Written questions by Shannon.

Whether she is taking steps to introduce a GCSE on British Sign Language.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.The department is in the process of developing a British Sign Language (BSL) GCSE. This landmark GCSE is an important step towards greater recognition of BSL as a language and will foster better communication between deaf and hearing communities.The department published subject content for the BSL GCSE in December 2023. As is the usual process for introducing a qualification, the independent qualifications regulator, Ofqual, recently ran a public consultation on its proposed assessment arrangements and expects to confirm its decision on the qualification rules in autumn 2025. At this point, any exam board that chooses to offer the GCSE will be able to start developing specifications.

Whether the Child Poverty Strategy will include funding for family hubs.

I refer the hon. Member for Strangford to the answer of 03 July 2025 to Question 63139.

If she will bring forward legislative proposals to require local authorities to provide family hubs.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.On 11 June, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, set out plans for spending and public sector reforms through the Spending Review 2025.This announcement confirmed departmental budgets for 2026/27 onwards and committed that: the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme, working with parents to help give children the best start in life.This builds upon my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change, published in December 2024, which outlined the ambition to give children the best start in life by strengthening and joining up family services to improve support through pregnancy and early childhood.The department is working with the Department of Health and Social Care to share further information about what the Spending Review settlement means for the continuation and expansion of the programme. We recognise the importance of providing local authorities with certainty of future funding across the whole programme and we will share further information when we are able to.

What funding she plans to allocate to family hubs.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.On 11 June, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, set out plans for spending and public sector reforms through the Spending Review 2025.This announcement confirmed departmental budgets for 2026/27 onwards and committed that: the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme, working with parents to help give children the best start in life.This builds upon my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change, published in December 2024, which outlined the ambition to give children the best start in life by strengthening and joining up family services to improve support through pregnancy and early childhood.The department is working with the Department of Health and Social Care to share further information about what the Spending Review settlement means for the continuation and expansion of the programme. We recognise the importance of providing local authorities with certainty of future funding across the whole programme and we will share further information when we are able to.

If she will develop a national outcomes framework for family hubs.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.On 11 June, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, set out plans for spending and public sector reforms through the Spending Review 2025.This announcement confirmed departmental budgets for 2026/27 onwards and committed that: the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme, working with parents to help give children the best start in life.This builds upon my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change, published in December 2024, which outlined the ambition to give children the best start in life by strengthening and joining up family services to improve support through pregnancy and early childhood.The department is working with the Department of Health and Social Care to share further information about what the Spending Review settlement means for the continuation and expansion of the programme. We recognise the importance of providing local authorities with certainty of future funding across the whole programme and we will share further information when we are able to.

How many and what proportion of children were privately educated in each of the last five years.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.The department publishes information on the number and proportion of children in England who attended independent schools in each of the last five years in the annual ‘Schools, pupils and their characteristics’ accredited official statistics publication here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics/2024-25.

What steps he is taking to ensure children with special needs have the required support in schools.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.As part of our Plan for Change, we are determined to fix the SEND system and restore the trust of parents by ensuring schools have the tools to better identify and support children before issues escalate to crisis point.We will strengthen mainstream inclusivity and accountability through Ofsted, support the mainstream workforce to increase their SEND expertise, and encourage schools to set up resourced provision or special educational needs units to increase capacity in mainstream schools.We are actively working with parents and experts on solutions, including more early intervention to prevent needs from escalating and £740 million to encourage councils to create more specialist places in mainstream schools.Any changes we make will improve support for children and parents, stop parents having to fight for support, and protect effective provision currently in place. Details of the government's intended approach to SEND reform will be set out in a Schools White Paper in the autumn, including for early years and post-16.

Whether her Department plans to increase the number of hours of PE lessons available to schoolchildren to help tackle obesity.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.The government has committed to support more children to be active by protecting time for physical education (PE) and by empowering more schools to provide high-quality PE for all pupils.PE is a compulsory subject in the national curriculum for all four key stages and aims to ensure pupils lead healthy and active lives. The department does not mandate time for any subject, including PE.On 19 June, my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, announced next steps for the future of PE and sport in schools. The government will co-design PE and School Sport Partnership networks with the sector. We are looking to develop and build strong partnerships between schools, National Governing Bodies, local organisations and clubs, with the aim of increasing equal access for children to high-quality PE and extracurricular sport. Further details, including funding, will be outlined in due course and we expect to launch the partnerships from autumn 2026.The department also launched an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review in 2024 which seeks to deliver a curriculum which is rich and broad, inclusive and innovative, so that all children and young people do not miss out on subjects such as music, art, PE and drama. The interim report was published in March 2025, and the final report will be published in the autumn with the government’s response. Departmental officials are now working on the next phase of the Review, which is considering subject-specific issues including PE, and are working with external experts.

