Written questions by Snowden.

What steps she is taking to help ensure that British Sign Language is taught in schools.

The government is committed to promoting inclusive education and welcomes the teaching of British Sign Language (BSL) in schools. Schools may choose to offer BSL as part of their school curriculum, or as an extracurricular activity.Following the British Sign Language Act 2022, BSL was formally recognised as a language. In line with this, the department has worked closely with stakeholders to develop a GCSE in BSL. The final subject content was published on GOV.UK in December 2023. As is the usual process for introducing a qualification, Ofqual conducted a public consultation on its proposed assessment arrangements in spring 2025. Ofqual expects to confirm its decisions on the qualification rules this autumn. Exam boards will then be able to develop detailed specifications which will form the basis of course content to be taught in schools and colleges.To support delivery, the department recognises the importance of a skilled teaching workforce. We are engaging stakeholders, including school leaders and BSL organisations, to consider how to support workforce development.

What criteria she plans to use to prioritise schools for the expansion of free breakfast clubs.

The department expects to provide further information, including specifics on eligibility, funding and expectations for schools, later in the autumn term.

What estimate she has made of the number of children in (a) England, (b) Lancashire and (c) Fylde constituency impacted by the national rollout of free breakfast clubs.

The government has made a manifesto commitment to provide a free breakfast club in every state-funded school with children on roll from reception to year 6. This will ensure every child, regardless of circumstances, has a supportive start to the school day. This means that approximately 4.6 million children in England, 97,600 children in Lancashire and 6,500 children in Fylde will be able to benefit from free breakfast clubs once they are rolled out in their area.

With reference to her Department's press notice entitled Childcare offer exceeds target, benefiting over 500,000 children, published on 24 September 2025, how many children by (a) income, (b) ethnicity, (c) disability, (d) rural location and (e) urban location are (i) receiving and (ii) not receiving 30 hours of childcare.

The government’s Plan for Change sets out a commitment to give children the best start in life, breaking the link between background and opportunity.The department cannot provide figures on Eligibility Checking System (ECS) entitlement code validation broken down by income, ethnicity, disability, rural location and urban location. This is because detailed demographic data on children is not collected by the system used in the publication of ECS codes. The department also does not hold comprehensive detailed information on the children who do not receive funded childcare.The early years and school censuses are publications separate from the ECS that disaggregate children in receipt of entitlements by disadvantaged status, ethnicity and special educational needs provision. The first early years and school censuses to collect data on the number of children registered for the expanded 30-hour entitlement since the September 2025 rollout will be based on the January 2026 period. Their provisional release date is July 2026.

Whether she plans to extend free breakfast clubs beyond primary schools.

The rollout of free breakfast clubs prioritises primary-aged children, as this is where the evidence of impact is strongest. A report published by the Education Endowment Foundation found that attainment improved in primary-aged children who attended a breakfast club, and teachers also marked an improvement in pupil behaviour.

What information her Department holds on the average time to resolve a school complaint in (a) England, (b) Lancashire and (c) Fylde constituency.

The information requested is not held centrally.

How many schools in England hold spare EpiPens for emergency use under the Human Medicines (Amendment) Regulations 2017; and what steps her Department is taking to encourage greater uptake.

The department does not hold the data requested.We are working with the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England to consider how we might extend the availability of adrenaline auto-injectors in schools.

How many schools operate with a budget deficit in England.

The latest available figures show 96% of academy trusts and 85% of local authority maintained schools are in cumulative surplus or breaking even, with an overall cumulative surplus of almost £6.5 billion, compared to a cumulative deficit of £330 million. These figures relate to 31 August 2024 for academy trusts and 31 March 2024 for maintained schools.In the 2023/24 financial year there were 1,745 local authority maintained schools in deficit and 341 academies were in trusts that had an overall deficit.

What support her Department provides to help maintain staffing levels in small rural schools in Fylde constituency.

