Written questions by Pinkerton.

What requirements are placed on schools to (a) monitor, (b) record, or (c) report how Pupil Premium Plus funding allocated for adopted children is spent.

The pupil premium grant provides funding to schools to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils. ‘Pupil premium plus’ (PP+) refers to the portion of the grant for children who are looked-after by the local authority or were previously looked-after by a local authority or other state care.The pupil premium Conditions of Grant set out that maintained schools and academies must publish annual strategy statements setting out their planned use of pupil premium. Governors and trustees should scrutinise schools’ strategy statements, including their plans for and use of their pupil premium grant and the outcomes achieved in the previous academic year.Pupil premium funding, including PP+, is not a personal budget for individual pupils. It is for schools to decide how to allocate the funding, after assessing the needs of their disadvantaged cohort, including looked after and previously looked after children. Pupil premium guidance supports school leaders to use their funding effectively. This guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-allocations-and-conditions-of-grant-2025-to-2026/pupil-premium-conditions-of-grant-for-the-2025-to-2026-financial-year.Designated teachers statutory guidance is clear that the school’s designated teacher should ensure the specific needs of the PP+ cohort are understood by the school’s staff and reflected in how the school uses PP+ to support these children. They should use parents and guardians’ insights to support decisions on how the PP+ is used. This guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/designated-teacher-for-looked-after-children.An evaluation of pupil premium was published in March 2025. This included findings that 58% of schools and 70% of trusts identify looked-after children as one of the groups who most benefit from pupil premium funding. This evaluation can be accessed at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67dd5b7f0114b0b86e59f42b/Pupil_premium_and_recovery_premium_evaluation.pdf.

What evaluation her Department has undertaken of the effectiveness of Pupil Premium Plus funding in improving educational and wellbeing outcomes for adopted children.

The pupil premium grant provides funding to schools to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils. ‘Pupil premium plus’ (PP+) refers to the portion of the grant for children who are looked-after by the local authority or were previously looked-after by a local authority or other state care.The pupil premium Conditions of Grant set out that maintained schools and academies must publish annual strategy statements setting out their planned use of pupil premium. Governors and trustees should scrutinise schools’ strategy statements, including their plans for and use of their pupil premium grant and the outcomes achieved in the previous academic year.Pupil premium funding, including PP+, is not a personal budget for individual pupils. It is for schools to decide how to allocate the funding, after assessing the needs of their disadvantaged cohort, including looked after and previously looked after children. Pupil premium guidance supports school leaders to use their funding effectively. This guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-allocations-and-conditions-of-grant-2025-to-2026/pupil-premium-conditions-of-grant-for-the-2025-to-2026-financial-year.Designated teachers statutory guidance is clear that the school’s designated teacher should ensure the specific needs of the PP+ cohort are understood by the school’s staff and reflected in how the school uses PP+ to support these children. They should use parents and guardians’ insights to support decisions on how the PP+ is used. This guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/designated-teacher-for-looked-after-children.An evaluation of pupil premium was published in March 2025. This included findings that 58% of schools and 70% of trusts identify looked-after children as one of the groups who most benefit from pupil premium funding. This evaluation can be accessed at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67dd5b7f0114b0b86e59f42b/Pupil_premium_and_recovery_premium_evaluation.pdf.

What guidance is issued to schools on engaging adoptive parents in decisions relating to the use of Pupil Premium Plus funding for their children.

The pupil premium grant provides funding to schools to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils. ‘Pupil premium plus’ (PP+) refers to the portion of the grant for children who are looked-after by the local authority or were previously looked-after by a local authority or other state care.The pupil premium Conditions of Grant set out that maintained schools and academies must publish annual strategy statements setting out their planned use of pupil premium. Governors and trustees should scrutinise schools’ strategy statements, including their plans for and use of their pupil premium grant and the outcomes achieved in the previous academic year.Pupil premium funding, including PP+, is not a personal budget for individual pupils. It is for schools to decide how to allocate the funding, after assessing the needs of their disadvantaged cohort, including looked after and previously looked after children. Pupil premium guidance supports school leaders to use their funding effectively. This guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-allocations-and-conditions-of-grant-2025-to-2026/pupil-premium-conditions-of-grant-for-the-2025-to-2026-financial-year.Designated teachers statutory guidance is clear that the school’s designated teacher should ensure the specific needs of the PP+ cohort are understood by the school’s staff and reflected in how the school uses PP+ to support these children. They should use parents and guardians’ insights to support decisions on how the PP+ is used. This guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/designated-teacher-for-looked-after-children.An evaluation of pupil premium was published in March 2025. This included findings that 58% of schools and 70% of trusts identify looked-after children as one of the groups who most benefit from pupil premium funding. This evaluation can be accessed at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67dd5b7f0114b0b86e59f42b/Pupil_premium_and_recovery_premium_evaluation.pdf.

