Written questions by Platt.

What data her Department holds on the outcomes of Service children with (a) special educational needs and (b) disabilities.

Awaiting answer.

What assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of variation between local authorities in the provision of SEND support for children from Armed Forces families.

Awaiting answer.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of family mobility on the continuity of SEND provision for children from Armed Forces families.

Awaiting answer.

What steps her Department is taking to support skills development in retrofit and traditional construction methods, including heritage crafts such as stonemasonry.

Awaiting answer.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of collecting data on the number of pupils in each local authority receiving SEN support for literacy and dyslexia, particularly in relation to (a) the Government's White Paper 'Every Child Achieving and Thriving' and (b) to support the Expert at Hands service.

Awaiting answer.

If she will publish the number of pupils in England receiving SEN support for literacy and dyslexia.

Awaiting answer.

What estimate she has made of the number of children with SEND are out of education.

The department publishes data on compulsory school-aged children missing education (children not registered at school or otherwise receiving suitable education). In autumn 2025/26, local authorities in England reported 34,700 children missing education.Of this total, just under 8% of children were recorded as requiring SEN support and just over 8% were recorded as having an education, health and care plan. This compares with 14% and 5%, for the overall school population.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of developing a joint workforce plan with the Department for Health and Social Care to support sustainability of Experts at Hand service.

The department is working closely with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS England on special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms, including delivery of the Experts at Hand offer, strengthening joint workforce planning and commissioning at a local level between education and health partners.We are investing 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, strengthening mainstream education through access to health and specialist education support.To support delivery, we are investing over £40 million in the specialist workforce, including £26 million to increase educational psychologists and £15 million to grow the speech and language therapy workforce.Local area partnerships will develop and deliver their own Experts at Hand, tailored to local population needs and supported by strong national oversight. The government will set the overall framework, provide guidance and tools, and work closely with local areas to ensure consistent quality.

What steps she is taking to help ensure that individual needs are assessed and met through Specialist Provision Packages.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

What steps her Department is taking to improve (a) recruitment, (b) retention, (c) career progression and (d) workload in the early years workforce.

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. This is why the department is supporting the sector to attract talented staff and childminders by creating conditions for improved recruitment, alongside programmes to better utilise the skills of the existing workforce and make early years careers as accessible as possible.The department is attracting new people into the early years sector through initiatives like our national recruitment campaign and financial incentives programmes. We are also ensuring there is a career path for everyone who wants to become an early years teacher, through increasing places on our existing teacher training programmes and introducing a new early years teacher degree apprenticeship route.The department is confident that through our Best Start in Life Strategy, we can lay the foundations for long-term change. We will give early years educators the status they deserve, creating more opportunities to enter the profession, gain higher qualifications, and build fulfilling careers.

Whether her Department has considered moving from a term‑time funding model to a year‑round model for early years entitlements.

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.Children become eligible for the working parent entitlement from 1 September, 1 January or 1 April, the term after they reach the relevant age and meet relevant eligibility criteria.Depending on when a child is born and when the eligibility criteria are met, there will be differing periods to wait until the relevant termly date.Termly deadlines enable local authorities and childcare providers to better plan and ensure sufficient early years places are available for parents each term, as there are clear periods for when children are likely to enter into a place.

What steps her Department is taking to help ensure sustainable funding linked to inflation for the Holiday Activities and Food programme.

Through our Plan for Change, the government is committed to giving every child the best start in life. On 28 August 2025, the department confirmed over £600 million for the holiday activities and food (HAF) programme for the next three financial years, from 2026/27. This equates to just over £200 million each year.This multi-year commitment gives parents and providers certainty that clubs will be available over what can otherwise be an expensive holiday period, ensuring that children and young people continue to benefit from enriching holiday experiences and nutritious meals. The programme also opens work opportunities for parents on low incomes to support their families.The department will be releasing further details about the HAF programme by the end of the year.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Holiday Activities and Food programme on levels of (a) food insecurity and (b) support for families during school holidays.

The holiday activities and food programme (HAF) ensures that children who are eligible for free school meals can access enriching activities and healthy meals during school holidays, benefiting their health, wellbeing and learning. On 28 August, the department announced that over £600 million has been confirmed for the programme for the next three financial years, from 2026/27.This multi-year commitment gives parents and providers certainty that clubs will be available over what can otherwise be an expensive holiday period, ensuring that children and young people continue to benefit from enriching holiday experiences and nutritious meals. The programme also opens work opportunities for parents on low incomes to support their families.Almost five million HAF days were provided across the Christmas, Easter and summer holidays this year, reaching over half a million children. During summer 2024, over 628,000 children attended the HAF programme.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that (a) colleges and (b) schools will be able to offer appropriate post-16 pathways in the (i) 2026-2027 and (ii) 2027-2028 academic years.

