Every parliamentary written question tabled by Rebecca Paul this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 1–19 of 19 · Department for Education
Whether her Department holds data on the age of adopters in cases where children are adopted from care; and whether that data can be cross-tabulated with the age of the child at adoption and the sex composition
The department publishes information on the sex of adopters, including a breakdown by legal status, in Table E3 of the ‘Children looked after in England, including adoptions’ statistics release, which is available at: https://explore-education-statistics....
How many children were adopted from care in England in each of the last five years by different-sex couples, broken down by the age band of the child at the date of the adoption order and the age band of the ad
The department publishes information on the sex of adopters, including a breakdown by legal status, in Table E3 of the ‘Children looked after in England, including adoptions’ statistics release, which is available at: https://explore-education-statistics....
With reference to her Department’s statistical release entitled Children looked after in England including adoption, last updated 20 November 2025, how many children looked after were adopted in England in the
The department publishes information on the sex of adopters, including a breakdown by legal status, in Table E3 of the ‘Children looked after in England, including adoptions’ statistics release, which is available at: https://explore-education-statistics....
How many children were adopted from care in England in each of the last five years, broken down by the age of the child at the date of the adoption order and whether the adopters were recorded as a same-sex cou
The department publishes information on the sex of adopters, including a breakdown by legal status, in Table E3 of the ‘Children looked after in England, including adoptions’ statistics release, which is available at: https://explore-education-statistics....
How many children were adopted from care in England by different-sex couples in each of the last five years, broken down by the age of the child at the date of the adoption order.
The department publishes information on the sex of adopters, including a breakdown by legal status, in Table E3 of the ‘Children looked after in England, including adoptions’ statistics release, which is available at: https://explore-education-statistics....
How many children were adopted from care in England in each of the last five years by same-sex couples, broken down by the age band of the child at the date of the adoption order and the age band of the adopter
The department publishes information on the sex of adopters, including a breakdown by legal status, in Table E3 of the ‘Children looked after in England, including adoptions’ statistics release, which is available at: https://explore-education-statistics....
How many allegations of sexual abuse, sexual assault or other sexual offences in registered early years settings have been reported to Ofsted in each of the last five years, broken down by (a) sex of the allege
The safety of our youngest children is our utmost priority, and the department continually monitors and reviews safeguarding requirements within early years settings to ensure children are kept as safe as possible. We set the standards that early years pr...
What recent assessment her Department has made of the potential merit of allowing nannies to offer funded hours under the Free Childcare for Working Parents programme.
It is the government’s 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. Nannies are an unregulated part of the sector because they are employed by parents to provide care to children in their home. Parents alone are responsible for deciding the services that a nanny provides, which may or may not include early education. Parents also arrange the payment of income tax and National Insurance contributions and organise security checks for those that they employ. For this reason, successive governments have not engaged in private arrangements between the two parties. Officials remain in touch with the National Nanny Association and we keep all such policies under review.
Whether he has had discussions with (a) Surrey County Council and (b) Surrey Police on child safeguarding following the conviction of Stephen Ireland.
Child sexual abuse is an abhorrent crime that no child should ever have to endure. We recognise the lifelong impact it can have on victims and survivors and remain committed to strengthening our response to this abuse.The department holds regular meetings with Surrey County Council to discuss a wide range of topics including child protection and safeguarding. While we do not comment on if individual cases have been raised, we are aware of the serious concerns raised following the conviction of Stephen Ireland and continue to work closely with local authorities to ensure robust safeguarding practices are in place.In addition, the government published its progress update on tackling child sexual abuse on 9 April, which responds to the 20 recommendations from the final report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. Work is underway on several key recommendations, including legislating for mandatory reporting and establishing a child protection authority with a consultation set to be published before the end of 2025.
With reference to the Policy Exchange report entitled In absentia parentis, published on 24 August 2025, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that local authorities have up-to-date safeguarding policies for gender-questioning children who are children in care.
Local authorities and social care practitioners are required to support children in a way that meets their needs and best interests. This support will look different on an individual case basis. In considering their safeguarding policies and how best to support children questioning their gender, leaders and practitioners should be led by the guidance and regulations most relevant to their setting or role. They can also be informed by the evidence and principles set out in the Cass Review. Further resources on support for children questioning their gender can be found via the NHS here: https://www.genderreferralservice.nhs.uk/.
With reference to the Policy Exchange report entitled In absentia parentis, published on 24 August 2025, the Cass Review's final report, published in April 2024, and the Supreme Court judgement in the case of For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers of 16 April 2025, what guidance her Department has issued to local authorities to protect the welfare of gender-questioning children who are children in care.
Local authorities and social care practitioners are required to support children in a way that meets their needs and best interests. This support will look different on an individual case basis. In considering their safeguarding policies and how best to support children questioning their gender, leaders and practitioners should be led by the guidance and regulations most relevant to their setting or role. They can also be informed by the evidence and principles set out in the Cass Review. Further resources on support for children questioning their gender can be found via the NHS here: https://www.genderreferralservice.nhs.uk/.
What (a) guidance and (b) training is provided to (i) teachers and (ii) school staff to help ensure they are (A) confident and (B) equipped to (1) educate pupils about online grooming and (2) respond appropriately to disclosures.
