, we announced an additional £190 million to help colleges and other 16-19 providers address the recruitment and retention of specialist FE teachers. In addition, our targeted retention incentive offer is designed to retain eligible FE teachers in technical subjects with payments of up to £6,000 after tax. In its first year, nearly 6,000 teachers received a payment.My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and my noble Friend, the Minister for Skills have regular engagement with FE stakeholders including the Association of Colleges (AoC) on a range of issues, including matters pertaining to funding. FE pay remains a matter for individual colleges supported by the National Joint Forum, the AoC’s national bargaining arrangements.

What recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing parity of pay between teachers in further education colleges and sixth forms.

Further education (FE) teachers are central to delivering high quality technical education. Last year, we announced an additional £190 million to help colleges and other 16-19 providers address the recruitment and retention of specialist FE teachers. In addition, our targeted retention incentive offer is designed to retain eligible FE teachers in technical subjects with payments of up to £6,000 after tax. In its first year, nearly 6,000 teachers received a payment.My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and my noble Friend, the Minister for Skills have regular engagement with FE stakeholders including the Association of Colleges (AoC) on a range of issues, including matters pertaining to funding. FE pay remains a matter for individual colleges supported by the National Joint Forum, the AoC’s national bargaining arrangements.

What steps her department is taking to support autistic students with Pathological Demand Avoidance in mainstream school settings.

I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Manchester Rusholme, to the answer of 15 April 2026 to Question 121149.

What recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of trends in the prevalence of child morning hunger in (a) early years, (b) primary and (c) secondary school settings in England on school (i) readiness and (ii) attendance.

The department appreciates the publication of the report and look forward to giving it our full consideration. This government is committed to tackling child poverty and delivering meaningful action to support children and families. The removal of the two child limit on Universal Credit will lift 450,000 children out of poverty, rising to around 550,000 alongside other measures set out in our Child Poverty Strategy, such as the expansion of free school meals. These interventions will lead to the largest expected reduction in child poverty over a Parliament since comparable records began.We recognise the importance of a healthy breakfast at the start of the day for pupils and the impact this can have on attendance and readiness to learn. This is why we are rolling out free breakfast clubs in every state-funded school with primary-aged pupils in England, so that all children can have the best start in life. Since April 2025, the programme has delivered seven million meals to almost 180,000 pupils across the country. We are investing a further £80 million to fund approximately 2,000 additional schools between April 2026 and March 2027.

What assessment her department has made of the potential impact on schools of ongoing uncertainty around future national funding for physical education and school sports.

I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Manchester Rusholme, to the answer of 03 March 2026 to Question 115304.

Whether she plans to include mandatory training on the climate emergency within Initial Teacher Training and the Early Career Framework.

The Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework (ITTECF) is universal and designed to work for all new teachers regardless of subject, phase, or school. Whilst the ITTECF underpins what all new teachers should learn, it is not a curriculum. Training providers and schools can design a curriculum based on the ITTECF and which is responsive to the needs of the participants and individual school settings. Beyond the ITTECF, decisions relating to teachers’ professional development rest with schools, headteachers, and teachers themselves as they are in the best position to judge their own requirements. We recognise that continuous improvement is essential in transforming the training and support for all new teachers, and to review the experiences and needs of early career teachers as well as trainees. This is why we have committed to a full review of the programme in 2027 to ensure it continues to provide the best possible support for trainees and early career teachers.

If she will make an assessment of the adequacy of levels of inclusion of climate change and environmental sustainability in the national curriculum beyond geography and science subjects.

Young people have consistently expressed a strong desire for more education on climate change, nature and sustainability. Teachers have also highlighted that limited visibility and emphasis on climate topics in the national curriculum has made it difficult to develop effective provision in this area.Climate education was already present in the science and geography curricula. The Curriculum and Assessment Review recommended stronger climate education and sustainability content across the curriculum, with detailed engagement and earlier sequencing with climate education in subjects such as geography, science, design and technology and citizenship.Work is now underway to embed content on climate change, nature and sustainability across the curriculum and sequence knowledge throughout the key stages.Funding is already committed for the National Education Nature Park to provide curriculum-linked activities and resources for all key stages, and for supporting climate action plans via the Climate Ambassador Programme and Sustainability Support for Education. Climate action plans encourage settings from early years to further education to consider how they take a holistic approach to climate across four key pillars of adaptation, biodiversity, curriculum and decarbonisation.

Whether she plans to introduce targets and funding commitments for climate education across all key stages.

Young people have consistently expressed a strong desire for more education on climate change, nature and sustainability. Teachers have also highlighted that limited visibility and emphasis on climate topics in the national curriculum has made it difficult to develop effective provision in this area.Climate education was already present in the science and geography curricula. The Curriculum and Assessment Review recommended stronger climate education and sustainability content across the curriculum, with detailed engagement and earlier sequencing with climate education in subjects such as geography, science, design and technology and citizenship.Work is now underway to embed content on climate change, nature and sustainability across the curriculum and sequence knowledge throughout the key stages.Funding is already committed for the National Education Nature Park to provide curriculum-linked activities and resources for all key stages, and for supporting climate action plans via the Climate Ambassador Programme and Sustainability Support for Education. Climate action plans encourage settings from early years to further education to consider how they take a holistic approach to climate across four key pillars of adaptation, biodiversity, curriculum and decarbonisation.

Whether she plans to conduct a review of collective worship in schools in England.

