Written questions by Qureshi.

What assessment her Department has made of potential merits of providing free school meals to all school children.

Awaiting answer.

Pursuant to the Answer of 8 May 2025 to Question 51054 on Teachers: Workplace Pensions, what progress has been made on reducing the number of teachers waiting for compensation since 30 May 2025.

As part of the Transitional Protection (McCloud) remedy, affected members of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) can choose either final salary or career average benefits for the remedy period (April 2015 to March 2022). From June 2025, the TPS administrator began adjusting pensions for members who selected benefits different from those already in payment.As of 17 September 2025, 254 pensions had been adjusted. This process takes time, due to the complexity of the calculations required for the Remediable Service Statement (RSS), which reflects benefit choices as of its issue date. Additional calculations are needed if members opt for different benefits, as the pension position may change between RSS issuance and payment adjustment and some of these calculations cannot currently be automated so are done manually by clerical staff. The member’s existing pension benefits continue to be paid during this period, with any subsequent changes backdated with interest applied.The department continues to monitor these issues very closely and work with Capita to ensure issues of this nature are resolved as quickly as possible, and the Teachers’ Pension Scheme is delivered to the highest possible standard.

What plans she has to provide (a) additional resources, (b) teacher training and (c) additional curriculum support on media literacy in schools.

Media literacy is covered in the citizenship, relationships, sex and health education and computing curriculums.The department funds the National Centre for Computing Education, which provides teachers with continuing professional development and resources to support the teaching of computing. This includes units on messaging in digital media, the credibility of sources, and identifying ‘fake’ news and edited images, supporting the teaching of artificial intelligence (AI) and media literacy.In 2024, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) provided £0.5 million to scale up two programmes, to provide media literacy support to teachers, children aged 11 to 16, parents/carers and other professionals working with families.The Educate against Hate website also hosts a series of online media literacy resources which seek to help young people evaluate the validity of information. This can be accessed at: https://www.educateagainsthate.com/.The independent Curriculum and Assessment Review’s interim report notes the rise of AI and trends in digital information and that it is necessary that the curriculum keep pace with these changes, including a renewed focus on digital and media literacy and critical thinking skills. The interim report is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/curriculum-and-assessment-review-interim-report. The Review’s final report and recommendations will be published in autumn with the government’s response.

If her Department will take steps to ensure that media literacy is a core component of the Curriculum and Assessment Review, in the context of increases in the use of generative AI.

The independent Curriculum and Assessment Review’s interim report notes the rise of artificial intelligence and trends in digital information and that it is necessary that the curriculum keep pace with these changes, including a renewed focus on digital and media literacy and critical thinking skills. The interim report is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/curriculum-and-assessment-review-interim-report. The Review’s final report and recommendations will be published in autumn with the government’s response.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the report by Together Trust and National Star entitled What comes after education? Transitions to adulthood for disabled young people, published on 8 December 2023.

The report raises concerns around the challenges young people face when transitioning from education into adulthood, including uncertainty around post-16 options, employment and transitions to adult services. The department will consider these themes and the issues raised in the report and discuss with stakeholders as we progress our special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reform work. The department knows that successful transitions must be well-planned. Preparing all children and young people with SEND for adulthood is a key part of the SEND system and should begin from the earliest point. All local authorities must set out the support available to help children and young people with SEND prepare for and transition to adulthood as part of their local offer. This includes support to help children and young people move between phases of education and preparation for adult life. For those with an education, health and care (EHC) plan, there must be a focus from year 9 onwards on preparing the young person for adulthood as part of their plan’s annual review. This focus must continue until the young person’s EHC plan ceases. Planning for the transition to adulthood should result in clear outcomes being agreed that are ambitious and stretching, and which are tailored to the needs and interests of the young person.

Whether she plans to review the School Food Standards.