What steps her Department is taking to educate schoolchildren about the dangers of radicalisation ideologies online.

The department has strengthened statutory guidance on ‘Keeping children safe in education’ to address online safety, and has updated the relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) curriculum to strengthen teaching on online safety, wellbeing, and misogyny. We support teachers on how to do this with freely available resources and will pilot a teacher support grant in 2026 – to build a workforce that is equipped and empowered to take on these challenges. The department also provides comprehensive guidance and resources through the Educate Against Hate website, helping teachers protect children from extremism and radicalisation. Media literacy is embedded in compulsory subjects such as RSHE, computing, and citizenship, equipping pupils to navigate online relationships, identify harms, and critically assess information. To address misogynistic radicalisation, we have published guides to build confidence and manage difficult conversations on incels, the manosphere, and algorithms. We are investing an additional £11 million to support the Violence Against Women and Girls strategy and will be piloting three programmes to support teachers implement the RSHE curriculum in the best possible way; to encourage healthy relationships in children; and to tackle harmful sexual behaviours.

What assessment her Department has made of the capacity of schools to implement additional (a) safeguarding and (b) behavioural intervention responsibilities in (i) Surrey and (ii) Surrey Heath constituency.

Safeguarding children in schools is an absolute priority for this government, and all schools, including those in Surrey Heath, have a critical role to play in protecting children and keeping them safe. We support them to do this via the statutory guidance ‘Keeping children Safe In Education’ (KCSIE), to which all schools and colleges must have regard when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children The guidance provides a strong safeguarding framework and is clear on the actions a school or college should take if there are any concerns about a child or young person’s wellbeing and/or safety. This includes child-on-child sexual violence and harassment In particular, Part 5 of this guidance provides robust guidance on managing reports of child-on-child sexual violence and sexual harassment and provides advice on a whole-school approach to preventing abuse. In addition, all schools are required by law to have a behaviour policy which outlines effective strategies that will encourage good behaviour. It is for school leaders to develop and implement a policy that works for their own schools and school community. The department publishes guidance to support school leaders and staff to help manage behaviour, including ‘Behaviour in Schools’, ‘Suspension and Permanent Exclusion’, ‘Searching, Screening and Confiscation’, and ‘Mobile Phones in School’.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the resources available to schools to ensure safeguarding incidents involving peer-on-peer abuse are addressed in schools in Surrey Heath constituency.

Safeguarding children in schools is an absolute priority for this government, and all schools, including those in Surrey Heath, have a critical role to play in protecting children and keeping them safe. We support them to do this via the statutory guidance ‘Keeping children Safe In Education’ (KCSIE), to which all schools and colleges must have regard when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children The guidance provides a strong safeguarding framework and is clear on the actions a school or college should take if there are any concerns about a child or young person’s wellbeing and/or safety. This includes child-on-child sexual violence and harassment In particular, Part 5 of this guidance provides robust guidance on managing reports of child-on-child sexual violence and sexual harassment and provides advice on a whole-school approach to preventing abuse. In addition, all schools are required by law to have a behaviour policy which outlines effective strategies that will encourage good behaviour. It is for school leaders to develop and implement a policy that works for their own schools and school community. The department publishes guidance to support school leaders and staff to help manage behaviour, including ‘Behaviour in Schools’, ‘Suspension and Permanent Exclusion’, ‘Searching, Screening and Confiscation’, and ‘Mobile Phones in School’.

What steps her Department is taking to assess the impact of Relationships Education on pupils' (a) attitudes and (b) behaviour in Surrey Heath constituency.

The ‘Freedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls’, published on 18 December 2025, sets out the strategic direction and concrete actions to prevent violence and abuse, pursue perpetrators, and support victims, and to deliver the department’s unprecedented commitment to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. We have committed to investing £3 million in a teacher training fund over the next two years to ensure that the new relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) curriculum has the greatest impact and £5 million to pilot healthy relationships training delivered by external providers. We have already published updated guidance for RSHE, which includes a focus on developing skills for healthy relationships from the beginning of primary school, and equipping children with the tools to tackle harmful influences. Pupils will have opportunities to develop positive conceptions of masculinity and femininity, and at secondary, to understand the harmful impacts of misogynistic online content, including pornography. We will be doing a full evaluation of our pilots to ensure we can embed best practice.

What guidance her Department will issue to secondary schools on addressing (a) harmful or (b) misogynistic attitudes among pupils in Surrey Heath constituency.

