Written questions by Wilkinson.

What steps her department is taking to help ensure that the Pupil Premium is spent on supporting the needs of the eligible children’s needs.

The department is providing £3.2 billion of pupil premium funding in 2026/27 to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in state-funded schools in England. To ensure pupil premium is focused on effective approaches, schools must use their pupil premium in line with the evidence-informed 'menu of approaches'. Schools with more than 5 eligible pupils must publish a strategy statement annually on their school website using the department template. Schools are held accountable for the outcomes they achieve with all their funding, including through Ofsted inspections and by governors and trustees, and pupil premium is no exception. An evaluation of pupil premium and recovery premium, published in March 2025, found that overall schools were positive about the impact of the funding, and 85% agreed that having pupil premium meant they had a better strategy for meeting the needs of disadvantaged pupils. The evaluation is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-and-recovery-premium-evaluation. A report published by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) in October 2025 found that generally schools’ planned spending of pupil premium aligned with the challenges identified, and that schools used a variety of evidence sources to support their choice of approaches. The report is available here: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/projects-and-evaluation/projects/pupil-premium-statement-research-project.

What assessment has her department made of the potential benefits to allowing parents of previously looked after children to make financial contributions to the Pupil Premium for therapy.

The purpose of pupil premium funding is to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in state-funded schools in England.Pupil premium is not a personal budget for individual pupils. It is for schools to decide how to allocate the funding, after assessing the needs of their disadvantaged cohort, including previously looked after children.To ensure that pupil premium is focused on effective approaches to raising the educational attainment of disadvantaged pupils, schools must use their pupil premium in line with the evidence-informed 'menu of approaches'. Under the ‘wider strategies’ category this can include supporting pupil’s social and emotional needs.Previously looked after children and young people under adoption orders, special guardianship orders and child arrangements orders are eligible for funding for therapy through the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund.

What consideration her department has given to the potential benefits of changing Pupil Premium rules so that funding goes directly towards supporting the eligible child’s care.

The purpose of pupil premium funding is to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in state-funded schools in England.Pupil premium is not a personal budget for individual pupils. It is for schools to decide how to allocate the funding, after assessing the needs of their disadvantaged cohort, including previously looked after children.To ensure that pupil premium is focused on effective approaches to raising the educational attainment of disadvantaged pupils, schools must use their pupil premium in line with the evidence-informed 'menu of approaches'. Under the ‘wider strategies’ category this can include supporting pupil’s social and emotional needs.Previously looked after children and young people under adoption orders, special guardianship orders and child arrangements orders are eligible for funding for therapy through the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund.

What assessment her department has made of the efficacy of schools’ use of the Pupil Premium to support eligible children.

The department is providing £3.2 billion of pupil premium funding in 2026/27 to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in state-funded schools in England. To ensure pupil premium is focused on effective approaches, schools must use their pupil premium in line with the evidence-informed 'menu of approaches'. Schools with more than 5 eligible pupils must publish a strategy statement annually on their school website using the department template. Schools are held accountable for the outcomes they achieve with all their funding, including through Ofsted inspections and by governors and trustees, and pupil premium is no exception. An evaluation of pupil premium and recovery premium, published in March 2025, found that overall schools were positive about the impact of the funding, and 85% agreed that having pupil premium meant they had a better strategy for meeting the needs of disadvantaged pupils. The evaluation is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-and-recovery-premium-evaluation. A report published by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) in October 2025 found that generally schools’ planned spending of pupil premium aligned with the challenges identified, and that schools used a variety of evidence sources to support their choice of approaches. The report is available here: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/projects-and-evaluation/projects/pupil-premium-statement-research-project.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the £100,000 earnings threshold for free childcare on incentives to work.

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.The working parent entitlement aims to support parents to return to work or to work more hours if they wish. To be eligible, parents must expect to earn the equivalent of 16 hours a week at National Minimum Wage and less than £100,000 adjusted net income per year. The minimum income threshold rises in line with National Minimum Wage increases at the beginning of the financial year.The government needs to use public funds in a way that provides value for money and considers it reasonable to target this funding at those individuals earning under £100,000 adjusted net income. Only a small proportion of parents earn over the £100,000 adjusted net income maximum threshold. Parents who earn over the maximum income threshold can still claim the universal 15 hours for three and four-year-olds in England.

