Written questions by Thomas.

What recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the provision of multi-sensory impairment teachers.

It is the responsibility of local authorities, schools, and further education (FE) settings to commission appropriately qualified staff to support the education of children and young people in their area.To teach a class of pupils with sensory impairments, a teacher is required to hold the relevant mandatory qualification in sensory impairment (MQSI). This is in addition to qualified teacher status (QTS) and must be achieved within three years. Teachers working in an advisory role to support these pupils should also hold the appropriate qualification. To offer MQSIs, providers must be approved by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education. There are currently seven providers of the MQSI.An apprenticeship in sensory impairment has been available since September 2025 and will open up a paid, work-based route into teaching children and young people with sensory impairments. This will improve the supply of those qualified to teach this important cohort and further help to improve their outcomes.Trainee teachers intending to work as special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) specialists in the FE sector are eligible for a training bursary worth £15,000, tax free. The bursary will again be offered in the 2026/27 academic year. SEND specialist teachers working with learners with sensory impairments are eligible to apply for the bursary.

What steps she is taking to introduce a standardised national framework for supporting children with SEND.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.We are aware of the challenges in the SEND system and understand how urgently they need to be addressed.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 without a fight.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.

What recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of taking steps to help ensure that all local authorities employ multi-sensory impairment teachers.

It is the responsibility of local authorities, schools, and further education (FE) settings to commission appropriately qualified staff to support the education of children and young people in their area.To teach a class of pupils with sensory impairments, a teacher is required to hold the relevant mandatory qualification in sensory impairment (MQSI). This is in addition to qualified teacher status (QTS) and must be achieved within three years. Teachers working in an advisory role to support these pupils should also hold the appropriate qualification. To offer MQSIs, providers must be approved by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education. There are currently seven providers of the MQSI.An apprenticeship in sensory impairment has been available since September 2025 and will open up a paid, work-based route into teaching children and young people with sensory impairments. This will improve the supply of those qualified to teach this important cohort and further help to improve their outcomes.Trainee teachers intending to work as special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) specialists in the FE sector are eligible for a training bursary worth £15,000, tax free. The bursary will again be offered in the 2026/27 academic year. SEND specialist teachers working with learners with sensory impairments are eligible to apply for the bursary.

What steps she is taking to put the SEN support arrangements on a statutory footing.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.We are aware of the challenges in the SEND system and understand how urgently they need to be addressed.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 without a fight.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.

What steps she is taking to ensure that the progress of children with SEND is accurately measured.

Through the school census, the department collects data on the performance of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities across the country. We use this to routinely publish data on the outcomes of pupils with special educational needs throughout their education, including attainment, absence, exclusions and progression to further and higher education.The Curriculum and Assessment Review is reviewing how performance measures incentivise behaviour and outcomes for every child. Once the final report is published, the government will respond, including consideration of its recommendations on performance measures.

Whether the recently announced £15,000 bursary for SEND-specialist teacher trainees will include those training to become multi-sensory impairment teachers.

The department recently announced that the further education (FE) initial teacher education bursaries programme will continue to be available for the 2026/27 academic year. Eligible subjects include special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), with bursaries worth £15,000 each, tax free.The SEND bursary is intended to support new teachers training to work with learners with a wide range of SEND in FE settings. This could include learners with multi-sensory impairments.

What recent assessment she has made of the appropriateness of her Department contacting teaching staff during the summer holiday.

The department is committed to engaging positively with school staff and ensuring they receive information to support them in carrying out their roles. However, they are only contacted during the summer holidays where there is a need to share important, time-sensitive information.

What recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of the increase in nursery fees on the finances of families with nursery-age children.

In 2025/26, the department plans to provide over £8 billion for the early years entitlements as we roll out their expansion. This represents an additional £2 billion compared to 2024/25.The government’s roll out of an expansion to the funded hours of childcare working parents are entitled to began in April 2024, and parents have been accessing 30 hours per week from the term after their child turns nine months old since 1 September 2025. This marks the final stage of the rollout and will save eligible families who use their full entitlement £7,500 a year on average.The government will provide an additional £1.6 billion per year by 2028/29, compared to 2025/26, to continue the expansion of government-funded childcare for working parents.Additionally, the Universal Credit childcare offer supports claimants with the costs of childcare, no matter how many hours they work. Tax-Free Childcare remains available for working parents of children aged 0-11, or up to 17 for eligible disabled children.

What steps her Department is taking to financially support parents of children who attend nursery.

It is the government’s 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.To support parents with the cost of childcare, the department offers:The universal 15 hours offer for all 3 and 4 year-old children, which is available to all families regardless of parental circumstances: https://www.gov.uk/help-with-childcare-costs/free-childcare-and-education-for-2-to-4-year-olds?step-by-step-nav=f237ec8e-e82c-4ffa-8fba-2a88a739783b.15 hours entitlement for families of 2 year-olds receiving additional forms of support: https://www.gov.uk/help-with-childcare-costs/free-childcare-2-year-olds?step-by-step-nav=f237ec8e-e82c-4ffa-8fba-2a88a739783b. This is available for families where the parent or child receives certain types of extra support.The 30 hours entitlement for eligible working parents in England, from the term after their child turns nine months old to when they start school. With this, working parents could save £7,500 per year, transforming the costs of having children for families.More information can be found at the new Best Start in Life parent hub: https://www.beststartinlife.gov.uk/.

