Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what factors determined the timing between the publication of the consultation on the SEND white paper on 2 December 2025 and the first engagement event on 3 December 2025; and whether that notice period aligns with her Department’s standards for effective public consultation.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department has undertaken extensive engagement over the past year, holding more than 100 events with children, young people, parents and other stakeholders to inform our work on special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
The SEND national conversation, launched on 2 December, is not a formal consultation but an expansion of this ongoing engagement, designed to broaden participation and ensure parents’ voices are heard. The first events were scheduled promptly to maintain momentum and provide early opportunities for families to contribute. The Council for Disabled Children has promoted the regional engagement sessions, which are now fully subscribed, and further online events run by the department remain open for sign‑up.
A formal consultation will take place following publication of the Schools White Paper next year, in line with the department’s standards for effective public consultation, to continue the conversation on reform and gather views on specific proposals.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of expanding the National Curriculum to embed (a) critical and creative thinking, (b) problem solving, (c) communication and (d) collaboration skills to support the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review sets out our plan to ensure that all pupils develop the knowledge and skills that we know are essential for life, work and innovation.
When refreshing the national curriculum, we will identify where subject-specific disciplinary skills are not clearly described or not emphasised adequately, and then ensure that these are properly reflected in those subjects’ programmes of study. For example, creative thinking in computing, critical thinking in history or problem solving in maths.
Furthermore, we will be extending citizenship to primary schools to introduce important financial literacy to pupils from an earlier age; reforming computing education to equip more young people with the digital skills they need for the future; and creating a new oracy framework to help pupils become confident, fluent speakers, setting them up for leadership roles in the workplace.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will bring forward policy proposals to make access to PE and sport at school a right for all disabled children.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department is committed to giving every pupil the chance to participate in PE and sport while at school. This government has committed funding of up to £300,000 this financial year to the Youth Sport Trust to deliver Inclusion 2028, a programme to upskill the school workforce to deliver high quality, inclusive PE, school sport and physical activity to pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The programme also funds the Inclusive Education Hub, an online platform of resources to help schools make their PE and sport more inclusive.
Schools also receive capital funding directly through core funding. The government is investing almost £3 billion per year by 2034/35 in capital maintenance and renewal to improve the condition of the school and college estate, rising from £2.4 billion in 2025/26.
Following my right hon. friend, the Prime Minister’s announcement on 19 June 2025, we are establishing a new PE and school sport partnerships network to ensure all children and young people, including those with SEND, have access to high quality PE and school sport.
Asked by: Lord Hampton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to follow the government of Scotland in providing matched funding for incentivised learning of life skills for young people in care through the Share Foundation’s Stepladder PLUS programme.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We want to ensure that children leaving care have stable homes, access to health services, support to build lifelong loving relationships and are engaged in education, employment and training.
We recognise the importance of financial skills, such as that provided through the Stepladder Plus programme, in achieving this aim. The department currently supports the use of this programme through its contract, for the provision of Junior ISA savings accounts to children in care, with The Share Foundation. We do not have any plans to provide match funding at this time.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how are post-16 options such as apprenticeships, technical qualifications and other vocational routes being reformed; and what outcomes data she plans to publish on progression and earnings.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government is transforming the apprenticeships offer into a new growth and skills offer, which will provide greater flexibility to employers and learners, and support the Industrial Strategy. In August, the government introduced new foundation apprenticeships for young people in targeted sectors, and shorter duration apprenticeships.
In October, we published a consultation which sets out our proposals for reformed qualifications pathways at level 3 and level 2. This includes a third, vocational pathway at level 3 called V Levels, and two new pathways at level 2 through the Further Study pathway and the Occupational pathway. The consultation closes on 12 January 2026 and can be accessed here: https://consult.education.gov.uk/technical-education-and-qualifications-reform/post-16-level-3-and-below-pathways/supporting_documents/post-16-level-3-and-below-pathways-consultationpdf.
