Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what (a) responsibilities and (a) powers SEND practitioners will have in Best Start Family Hubs.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department is investing over £200 million over three years to strengthen the special educational needs and disabilities offer in Best Start Family Hubs, including funding a family-facing practitioner in every hub to support children with additional needs and families from the earliest stages. The practitioners will offer practical, hands‑on advice about their child’s development and help families identify emerging needs much earlier and guide parents on what those signs mean and the next steps to take. They will also help run, or link families into, early support sessions in Hubs, such as toddler groups that promote speech and language. By joining up support across services, the practitioners will ensure families do not have to navigate services alone.
We have published the Best Start Family Hubs and Healthy Babies guidance for local authorities, which sets out the role expectations and funding remit, ahead of April 2026 delivery. This guidance can be found at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69c6be4acdfd19de13d0f810/best-start-family-hubs-and-healthy-babies-guidance-for-local-authorities.docx.pdf.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the government has conducted an assessment of the number and availability of trained professionals needed to meet the Experts at Hand plan published in the Schools White Paper.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Poole to the answer of 24 March 2026 to Question 121419.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has considered moving from a term‑time funding model to a year‑round model for early years entitlements.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
It is our ambition that all families have access to high-quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change.
Children become eligible for the working parent entitlement from 1 September, 1 January or 1 April, the term after they reach the relevant age and meet relevant eligibility criteria.
Depending on when a child is born and when the eligibility criteria are met, there will be differing periods to wait until the relevant termly date.
Termly deadlines enable local authorities and childcare providers to better plan and ensure sufficient early years places are available for parents each term, as there are clear periods for when children are likely to enter into a place.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress she has made on the application submitted by Pennoweth Primary School to join the free breakfast clubs programme from April 2026; and when the school will be informed of its status on the waitlist.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
On 17 March 2026, Pennoweth Primary School, along with all schools currently on the free breakfast clubs programme waitlist, received a notification from the department to invite them to join the free breakfast clubs programme and deliver from September 2026.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many civil servants in their Department were found to have broken the Civil Service Code in (a) 2024 and (b) 2025.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Civil Servants are appointed on merit on the basis of fair and open competition and are expected to carry out their role with dedication and a commitment to the Civil Service and its core values: integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality.
The department does not hold centrally collated data on the number of breaches of the Civil Service Code.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the availability and accessibility of supported apprenticeships and supported internships for young people with Education, Health and Care Plans; whether a centrally held list of such apprenticeships and internships exists at a national or regional level; which Department or body is responsible for maintaining and communicating that information; and what steps are being taken to (a) improve transparency, (b) ensure such information is made publicly available and (c) ensure timely and coordinated responses between relevant Departments in supporting young people into suitable placements.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Since 2022, the department has invested around £33 million in supported internships to provide more opportunities for young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to transition into sustained, paid employment.
As set out in the SEND Code of Practice, local authorities must keep their educational and training provision under review, including the sufficiency of provision, and each local authority’s local offer must include information on supported internships.
The availability of apprenticeships is determined by employers choosing to offer apprenticeship opportunities. The ‘Find an Apprenticeship’ service allows people to identify opportunities from Disability Confident employers.
The government is working to ensure that a learning difficulty or disability is not a barrier to people who want to realise the benefits of an apprenticeship. Additional Learning Support funding is available to training providers to make reasonable adjustments to support apprentices with learning difficulties and disabilities. The government also pays £1,000 to both employers and providers for apprentices aged 16 to 18 and for apprentices aged 19 to 24 who have an education, health and care plan, or have been, or are, in local authority care.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure teachers are equipped to deal with student mental health challenges.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The government will provide access to NHS-funded mental health support teams (MHSTs) in every school by 2029, with around six in ten pupils expected to have access by April 2026. Data for 2024/25 is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/transforming-children-and-young-peoples-mental-health-provision.
MHSTs supplement existing pastoral provision, and schools retain the freedom to determine support based on pupil need, making best use of their funding.
Alongside providing direct support to pupils, MHSTs can also work with the mental health lead in each school to introduce or develop a whole-school approach to mental health.
The department also encourages whole-school approaches to promoting children and young people's mental health and wellbeing, which includes schools equipping teachers with the skills and knowledge to recognise and respond appropriately to pupil’s mental health needs. The department’s guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/promoting-children-and-young-peoples-emotional-health-and-wellbeing.
To support education staff, the department provides a resource hub for mental health leads, and a targeted support guide and hub to help choose evidence-based targeted support for pupils.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure adequate careers support in schools, especially for alternative pathways.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Schools are required to offer multiple opportunities for pupils to hear directly from apprenticeship, further education and training providers.
The government has adopted updated Gatsby Benchmarks into statutory guidance. They place greater emphasis on high quality information about alternative pathways. Schools are expected to provide pupils with up-to-date labour market information and information about apprenticeships, T Levels and other technical qualifications across a range of sectors.
The government’s commitment to delivering two weeks’ worth of work experience for every young person will further support awareness of alternative pathways, giving secondary pupils practical insights into a wide range of employers and progression routes.
Through the Careers and Enterprise Company, the department is continuing to invest in support for careers leaders to embed the Gatsby Benchmarks in schools and to improve pupils’ access to meaningful encounters with employers and providers, workplace experiences and personal guidance.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to provide additional support to schools to help students with their mental health.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The government will provide access to NHS-funded mental health support teams (MHSTs) in every school by 2029, with around six in ten pupils expected to have access by April 2026. Data for 2024/25 is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/transforming-children-and-young-peoples-mental-health-provision.
MHSTs supplement existing pastoral provision, and schools retain the freedom to determine support based on pupil need, making best use of their funding.
Alongside providing direct support to pupils, MHSTs can also work with the mental health lead in each school to introduce or develop a whole-school approach to mental health.
The department also encourages whole-school approaches to promoting children and young people's mental health and wellbeing, which includes schools equipping teachers with the skills and knowledge to recognise and respond appropriately to pupil’s mental health needs. The department’s guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/promoting-children-and-young-peoples-emotional-health-and-wellbeing.
To support education staff, the department provides a resource hub for mental health leads, and a targeted support guide and hub to help choose evidence-based targeted support for pupils.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve (a) recruitment, (b) retention, (c) career progression and (d) workload in the early years workforce.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The early years workforce is at the heart of our mission to give every child the best start in life and deliver the Plan for Change. This is why the department is supporting the sector to attract talented staff and childminders by creating conditions for improved recruitment, alongside programmes to better utilise the skills of the existing workforce and make early years careers as accessible as possible.
The department is attracting new people into the early years sector through initiatives like our national recruitment campaign and financial incentives programmes. We are also ensuring there is a career path for everyone who wants to become an early years teacher, through increasing places on our existing teacher training programmes and introducing a new early years teacher degree apprenticeship route.
The department is confident that through our Best Start in Life Strategy, we can lay the foundations for long-term change. We will give early years educators the status they deserve, creating more opportunities to enter the profession, gain higher qualifications, and build fulfilling careers.