Written questions by Dhesi.

When she plans to announce future funding arrangements for the Primary PE and Sport Premium.

Awaiting answer.

What recent progress has been made on how Primary PE and Sport will be funded in the 2026–27 academic year.

Awaiting answer.

What steps they are taking to increase the amount of UK made steel used in procurement contracts overseen by their Department.

The department strongly supports the UK’s Industrial Strategy, fostering a resilient economy that supports British businesses and creates good jobs in communities across the country. UK-produced steel has a significant role to play in construction and education projects. Our procurements are undertaken in accordance with Procurement Policy Note 022 “Procuring Steel in Government contracts”.From this financial year, contractors on the department’s construction frameworks will be required to report whether they have consulted the UK Steel’s Steel Catalogue. Contractors will need to confirm whether they are using UK steel and if not, explain why not.

With reference to paragraph 88 of the policy paper entitled UK Government Resilience Action Plan, published on 14 July 2025, how many meetings have been attended by civil servants within their Department in relation to the Home Defence Programme; which directorate in the Department owns the Departmental contribution to the Home Defence Programme; and what the job title is of the civil servant leading and cohering the Departmental contribution to the Home Defence Programme.

The Resilience Action Plan sets out the government’s strategic approach to how we will strengthen our domestic resilience and invest to protect the nation. Officials from the department regularly attend meetings to discuss the implementation of the Resilience Action Plan as well as matters of national security and defence.The department is actively supporting this work. Officials in the department are in regular discussions with the Ministry of Defence and other government departments about the critical role children and young people play.

With reference to page 92 of the Strategic Defence Review, how many meetings officials from their Department have attended on the national conversation on defence and security; which directorate in their Department is responsible for the departmental contribution to that national conversation; and what the job title is of the official responsible.

Officials from the department regularly attend meetings to discuss matters of national security, defence and resilience as well as the associated public communications required to deliver these lines of efforts. The conversation on national defence was a recommendation in the 2025 Strategic Defence Review (SDR), which the government accepted. The Ministry of Defence is the lead department for delivering the SDR, with support from the Cabinet Office, and particularly from the National Security Secretariat.As set out in the SDR, the national conversation will be a multi-year, cross-departmental effort designed to deliver on the whole-of-society approach to national security and defence allowing government, the private sector and public to play their part in strengthening the UK’s resilience to any potential future shocks. This work addresses the risks and threats the UK faces, including those below and above the threshold of an armed attack.The department is actively supporting this work. It plans to promote communications as part of National Preparedness Week later this year and is increasing engagement with its sectors on resilience issues.

With reference to paragraph 88 of the UK Government Resilience Action Plan, how many meetings Ministers in their Department have attended related to the Home Defence Programme.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has regular discussions with officials, external experts and ministerial colleagues on a range of issues, including national security, defence and resilience.The Home Defence Programme was established in August 2024 to build the UK’s resilience to any potential escalation to conflict. It is an evolving and enduring programme of work which provides defence, security and resilience planning, focused on aligning military and civil effort in the event of a period of crisis and international hostilities affecting the UK. It is informed by and reflects the recommendations from government strategies, including the Strategic Defence Review, National Security Strategy and Resilience Action Plan.The department is actively supporting this work. Officials in the department are in regular discussions with The Ministry of Defence and other government departments.

With reference to page 92 of the Strategic Defence Review, published on 2 June 2025, how many (a) public engagements and (b) private meetings Ministers in their Department have undertaken related to the national conversation on defence and security.

Ministers in the Department for Education have regular discussions with officials, external experts and ministerial colleagues on a range of issues, including national security, defence and resilience, and associated public communications. As set out in the Strategic Defence Review, the national conversation will be a multi-year engagement designed to embed a whole-of-society approach, where the government, businesses, and the public all play a part in strengthening our resilience. This addresses the risks we face, including threats below and above the threshold of an armed attack.

What recent assessment has been made of the adequacy of teachers' pay in real terms.

Despite the challenging fiscal context, this government is taking action to restore teaching as the highly valued profession it should be. This includes prioritising pay with above inflation increases of almost 10% over two years.Our latest pay proposal of 6.5% over three years, when combined with the last two increases, would mean that teacher pay would rise by almost 17% across this parliament, equating to a real terms increase of almost 4%.Final decisions on the 2026/27 pay award will be made following recommendations from the independent pay review body process, which is ongoing.

