Written questions by Robertson.

Whether SEND practitioners will be provided with training on how to support children with speech, language and communication.

I refer the hon. Member for Isle of Wight East to the answer of 23 March 2026 to Question 121271.

Whether the professional overview board of the National Inclusion Standards will include (a) speech and language therapists and (b) other experts on speech, language and communication.

I refer the hon. Member for Isle of Wight East to the answer of 23 March 2026 to Question 121270.

What assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of trends in the level of (a) recruitment and (b) retention in further education colleges in (i) island and (ii) coastal communities.

The department is taking actions to strengthen the recruitment and retention in further education (FE) colleges across the country, including coastal and island communities, as outlined in the recent Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper.Across the spending review period we will provide £1.2 billion of additional investment per year in skills by 2028/2029. This will support colleges to recruit and retain excellent teachers. Delivery of this funding is weighted to account for levels of disadvantage.Our national recruitment campaign promotes careers in FE, and retention payments of up to £6,000 after tax are offered for early career teachers, with higher payments for providers with a higher proportion of disadvantaged learners. Bursaries of up to £31,000 are available for teacher training. With reference to pay, FE colleges, rather than the government, are responsible for setting pay.The department will continue to monitor workforce recruitment and retention trends through the FE Workforce Data Collection.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of pay disparities between mainland further education colleges and those in island communities on staff recruitment and retention.

The department is taking actions to strengthen the recruitment and retention in further education (FE) colleges across the country, including coastal and island communities, as outlined in the recent Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper.Across the spending review period we will provide £1.2 billion of additional investment per year in skills by 2028/2029. This will support colleges to recruit and retain excellent teachers. Delivery of this funding is weighted to account for levels of disadvantage.Our national recruitment campaign promotes careers in FE, and retention payments of up to £6,000 after tax are offered for early career teachers, with higher payments for providers with a higher proportion of disadvantaged learners. Bursaries of up to £31,000 are available for teacher training. With reference to pay, FE colleges, rather than the government, are responsible for setting pay.The department will continue to monitor workforce recruitment and retention trends through the FE Workforce Data Collection.

What assessment she has made of the cost to the public purse of industrial disputes in further education colleges.

Further education colleges, rather than government, are responsible for setting and negotiating terms and conditions and managing their industrial relations.Based on engagement with the sector, we know colleges affected by recent strikes have generally implemented measures to ensure the impact on learners is minimised as far as possible. This has included rearranging classes, providing online learning where possible, and keeping libraries and learning centres open to allow the opportunity for independent study.We encourage colleges to continue to adopt these and other appropriate mitigations where that is necessary. We encourage colleges and unions to remain engaged in open and constructive dialogue for the best interests of staff and students.We all have a shared goal in ensuring our young people gain the best education during this critical transition period, advancing their opportunities and supporting economic growth.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the further education funding model on workforce planning.

We use the 16 to 19 funding formula to calculate an allocation of funding to each institution, each academic year for 16-19-year-olds. We calculate the basic funding for institutions using lagged student volumes and funding rates, which depend on the size of their students’ study programmes or T Levels.The department issues allocations to institutions each spring setting out how much 16 to 19 funding they will receive in the coming academic year, which can help with planning.The Adult Skills Fund engages adults aged 19 and above and provides the skills and learning they need to equip them for work, an apprenticeship or further learning. The recent move of adult skills to the Department for Work and Pensions provides an opportunity to strengthen the bonds between the Adult Skills Fund and progression into the labour market and will help ensure that the skills and employment systems are more fully aligned.Further education providers are able to use this funding to support workforce and other costs.

What steps her Department is taking to support further education colleges that have unresolved industrial disputes.

Further education colleges, rather than government, are responsible for setting and negotiating terms and conditions and managing their industrial relations.Based on engagement with the sector, we know colleges affected by recent strikes have generally implemented measures to ensure the impact on learners is minimised as far as possible. This has included rearranging classes, providing online learning where possible, and keeping libraries and learning centres open to allow the opportunity for independent study.We encourage colleges to continue to adopt these and other appropriate mitigations where that is necessary. We encourage colleges and unions to remain engaged in open and constructive dialogue for the best interests of staff and students.We all have a shared goal in ensuring our young people gain the best education during this critical transition period, advancing their opportunities and supporting economic growth.

What steps her Department is taking to help ensure that Initial Teacher Training equips new teachers with the skills required to deliver adaptive teaching for children with speech and language challenges.