What steps she is taking to help support young men's mental health in (a) schools and (b) other educational settings.

Education is a devolved matter and this response outlines the information for England only.This government is committed to improving mental health support for all children and young people, including young men. This is critical to high and rising standards in schools and breaking down barriers to opportunity, helping pupils to achieve and thrive in education.As part of this, the government has launched a call for evidence on men’s health, including mental health and support for young men, as part of its commitment to developing a men’s health strategy. The consultation is open until 17 July: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-launches-call-for-evidence-on-mens-health.The government will provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every school by expanding Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs), so every child and young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate. By April 2026, we estimate that 60% of pupils in schools and learners in further education in England will be covered by an MHST, up from 52% in April 2025.We continue to work closely with students, parents, mental health experts and the higher education (HE) sector to drive meaningful change in mental health practice, and support student mental health in HE settings, through the HE Mental Health Implementation Taskforce.

What steps she is taking to educate children on the harms of antisemitism within the National Curriculum.

I refer the hon. Member for Strangford to the answer of 20 June 2025 to Question 59341.

What steps she is taking to encourage more opportunities in schools for music and orchestra lessons.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.As part of our Opportunity Mission, the department wants to widen access to the arts, including music, so young people can develop their creativity.On 18 March 2025, the department announced its intention to launch a National Centre for Arts and Music Education to promote opportunities for children and young people to pursue their artistic interests in school, including through the government’s network of Music Hubs.The government has also committed £79 million per year for Music Hubs to the 2025/26 academic year. The 43 Music Hubs partnerships offer musical instrument tuition, instrument loaning, and whole-class ensemble teaching in schools. It is for schools and Hubs to decide in relation to lessons that support orchestral music.

Whether she plans to implement a cross-departmental strategy on improving reading outcomes for children and young people.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.High and rising school standards, with excellent foundations in reading, writing and mathematics, are at the heart of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child, in every region of the country, the best start in life.In the 2025/26 financial year, the government has committed £27.7 million to support and drive high and rising standards in reading and writing. This includes supporting the teaching of phonics, early language and reading for pleasure via the English Hubs programme. The 34 English Hubs across England provide support to the schools in their region, with a focus on supporting children who are making the slowest progress in reading, many of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds.​In the 2025/26 academic year, this funding will also deliver a range of support for schools, including new training for primary schools to help children progress from the early stages of phonics through to reading fluently by the time they leave primary school, and new support and training for secondary schools to support reading at key stage 3.Departmental officials are working with the sector and other departments to consider how we can further encourage reading and reading for pleasure.

What steps her Department is taking to help tackle regional inequalities in children’s (a) reading enjoyment and (b) daily reading frequency.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.High and rising school standards, with excellent foundations in reading, writing and mathematics, are at the heart of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child, in every region of the country, the best start in life.In the 2025/26 financial year, the government has committed £27.7 million to support and drive high and rising standards in reading and writing.This includes supporting the teaching of phonics, early language and reading for pleasure via the English Hubs programme. The 34 English Hubs across England provide support to the schools in their region, with a focus on supporting children making the slowest progress in reading, many of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds.The English Hubs also deliver a reading for pleasure continuous professional development programme, ‘Transforming Schools Reading Culture’, in which over 2,000 schools have participated since 2021.The department is also strengthening our tools for more effective school improvement by launching new regional improvement for standards and excellence (RISE) teams to break down the barriers to opportunity and end the link between background and success. Supported by over £20 million in the 2025/26 financial year, RISE teams will provide both targeted intervention and universal support which will act as a catalyst for collaboration and improvement across all schools.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of access to books in low-income households on reading outcomes among children eligible for free school meals.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.The department knows that reading for pleasure is hugely important and brings a range of benefits. As well as a number of strong links with attainment, pupils who read regularly report heightened levels of social and emotional wellbeing.Evidence from the National Literacy Trust shows that in 2024, one in eight children who received free school meals (FSM) said they did not own a book of their own. There was a 4.4 percentage point gap in book ownership between children and young people who did and did not receive FSM, with 87.6% of those who received FSM having a book compared with 92.0% of their peers who did not.The department recognises and welcomes the important work of charities such as the National Literacy Trust, the Book Trust, the Reading Agency, World Book Day and many others in supporting and encouraging reading.The government has implemented a range of measures to support reading for pleasure. The English Hubs programme supports the teaching of phonics, early language development and reading for pleasure. Furthermore, the government’s Reading Framework provides guidance on improving the teaching of reading, to ensure that every child is not only able to read proficiently but also develops a genuine love of reading.

