Written questions by Cooper.

What steps she is taking to help support further education colleges to secure T Level placements for (a) engineering and (b) other subject students.

While schools and colleges are responsible for sourcing industry placements, the department offers a range of support. The department offers a range of resources, including our support website for schools and colleges with guidance and workshops to help colleges plan and design placements, which is available at the following address https://support.tlevels.gov.uk/hc/en-gb. Our employer website includes case studies and webinars for specific T Levels such as Engineering and Manufacturing and is available here: https://employers.tlevels.gov.uk/hc/en-gb/articles/13884064882194-Why-host-students-doing-engineering-and-manufacturing-T-Levels.We have a 900+ strong ambassador network, including representatives across different T Levels. Our Connect service helps colleges connect with local employers and we also provide continuing professional development to upskill colleges with employer engagement activities.In January 2025 we updated our industry placement delivery approaches, for example, allowing up to 20% of placements to take place remotely (and up to 50% for Digital). Further information can be accessed at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/678a7a302080f65f988bd3a1/T_Level_industry_placement_delivery_guidance.pdf.Colleges also receive £550 per T Level student to source and monitor industry placements. A targeted employer support fund for the 2025/26 financial year will support all employers delivering Health T Level placements and small and medium enterprises delivering all other placements.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of making sexual health education a compulsory element of the statutory RHSE curriculum in (a) secondary schools and (b) colleges.

The relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) statutory guidance already sets out that secondary schools should cover contraception, sexually transmitted infections, developing intimate relationships and resisting pressure to have sex. The guidance can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education.Pupils should also know how and where to access confidential sexual and reproductive health advice and treatment.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of including postgraduate students in the eligibility criteria for the (a) Childcare Grant and (b) Parent Learners Allowance.

Postgraduate master’s and doctoral loans are intended as a contribution to the cost of study. They can be used by students according to their personal circumstances to cover the costs of fees and living costs, including for childcare. The Childcare Grant and Parents’ Learner Allowance form part of the undergraduate support package and there are no plans to extend access to those in receipt of a postgraduate loan.Students are eligible for the universal 15 hours of free early education which is available to all three and four-year-olds regardless of family circumstances.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of including postgraduate students in receipt of (a) stipends and (b) bursaries in the eligibility criteria for 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.To be eligible for the working parent entitlement, both parents, including if they are a student, will need to earn between the equivalent of 16 hours a week at National Minimum Wage, which is equivalent to £195 per week or £10,140 per year in 2024/2025, and £100,000 adjusted net income per year.A student receiving a bursary does not count as qualified paid work, so this cannot be used towards the working parent entitlement. Students may only be considered eligible for the working parent entitlement if they work and meet the income requirements in addition to studying.Students are eligible for the universal 15 hours of free early education, which is available to all three- and four-year-olds regardless of family circumstances. This is available the term after the child turns three.There is a range of support for students in further or higher education. If they meet the eligibility criteria, students can apply for the Childcare Grant and Parental learning allowance. More information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/childcare-grant and https://www.gov.uk/parents-learning-allowance.Additionally, working parents on Universal Credit may be eligible for help with up to 85% of their childcare costs through Universal Credit Childcare, which can be used in addition to the early education entitlements to support with the costs of childcare. More information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/help-with-childcare-costs/universal-credit.My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has been clear in her commitment to early years. Despite tough decisions to get our public finances back on track, this government has increased investment in the early years sector to drive forward progress towards our Plan for Change target of a record number of children starting school ready to learn.Later this year, the department will launch a new strategy to revitalise early years education, rooted in creating positive early childhood experiences for children.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of making tutoring available to children who are temporarily out of school as a result of moving out of area to seek refuge from domestic violence.

Under section 19 of the Education Act 1996, local authorities must arrange suitable full-time education for children of compulsory school age who would not receive suitable education without such provision. This applies whether the child is on the admission register of a school or not and to whatever type of school they attend.It is for the local authority, as commissioner, to determine the type of educational provision that is put in place. However, all placements should be suitable to the child’s age, ability and aptitude, and any special educational needs they may have. Provision should be of good quality and delivered by high quality staff with suitable training, experience and safeguarding checks.Remote education should not be viewed as an equal alternative to face-to-face learning, and as such the department would only expect it to be used as a last resort when the alternative would be no education. In such cases, remote education can have the benefit of allowing children without a school place to keep on track with their education.

What the average length of time was for children fleeing domestic abuse to be allocated a school place in the latest period for which data is available.

