Department for Education

In early December, the department launched a national conversation on special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reform, building on extensive engagement over the past year with children, young people, parents and professionals.

We are hosting nine regional face‑to‑face events and five open online conversations focused on the five principles of reform. These began on 2 December and provide thousands of opportunities for families and the sector to share their views. We are also running a wide range of roundtable discussions with young people, parents and practitioners, including sessions with KIDS, Speech and Language UK and the Council for Disabled Children. We are encouraging wider participation through our Citizen Space portal.

The department also convenes a weekly development group of SEND parent organisations and key stakeholders, representing a broad range of voices across the sector. Membership includes:

• Council for Disabled Children

• Disabled Children’s Partnership

• National Network of Parent Carer Forums

• National Association for Special Educational Needs

• The Difference

• Dingley’s Promise

• The Athelstan Trust

• Let Us Learn Too

• The SEND Sanctuary.

Additional organisations will be invited on a rolling basis, aligned with the topics under discussion.

The department recognises the importance of providing schools with the tools they need to deliver high quality teaching.

Oak Academy draws expertise from the best in the sector and shares it with teachers. Its curriculum partners include high performing school trusts, subject associations, education charities, publishers and universities. All resources are openly licensed and free for anyone to use and adapt.

The Educate Against Hate website has a range of resources to support education staff, governors and parents in protecting children from radicalisation and building their resilience to extremism.

National Professional Qualifications (NPQs) are part of a wider evidence-based national continuing professional development offer available to teachers throughout their career. This begins with initial teacher training through to the implementation of an early career framework-based induction for early career teachers and NPQs for more experienced education professionals.

High quality early years is central to our mission to break down the barriers to opportunity, give every child the best possible start in life and is essential to our Plan for Change. This government is boosting availability and access through the school-based nurseries programme, supporting school led provision and private, voluntary and independent (PVI) providers and childminders operating from school sites.

Phase 1 is already delivering results, with £37 million successfully awarded to 300 primary phase schools creating up to 6,000 new childcare places. Schools reported that over 5,000 of these places were available from September 2025, helping thousands of families across the country.

The programme secured almost £370 million for future phases. Phase 2, which closed on 11 December, has an increased focus on supporting families from disadvantaged areas which have less access to childcare, and will deliver at least 300 new or expanded nurseries through a £45 million fund. Successful schools will be announced in due course.

Phase 3 is due to launch in early 2026, focussing on local authorities’ long-term strategic needs for their local communities.

The Child Poverty Strategy sets out a range of measures to support families in need of temporary accommodation.

The government will end the unlawful placement of families in bed and breakfasts beyond the six-week limit and work with the NHS to end the practice of discharging mothers with newborn babies into bed and breakfasts or other unsuitable housing.

The government will provide £950 million through the fourth and largest round of the Local Authority Housing Fund from April 2026 to deliver up to 5,000 high quality homes for better temporary accommodation by 2030.

A new legal duty will also be introduced for councils to notify schools, health visitors, and GPs when a child is placed in temporary accommodation, so no child is left without support.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government will also introduce a clinical code on children in temporary accommodation to improve data collection, with the aim of preventing further deaths caused by gaps in health care provision.

Best Start Family Hubs (BSFHs) will be open to all families, including adoptive and kindship families. Best Start Family Hubs (BSFHs) are focused on universal, preventative services, targeting disadvantaged families. They can also serve as a non-stigmatising gateway for more targeted, intensive, support delivered by Family Help services and other interventions.

Parents and carers including adoptive and kinship families will have access to a universal offer of parenting programmes through their local hub, alongside targeted support for those most in need.

When adoptive and kinship families walk through the door of their local BSFH, they should be able to see evidence of various services co-located in one place and be easily connected to a wider range of support delivered elsewhere in the BSFH network.  BSFHs should bring together a wide range of statutory and non-statutory services for children ages 0 to 5 within BSFHs, spanning education, childcare, health and social care.

Local authorities must engage constructively with parents when concerns arise about fair process or statutory duties. Oversight is provided through several mechanisms. First, parents can use the statutory three-stage complaints procedure for children’s services, which includes independent review. If they remain dissatisfied, they may escalate to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, which investigates maladministration and recommends remedies to ensure fairness and compliance.

Ofsted inspections also assess how effectively authorities involve parents and meet legal obligations.

