Written questions by Davies.

What accountability measures her Department has put in place for the nutritional content of breakfasts provided by schools participating in the Free Breakfast Club scheme.

The department is committed to delivering on the pledge to provide free breakfast clubs in every state-funded school with primary-aged children. Since April 2025, we have delivered 2.6 million breakfasts and offered places to almost 180,000 pupils across the country. We are investing a further £80 million to fund approximately 2,000 additional schools between April 2026 and March 2027. Compliance with the School Food Standards is mandatory for maintained schools, academies and free schools. School governors have a responsibility to ensure compliance and should appropriately challenge the senior leadership team to ensure obligations are met. Alongside the School Food Standards statutory guidance, we published updated breakfast club guidance in November, which provides guidance on which foods should be served at breakfast clubs to ensure that the School Food Standards are met. We are working to revise the School Food Standards to ensure they support our work to create the healthiest generation of children in history.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that food provided by schools participating in the Free Breakfast Club scheme meets nutritional and quality standards.

The department is committed to delivering on the pledge to provide free breakfast clubs in every state-funded school with primary-aged children. Since April 2025, we have delivered 2.6 million breakfasts and offered places to almost 180,000 pupils across the country. We are investing a further £80 million to fund approximately 2,000 additional schools between April 2026 and March 2027. Compliance with the School Food Standards is mandatory for maintained schools, academies and free schools. School governors have a responsibility to ensure compliance and should appropriately challenge the senior leadership team to ensure obligations are met. Alongside the School Food Standards statutory guidance, we published updated breakfast club guidance in November, which provides guidance on which foods should be served at breakfast clubs to ensure that the School Food Standards are met. We are working to revise the School Food Standards to ensure they support our work to create the healthiest generation of children in history.

What steps her Department is taking to improve educational outcomes for boys with free school meal eligibility.

​Too many children are held back by their background. The Opportunity Mission will break the link between background and future success.Schools receive the pupil premium grant, worth over £3 billion in the 2025/26 financial year, to support the educational outcomes of disadvantaged pupils. Pupil premium eligibility includes pupils who have been recorded as eligible for free school meals (FSM) within the past six years.​Our Child Poverty Strategy will lift 550,000 children out of poverty by 2030. This includes the expansion of FSM which will lift 100,000 children out of poverty by the end of this Parliament and put £500 back in families’ pockets. Providing over half a million disadvantaged children with a free lunchtime meal will lead to higher attainment, improved behaviour and better outcomes.Additionally, we are driving standards in every school through regional improvement for standards and excellence teams, a refreshed high-quality curriculum and assessment system, and recruiting an additional 6,500 teachers.However, we know that there is further work to do, which is why, through our schools white paper, we will build a school system that drives educational excellence for every child, regardless of background or circumstance.

What comparative data her Department holds on the proportion of 16-24 year olds not in education, employment or training (a) who were previously eligible for free school meals and (b) overall.

The department publishes statistics on those aged 16 to 24 who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) for England from the Labour Force Survey (LFS): NEET age 16 to 24, available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/neet-statistics-annual-brief/2024.At the end of 2024, the proportion of the 16 to 24 population who were NEET was estimated to be 13.6%. Data is not available for those NEET who attended state schools nor who were previously eligible for free school meals, as this is not collected in the LFS.Official statistics for 16 to 18 destination measures show the percentage of pupils not continuing to a sustained education, apprenticeship or employment destination in the year after completing 16 to 18 study, that is 6 months of continual activity. The latest publication includes destinations in 2023/24 by characteristics breakdown, for those finishing 16 to 18 study in 2022/23. Data on those who were not recorded as continuing to a sustained education, apprenticeship or employment destination is available for state-funded mainstream schools and colleges, and by free school meals eligibility here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/9e5bf7ed-27f0-49f3-b1bd-08de39895a0e.

What comparative data her Department holds on the proportion of 16-24 year olds not in education, employment or training (a) who attended state schools and (b) overall.

The department publishes statistics on those aged 16 to 24 who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) for England from the Labour Force Survey (LFS): NEET age 16 to 24, available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/neet-statistics-annual-brief/2024.At the end of 2024, the proportion of the 16 to 24 population who were NEET was estimated to be 13.6%. Data is not available for those NEET who attended state schools nor who were previously eligible for free school meals, as this is not collected in the LFS.Official statistics for 16 to 18 destination measures show the percentage of pupils not continuing to a sustained education, apprenticeship or employment destination in the year after completing 16 to 18 study, that is 6 months of continual activity. The latest publication includes destinations in 2023/24 by characteristics breakdown, for those finishing 16 to 18 study in 2022/23. Data on those who were not recorded as continuing to a sustained education, apprenticeship or employment destination is available for state-funded mainstream schools and colleges, and by free school meals eligibility here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/9e5bf7ed-27f0-49f3-b1bd-08de39895a0e.