The department is committed to improving support for all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including pupils with speech and language needs.Courses must incorporate the minimum entitlement set out in the Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework. It remains for individual providers to design courses that are appropriate to the needs of trainees and for the subject, phase and age range that the trainees will be teaching.Ofsted’s recent report on thematic monitoring visits found that, in the majority of the providers visited, the coverage of SEND in Initial Teacher Training is comprehensive and well integrated into programmes in the primary and secondary phases.We have recently reviewed the content of the Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework, adding significantly more content related to adaptive teaching and improving inclusivity for pupils with SEND. We have also committed to a further full review of early career teacher training in 2027, which will include a focus on SEND.This will complement work to upskill the sector on best practice for effective teaching for all pupils, including those with SEND, such as a review of our suite of national professional qualifications and a £200 million training package to upskill staff in every school, college and nursery.

How much and what proportion of the Teacher Training Core Content Framework includes specific requirements relating to supporting pupils with speech, language and communication needs.

The department is committed to improving support for all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including pupils with speech and language needs.Courses must incorporate the minimum entitlement set out in the Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework. It remains for individual providers to design courses that are appropriate to the needs of trainees and for the subject, phase and age range that the trainees will be teaching.Ofsted’s recent report on thematic monitoring visits found that, in the majority of the providers visited, the coverage of SEND in Initial Teacher Training is comprehensive and well integrated into programmes in the primary and secondary phases.We have recently reviewed the content of the Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework, adding significantly more content related to adaptive teaching and improving inclusivity for pupils with SEND. We have also committed to a further full review of early career teacher training in 2027, which will include a focus on SEND.This will complement work to upskill the sector on best practice for effective teaching for all pupils, including those with SEND, such as a review of our suite of national professional qualifications and a £200 million training package to upskill staff in every school, college and nursery.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of current Initial Teacher Training provision in preparing teachers to support children with speech and language needs.

The department is committed to improving support for all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including pupils with speech and language needs.Courses must incorporate the minimum entitlement set out in the Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework. It remains for individual providers to design courses that are appropriate to the needs of trainees and for the subject, phase and age range that the trainees will be teaching.We have recently updated the Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework, adding significantly more content related to adaptive teaching and improving inclusivity for pupils with SEND.We have also committed to a full review of early career teacher training in 2027, which will include a focus on SEND.In addition, we have announced a training package of over £200 million that will upskill staff in every school, college and nursery to better support pupils with SEND. Finally, we know the importance of ensuring children can speak and listen well from the earliest years, so we will develop a new oracy framework to sit alongside the revised national curriculum.

What assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of student finance support for dentistry students.

Students attending undergraduate dentistry courses qualify for support from Student Finance England for the first four years of their course. For the fifth and subsequent years of their courses, they qualify for the NHS Bursary and for reduced rate loans for living costs from Student Finance England. Students attending the first year of a four-year graduate entry accelerated programme, qualify for support from Student Finance England. For years two to four, they qualify for the NHS bursary and for reduced rate loans for living costs. We are increasing loans for living costs each year in line with forecast inflation with students from the lowest income families receiving the largest year-on-year cash increases in support. Maximum loans for living costs will increase by 2.71% for the 2026/27 academic year. We will continue to engage with the Department for Health and Social Care to consider the financial support that students in dentistry receive.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of applying an interest rate of RPI plus 3% to Plan 2 student loans for graduates earning over £50,270 on the disposable income of those graduates.

Plan 2 student loans were designed and implemented by previous governments. Students in England starting degrees under this government have different arrangements.Plan 2 loans interest rates are applied at the Retail Price Index (RPI) only, then variable up to RPI +3% depending on earnings. Interest rates do not impact monthly repayments made by student loan borrowers, which stay at a constant rate of 9% above an earnings threshold to protect lower earners. If a borrower’s salary remains the same, their monthly repayments will also stay the same. Any outstanding loan and interest is written off at the end of the loan term, and debit is never passed on to family members or descendants.

Whether her Department has modelled the potential impact of Plan 2 interest rates on graduate retention in key public service professions.

The department does not provide analysis for impacts of policies on graduate retention in key public service professions.Borrowers, including those in public services professions, remain protected as repayments are determined by income, not the amount borrowed. If a borrower’s salary remains the same, their monthly repayments will also stay the same.Borrowers only start repaying their student loan once earnings exceed the student loan repayment threshold, after which they pay 9% of income above that level. The Plan 2 repayment threshold freeze does not change that or increase borrowers’ student loan balances. At the end of the repayment term any outstanding loan debt, including interest accrued, will be cancelled.It is important that we have a sustainable student finance system, fair to students and the taxpayer. We will continue to keep the terms of the system under review to ensure this remains the case.

What estimate she has made of additional revenue raised by freezing student loan repayment thresholds.

At the Autumn Budget 2025, the government announced the repayment threshold for Plan 2 student loans will be frozen at £29,385 for three years from April 2027.This measure is currently forecast to generate additional revenue of £54 million in the 2027/28 financial year, £93 million in 2028/29, £115 million in 2029/30 and £90 million in 2030/31. This reflects an expected increase in the value of Plan 2 student loan repayments compared to if the threshold had been allowed to increase by inflation.

