Written questions by Wilkinson.

What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of SEND delivery in primary schools with single-form entry.

Awaiting answer.

What steps her Department is taking to support single-form entry primary schools with reduced student numbers with funding levels.

Awaiting answer.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of levels of pupil numbers on single-form entry primary schools.

Awaiting answer.

Whether her department is making plans to offer support for schools that require air conditioning or other cooling technologies for continued function in amber and red weather warnings.

The department takes periods of hot weather and heatwaves seriously and has published a climate risk assessment at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/impact-of-uk-climate-change-risk-on-the-delivery-of-education/summary-of-findings-in-relation-to...

Whether her department plans to make an assessment of the number of hours of education lost due to high temperatures in the week beginning 22nd June 2026.

The department does not specifically collect data on school days lost due to high temperatures.It is for individual settings and responsible bodies to determine their approach to closure based on their own risk assessment. Closures should be considered a ...

Whether her department will make an assessment of the economic impact of lost working hours due to disruption caused to parents by school closures during periods of extreme heat.

The department publishes fortnightly data on pupil attendance in schools but does not specifically collect data on school days lost due to high temperatures, or on which parents may be unable to work as a result. Decisions on full or partial school closur...

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the level of the Adoption Support and Special Guardianship Support Fund on the amount of therapy available for adopted children.

The revised criteria for the adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF) were introduced in April 2025 and were designed to ensure support for all those applying for ASGSF funding. An Equalities Impact Assessment was published in July 2025. Mor...

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 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 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 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.