Due to the difficulty of disaggregating the number of staff who are employed to produce social media content from staff who are employed to work on broader digital communications, it is not possible to report exact figures in response to this question.

The department is not currently planning to review the statutory framework for post adoption support.

We are funding Adoption England £8.8 million this year to develop consistent and high quality adoption support provision across the country. This includes implementing a new framework for an early support core offer for the first 12 to 18 months after placement, rolling out a new Adoption Support Plan book for all new adoptive families, and developing a national protocol to be used for all adoption support service teams and local authority front door safeguarding services to ensure that parents receive support when they need it most and help prevent family breakdown.

The department will set out plans to launch a public engagement process in 2026 to better understand how well the adoption and special guardianship support fund is working, what the evidence tells us and what further evidence is required, and importantly what is working well for families and why.

Universities are autonomous bodies, independent from government and are responsible for their own admissions decisions.

Universities are free to decide their entry criteria, and admissions teams consider a broad range of information about a student in addition to their predicted grades.

The department continues to work with key sector stakeholders such as higher education providers, UCAS and Universities UK to ensure that students have access to a comprehensive wealth of information, advice and guidance, allowing them to make fully informed and appropriate decisions on course and provider choice.

Regional improvement for standards excellence (RISE) teams have already paired over 350 schools with RISE advisers and supporting organisations, including some of our strongest trusts with a record of turning around struggling schools, to share expertise and boost standards.

All current regional improvement for standards and excellence advisers’ contracts come to an end 30 April 2027. Advisers are employed via secondment agreement or via Public Sector Resourcing, using standard terms and conditions.

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.

The government’s landmark Child Poverty Strategy 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. From next year, parents claiming Universal Credit who are starting or returning to work (including after parental leave) will be able to have their childcare costs paid before they pay them - removing the need to front the money and claim it back later. Previously, Universal Credit covered childcare costs for up to two children. Under the new policy, families with more than two children will receive support for all their childcare costs.

Although we do not hold this data on a constituency level, there are no reported issues in the South East region.

This financial year, the department has invested £50 million into the adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF). We have approved applications for nearly 14,000 children since April, for both therapy and specialist assessments. We continue to review the impact of the changes to funding made in April 2025. The ASGSF was formed specifically to meet the needs of complex and high-risk placements.

The government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. Introducing a new eligibility threshold for free school meals (FSM) so that all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit will be eligible for FSM from September 2026 will make it easier for parents to know whether they are entitled to receive free meals. This new entitlement will mean over 500,000 of the most disadvantaged children will begin to access free meals, pulling 100,000 children out of poverty.

The department is also rolling out improvements to the eligibility checking system which will make it easier for local authorities, schools and parents to check if children are eligible for free meals.

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

The government keeps the student finance system under continuous review to ensure that it delivers good value for both students and taxpayers.

Student loans are subject to interest to ensure that those who can afford to do so contribute to the full cost of their degree. To consider both students and taxpayers and ensure the real value of the loans over the repayment term, interest rates are linked to inflation.

Interest rates do not impact monthly repayments made by student loan borrowers. Regular repayments are based on a borrower’s monthly or weekly income, not on interest rates or the amount borrowed. Outstanding debt, including interest built up, is cancelled after the loan term ends (or in case of death or disability) at no detriment to the borrower.

A full equality impact assessment of how the student loan reforms may affect graduates under Plan 5 was produced and published in February 2022, and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reform-equality-impact-assessment.

The £740 million high needs capital investment in 2025/26 is on track to create around 10,000 new specialist places, in both special and mainstream schools.

Local authorities share plans for their HNPCA with the department as part of grant assurance checks. We do not publish these due to the potential commercial sensitivities, but we encourage local authorities to publish where possible to aid transparency.

The international student levy forms part of our wider plan for higher education student finance and funding reform, as set out in the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper, which puts the sector on a secure financial footing whilst also ensuring it contributes to wider governmental objectives.

The department is continuing to engage with providers on the implementation of the levy, to ensure its effective introduction and operation. Our technical consultation gives stakeholders the opportunity to contribute their views and shape how the levy will be delivered. It is open until 18 February 2026 in line with usual practice for consultations.

As part of its mission to break down barriers to opportunity, this government is transforming further education colleges into specialist technical excellence colleges (TECs), working with a wide range of skills partners to provide young people and adults with better opportunities and the highly trained workforce that local economies need.

