Written questions by Campbell.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of making safe sleep training for early years staff mandatory.

The early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework, which early years providers are required to follow, includes a requirement for babies to be placed down to sleep in line with the latest government safety guidance here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/sudden-infant-death-syndrome-sids/.To make the existing requirements clearer for all, the department plans to add in more detail to the EYFS frameworks. We have worked with safe sleep experts including the Lullaby Trust on proposed new wording. We plan to make these changes as soon as possible.The ‘Early years qualification requirements and standards’ document sets out the minimum qualification requirements, including the qualifications criteria at levels 2 and 3, that staff must meet to be recognised as level 2, level 3 or level 6 members of staff for the purpose of working within the EYFS staff:child ratios. The document is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-qualification-requirements-and-standards.Both the level 2 and level 3 criteria include knowledge of rest and sleep provision, with level 3 also including use of equipment, furniture and materials safely with regard for sleep safety.

If she will take steps to upgrade the teacher training curriculum to include mandatory training on how to teach dyslexic children.

On 16 January we announced plans for a new expectation on schools and other settings to ensure staff receive training on SEND and inclusion, supported by £200m investment during this Parliament into government-backed training courses and materials. The department recently introduced a new training framework for trainee and early career teachers. The initial teacher training and early career framework (ITTECF), which became mandatory from September 2025, sets out the minimum entitlement to training for all new teachers. This framework includes more content on adaptive teaching and supporting pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). For example, developing an understanding of different pupil needs and learning how to provide opportunities for success for all pupils, including those with dyslexia. We are committed to continuous improvement and will be reviewing the ITTECF in 2027, which will focus on the support we provide trainees and early career teachers in teaching pupils with SEND.

Whether her Department plans to remove the prohibition on student finance for applicants with PhDs wanting to study in Government-prioritised research fields.

The Postgraduate Doctoral Loan provides up to £30,301 for courses starting on or after 1 August 2025 and is intended as a contribution to the costs of PhD study. Students who already have a doctoral degree, or a qualification that’s equivalent or higher, are not eligible for the Postgraduate Doctoral Loan. There are no plans to change the eligibility criteria of Postgraduate Doctoral Loans.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of recent immigration policy changes on the higher education sector.

The government has been clear that we welcome international students who meet the requirements to study in the UK. International students come from all over the world and benefit UK higher education (HE) and our society, boosting our economy by more than £21 billion a year.The government expects the UK’s HE sector to remain highly attractive. We have four UK universities in the world’s top 10 and 17 in the top 100, alongside a wide array of other high-quality institutions.The system must, however, ensure that international students make a positive contribution to the communities in which they study. We will not permit anyone who seeks to exploit the system.The Immigration White Paper, published in May, sets out a balanced approach which helps the government achieve our manifesto commitment of reducing net migration while maintaining the UK’s global competitiveness.

If her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the eligibility of the long course loan to (a) estranged and (b) care experienced students.

Full-time undergraduate students who are estranged from their parents or who are care leavers qualify for a long courses loan in the same way as other full-time undergraduate students.Full-time students who attend their courses for more than 30 weeks and three days in an academic year qualify for additional means-tested long courses loan to help them with their living costs. This is paid for each week or part-week from 30 weeks and three days up to 45 weeks’ attendance. Students attending their courses for 45 weeks or more in any 52 week period are paid as if they are studying for the full 52 weeks, meaning that they qualify for 22 weeks additional living costs support. The weekly rates of long courses loan vary depending on where a student is living and studying during an academic year.The government has increased maximum loans for living costs, including long courses loans, by forecast inflation (3.1%), for the 2025/26 academic year.

What steps her Department is taking to support estranged and care-experienced students in higher education.

The department is committed to ensuring that care experienced and estranged people can access, participate and achieve in higher education (HE).All looked-after children must have a personal education plan, which should set out the support needed to help realise their short and long-term academic outcomes. To ensure they have a greater chance of achieving the prior attainment needed to access HE, the government provides £14 million per year of additional funding to support looked-after children up to the age of 19. This is administered by virtual school heads and can be used on attainment raising activity such as tuition, mentoring or careers advice and other activities based on the individual needs of each looked-after child.In addition to a statutory £2,000 Care Leavers in HE bursary, all HE providers registered with the Office for Students (OfS) that intend to charge higher level tuition fees must have an Access and Participation Plan (APPs) approved by the OfS. These plans articulate how providers will improve equality of opportunity for underrepresented groups. Care experienced and estranged students are classed as ‘at risk’ groups in the Equality of Opportunity Risk Register and providers should take account of inequalities they may experience when developing their APPs.

What steps her Department is taking to support parents looking after ill children (i) in the long-term and (ii) immediately after diagnosis.