The ‘Freedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls’, published on 18 December 2025, sets out the strategic direction and concrete actions to prevent violence and abuse, pursue perpetrators, and support victims, and to deliver the department’s unprecedented commitment to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. We have committed to investing £3 million in a teacher training fund over the next two years to ensure that the new relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) curriculum has the greatest impact and £5 million to pilot healthy relationships training delivered by external providers. We have already published updated guidance for RSHE, which includes a focus on developing skills for healthy relationships from the beginning of primary school, and equipping children with the tools to tackle harmful influences. Pupils will have opportunities to develop positive conceptions of masculinity and femininity, and at secondary, to understand the harmful impacts of misogynistic online content, including pornography. We will be doing a full evaluation of our pilots to ensure we can embed best practice.

What training is available to teachers to support discussions with pupils on (a) consent and (b) respectful relationships in Surrey Heath constituency.

The ‘Freedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls’, published on 18 December 2025, sets out the strategic direction and concrete actions to prevent violence and abuse, pursue perpetrators, and support victims, and to deliver the department’s unprecedented commitment to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. We have committed to investing £3 million in a teacher training fund over the next two years to ensure that the new relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) curriculum has the greatest impact and £5 million to pilot healthy relationships training delivered by external providers. We have already published updated guidance for RSHE, which includes a focus on developing skills for healthy relationships from the beginning of primary school, and equipping children with the tools to tackle harmful influences. Pupils will have opportunities to develop positive conceptions of masculinity and femininity, and at secondary, to understand the harmful impacts of misogynistic online content, including pornography. We will be doing a full evaluation of our pilots to ensure we can embed best practice.

What steps her Department is taking to reduce misogynistic attitudes amongst pupils in schools in Surrey Heath constituency.

The ‘Freedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls’, published on 18 December 2025, sets out the strategic direction and concrete actions to prevent violence and abuse, pursue perpetrators, and support victims, and to deliver the department’s unprecedented commitment to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. We have committed to investing £3 million in a teacher training fund over the next two years to ensure that the new relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) curriculum has the greatest impact and £5 million to pilot healthy relationships training delivered by external providers. We have already published updated guidance for RSHE, which includes a focus on developing skills for healthy relationships from the beginning of primary school, and equipping children with the tools to tackle harmful influences. Pupils will have opportunities to develop positive conceptions of masculinity and femininity, and at secondary, to understand the harmful impacts of misogynistic online content, including pornography. We will be doing a full evaluation of our pilots to ensure we can embed best practice.

What steps her Department is taking to support schools to teach about healthy relationships in (a) Surrey and (b) Surrey Heath constituency.

The ‘Freedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls’, published on 18 December 2025, sets out the strategic direction and concrete actions to prevent violence and abuse, pursue perpetrators, and support victims, and to deliver the department’s unprecedented commitment to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. We have committed to investing £3 million in a teacher training fund over the next two years to ensure that the new relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) curriculum has the greatest impact and £5 million to pilot healthy relationships training delivered by external providers. We have already published updated guidance for RSHE, which includes a focus on developing skills for healthy relationships from the beginning of primary school, and equipping children with the tools to tackle harmful influences. Pupils will have opportunities to develop positive conceptions of masculinity and femininity, and at secondary, to understand the harmful impacts of misogynistic online content, including pornography. We will be doing a full evaluation of our pilots to ensure we can embed best practice.

What recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of rejoining the Erasmus student exchange scheme on (a) society and (b) culture.

Erasmus+ opens up high quality international opportunities for learners and educators, helping to build skills, confidence, and global outlook while strengthening UK institutions through partnerships and innovation.It supports inclusion and economic growth by developing a globally aware, highly skilled workforce and fostering cultural exchange that benefits communities and the wider education system.

How much of the announced SEND funding will be allocated to Surrey County Council.

In December, the department announced at least £3 billion for high needs capital between 2026/27 and 2029/30 to support children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities or who require alternative provision. We will confirm local authority allocations for this funding in the spring. This builds on the £740 million invested in 2025/26. which is on track to create around 10,000 new specialist places, of which Surrey Council was allocated just over £16 million for 2025/26. This funding is intended to create facilities within mainstream schools that can deliver more intensive support adapted to suit the pupils’ needs. It can also be used to adapt mainstream schools to be more accessible and create special school places for pupils with the most complex needs.

What guidance her Department provides to local authorities on reviewing care plans where new diagnoses of (a) special educational needs, (b) disabilities or (c) neurodevelopmental conditions are identified after a child has entered foster care.