With reference to the Home Office’s policy paper entitled Restoring order and control: a statement on the Government’s asylum and returns policy, published on 17 November 2025, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Home Office’s proposed legislation on the duty for public bodies to prioritise vulnerable children, as set out in the Children Act 1989.

The department will work with the Home Office as they carefully consider the appropriate pathways and wider provision for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and asylum-seeking families with children. We will continue to focus on ensuring vulnerable children are protected and their welfare safeguarded.

What assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the Education and Skills Funding Agency in enabling young people to retake English and Maths GCSEs to a timetable that enables them to undertake paid employment.

Progress towards, and attainment of, level 2 mathematics and English is essential for helping 16 to 19 students to by allowing them to seize opportunities in life, learning and work.Under Part 1 of Education and Skills Act 2008, young people aged 16 and 17 who have not attained level 3 qualifications of sufficient size are under a duty to continue in education or training until their 18th birthday. However, schools and colleges can tailor a study programme to the needs of an individual student, and we know that many students undertake part time work alongside their studies.Study programmes are designed to be full-time with a minimum of 580 planned hours per academic year, however, part time programmes may be agreed where, for example, a student combines part time education with full time employment.

What steps her Department is taking to improve the employment rate for graduates under the age of 25.

In September, my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, announced plans aimed at ensuring young people gain the skills needed in the job market, with a target of two thirds of young people in higher education by age 25.The Post-16 education and skills white paper sets out our plans to ensure higher education equips graduates with the technical skills needed in the economy, including by developing new higher technical qualification awarding powers.It also sets out our plans to reform the Strategic Priorities Grant to align funding with future skills needs.One of the primary objectives of the Office for Students is to ensure all students are able to progress into employment or further study. It is currently consulting on proposals to broaden the employment indicators it uses to assess higher education providers’ quality ratings, to incentivise more focus on supporting students to achieve positive employment outcomes.

What discussions she has had with the video games industry on the number of vocational qualifications for 16 to 18 year olds.

Students deserve high-quality qualifications that meet their needs. The department continues to develop and improve qualifications so that they meet the needs of students and employers.The Digital Software Development T Level provides young people with the core knowledge and skills for a career in software production and design, including in games design and development.We will consider how to continue to improve the quality of qualifications available to students, including on games design, in the light of the recommendations from the Curriculum and Assessment Review, and will engage with employers and sector organisations on this in due course. The Curriculum and Assessment Review will publish recommendations in autumn 2025.

Whether her Department holds information on the number of students that undertook undergraduate degrees in Games and Animation in the (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2023-24 academic years.

In the 2023/24 academic year, there were 15,450 undergraduate enrolments across all UK higher education (HE) providers in the subject area ‘Computer games and animation’ (common aggregation hierarchy (CAH) subject code 11-01-06).In the 2013/14 academic year, there were 4,065 undergraduate enrolments across all UK HE providers in the subject areas ‘Games’ (Joint Academic Coding System (JACS) subject code I6) and ‘Computer generated visual & audio effects’ (JACS subject code I7).In 2019/20, a new subject classification system, the Higher Education Classification of Subjects and the CAH, was introduced to replace the JACS. Subjects in both systems have been chosen to match as closely as possible, but counts of enrolments may not be directly comparable between the two systems.

What steps her Department is taking to encourage students to study video game design degrees.

The government is committed to supporting science, technology, engineering, and mathematics subjects, including computer games design courses, which are vital to the UK’s research base, innovation capacity and Industrial Strategy.For the 2025/26 academic year, two-thirds of the £1.3 billion Strategic Priorities Grant recurrent funding to higher education providers is allocated to support the provision of high-cost subjects. From this funding, the Office for Students is allocating £289.50 per full-time equivalent student to providers for computer games design students.The department continues to invest in the National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE) to improve the quality of computing teaching and increase uptake of computing qualifications. To raise awareness of further study and careers in computing and digital, the NCCE facilitates industry-led outreach events. In July 2025, over 3,000 students attended an NCCE webinar focused on careers in the games industry and further events are being planned in collaboration with partners including British Esports.

What assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of Children Not In School registers at helping to prevent abuse of home-schooled children.

I refer the hon. Member for Cheltenham to the answer of 23 June 2025 to Question 57754.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential long-term impact of removing funding for level seven apprenticeships on people over 22 years of age.

