Every parliamentary written question tabled by Perran Moon this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 1–20 of 48 · Department for Education
Which schools in Camborne and Redruth constituency have received funding from Connect the Classroom programme.
The following schools in the Camborne and Redruth constituency have received funding from Connect the Classroom:Mawnan CofE VA Primary School.Portreath Community Primary School.Trewirgie Infants' School.Bodriggy Academy.Illogan School.Pencoys Primary School.Mabe Community Primary School.
What progress she has made on the application submitted by Pennoweth Primary School to join the free breakfast clubs programme from April 2026; and when the school will be informed of its status on the waitlist.
On 17 March 2026, Pennoweth Primary School, along with all schools currently on the free breakfast clubs programme waitlist, received a notification from the department to invite them to join the free breakfast clubs programme and deliver from September 2026.
If she will consider including Cornwall within the Mission Coastal programme.
The department is currently considering our approach to identifying possible areas for Mission Coastal and will announce further details in due course. Our ambition is that both Mission North East and Mission Coastal will transform outcomes in areas where disadvantage is entrenched and drive change nationwide.
What assessment she has made of the potential merits of the introduction of a GCSE in the Cornish language; and whether she has held discussions with qualification bodies on the viability and timeline for approving such a qualification.
Decisions about which languages to offer at GCSE in England are taken by four independent awarding organisations: AQA, OCR, Pearson Edexcel and WJEC. These organisations have the freedom to create a Cornish GCSE based on subject content set by the department. This decision would be informed by several factors, including the level of demand from schools, and the proportion of the UK population who speak the language.
What criteria her Department will use to identify and select areas for participation in the Mission Coastal programme; and whether these criteria will be published as part of the programme’s rollout.
The department is currently considering our approach to identifying possible areas for Mission Coastal and will announce further details in due course. Our ambition is that both Mission North East and Mission Coastal will transform outcomes in areas where disadvantage is entrenched and drive change nationwide.
What assessment her Department has made of the continued need for individual, trauma‑informed 1‑to‑1 therapeutic support for adoptive and special guardianship families; whether the national transition programme will continue to fund such support; and how the Department plans to ensure that families with complex relational needs retain access to bespoke therapeutic interventions alongside any new universal or group‑based offers.
Through the ‘Adoption Support That Works for All’ consultation, launched on 10 February 2026, the department is seeking views on the future mix of support for adoptive and special guardianship families, including the ongoing role of specialist therapeutic interventions. Responses to the consultation will inform our assessment of future provision.The consultation features a call for evidence, asking respondents to tell us what works for those children who need additional support. We want to build the evidence base on what works for adopted children and their families, to ensure we are making the biggest difference possible. Decisions on these issues will be determined following the analysis of consultation responses.The department recognises that many adoptive families require more intensive therapeutic support. That is why we have extended the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund and increased funding by 10% to increase access.
What the proposed peer‑mentoring pathway for adoptive and special guardianship families will involve; whether trained adopters participating in this programme will be remunerated for their work; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure that emotional labour undertaken by adopters is appropriately recognised.
The ‘Adoption support that works for all’ consultation proposes strengthening peer and community support for adoptive and special guardianship families, including developing models where experienced adopters and kinship carers share practical strategies, build resilience, and help families navigate services. The design of these proposals will be based on feedback received through the consultation and will be developed in collaboration with those with direct experience.Proposals within the consultation explicitly aim to strengthen early support, expand peer and community networks, and ensure support services are better aligned with families’ needs and experiences, as part of creating a more sustainable and responsive system of adoption and kinship support.
What assessment she has made of capacity considerations in class sizes for Key Stage 1 and 2 in schools with high levels of SEND; and whether she will consider a needs‑weighted pupil cap to reflect the additional time and support required.
The School Standards and Framework Act 1998 limits the size of an infant class to 30 pupils per teacher. An infant class is one in which the majority of children will reach the age of 5, 6 or 7 during the school year, i.e. Reception, Year 1 and Year 2.Through the reforms outlined in the Schools White Paper, we will ensure that children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) get the right support at every stage of their education.We are also committed to supporting local areas to create high-quality places that are suitable to meet the needs of children and young people with SEND, by investing at least £3.7 billion in high needs capital funding between 2025/26 and 2029/30. This is to support local authorities to provide places for children and young people with SEND, or who require alternative provision, across early years settings, schools, and colleges.As well as this, we are providing around £1.8 billion over the next three years for local area partnerships, including local authorities and Integrated Care Boards, to work together to develop a new ‘Experts at Hand’ offer. This is designed to strengthen the capability of mainstream education settings by providing access to professionals such as educational psychologists and speech and language or occupational therapists, providing earlier intervention and support for young people.