What recent progress has been made in recruiting 6,500 teachers.

We are making progress towards our pledge to recruit 6,500 additional teachers. The latest School Workforce Census reported 2,346 more secondary and special school teachers (FTE) in 2024/25 compared to 2023/24.The same publication also reported one of the lowest leaver rates in recent years, with 1,700 fewer teachers leaving the state-funded sector than the year before. More teachers are also returning to state schools than at any point in the last ten years. The latest data showed 17,274 teachers returned to the classroom.The future teaching pipeline is also looking positive. Latest initial teacher training census data shows strong growth in trainee numbers, with over 32,000 talented individuals beginning their training last September, a rise of 11% on the previous year, and we exceeded our STEM recruitment target for the first time since it was introduced in 2019.The number of physics trainees are up 36%, computing up 44%, and maths up by 16%. In total, the data shows an increase of 21% in STEM subjects, exceeding the trainee target, with 6,700 new entrants.

What recent assessment has been made of the (a) availability and (b) adequacy of workplace mental health support available to (i) teachers and (ii) school staff.

The department takes the wellbeing and mental health of teachers and school staff very seriously.We have worked with the sector to develop the Education Staff Wellbeing Charter which can be used to inform a whole school or college approach to wellbeing. Over 4,300 schools and colleges have signed up.We fund Education Support to provide professional supervision for school and college leaders. Over 1,400 leaders have benefitted since April 2024.The department has funded a mental health lead resource hub to support mental health leads. This includes resources to support staff development and wellbeing.​Our Improve Workload and Wellbeing service provides resources for schools to reduce workload and improve wellbeing. The department also signposts to a range of mental health resources, including Education Support’s free 24-hour helpline.Employers have a duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees. Many employers provide employee assistance programmes offering confidential support and counselling. As the duty of care for staff wellbeing rests with employers, assessments of the availability and adequacy of workplace mental health support are made locally.

What recent assessment has been made of whether children’s social care practice adequately supports parents who are experiencing post-separation abuse.

The Children’s Social Care National Framework (2023) statutory guidance sets the direction for children’s social care practice. It describes expectations for practitioners working sensitively with whole families, including to identify and address the impact of trauma. It also sets out that leaders should put in place meaningful and collaborative forums with children, young people and families, such as family group decision making.The national rollout of Family Help, multi-agency child protection and family group decision making reforms, delivered through the Families First Partnership programme, will prioritise supporting the whole family and intervening at the earliest opportunity to prevent problems escalating, including supporting parents who are experiencing post-separation abuse. This will require excellent place-based service design driven by local authorities working effectively with local partners, including health, police, education providers and specialist agencies such as domestic abuse and victim support services, underpinned by good multi agency safeguarding arrangements and listening closely to families.

What recent assessment has she made of the adequacy of financial support available to university students.

The government needs to ensure that the student funding system is financially sustainable, and funding arrangements are reviewed each year.We are increasing loans for living costs each year in line with forecast inflation with students from the lowest income families receiving the largest year-on-year cash increases in support. Maximum loans for living costs will increase by 2.71% for the 2026/27 academic year.We are also reintroducing maintenance grants of up to £1,000 per year for full-time students from low-income households studying courses aligned with the government’s missions and Industrial Strategy from the 2028/29 academic year.The department will also provide extra support for care leavers, some of the most vulnerable in our society, who will automatically become eligible to receive the maximum rates of loans for living costs from the 2026/27 academic year.

What recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the nutritional guidance for school dinners.

The School Food Standards regulate the food and drink provided at both lunchtime and at other times of the school day. We are revising the School Food Standards and engaging with stakeholders to ensure they support our work to create the healthiest generation of children in history. As part of our work, we expect to revise our guidance.

What recent assessment he has been made of the adequacy of national guidance for schools regarding (a) incidents and (b) reports of knife possession on school grounds.

