Written questions by Wood.

Further to the Cabinet Office press release, Young people from all backgrounds to get opportunity to study abroad as UK-EU deal unlocks Erasmus+, of 17 December 2025, whether the Turing scheme will be continued, and whether she plans any changes to the Turing scheme’s funding or scope.

The government remains committed to international mobility. That’s why we have announced the UK has agreed to join the Erasmus+ programme in 2027. The Turing Scheme continues to deliver these opportunities and is confirmed for the 2026/27 academic year.Guidance on the Turing Scheme for the 2026/27 academic year has been published on GOV.UK, with applications for funding opening at 12:00 on Tuesday 20 January and closing at 16:00 on Monday 16 March.The aims of the Turing Scheme for the 2026/27 academic year are to enhance transferable skills, widen opportunity and drive value for money.We are continuing to focus the scheme’s funding on students from disadvantaged and underrepresented backgrounds and those with special educational needs and disabilities.Further details, including guidance for providers and application information, are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/turing-scheme-international-placements-2026-to-2027.

Whether she has made an estimate of the yearly number of (a) EU students who will study in the UK and (b) UK students who will study in the EU when the Erasmus+ is fully operational.

In 2018/19, there were approximately 31,000 inbound higher education student mobilities via the Erasmus+ programme. There were approximately 16,000 outbound higher education student mobilities in the same year. The department expects there will be a greater number of higher education mobilities on reassociation, given the expansion of the programme. We expect that over 100,000 people could benefit from mobility and partnership opportunities from participation in 2027 across all sectors.

What steps she is taking to prevent discrimination against children from independent schools in the provision of public services.

Access to public services is based on need, not the type of school a child attends. Parents or carers concerned about their child’s health can consult a GP, who may refer them to relevant National Health Services (NHS). The NHS provides care free at the point of use and considers referrals based on clinical need, ensuring equity regardless of school type.

Whether her Department has issued guidance to universities on admissions based on the socio-economic background of the applicant.

The government encourages higher education (HE) providers to consider all applications on a case-by-case basis and offer equity of opportunity to all students, regardless of background or circumstance. However, it does not issue direct guidance. Universities are autonomous bodies independent from government and are responsible for their own admissions decisions.The department works with key sector stakeholders, such as Universities UK, The Sutton Trust, UCAS and The Russell Group, who are co-leading work to consider how to improve access and participation.The department will also develop options to address regional disparities in access and tackle the most systemic barriers across the journey into HE. To deliver this we will bring together a task and finish group of sector experts, charities, the Office for Students and UCAS to focus on how the system can best widen access for those from disadvantaged backgrounds. The task and finish group will be chaired by Professor Kathryn Mitchell, vice chancellor of the University of Derby.

What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of play-based (a) learning and (b) teaching as part of the (i) early years and (ii) Key Stage 1 curricula.

The department recognises that play is critical to children’s wellbeing, learning and development. This is reflected in the early years foundation stage statutory framework, which supports early years practitioners to design a rich curriculum that includes regular opportunities for play-based learning.The department commissioned the Children of the 2020s study to improve our understanding of children’s progress throughout key phases of learning and education. We will assess the second wave of data which will be published soon, including findings on play-based learning and teaching.

Whether Policy Lab will fund the MANIFEST programme in 2025-26.

There are currently no commitments by Policy Lab to fund the MANIFEST programme further in 2025/26.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of supplier neutral procurement branding requirements on Teach First schemes.

High-quality teaching is the factor in schools and colleges that makes the biggest difference to a young person’s educational outcomes. The High Potential Initial Teacher Training Programme, which has been delivered under contract by Teach First, has played a vital part in boosting teaching quality across the country. The current contract with Teach First is coming to an end and as with any government contract of this scale, it will be retendered in line with the usual fair, open and transparent process.The successful supplier will have an option to use their own identity and brand for the future programme alongside the new programme identity, which the department will develop. Further details will be available at procurement launch.

With reference to the UK-EU Summit - Common Understanding of 19 May 2025, what changes she plans to make to the university home fee status of students of EU/EEA nationality studying in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland; and what changes she plans to make to the fee status of previously overseas British citizens who intend to study in the United Kingdom.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.On 19 May 2025, my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, welcomed Presidents Von Der Leyen and Costa for the first ever summit between the UK and the EU and a deal was agreed which will deliver on what the British public voted for last year. This package delivers for the British people, without compromising on our red lines, no return to the customs union, no return to freedom of movement, and no rejoining the single market.On home fee status, most new EU/EEA students who were not lawfully resident in the UK before the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020 will pay international fees.The Withdrawal Agreement provides that current EU principles of equal treatment continue to apply for those covered by the citizens’ rights provisions in the Withdrawal Agreement. This means that EU nationals lawfully resident in the UK before the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020 are eligible in England for support on a similar basis as previously, subject to meeting the usual residency requirements, which are unchanged. Similar agreements have been signed with the European Economic Area (EEA) European Free Trade Association (EFTA) states and Switzerland.UK nationals and their family members, living in the EEA or Switzerland at the end of the transition period will generally be eligible for home fee status, tuition fee and maintenance support from Student Finance England for courses starting on or after 1 August 2021 and before 1 January 2028, subject to meeting all other eligibility requirements.There are no plans to make any changes to the fee status for these persons.