We have already launched ten new construction TECs, backed by £120 million, and are now expanding the TEC programme to a further four high growth sectors in defence, clean energy, advanced manufacturing, and digital and technologies.

Applications for all four sectors are now live and will close on 16 February 2026.

Exact locations are yet to be determined, and colleges will be appointed through a fair and transparent application process. Successful TECs will be appointed from April 2026.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has acknowledged the concerns being raised about parental complaints, including the increasing number of complaints being received by schools and the impact it is having on both parents and carers and school leaders, and has been clear that we need to make the system more robust and respectful with a focus on finding resolutions quickly and in the best interest of children.

The department is working closely with the Improving Education Together group to improve the complaints system, including by exploring how we reset the relationship between schools and parents and carers so that issues can be resolved informally, reduce unnecessary duplication, and clarify roles and responsibilities so that complaints that schools cannot resolve are dealt with in a timely manner by the right body.

We expect to provide more detail on how we will improve the school’s complaints system in the Schools White Paper.

The legislative framework for providing collective worship in England is different to that in Northern Ireland. However, the department is considering the implications of the Supreme Court judgement carefully. Schools in England already have flexibility to hold assemblies without a religious focus.

The legislative framework for providing collective worship in England is different to that in Northern Ireland. However, the department is considering the implications of the Supreme Court judgement carefully. Schools in England already have flexibility to hold assemblies without a religious focus.

The statutory relationships, sex and health education guidance makes it clear that, at secondary school, there should be an equal opportunity to explore the features of stable and healthy same-sex relationships when learning about relationships. It strongly encourages primary schools to include same-sex parents when discussing family arrangements. From primary school, children will learn about the importance of kindness and respect, including respect for people who are different from them.

We expect schools to ensure that all children and young people, including trans pupils, are treated with the same respect and dignity as their peers, fostering an environment where everyone feels safe, valued and supported. The guidance remains clear that those who share the protected characteristic of gender reassignment also have protection from discrimination by law and should be treated with respect and dignity. It acknowledges that, beyond law and facts about biological sex and gender reassignment, there is significant debate. That is why it sets out that schools should not endorse any particular view or teach it as fact.

The new guidance informs teaching from September 2026. We will fund schools to pilot initiatives that enhance teaching of relationships and sex education. Oak National Academy has developed materials across the updated curriculum.

The statutory relationships, sex and health education guidance makes it clear that, at secondary school, there should be an equal opportunity to explore the features of stable and healthy same-sex relationships when learning about relationships. It strongly encourages primary schools to include same-sex parents when discussing family arrangements. From primary school, children will learn about the importance of kindness and respect, including respect for people who are different from them.

We expect schools to ensure that all children and young people, including trans pupils, are treated with the same respect and dignity as their peers, fostering an environment where everyone feels safe, valued and supported. The guidance remains clear that those who share the protected characteristic of gender reassignment also have protection from discrimination by law and should be treated with respect and dignity. It acknowledges that, beyond law and facts about biological sex and gender reassignment, there is significant debate. That is why it sets out that schools should not endorse any particular view or teach it as fact.

The new guidance informs teaching from September 2026. We will fund schools to pilot initiatives that enhance teaching of relationships and sex education. Oak National Academy has developed materials across the updated curriculum.

The statutory relationships, sex and health education guidance makes it clear that, at secondary school, there should be an equal opportunity to explore the features of stable and healthy same-sex relationships when learning about relationships. It strongly encourages primary schools to include same-sex parents when discussing family arrangements. From primary school, children will learn about the importance of kindness and respect, including respect for people who are different from them.

We expect schools to ensure that all children and young people, including trans pupils, are treated with the same respect and dignity as their peers, fostering an environment where everyone feels safe, valued and supported. The guidance remains clear that those who share the protected characteristic of gender reassignment also have protection from discrimination by law and should be treated with respect and dignity. It acknowledges that, beyond law and facts about biological sex and gender reassignment, there is significant debate. That is why it sets out that schools should not endorse any particular view or teach it as fact.

The new guidance informs teaching from September 2026. We will fund schools to pilot initiatives that enhance teaching of relationships and sex education. Oak National Academy has developed materials across the updated curriculum.

The adoption and special guardianship support fund is available nationwide. It funds post-adoption support interventions including therapeutic support for adopted children and their families.

