Written questions by Babarinde.

What steps she is taking to help support people with childcare costs in Eastbourne constituency.

The government’s Plan for Change sets out a commitment to give children the best start in life, breaking the link between background and opportunity.From the start of September 2024, eligible working parents have been entitled to 15 hours a week of early education and care from the term after their child turns nine months. From September 2025 this will extend to 30 hours, matching the three and four-year-old offer to support children right up until starting school.In 2025/26 alone, we plan to provide over £8 billion for the early years entitlements. This represents a more than 30% increase compared to 2024/25 as we roll out the expansion of the entitlements, so eligible working parents of children aged from nine months can access 30 hours of funded childcare.As announced at Spending Review 2025, the government will provide an additional £1.6 billion per year by 2028/29, compared to 2025/26, to continue the expansion of government-funded childcare for working parents.Additionally, the Universal Credit childcare offer supports claimants with the costs of childcare, no matter how many hours they work.Tax-Free Childcare remains available for working parents of children aged 0-11, or up to 17 for eligible disabled children.

What steps her Department is taking to support the provision and availability of vocational educational programmes for pupils across Eastbourne.

As announced in the Spending Review, the government is making over £1 billion of additional investment per year in skills by 2028/29.This will support and grow the wide range of technical routes and work-based training available for people of all ages across the country including in Eastbourne. This includes: Widening the apprenticeships offer into a growth and skills offer, including new foundation apprenticeships, which will give more young people a foot in the door at the start of their working life. T levels, a high-quality technical education option for young people, including a valuable workplace industry placement which prepares them for work. Higher Technical Qualifications, occupation-focussed level 4 to 5 qualifications, approved and quality marked as providing the skills demanded in the workplace by employers. Skills Bootcamps giving learners the chance to build sector-specific skills with a job interview on completion and ‘Free Courses for Jobs’ giving learners the chance to access high value level 3 qualifications. We have also strengthened legislation to ensure all secondary pupils have multiple opportunities for meaningful encounters with providers of technical education and apprenticeships.

What steps her Department is taking to help support the recruitment of teachers in (a) Eastbourne constituency and (b) East Sussex.

High-quality teaching is the in-school factor that has the biggest impact on children’s outcomes. This is why the government’s Plan for Change has committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 new expert teachers in secondary and special schools, and in our colleges over the course of this Parliament.To support this key pledge, we recently announced a 4% pay award for 2025/26, building on the 5.5% pay award for 2024/25, resulting in a near 10% pay award for teachers since this government came to power. We also announced a teacher training financial incentives package worth nearly £233 million, including bursaries worth up to £29,000 tax-free, and scholarships up to £31,000 tax free. We also announced targeted retention payments worth up to £6000, with 10 schools in the Eastbourne constituency, and 31 schools in East Sussex qualifying for these.The teaching workforce has grown by 2,346 full-time equivalent (FTE) teachers, between 2023/24 and 2024/25, in secondary and special schools. In Eastbourne constituency there are 30 more secondary and special school teachers, with 457 FTE teachers this year.

What steps she is taking to (a) protect and (b) support SEND services in schools in Eastbourne constituency.

East Sussex’s most recent Area special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) inspection was undertaken by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission in November 2024, which found that the local area partnership’s arrangements lead to inconsistent experiences and outcomes for children and young people with SEND.The inspection identified four areas for improvement, including that the local area partnership should develop and embed its work with education settings on improving inclusion, so that the proportion of children and young people achieving strong outcomes increases.Following the inspection, the East Sussex local area partnership has published a strategic plan with specific actions to address all four areas for improvement, and the department, alongside NHS England, will be tracking the progress that the local area makes against this plan, including through regular engagement, and will offer support and challenge as the local area’s improvement journey continues.

What proportion of the increased schools funding announced in the Spending Review 2025 has been allocated to schools in Eastbourne constituency.

