Written questions by Morello.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that Education, Health and Care Plans include (a) measurable and (b) enforceable targets.

Local authorities must ensure that education, health and care (EHC) plans comply with the Children and Families Act 2014 and the special educational needs and disability (SEND) code of practice.The code states that EHC plans must detail the outcomes sought for the child or young person. These should be specific and measurable, and the plan should be used to monitor a child or young person’s progress towards them and their longer term aspirations.Plans must be reviewed by the local authority at a minimum every 12 months.Reviews must consider whether the outcomes and supporting targets remain appropriate and may include setting new interim targets for the coming year or agreeing new outcomes.Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission carry out joint inspections of area SEND arrangements. These will consider the effectiveness of local SEND arrangements, including whether children and young people with SEND are well prepared for their next steps.Where a local authority does not meet its duties, the department can take action that prioritises children’s needs and supports local areas to bring about rapid improvement.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that statutory deadlines for SEND assessments and Education, Health and Care Plans are consistently upheld by local authorities.

I refer the hon. Member for West Dorset to the answer of 14 July 2025 to Question 65182.

What support her Department is providing to local authorities facing financial strain in delivering SEND services in (a) the South West and (b) Dorset.

The department is providing an increase of £1 billion for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year. Total high needs funding for children and young people with complex special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) is over £12 billion in 2025/26.Of that total, the Southwest is being allocated over £983 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG), an increase of £71 million on last year’s DSG high needs block, calculated using the high needs national funding formula. Of this amount, Dorset is being allocated over £60 million, an increase of £4 million on last year.The department intends to set out plans for reforming the SEND system in further detail in a Schools White Paper in the autumn and are considering the funding for future years following the spending review that concluded in June. We will also set out later this year how the government will support local authorities to deal with their historic deficits.

What steps her Department is taking to support people with visual impairments in (a) further education (b) higher education and (c) apprenticeships.

Support for people with visual impairments in further education, higher education (HE), and apprenticeships is guided by legal duties under the Equality Act 2010 and the special educational needs and disabilities code of practice, with tailored provisions depending on the setting and the needs of the individual.All education and training providers and other related service providers have a duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people, including those with visual impairments, so they are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled students.Reasonable adjustments can include adapting teaching methods (providing materials in accessible formats or using assistive technology), modifying assessments (offering extra time or alternative formats), ensuring physical accessibility (ramps or accessible accommodation), and offering personalised support services (including note-takers, interpreters, or mental health support).In apprenticeships, learning support funding of £150 per month is available to training providers to make reasonable adjustments which support apprentices with learning difficulties and disabilities.Disabled Students’ Allowance is available for eligible HE students for the provision of more specialist support, including specialist equipment, travel costs and non-medical helpers such as specialist note-takers or printing materials in large print or braille in addition to any reasonable adjustments made by their HE provider.

What steps her Department is taking to support rural childcare providers to recruit qualified staff.

The early years workforce is at the heart of our mission to give every child the best start in life and deliver the Plan for Change.The latest early years census data reports a 7.2% increase in the number of workers between 2024/25, to 272,500 staff. This represents an increase of 18,200 workers, which is the biggest increase we’ve seen since the data became available in 2018.We are supporting recruitment through our national ‘Do something BIG’ campaign, with a dedicated website setting out information on qualifications and linking to job vacancies, alongside financial incentives to attract and retain educators in areas of most need, including some rural areas. In addition, we are working with the Department for Work and Pensions to promote and raise awareness of early years careers through the Jobcentre Plus network. We are working with local authorities and mayoral strategic authorities to create new routes into the workforce through skills bootcamps and funding early years initial teacher training, while our delivery support contractor, Childcare Works, is supporting local authorities and providers with one-to-one targeted support, including in rural areas.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that childcare places are available to parents eligible for the extended funded hours under the new childcare scheme in West Dorset constituency.

It is the department’s ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change. In 2025/26 alone, we plan to provide over £8 billion for the early years entitlements as we roll out the expansion of the entitlements, a 30% increase compared to 2024/25. We have made available £500 million in capital investment to expand early years provision for existing settings and to support the creation of new ones. The department is working closely with local authorities which are being supported to map provision gaps and work with new and existing providers to fill them. The government is also simplifying the registration and regulatory process to make it easier for new providers to enter the market. Where local authorities report sufficiency challenges, the department works closely to address issues including through out childcare sufficiency support contract.These actions are showing an impact with an increase of almost 6,000 providers and over 18,000 staff in the last year.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of nursery availability on parents' ability to return to work when claiming Universal Credit in West Dorset constituency.