Adoption England recently completed a review of regional post-adoption support. The review is available here: https://www.adoptionengland.co.uk/sites/default/files/2025-06/ASGSF%20Options%20Appraisal.pdf. The report finds that families experiences differ by region due to local delivery models and provider capacity.

The department invested £8.8 million in Adoption England this year to improve adoption support across the country. This includes the development of a national core offer of support for the first 12-18 months of a placement. Practical support, such as peer groups and parenting programmes, are commissioned locally to reflect local need.

Adopted children and their families can also make use of universal provision including Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services and Families First, a local authority-led early help service that provides practical and emotional support to families, including parenting advice and access to community resources, to prevent issues from escalating.

On 15 December 2025, a Written Ministerial Statement was laid setting out outcomes of the mainstream free school pipeline review.

All free school projects in scope were evaluated in line with consistent criteria, focusing on assessing the local need for places and value for money. This included considering whether projects would provide a distinctive local offer or risk negatively impacting other local schools. The department reviewed evidence provided by trusts and local authorities, as well as latest published data on pupil place planning, to determine whether there is strong evidence of the continued need for additional places.

We are proceeding with mainstream projects that meet the needs of communities, respond to demographic and housing demand, raise standards without undermining the viability of existing local schools and colleges or offer something unique for students who would otherwise not have access to it.

In the Walsall and Bloxwich constituency, the decision has been taken to proceed with the Swift Academy, to address urgent local secondary sufficiency pressure.

The department provides and retains responsibility for capital funding for the acquisition of sites and construction of free schools. The department also provides revenue funding, via project development grants, directly to proposers to cover essential non-capital costs prior to each school opening.

In 2016, the department invited trusts to submit proposals for new free schools to be funded and delivered through the central free school programme as part of application Wave 12. Swift Academy (then called Blakenall Free School) was approved in April 2017 following an application from The Windsor Academy Trust. All applications were assessed against published selection criteria and geographical context.

Local residents, interested parties and statutory bodies will be consulted prior to the school opening. As with all projects, Swift Academy will continue to be assessed on an ongoing basis to ensure it continues to meet the need for places and provides value for money.

On 15 December 2025, a Written Ministerial Statement was laid setting out outcomes of the mainstream free school pipeline review.

All free school projects in scope were evaluated in line with consistent criteria, focusing on assessing the local need for places and value for money. This included considering whether projects would provide a distinctive local offer or risk negatively impacting other local schools. The department reviewed evidence provided by trusts and local authorities, as well as latest published data on pupil place planning, to determine whether there is strong evidence of the continued need for additional places.

We are proceeding with mainstream projects that meet the needs of communities, respond to demographic and housing demand, raise standards without undermining the viability of existing local schools and colleges or offer something unique for students who would otherwise not have access to it.

In the Walsall and Bloxwich constituency, the decision has been taken to proceed with the Swift Academy, to address urgent local secondary sufficiency pressure.

The department provides and retains responsibility for capital funding for the acquisition of sites and construction of free schools. The department also provides revenue funding, via project development grants, directly to proposers to cover essential non-capital costs prior to each school opening.

In 2016, the department invited trusts to submit proposals for new free schools to be funded and delivered through the central free school programme as part of application Wave 12. Swift Academy (then called Blakenall Free School) was approved in April 2017 following an application from The Windsor Academy Trust. All applications were assessed against published selection criteria and geographical context.

Local residents, interested parties and statutory bodies will be consulted prior to the school opening. As with all projects, Swift Academy will continue to be assessed on an ongoing basis to ensure it continues to meet the need for places and provides value for money.

On 15 December 2025, a Written Ministerial Statement was laid setting out outcomes of the mainstream free school pipeline review.

All free school projects in scope were evaluated in line with consistent criteria, focusing on assessing the local need for places and value for money. This included considering whether projects would provide a distinctive local offer or risk negatively impacting other local schools. The department reviewed evidence provided by trusts and local authorities, as well as latest published data on pupil place planning, to determine whether there is strong evidence of the continued need for additional places.

We are proceeding with mainstream projects that meet the needs of communities, respond to demographic and housing demand, raise standards without undermining the viability of existing local schools and colleges or offer something unique for students who would otherwise not have access to it.