This government is committed to properly supporting pupils with medical conditions, and their parents, at home and school. As per Section 97 (3b) of the Children’s and Families Act 2014, parent carers have the right to request an assessment of their need for support from the local authority. Having been assessed, Section 17 (10b) of the Children’s Acts 1989 makes provision for a child whose physical or mental health is impaired, as well as his or her family, to receive the appropriate support services from the local authority.

What steps her Department is taking to support universities in stabilising their financial positions.

To support universities in stabilising their financial positions, the Office for Students (OfS) will continue dedicating significant resources to ensuring the sector's financial sustainability. The department has appointed Professor Edward Peck as the substantive Chair of the OfS, where he will play a key role in strengthening this commitment while also expanding opportunities in higher education (HE).Additionally, we have made the difficult decision to increase tuition fee limits by 3.1% for the 2025/26 academic year, aligning with inflation.The department will outline its plans for HE reform in the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper, set to be published this summer.

How many people living in Nottinghamshire are employed by universities in the latest period for which data is available.

The Higher Education Statistics Agency is responsible for collecting and publishing data on the UK higher education (HE) sector. These data are shared with the department and include a wide range of information on staff working at UK HE providers.However, information on the home addresses of HE staff is not collected, therefore those living in Nottinghamshire and employed by UK HE providers, cannot be identified by the department.The following table presents staff numbers by HE provider for each academic year from 2014/15 to 2023/24: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/staff/table-24.This table can be used to determine the number of staff working for HE providers that are based in Nottinghamshire, although we are not able to determine whether these staff also reside in Nottinghamshire.

How many and what proportion of post-18 students have enrolled on a university course in (a) Broxtowe constituency and (b) Nottingham in each year since 2019.

The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service have published data on 18-year-old entry rates to full-time higher education (HE) by Parliamentary constituency.The data covers students accepted to HE and entry rates covering the period from 2006 to 2023 and can be accessed at: https://www.ucas.com/data-and-analysis/undergraduate-statistics-and-reports/ucas-undergraduate-end-cycle-data-resources-2023.

How many people in Nottinghamshire were employed by universities in (a) 2020, (b) 2015, (c) 2010, (d) 2000 and (e) 1990.

The Higher Education Statistics Agency is responsible for collecting and publishing data on the UK higher education (HE) sector. These data are shared with the department and include a wide range of information on staff working at UK HE providers.Information on the home addresses of HE staff, however, is not collected, therefore those living in Nottinghamshire and employed by UK HE providers, cannot be identified by the department.The staff numbers by HE provider for the 2014/15 to 2023/24 academic years are accessible at: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/staff/table-24. This information can be used to determine the number of staff working for HE providers that are based in Nottinghamshire, although the department is not able to determine whether these staff also reside in Nottinghamshire.

How many and what proportion of post-18 students have pursued an (a) apprenticeship and (b) degree apprenticeship in (i) Broxtowe constituency and (ii) Nottinghamshire in each year since 2018.

Adult (those aged 19 and above) apprenticeship starts in the Broxtowe parliamentary constituency and Nottinghamshire local authority from the 2018/19 academic year onwards are shown in the table below.Academic year2018/192019/202020/212021/222022/232023/24NottinghamshireAll 19+ starts4,4903,8503,8504,1404,0503,910Degree level 19+ starts330470590540620670BroxtoweAll 19+ starts530410390460450420Degree level 19+ starts606080708080 Note:(1) Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 and cover the finalised full academic year.(2) Total starts are the count of apprenticeships started at any point during the stated academic period. Learners starting more than one apprenticeship will appear more than once.(3) Geography is based on the learner home postcode.(4) Broxtowe is based upon the 2024 parliamentary constituency boundary.(5) Age is based on that at the start of the programme. The department also publishes apprenticeship starts by age group as a proportion of the population, with breakdowns available by local authority. The latest figures for Nottinghamshire covering the 2018/19 to 2023/24 academic years are shown here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/09bc3f03-2391-4b73-6d25-08dd48e2728c.

How many schools (a) Broxtowe constituency, (b) Nottinghamshire, (c) England have been identified as stuck schools.

In the ‘School accountability reform – school profiles improvement and intervention’ consultation, the department defined stuck school as a school that was graded requires improvement, or equivalent, at its most recent Ofsted inspection and was also graded below good at its previous inspection.For this purpose, we have considered a sub-judgement of requires improvement for leadership and management and/or quality of education for a school inspected in the 2024/25 academic year as equivalent to a previous single headline grade of requires improvement.Based on the latest published Ofsted inspection data, at the end of December 2024 there were:0 stuck schools in Broxtowe.12 stuck schools in Nottinghamshire.664 stuck schools in England.