Written questions by Furniss.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the equity of the Early Years funding formula on families and childcare providers in Sheffield.

The department uses the early years national funding formulae (EYNFF) to allocate early years entitlement funding to local authorities in a fair and transparent way.The formulae ensure each area receives a base rate for each age group individually, regardless of location or individual need. On top of this, additional needs funding is allocated to reflect the proportion of children in each area who are disadvantaged, have English as an additional language, or have more complex special educational needs, recognising the higher costs of supporting these groups. An area cost adjustment is also applied to account for local variations in staffing and premises costs.Through this approach, the department aims to ensure funding reflects children’s needs and local cost pressures throughout England, including in Sheffield.We have committed to reviewing early years funding, including the national funding formulae, to ensure funding continues to match needs. We will consult the sector on changes by summer 2026.

What steps her Department has taken to help bring awareness to the National Year of Reading within schools and alternative provision settings.

The National Year of Reading is a UK-wide campaign to address long-term declines in reading enjoyment through engaging new audiences, reshaping public attitudes and building the systems needed to embed lasting, meaningful change during 2026 and beyond.​It includes a major physical and online marketing campaign, as well as exciting events, webinars, resources, and activities in communities, libraries, schools and early years settings throughout the year.The department is raising awareness of the National Year of Reading in schools through a range of methods, such as via departmental communication channels, the National Year of Reading mailing list and social media, communications from the National Literacy Trust and promotion via the English Hubs network.For libraries, The Reading Agency are providing public libraries with resources, toolkits and print and digital materials to activate the National Year of Reading.Schools, alternative provision settings and all interested parties are encouraged to sign up to www.goallin.org.uk to receive regular updates on the National Year of Reading.

What steps her Department has to help bring awareness to the National Year of Reading.

The National Year of Reading is a UK-wide campaign to address long-term declines in reading enjoyment through engaging new audiences, reshaping public attitudes and building the systems needed to embed lasting, meaningful change during 2026 and beyond.​It includes a major physical and online marketing campaign, as well as exciting events, webinars, resources, and activities in communities, libraries, schools and early years settings throughout the year.The department is raising awareness of the National Year of Reading in schools through a range of methods, such as via departmental communication channels, the National Year of Reading mailing list and social media, communications from the National Literacy Trust and promotion via the English Hubs network.For libraries, The Reading Agency are providing public libraries with resources, toolkits and print and digital materials to activate the National Year of Reading.Schools, alternative provision settings and all interested parties are encouraged to sign up to www.goallin.org.uk to receive regular updates on the National Year of Reading.

What steps her Department plans to take to improve a) universal, b) targeted and c) specialist speech, language and communication support.

On 23 February, we published the ‘Every Child Achieving and Thriving’ White Paper, alongside a ‘SEND Reform: Putting Children and Young People First’ consultation. We announced an investment of over £40 million to increase support available from speech and language therapists and educational psychologists, including for those with speech, language and communication needs.We are providing around £1.8 billion over the next three years for local area partnerships, including local authorities and integrated care boards, to develop a new ‘Experts at Hand’ offer, designed to strengthen the capability of mainstream education settings by providing access to universal and targeted support from key services, including speech and language therapists.The government is investing £200 million to give all staff in schools, colleges and nurseries the training needed to better support pupils with special educational needs and disabilities in mainstream settings.We are extending the Early Language and Support for Every Child programme, trialling new ways of working to better identify and support children with speech, language and communication needs in early years settings and primary schools.We are continuing to invest in the Nuffield Early Language Intervention, which significantly impacts oral language and early literacy, particularly for disadvantaged pupils.​

What (a) training and (b) support will be provided to (i) teachers and (ii) other education staff as part of the new curriculum to support the delivery of increased levels of literacy in schools.

High and rising standards are at the heart of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best life chances.Following the recommendations of the Curriculum and Assessment Review published on 5 November 2025, we will revise the English curriculum to ensure that there is more emphasis on speaking, listening and drama, alongside creating a new primary oracy framework and a new combined secondary oracy, reading and writing framework to support its implementation.The government has also committed £27.7 million this financial year to support and drive high and rising standards in reading. This includes supporting the teaching of phonics, early language and reading for pleasure via the English Hubs programme.We will also build secondary schools' capacity to support students with reading needs by providing new reading training from January 2026.Additionally, on 7 July 2025, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education announced that 2026 will be the National Year of Reading. The National Year of Reading is a UK-wide campaign to address the steep decline in reading enjoyment amongst children, young people and adults. More information is available at www.goallin.org.uk.

What steps she is taking as part of the new curriculum to develop a culture of reading for pleasure in schools.

The department knows that reading for pleasure is hugely important and brings a range of benefits.That is why we are launching the National Year of Reading 2026, in collaboration with the National Literacy Trust. It aims to address long-term declines in reading enjoyment through engaging new audiences, reshaping public attitudes and building the systems needed to embed lasting, meaningful change.The government has also committed £27.7 million this financial year to support and drive high and rising standards in reading. This includes supporting the teaching of phonics, early language and reading for pleasure via the English Hubs programme.Following the recommendations of the Curriculum and Assessment Review, published on 5 November 2025, we will revise the English curriculum to ensure that we give every child rock solid foundations in oracy, reading and writing, and an improved key stage 3 that re-engages pupils and prevents their learning from stagnating.