Written questions by McMurdock.

If she will make an estimate of the number of schools needing to reduce (a) subjects taught, (b) the number of support staff and (c) maintenance of facilities to cover the cost of staff pay rises.

The department is providing schools with £615 million in additional funding in the 2025/26 financial year to support them with overall costs, including the costs of the 4% school teacher pay award and the 3.2% local government support staff pay offer in 2025/26. This additional increase in funding means that the overall core schools budget (CSB) will total £65.3 billion in 2025/26 compared to £61.6 billion in 2024/25. This is a year-on-year increase of £3.7 billion.Schools will, on average, be expected to fund approximately the first 1 percentage point of the teacher and support staff pay awards through improved productivity and smarter spending. That is equivalent to about 0.8% of a school’s overall budget, on average. The pay award will be funded above this level from new and existing funding increases from the government. The department believes that schools can make productivity gains. We know that this is challenging, but this is in line with asks to the rest of the public sector to drive better value from existing budgets to help rebuild public services.Schools are already making savings and bringing core operating costs down. For example, the 400 schools who participated in the department’s new energy for schools offer will save 36% on average compared to their previous contracts, which will free up vital funding to deliver for children and young people. The department is also making plans to secure better banking solutions for schools, getting them better returns on their cash balances. We will continue to provide schools with additional tools, guidance and support. Those best placed to identify ways for individual schools to operate more efficiently will be headteachers and school business managers.Budgets for 2026/27 are still to be agreed and this includes the 2026/27 CSB. This will be subject to the multi-year spending review, which we expect to be concluded in June this year. The department will be taking account of the impact of the full year's costs of the teacher pay award.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of staff pay rises on schools in deficit.

The department is providing schools with £615 million in additional funding in the 2025/26 financial year to support them with overall costs, including the costs of the 4% school teacher pay award and the 3.2% local government support staff pay offer in 2025/26. This additional increase in funding means that the overall core schools budget (CSB) will total £65.3 billion in 2025/26 compared to £61.6 billion in 2024/25. This is a year-on-year increase of £3.7 billion.Schools will, on average, be expected to fund approximately the first 1 percentage point of the teacher and support staff pay awards through improved productivity and smarter spending. That is equivalent to about 0.8% of a school’s overall budget, on average. The pay award will be funded above this level from new and existing funding increases from the government. The department believes that schools can make productivity gains. We know that this is challenging, but this is in line with asks to the rest of the public sector to drive better value from existing budgets to help rebuild public services.Schools are already making savings and bringing core operating costs down. For example, the 400 schools who participated in the department’s new energy for schools offer will save 36% on average compared to their previous contracts, which will free up vital funding to deliver for children and young people. The department is also making plans to secure better banking solutions for schools, getting them better returns on their cash balances. We will continue to provide schools with additional tools, guidance and support. Those best placed to identify ways for individual schools to operate more efficiently will be headteachers and school business managers.Budgets for 2026/27 are still to be agreed and this includes the 2026/27 CSB. This will be subject to the multi-year spending review, which we expect to be concluded in June this year. The department will be taking account of the impact of the full year's costs of the teacher pay award.

What (a) support and (b) guidance her Department provides to schools on the cost of pay rises for staff.

The department is providing schools with £615 million in additional funding in the 2025/26 financial year to support them with overall costs, including the costs of the 4% school teacher pay award and the 3.2% local government support staff pay offer in 2025/26. This additional increase in funding means that the overall core schools budget (CSB) will total £65.3 billion in 2025/26 compared to £61.6 billion in 2024/25. This is a year-on-year increase of £3.7 billion.Schools will, on average, be expected to fund approximately the first 1 percentage point of the teacher and support staff pay awards through improved productivity and smarter spending. That is equivalent to about 0.8% of a school’s overall budget, on average. The pay award will be funded above this level from new and existing funding increases from the government. The department believes that schools can make productivity gains. We know that this is challenging, but this is in line with asks to the rest of the public sector to drive better value from existing budgets to help rebuild public services.Schools are already making savings and bringing core operating costs down. For example, the 400 schools who participated in the department’s new energy for schools offer will save 36% on average compared to their previous contracts, which will free up vital funding to deliver for children and young people. The department is also making plans to secure better banking solutions for schools, getting them better returns on their cash balances. We will continue to provide schools with additional tools, guidance and support. Those best placed to identify ways for individual schools to operate more efficiently will be headteachers and school business managers.Budgets for 2026/27 are still to be agreed and this includes the 2026/27 CSB. This will be subject to the multi-year spending review, which we expect to be concluded in June this year. The department will be taking account of the impact of the full year's costs of the teacher pay award.

What recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of pay for school support staff.

School support staff play a vital role in children’s education and the smooth running of schools.Most school support staff are currently employed on National Joint Council (NJC) for local government services pay and conditions. The NJC is a negotiating body made up of representatives from trade unions and local government employers. Employees covered by the NJC for local government services pay and conditions have been offered a pay increase of 3.2% from 1 April 2025, which is subject to agreement by the recognised NJC unions.This government values and recognises the professionalism of the entire school workforce. That is why we are establishing the School Support Staff Negotiating Body, which will mean that in future years employers and employee representatives come together to negotiate terms and conditions and pay structures for school support staff.

What steps she is taking to ensure support staff in schools are supported in handling the (a) complex medical needs and (b) behavioural issues of children in schools.

Support staff in schools perform a valuable role and the department is grateful for their important contribution to schools across the country.The statutory guidance ‘Supporting pupils with medical conditions at school’ makes clear what is expected of schools in taking reasonable steps to fulfil their legal obligations and to meet the individual needs of pupils with medical conditions. This guidance is accessible at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3.Schools should ensure they are aware of any pupils with medical conditions and have policies and processes in place to ensure these can be well managed. Policies should set out how staff will be supported in carrying out their role to support pupils, including how training needs are assessed and how training is commissioned and provided. Any member of school staff providing support to a pupil with medical needs should have received suitable training.All schools are required to have a behaviour policy that outlines effective strategies to promote good behaviour and specifies the sanctions for misbehaviour. This policy must be communicated to all pupils, school staff, including support staff, and parents to ensure everyone is aware of the high standards of behaviour expected. The behaviour policy should also reflect the school's culture and be supported by all staff and senior leaders, including the headteacher.The department is establishing up to 90 new regional improvement for standards and excellence Attendance and Behaviour Hubs. Hubs will be led by schools with excellent attendance and behaviour practice who will work closely with other schools to help improve their approach.

What steps she is taking to ensure that disabled children have access to (a) effective and (b) suitable schooling.

Schools have a range of duties under the Equality Act 2010 in relation to their disabled pupils, including to make reasonable adjustments and accessibility planning duties. These duties help ensure that all pupils with disabilities are able to access and thrive in their education. The accessibility duties require a planned approach to increasing accessibility so that, over time, pupils with disabilities are more comprehensively included in the whole life of the school and fewer adjustments are needed for individual disabled pupils.Many children with disabilities also have special educational needs (SEN). The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) sits with local authorities.We know that many children and young people with SEND struggle to find a suitable school placement that is close to their home and meets their needs. We are committed to addressing this through improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special schools cater to those with the most complex needs. Many mainstream settings are already committed to delivering specialist provision locally, including through resourced provision and SEN units.The department has now published allocations for £740 million in High Needs Provision Capital Allocations (HNPCA) for the 2025/26 financial year. Thurrock Council has been allocated just under £2 million and Essex Council has been allocated just under £21 million for high needs capital investment in 2025/26. The funding can be used to adapt schools to be more accessible for children with SEND, to create specialist facilities within mainstream schools that can deliver more intensive support adapted to suit the pupils’ needs, and to create special school places for pupils with the most complex needs.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of national insurance increases on privately run children's day nurseries.

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. This is key to the government’s Plan for Change, which starts with reaching the milestone of a record number of children being ready for school. That also means ensuring the sector is financially sustainable and confident as it continues to deliver entitlements and high-quality early years provision going forward.That is why, despite tough decisions to get our public finances back on track, this government is continuing to prioritise and invest, supporting early education and childcare providers with the costs they face.In the 2025/26 financial year alone, we plan to spend over £8 billion on early years entitlements. The department has also announced the largest ever uplift to the early years pupil premium, increasing the rate by over 45% compared to the 2024/25 financial year, equivalent to up to £570 per eligible child per year.On top of this, the department is providing further supplementary funding of £75 million for the early years expansion grant to support the sector as they prepare to deliver the final phase of expanded childcare entitlements from September 2025, recognising the significant level of expansion needed and the effort and planning this will require.

What steps she is taking to support privately run children's day nurseries with costs.