How many schools in Telford constituency have applied for funding to provide a) free breakfast clubs and b) funded nurseries places in all rounds of applications up to and including 6 December 2025; and how many of those applications have been successful.

The department launched the free breakfast club early adopter scheme in April 2025 to test and learn what works in delivering free breakfast clubs in 750 state-funded schools across England. Early adopter schools were selected to ensure a wide range of representation across different school types, sizes and geographical areas. In Telford, one school is taking part in the scheme. National rollout will begin in April 2026, and the first cohort of applications closed on 5 December. Successful applicants will be announced in due course.High quality early years education is central to the department’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity, give every child the best possible start in life and is essential to our Plan for Change. This government is boosting availability and access through the School-based Nursery Programme. In phase 1 of the programme, one primary school in Telford applied and was awarded funding. Phase 2 closed on 11 December, with successful schools to be announced in due course.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of managing and attending healthcare appointments on children's school attendance.

In the 2024/25 academic year, over 4 million days of school were lost due to time off for a medical or dental appointment. For children to achieve and thrive, they need to be in school. The national absence codes include a code for leave of absence for the purpose of attending a medical or dental appointment, meaning, when monitoring pupils’ attendance, schools will be able to take into consideration any absences due to this. Parents are encouraged to make appointments out of school hours, but we acknowledge that children with medical needs may need to attend medical appointments during the school day and the school attendance framework allows for such absences to be granted by the school. Parents should get the school’s agreement in advance, and the pupil should only be out of school for the minimum amount of time necessary for the appointment. The department has also worked in conjunction with the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and the Royal College of Nursing who endorsed a statement on supporting school attendance, which included suggestions for clinics to support pupils returning to school after medical appointments.

What plans her department has to support wards receiving funding through the Pride in Place programme in a) Telford, b) West Midlands and c) England.

The Pride in Place Programme is being led by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and is the government’s flagship communities programme, which empowers local people to shape the future of their neighbourhood. Supported by up to £5 billion in funding over ten years, this programme represents a long-term strategy to fix the foundations in hundreds of communities across the country. The department’s contributions to educational improvements in Telford and Wrekin include:Telford was chosen as the lead local authority for the West Midlands under the department’s £70 million Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Change Programme Partnership. Key reforms include: ‘Early Language Support for Every Child‘, which focuses on speech, language, and communication needs in early years and primary schools; and ‘Ordinarily Available Inclusive Provision’, which strengthens inclusive practices in mainstream schools.Improvements to Education, including a secondary school in Telford that is eligible for the targeted regional improvement for standards and excellence (RISE) program, and receives school improvement support from sector leaders with a proven track record.To ensure all schools deliver high quality teaching and learning, the department is utilising universal RISE to stimulate interest from high attaining schools to support others, bringing in teaching schools, maths, English, Behaviour and attendance hubs.

When applications will open for the second round of Best Start breakfast clubs.

The government is committed to deliver on its pledge to provide a free breakfast club in every state-funded school with primary-aged children. This will ensure every child, regardless of circumstance, has a supportive start to the school day.So far, we have delivered 2.6 million breakfasts and offered places to almost 180,000 pupils across the country. Following the success of the early adopters, we will start the first phase of national rollout of the clubs from April 2026. We are investing a further £80 million into the programme to fund approximately 2,000 additional schools between April 2026 and March 2027. This will benefit around 500,000 more children.Further information, including specifics on eligibility, funding and expectations for schools will be provided later in the autumn term. This will include detailed guidance as well as a wider package of support.

How many lower-layer super output areas are within Telford constituency; how those areas are ranked by top (a) 1%, (b) 5% and (c) 10% in the index of multiple deprivation; and what impact that data has on the allocation of funding by her Department.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) have published the Indices of Deprivation Local Authority dashboard which displays the number and level of deprivation of each Lower-layer Super Output Area (LSOA) within every local authority. This dashboard can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/english-indices-of-deprivation-2019-mapping-resources.Whilst the Index of Multiple Deprivation is not used to allocate funding in the schools, high needs or early years national funding formulae (NFFs), the associated Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI), is used in all three of these NFFs to target funding towards deprivation.In the schools NFF, IDACI funding is based on the IDACI 2019 area-based index measuring the relative deprivation of LSOAs. IDACI ranks are divided into seven bands, with more funding directed to pupils in the more deprived bands.In the high needs NFF, the IDACI factor targets funding towards more deprived local authorities, assuming high needs costs are greater in these areas.In the early years NFF, the IDACI factor is used as a proxy for relative levels of deprivation and is used in the 2 year-old and under 2s formula.Further information on the NFFs is available here:Schools NFF: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-funding-formula-for-schools-and-high-needs-2025-to-2026.High needs NFF: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-funding-formula-tables-for-schools-and-high-needs-2025-to-2026.Early years NFF: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-funding-2025-to-2026/2025-to-2026-early-years-national-funding-formulae-technical-note.

