Written questions by Hayes.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of enrichment activities on children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The department, working closely with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, has committed to publishing a new enrichment framework by the end of 2025. The framework is being developed alongside a working group consisting of experts from schools, youth, sports, arts and research organisations, to identify and reflect effective practice in schools.The working group will consider how the framework can support equal access and support all pupils to engage with a school’s offer. The department expects the framework to set out benchmarks for high quality enrichment offers and to provide advice for schools on how to plan their offer strategically and intentionally. The framework is still in development, and we are considering all evidence, including examples of what works for a range of different schools.

How many (a) family hubs and (b) former Sure Start children centres are in operation in each council area.

On 25 January 2024, the government published a list of family hubs which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/list-of-family-hub-sites. 75 local authorities have received joint funding from the department and the Department of Health and Social Care as part of the Family Hubs and Start for Life Programme. As of March 2025, there were 551 family hubs in these local authorities. A further 13 local authorities have received support through the department’s Family Hubs Transformation Fund. As of March 2025, there were 90 family hubs in these local authorities. The department does not routinely collect data on family hubs created by local authorities outside of these two programmes.Data on children’s centres that are in operation is supplied by local authorities via the Get Information about Schools database. A list of children’s centres that are currently open is available to download at: https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/Downloads.On 2 August 2023, the government published Family Hubs and Start for Life: section 31 grant determination letters. A link to the letters can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/family-hubs-and-start-for-life-section-31-grant-determination-letters. These letters set out the details of £301.75 million of funding for 75 upper-tier local authorities in England to deliver Start for Life and Family Hubs over three financial years between 2022 and 2025.

How many new Family Hubs were established by the Family Hubs and Start for Life Programme scheme in 2022 by council area.

On 25 January 2024, the government published a list of family hubs which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/list-of-family-hub-sites. 75 local authorities have received joint funding from the department and the Department of Health and Social Care as part of the Family Hubs and Start for Life Programme. As of March 2025, there were 551 family hubs in these local authorities. A further 13 local authorities have received support through the department’s Family Hubs Transformation Fund. As of March 2025, there were 90 family hubs in these local authorities. The department does not routinely collect data on family hubs created by local authorities outside of these two programmes.Data on children’s centres that are in operation is supplied by local authorities via the Get Information about Schools database. A list of children’s centres that are currently open is available to download at: https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/Downloads.On 2 August 2023, the government published Family Hubs and Start for Life: section 31 grant determination letters. A link to the letters can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/family-hubs-and-start-for-life-section-31-grant-determination-letters. These letters set out the details of £301.75 million of funding for 75 upper-tier local authorities in England to deliver Start for Life and Family Hubs over three financial years between 2022 and 2025.

How many existing Family Hubs received funding through the 2022 Family Hubs and Start for Life Programme scheme by council area.

On 25 January 2024, the government published a list of family hubs which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/list-of-family-hub-sites. 75 local authorities have received joint funding from the department and the Department of Health and Social Care as part of the Family Hubs and Start for Life Programme. As of March 2025, there were 551 family hubs in these local authorities. A further 13 local authorities have received support through the department’s Family Hubs Transformation Fund. As of March 2025, there were 90 family hubs in these local authorities. The department does not routinely collect data on family hubs created by local authorities outside of these two programmes.Data on children’s centres that are in operation is supplied by local authorities via the Get Information about Schools database. A list of children’s centres that are currently open is available to download at: https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/Downloads.On 2 August 2023, the government published Family Hubs and Start for Life: section 31 grant determination letters. A link to the letters can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/family-hubs-and-start-for-life-section-31-grant-determination-letters. These letters set out the details of £301.75 million of funding for 75 upper-tier local authorities in England to deliver Start for Life and Family Hubs over three financial years between 2022 and 2025.

On what criteria she plans to allocate funding for the new Best Start Family Hubs; and whether this differs from the criteria for the Hubs and Start for Life Programme 2022.

Local authorities were pre-selected in rank order using Income Deprivation Affecting Children Indices Average Rank, ensuring a minimum of 25% of local authorities from each Office for National Statistics rural urban classification have been pre-selected for Family Hubs and Start for Life funding.One in three disadvantaged children live in authorities which currently receive no programme funding. This is why on 7 July 2025, the government published ‘Giving every child the Best Start in Life’. This outlines our commitment to deliver a new Best Start Family Service to bring together parenting, healthcare and education support services, as well as creating and funding Best Start Family Hubs in every local authority. The department will provide a start-up grant to local authorities currently receiving no programme funding this year, before full expansion of Best Start Hubs begins from April 2026.