It is the department’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. In 2025/26 alone, we plan to provide over £8 billion for the early years entitlements, which is an additional £2 billion, as we roll out the expansion of the entitlements. We will also work with the Department for Work and Pensions to make it easier for parents to use Universal Credit Childcare and the funded hours together.The department has regular contact with each local authority in England about its sufficiency of childcare and any issues it faces. Where local authorities report sufficiency challenges, we discuss what action can be taken to address those issues and, where needed, support the local authority with any specific requirements through our childcare sufficiency support contract.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the proportion of parents eligible for funded childcare who are unable to access places due to (a) nursery waiting lists and (b) restrictions on available days.

It is the department’s ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change. In 2025/26 alone, we plan to provide over £8 billion for the early years entitlements as we roll out the expansion of the entitlements, a 30% increase compared to 2024/25. We have made available £500 million in capital investment to expand early years provision for existing settings and to support the creation of new ones. The department is working closely with local authorities which are being supported to map provision gaps and work with new and existing providers to fill them. The government is also simplifying the registration and regulatory process to make it easier for new providers to enter the market. Where local authorities report sufficiency challenges, the department works closely to address issues including through out childcare sufficiency support contract.These actions are showing an impact with an increase of almost 6,000 providers and over 18,000 staff in the last year.

Whether her Department plans to review Ofsted's qualification requirements for after-school club leaders.

The department has made no specific assessment of the impact of Ofsted qualification requirements on the sustainability of rural after school childcare providers. Before and after-school clubs can register with Ofsted on either or both the Early Years Register and the General Childcare Register, depending on the type of provision and age of the children they intend to care for. Some providers are exempt from registration if they meet the exemptions set out in legislation. Depending on their registration, they must either meet the statutory requirements of the early years foundation stage, or the general childcare register requirements. The requirements for both registers are set by the department and include qualification requirements for after-school childcare providers. Officials meet regularly with their Ofsted counterparts to ensure that the regulations that apply to Ofsted registered providers of after-school childcare, including the qualifications requirements for staff, remain fit for purpose.Providers are responsible for considering the staff qualification and training requirements for the running of their after-school provision in line with Ofsted requirements. This means providers have the flexibility to design their own approach to staffing their provision and ensuring it remains sustainable.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the proportion of parents eligible for funded childcare who are unable to access childcare places due to (a) nursery waiting lists and (b) restrictions on available days in West Dorset constituency.

It is the department’s ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change. In 2025/26 alone, we plan to provide over £8 billion for the early years entitlements as we roll out the expansion of the entitlements, a 30% increase compared to 2024/25. We have made available £500 million in capital investment to expand early years provision for existing settings and to support the creation of new ones. The department is working closely with local authorities which are being supported to map provision gaps and work with new and existing providers to fill them. The government is also simplifying the registration and regulatory process to make it easier for new providers to enter the market. Where local authorities report sufficiency challenges, the department works closely to address issues including through out childcare sufficiency support contract.These actions are showing an impact with an increase of almost 6,000 providers and over 18,000 staff in the last year.

Whether she has had discussions with Ofsted on allowing greater flexibility in recognising alternative qualifications for after-school childcare roles.

The department has made no specific assessment of the impact of Ofsted qualification requirements on the sustainability of rural after school childcare providers. Before and after-school clubs can register with Ofsted on either or both the Early Years Register and the General Childcare Register, depending on the type of provision and age of the children they intend to care for. Some providers are exempt from registration if they meet the exemptions set out in legislation. Depending on their registration, they must either meet the statutory requirements of the early years foundation stage, or the general childcare register requirements. The requirements for both registers are set by the department and include qualification requirements for after-school childcare providers. Officials meet regularly with their Ofsted counterparts to ensure that the regulations that apply to Ofsted registered providers of after-school childcare, including the qualifications requirements for staff, remain fit for purpose.Providers are responsible for considering the staff qualification and training requirements for the running of their after-school provision in line with Ofsted requirements. This means providers have the flexibility to design their own approach to staffing their provision and ensuring it remains sustainable.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of Ofsted qualification requirements on the sustainability of rural after-school childcare providers.

