Department for Education

The Ministry of Defence oversees the Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) for eligible service personnel, which provides clearly defined financial support to ensure that the need for frequent mobility does not interfere with a child’s education. This includes supporting parents with the option of using a state boarding school. Further information can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/61684e30e90e07197867eb2b/20211007-DCS_CEAS_INFO_02-CEA_AND_BOARDING_SCHOOL_CONSIDERATIONS_INFORMATION_V4.pdf.

Senior officials maintain oversight of state boarding school policy and coordinate, as appropriate, with relevant teams across the department and other government departments on matters such as the national minimum standards for boarding and day pupil fees.

The Ministry of Defence oversees the Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) for eligible service personnel, which provides clearly defined financial support to ensure that the need for frequent mobility does not interfere with a child’s education. This includes supporting parents with the option of using a state boarding school. Further information can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/61684e30e90e07197867eb2b/20211007-DCS_CEAS_INFO_02-CEA_AND_BOARDING_SCHOOL_CONSIDERATIONS_INFORMATION_V4.pdf.

Senior officials maintain oversight of state boarding school policy and coordinate, as appropriate, with relevant teams across the department and other government departments on matters such as the national minimum standards for boarding and day pupil fees.

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.

​​We are supporting schools to tackle the challenges faced by pupils in poverty. As part of this support, schools will receive pupil premium funding worth over £3 billion in the 2025/26 financial year to support the educational outcomes of disadvantaged pupils.

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​The removal of the two-child limit will lift 450,000 children out of poverty, rising to around 550,000 alongside other measures announced this year, including the expansion of free school meals, which will lift 100,000 children out of poverty by the end of this Parliament and put £500 back in families’ pockets. Further, we are delivering on our pledge to provide a free breakfast club in every state-funded school with primary-aged children.

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​We are also providing access to specialist mental health professionals in every school by expanding mental health support teams (MHSTs). As of April 2025, 57% of pupils in schools and learners in further education in the North East region were covered by an MHST.

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​The department will also publish an Enrichment Framework, providing advice for schools on delivering a high-quality enrichment offer, including extra-curricular activities after school.

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​Since September 2024, the department has invested over £180 million in the National Wraparound Programme, which has created over 50,000 additional childcare places.

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​Support with costs for wraparound childcare is also available for eligible parents through the Tax-Free Childcare and the childcare element of Universal Credit.

The department does not hold the requested information. While statistics on suspension are collected by reason category, ‘not wearing the required school uniform’ is not included as a separate category.

The department publishes data on suspensions and permanent exclusions in state-funded schools in England. The most recent full academic year release, covering 2023/24, can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/suspensions-and-permanent-exclusions-in-england/2023-24. This has been available since 10 July 2025.

The department’s position is clear that it is for the headteacher to determine how to address breaches of the school’s uniform and appearance, in line with the school’s behaviour policy. We expect schools to respond to non-compliance, such as uniform breaches in a proportionate and fair way. Where a school imposes a sanction such as a suspension the formal exclusion process must be followed.

The new criteria for the adoption and special guardianship support fund will enable as many children and families as possible to access support. So far this year, nearly 14,000 applications have been approved. The department continues to monitor and assess the impact of the changes and is engaging with stakeholders.

The National Framework for Penalty Notices, which was designed to embed our support-first approach and improve consistency and fairness across the country, was introduced in August 2024.

Every local authority must draw up, and is expected to publish, a local code of conduct, which must be adhered to by all parties issuing a penalty notice. Amongst other things, each code is expected to include details of the national threshold and local arrangements for determining if the support provided has been sufficient. Further details are listed in paragraph 197 of our statutory attendance guidance, which is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66bf300da44f1c4c23e5bd1b/Working_together_to_improve_school_attendance_-_August_2024.pdf#page=60.

Local authorities are also expected to supply details related to the use of penalty notices in their area as part of the parental responsibility measures census, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/parental-responsibility-measures-statistics-guide.

Data is collected annually for the previous academic year. The department expects the first set of data related to after the introduction of the National Framework to be published in January 2026.

We aim to set up every child, in every local authority, to have the best start in life and this includes delivering access to high quality early education and childcare for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

On 7 July, we published our commitment to Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life. This means a stronger focus on early identification, inclusive access to early years education, and tailored family support. We also will increase the funding available to early years providers to support children with SEND.