Collective worship remains an important part of school life, supporting pupils to reflect on the concept of belief and the role it plays in our country’s traditions and values. Schools in England already have flexibility in how they meet this requirement and can deliver collective worship or assemblies in ways that reflect the diverse needs of their pupils and local communities. Students over 16 and parents of younger pupils also retain the right of withdrawal from collective worship.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of including humanism as part of the national curriculum on religious education.

The department recognises that non-religious worldviews, including humanism, can play an important role in supporting pupils’ understanding of beliefs and values. Religious education (RE) is not part of the national curriculum but is a mandatory subject for all pupils aged 5 to 18 in state-funded schools in England. Schools should deliver RE in an objective, critical and pluralistic way and already have the flexibility, through their locally agreed syllabuses, to include the study of non-religious world views such as humanism. The department welcomes the Curriculum and Assessment Review’s recommendation that Vanessa Ogden, a former review panellist specialising in RE, should lead a sector group, independent from government, to develop a draft RE curriculum. We expect that the sector group’s work on RE will reflect the role the subject plays in building understanding between people of different faiths, beliefs and communities, including those with non-religious world views. If the group reaches consensus on a draft curriculum, the government will consult on whether to add it to the national curriculum.

What assessment she has made of the recommendations set out in the Law Commission's review of disabled children’s social care law, published on 16 September 2025.

On 16 September 2025, the Law Commission published its final report following an extensive review of the legal framework governing social care for disabled children in England, commissioned by the department in April 2023. The report sets out 40 recommendations aimed at improving how the law operates, with a focus on simplifying and strengthening the system to better support disabled children and their families. In line with the Protocol agreed between the Lord Chancellor and the Law Commission, the department is expected to provide an initial response to these recommendations within six months of publication, and a full response within one year. This full response will set out which recommendations have been accepted, rejected or will be accepted in a modified form. It may also include a timeline for implementation. We will have regard to the views outlined in the report and we will engage relevant stakeholders at appropriate points as we consider our response.

What steps her Department is taking to support students with special educational needs and disabilities.

By prioritising early intervention, training and inclusive support in mainstream schools, while ensuring special schools can support the most complex needs, we are expanding the capacity to deliver timely, consistent, high quality special educational needs and disabilities provision.We are engaging with children, parents and experts on wider reforms.

Whether she plans to take legislative steps to guarantee the right to SEN support for children with and without Education, Health and Care Plans.

This government inherited a special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system that has failed to meet the needs of families for far too long. This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with SEND receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.We will build a better system which is grounded in evidence, identifies and supports need at the earliest opportunity and ensures families can secure support swiftly and easily. There will always be a legal right to additional support for children and young people with SEND.The department is continuing to engage closely with children, parents and experts as we develop plans to ensure all children and young people get the outcomes and life chances they deserve. We will be setting out further steps later this year.

What steps she is taking to require educational leaders to take steps to narrow the gap between (a) disabled and (b) nondisabled children’s holistic experience of education.

We have been clear that a more inclusive education system is needed to give children and young people opportunities they need to achieve and thrive. All schools have a duty to support children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).Settings are held to account for their support for pupils with SEND through Ofsted, who are focusing on inclusion in their new approach to inspection. Their renewed education inspection framework sets out expectations for how leaders should be aware of and responsive to some pupils’ increased need for help and protection, including those with SEND.There remains a crucial role for special schools, not only in supporting children and young people with particularly complex needs, but also in building capability across the system.

What steps she is taking to ensure that schools are not financially disincentivised from admitting students with SEND.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. The department is providing an increase of £1 billion for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year.We are continuing to engage closely with children, parents and experts as we develop plans to ensure all children get the outcomes and life chances they deserve. We are engaging with experts, teachers, parents and young people on wider reforms and are keeping the funding arrangements under review to help ensure that mainstream schools are inclusive for children with SEND. It is important that we establish a fair school funding system that directs funding to where it is needed and that does not inadvertently disincentivise schools from admitting and retaining pupils with SEND.

What steps her Department is taking to help support local authorities to (a) simplify and (b) standardise the process for accessing (i) SEND funding and (ii) Education, Health, and Care Plans in early years settings.

As part of our strategy to give every child the best start in life, the department is committed to make it easier for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to access early education and childcare by investing in the support available to them in the early years and improving the way funding is distributed to providers.New early years inclusion funding will give providers additional resources to support inclusion and early intervention, helping to prevent needs from escalating. The department will work with local authorities to reduce bureaucracy, encourage greater consistency and ensure that support reaches the children who need it quickly.The department works closely with local authorities where education, health and care plan timeliness is a concern, supporting them to identify challenges and put in place effective recovery plans. This includes specialist SEND adviser support where needed.Further details of the government's intended approach to SEND reform, including for the early years, will be set out in a Schools White Paper in the autumn.

What steps her Department is taking to help ensure the delivery of comprehensive SEND training in early years qualification routes.

Through our Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life strategy, the department will make inclusive practice standard practice in the early years by embedding an inclusive approach in our workforce education, training and leadership opportunities.In 2023 the Early Years Educator level 3 qualification criteria were updated following a consultation with the sector. The new criteria include special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision as a standalone criterion, ensuring that there is now a greater focus on supporting children with SEND.The department is funding training for 1,000 early years Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators (SENCOs) to achieve their level 3 Early Years SENCO qualification by the end of the 2025/26 financial year, having already funded training for up to 7,000 early years SENCOs in previous years.We have also published new resources, including a free online training module and SEND assessment guidance, to help early educators to identify, assess and support children in their settings.