What steps her Department has taken (a) with schools and local authorities to strengthen the measures used to identify young carers and (b) to ensure that schools are audited against those measures.

Young carers were added to the school census as a specific group for the first time in 2022/23. The department expects the census data to improve over time as the collection becomes better established. We are looking at the ways the data is entered to see if we can make technical changes that will support more accurate reporting without overly burdening schools.The statutory guidance ‘Keeping children safe in education’ requires designated safeguarding leads to undergo training to provide them with the knowledge and skills to carry out their role. This includes having a good understanding of, and alertness to, the needs of young carers to identify their needs.In its inspections of local authority children’s services, Ofsted evaluates whether professionals identify children and young people in need of help and protection, and whether they provide help to families when they need it. Ofsted have recently consulted on a new education inspection framework, and their full response will come in September. The proposals include a specific evaluation of inclusion, ensuring that schools can provide appropriate support for all disadvantaged and vulnerable children, including young carers.

What steps her Department is taking to improve the transition from play-based to formal learning.

Children’s earliest years are crucial to their health, development and life chances. The early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework sets the standards and requirements that all early years providers must follow to ensure every child has the best start in life and is prepared for school. Practitioners should carefully organise enabling environments and cultures for high-quality play to support children’s learning and development. In the summer term of the academic year in which children turn five, children are assessed against the EYFS Profile, which seeks to measure children’s level of development and support their successful transitions into year 1.The department has launched an independent, expert-led Curriculum and Assessment Review to ensure a rich, broad, inclusive and innovative curriculum. The Review is addressing the curriculum and assessment system from ages 5 to 19, ensuring that children build on their crucial learning and development in the early years. The interim report expresses an ambition for the curriculum to ensure effective transitions, and progression through each key stage of education. However, covering ages 0-5, the EYFS is outside of the Review’s scope. The wider work of the department will consider these areas.

What assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the education curriculum to prepare young people for the future workplace.

The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, covering ages 5 to 18, to ensure a rich, broad, inclusive and innovative curriculum that readies young people for life and work.The Review is being undertaken in close consultation with education professionals and other experts, parents, children and young people, and other stakeholders such as employers, universities and trade unions. The Review has received call for evidence submissions from a variety of employers, colleges and representatives.The Review has published a well-evidenced, clear interim report, which sets out its interim findings and confirms the key areas for further work. This report sets out that the Review has heard consistently from children and young people and their parents that they want more focus on the applied knowledge and skills that will equip them for later life and work; such as financial education, careers knowledge and politics and governance. The interim report can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/curriculum-and-assessment-review-interim-report.During its next phase, the Review is considering whether there is sufficient coverage of knowledge and skills that are essential to sufficiently prepare children and young people for future life and to thrive in a fast-changing world.The Review’s final report and recommendations will be published in autumn, at which point the government will respond.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that young people consider social care as a potential future career.

High-quality, careers information, advice and guidance (CIAG) is key to helping young people make informed decisions about their future. The department funds person-centred, impartial careers information and advice across all employment sectors, including social care.​Through The Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC), we fund Careers Hubs which lead partnerships including secondary schools, colleges, employers and strategic and local authorities to connect young people to local skills and economic needs through a responsive careers education programme. ​The Health Sector Advisory Group, in partnership with CEC, is exploring solutions to address workforce and skills challenges and inspire young people to take up careers in health and social care. Their recent report, Examining the Skills Gap, showcases effective local initiatives that give young people real-world insight into social care careers and can be found here: https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/evidence-and-reports/examining-the-skills-gap-inspiring-young-people-to-take-up-careers-in-health-and-social-care/.The National Careers Service is a free, government-funded careers information and guidance service. Its website gives access to digital tools and resources’ covering over 130 industry areas and 800 job profiles including several social care roles.The government has introduced measures to raise awareness, boost access, and improve the quality of training available in the healthcare sector, including the ‘Next Generation’ campaign promoting technical education pathways inspiring pupils to pursue careers in sectors like social care.

What recent assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the guidance on the secondary school admissions process to ensure parents are better equipped to support their children’s preparation.

Local authorities are required to comply with the school admissions code. This includes a requirement to publish a composite prospectus for parents, including information relating to how to apply for schools in that area, information on the admission arrangements for each state-funded school in their area and the number of parental preferences expressed for the school in the previous year. Local authorities must also publish an annual report on admissions for all the state-funded schools in their area.In 2024, 82.9% of applicants were offered their first-choice secondary school and 94.6% received offers from one of their top three choices. At primary level, 93.2% of applicants were offered their first-choice primary school and 98.6% received offers from one of their top three choices.If a parent or other party is dissatisfied with the information provided by the local authority, they can complain, in the first instance, through the local authority’s complaints procedure. If they remain dissatisfied, they can complain to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. Additionally, if my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education becomes aware of an issue she can, if necessary, use her powers to direct the local authority, where it is failing in a legal duty.