On 4 December, we announced access to early SEND support across the country through Best Start Family Hubs. In every local authority next year, councils are being tasked with recruiting a dedicated SEND practitioner for every Hub to provide direct, family-facing support. The new offer will help parents understand their child’s development, identify emerging needs sooner, and support vital join-up between early years settings, health visitors and SEND teams.

We have also invested in the Early Language Support for Every Child (ELSEC) programme, and the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI) supporting children in the early years with their speech and language.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

The cost of school uniform, particularly of branded items, remains a key concern for parents. Parentkind recently found that more than a quarter of parents will go without heating or eating to be able to afford school uniform. Whilst uniforms play a valuable role in creating a sense of common identity among pupils and reducing visible inequalities, too many schools still require high numbers of branded uniform items despite statutory guidance stating branded items should be kept to a minimum.

This is why the department has introduced legislation to limit the number of branded items of uniform and PE kit that schools can require, to bring down costs and remove barriers to accessing sport and other school activities. This will allow parents greater flexibility to make spending decisions that suit them. The department intends to introduce this limit from September 2026.

The department does not hold data on the number of children or young people who have been off-rolled while waiting for an education, health and care plan assessment.

This government is clear that off-rolling in any form is unacceptable, and we will continue to work closely with Ofsted to tackle it.

Pupils may leave a school roll for many reasons, including permanent exclusion, transfer to another school, or change of circumstances. All schools are legally required to notify the local authority when a pupil’s name is removed from the admissions register.

The law is clear that a pupil’s name can only be deleted from the admission register on the grounds prescribed in Regulation 9 of the School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024.

Our ambition is that all children with special educational needs (SEN) receive the right support to succeed. We are committed to strengthening the accountability system and to providing earlier intervention in mainstream schools for pupils with SEN.

The department does not publish comparative assessments of artificial intelligence (AI) training between school types, but we monitor sector capability through the Technology in Schools Survey, which informs our programmes. Earlier this year we published online support materials to help teachers and leaders use AI safely and effectively, developed with sector experts. Our approach benefits all schools and reduces disparities in access and capability.

Following the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review’s final report on 5 November, we will update the national curriculum to prepare young people for life and work in a changing world. Refreshed programmes of study will include AI, including issues like bias, in addition to digital and media literacy.

To ensure consistency, we are legislating so that academies will be required to teach the refreshed national curriculum alongside maintained schools. Content will be shaped through expert engagement, with a public consultation on draft proposals next year.

The potential merits of focusing on early intervention in providing speech and language support are clear. That is why we have invested in the Early Language Support for Every Child programme, and the Nuffield Early Language Intervention, both of which support children with their speech and language.

We are funding Family Hubs to train practitioners to support families with the home learning environment to help parents support children’s speech and communication.

We will fund local early language leads to provide training to early years settings. Reception staff will also be able to access early language and literacy support.

Mobile phones have no place in schools.

The department’s guidance on mobile phones in schools, published in February 2024, is clear that schools should prohibit the use of devices with smart technology throughout the school day, including during lessons, transitions and breaks.

Alongside the guidance, the department has published a series of case studies showcasing good practice to support schools in prohibiting the use of mobile phones.

Schools also have access to a toolkit on communicating their policy with parents. This provides practical guidance to help schools gain parental support for their mobile phone policies.

Research from the Children’s Commissioner published in April 2025, with responses from nearly all schools and colleges in England, shows that the overwhelming majority of schools already have policies in place that limit or restrict the use of mobile phones during the school day.

Every child deserves the best start in life, including those who are deaf or hard of hearing. Early language skills at age five strongly predict future academic success, and timely access to specialist support is critical.

From April 2026, funding for home learning environment and parenting support within Best Start Family Hubs will focus on evidence-based interventions for 3-4-year-olds, including Auditory Verbal Therapy, for children who are deaf or use hearing technology.

The department funds proven programmes like the Nuffield Early Language Intervention which improves oral language and literacy. Independent evaluation found children made four months’ additional progress, rising to seven months for those eligible for free school meals. Whilst not a substitute for specialist therapy, many children benefit from such interventions, including some deaf children. We have also updated the early years foundation stage profile handbook, ensuring children can use their preferred mode of communication, such as signing, across all early learning goals.

Alongside this, the Early Language Support for Every Child programme trials new approaches to identify and support speech, language, and communication needs, with evaluation due autumn 2026.