In the Walsall and Bloxwich constituency, the decision has been taken to proceed with the Swift Academy, to address urgent local secondary sufficiency pressure.

The department provides and retains responsibility for capital funding for the acquisition of sites and construction of free schools. The department also provides revenue funding, via project development grants, directly to proposers to cover essential non-capital costs prior to each school opening.

In 2016, the department invited trusts to submit proposals for new free schools to be funded and delivered through the central free school programme as part of application Wave 12. Swift Academy (then called Blakenall Free School) was approved in April 2017 following an application from The Windsor Academy Trust. All applications were assessed against published selection criteria and geographical context.

Local residents, interested parties and statutory bodies will be consulted prior to the school opening. As with all projects, Swift Academy will continue to be assessed on an ongoing basis to ensure it continues to meet the need for places and provides value for money.

On 15 December 2025, a Written Ministerial Statement was laid setting out outcomes of the mainstream free school pipeline review.

All free school projects in scope were evaluated in line with consistent criteria, focusing on assessing the local need for places and value for money. This included considering whether projects would provide a distinctive local offer or risk negatively impacting other local schools. The department reviewed evidence provided by trusts and local authorities, as well as latest published data on pupil place planning, to determine whether there is strong evidence of the continued need for additional places.

We are proceeding with mainstream projects that meet the needs of communities, respond to demographic and housing demand, raise standards without undermining the viability of existing local schools and colleges or offer something unique for students who would otherwise not have access to it.

In the Walsall and Bloxwich constituency, the decision has been taken to proceed with the Swift Academy, to address urgent local secondary sufficiency pressure.

The department provides and retains responsibility for capital funding for the acquisition of sites and construction of free schools. The department also provides revenue funding, via project development grants, directly to proposers to cover essential non-capital costs prior to each school opening.

In 2016, the department invited trusts to submit proposals for new free schools to be funded and delivered through the central free school programme as part of application Wave 12. Swift Academy (then called Blakenall Free School) was approved in April 2017 following an application from The Windsor Academy Trust. All applications were assessed against published selection criteria and geographical context.

Local residents, interested parties and statutory bodies will be consulted prior to the school opening. As with all projects, Swift Academy will continue to be assessed on an ongoing basis to ensure it continues to meet the need for places and provides value for money.

On 15 December 2025, a Written Ministerial Statement was laid setting out outcomes of the mainstream free school pipeline review.

All free school projects in scope were evaluated in line with consistent criteria, focusing on assessing the local need for places and value for money. This included considering whether projects would provide a distinctive local offer or risk negatively impacting other local schools. The department reviewed evidence provided by trusts and local authorities, as well as latest published data on pupil place planning, to determine whether there is strong evidence of the continued need for additional places.

We are proceeding with mainstream projects that meet the needs of communities, respond to demographic and housing demand, raise standards without undermining the viability of existing local schools and colleges or offer something unique for students who would otherwise not have access to it.

In the Walsall and Bloxwich constituency, the decision has been taken to proceed with the Swift Academy, to address urgent local secondary sufficiency pressure.

The department provides and retains responsibility for capital funding for the acquisition of sites and construction of free schools. The department also provides revenue funding, via project development grants, directly to proposers to cover essential non-capital costs prior to each school opening.

In 2016, the department invited trusts to submit proposals for new free schools to be funded and delivered through the central free school programme as part of application Wave 12. Swift Academy (then called Blakenall Free School) was approved in April 2017 following an application from The Windsor Academy Trust. All applications were assessed against published selection criteria and geographical context.

Local residents, interested parties and statutory bodies will be consulted prior to the school opening. As with all projects, Swift Academy will continue to be assessed on an ongoing basis to ensure it continues to meet the need for places and provides value for money.

The relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) statutory guidance sets out that by the end of secondary school, pupils should know about the science relating to blood, organ and stem cell donation.

The department does not routinely collect data on how many schools teach specific topics and has no plans to require schools to report in that detail. It is for individual schools to make sure that they cover the statutory content in RSHE, and they have flexibility to decide how to do so.

Godmanchester Secondary Academy was approved into pre-opening in 2017 as part of Free Schools Wave 12. Delivery was provisionally anticipated for September 2022, but the project never achieved approval to move into the construction stage. The trust formally withdrew the project in April 2020 with the opening forecast not changing during the interim.