Whether her Department has access to real time data on attendance and exclusions at academies.
Improving attendance and tackling school exclusion early is central to the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity. High-quality, timely data enables early identification of need and delivery of a support-first approach.Thanks to our world-leading data collection, the department has access to near real-time attendance data for schools, including academies. For each morning and afternoon session, schools must record the relevant attendance and absence code for each pupil. This includes Code E, which is used when a pupil is absent due to suspension or permanent exclusion. Code E is recorded as absence but not classified as unauthorised absence.Using this attendance data, key actors can take a curious approach to identify patterns in pupil movement that could suggest off-rolling or other concerning practices, including off-site direction and managed moves, and will follow up on a targeted basis with responsible bodies to understand and challenge where there are possible concerns.Formal data on suspension and permanent exclusion is also collected through the termly school census, which is published two terms in arrears.
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of compound interest on the long-term balances of student loan borrowers including those with intermittent or low earnings.
It is important that student loans are subject to interest, to ensure that those who can afford to do so contribute to the full cost of their degree. Lower earning borrowers, and those who do not go on to repay their loan in full, are protected. The regulations provide that at the end of the loan term any outstanding loan debt, including interest accrued, will be cancelled at no detriment to the borrower. Debt is never passed on to family members or descendants.Borrowers on intermittent incomes are also protected as repayments are based on earnings, not on the rate of interest or the size of debt. This means if their income drops, so do their repayments. Interest rates do not have an immediate cash impact on the cost of living for borrowers, as interest rates do not affect monthly student loan repayments.
What hardship protections are available to student loan borrowers experiencing financial pressure, and what assessment the Department has made of the potential impact of the absence of interest freezes or repayment relief during such periods.
The student finance system is designed to function differently to a commercial loan. Borrowers are protected if they see a reduction in their income for any reason. Weekly or monthly student loan repayment amounts are based on a borrower’s monthly or weekly income, not the interest rate or amount borrowed, and no repayments are made for earnings below the relevant student loan repayment threshold. Any outstanding debt, including interest built up, is cancelled at the end of the loan term with no detriment to the borrower. No commercial loans offer this level of protection.
Whether additional support will be made available to schools to help meet staffing costs as a result of the launch of the new free breakfast club programme in April 2026.
The government is committed to its pledge to provide a free breakfast club in every state funded school with primary-aged children and the department has successfully delivered 7 million meals so far through our 750 early adopter schools.Having listened to schools and taken onboard feedback from the early adopter phase, we have increased the mainstream funding rate from April to help schools in areas including staffing.Schools have the discretion to identify the most appropriate workforce to deliver free breakfast clubs, depending on their school’s context, existing staff contracts and arrangements and the mix of skills and experience required.Free breakfast clubs can be led by various individuals, including teaching assistants, school catering staff, private, voluntary or independent providers, or others specifically hired to deliver the role.
Pursuant to the Answer of 11 November 2025 to Question 87556, how long the pause on the introduction of new electric vehicle salary sacrifice schemes in the public sector will last; and if she will publish the planned timetable for the cross‑government review of those schemes.
The review and decision on new electric vehicle salary sacrifice schemes for academy trusts is being led by HM Treasury. The department remains in contact with HM Treasury on this issue and will inform academy trusts when a decision has been made.
What funding is planned for National Centre for Arts and Music Education beyond March 2026.
As part of the national curriculum schools are expected to fund the delivery of music teaching from their schools budget. The government has committed to putting education back at the forefront of national life, with school funding increasing by £3.7 billion in financial year 2025/26, meaning that core school budgets will total £65.3 billion, compared to £61.6 billion in 2024/25.The government also invests £76 million per year through the Music Hubs grant, including this academic year. This supports 43 Music Hub partnerships across England to offer a range of services to schools, including musical instrument tuition and whole-class ensemble teaching. To widen access, the government is also investing £25 million in capital funding for musical instruments, equipment and technology.We intend to establish the National Centre for Arts and Music Education by September 2026, and the funding will be set out in due course.