Whether her Department funds (a) research and (b) pilot programmes on the use of (i) artificial intelligence and (ii) digital technologies to encourage reading among children and young people.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has announced investment into two programmes of research this year, the EdTech Evidence Board pilot and the EdTech Impact Testbed. These will look at the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technologies to gather comprehensive evidence on EdTech.The EdTech Evidence Board pilot will explore how we effectively build evidence of EdTech products, helping education settings feel confident that they are choosing products that work well for them and for their classrooms. We want to incentivise more evidence generation from EdTech companies by setting product quality standards and piloting how to assess products.The EdTech Impact Testbed will test products and practice in schools and colleges to generate evidence of impact in priority areas. In partnership with the Open Innovation Team, the department will be engaging the sector to understand what works, looking at how tools, including AI, can improve staff workload, pupil outcomes and inclusivity. To help address current gaps in evidence on the impact and scalability of promising technologies, we have committed £1 million in funding to this pilot. This will build on our work to improve evidence quality for EdTech by providing a structured environment for testing and evaluating technologies.

What progress she has made on teaching the importance of cyber safety in schools.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.As part of statutory relationships, sex and health education (RSHE), pupils are taught about online safety and harms, including the implications of sharing private or personal data (including images) online, harmful content and contact, cyberbullying, and the risks associated with over-reliance on social media. Cyber safety is also embedded across all key stages of the computing curriculum, with progression in content to reflect the different and escalating risks that young people may encounter.The department is currently reviewing the RSHE curriculum. We are looking carefully at the consultation responses, considering the evidence, and talking to key stakeholders before issuing revised guidance.The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, which seeks to deliver a rich, broad, inclusive and innovative curriculum that readies young people for life and work. The Review’s interim report notes the rise of artificial intelligence and trends in digital information, and that it is necessary that the curriculum keeps pace with these changes. The Review’s final report and recommendations will be published in autumn with the government’s response.

What steps her Department is taking to implement the recommendations on staff training made in Prevention of Future Deaths reports in the case of (a) Mohammed Ismaeel Ashraf, (b) Karanbir Cheema and (c) Nasar Ahmed.

In these three tragic cases the coroners found that a lack of understanding of the pupils’ allergies and the correct way to respond to an allergic reaction may have contributed to their deaths. Governing bodies must ensure that the arrangements they put in place are sufficient to meet their statutory responsibilities and that policies, plans, procedures and systems are properly and effectively implemented. This includes the duty under Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 to make arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions, and the duties under the Equality Act 2010.The department has included reminders to schools of these duties in its regular schools’ email bulletin, including issues in March 2024, September 2024 and March 2025. We have also recently alerted schools to external resources from trusted allergy organisations. This includes the Schools Allergy Code, which was developed by the Allergy Team, Independent Schools’ Bursars Association (ISBA) and the Benedict Blythe Foundation, and Allergy School created by the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation.

How many children have attended state boarding schools in each of the last five years.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.The number of children who have attended state boarding schools in each of the last five academic years in England, broken down by school phase type, is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/719c18b6-84ce-419b-a84a-08dda25bd6a4.The department publishes information of schools, pupils and their characteristics annually. The latest data can be accessed at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics/2024-25.

What assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of in-school counselling services.

Education is a devolved matter and this response outlines the information for England only.Timely and effective in-school pastoral support is critical to achieving high and rising standards in schools and breaking down barriers to opportunity.It is for schools to choose the specific wellbeing interventions that are best suited to their pupils, making the best use of their funding and taking the best available evidence-based advice. Many schools choose to provide in-school counsellors, and these can play a positive role in supporting pupil mental wellbeing.So that every child and young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate, this government has committed to providing access to specialist mental health professionals in every school by expanding Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs). By April 2026, we estimate that 60% of pupils in schools and learners in further education in England will be covered by an MHST, up from 52% in April 2025.The Autumn Budget 2024 confirmed an additional £2.3 billion for the core schools budget for the 2025/26 financial year compared to 2024/25. This means that overall core schools funding will reach over £63.9 billion in 2025/26.

What steps her Department is taking to help protect freedom of faith in schools.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.Religious education (RE) is a compulsory part of the basic curriculum in state schools. The government firmly believes in the importance of RE in helping to foster understanding amongst different faith and culture.All state-funded schools must also provide a daily act of collective worship. It is for schools to tailor their provision to suit the needs of their pupils.Faith schools, which remain an important element of our education system, have greater freedom to maintain their religious ethos. This could include teaching religious education and providing collective worship in accordance with the tenets and practices of their faith.Parents have the right to withdraw their children from all or any part of religious education or collective worship.All schools have specific duties to promote the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of their pupils and to prepare them for the opportunities and responsibilities of adult life. Furthermore, schools are required to promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs. Ofsted inspects how schools and colleges develop their pupils' understanding of these values.