The free breakfast clubs early adopter phase has been a huge success, with data showing that over 5 million breakfasts have been served so far. We continue to receive excellent feedback from schools, parents and pupils on the positive impact that the free breakfast clubs are already having. For example, schools are reporting improved punctuality, attendance and behaviour.

We want every school, every child, and every family to have the chance of those benefits and that is why we’re committed to rolling out free breakfast clubs in every school with primary age children in England.

Following the success of the early adopter phase, we are investing a further £80 million into the programme to onboard approximately 2000 additional schools between April 2026 and March 2027. This will benefit around 500,000 thousand more children.

This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. Our landmark Child Poverty Strategy tackles the root causes of poverty by cutting the cost of essentials, boosting family incomes and improving local services so that every child can have the best start in life.

Removing the two-child limit will lift 450,000 children out of poverty, rising to around 550,000 alongside other measures, such as expanding free school meals to all children in households receiving Universal Credit from September 2026.

This will deliver the largest expected reduction in child poverty over a Parliament since comparable records began and will also apply to children in school-based nurseries and maintained nursery schools.

Under the early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework, any meals, snacks and drinks provided must be healthy, balanced and nutritious. The department has published new EYFS nutrition guidance, and the ‘Help for early years providers’ website offers resources on food activities and sensory food education. The EYFS guidance is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6839b752210698b3364e86fc/Early_years_foundation_stage_nutrition_guidance.pdf.

I refer the hon. Member for Newbury to the answer of 23 October 2025 to Question 81731.

I refer the hon. Member for Newbury to the answer of 23 October 2025 to Question 81731.

Tackling child poverty is at the heart of this government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best start in life.

Our recently published landmark Child Poverty Strategy is set to lift 550,000 children out of poverty by 2030.

The publication sets out how we intend to monitor and evaluate the impacts of the Strategy, including understanding how this varies across the UK and for different groups. The publication also sets out how we will measure the experience of children in the most severe and acute forms of poverty.

The Child Poverty Taskforce and Unit engaged extensively with stakeholders in the North East throughout the development of the Strategy. This includes engagement with the North East Poverty Commission and attendance at the North East Child Poverty Summit. Furthermore, Kim McGuinness, Mayor of the North East Combined Authority, attended a Taskforce meeting in September 2024 to discuss the experience of poverty in local communities and approaches to tackling child poverty.

Tackling child poverty is at the heart of this government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best start in life.

Our recently published landmark Child Poverty Strategy is set to lift 550,000 children out of poverty by 2030.

The publication sets out how we intend to monitor and evaluate the impacts of the Strategy, including understanding how this varies across the UK and for different groups. The publication also sets out how we will measure the experience of children in the most severe and acute forms of poverty.

The Child Poverty Taskforce and Unit engaged extensively with stakeholders in the North East throughout the development of the Strategy. This includes engagement with the North East Poverty Commission and attendance at the North East Child Poverty Summit. Furthermore, Kim McGuinness, Mayor of the North East Combined Authority, attended a Taskforce meeting in September 2024 to discuss the experience of poverty in local communities and approaches to tackling child poverty.

Tackling child poverty is at the heart of this government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best start in life.

Our recently published landmark Child Poverty Strategy is set to lift 550,000 children out of poverty by 2030.

The publication sets out how we intend to monitor and evaluate the impacts of the Strategy, including understanding how this varies across the UK and for different groups. The publication also sets out how we will measure the experience of children in the most severe and acute forms of poverty.

The Child Poverty Taskforce and Unit engaged extensively with stakeholders in the North East throughout the development of the Strategy. This includes engagement with the North East Poverty Commission and attendance at the North East Child Poverty Summit. Furthermore, Kim McGuinness, Mayor of the North East Combined Authority, attended a Taskforce meeting in September 2024 to discuss the experience of poverty in local communities and approaches to tackling child poverty.

Schools are responsible for their school meals service and how and where they choose to buy their produce. We encourage schools to provide a wide range of foods using fresh, sustainable locally sourced, seasonal ingredients including produce from the school vegetable garden where possible.

Alongside this, we encourage schools to follow the Government Buying Standard for food and catering, which includes advice around procurement and sustainable sourcing of produce.

We aim to revise the School Food Standards and are engaging with stakeholders to ensure they support our work to create the healthiest generation of children in history and will be consulting publicly in due course. As part of this work, we will review our guidance on sourcing good quality produce.