When the free breakfast club expansion will be rolled out to Telford constituency.

The government is committed to deliver on its pledge to provide a free breakfast club in every state funded school with primary-aged children. This will ensure every child, regardless of circumstance, has a supportive start to the school day.From the start of summer term, the department has funded 750 schools to deliver a free breakfast club as early adopters. This is part of a test and learn phase in advance of national rollout.We are currently working through the outcomes of the latest spending review and the departmental business planning processes. Further details will follow in due course, including the timing of national rollout and the details of funding and support for schools.

How much her Department has spent on programmes to help recruit early years professionals in each of the last five years, broken down by (a) programme and (b) region and nation.

The early years workforce is at the heart of this government’s mission to give every child the best start in life and deliver the Plan for Change. We have 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 Profile assessment by 2028.Early education is delivered by a mixed market of providers who recruit staff depending on business need. The department is supporting providers by creating conditions for improved recruitment. Funding breakdowns by region are not held.In 2025/26 alone, the department plans to provide over £8 billion for the early years entitlements – a more than 30% increase compared to 2024/25. This ensures funding reflects forecasts of average earnings and inflation, as well as the National Living Wage announced at the 2024 Autumn Budget.The ‘Do something BIG. Work with small children’ recruitment campaign had a budget of £6.5 million for the 2023/24 financial year. Subsequent years’ budgets are being reconciled and the department will publish spend once confirmed.In 20 local authorities between April 2024 and March 2025, we piloted whether £1,000 financial incentives boost recruitment in early years. The demand-led programme totalled £2.64 million, comprising £2.47 million in 2023/24 and £173,000 in 2024/25.A Childminder Start-up Grant Scheme has supported childminders with the costs associated with setting up their new business. The demand-led scheme ran for a 2 year period and is worth up to £7.2 million.Our delivery support contract, Childcare Works, supports local authorities and providers on early years and wraparound delivery. Given the breadth of remit, we cannot isolate spend to early years recruitment activity only.

How many early years teachers there are in each region.

The department does not hold data on staff qualification levels by region.In 2024, 42% of staff within school-based providers and 11% of staff within group-based providers held graduate-level qualifications, as per the 2024 Early Years Provider Survey.

What estimate she has made of the number of early years professionals required in each region in each of the next five years.

To meet the additional demand placed on the childcare sector by expanding government funded entitlements to childcare, the department estimates that around 35,000 additional staff (headcount) nationally are needed above the 31 December 2023 baseline for autumn 2025. This represents approximately a 10% increase.We have seen a strong response from the sector so far. 2023 to 2024 saw around 20,000 more staff working in early years nationally, over 1.5 times the level of growth seen between 2022 to 2023.Responsibility for ongoing market sufficiency rests with local authorities, who are required by legislation to provide sufficient childcare places for children in their local area. We are in regular contact with each local authority, and have a delivery support contractor, Childcare Works, in place to support them, including with analysing workforce demand in their area.

How much her Department has spent on its scheme to offer £1000 sign-on incentives to help recruit early years professionals.

The early years workforce is at the heart of this government’s mission to give every child the best start in life and deliver the Plan for Change. We have 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 Profile assessment by 2028.Early education is delivered by a mixed market of providers who recruit staff depending on business need. The department is supporting providers by creating conditions for improved recruitment. Funding breakdowns by region are not held.In 2025/26 alone, the department plans to provide over £8 billion for the early years entitlements – a more than 30% increase compared to 2024/25. This ensures funding reflects forecasts of average earnings and inflation, as well as the National Living Wage announced at the 2024 Autumn Budget.The ‘Do something BIG. Work with small children’ recruitment campaign had a budget of £6.5 million for the 2023/24 financial year. Subsequent years’ budgets are being reconciled and the department will publish spend once confirmed.In 20 local authorities between April 2024 and March 2025, we piloted whether £1,000 financial incentives boost recruitment in early years. The demand-led programme totalled £2.64 million, comprising £2.47 million in 2023/24 and £173,000 in 2024/25.A Childminder Start-up Grant Scheme has supported childminders with the costs associated with setting up their new business. The demand-led scheme ran for a 2 year period and is worth up to £7.2 million.Our delivery support contract, Childcare Works, supports local authorities and providers on early years and wraparound delivery. Given the breadth of remit, we cannot isolate spend to early years recruitment activity only.