The department has published a comprehensive suite of guidance to ensure that children in care have their needs identified and supported, as part of a dynamic and continuous cycle of care planning. This includes:The Children Act 1989 guidance, Volume 2.Promoting the health and wellbeing of looked-after children (joint Department for Education and Department of Health and Social Care guidance).Promoting the educational outcomes of looked-after children.The Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice. As part of this, each child must have a care plan, bringing together information from assessment across the dimensions of their developmental needs, incorporating a health plan and a personal education plan. Reviews must occur within 20 days of entering care, again within three months, and at least every six months thereafter, and can be brought forward if circumstances change significantly, including to account for significant health, medical events, or diagnoses.

What recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of college provision for construction courses in Surrey Heath constituency.

We have established 10 Construction Technical Excellence Colleges (CTECs), one for each region of the country and one cross-regional CTEC. These CTECs will work with all construction providers and other key stakeholders across their region to deliver on the objectives of the CTEC programme, which includes boosting construction skills provision in direct response to local and national employer needs.North Kent College is the CTEC for the south-east and will be working across the region to deliver on the objectives of the programme.We recognise that many colleges have waiting lists for construction courses, so the department is investing £195 million capital funding announced as part of the construction skills package to expand construction skills capacity in the areas across the country, both in CTECs and their partner colleges. More detail on how areas such as Surrey Heath can access this funding will be set out in the new year.

What assessment has been made of whether children’s social care practice adequately supports parents who have experienced trauma, including childhood abuse, to recover and safely parent.

The children’s social care national framework (2023) is statutory guidance that sets direction for children’s social care practice. It describes expectations for practitioners working sensitively with whole families, including to identify and address the impact of trauma. Ofsted plays a crucial role in upholding children’s social care standards. In November 2025, Ofsted confirmed they will update their Inspecting Local Authority Children’s Services inspection framework from April 2026 and continue to align inspection with the national framework.The department has also confirmed the national rollout of Family Help, multi-agency child protection and family group decision making reforms, delivered through the Families First Partnership programme. These services will prioritise supporting the whole family and intervening at the earliest opportunity to prevent problems escalating, including where there are experiences of trauma. This will require excellent place-based service design driven by local authorities working effectively with local partners, including health, police and education providers, and listening closely to families.

If she will take steps to ensure (a) trauma informed and (b) neurodiversity awareness practices across children’s social care services in Surrey.

The department is working with local authorities, including Surrey, to transform children’s social care. We have confirmed the rollout of Family Help, multi-agency child protection and family group decision making reforms through the Families First Partnership programme, backed by £2.4 billion over the spending review period. The Families First Partnership programme guide sets out the expected practice changes. We are transforming the whole system of help, support and protection, to ensure that every family can access the right help and support when they need it. For some families this may involve understanding the impact of trauma or supporting those who are neurodiverse. The programme guide expects areas to develop a shared practice framework across agencies that covers the end-to-end system of help, support and protection, in line with the national framework outcomes and the requirements of the ‘Working together to safeguard children’ guidance.

What recent assessment has been made of the extent of regional disparities in access to post adoption (a) therapeutic and (b) practical support services.

The adoption and special guardianship support fund is available nationwide. It funds post-adoption support interventions including therapeutic support for adopted children and their families.Adoption England recently completed a review of regional post-adoption support. The review is available here: https://www.adoptionengland.co.uk/sites/default/files/2025-06/ASGSF%20Options%20Appraisal.pdf. The report finds that families experiences differ by region due to local delivery models and provider capacity.The department invested £8.8 million in Adoption England this year to improve adoption support across the country. This includes the development of a national core offer of support for the first 12-18 months of a placement. Practical support, such as peer groups and parenting programmes, are commissioned locally to reflect local need.Adopted children and their families can also make use of universal provision including Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services and Families First, a local authority-led early help service that provides practical and emotional support to families, including parenting advice and access to community resources, to prevent issues from escalating.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that adoptive families caring for multiple children from the same birth family receive (a) tailored and (b) sustained support in Surrey Heath constituency.

As part of the criteria for the adoption and special guardianship support fund, all children must have an assessment of their individual needs completed within three months of the application submission. This ensures that any support commissioned by the local authority or Regional Adoption Agency is tailored to their circumstances.Where families adopt multiple children from the same birth family, each child is assessed separately, and each child has their own Fair Access Limit.

Whether her Department plans to review the (a) funding and (b) accessibility of the Adoption Support Fund, particularly for families with (i) complex or (ii) high risk placements in Surrey Heath constituency.

This financial year, the department has invested £50 million into the adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF). We have approved applications for nearly 14,000 children since April, for both therapy and specialist assessments. We continue to review the impact of the changes to funding made in April 2025. The ASGSF was formed specifically to meet the needs of complex and high-risk placements.