We want to drive a consistent and inclusive approach to supporting all children and young people in every part of the country to achieve and thrive in education, through early identification of need, access to the right support at the right time, high quality adaptive teaching and effective allocation of resources.

On 12 December, the government announced a £3 billion investment to deliver around 50,000 specialist places for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The funding will be distributed to local authorities for them to spend on new places in mainstream settings (including SEN units), on adaptations to mainstream settings to make them more inclusive, or on special schools where required. This investment will help to make education inclusive by design, so every child, in every corner of the country can have their needs met where they live.

We will bring forward our full vision for an inclusive education system in the Schools White Paper in the new year.

For the last financial year, the total cost to the department of payments associated with settlement agreements is set out in annual report and accounts. Where relevant, this includes special severance payments that have associated settlement agreements.

This is a matter for Ofqual, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. I have asked its Chief Regulator, Sir Ian Bauckham, to write to my hon. Friend, the Member for Worthing West and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

This is a matter for Ofqual, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. I have asked its Chief Regulator, Sir Ian Bauckham, to write to my hon. Friend, the Member for Worthing West and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Ofqual will set the design rules for V Level structure, assessment and grading which each V Level must meet. In addition to the General Conditions of Recognition, these V Level specific conditions will be used to regulate awarding organisations’ design and delivery of every V Level, in the same way that each A level is regulated.

Ofqual will consider the regulatory approach that best meets the policy intent for V Levels and will consult on their plans in due course.

The department will work with Ofqual and awarding organisations on the approach to development and roll-out to ensure providers have as much time as possible to prepare for the delivery of V Levels.

In our consultation, we outlined plans to transition to V Levels while maintaining Level 3 options for 16 to19-year-olds. The government response will confirm the route order, implementation timetable, and priority subjects for first teaching in 2027.

Providing support for families at an earlier stage, before needs escalate to crisis point, is critical and we are working with Adoption England to achieve this.

Adoption England are working with their local authority partner safeguarding teams to improve the support adopted families receive when they are in crisis. This includes developing a national protocol which can be used for all adoption support services teams in regional adoption agencies and local authority front door safeguarding services.

We have provided funding of £8.8 million to Adoption England to improve adoption services, including support to adoptive families This includes implementing a new framework for an early support core offer which covers the first 12 to 18 months after placement.

This financial year the department has also invested £50 million into the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund to ensure that adopted children can access therapeutic services which help stabilise placements and address complex needs.

The government has launched a review of the parental leave system, which represents a much-needed opportunity to consider the department’s approach to the system of parental leave and pay. This will consider whether the support available meets the needs of working families, such as kinship carers.

In 2023, the department published ‘Kinship Carers in the Workplace: Guidance for Employers’, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/kinship-carers-in-the-workplace-guidance-for-employers. This sets out best practice for supporting kinship carers at work, including how to adapt internal policies, signpost existing entitlements and create a culture of support to meet the needs of kinship carers. The department has since implemented our own Kinship Leave and Pay offer and we encourage all organisations to review their guidance and explore what changes they can make.

The department is working to strengthen how young people at risk of becoming NEET are identified and supported. Local authorities, Strategic Authorities, schools and further education providers will be enabled to share and use data more effectively, supported by new ‘Risk of NEET’ indicator tools and guidance. We have published guidance to support local authorities to identify at-risk young people, support participation and post-16 transition, and prevent NEET.

Alongside this, the Youth Guarantee ensures all 18- to 21-year-olds have support to access training, an apprenticeship or work, backed by careers advice, work experience and a targeted job backstop.

Our statutory careers guidance sets clear expectations for schools and colleges to provide inclusive, high quality careers programmes to encourage schools to make links with providers and employers offering mentoring opportunities, particularly for disadvantaged young people and those at risk of becoming NEET.

The department is working to strengthen how young people at risk of becoming NEET are identified and supported. Local authorities, Strategic Authorities, schools and further education providers will be enabled to share and use data more effectively, supported by new ‘Risk of NEET’ indicator tools and guidance. We have published guidance to support local authorities to identify at-risk young people, support participation and post-16 transition, and prevent NEET.

Alongside this, the Youth Guarantee ensures all 18- to 21-year-olds have support to access training, an apprenticeship or work, backed by careers advice, work experience and a targeted job backstop.

