Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will provide additional Ofsted funding to increase the frequency of (a) inspections and (b) unannounced inspections of early years settings.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Giving young children the best start in life is the foundation of the government’s opportunity mission.
From April, the department is funding Ofsted to inspect all new early years providers within 18 months of opening and moving towards inspecting all providers at least once every four years, compared to the current six-year window. This means standards will be reviewed more regularly and parents will have more up-to-date information to help them choose the right setting for their child.
While Ofsted typically provides notice before an inspection, they can and do conduct inspections without prior notification, particularly when concerns have been raised about a setting. Between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025, there were 1,400 unannounced inspections (16%). We recognise the importance of unannounced inspections and they will continue.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children in England and Wales in primary school have a classroom assistant for part of their school day.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
The department does not hold data on whether a child has access to a teaching assistant full time or for part of their school day.
Schools in England are asked to record the headcount and FTE of their teaching assistants. In the November 2024 school workforce census, there were a reported 288,800 teaching assistants (FTE).
Information on the school workforce in England, including the number of teaching assistants in state-funded schools, is published in the ‘School workforce in England’ statistical publication. The publication is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england/2024.
These figures have been available since 5 June 2025.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to introduce a mandatory registration of staff working in children's homes.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government set out its position regarding professional registration of the children’s homes workforce in its ’Tackling child sexual abuse: progress update’, published on GOV.UK in April 2025 here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tackling-child-sexual-abuse-progress-update.
The immediate focus is to develop workforce standards and review sector qualifications to ensure staff working in children’s homes are equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to provide the best possible care, and have access to high quality continuing professional development.
This will provide the essential foundation for looking at the risks and benefits of a registration model for care staff, including a wider consultation in the longer term.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children in England and Wales in primary school have a classroom assistant full time.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
The department does not hold data on whether a child has access to a teaching assistant full time or for part of their school day.
Schools in England are asked to record the headcount and (FTE of their teaching assistants. In the November 2024 school workforce census, there were a reported 288,800 teaching assistants (FTE).
Information on the school workforce in England, including the number of teaching assistants in state-funded schools, is published in the ’School workforce in England statistical publication. The publication is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england/2024.
These figures have been available since 5 June 2025.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that communication in (a) adoption support and (b) reunification cases is (i) timely and (ii) compliant with statutory guidance.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Regional adoption agencies should clearly set out on their websites what adoption support is available, who provides it, and how families can access it. This should include an overview of universal, targeted and specialist forms of support. During the adoption assessment process, prospective adopters must also receive information, counselling and advice about adoption, including the support services they may be entitled to. In addition, the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund provides nationwide access to funded post‑adoption support, including therapeutic interventions for adopted children and their families.
In early‑permanence placements such as foster‑to‑adopt, reunification may occur if the court decides a child should return to their birth family. In these circumstances, reunification must follow statutory care‑planning duties, ensuring well‑planned transitions and appropriate support for carers and parents. Adoption England’s Reunification Framework provides structured guidance for practitioners to manage these transitions safely and sensitively, ensuring the child’s needs remain central throughout the process.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children are awaiting a statement of educational needs in England and Wales.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
The special educational needs and disability code of practice published in 2014 replaced all statements of special educational needs with education, health and care (EHC) plans. No new statements were issued and all existing statements were converted to EHC plans by 2019.
The department does not hold data for the number of children and young people awaiting EHC plans.
The number of children and young people for whom an EHC needs assessment was requested during 2024 and who are waiting for that assessment to be completed as of January 2025 is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/ce81a1c1-24b4-4157-fc02-08de55ac55be.
The number of EHC needs assessments carried out during 2024, and the number where the outcome of that assessment is ongoing as of January 2025, is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/cee798f6-fb96-459e-ac19-08de532c2243.
The figures are from the 2025 EHC plans publication, which is available at:
These figures have been available since 26th June 2025.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of support available in mainstream state schools for pupils with dyspraxia who do not meet the threshold for an Education, Health and Care Plan in Surrey.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Every child in our country deserves the best possible educational experience, one that is academically stretching, where every child and young person feels like they belong, and that sets them up for life and work.
The department knows from our extensive engagement with parents, teachers, local authority staff and leaders, charities and others that there are significant challenges in the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system. They need to be addressed urgently. But we must ensure we do so in a way that builds trust and confidence in the system and leads to improved outcomes for children and young people.
The department will set out our proposals for reform in a Schools white paper and we will consult widely on these proposals and continue to work with a wide range of partners to refine and deliver them.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of unmet special educational needs relating to dyspraxia on pupil wellbeing, attainment and school attendance.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Where a pupil is not attending school due to unmet or additional needs, including dyspraxia, the ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ guidance sets out clear expectations on how schools, local authorities and wider services work together to access and provide the right support to improve attendance.
We understand that early identification and intervention is critical in improving the outcomes of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, therefore we are supporting settings by strengthening the evidence base of what works. The government will set out proposals for reforms to the special educational needs and disabilities system through a Schools white paper in due course.
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of creating a national strategy for modern foreign language teaching in the context of levels of take-up of modern foreign language GCSEs.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework which early years providers are required to follow includes a requirement for babies to be placed down to sleep in line with the latest government safety guidance here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/sudden-infant-death-syndrome-sids/
To make the existing requirements clearer for all the department plans to add in more detail to the EYFS frameworks. We have worked with safe sleep experts including the Lullaby Trust on proposed new wording. We plan to make these changes as soon as possible
The ‘Early years qualification requirements and standards’ document sets out the minimum qualification requirements, including the qualifications criteria at Levels 2 and 3, that staff must meet to be recognised as level 2, level 3 or level 6 members of staff for the purpose of working within the EYFS staff:child ratios. The document is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-qualification-requirements-and-standards.
Both the level 2 and level 3 criteria include knowledge of rest and sleep provision, with level 3 also including use of equipment, furniture and materials safely with regard for sleep safety.
Asked by: Juliet Campbell (Labour - Broxtowe)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to upgrade the teacher training curriculum to include mandatory training on how to teach dyslexic children.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
On 16 January we announced plans for a new expectation on schools and other settings to ensure staff receive training on SEND and inclusion, supported by £200m investment during this Parliament into government-backed training courses and materials.
The department recently introduced a new training framework for trainee and early career teachers. The initial teacher training and early career framework (ITTECF), which became mandatory from September 2025, sets out the minimum entitlement to training for all new teachers. This framework includes more content on adaptive teaching and supporting pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). For example, developing an understanding of different pupil needs and learning how to provide opportunities for success for all pupils, including those with dyslexia. We are committed to continuous improvement and will be reviewing the ITTECF in 2027, which will focus on the support we provide trainees and early career teachers in teaching pupils with SEND.