The department publishes an annual official statistics publication which presents the employment, earnings and learning outcomes of further education learners. The statistics can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/further-education-outcomes/2021-22#explore-data-and-files.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment has been made of the potential impact of financial barriers such as maintenance loans, accommodation costs, unpaid placements on working-class students in higher education; and what reforms are being considered to improve retention alongside initial access.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department recognises the impact the cost of living crisis on students. To help students from the most disadvantaged backgrounds progress into and excel in higher education, we will future proof our maintenance loan offer by increasing maintenance loans in line with forecast inflation every academic year. We will also provide extra support for care leavers, who will automatically become eligible to receive the maximum rate of maintenance loan.
We will reintroduce maintenance grants, providing full-time higher education students from low-income households studying subjects aligned with the government’s missions and Industrial Strategy with up to £1,000 extra support per year from 2028/29.
Further, we will develop options to address regional disparities in access and tackle systemic barriers in the journey to higher education for disadvantaged students. To deliver this we have brought together a task and finish group to focus on how the system can best widen access for those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what measures she will use to evaluate the effect of the National Year of Reading 2026 on closing the gender attainment gap.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Reading for pleasure brings a range of benefits, including strong links with attainment. However, research by the National Literacy Trust shows that in 2025, just one in three children aged 8 to 18 reported enjoying reading, with teenage boys regularly reporting the lowest levels of reading enjoyment.
That is why the department is launching the National Year of Reading, a UK-wide campaign to address the steep decline in reading enjoyment amongst children, young people and adults
Grounded in existing evidence and new research by an external research agency, the campaign is designed to deliver meaningful impact during 2026 and beyond.
The impact of the National Year of Reading will be measured through an independent external evaluation. The evaluation will examine how the campaign influences reading behaviours, connects with audiences and shapes attitudes towards reading, particularly among the campaign’s priority audiences: teenage boys, early years children, and families from disadvantaged communities. It will also assess the wider impact on the literacy sector and the foundations for long-term change. The findings will be published in 2027.
Asked by: Peter Swallow (Labour - Bracknell)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support students with dyslexia in the context of the Curriculum and Assessment Review Final Report and the SEND white paper.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government is committed to ensuring that all pupils receive the support they need to achieve and thrive, including those with dyslexia. The Curriculum and Assessment Review emphasised inclusion and high standards for all, recommending evidence-led resources to help teachers adapt curricula for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). We know that effective early identification and intervention is critical to improving the outcomes for children and young people with SEND. We are strengthening the evidence base of what works to improve early identification in mainstream settings. This includes recently published evidence reviews from University College London which highlight the most effective tools, strategies and approaches to identify and support different types of needs
The department also recently announced new government-backed research into SEND identification, which will aim to develop and test effective approaches to help the early identification of children needing tailored educational support.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that schools educate pupils about the Holocaust in a way that counters misinformation and denial; and what assessment she has made of the adequacy of curriculum guidance on that subject.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The Holocaust is the only historic event which is compulsory within the current national curriculum for history at key stage 3. The government has made a commitment that the Holocaust will remain a compulsory topic in the reformed national curriculum, which will also be required teaching in academy schools when it is implemented.
The government funds a set of programmes to support Holocaust teaching that provide high quality, rigorous education about the Holocaust and tackle misinformation, denial and distortion.
The department funds teachers’ professional development in this subject through University College London’s Centre for Holocaust Education, and the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Lessons from Auschwitz project gives students aged 16 to 18 the opportunity to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau.
In addition, the Supporting Holocaust Survivor Testimony in Teaching programme will support schools in using recorded Holocaust survivor testimony in their teaching. The programme will include resources on use of new technological innovations in this area to help teacher and student digital literacy, critical engagement with AI tools and recognition of AI-generated misinformation.
Schools can also access wider resources available to tackle Holocaust distortion, including through the Oak National Academy.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how the Department plans to monitor the potential impact of changes to independent school fees on (a) schools and (b) services in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department does not monitor impact on changes to private school fees. This is a matter for individual schools.