How many early years professionals were recruited following the introduction of the £1000 tax-free cash incentive.

The early years workforce is at the heart of the government’s mission to ensure every child has the best start in life. Early education and childcare is delivered by a mixed market of private, voluntary and independent provision who recruit and employ their staff depending upon their business and local need. We are supporting the sector to attract talented staff and childminders to join the workforce by creating conditions for improved recruitment and new routes into the workforce.Financial incentives are an important part of this plan, and the government has been running two schemes testing incentives in 26 local authorities. New starters and returners needed to meet certain eligibility criteria and to have started in an eligible provider in one of these 26 local authorities to be eligible to receive a £1000 payment.The financial incentives pilot ran from April 2024 to March 2025 in 20 local authorities and tested whether the offer of an incentive payment would increase recruitment.The financial incentives live test ran from November 2024 to March 2025 in an additional 6 local authorities. This tested the use of a new online portal as a possible delivery mechanism.Delivery on both schemes ended in March 2025. The pilot is currently being evaluated and we will set out the results in due course.

How much her Department has spent on programmes aimed at recruiting (a) primary and b) secondary education teachers in each of the last five years, broken down by (i) programme and (ii) region and nation.

High quality teaching is the in-school factor that has the biggest positive impact on a child or young person’s outcome in schools and colleges. 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.As part of the government’s Plan for Change to deliver 6,500 additional new expert teachers across secondary and special schools and colleges, the department funds initiatives across the teacher training and recruitment pipeline in England, based on available evidence of what works best. In the 2024/25 financial year, the department spent just over £600 million to support school teacher training, recruitment and retention.We are already seeing positive signs that our investment is starting to deliver: the workforce has grown by 2,346 full-time equivalent teachers between 2023/24 and 2024/25, in secondary and special schools, the schools where they are needed most. This includes 1,435 more secondary school teachers and 911 more special and pupil referral unit teachers compared to last year.Our future school teacher pipeline is also growing. As of May 2025, there are 11% more trainees who have accepted offers to train as secondary subjects, including in priority subjects such as Physics, where we have seen a 43% increase in acceptances compared to last year.The table below provides detail of the spending on programmes supporting recruitment and retention of the teacher workforce. All programmes are targeted and focused on school specific need. Data on spending by region is not available. 2020/21 financial year 2021/22 financial year 2022/23 financial year 2023/24 financial year 2024/25 financial year InitiativeBudgetBudgetBudgetBudgetBudget(£ million)(£ million)(£ million)(£ million)(£ million)Recruitment Financial Lever332.1249.1140.2193.4242.3Retention Financial Lever5.570.498.1189194.5Recruitment Non-Financial Lever35.948.349.344.347.1Retention Non-Financial Lever2122.828.527.323.6Continuing Professional Development34.819.444.961.293Covid and Tutoring91.923.32401850TOTAL521.25419.9601700.2600.5

If she will publish any centrally-owned workforce planning documents for early years provision.

The early years workforce is at the heart of this government’s mission to give every child the best start in life and deliver our Plan for Change. We will continue to drive forward our progress on our 2028 Plan for Change target for a record proportion (75%) of children starting school ready to learn. To achieve this, we will work in partnership with the sector, reforming training and supporting the workforce to drive up standards and offer sustained professional development. We will test new approaches to achieve the common goal of giving every child the best start in life.

How many social workers there are by gender in each region.

Information on child and family social workers, including breakdowns by worker characteristics, is published annually in the Children’s Social Work Workforce Official Statistics release. This can be accessed at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-s-social-work-workforce/2024. The number of full-time equivalent and headcount child and family social workers at 30 September 2024 by region and sex can be accessed at the following link: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/de240ca3-343f-4d8c-1fa1-08dd8e2f6934.Note that since 2024, data has been collected on the sex of workers, whereas previously data was collected on gender.

How many teaching staff in registered nurseries there are by gender in each region.

The department collects information on the overall size of the workforce through its regular Survey of Childcare and Early Years Providers, which can be accessed at the following address: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/childcare-and-early-years-provider-survey/2024. The latest data from this survey was published in December 2024 and showed the total number of paid childcare staff was 368,100 in 2024. Of these, 277,900 are group-based provider staff and 59,800 are school-based provider staff. The survey shows that the vast majority of paid childcare staff are female, making up 98% of paid group-based provider staff, and 97% of paid school-based provider staff. Additionally, Table 4 - 2 in the following link: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/childcare-and-early-years-provider-survey/2024, shows the total number of paid staff by region, but does not break down by gender and region.