It is important that children eat nutritious food at school and the department encourages schools to have a whole school approach to healthy eating. The School Food Standards regulate the food and drink provided at lunchtime and at other times of the school day, including, for example, breakfast clubs. The School Food Standards restrict foods high in fat, salt and sugar, as well as low quality reformed or reconstituted foods. They ensure that pupils always have healthy options for their school lunch.School governors have a responsibility to ensure compliance and should provide appropriate challenge to ensure the school is meeting its obligations.To support governors in their role around compliance, the department, along with the National Governance Association, is running a pilot online training course on school food for governors and trustees. This launched on 4 November 2024 and will run until 1 April 2025. This will help governors to improve their understanding of the standards and give governing boards confidence to hold their school leaders to account on their whole school approach to food. The department will evaluate the training programme’s reception and effectiveness in the short term.The department’s aim is to deliver better life chances for all through a system which works for all. As part of this, as with all government programmes, we will keep our approach to school food under continued review.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending the lifelong loan entitlement to offer maintenance loans for remote learners.

The Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) will deliver a transformational change to the student finance system in England, by broadening access to high-quality, flexible education and training. All courses and modules with in-person attendance that are eligible for LLE tuition funding will also be eligible for maintenance loans. This represents an expansion of the maintenance offer for part-time learners and those studying technical courses. Eligibility and qualifying conditions for LLE funding will broadly mirror existing policy. As such, remote learners will continue to have access to tuition fee loan funding but be out of scope of the maintenance offer. However, it is government's intention that the existing exemptions will continue to apply, for example remote learners who qualify for maintenance support due to a disability. Decisions on student finance have had to be taken alongside other spending priorities to ensure the system remains financially sustainable. The department has therefore decided to continue targeting living costs support at courses that require students to attend their institution. The government, and the department, will keep this policy under review.

Whether she has had recent discussions with local authorities on the future of the Holiday Activities and Food programme after March 2025.

The department has received its overall budget and we are now working through the details of the budget settlement. Departmental budgets for 2025/26 will be confirmed in due course, including the exact funding available for this type of support for children, young people and families during the holidays.

What steps she is taking to embed a Whole Education Approach to mental health and wellbeing in all education settings.

​​The government is committed to improving mental health outcomes for all children and young people, as this is critical to breaking down barriers to opportunity and learning.The department, along with the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, provides guidance to schools and colleges on a whole school or college approach to promoting and supporting mental health and wellbeing, which can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/614cc965d3bf7f718518029c/Promoting_children_and_young_people_s_mental_health_and_wellbeing.pdf. The department has also provided a free to access resource hub for mental health leads, which can be found here: https://www.mentallyhealthyschools.org.uk/whole-school-or-college-resources/.Over 70% of all schools and colleges have accessed grants from the department to train a senior mental health lead, who develops their knowledge and skills to embed a whole school or college approach to mental health and wellbeing. Information is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/senior-mental-health-lead-training. In addition, as of April 2024, Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) cover 44% (4.2 million) of pupils in schools and learners in further education (FE) in England. Coverage of MHSTs is expected to cover at least 50% by the end of March 2025.A key part of our approach is ensuring the right support is available to every young person that needs it, which is why we have committed to provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every school. The government will also be putting in place new Young Futures hubs, including access to mental health support workers, and will recruit an additional 8,500 new mental health staff to treat children and adults.For early years settings, the early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework sets the standards and requirements that all early years providers must meet to ensure that children have the best start in life and are kept healthy and safe. The EYFS statutory framework can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-framework--2.The department works closely with the FE sector to support providers to develop and implement a whole college approach to mental health and wellbeing. This is supported by the Association of Colleges refreshed Mental Health and Wellbeing Charter, which was published in March 2024.To raise standards in the higher education sector, the Office for Students has provided £400,000 of funding to the student mental health charity, Student Minds. This has enabled significant expansion of the University Mental Health Charter Programme, with 113 universities now signed up. The programme helps universities to adopt a whole institution approach to mental health.