Due to the early stage that it reached, only the following funding was allocated to this project:

Godmanchester Secondary Academy was approved into pre-opening in 2017 as part of Free Schools Wave 12. Delivery was provisionally anticipated for September 2022, but the project never achieved approval to move into the construction stage. The trust formally withdrew the project in April 2020 with the opening forecast not changing during the interim.

Due to the early stage that it reached, only the following funding was allocated to this project:

Godmanchester Secondary Academy was approved into pre-opening in 2017 as part of Free Schools Wave 12. Delivery was provisionally anticipated for September 2022, but the project never achieved approval to move into the construction stage. The trust formally withdrew the project in April 2020 with the opening forecast not changing during the interim.

Due to the early stage that it reached, only the following funding was allocated to this project:

The children’s social care national framework (2023) is statutory guidance that sets direction for children’s social care practice. It describes expectations for practitioners working sensitively with whole families, including to identify and address the impact of trauma. Ofsted plays a crucial role in upholding children’s social care standards. In November 2025, Ofsted confirmed they will update their Inspecting Local Authority Children’s Services inspection framework from April 2026 and continue to align inspection with the national framework.

The department has also confirmed the national rollout of Family Help, multi-agency child protection and family group decision making reforms, delivered through the Families First Partnership programme. These services will prioritise supporting the whole family and intervening at the earliest opportunity to prevent problems escalating, including where there are experiences of trauma. This will require excellent place-based service design driven by local authorities working effectively with local partners, including health, police and education providers, and listening closely to families.

An EU borrower is a borrower who was originally domiciled in an EU country prior to entering higher education in England. Tuition fee funding for new EU students in England without 'settled' or 'pre-settled status' ceased in the 2021/22 academic year. However, those continuing a course remain eligible for financial support for the duration of their course, in addition to those covered by the Withdrawal Agreements, subject to meeting other residency and course requirements.

The outstanding value of student loan debt owed by EU borrowers was £5.8 billion at 31 March 2025. Of EU borrowers liable to repay, 38.8% are actively repaying, have fully repaid or had their loan cancelled or written off. This data is published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/student-loans-in-england-2024-to-2025/student-loans-in-england-financial-year-2024-25.

A loan becomes liable for repayment when the borrower has passed their statutory repayment due date. This is the normally the April after graduating or otherwise leaving their course, provided they are earning above the relevant income threshold.

Definitions of repayment terms can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/student-loans-in-england-2024-to-2025/definitions-england.

As announced in the Autumn Budget 2025, the department will lead a review of childcare provision. This review aims to simplify the system for providers and families, improving access and strengthening the impact of government support. The review is expected to take place in 2026, and we will share more information in due course.

A National Agency will be appointed in due course to deliver Erasmus+ for the UK.

A website with further information will be launched by the UK’s National Agency in summer 2026. Guidance on how to apply for Erasmus+ will be available on GOV.UK, and subsequently the National Agency’s website in summer 2026.

The department will work closely with institutions and our young people to maximise take-up, particularly among disadvantaged groups, and provide certainty on complementary UK schemes so providers can plan confidently and deliver at pace.

The department selected schools, including those with special educational needs units, for the early adopter (EA) scheme to ensure that there is a range of participating schools operating within different contexts and from diverse starting points.

The EA ‘test and learn’ phase has been crucial to informing the national rollout of free breakfast clubs. Through consultation with EAs, we have heard from the sector about what schools and trusts need to do to ensure free breakfast clubs effectively support children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). EA funding was designed to take account of the numbers of children with additional needs in different schools. However, we heard from EAs that the way funding was allocated did not always align with the number of children attending a club who may need additional support and was therefore not working as effectively as possible for some EA schools. In line with our ‘test and learn’ approach, we have therefore changed the funding rate and allocations for mainstream schools on the programme for national rollout so that the funding better enables all schools to meet the needs of children who attend, including children with SEND. These changes simplify the funding rate and mean schools will receive more money, at a rate of £25 per day, plus £1 per child per day. Schools have the autonomy to spend this funding according to how it best fits their needs.

Institutions delivering 16-19 education have received the Large Programme Uplift (LPU) in the 2025/26 academic year. There were 6,755 students eligible for the LPU as a result of studying 4 or more A levels, of which:

• 36.46% were female students.
• 4.69% were eligible for free school meals (FSM).