The department has made no specific assessment of the impact of Ofsted qualification requirements on the sustainability of rural after school childcare providers. Before and after-school clubs can register with Ofsted on either or both the Early Years Register and the General Childcare Register, depending on the type of provision and age of the children they intend to care for. Some providers are exempt from registration if they meet the exemptions set out in legislation. Depending on their registration, they must either meet the statutory requirements of the early years foundation stage, or the general childcare register requirements. The requirements for both registers are set by the department and include qualification requirements for after-school childcare providers. Officials meet regularly with their Ofsted counterparts to ensure that the regulations that apply to Ofsted registered providers of after-school childcare, including the qualifications requirements for staff, remain fit for purpose.Providers are responsible for considering the staff qualification and training requirements for the running of their after-school provision in line with Ofsted requirements. This means providers have the flexibility to design their own approach to staffing their provision and ensuring it remains sustainable.

If she will make it her policy to increase the flexibility of funded childcare arrangements to help increase support for parents (a) who are unable to take up work due to a lack of available nursery places and (b) with restrictive nursery session times.

On 7 July, the department published its Best Start in Life Strategy, which sets out how we will make real change happen for families across the country.We are delivering more support to working families than ever before with the rollout of 30 hours government-funded childcare from September 2025. This is expected to save eligible families using their full entitlement an average of £7,500 a year.Under Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006, local authorities are responsible for ensuring that the provision of childcare is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents in their area.There is no requirement that childcare providers must deliver funded hours at particular times of the day or on particular days of the week. Providers are free to choose when to deliver funded hours, as long as they comply with the terms of their arrangements with the local authority.Local authorities should actively support partnership working between providers to ensure that funded places are high-quality, flexible and accessible to give parents choice about how and where they take-up their child’s free hours. Local authorities should also support providers to establish parental declarations setting out their hours and patterns of hours during which free places are offered.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that rural areas are not disproportionately impacted by the rollout of the expanded childcare offer, in the context of levels of (a) job availability and (b) childcare capacity in rural areas.

The department is working closely with all local authorities on the rollout of the expanded childcare offer. The department has regular contact with each local authority in England about their sufficiency of childcare and any issues they are facing, including impacts to rural areas. Where local authorities report sufficiency challenges, we support the local authority, where needed, through our childcare sufficiency support contract.To support delivery of the expansion, our national recruitment campaign urges the public to ‘Do something BIG’ and consider working in nurseries or pre-schools, as a childminder, or in wraparound care roles. On average, the campaign website receives over 37,000 visits weekly, which directs potential applicants to the Department for Work and Pension’s ‘Find a Job’ vacancy platform to search for early years roles.To address childcare capacity, schools could apply for up to £150,000 of capital funding in autumn 2024 to create or expand a school-based nursery, creating up to 6,000 places with most available from September 2025. This is the first stage in a long-term commitment to expand school-based nurseries across England.The latest data shows there are over 5,800 more providers delivering childcare entitlements than last year, the first increase in five years, and the biggest increase since data became available in 2018. This comes alongside an 18,000 increase in the number of staff delivering the entitlements in private, voluntary and independent nurseries. This is backed by significant government investment totalling over £8 billion for early years entitlements in 2025/26.

What steps her Department is taking to introduce a Young Carers Pupil Premium.

​Statutory guidance ’Keeping children safe in education’ sets out that all school and college staff should be alert to the potential need for early help of young carers and requires designated safeguarding leads to undergo training to provide them with the necessary knowledge and skills to carry out their role, including having a good understanding of the specific needs of young carers. ​This will ensure they receive tailored support and do not miss out on vital educational opportunities.Whilst young carer status does not attract pupil premium funding, evidence suggests that around 60% of young carers are eligible for this funding through free school meals entitlement. Our guidance to school leaders is clear that pupil premium should not be restricted to those pupils who have eligibility for the funding, and schools should use it to support other pupils with identified needs, including young carers.

What support is available for young carers in West Dorset to ensure they can fully participate in education.

​Statutory guidance ’Keeping children safe in education’ sets out that all school and college staff should be alert to the potential need for early help of young carers and requires designated safeguarding leads to undergo training to provide them with the necessary knowledge and skills to carry out their role, including having a good understanding of the specific needs of young carers. ​This will ensure they receive tailored support and do not miss out on vital educational opportunities.Whilst young carer status does not attract pupil premium funding, evidence suggests that around 60% of young carers are eligible for this funding through free school meals entitlement. Our guidance to school leaders is clear that pupil premium should not be restricted to those pupils who have eligibility for the funding, and schools should use it to support other pupils with identified needs, including young carers.

What assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the funding rate for school meals in West Dorset constituency.

This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. We have now announced that we are extending free school meals (FSM) to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026. This will lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty and put £500 back in families’ pockets, supporting parents in decisive action to improve lives ahead of the Child Poverty Strategy coming later this year.Providing over half a million children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds with a free, nutritious lunchtime meal every school day will also lead to higher attainment, improved behaviour and better outcomes, meaning children get the best possible education and chance to succeed in work and life.The new entitlement will be fully funded. The department has set aside over £1 billion in funding over the multi-year spending review period to cover the additional meal costs. This is new money, as opposed to funding within existing school budgets. This will support schools to deliver nutritious and high quality meals which meet the school food standards to over half a million additional pupils.Schools fund benefits-related FSM from core funding, at a rate set by the national funding formula, which has increased to a factor value of £495 per eligible pupil for the 2025/26 academic year. The current meal rate for universal infant free school meals and further education free meals is increasing to £2.61 for 2025/26. As with all programmes, we will continue to keep funding for FSM under review.

If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the school meals funding rate on local providers.

This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. We have now announced that we are extending free school meals (FSM) to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026. This will lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty and put £500 back in families’ pockets, supporting parents in decisive action to improve lives ahead of the Child Poverty Strategy coming later this year.Providing over half a million children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds with a free, nutritious lunchtime meal every school day will also lead to higher attainment, improved behaviour and better outcomes, meaning children get the best possible education and chance to succeed in work and life.The new entitlement will be fully funded. The department has set aside over £1 billion in funding over the multi-year spending review period to cover the additional meal costs. This is new money, as opposed to funding within existing school budgets. This will support schools to deliver nutritious and high quality meals which meet the school food standards to over half a million additional pupils.Schools fund benefits-related FSM from core funding, at a rate set by the national funding formula, which has increased to a factor value of £495 per eligible pupil for the 2025/26 academic year. The current meal rate for universal infant free school meals and further education free meals is increasing to £2.61 for 2025/26. As with all programmes, we will continue to keep funding for FSM under review.

Whether her Department is taking steps to increase the funding rate for school meals.

This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. We have now announced that we are extending free school meals (FSM) to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026. This will lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty and put £500 back in families’ pockets, supporting parents in decisive action to improve lives ahead of the Child Poverty Strategy coming later this year.Providing over half a million children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds with a free, nutritious lunchtime meal every school day will also lead to higher attainment, improved behaviour and better outcomes, meaning children get the best possible education and chance to succeed in work and life.The new entitlement will be fully funded. The department has set aside over £1 billion in funding over the multi-year spending review period to cover the additional meal costs. This is new money, as opposed to funding within existing school budgets. This will support schools to deliver nutritious and high quality meals which meet the school food standards to over half a million additional pupils.Schools fund benefits-related FSM from core funding, at a rate set by the national funding formula, which has increased to a factor value of £495 per eligible pupil for the 2025/26 academic year. The current meal rate for universal infant free school meals and further education free meals is increasing to £2.61 for 2025/26. As with all programmes, we will continue to keep funding for FSM under review.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the school meals funding rate in England to match the rate in Scotland.

This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. We have now announced that we are extending free school meals (FSM) to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026. This will lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty and put £500 back in families’ pockets, supporting parents in decisive action to improve lives ahead of the Child Poverty Strategy coming later this year.Providing over half a million children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds with a free, nutritious lunchtime meal every school day will also lead to higher attainment, improved behaviour and better outcomes, meaning children get the best possible education and chance to succeed in work and life.The new entitlement will be fully funded. The department has set aside over £1 billion in funding over the multi-year spending review period to cover the additional meal costs. This is new money, as opposed to funding within existing school budgets. This will support schools to deliver nutritious and high quality meals which meet the school food standards to over half a million additional pupils.Schools fund benefits-related FSM from core funding, at a rate set by the national funding formula, which has increased to a factor value of £495 per eligible pupil for the 2025/26 academic year. The current meal rate for universal infant free school meals and further education free meals is increasing to £2.61 for 2025/26. As with all programmes, we will continue to keep funding for FSM under review.