With reference to the Hubs and Start for Life Programme 2022, what criteria was used to allocate funding to establish new Family Hubs.

Local authorities were pre-selected in rank order using Income Deprivation Affecting Children Indices Average Rank, ensuring a minimum of 25% of local authorities from each Office for National Statistics rural urban classification have been pre-selected for Family Hubs and Start for Life funding.One in three disadvantaged children live in authorities which currently receive no programme funding. This is why on 7 July 2025, the government published ‘Giving every child the Best Start in Life’. This outlines our commitment to deliver a new Best Start Family Service to bring together parenting, healthcare and education support services, as well as creating and funding Best Start Family Hubs in every local authority. The department will provide a start-up grant to local authorities currently receiving no programme funding this year, before full expansion of Best Start Hubs begins from April 2026.

Whether Best Start Family Hubs will be located within walking distance of deprived communities.

Ensuring every child has the best start in life and the chance to achieve and thrive is the foundation of the government’s Opportunity Mission.We will spend close to £1.5 billion over the next three years on improving family services and early years education to begin the hard work needed.We will fund Best Start Family Hubs in every local authority to ensure that children and families who need support the most, especially those from low-income backgrounds or with additional vulnerabilities, can access it. These hubs will be open to all families but will be located in disadvantaged communities where support is most needed. This ensures services are both inclusive and targeted.The department will be providing guidance to local authorities in due course to support service delivery from April 2026.

What criteria she will use to decide the (a) placement and (b) funding of Best Start Family Hubs.

Ensuring every child has the best start in life and the chance to achieve and thrive is the foundation of the government’s Opportunity Mission.We will spend close to £1.5 billion over the next three years on improving family services and early years education to begin the hard work needed.We will fund Best Start Family Hubs in every local authority to ensure that children and families who need support the most, especially those from low-income backgrounds or with additional vulnerabilities, can access it. These hubs will be open to all families but will be located in disadvantaged communities where support is most needed. This ensures services are both inclusive and targeted.The department will be providing guidance to local authorities in due course to support service delivery from April 2026.

What steps is she taking to improve the use of technology to support inclusion for children with SEND in schools in Bournemouth.

Assistive technology has the potential to improve early intervention and enable more children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to achieve and thrive in a mainstream setting, by supporting both confidence and independence.My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has announced £740 million for high needs capital in 2025/26 to support children and young people with SEND or who require alternative provision. Local authorities can use this to create new places, but also to adapt classrooms to be more accessible for children with SEND, including through investment in assistive technology interventions to support pupils in mainstream settings. Of this £740 million, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council has been allocated over £4 million in 2025/26.We will continue to build our evidence base on the potential for assistive technology to improve inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, including testing a pilot of assistive technology lending libraries through the SEND and alternative provision Change Programme. This will allow up to 4,000 mainstream schools in participating local authorities to borrow and trial technology on a temporary basis, to identify the right products to support their pupils.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of Sure Start children's centres on the proportion of children receiving SEND support from an early age.

The report by the Institute of Fiscal Studies entitled ‘The short- and medium-term effects of Sure Start on children's outcomes’ highlights the powerful, long-term impact of strengthened early years support and shows the difference that integrated, evidence-based services can make to children’s lives. The research showed that access to Sure Start in early life generated widespread, long-lasting benefits, improving children’s health and educational outcomes and reducing the prevalence of identified special education needs and disabilities (SEND). As our new publication ‘Giving every child the best start in life’, published 7 July 2025, sets out, we are making a significant investment of over half a billion pounds over the 2026/29 spending review period that will build back crucial family services and provide high-quality support to parents and children from pregnancy to age five. Proposals include:A new Best Start Family Hub programme that will take the best of the Sure Start and Family Hub and Start for Life programme approaches to create Best Start Family Hubs, bringing together the trusted advice and guidance all parents need in one place and linking families to their local services.Funding for Best Start Family Hubs in every local authority, so these services will reach the children and families who will benefit most from this support, including those from lower-income families and with additional vulnerabilities. More information can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/giving-every-child-the-best-start-in-life.

What assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies entitled The short- and medium-term effects of Sure Start on children’s outcomes, published on 22 May 2025.

The report by the Institute of Fiscal Studies entitled ‘The short- and medium-term effects of Sure Start on children's outcomes’ highlights the powerful, long-term impact of strengthened early years support and shows the difference that integrated, evidence-based services can make to children’s lives. The research showed that access to Sure Start in early life generated widespread, long-lasting benefits, improving children’s health and educational outcomes and reducing the prevalence of identified special education needs and disabilities (SEND). As our new publication ‘Giving every child the best start in life’, published 7 July 2025, sets out, we are making a significant investment of over half a billion pounds over the 2026/29 spending review period that will build back crucial family services and provide high-quality support to parents and children from pregnancy to age five. Proposals include:A new Best Start Family Hub programme that will take the best of the Sure Start and Family Hub and Start for Life programme approaches to create Best Start Family Hubs, bringing together the trusted advice and guidance all parents need in one place and linking families to their local services.Funding for Best Start Family Hubs in every local authority, so these services will reach the children and families who will benefit most from this support, including those from lower-income families and with additional vulnerabilities. More information can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/giving-every-child-the-best-start-in-life.

With reference to the Institute for Fiscal Studies report entitled, The short- and medium-term effects of Sure Start on children’s outcomes, published in May 2025, what assessment has she made of the potential impact of Sure Start children's centres on children's levels of attainment.

The report by the Institute of Fiscal Studies entitled ‘The short- and medium-term effects of Sure Start on children's outcomes’ highlights the powerful, long-term impact of strengthened early years support and shows the difference that integrated, evidence-based services can make to children’s lives. The research showed that access to Sure Start in early life generated widespread, long-lasting benefits, improving children’s health and educational outcomes and reducing the prevalence of identified special education needs and disabilities (SEND). As our new publication ‘Giving every child the best start in life’, published 7 July 2025, sets out, we are making a significant investment of over half a billion pounds over the 2026/29 spending review period that will build back crucial family services and provide high-quality support to parents and children from pregnancy to age five. Proposals include:A new Best Start Family Hub programme that will take the best of the Sure Start and Family Hub and Start for Life programme approaches to create Best Start Family Hubs, bringing together the trusted advice and guidance all parents need in one place and linking families to their local services.Funding for Best Start Family Hubs in every local authority, so these services will reach the children and families who will benefit most from this support, including those from lower-income families and with additional vulnerabilities. More information can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/giving-every-child-the-best-start-in-life.

When she plans to publish her Department's White Paper on reforms to the SEND system.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.We are clear that the current system is difficult for parents, carers and young people to navigate and simply not delivering the outcomes we want to see for our children.Details of the government's intended approach to SEND reform will be set out in a Schools White Paper in the autumn.

With reference to the Centre for Young Lives report, entitled Everything to Play For, published in June 2025, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of decline in the duration of free playtime during school breaktimes on children's (a) development and (b) wellbeing.

The department supports active lunch and break times, and government guidance sets a minimum school week of 32.5 hours, inclusive of breaks, to allow time for play.The early years foundation stage framework is clear that play is essential for learning and development, with schools and providers responsible for ensuring the school day includes opportunities for social interaction, physical activity and enrichment.The department also values understanding pupils’ school experience and has recently committed to publishing annual data on, amongst other things, pupils’ sense of belonging, enjoyment and safety at school. In 2026, we will also publish a national best practice framework to support pupil engagement, offering guidance and case studies for schools.

What steps she is taking to increase the number of pupils learning modern foreign languages to GCSE level in Bournemouth.

The department is providing funding to support the uptake of languages across the country. We continue to fund the National Consortium for Languages Education, which delivers online continuing professional development for teachers and a new model of language support for schools. This programme is designed to have national reach, ensuring that all schools can benefit regardless of their location.To further support languages education, the department is offering a £26,000 tax-free bursary for trainee language teachers starting courses in 2025, or alternatively, a £28,000 tax-free scholarship for those training to teach French, German, or Spanish. Additionally, Oak National Academy is developing modern foreign languages lesson resources for key stages 2 to 4, to be fully released by autumn 2025, helping teachers deliver high-quality lessons and reduce planning time.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to the birth rate on school rolls.