Our statutory careers guidance sets clear expectations for schools and colleges to provide inclusive, high quality careers programmes to encourage schools to make links with providers and employers offering mentoring opportunities, particularly for disadvantaged young people and those at risk of becoming NEET.

The government has set out its position on page 105 of the budget document, confirming that special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) pressure will be absorbed within the overall government Departmental Expenditure Limits (DEL) budget from the financial year 2028/29 onwards such that we would not expect local authorities to need to fund future special educational needs costs from general funds.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) have illustrated the impact in the funding required for this, estimated at £6 billion, if these costs were met by diverting mainstream schools funding. However, that is only an indicative example and does not reflect government policy. We have confirmed that SEND pressure will be absorbed within the overall government DEL budget from 2028/29 onwards, not that it will be absorbed within the core schools budget.

Furthermore, the £6 billion figure quoted by the OBR is based on current spending trajectories and does not take account of future government decisions on reforms to the SEND system, details of which will be set out in the Schools White Paper in the new year.

Budgets from 2028/29 onwards, including the core schools budget, will be confirmed at the 2027 Spending Review.

The government has set out its position on page 105 of the budget document, confirming that special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) pressure will be absorbed within the overall government Departmental Expenditure Limits (DEL) budget from the financial year 2028/29 onwards such that we would not expect local authorities to need to fund future special educational needs costs from general funds.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) have illustrated the impact in the funding required for this, estimated at £6 billion, if these costs were met by diverting mainstream schools funding. However, that is only an indicative example and does not reflect government policy. We have confirmed that SEND pressure will be absorbed within the overall government DEL budget from 2028/29 onwards, not that it will be absorbed within the core schools budget.

Furthermore, the £6 billion figure quoted by the OBR is based on current spending trajectories and does not take account of future government decisions on reforms to the SEND system, details of which will be set out in the Schools White Paper in the new year.

Budgets from 2028/29 onwards, including the core schools budget, will be confirmed at the 2027 Spending Review.

The department provides guidance to help schools build their cyber resilience in our Cyber Security Standards, which address the core principles of cyber governance, processes and strategy.

We have also introduced a free interactive assessment tool, Plan Your Technology, to help schools understand if they meet our Cyber Security Standards and support schools to achieve them. We have incorporated the cyber security standards into Keeping Children Safe in Education and the Academy Trust Handbook. The department also has a small, dedicated sector cyber security team to support schools. This team provides appropriate advice and guidance via regular targeted and broad communications and more specific incident signposting when required.

The department’s Risk Protection Arrangement (RPA) added cover for cyber incidents from 2022. With over 60% of schools RPA members, in the event of a cyber incident they have access to a 24/7 Incident Response Service.

We also work closely with the National Cyber Crime Security Centre (NCSC), who offer cyber security tools and guidance for schools, including free Protective Domain Name Service.

The department does not collect data on this activity. Ofsted conduct checks on compliance with notification processes as part of a home’s inspection, and if issues are found, this may impact their inspection rating.

The decision to place a child away from their local community should not be taken lightly, which is why it can only be made by those at director of children’s services level. The Care Planning, Placement and Case Review regulations and corresponding statutory guidance makes clear that both the local authority placing a child out of their area and those caring for looked-after children (including children’s homes) must inform the receiving local authority and all relevant safeguarding partners when a child has been placed within and/or leaves their boundaries.

The government works with employer representative bodies (ERBs) and local partners to strengthen collaboration between businesses and education providers. Through ERB-led Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs), we encourage employers to help shape the local post-16 technical education offer, so training meets labour market needs. Statutory guidance for the development of these plans was published on 18 November.

Business West is leading the development of the local LSIP working with the West of England Combined Authority, local businesses and delivery partners. The plan will be published in Summer 2026. Businesses are supported to partner with colleges and training providers to deliver vocational programmes, apprenticeships, and national initiatives such as Skills Bootcamps and T Levels.

As set out at the UK-EU Summit in May, the UK agreed to work towards association to the Erasmus+ programme on mutually agreed financial terms.

Negotiations are ongoing, and the timelines for any association are subject to ongoing discussion. We are open to associating to Erasmus+ for 2027 in principle, but only if we can reach agreement on financial terms, which should ensure a fair balance as regards the contributions of and benefits to the UK.