Whether appointments to Skills England will be included in the Public Bodies Order in Council; and whether the chair appointment will be classified as a Significant Appointment.

The department will give due consideration on whether to request the inclusion of Skills England in the Public Appointment Order in Council at the point when the Cabinet Office invites departments to nominate bodies for inclusion in the Order. Concurrently, we will assess whether the Chair position falls within the scope of appointments deemed significant under the criteria specified by Cabinet Office at the time of the request.

Whether complaints have been received in relation to the (a) conduct and (b) behaviour of special advisers to her Department since 4 July 2024.

The department holds no records of any complaints about the conduct or behaviour of any of its special advisors.

With reference to the policy paper entitled Plan for Change, published on 5 December 2024, CP1210, how she plans to measure good development for school readiness; whether she plans to use teacher-completed Early Years Foundation Stage Profiles to measure good development; and whether she plans to use all seven categories of Early Years Foundation Stage measurement.

Giving young children the best start in life is the foundation of the government’s Opportunity Mission. Children’s earliest years are crucial to their health, development and life chances.The department has set a milestone of a record proportion of children starting school ready to learn in the classroom. We will measure our progress through 75% of children at the end of reception reaching a good level of development in the early years foundation stage (EYFS) profile assessment by 2028.The statutory EYFS framework sets the standards and requirements that all early years providers must follow to ensure all children have the best start in life and are prepared for school. It requires that children be assessed against the EYFS profile in the summer term of the academic year in which they turn 5 years old.The EYFS profile seeks to measure a child’s level of development to support their successful transitions into year 1 and to support parents, carers and early years educators to recognise children’s progress and understand their needs.It comprises an assessment of the child’s outcomes in relation to 17 early learning goals across 7 areas of learning.Children are defined as having a good level of development at the end of the EYFS if they are at the expected level for the 12 early learning goals within the 5 areas of learning relating to: communication and language; personal, social and emotional development; physical development; literacy; and mathematics. This is the definition that will be used to measure progress on school readiness as set out in the Plan for Change.

With reference to the policy paper entitled Plan for Change, published on 5 December 2024, CP1210, how she plans to measure progress towards her target for children to be thriving at school; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of using data on attainment gaps between disadvantaged pupils and their peers as a core metric for this target.

The Opportunity Mission will break the link between a child’s background and their future success. Driving high and rising standards is at the heart of the department’s vision for all schools, and these standards are crucial in supporting all children and young people to both achieve and thrive. As my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education set out in her speech to the Confederation of School Trusts in November 2024, achieving and thriving go hand-in-hand, with children who are healthy and have a sense of belonging at school most likely to achieve well. We are looking at a range of indicators for this and will set out more details. At every stage, improving outcomes for disadvantaged children and young people, and those with special educational needs and disabilities, will be a priority.

With reference to the policy paper entitled Plan for Change, published on 5 December 2024, CP1210, at what grades new teachers will be recruited; and if she will publish recruitment targets by subject area.

​​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. The within school factor that makes the biggest difference to a young person’s educational outcome is high-quality teaching. Yet this government has inherited a system with critical shortages of teachers with numbers not keeping pace with demographic changes. This is why the government has set out the ambition to recruit 6,500 new expert teachers across our schools, both mainstream and specialist, and our colleges over the course of this Parliament, including targeting shortage subjects. The department will continue to work alongside the sector as it develops its delivery plan and seeks to re-establish teaching as an attractive profession. The department’s measures will include getting more teachers into shortage subjects, supporting areas that face recruitment challenges and tackling retention issues. The department has already made good early progress towards this key pledge by accepting in full the 5.5% pay award, by expanding our ‘Every Lesson Shapes a Life’ recruitment campaign, by making £233 million available for bursaries in 2025/26 and by doubling retention payments for new teachers of mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing working in disadvantaged schools. However, the best recruitment strategy is a retention strategy to ensure teachers stay and thrive in the profession. This is why the department is doing more to support workload and wellbeing. This includes introducing new report cards to replace Ofsted single-word judgements to provide parents with a clear picture of their schools and proportionate accountability for schools, allowing teacher’s planning, preparation and assessment time to be taken from home and making key resources to support well-being, developed with school leaders, available to teachers.