What recent discussions her Department has had with the local authority on the number of secondary school placements in Gloucestershire.

The government works to support local authorities to ensure that every local area has sufficient places for children that need them. The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places sits with local authorities.The department engages with councils on a regular basis to review their plans for creating additional places and to consider alternatives where necessary. When local authorities are experiencing difficulties, we support them to find solutions as quickly as possible.The department provides capital funding through the Basic Need grant to support local authorities to provide school places, based on their own pupil forecasts and school capacity data. They can use this funding to provide places in new schools or through expansions of existing schools and can work with any school in their local area, including academies and free schools.In March, the department announced that Gloucestershire County Council has been allocated just under £9.2 million to support it to create the mainstream school places needed by September 2028.This funding, £5.6 million of which will be paid in the 2026/27 financial year and with a further £3.6 million paid in 2027/28, is on top of just over £23.1 million we have previously allocated to Gloucestershire County Council to support it in providing new school places needed over the current and next two academic years, up to and including the academic year starting in September 2026.

What recent steps she has taken to support (a) schools and (b) other institutions that are being targeted by social media hate campaigns.

The Online Safety Act introduces new responsibilities for social media companies and search services to ensure the safety of their users on their platforms. All relevant services must have systems and processes in place to allow users and others to report harmful content that the services are responsible for under the Act.All school employers have a duty to take reasonable steps to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees.No school staff should feel unsafe or face violence or abuse in the workplace. The department will always support school staff to ensure they can work in a safe and calm environment.Schools should have their own clear processes in place for dealing with issues of bullying or harassment, including online hate aimed towards school staff. All incidences of bullying or harassment should be reported immediately to the designated lead and headteacher or governing body or proprietor. Should an incident constitute a potential criminal offence, it would be for the school to consider involving the police.

What recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the allocation of funding for (a) PE and (b) Sports Premium in Gloucestershire.

Physical education (PE) is a national curriculum subject at all key stages and all schools receive funding to deliver it as part of their core budget. Core school budgets are increasing by £3.2 billion in 2025/26, meaning the core school budgets will total over £64.8 billion compared to almost £61.6 billion in 2024/25. Through the dedicated schools grant, Gloucestershire is receiving £522.3 million for mainstream schools in 2025/26. This represents an increase of 2.3% per pupil compared to 2024/25.All primary schools receive PE and sport premium funding to make additional and sustainable improvements to the PE, sport and physical activity they provide, which is allocated on a formula based on the number of pupils in the school.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that teachers have access to accompaniment by professionally trained companions during (a) disciplinary and (b) grievance hearings.

The Employment Relations Act (ERA) 1999 states that teachers, like any other workers, are entitled to be accompanied by a colleague, a trade union employee or an official accredited by a trade union if called to a disciplinary or grievance meeting by their employer. Individuals may also ask to be accompanied by someone else, but the employer does not have to agree. The government has no plans to change that position for teachers.

If she will take steps to ensure that teachers are given priority to enrol their children at schools they teach at.

All mainstream state funded schools must have clear admission arrangements, set by the school’s admission authority, which include the oversubscription criteria they will use to give priority for places where there are more applicants than places available. The School Admissions Code allows admission authorities to give priority in their oversubscription criteria for children of staff who have been employed at the school for two or more years at the time when their application for a school place is made. The priority may also be applied for children of staff who have been recruited to fill a vacant post at the school for which there is a demonstrable skills shortage.It is for individual admission authorities to decide whether to include such a priority in their admissions criteria, provided the arrangements comply with the School Admissions Code.

What assessment she has made of the impact of Covid 19 on the reception class cohort of September 2025; and whether additional (a) preparation and (b) provision has been made for that cohort.

Giving children the best start in life is the foundation of government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity. The earliest years are the most crucial stage of child development. That is why we have set a milestone of a record proportion of children starting school ready to learn in the classroom. As announced in Plan for Change, we will measure our progress through 75% of children at the end of reception reaching a good level of development in the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile assessment by 2028. Research showed that the COVID-19 pandemic set back children’s learning and development and may have exacerbated the outcome gap. To help achieve the milestone set out in Plan for Change, the department will work in partnership with the sector, reforming training and support for the workforce to drive up standards. We will offer sustained professional development and work with providers to help spread evidence-based programmes as part of comprehensive plans to drive high-quality early education and care.  We will ensure that the reception year sets children up for success, by rolling out schools’ access to evidence-based programmes that boost early literacy and numeracy skills.The department is providing a range of high-quality support and training for early years educators and leaders, building a stronger, more expert workforce, to enable settings and childminders to deliver quality early education, including currently available continuing professional development and support such as Maths Champions, Early Years Child Development Training, and the Early Years Stronger Practice Hubs. The government will also deliver the largest ever uplift to the early years pupil premium in the 2025/26 financial year, increasing the rate by over 45%, equivalent to up to £570 per eligible child per year. This unprecedented increase is an investment in quality early education for those children who need it most, in the areas that need it most, to give them the support they need to be ‘school ready’ at age 5 and go on to have the best life chances.