To ensure we have sufficient, high quality teachers, the department has increased the core schools budget by £3.7 billion in 2025/26, totalling £65.3 billion. This is alongside the near 10% pay award for teachers over the last two years to ensure teaching is once again a respected and attractive profession.In addition to improved teacher pay, the department is also providing additional financial support for trainees and teachers. For 2025/26, we announced trainee teacher bursaries worth up to £29,000 and scholarships worth up to £31,000 tax-free. We are also offering a targeted retention incentive (TRI) worth up to £6,000 after tax for teachers of key subjects in the first five years of their careers who work in disadvantaged schools, including rural areas. Three schools in Fylde constituency are eligible for the TRI.Our interventions are having impact with 2,346 more teachers across secondary and special schools in 2024/25. In Fylde, there were 14 more teachers in secondary and special schools. We are also helping schools recruit and retain support staff, with support staff numbers increasing by 42 to 668 in Fylde in 2024/25.

What steps her Department plans to take to help improve GCSE outcomes in (a) English and (b) maths for white working-class children.

All children and young people should have every opportunity to succeed. However, the system is not working for all, including white working-class children, who are one of the biggest and lowest-performing groups.This is unacceptable. The upcoming Schools White Paper will set out our vision for a school system that delivers educational excellence for all children, no matter their background.The department is driving standards and outcomes through regional improvement for standards and excellence teams’ attainment conferences focused on disadvantage and the Maths Hubs programme, supported by the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics. As part of a £2 million investment in reading and writing, secondary schools can access support to foster a strong whole-school reading culture, as well as the Unlocking Reading programme to boost the reading of pupils who need the most support, launching in January.We will ensure future work to support white working-class children draws on evidence and expertise, including from the independent inquiry into white working-class educational outcomes.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of student loan interest rates on the total repayment amount for graduates earning below the repayment threshold.

Student loans are subject to interest so that those who can afford to do so contribute to the full cost of their degree.Interest rates on student loans do not affect monthly repayments made by borrowers. Regulated repayments are linked to income not to interest rates or the loan balance. Borrowers will be liable to repay at a fixed percentage of earnings above the applicable student loan repayment threshold. Those earning below the student loan repayment threshold repay nothing. Outstanding debt, including interest built up, is written off after the loan term ends, or in case of death or disability, at no detriment to the borrower.A full equality impact assessment of how the student loan reforms may affect graduates, including detail on changes to average lifetime repayments under Plan 2 and Plan 5, was produced and published under the previous government in February 2022 and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reform-equality-impact-assessment.

What recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of current funding levels for the music and dance scheme to ensure access for children from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

The government fully supports the arts and the development of a skills pipeline into the creative industries.The department is providing £36.5 million for the Music and Dance Scheme this academic year.

How many and what proportion of eligible children receive the expanded 30 hour childcare offer in each region.

The government’s Plan for Change sets out a commitment to give children the best start in life, breaking the link between background and opportunity.Due to data/sample size limitations, the department does not hold data on the number of children eligible to receive the expanded 30-hour childcare offer in each region, and as a result cannot provide figures on the proportion of eligible children receiving the expanded 30 hour offer in each region.The first early years and school censuses to collect data on the number of children registered for the expanded 30-hour entitlement since the September 2025 rollout will be based on the January 2026 period. The associated statistics have a provisional release date of July 2026. More details can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/announcements/funded-early-education-and-childcare-2026.

How many children were eligible for free school meals in Fylde constituency in each of the last five years.

The department publishes data on school level free school meals in its annual 'Schools, pupils and their characteristics' publication, in the additional supporting files. The publication can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics/2024-25. This includes a parliamentary constituency indicator. The latest figures were published in June 2025, and the next figures will be published in summer 2026.

What steps her Department is taking to help ensure that families are able to afford school uniforms in Lancashire.

The cost of school uniform, particularly of branded items, remains a key concern for parents. Whilst uniforms play a valuable role in creating a sense of common identity among pupils and reducing visible inequalities, too many schools still require high numbers of branded uniform items despite statutory guidance stating branded items should be kept to a minimum. Currently 24% of primary and 71% of secondary schools still require five or more branded items, with some parents saying they were asked to provide ten or more.This is why the department has introduced legislation to limit the number of branded items of uniform and physical education kit that schools can require, to bring down costs for parents and remove barriers from children accessing sport and other school activities. This will give parents more choice in where to purchase uniform and allow them greater flexibility to make the spending decisions that suit their circumstances.The department intends to introduce this limit from September 2026. On 23 October, we published updated statutory guidance on the cost of school uniforms, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cost-of-school-uniforms.This includes draft statutory guidance to support schools in implementing any necessary changes within the proposed limit.

Pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2025 to Question 66726 on Childcare: Eligibility, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of changing the eligibility criteria to take account of the unpaid nature of student nursing.

It is our 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.Students who work in addition to their studies and earn the equivalent of at least 16 hours a week at National Minimum Wage (this is equivalent to £195 per week/£10,158 per year in 2025/2026), and under £100,000 adjusted net income per year, may be eligible for this offer. If they are unable to meet this threshold, they will remain eligible for the universal 15 hours of free early education, which is available to all 3 and 4-year-olds, regardless of family circumstances.The government recognises the value of parents continuing in education and provides a range of support for students in further or higher education to support them with childcare. Support available to full-time students with dependent children includes the Childcare Grant and Parents’ Learning Allowance. Entitlement to these grants is based on a student’s household income. Healthcare students may also be entitled to the NHS Learning Support Fund.Further information on the childcare offers available to parents can be found at: https://www.beststartinlife.gov.uk/.

If she will set out the level of childcare support his Department provides for (a) student nurses and (b) other essential vocational trainees; and what plans she has to increase that level of support.

It is our 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.Students who work in addition to their studies and earn the equivalent of at least 16 hours a week at National Minimum Wage (this is equivalent to £195 per week/£10,158 per year in 2025/2026), and under £100,000 adjusted net income per year, may be eligible for this offer. If they are unable to meet this threshold, they will remain eligible for the universal 15 hours of free early education, which is available to all 3 and 4-year-olds, regardless of family circumstances.The government recognises the value of parents continuing in education and provides a range of support for students in further or higher education to support them with childcare. Support available to full-time students with dependent children includes the Childcare Grant and Parents’ Learning Allowance. Entitlement to these grants is based on a student’s household income. Healthcare students may also be entitled to the NHS Learning Support Fund.Further information on the childcare offers available to parents can be found at: https://www.beststartinlife.gov.uk/.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a cross-departmental taskforce to review the adequacy of childcare provision for (a) student nurses and (b) other parents in full-time healthcare education.

It is our 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.Where student parents are not eligible for 30 hours funded childcare, they will remain eligible for the universal 15 hours of free early education, which is available to all 3 and 4-year-olds, regardless of family circumstances.The government recognises the value of parents continuing in education and provides a range of options for students in higher education to support them with childcare. Support available to full-time students with dependent children includes the Childcare Grant and Parents’ Learning Allowance. Entitlement to these grants is based on a student’s household income.Healthcare students may also be entitled to the NHS Learning Support Fund. Information on eligibility and how to apply is available here: https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/nhs-learning-support-fund-lsf.Further information on the childcare offers available to parents can be accessed here: https://www.beststartinlife.gov.uk/.

Pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2025 to Question 66726, what recent estimate she has made of the number of student nurses in England who are ineligible for the 30 hours of funded childcare due to their status as students rather than workers.

It is our 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. We are delivering more support to working families than ever before, with the rollout of 30 hours government-funded childcare.The department does not hold data on the number of student nurses in England who are ineligible for the 30 hours funded childcare.Further information on the childcare offers available to parents is available here: https://www.beststartinlife.gov.uk/.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of making student nurses eligible for the 30 hours of free childcare.

It is our 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.Students who work in addition to their studies and earn the equivalent of at least 16 hours a week at National Minimum Wage (this is equivalent to £195 per week/£10,158 per year in 2025/2026), and under £100,000 adjusted net income per year, may be eligible for this offer. If they are unable to meet this threshold, they will remain eligible for the universal 15 hours of free early education, which is available to all 3 and 4-year-olds, regardless of family circumstances.The government recognises the value of parents continuing in education and provides a range of support for students in further or higher education to support them with childcare. Support available to full-time students with dependent children includes the Childcare Grant and Parents’ Learning Allowance. Entitlement to these grants is based on a student’s household income. Healthcare students may also be entitled to the NHS Learning Support Fund.Further information on the childcare offers available to parents can be found at: https://www.beststartinlife.gov.uk/.