Of those 6,755 students that attracted the LPU in the 2025/26 academic year due to studying 4 or more A levels, 3,968 (58.74%) would be eligible under the revised guidance for the 2026/27 academic year, of which:

• 24.85% would be female students.
• 4.71% would be eligible for FSM.

Notes about the data:

• The data provided is based on LPU allocations for the 2025/26 academic year, which uses data from the 2022/23 academic year.
• The FSM definition covers both FSM for academies and school sixth forms and free meals in further education. This is because the LPU data is extracted from both the School Census and the Individual Learner Record.

Institutions delivering 16-19 education have received the Large Programme Uplift (LPU) in the 2025/26 academic year. There were 6,755 students eligible for the LPU as a result of studying 4 or more A levels, of which:

• 36.46% were female students.
• 4.69% were eligible for free school meals (FSM).

Of those 6,755 students that attracted the LPU in the 2025/26 academic year due to studying 4 or more A levels, 3,968 (58.74%) would be eligible under the revised guidance for the 2026/27 academic year, of which:

• 24.85% would be female students.
• 4.71% would be eligible for FSM.

Notes about the data:

• The data provided is based on LPU allocations for the 2025/26 academic year, which uses data from the 2022/23 academic year.
• The FSM definition covers both FSM for academies and school sixth forms and free meals in further education. This is because the LPU data is extracted from both the School Census and the Individual Learner Record.

Institutions delivering 16-19 education have received the Large Programme Uplift (LPU) in the 2025/26 academic year. There were 6,755 students eligible for the LPU as a result of studying 4 or more A levels, of which:

• 36.46% were female students.
• 4.69% were eligible for free school meals (FSM).

Of those 6,755 students that attracted the LPU in the 2025/26 academic year due to studying 4 or more A levels, 3,968 (58.74%) would be eligible under the revised guidance for the 2026/27 academic year, of which:

• 24.85% would be female students.
• 4.71% would be eligible for FSM.

Notes about the data:

• The data provided is based on LPU allocations for the 2025/26 academic year, which uses data from the 2022/23 academic year.
• The FSM definition covers both FSM for academies and school sixth forms and free meals in further education. This is because the LPU data is extracted from both the School Census and the Individual Learner Record.

Institutions delivering 16-19 education have received the Large Programme Uplift (LPU) in the 2025/26 academic year. There were 6,755 students eligible for the LPU as a result of studying 4 or more A levels, of which:

• 36.46% were female students.
• 4.69% were eligible for free school meals (FSM).

Of those 6,755 students that attracted the LPU in the 2025/26 academic year due to studying 4 or more A levels, 3,968 (58.74%) would be eligible under the revised guidance for the 2026/27 academic year, of which:

• 24.85% would be female students.
• 4.71% would be eligible for FSM.

Notes about the data:

• The data provided is based on LPU allocations for the 2025/26 academic year, which uses data from the 2022/23 academic year.
• The FSM definition covers both FSM for academies and school sixth forms and free meals in further education. This is because the LPU data is extracted from both the School Census and the Individual Learner Record.

Mainstream projects were evaluated against consistent criteria on the need for places, value for money, and whether they would provide a distinctive or innovative education offer or risk negatively impacting other local schools.

We will invest at least £3 billion over the next four years to create around 50,000 places for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) across England. To support this investment, we are not proceeding with some mainstream free school projects.

For Lodge Farm Primary and Nursery, the review found that current evidence does not show sufficient medium‑term need for a new school in the proposed Witham and Hatfield Peverel location. The trust and local authority can submit any further evidence for ministers to consider by 30 January 2026. The local authority has been offered just over £600,000 additional funding to provide the 12 special educational needs unit places that were planned for this school.

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

Decisions on the provision and use of evacuation chairs should be made locally and on a case-by-case basis, based on the individual’s needs and preferences and their building’s evacuation plan requirements. The responsible body (the relevant local authority, academy trust or voluntary-aided body) is responsible for ensuring the health and safety of all the occupants of their buildings.

Under fire safety legislation, those responsible for the building must ensure that everyone can leave safely in the event of a fire. Schools and colleges have a duty under the Equality Act to make reasonable adjustments for individuals with limited mobility. Anyone requiring assistance should therefore have a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP) in place.

The government’s guidance is clear that, where a PEEP of a student or member of staff requires an evacuation chair, it must be provided.