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.Local authority-maintained schools provide education for no charge, so are outside the scope of VAT. Additionally, some other providers are exempt from VAT. The provision of nursery services by a provider registered with Ofsted, as a supply of welfare rather than of education services, is also exempt. Local authority-run schools and nurseries can recover some of their VAT through the Section 33 scheme, which aims to ensure that VAT does not divert locally-collected taxes away from their intended use. Private nurseries, like private schools, cannot recover their VAT. Any change to this approach would come at a cost to the exchequer and any reduction in tax paid is a reduction in the money available to support important public services, including the NHS and policing. The government therefore has no plans to change the VAT treatment of nurseries. However, all taxes are kept under constant review.From this year, we plan to provide over £8 billion for the early years entitlements, a more than 30% increase compared to 2024/25. The early years pupil premium rate has increased by over 45% compared to the 2024/25 financial year, equivalent to up to £570 per eligible child per year. We are also providing further supplementary funding of £75 million for the early years expansion grant and £25 million through the forthcoming National Insurance contributions grant for public sector employers in early years.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of VAT increases on privately run children's day nurseries.

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.Local authority-maintained schools provide education for no charge, so are outside the scope of VAT. Additionally, some other providers are exempt from VAT. The provision of nursery services by a provider registered with Ofsted, as a supply of welfare rather than of education services, is also exempt. Local authority-run schools and nurseries can recover some of their VAT through the Section 33 scheme, which aims to ensure that VAT does not divert locally-collected taxes away from their intended use. Private nurseries, like private schools, cannot recover their VAT. Any change to this approach would come at a cost to the exchequer and any reduction in tax paid is a reduction in the money available to support important public services, including the NHS and policing. The government therefore has no plans to change the VAT treatment of nurseries. However, all taxes are kept under constant review.From this year, we plan to provide over £8 billion for the early years entitlements, a more than 30% increase compared to 2024/25. The early years pupil premium rate has increased by over 45% compared to the 2024/25 financial year, equivalent to up to £570 per eligible child per year. We are also providing further supplementary funding of £75 million for the early years expansion grant and £25 million through the forthcoming National Insurance contributions grant for public sector employers in early years.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of local authorities operating at a deficit on secondary schools.

School funding is increasing by £3.2 billion in 2025/26, compared to 2024/25, taking total core school budgets to over £64.8 billion this year.The department offers various resources and guidance to help both maintained schools and academies to manage their finances more effectively. This includes best practice for budgeting and financial planning, support and mentoring for school business professionals and hands on support through school resource management advisers (SRMAs). SRMAs are practising sector experts who provide independent, expert and tailored advice on how schools can make best use of their revenue and capital resources.Local authorities are responsible for overseeing the finances of maintained schools, the large majority of which are managing a surplus. The department’s guidance on schemes for financing schools states that local authorities have to licence any deficit in a maintained school and that there should be a plan to bring the school’s finances back into balance within three years.

What plans she has to reduce the number of local authority maintained secondary schools which are operating a deficit.

School funding is increasing by £3.2 billion in 2025/26, compared to 2024/25, taking total core school budgets to over £64.8 billion this year.The department offers various resources and guidance to help both maintained schools and academies to manage their finances more effectively. This includes best practice for budgeting and financial planning, support and mentoring for school business professionals and hands on support through school resource management advisers (SRMAs). SRMAs are practising sector experts who provide independent, expert and tailored advice on how schools can make best use of their revenue and capital resources.Local authorities are responsible for overseeing the finances of maintained schools, the large majority of which are managing a surplus. The department’s guidance on schemes for financing schools states that local authorities have to licence any deficit in a maintained school and that there should be a plan to bring the school’s finances back into balance within three years.

What support is available for secondary schools facing financial pressures that require (a) new facilities and (b) building repairs.

This government is committed to ensuring that secondary and other schools have the resources and buildings that they need to help every child achieve and thrive.The department supports academy trusts, local authorities and voluntary-aided school bodies, who are responsible for managing the safety and maintenance of their schools, with capital funding, rebuilding programmes and extensive guidance on effective estate management.The department has recently confirmed the details of £2.1 billion of capital funding for the 2025/26 financial year to improve the condition of the school estate, up from £1.8 billion committed for the 2024/25 financial year. Provisional allocations for all eligible responsible bodies have been published on GOV.UK and the outcomes for the bid-based Condition Improvement Fund will be announced later in the spring.This is on top of the continuing school rebuilding programme (SRP) which is rebuilding or significantly refurbishing buildings at 518 schools and sixth form colleges across England. There are five SRP schools in South Basildon and East Thurrock, including St Clere’s Secondary School. By tackling schools in the worst condition, the programme will dramatically reduce the funding these schools require annually, enabling the sector to invest more of their capital funding in other schools.Where the department is alerted to significant safety issues with a building, that cannot be managed within local resources, we provide additional advice and support on a case-by-case basis.Capital funding to improve school buildings beyond the 2025/26 financial year will be confirmed following the next phase of the spending review.The department also provides capital funding through the basic need grant to support local authorities meet their statutory duty to secure sufficient school places. On 27 March, the department announced over £1 billion to support local authorities to create mainstream school places needed by September 2028. This funding, £640 million of which will be paid in the 2026/27 financial year, with a further £400 million paid in the 2027/28 financial year, is on top of almost £1.5 billion of basic need capital funding that has previously been announced to create new mainstream school places needed in the current and next two academic years.The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places sits with local authorities. 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.

What recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the education system for supporting the academic attainment of boys.

All young people should have every opportunity to succeed, no matter who they are or where they are from. That is why, through our work to deliver the Opportunity Mission, the department will improve opportunities and life chances across the country for all children and young people. As in previous years the latest attainment data shows girls continue to do better than boys across all headline measures, however, the gap has narrowed when comparing the 2023/24 academic year to the 2018/19 academic year. The department publishes attainment data by sex on an annual basis in the autumn term, which can be broken down by specific local authorities, including Essex. Further data can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/key-stage-4-performance/2023-24. High and rising standards across schools are the heart of our mission and the key to unlocking stronger outcomes for every child and young person, regardless of their gender. The department aims to deliver these improvements through excellent teaching and leadership, a high quality curriculum and a system which removes the barriers to learning that hold too many children back. The quality of teaching is the single most important in-school factor in improving outcomes for all children, which is why the department is committed to recruiting 6,500 new expert teachers. We have also launched an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, which is closely examining the key challenges to attainment for young people and the barriers that hold children back from the opportunities and life chances they deserve. To strengthen school improvement, the new regional improvement for standards and excellence (RISE) teams will provide both mandatory targeted intervention for schools identified by Ofsted as needing to improve and a universal service, acting as a catalyst for a self-improving system, for all schools. The department also engages regularly with teachers and headteachers and their representative bodies on a range of issues, including attainment, behaviour and attendance. This includes engagement through the department’s teacher and headteacher reference groups. Alongside this, the department regularly engages with school leaders and teachers to develop its attendance policy. During the spring term the department delivered a programme of nine regional attendance conferences across England, giving secondary school leaders and teachers the chance to hear how other schools are tackling attendance challenges and spread best practice across the system. The conference in the East of England was held on 17 March.

What recent estimate she has made of the number of secondary schools in debt.

83 local authority maintained secondary schools were operating a deficit at the end of the 2023/24 financial year, according to their financial reporting returns. Academy trusts are responsible for the combined accounts of all the academies within their trusts, and so it is not possible to accurately identify the number of individual secondary academies in deficit. At the end of the 2022/23 academic year, around 98% of academy trusts were in cumulative surplus or breaking even, while 55 academy trusts had a deficit.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the quality of (a) buildings and (b) facilities in state secondary schools in England.

Ensuring schools and colleges have the facilities and buildings they need is a key part of the department’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every young person the best start in life. The department supports local authorities, academy trusts and voluntary-aided school bodies responsible for the school estate by providing capital funding, delivering major rebuilding programmes and offering guidance and support. We have increased funding to improve the condition of the estate for the 2025/26 financial year to £2.1 billion, up from £1.8 billion last year. This is in addition to our continued investment in the school rebuilding programme. From 2021 to 2026, the department’s Condition Data Collection 2 programme is visiting every government-funded school and college in England to collect data about the condition of their buildings. This data will provide a comprehensive picture of the condition of the school estate in England to support our capital funding programmes. In addition, the department has commissioned new research, due to complete by spring 2026, to better understand the performance of post-war education buildings.

What recent estimate she has made of (a) the average class size in secondary schools and (b) the number of secondary school places available to young people in (i) England and (ii) Essex.

The department publishes information on class sizes in England in the annual accredited official statistics, ‘Schools, pupils and their characteristics’. The most recent data can be accessed at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics/2023-24. The average class sizes for secondary schools in the Essex region and across England for the 2023/24 academic year are available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/aada0205-1f9a-48fc-a8c1-08dd736ca4ba. Data on state-funded school places is published at national and local authority level in the annual school capacity statistics publication. The latest data is for academic year 2023/24 and can be accessed at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-capacity/2023-24. The number of school places in mainstream state secondary schools in England and Essex as of 1 May 2024, as well as how many were unfilled, can be found at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/8e1c8b2e-fc28-436c-9b02-08dd7377d1ad. The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places sits with local authorities.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of growing class sizes on (a) the academic attainment of students and (b) the quality of lessons.