​​​The government has announced an additional £4.2 billion for schools across the Spending Review period, which will take core schools budgets to £69.5 billion by 2028/29.​The majority of school funding is allocated through the national funding formula, which will be published in the autumn to provide schools with greater certainty over their funding in the financial year 2026/27. The core schools budget is used to support several different funding streams, and how it will be distributed across the Spending Review period will depend on future business planning processes.​Allocations to individual local authorities and schools will be determined using up-to-date data. 2026/27 allocations will be calculated by reference to the October 2025 school census.​​

What steps her Department is taking to support arts education in schools in Eastbourne constituency.

As part of our Opportunity Mission, this government wants to widen access to the arts.Music Hubs continue to play a vital role across England with grant funding of £76 million for the 2025/26 academic year. This includes nearly £2 million for the Sussex Music Hub partnership led by Create Music, to support schools in East Sussex, including Eastbourne.On 18 March 2025, the department announced a National Centre for Arts and Music Education to support schools across England to teach all arts subjects. Our intention is to launch in September 2026, with further details in the autumn.The government also established the Curriculum and Assessment Review. This seeks to deliver a rich, broad, inclusive and innovative curriculum, including music, art and drama. The final report and government response will be published this autumn.We are legislating so that, following the Review and implementation, academies will be required to teach the reformed national curriculum, alongside maintained schools. This will ensure arts education is an entitlement for pupils in every state-funded school.

What steps she is taking to help reduce the number of young people not in employment, education or training in Eastbourne constituency.

The government is determined to break down barriers to opportunity for all our young people and transform their life chances, including those in Eastbourne.Young people are entitled to participate in education and training up to age 18. Local authorities have statutory duties to support young people into education and training, including identifying and helping those who are currently not in education, employment or training (NEET). The department has published guidance to help local authorities identify young people at an increased risk of becoming NEET, based on characteristics such as a learning difficulty or disability, or poor school attendance, so they can be given extra support.The government will establish a Youth Guarantee of support to access training, an apprenticeship or help to find work for all 18 to 21-year-olds to prevent them becoming excluded from the world of work at a young age. £45 million has been allocated to eight Mayoral Strategic Authority Trailblazers to develop the Youth Guarantee. The department will work with local areas on future expansion.

What steps her Department is taking to support schools in response to recent changes to the Ofsted Inspection Framework.

The consultation on Ofsted’s new framework closed on 28 April, and the responses are currently being analysed. Ofsted’s new school report cards, which will be introduced from November, will provide more detailed and granular information about each school’s strengths and areas for improvement. They will provide a more complete picture of performance, which is needed to help support school improvement.The department is also strengthening our tools for faster and 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 mandatory targeted intervention for schools identified by Ofsted as needing to improve, and a universal service which will act as a catalyst for collaboration and improvement across all schools.

What steps she has taken to support SEND transport services following the increase to employers National Insurance contributions.

I refer the hon. Member for Eastbourne to the answer of 29 January 2025 to Question 26397.

If she will take steps to ensure that (a) teachers and (b) school staff receive adequate pay.

Teachers’ pay is set through an independent, statutory process each year, and the 2025/26 process is currently underway. The School Teachers’ Review Body will assess written and oral evidence from government and organisations representing schools and the ...

What support her Department plans to provide to tackle bullying in schools based on (a) perceived difference and (b) protected characteristics.

The department’s most recent anti-bullying grants, which totalled over £3 million and ran between August 2021 and March 2024, were procured to support schools to target bullying related to protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010. The departm...

Whether she has made an assessment of trends in the level of bullying in schools based on (a) perceived differences and (b) protected characteristics.

There is no legal requirement for schools to record and report incidents of bullying to the government. However, the department does monitor evidence on the impact of bullying on children and young people through robust national surveys. According to the ...

Whether she has made an assessment of (a) trends in the level of bullying in schools and (b) the potential impact of those trends on the (i) mental wellbeing of and (ii) performance of young people in schools.

There is no legal requirement for schools to record and report incidents of bullying to the government. However, the department does monitor evidence on the impact of bullying on children and young people through robust national surveys. According to the ...

What assessment she has made of the impact of her Department's anti-bullying funding on schools; and whether she plans to reinstate that funding.

The department’s most recent anti-bullying grants, which totalled over £3 million and ran between August 2021 and March 2024, were procured to support schools to target bullying related to protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010. The departm...