I refer the hon. Member for Cheltenham to the answer of 13 June 2025 to Question 57098.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of changes to funding for level seven apprenticeships on cyber skills in the workforce.

I refer the hon. Member for Cheltenham to the answer of 13 June 2025 to Question 57098.

What assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of a children not in school register in preventing abuse of home schooled children.

Home education is not an inherent safeguarding risk. However, some children who have been withdrawn from school under the guise of home education have been seriously harmed or died due to abuse or neglect, and action is needed.Compulsory ‘children not in school’ registers, and accompanying duties on parents and out-of-school education providers, will be crucial tools that local authorities can use to identify children not in school in their areas who are not receiving a suitable education, or who need to be protected from harm.However, registers are only part of the solution. That is why the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill contains other measures aimed at ensuring all children are safe. For example, parents of children who are subject to child protection enquiries or plans, or whose children attend a special school, will be required to get local authority consent before they can educate their children at home. Where these children are already being home educated, we are strengthening the school attendance order process so the local authority can require them to attend school. The Bill also includes measures to strengthen multi-agency working and information sharing, which will benefit all children.

How colleges can apply to the Technical Excellence College scheme.

At the Spring Statement 2025, this government committed £100 million to establish ten new Technical Excellence Colleges specialised in construction across every region in England and to further build capacity to boost the provision of skills in construction. Boosting skills in construction is a crucial part of delivering on this government’s plans to build 1.5 million homes in England this Parliament and progress vital infrastructure projects. The department will set out further details on Technical Excellence Colleges in due course.

When the application process will open for the Technical Excellence College scheme.

At the Spring Statement 2025, this government committed £100 million to establish ten new Technical Excellence Colleges specialised in construction across every region in England and to further build capacity to boost the provision of skills in construction. Boosting skills in construction is a crucial part of delivering on this government’s plans to build 1.5 million homes in England this Parliament and progress vital infrastructure projects. The department will set out further details on Technical Excellence Colleges in due course.

What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the formula for reimbursing schools after increases in employer National Insurance contributions.

In developing our National Insurance contributions (NICs) grant methodology for mainstream schools and academies, the department considered both the impact of the change to National Insurance rates and the changes to the threshold at which NICs are applied. By taking this approach, we have ensured that funding accounts for where increases to NICs will be most significant.The department knows that the impact of the increase to NICs differs depending on the proportions of staff on relatively higher or lower salaries and have taken that into account in determining how much funding is allocated to primary, secondary and special schools. The technical details of how the funding is split between those phases of education has been discussed with stakeholders, including the Association of School and College Leaders.We keep our grant methodology under review to ensure funding can best support schools and their pupils. That is why, for the first time, we are providing additional grant funding for mainstream schools with special units and resourced provision to support them with the higher staffing costs they typically face.

What her policy is on support for schools with budget shortfalls due to levels of high needs funding.

Through the national funding formula in the 2025/26 financial year, secondary schools are being allocated over £4 billion through formula factors that act as a proxy for their pupils’ special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and other additional needs. In addition, high needs funding will total over £12 billion this financial year, a proportion of which local authorities will use for supporting secondary schools with their pupils who have more complex SEND. Of the total high needs funding, Gloucestershire County Council is being allocated over £105 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant.In the high needs funding system, it is the top-up funding allocated to schools by the local authority which is intended to reflect the cost of provision for pupils with complex SEND. Schools should therefore discuss with their local authority the funding that they believe is necessary to make the provision that has been commissioned, taking into account expected levels of inflation and particular costs such as for energy and staff pay, as well as any reprioritisation within their budget that schools can achieve to ensure best value from their overall resources.

If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the increase in employer National Insurance contributions on school budgets.

In developing our National Insurance contributions (NICs) grant methodology for mainstream schools and academies, the department considered both the impact of the change to National Insurance rates and the changes to the threshold at which NICs are applied. By taking this approach, we have ensured that funding accounts for where increases to NICs will be most significant.The department knows that the impact of the increase to NICs differs depending on the proportions of staff on relatively higher or lower salaries and have taken that into account in determining how much funding is allocated to primary, secondary and special schools. The technical details of how the funding is split between those phases of education has been discussed with stakeholders, including the Association of School and College Leaders.We keep our grant methodology under review to ensure funding can best support schools and their pupils. That is why, for the first time, we are providing additional grant funding for mainstream schools with special units and resourced provision to support them with the higher staffing costs they typically face.