The requested data can be found in the below table. Please note that the large programme uplift (LPU) is calculated using attainment data and as such operates on a three-year lag. Therefore, the latest LPU calculation was for 2025/26 academic year allocations based on 2022/23 attainment data. The department has announced that moving forward LPU funding will be focused on large programmes which include maths, further maths and other high value A-levels.

Notes about the data:

1. Includes state-funded students who ended 16-18 study in the reported year (e.g. 2022/23).

2. Includes students who entered for at least four STEM A levels and achieved at least a grade B in each A level, or a grade C in the case of further mathematics.

3. Discounting rules apply (i.e. where students have multiples entries in the same subject, the best result is included).

4. STEM subjects are defined by subject mapping codes as used in the A level and other 16 to 18 results statistical release.

All registered children’s homes, whether privately run or local authority-operated, must notify Ofsted, the regulator for children’s social care, about certain serious incidents that happen to children in their care living with them and what they have done in response. The published data, available from April 2023, includes a category of ‘sexual exploitation’, which shows:

• 01 Apr 2024 – 31 Mar 2025: 42,500 notifications of which 560 (1.3%) related to sexual exploitation.
• 01 Apr 2023 – 31 Mar 2024: 34,481 notifications of which 535 (1.5%) related to sexual exploitation.

This data does not distinguish between private or local authority run homes and does not specify data on criminal exploitation.

Ofsted review the notifications received to ensure homes have acted to protect the child from immediate harm, and the information contained in the notifications informs their risk assessment and inspection scheduling.

Family Help reforms are being delivered nationally through the Families First Partnership programme, offering services to all families, including adoptive and kinship families.

On 20 November, we announced additional investment of £547 million, bringing total programme funding to £2.4 billion over this Spending Review period. This funding demonstrates the government’s commitment to invest in prevention, supporting local authorities and partners to deliver reformed help and protection services that make a real difference to families.

It is for local authorities to determine how best to make use of these resources to support adoptive and kinship families with the help they need.

The department will soon pilot a new Kinship Allowance in some local authorities in England, which will support around 4,500 children. This will test whether paying an allowance to cover certain costs can help increase the number of children taken in by family members and friends.

The statutory override is an accounting measure, designed to keep Dedicated Schools Grant deficits separate from local authorities’ wider financial position. The extension of the override to the end of the 2027/28 financial year does not affect local authorities’ statutory duties to provide support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), nor does it change how much they spend to fulfil those duties. As these duties remain unchanged and, as with the previous government’s decision to extend the statutory override to the end of 2025/26, the extension itself does not result in any additional cost to the public purse.

The government recognises many local authorities are likely to continue to accrue deficits due to their spending on high needs, as we have seen in recent years, as they ensure that there are sufficient resources to secure provision for children and young people with SEND in mainstream or in specialist education. We will set out our plans to support local authorities with historic and accruing deficits through the upcoming Local Government Finance Settlement.

Where an online home learning provider closes, parents and local authorities should work together to identify other suitable provision which is safe and meets the needs of the child. Home learning providers are often private providers and so are responsible for the financial management of their business.

The department’s governance guidance for schools and trusts makes clear that as publicly funded organisations, schools and trusts should foster a culture of transparency and welcome public scrutiny.

When shaping the school or trust’s vision, the governing body or trust board should remain connected and responsive to pupils, staff, parents, carers, and the wider community through meaningful engagement.

To promote transparency in decision-making, the governing body or trust board should actively seek and consider the views of parents and carers. Governing bodies and trust boards are required to have at least two parent governors/trustees.

To ensure transparency, details of governors/trustees are recorded on Get Information About Schools, and governance structures, governor/trustee register of pecuniary of interests and governance meeting attendance are published on the school’s or trust’s website.

As set out in the department’s 2024 guidance ‘Working together to improve school attendance’, every pupil has a right to a full-time education, and high attendance expectations should be set for all pupils.

A school’s attendance policy should account for the specific needs of each pupil and provide these pupils with the necessary support. This includes pupils with specific barriers to attendance, such as those with mental or physical ill health and/or special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

To support pupils with SEND, schools should understand the individual needs of the pupil and family, work in partnership with the pupil and family to put in-school support in place, as well as with the local authority and other agencies where external support is needed, and regularly review and update support to ensure it continues to meet individual needs.

Schools should ensure attendance data is regularly monitored for pupils with long-term illnesses and/or SEND, including alongside the local authority, so that additional support from other partners can be accessed where necessary.