The department’s National Pupil Projections are updated annually to take account of the latest population estimates and population projections published by the Office for National Statistics, which incorporate the latest birth rate trends. The department’s projections are published here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/national-pupil-projections/2024.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of higher education providers on exports produced by Bournemouth.

Exports from the UK’s higher education providers have a significant economic impact on the UK and their respective regions. In 2022, total education-related exports and transnational education revenue was estimated to be £32.9 billion, with higher education contributing £23.7 billion to this figure. According to the latest Higher Education Statistics Agency data, 4,525 international students were enrolled in Bournemouth’s higher education institutions in the academic year 2023/24, directly contributing to education export revenue generated in Bournemouth through tuition fees and living expenditure.The government is currently reviewing its international education strategy to ensure that it continues to be an effective tool in increasing the value of education exports across the UK.

What assessment she has made of the contribution of (a) Bournemouth University, (b) Health Sciences University and (c) other higher education institutions in tackling skills gaps in the Dorset economy.

The Dorset Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP), led by Dorset Chamber, identified specific skills needs across the following key sectors: health and social care, advanced manufacturing and engineering, defence and marine; construction; digital technology and creative; agriculture, agricultural biotechnology and aquaculture. It also identified cross-cutting skills needed by employers in all sectors of the local economy.Higher education providers in the area are engaging in the LSIP process and responding to the area’s identified needs in a number of ways, including by establishing new provision. As set out in the recently published LSIP Progress Report, Bournemouth University is creating five new degree apprenticeships in identified skills needs in digital marketing, accounting finance management, biomedical science, social work and midwifery to begin in September 2025. The Health Sciences University is developing four new level six apprenticeships in the areas of diagnostic radiographer, occupational therapist, podiatrist and speech and language therapist.The government wants higher education providers across the country to be fully engaged in the LSIP process and in meeting local skills needs. The updated LSIP statutory guidance, which is due for publication this autumn, will encourage designated employer representative bodies leading LSIPs to work closely with the higher education providers in their area to agree the different ways in which they can engage and support the development of the LSIP and delivery of the priorities identified within it.

What steps she is taking to standardise access to high-quality (a) training and (b) continuing professional development for teaching assistants.

Teaching assistants play a vital role in children’s education, including for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). They are crucial to ensuring we give children the best possible life chances.This government values and recognises the professionalism of the entire school workforce. That is why we are establishing the School Support Staff Negotiating Body (SSSNB) through the Employment Rights Bill, introduced in Parliament on 10 October 2024.The SSSNB will mean that in future years, employers and employee representatives will come together to negotiate terms and conditions and pay for school support staff, including teaching assistants, to ensure they are properly recognised and rewarded for the work they do. The SSSNB will also be tasked with establishing a national terms and conditions handbook and advising on suitable training and career progression routes that recognise the varied and vital roles support staff undertake.Most school support staff, including teaching assistants, are currently employed on National Joint Council (NJC) for local government services pay and conditions. The NJC is a negotiating body made up of representatives from trade unions and local government employers. Employees covered by the NJC for local government services pay and conditions have been offered a pay increase of 3.2% from 1 April 2025, which is subject to agreement by the recognised NJC unions. The government does not play a role in this process.

What steps she is taking to improve the retention of teaching assistants who support children with SEND.

Teaching assistants play a vital role in children’s education, including for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). They are crucial to ensuring we give children the best possible life chances.This government values and recognises the professionalism of the entire school workforce. That is why we are establishing the School Support Staff Negotiating Body (SSSNB) through the Employment Rights Bill, introduced in Parliament on 10 October 2024.The SSSNB will mean that in future years, employers and employee representatives will come together to negotiate terms and conditions and pay for school support staff, including teaching assistants, to ensure they are properly recognised and rewarded for the work they do. The SSSNB will also be tasked with establishing a national terms and conditions handbook and advising on suitable training and career progression routes that recognise the varied and vital roles support staff undertake.Most school support staff, including teaching assistants, are currently employed on National Joint Council (NJC) for local government services pay and conditions. The NJC is a negotiating body made up of representatives from trade unions and local government employers. Employees covered by the NJC for local government services pay and conditions have been offered a pay increase of 3.2% from 1 April 2025, which is subject to agreement by the recognised NJC unions. The government does not play a role in this process.