It is essential that schools are equipped to act decisively to safeguard all pupils and staff. The department regularly keeps guidance under review and we are actively considering how we can further support schools to understand the expectations set out in policy guidance around both violence prevention, and response to violence.Schools must have regard to statutory guidance, including ‘Keeping children safe in education’, ‘Working together to safeguard children’, and guidance on ‘Searching, screening and confiscation’.The department has taken steps to strengthen practice in schools by working with the Youth Endowment Fund to highlight evidence based approaches to preventing violence. This includes a national webinar series, aimed at school leaders and safeguarding leads, which shares best practice, evidence based approaches and practical guidance on preventing serious violence and supporting vulnerable pupils. This work supports the government’s ambition to halve knife crime over the next decade, starting with effective early prevention‑based approaches to preventing violence.

What consideration her Department has given to including milk in government-funded breakfast clubs without reducing funding for existing milk provision schemes.

The department funds schools taking part in the free breakfast clubs programme to buy breakfast foods and drinks, as well as to cover staffing and delivery costs. Schools are required to provide a breakfast adhering to the school food standards, which could include a glass of lower fat milk. However, it is up to schools to decide what they serve in line with the standards. Where schools provide milk, they can also choose whether to participate in the national school milk subsidy scheme which can be used to reduce the cost of the milk Additionally, the Nursery Milk Scheme is operated and funded by the Department of Health and Social Care and provides free milk to children under five at participating schools and childcare settings.

What steps her Department is taking to improve awareness of milk entitlement schemes among schools.

Milk is an excellent food for children’s growth and development. To help schools understand the milk entitlement schemes available to them, departmental advice is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/standards-for-school-food-in-england/school-food-in-england. This includes links to the guidance on the school milk subsidy scheme and the nursery milk scheme.

What recent steps her Department has taken alongside local authorities to help tackle persistent absence in schools in Slough constituency.

Tackling absence is at the heart of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity. Thanks to the efforts of schools, absence is moving in the right direction, with children attending over 5.31 million more days this year compared to last. However, around one in five pupils are still missing 10% or more of school, which is why the department is continuing to drive further improvement.Steps taken to improve attendance includes developing real-time data tools that allows schools to compare attendance against similar schools and enable earlier intervention as well as investing in targeted support, including £15 million to set up the attendance mentors programme supporting 10,800 pupils.The department has also started to establish new Attendance and Behaviour Hubs, where up to 90 hubs led by schools with excellent attendance and behaviour practice will support more than 4,500 schools to improve.

What recent discussions she has had with local authorities on the (a) services and (b) level of financial support provided to kinship carers.

Local authorities have powers to provide a range of services, including financial support, to help children and families. They are best placed to decide what support is needed and any payments should follow their assessment models. The government does not set a minimum or maximum allowance for kinship carers, but statutory guidance makes clear that children and young people should receive the support they need to safeguard and promote their welfare.We recognise the financial pressures on local authorities and are committed to improving support for kinship families. To that end, we will soon launch a Kinship Allowance Pilot in selected local authorities in England to help eligible kinship carers with the costs of raising a child.

What assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of training provided to school staff on assisting children who have epilepsy.

Governing bodies must ensure that the arrangements they put in place are sufficient to meet their statutory responsibilities and that policies, plans, procedures and systems are properly and effectively implemented. This includes the duty under Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 to make arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions, as well as the duties under the Equality Act 2010. The effectiveness of a school is assessed through inspection by Ofsted.The department has committed to reviewing the ‘Supporting pupils with medical conditions at school’ guidance and intends to issue a consultation on an updated version. The current guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3.

What steps she is taking to support schools to provide practical science activities as part of their curriculum.

The government recognises the vital role of practical science activities in schools in fostering scientific understanding and engagement.The national curriculum already provides opportunities for schools to deliver practical science lessons, including a requirement for pupils to undertake a minimum of eight practical activities for each science at GCSE level. Schools also have flexibility within the broad framework of the national curriculum to tailor their science curriculum to meet the needs of their pupils.Support is available through Oak National Academy, an independent arm’s length body providing adaptable, optional, and free curriculum support for schools. Oak has new science resources covering key stages 1-4 that include practical science activities.The government has commissioned Professor Becky Francis to undertake a review of the curriculum and assessment system in England, which will include looking at the science curriculum. The final report is due to be published this autumn, along with the government’s response.