Our school system will drive high and rising standards, across every school and for every child. We aim to deliver these improvements through excellent teaching and leadership, a high-quality curriculum, robust accountability and faster school improvement, and a system which removes additional barriers to learning.Class sizes in primary and infant classes have been on a downwards trend in recent years, while secondary school classes have increased only slightly in line with demographic trends.The quality of teaching is the most significant within-school factor in improving outcomes for children. This is why as our first steps for change, we are committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 new expert teachers across our schools, both mainstream and specialist, and our colleges over the course of this Parliament, reflecting the demographic trend of more pupils moving into upper secondary school and 16 to 19.To further strengthen the foundations of learning, we have also launched an independent, expert-led curriculum and assessment review which seeks to deliver an excellent foundation in the core subjects of reading, writing and mathematics, and a broader, high-quality knowledge-rich curriculum that readies young people for life and work.

What recent discussions her Department has had with secondary school teachers on the (a) attainment, (b) behaviour and (c) attendance of boys in schools in (i) England and (ii) Essex.

All young people should have every opportunity to succeed, no matter who they are or where they are from. That is why, through our work to deliver the Opportunity Mission, the department will improve opportunities and life chances across the country for all children and young people. As in previous years the latest attainment data shows girls continue to do better than boys across all headline measures, however, the gap has narrowed when comparing the 2023/24 academic year to the 2018/19 academic year. The department publishes attainment data by sex on an annual basis in the autumn term, which can be broken down by specific local authorities, including Essex. Further data can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/key-stage-4-performance/2023-24. High and rising standards across schools are the heart of our mission and the key to unlocking stronger outcomes for every child and young person, regardless of their gender. The department aims to deliver these improvements through excellent teaching and leadership, a high quality curriculum and a system which removes the barriers to learning that hold too many children back. The quality of teaching is the single most important in-school factor in improving outcomes for all children, which is why the department is committed to recruiting 6,500 new expert teachers. We have also launched an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, which is closely examining the key challenges to attainment for young people and the barriers that hold children back from the opportunities and life chances they deserve. To strengthen school improvement, the new regional improvement for standards and excellence (RISE) teams will provide both mandatory targeted intervention for schools identified by Ofsted as needing to improve and a universal service, acting as a catalyst for a self-improving system, for all schools. The department also engages regularly with teachers and headteachers and their representative bodies on a range of issues, including attainment, behaviour and attendance. This includes engagement through the department’s teacher and headteacher reference groups. Alongside this, the department regularly engages with school leaders and teachers to develop its attendance policy. During the spring term the department delivered a programme of nine regional attendance conferences across England, giving secondary school leaders and teachers the chance to hear how other schools are tackling attendance challenges and spread best practice across the system. The conference in the East of England was held on 17 March.

If she will take steps to ensure teaching materials used in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools are (i) politically impartial and (ii) present a balanced view of (A) political and (B) historical events.

In 2022 the department published comprehensive guidance to support schools to meet their duties on political impartiality. This guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/political-impartiality-in-schools/political-impartiality-in-schools. The guidance is clear that all schools should take full responsibility for ensuring lessons and materials are age appropriate, suitable and politically impartial, particularly when using materials produced by external organisations. The guidance also highlights that legal duties on political impartiality are unlikely to be relevant when teaching about political events from previous historical periods. However, the guidance is clear that, when teaching about more recent historical events, it is important to ensure that political issues that remain contentious today are presented to pupils in a balanced manner.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that teachers remain (a) politically impartial and (b) balanced, in line with Section 406 and 407 of the Education Act 1996.

In 2022 the department published comprehensive guidance to support schools to meet their duties on political impartiality. This guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/political-impartiality-in-schools/political-impartiality-in-schools. The guidance is clear that all schools should take full responsibility for ensuring lessons and materials are age appropriate, suitable and politically impartial, particularly when using materials produced by external organisations. The guidance also highlights that legal duties on political impartiality are unlikely to be relevant when teaching about political events from previous historical periods. However, the guidance is clear that, when teaching about more recent historical events, it is important to ensure that political issues that remain contentious today are presented to pupils in a balanced manner.