The department published the Post-16 education and skills white paper on 20 October 2025. This sets out comprehensive reforms to build a world-leading skills system that break down barriers to opportunity, meets student and employers’ needs, widens access to high quality education and training, supports innovation, research and development, and improves people’s lives.We are investing nearly £800 million extra in 2026/27 in funding for 16 to 19-year-old education, helping to enable the recruitment and retention of high-quality teachers. We will also pilot an automatic guaranteed provider place for all 16-year-olds, to ensure no one is left behind after year 11.

What steps her Department is taking to reduce the level of misogynist attitudes amongst young people at (a) primary and (b) secondary level.

Through compulsory relationships education, all pupils should learn how to form positive and respectful relationships and develop an understanding of the concepts and laws around misogyny, sexual harassment and sexual violence.The relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) guidance has been reviewed and updated, with the final guidance published on 15 July. This can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education.The guidance is clear that schools should provide pupils with the knowledge and skills they need to recognise sexism and misogyny and report abuse, including emotional, physical and sexual abuse, as well as to build empathy and promote respect for all. Positive action should be taken to build a culture where misogynistic attitudes and behaviour are not tolerated, and any occurrences are identified and tackled.To help support the sector implement changes following the publication of the revised RSHE guidance, we are piloting a teacher training grant, starting in early 2026.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure schools in low-income communities can recruit and retain high-quality teachers.

Recruiting and retaining more qualified, expert teachers is critical to the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and boost the life chances for every young person.For the 2024/25 and 2025/26 academic years, the department is offering a targeted retention incentive worth up to £6,000 after tax for secondary teachers in shortage subjects in the first five years of their careers who choose to work in disadvantaged schools. In Leigh and Atherton Constituency, two out of five schools are eligible for this retention payment.The High Potential Initial Teacher Training Programme, currently delivered by Teach First, also recruits high quality candidates specifically for placement in schools serving low-income communities to help improve outcomes for pupils.Our investment is starting to deliver: the workforce has grown by 2,346 full time employed staff between 2023/24 and 2024/25 in secondary and special schools and vacancies have fallen to their lowest since 2020.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a new Pupil Premium subcategory for persistently disadvantaged pupils.

The department recognises that there are disparities in outcomes for children attracting pupil premium and we are committed to doing more to improve the life chances of our most disadvantaged children, breaking the link between background and future success.The department is reviewing how we allocate pupil premium and related funding to schools and local authorities to ensure it is targeted to those who need it most, and we will provide more information in due course.

What steps she is taking to support supply teachers in (a) Leigh and Atherton constituency and (b) nationally.

Supply teachers make an important contribution to the smooth running of schools across the country by filling posts on a temporary basis and covering teacher absences.Schools and local authorities are currently responsible for the recruitment of their supply teachers. There are various approaches to providing supply teachers, such as using private supply teacher agencies.The department, in conjunction with the Crown Commercial Service, has established the agency supply deal, which supports schools to obtain value for money when hiring agency supply teachers and other temporary school staff. Further information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/deal-for-schools-hiring-supply-teachers-and-agency-workers.

What steps her Department is taking to monitor private supply teacher agencies.

Supply teachers make an important contribution to the smooth running of schools across the country by filling posts on a temporary basis and covering teacher absences.Schools and local authorities are currently responsible for the recruitment of their supply teachers. There are various approaches to providing supply teachers, such as using private supply teacher agencies.The department, in conjunction with the Crown Commercial Service, has established the agency supply deal, which supports schools to obtain value for money when hiring agency supply teachers and other temporary school staff. Further information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/deal-for-schools-hiring-supply-teachers-and-agency-workers.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of trends in levels of teacher shortages on SEND provision in schools serving communities with higher levels of disadvantage.

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. We are committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special schools cater to children and young people with the most complex needs. We will strengthen accountability and inclusivity 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. The department’s mainstream schools funding formula, and the formula that allocates funding for children and young people with complex needs, both include disadvantage factors that provide higher levels of funding to help schools support their pupils with SEND. Overall school funding is £64.8 billion in the 2025/26 financial year, of which over £12 billion is being allocated for young people with complex needs, including those with SEND. Supporting our expert teachers is critical to the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and boost the life chances for every child, as the in-school factor that makes the biggest difference to a young person’s educational outcomes is high-quality teaching, particularly for those with SEND and who are from disadvantaged backgrounds. The Teachers’ Standards set clear expectations that teachers must understand the needs of all pupils, including those with SEND. All trainees who achieve qualified teacher status must demonstrate that they can adapt teaching to respond to the needs of all pupils. For 2024/25 and 2025/26, we have doubled the targeted retention incentive, now worth up to £6,000 after tax for mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing teachers in the first five years of their careers who choose to work in disadvantaged schools. This will support recruitment and retention of specialist teachers in these subjects and in the schools and areas that need them most.