Children living in a refuge are, among a number of other categories of vulnerable and hard-to-place children, eligible for consideration under the fair access protocol. Where a child is referred to the protocol, they must be allocated a school place within 20 school days. Where a child has difficulty in securing a school place via the usual in-year admissions processes, fair access protocols exist to ensure that school places can be secured as quickly as possible for vulnerable and hard-to-place children.Each local authority is required to have a fair access protocol in place and all admission authorities are required to participate in it.

Whether she has received representations about extending the Adoption and special guardianship support fund to ensure it covers 12 months of therapeutic support.

No representations have been received on this issue. Under the current guidelines for the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund, applications for therapeutic support can already be submitted for up to a 12 month period. This has allowed children who start therapy at different points within the financial year to continue to receive it for 12 months. Although business planning decisions for next financial year have not yet been finalised, applications for the fund with therapy starting in this financial year are still being accepted and processed under business as usual.

If she will make an estimate of the number of sick days taken by (a) teachers and (b) other school staff due to mental ill health in each of the last five years.

The information requested is not held centrally.The department collects absence data for teachers and teaching assistants employed directly by state-funded schools via the school workforce census. This includes absences due to sickness but does not include the reason for the sickness absence. Each census collects data for absences from the previous academic year. The latest data available covers the 2022 /23 academic year and is published in the ‘School workforce in England’ statistical publication, which is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of extending free school meal provision to include children enrolled in maintained nursery schools.

Under current programmes, 2.1 million disadvantaged pupils are registered to receive benefits-based free school meals (FSM). This includes pupils attending a local authority maintained, academy or free school nursery who are entitled to FSM, as long as they either are in full-time education or receive education both before and after lunch and meet the benefits-based FSM eligibility criteria.Further information on the number of pupils registered to receive FSM is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics.

Whether she plans to publish guidance on the risks to children of acquired brain injuries in (a) schools and (b) sports clubs.

Engaging in sports and physical activities, both within and outside the school environment, is crucial for a child’s wellbeing and personal development. There are various resources already available to assist schools and sports clubs in assessing and mitigating any risks associated with these activities.The department’s guidance, ‘Health and safety: responsibilities and duties for schools’, supports schools in evaluating the risks associated with their activities. The guidance can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-and-safety-advice-for-schools/responsibilities-and-duties-for-schools. It signposts to the Health and Safety Executive’s guidance on promoting a balanced approach to children’s play and leisure.Additionally, health and safety advice is available from the Association of Physical Education and the National Governing Bodies of individual sports, who are responsible for the regulation of their sports, and for ensuring that appropriate measures are in place to protect participants from harm. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) continues to encourage National Governing Bodies to adapt the concussion guidance to their own sport where appropriate.Furthermore, on 24 November 2024, DCMS updated the 'Concussion Guidelines for Non-Elite (Grassroots) Sport’. These UK-wide guidelines aim to help players, coaches, parents, teachers, school staff, National Governing Bodies, and sports administrators effectively identify and manage brain injuries.The department and DCMS have been collaboratively disseminating the guidance to schools through various channels such a sector email and a school stakeholder bulletin.This guidance can be accessed here: uk-concussion-guidelines-for-grassroots-non-elite-sport---november-2024-update-061124084139.pdf.

Whether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities system in supporting children with acquired brain injuries.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special education needs and disabilities or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.Children who have had a brain injury can be affected in different ways. Some brain injuries will result in a special educational need (SEN) or a medical need, whilst others may affect a child in other ways.In whatever way a brain injury manifests, it is essential that the pupil’s individual needs are identified and supported appropriately. Support should be tailored to their own learning barriers, irrespective of their diagnosis. This is underpinned by the range of statutory duties on schools to support children with SEN, disabilities or medical conditions. Depending on the impact that an acquired brain injury has on the child accessing education, they may be entitled to support under any or all of these duties. For example:A mainstream school must use its ‘best endeavours’ to provide the right support for all its pupils with SEN.Schools must make arrangements to support their pupils with medical conditions.Schools must make reasonable adjustments to their practices, procedures and policies and not discriminate against disabled pupils.

What steps she has taken to encourage schools to adopt the recommendations on (a) preventing and (b) treating concussion in the UK-wide Concussion Guidelines for Grassroots Sport, updated in November 2024.