As part of statutory relationships and health education in primary schools and relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) in secondary schools, pupils are taught about online safety and harms. The statutory guidance emphasises that schools should be alive to issues such as grooming and sexual exploitation, including coercive and controlling behaviour, and that these should be addressed sensitively and clearly. The statutory guidance for primary schools is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education/relationships-education-primary.The statutory guidance for secondary schools is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education/relationships-and-sex-education-rse-secondary.The RSHE statutory guidance is currently under review. The department is looking carefully at responses to the public consultation conducted last year, considering the relevant evidence and discussing with stakeholders before setting out next steps to make sure the guidance draws from the best available evidence.In 2023, the department published guidance on teaching online safety in schools, which sets out how to teach about all aspects of internet safety. The full guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teaching-online-safety-in-schools.Schools and colleges must also have regard to the department’s robust safeguarding framework ‘Keeping children safe in education’. The guidance makes clear that all staff should receive appropriate safeguarding and child protection training, including online safety. The training should be regularly updated. In addition, all staff should receive safeguarding and child protection updates as required, and at least annually, to continue to provide them with relevant skills and knowledge to safeguard children effectively.
What steps her Department is taking to improve online safety education in schools to help children (a) recognise and (b) respond to online grooming.
As part of statutory relationships and health education in primary schools and relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) in secondary schools, pupils are taught about online safety and harms. The statutory guidance emphasises that schools should be alive to issues such as grooming and sexual exploitation, including coercive and controlling behaviour, and that these should be addressed sensitively and clearly. The statutory guidance for primary schools is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education/relationships-education-primary.The statutory guidance for secondary schools is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education/relationships-and-sex-education-rse-secondary.The RSHE statutory guidance is currently under review. The department is looking carefully at responses to the public consultation conducted last year, considering the relevant evidence and discussing with stakeholders before setting out next steps to make sure the guidance draws from the best available evidence.In 2023, the department published guidance on teaching online safety in schools, which sets out how to teach about all aspects of internet safety. The full guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teaching-online-safety-in-schools.Schools and colleges must also have regard to the department’s robust safeguarding framework ‘Keeping children safe in education’. The guidance makes clear that all staff should receive appropriate safeguarding and child protection training, including online safety. The training should be regularly updated. In addition, all staff should receive safeguarding and child protection updates as required, and at least annually, to continue to provide them with relevant skills and knowledge to safeguard children effectively.
What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of calculating student loan repayments on an annual basis to prevent overpayments.
Student loan repayments for borrowers resident in the UK are collected by HMRC through the UK tax system, which is an efficient approach that minimises the burden on borrowers. Employers deduct repayments each pay period for employees with a student loan when their earnings are above the relevant student loan repayment threshold for that pay period.At the end of the tax year, a borrower with total earnings below the annual student loan repayment threshold may reclaim any repayments made where a pay period threshold was exceeded. A borrower will be able to apply for a refund of these repayments at the end of the tax year: https://www.gov.uk/repaying-your-student-loan/getting-a-refund. This offers additional protection to the lowest earning borrowers. Alternatively, they may decide not to apply for a refund, which will allow them to repay their loan more quickly.For those borrowers who are close to fully repaying their student loan, the Student Loans Company provides borrowers with the option to switch to repayments via direct debit, which prevents over-repayments entirely.
For what reason Hatchlands Primary School in Redhill has withdrawn from the breakfast club trial.
Schools were able to apply to join the breakfast clubs early adopter scheme in November and December last year. The department published an updated list of successful schools on 22 April.The department has been working closely with schools on the scheme to ensure their plans are deliverable to have breakfast clubs up and running from the first day of summer term. The department will not be discussing the circumstances and decisions of any individual school.
What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of amending the assessment only route to Qualified Teacher Status to allow applications from unqualified teachers who have worked in one school throughout their careers on teacher recruitment and retention.
The assessment only (AO) route to qualified teacher status (QTS) has been designed to allow experienced unqualified teachers to be assessed against the Teachers’ Standards and awarded QTS if they meet them all at the appropriate level.The AO criteria sets out the entry requirements for the AO route. Applicants must have taught in at least two schools and must be able to demonstrate that they meet all of the Teachers’ Standards without the need for any further training. Typically, applicants with fewer than two years of teaching experience would be unsuitable for the AO route. The AO criteria can be accessed here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64edf4006bc96d00104ed206/Assessment_only_route_to_QTS_-_criteria_and_supporting_advice.pdf.The department continuously considers whether the criteria we have in place meets the needs of schools and teachers, as well as ensuring the high quality teaching that pupils and parents would expect.
What steps her Department is taking to improve the provision of SEND support for children in Reigate constituency.
The department is continuing to support and challenge Surrey to improve the delivery of its special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) services, following the most recent local area SEND inspection by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission in Septe...
What data her Department holds on the proportion of families with children about whom (a) care and (b) protection issues have been raised who are offered a family group conference.
The department does not hold this data Statutory guidance for local authorities, such as ‘Working together to safeguard children’ and the ‘Children’s social care national framework’, encourages local authorities to consider family group decision making, s...
Whether she has made an estimate of the number of children who may move from independent to state sector schools as a result of the planned introduction of VAT on independent schools in Reigate constituency; an
In line with research from the independent Institute for Fiscal Studies, the government does not anticipate the ending of the VAT exemption that private schools enjoy to prompt notable movement into the state sector, and any movement is expected to take p...