Whether her Department plans to accept the recommendation of the Curriculum and Assessment Review to develop a programme of work to provide evidence-led guidance on curriculum and pedagogical adaptation.

The Curriculum and Assessment Review looked closely at how to break down the barriers that hold back children and young people, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, those with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND), and those who are otherwise vulnerable.The department has accepted the recommendation to develop new evidence-led resources to support curriculum adaptation for all children and young people, including those with SEND in the government response published alongside the review. We will work in collaboration with experts and school leaders to create new Curriculum in Practice resources: a flexible suite of adaptive teaching strategies, case studies and real-world examples tailored to different phases of education.

What steps she is taking to help ensure the adequacy of support for kinship care therapists for families on the Isle of Wight.

The Autumn Budget 2024 gave an additional £22.6 billion of resource spending for the day-to-day health budget for last year and this year. It is the responsibility of the Isle of Wight Council and Isle of Wight NHS Trust to ensure there are adequate therapeutic services to meet the needs of local kinship families.The adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF) provides funding for therapies and specialist assessments for eligible kinship children. Local authorities apply for funding on behalf of these children, and source therapists in their area. The funding may cover travel costs for therapists to reach families, as well as necessary single-use materials. The department also offers therapists information designed to support them in their activity as ASGSF providers, including an ASGSF Knowledge Hub and regular updates on the fund.

What steps her Department takes to calculate compliance costs education-related regulations.

The department assesses education-related regulation compliance costs for businesses and households as per the Better Regulation Framework, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/better-regulation-framework. This typically involves a proportionate assessment of the costs following the steps outlined in the framework:Stakeholder consultation.Rationale for regulation.Options Assessment.Economic analysis of the expected compliance costs, including the Small and Micro Business Assessment.Development of a regulatory impact assessment (RIA), including the estimated direct costs to businesses and households. These RIAs are scrutinised by the Regulatory Policy Committee (RPC) as required and published alongside legislation when laid before Parliament. The RPC also publishes opinions of the department’s RIAs, all of which in the past ten years have been Green-rated as fit-for-purpose. These can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/rpc-opinions-for-department-for-education. Compliance costs of regulations to public sector services such as local authorities, schools and children’s services are estimated in a similar way. This can involve consultation with impacted stakeholders, analysis of expected administration and adaptation costs, evidence from similar regulations and modelling of potential impacts as appropriate.

Whether she plans to (a) review and (b) adjust the national funding formula to reflect additional (i) staffing, (ii) maintenance, (iii) transport and (iv) other costs for small rural schools.

The 2025/26 schools national funding formula (NFF) uses the same factors as the 2024/25 NFF. This continuity from the previous year minimises disruption to local authorities and schools.The government is undertaking a review of the schools NFF to consider potential changes for 2026/27 and future years, recognising the importance of a fair funding system that directs funding where it is needed. The department will consider the operation of the ‘sparsity’ factor, which targets revenue funding for small and rural schools, as part of that review.Funding for capital expenditure sits outside of the NFF. The department expects responsible bodies, such as local authorities, multi-academy trusts, and dioceses, to ensure that their schools are well maintained. In addition to the schools NFF, responsible bodies, such as local authorities and academy trusts, have access to capital funding each year to improve the condition of their buildings through either a school condition allocation or the Condition Improvement Fund. Schools are also directly allocated devolved formula capital funding which allows schools to invest in small-scale capital projects. Capital funding to improve the condition of the school estate is increasing to £2.1 billion for the2025/26 financial year, up from £1.8 billion in the 2024/25 financial year.Funding for pupils’ home to school transport is also outside of the schools NFF, which is funded through the local government finance settlement, administered by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s allocations to local authorities.

What (a) financial and (b) other support her Department provides to local authorities to help maintain small rural schools.

I refer the hon. Member for Isle of Wight East to the answer of 28 March 2025 to Question 40354.

Whether she plans to extend universal free school meals to children in (a) Isle of Wight East constituency and (b) other areas of high child poverty.

The government has a central mission to break down barriers to opportunity for every child, having inherited a trend of rising child poverty. That is why the government is committed to delivering an ambitious strategy to reduce child poverty, tackling the root causes and giving every child the best start at life. Additionally, the government is committed to introducing free breakfast clubs in every primary school, to set children up for the day and ensure they are ready to learn, while supporting parents and carers to work.The department spends around £1.5 billion annually on free lunches for 2.1 million school pupils under benefits-based free school meals, over 90,000 disadvantaged students in further education, and around 1.3 million infants under universal infant free school meals. On the Isle of Wight, 24.7% benefit from free school meals.