What assessment she has made of the adequacy of current levels of funding for music education in schools.
As part of the national curriculum schools are expected to fund the delivery of music teaching from their schools budget. The government has committed to putting education back at the forefront of national life, with school funding increasing by £3.7 billion in financial year 2025/26, meaning that core school budgets will total £65.3 billion, compared to £61.6 billion in 2024/25.The government also invests £76 million per year through the Music Hubs grant, including this academic year. This supports 43 Music Hub partnerships across England to offer a range of services to schools, including musical instrument tuition and whole-class ensemble teaching. To widen access, the government is also investing £25 million in capital funding for musical instruments, equipment and technology.We intend to establish the National Centre for Arts and Music Education by September 2026, and the funding will be set out in due course.
What assessment she has made of the role of Individual Healthcare Plans in supporting the safety and inclusion of pupils with long-term health conditions, such as epilepsy, at school.
The government understands the impact of epilepsy and other long-term medical conditions on the way pupils feel included and supported in school life. The statutory guidance ‘Supporting pupils at school with medical conditions’ recommends the use of individual healthcare plans as good practice. They can help schools support pupils with medical conditions, providing clarity about what needs to be done, when and by whom. The school, healthcare professionals and parents should agree, based on evidence, when a healthcare plan would be appropriate. The government has committed to reviewing the statutory guidance, and we intend to consult on revised guidance. The current guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3. Our aim is to ensure that schools are better equipped to support all pupils with medical conditions, including those with epilepsy, as part of our wider ambition to create more inclusive schools through the forthcoming Schools White Paper.
To what extent young people with long-term health conditions such as epilepsy have been included in the Department’s co-creation process for the forthcoming Schools White Paper.
The government understands the impact of epilepsy and other long-term medical conditions on the way pupils feel included and supported in school life. The statutory guidance ‘Supporting pupils at school with medical conditions’ recommends the use of individual healthcare plans as good practice. They can help schools support pupils with medical conditions, providing clarity about what needs to be done, when and by whom. The school, healthcare professionals and parents should agree, based on evidence, when a healthcare plan would be appropriate. The government has committed to reviewing the statutory guidance, and we intend to consult on revised guidance. The current guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3. Our aim is to ensure that schools are better equipped to support all pupils with medical conditions, including those with epilepsy, as part of our wider ambition to create more inclusive schools through the forthcoming Schools White Paper.
When the Education and Skills Funding Agency plans to publish updated guidance on the conditions under which academy trusts may operate electric vehicle salary-sacrifice schemes.
New electric vehicle salary sacrifice schemes in the public sector are currently paused whilst a cross-government review on these schemes is undertaken. The department will inform academy trusts when a decision has been made, and the academy trust handbookwill be updated accordingly.
What assessment has her Department has made of the adequacy of provision of school uniform for children with physical disabilities.
Decisions regarding school uniform policies are the responsibility of school governing boards and they should consider the needs of all pupils when developing their policies on school uniform. To support schools, the department has published non-statutory guidance on developing and implementing their school uniform policy, which includes advice on meeting their equality obligations. This guidance can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-uniform/school-uniforms.The guidance states that a school uniform should be inclusive, and we expect schools to be considerate when implementing their policy so that their uniform can be worn by all pupils.The guidance also states that schools should be willing to allow for some individual variations to their uniform policy, where necessary, to avoid indirect discrimination. For instance, reasonable adjustments must be made, as appropriate, for pupils with a disability.
If she will launch a public awareness campaign to support the integration of children’s social care services into local communities.
Through the Families First Partnership (FFP) Programme, the department is giving children and families access to better local support services to break the cycle of late intervention and help more children and families stay safely together. We recognise the crucial role that universal services and community-based early help play in identifying emerging problems and providing early and ongoing support at an early stage.The department’s reforms to Family Help will embed targeted support in the heart of communities, providing a non-stigmatising access point to a range of services to address the needs of the whole family. The FFP programme guide is clear that local areas should build on the strengths of their universal and community-based early help models when implementing Family Help, and we continue to share learning from the Families First for Children Pathfinder areas to support this.