Engaging in sports and physical activities, both within and outside the school environment, is crucial for a child’s wellbeing and personal development. There are various resources already available to assist schools and sports clubs in assessing and mitigating any risks associated with these activities.The department’s guidance, ‘Health and safety: responsibilities and duties for schools’, supports schools in evaluating the risks associated with their activities. The guidance can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-and-safety-advice-for-schools/responsibilities-and-duties-for-schools. It signposts to the Health and Safety Executive’s guidance on promoting a balanced approach to children’s play and leisure.Additionally, health and safety advice is available from the Association of Physical Education and the National Governing Bodies of individual sports, who are responsible for the regulation of their sports, and for ensuring that appropriate measures are in place to protect participants from harm. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) continues to encourage National Governing Bodies to adapt the concussion guidance to their own sport where appropriate.Furthermore, on 24 November 2024, DCMS updated the 'Concussion Guidelines for Non-Elite (Grassroots) Sport’. These UK-wide guidelines aim to help players, coaches, parents, teachers, school staff, National Governing Bodies, and sports administrators effectively identify and manage brain injuries.The department and DCMS have been collaboratively disseminating the guidance to schools through various channels such a sector email and a school stakeholder bulletin.This guidance can be accessed here: uk-concussion-guidelines-for-grassroots-non-elite-sport---november-2024-update-061124084139.pdf.

When her Department plans to publish a decision on which apprenticeships will be impacted by cuts to Level 7 apprenticeship funding.

This government is committed to spreading opportunities and economic growth supported by a strong skills system.This government has an extremely challenging fiscal inheritance. There are tough choices that need to be taken on how funding should be prioritised in order to generate opportunities for young people that enable them to make a start in good, fulfilling careers. The department will therefore be asking more employers to step forward and fund a significant number of level 7 apprenticeships themselves outside of the levy-funded growth and skills offer.The department is taking advice from Skills England, who engaged with employers on funding for level 7 apprenticeships over the autumn, and the department expects to make a final decision on affected apprenticeships shortly.

Whether she has received recent representations from Hertfordshire County Council on levels of demand for in-year state school places.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has had no recent representations from Hertfordshire County Council on levels of demand for in-year state school places. The department has offered a routine meeting with the local authority to discuss in-year admissions, which we expect to take place in the New Year.

Whether she has plans to publish the Stocktake report on Hertfordshire County Council's SEND improvement plan.

Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspected local arrangements for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) in Hertfordshire in July 2023 and found widespread and/or systemic failings. Area SEND inspection reports are published on Ofsted’s website and the department publishes formal intervention decisions on GOV.UK. Local area partnerships are expected to publish their SEND strategic plan and their local offer, including on the local authority website. However, internal working documents such as post-stocktake reports are not routinely published. This is to allow the necessary space for frank and open discussions that maximise the opportunity for the local area to improve. For example, stocktake reports can include personal reports from children and families about their experiences of the SEND system, which are shared in confidence. The department continues to provide support and challenge to the Hertfordshire local area partnership by monitoring progress against its priority action plan and improvement plan, and by providing advice and guidance via a SEND expert advisor.

What her planned timetable is for announcing what proportion of SEND funding from Autumn Budget 2024 will be allocated to Hertfordshire.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision (AP) receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.The department is providing an increase of almost £1 billion for high needs budgets in the 2025/26 financial year, bringing total high needs funding for children and young people with complex SEND to £11.9 billion. Of that total, Hertfordshire County Council is being allocated a provisional high needs funding amount of over £205 million through the national funding formula (NFF), which is a 9.8% increase per head of their 2 to 18-year-old population, on their equivalent 2024/25 financial year NFF allocation. The allocations have been published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-funding-formula-tables-for-schools-and-high-needs-2025-to-2026.Hertfordshire County Council will also be allocated extra funding for pay and pensions costs in special schools and AP. This funding is additional to the allocations through the high needs NFF, and the department will confirm shortly how the funding allocations will be calculated.

With reference to the Hertfordshire SEND Improvement Plan, published in December 2023, whether her Department (a) was consulted on and (b) agreed with the implementation of the Hertfordshire County Council target to complete 60% of all new Education, Health and Care needs assessments within the statutory 20 week deadline.

The target of 60% of Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans being completed within 20 weeks by Hertfordshire County Council is published in the local area partnership’s priority action plan. The department understands from Hertfordshire County Council that the 60% target is a realistic initial target rather than the end goal. Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission jointly review priority action plans and determine whether they are fit for purpose and they have confirmed that Hertfordshire’s plan is fit for purpose. The department does not approve priority action plans; therefore, it did not approve this target. The department’s role is to determine whether a priority action plan is something that the local area can be monitored against, and we have confirmed that Hertfordshire’s plan can be monitored.The department expects all local authorities to meet their statutory duties, and we will continue to monitor and challenge Hertfordshire County Council’s EHC plan 20-week timeliness.The department provides support and challenge to the Hertfordshire local area partnership by monitoring progress against its priority action plan and improvement plan, and by providing advice and guidance via a special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) expert advisor. The partnership has also established a SEND Improvement Board, which is independently chaired by Dame Christine Lenehan, to oversee progress and provide appropriate challenge.