Written questions by Wilkinson.

What discussions her Department has had with the Association of School and College Leaders on 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 steps her Department is taking to increase levels of recruitment and retention of teachers in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools.

High quality teaching is the most important in-school factor to a child’s educational outcomes. Recruiting and retaining more qualified, expert teachers is critical to the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and boost the life chances for every child. This is why the department will recruit 6,500 new expert teachers, get more teachers into shortage subjects, support areas that face recruitment challenges and tackle retention issues. To deliver this pledge we are resetting the relationship with the sector to ensure teaching is once again a valued and attractive profession.The department agreed a 5.5% pay award for teachers in 2024/25, and increased the funding available for bursaries for trainee teachers to £233 million from 2025/26, to support teacher trainees with tax-free bursaries of up to £29,000 and scholarships of up to £31,000 in some shortage subjects. The department has also expanded its school teacher recruitment campaign, ‘Every Lesson Shapes a Life’, and the further education teacher recruitment campaign ‘Share your Skills’.A successful recruitment strategy starts with a strong retention strategy and we want to ensure teachers stay and thrive in this profession. In the first five years of their careers, new teachers of mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing will now receive a targeted retention incentive of up to £6,000, after-tax, if working in disadvantaged schools. There are three schools in the Cheltenham constituency where teachers are eligible for targeted retention incentives.The department has also taken steps to improve teachers’ workload and wellbeing, to support retention and help re-establish teaching as an attractive profession. This includes opportunities for greater flexible working, by making key resources to support wellbeing, developed with school leaders, available to teachers.The department is also funding bespoke support provided by flexible working ambassador schools and multi-academy trusts, ensuring schools are capturing the benefits of flexible working, whilst protecting pupils’ face-to-face teacher time. Malmesbury School is the flexible working ambassador school providing local, tailored peer support for Cheltenham schools.High quality Continuing Professional Development is also key to ensuring the retention of an effective teaching workforce. The department has established teaching school hubs across the country, who play a significant role in delivering initial teacher training, the early career framework and National Professional Qualifications. Balcarras Teaching School Hub is a centre of excellence supporting teacher training and development across Cheltenham, Cotswolds and Stroud.

What steps her Department is taking to support schools with budgetary challenges resulting from teacher salary increases.

Overall school funding is increasing by over £3.2 billion in the 2025/26 financial year, meaning it will total over £64.8 billion compared to almost £61.6 billion in 2024/25. The department recognises that the increases for individual schools will vary, with some getting more and some getting less than the average increase.The guidance ‘Schools’ costs: technical note’ forecasts £400 million of headroom in schools’ budgets nationally in the 2025/26 financial year, before staff pay awards.This follows the government’s written evidence to the School Teacher’s Review Body, published in December, which proposed a pay award for teachers of 2.8%. Schools will be expected to fund the 2025 pay award from the additional investment provided at the Autumn Budget 2024, alongside their existing funds.All parts of the public sector are being asked to improve their efficiency. The department will be developing a suite of productivity initiatives to help schools manage their budgets to maximise opportunities for learners.

What steps her Department is taking to support secondary schools with increases in SEND costs.

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.

What assessment her Department has made of the differences in school funding across different counties.

Every year the department uses the schools national funding formula (NFF) to distribute core funding for 5- to 16-year-old pupils in mainstream state-funded schools in England. In the current NFF, the vast majority of funding is distributed on the basis of pupil numbers and characteristics.The purpose of the NFF is not to give every school the same level of per pupil funding. It is right that pupils with additional needs attract additional funding to help schools respond and meet their needs. In addition, schools in more expensive areas, like London, attract higher funding per pupil than other parts of the country to reflect the higher costs they face.Through the dedicated schools grant, Gloucestershire County Council is receiving over £522 million for mainstream schools in the 2025/26 financial year, which equates to £6,201 per pupil on average, excluding growth and falling rolls funding. Schools' final funding allocations are determined by local authority funding formulae and based on updated pupil numbers, and so the final per pupil funding amounts for individual schools may differ.The department is reviewing the schools NFF for both the 2026/27 financial year and the ensuing years, recognising the importance of a fair funding system that directs funding where it is needed.

Whether her Department plans to increase funding for sixth forms.

This government inherited a challenging fiscal context which means tough decisions are needed across the public sector. However, the department is investing over £7.5 billion in 16-19 study programmes during the 2024/25 academic year to help to ensure that all young people have access to high quality education and training that meets their needs and provides them with opportunities to thrive.In the guidance ‘16 to 19 funding: information for 2025 to 2026’, published March 2025, the department announced an additional £100 million investment in 16-19 education in the 2025/26 financial year on top of the £300 million announced at the Budget. This means we will now be spending over £400 million to ensure enough funding is available given the very significant increase in student numbers and other pressures on the system. In addition, we are providing funding to compensate colleges and schools for increased employer National Insurance contributions, which will add a further £155 million to funding for post-16 education in the 2025/26 financial year.

What data her Department holds on the number of pupils who have been absent from school due to a lack of provision of SEND services.

The department does not hold information on the number of pupils who have been absent from school due to the lack of provision of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) services. However, we recognise that rates of absence are generally higher for pupils with SEND and children attending special schools.We also recognise that barriers to attendance are wide and complex, and this is particularly true for pupils with SEND. Addressing these barriers requires a support-first approach and strong relationships between families, schools, local authorities and other relevant local services.This is why the department has published the ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ guidance, which became statutory in August 2024. The guidance promotes a support-first approach and provides detail on additional support for pupils with SEND. Where a pupil is not attending due to unmet or additional needs, this guidance sets out clear expectations on how schools, local authorities and wider services work together to access and provide the right support to improve attendance.The department is working closely with schools and local authorities to ensure that education settings are able to meet the needs of children and young people with SEND, including announcing £1 billion investment in high needs at the Autumn Budget 2024. This funding will help to ensure all children can access the high quality education that should be their right.

How many state-funded school playing pitches have been sold in each of the last five years.

As part of the department’s transparency data, a register of decisions to dispose of school playing field land is published on GOV.UK: www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-land-decisions-about-disposals. Playing field land is defined as land in the open air which is provided for the purposes of physical education or recreation. 85 applications were given consent to dispose of playing field land between 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2023 (12 in 2019, 21 in 2020, 14 in 2021, 20 in 2022 and 18 in 2023). The majority of those were disposals by way of freehold sale, but the figures also include appropriation of playing field land to another local authority use, such as, social housing or highways, or the grant or surrender of a lease of more than 30 years. 18 applications were given consent to dispose of playing field land between 1 January and 31 October 2024. The department anticipates the cases will be added to the published list on GOV.UK by the end of January 2025.

What steps she is taking to help protect school pupils who are known to have allergies.

Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units to make arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions, including allergies.The statutory guidance ‘Supporting pupils at school with medical conditions’ makes clear to schools what is expected of them in taking reasonable steps to fulfil their legal obligations and meet the individual needs of pupils with medical conditions. Schools should ensure they are aware of any pupils with medical conditions and have policies and processes in place to ensure these can be well managed.The department included a reminder to schools of these duties in its regular schools’ email bulletin in both March and September 2024. In the same communication, the department also alerted schools to the newly created Schools Allergy Code. The Code was developed by the Allergy Team, the Independent Schools’ Bursars Association and the Benedict Blythe Foundation, who are all trusted voices on the matter of allergies. The department has now also added a link to the Code to its online allergy guidance on GOV.UK.The department will keep the statutory guidance under review as it takes forward its commitment to delivering an inclusive mainstream system.