Department for Education

The department continues to support improvements in special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision in Somerset, including in Yeovil.

This financial year, Somerset Council received £8.4 million through the High Needs Provision Capital Allocation to expand specialist provision and improve accessibility in mainstream schools.

Six primary schools in Yeovil are also participating in the Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools programme. This initiative brings together health and education professionals, and expert parent carers, to strengthen whole school SEND provision, upskill staff, and improve outcomes for neurodivergent pupils.

The department and NHS England continue to engage with the Somerset SEND partnership and are occasional observers to their SEND partnership board to support system-wide improvement.

We also support educational outcomes through academy trust oversight and regional improvement for standards and excellence initiatives.

The government’s ambition is that all children and young people with SEND or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.

We will build a system which is grounded in evidence, identifies and supports need at the earliest opportunity, and ensures families can secure support swiftly without a fight. There will always be a legal right to additional support for children and young people with SEND.

We are continuing to engage closely with children, parents and experts as we develop plans to ensure all children and young people get the outcomes and life chances they deserve.

Educational psychologists play a critical role in the support available to children and young people, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). That is why we are already investing over £21 million to train 400 more educational psychologists over two cohorts, starting their studies in 2024 and 2025. This is in addition to the £10 million currently being invested in the training of over 200 educational psychologists who began their training in September 2023.

As these trainees complete their studies, they will join the workforce to support local authority educational psychology services, including contributing to statutory assessments.

The department is also working closely with the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England to improve access to community health services, including speech and language therapy, for children and young people with SEND.

The department does not hold the data requested.

We are working with the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England to consider how we might extend the availability of adrenaline auto-injectors in schools.

The department is committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special and alternative provision schools cater to those with the most complex needs.

The funding announced at the last Spending Review means a significant investment in the support available for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) pupils within mainstream schools. This will support the government’s plan to deliver an excellent, inclusive education for every child, with a world class curriculum and highly trained, expert teachers.

The special educational needs coordinator (SENCO) must be a qualified teacher, or the head teacher, working at the school. On 1 September 2024, the government introduced a new mandatory leadership level National Professional Qualification (NPQ) for SENCOs. The NPQ ensures SENCOs receive high quality, evidence-based training and equips them with the knowledge and skills to work with other leaders to create an inclusive environment where everyone feels welcome, safe and that they belong. Since going live, over 10,500 members of the school workforce have started their SENCO NPQ journey.

The forthcoming Schools White Paper will set out an ambitious vision for improving outcomes for all pupils. The department is working closely with the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England to improve access to community health services, including speech and language therapy, for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

As the department sets out in ‘Giving every child the best start in life’, we will continue to ensure every reception class in state-funded schools benefits from fully funded access to proven programmes such as the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI). In July 2025, the department announced that funded support for the 11,000 schools registered for the NELI programme would continue for a further four academic years until the end of the 2028/29 academic year. Reception staff will also be able to access specialist early language leads.

In addition, the department has extended the Early Language and Support for Every Child (ELSEC) programme, in partnership with NHS England, to trial new ways of working to better identify and support children with speech, language and communication needs in early years settings and primary schools.

All state funded schools, including those in Yeovil, are required to teach first aid as part of the statutory health education curriculum in relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) education. This includes how to deal with common injuries, call the emergency services and administer CPR and understand the purpose of defibrillators.

Schools have the autonomy to decide how they teach CPR and which resources to use, often choosing to use expert organisations to deliver additional content. The department does not monitor this as schools decide what to adopt in their local areas, choosing lesson plans and materials that are relevant to them.

Ofsted are responsible for inspecting schools’ RSHE provision as part of their personal development judgement.

All state funded schools, including those in Yeovil, are required to teach first aid as part of the statutory health education curriculum in relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) education. This includes how to deal with common injuries, call the emergency services and administer CPR and understand the purpose of defibrillators.

Schools have the autonomy to decide how they teach CPR and which resources to use, often choosing to use expert organisations to deliver additional content. The department does not monitor this as schools decide what to adopt in their local areas, choosing lesson plans and materials that are relevant to them.

Ofsted are responsible for inspecting schools’ RSHE provision as part of their personal development judgement.

The department believes that more special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) disputes should be resolved earlier, with families, settings and local authorities working together to develop solutions to disagreements.

We are aware that not all families are able to access high quality, earlier dispute resolution through either local authority-commission mediation or disagreement resolution services. We are considering what more we can do to strengthen earlier dispute resolution and will set out our vision for redress in a reformed SEND system shortly.

This government inherited a special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system that has failed to meet the needs of families for far too long. This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with SEND receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.

We will build a better system which is grounded in evidence, identifies and supports need at the earliest opportunity and ensures families can secure support swiftly and easily. There will always be a legal right to additional support for children and young people with SEND.

The department is continuing to engage closely with children, parents and experts as we develop plans to ensure all children and young people get the outcomes and life chances they deserve. We will be setting out further steps later this year.

Educational psychologists play a critical role in the support available to children and young people, including those with special educational needs and disabilities. That is why we are investing over £21 million to train 400 more educational psychologists over two cohorts, starting their studies in 2024 and 2025. This is in addition to the £10 million invested in the training of over 200 educational psychologists who began their training in 2023.

As these trainees complete their studies, they will join the workforce to support local authority educational psychology services, including contributing to statutory assessments.

The latest available figures show 96% of academy trusts and 85% of local authority maintained schools are in cumulative surplus or breaking even, with an overall cumulative surplus of almost £6.5 billion, compared to a cumulative deficit of £330 million. These figures relate to 31 August 2024 for academy trusts and 31 March 2024 for maintained schools.

In the 2023/24 financial year there were 1,745 local authority maintained schools in deficit and 341 academies were in trusts that had an overall deficit.

To ensure we have sufficient, high quality teachers, the department has increased the core schools budget by £3.7 billion in 2025/26, totalling £65.3 billion. This is alongside the near 10% pay award for teachers over the last two years to ensure teaching is once again a respected and attractive profession.

In addition to improved teacher pay, the department is also providing additional financial support for trainees and teachers. For 2025/26, we announced trainee teacher bursaries worth up to £29,000 and scholarships worth up to £31,000 tax-free. We are also offering a targeted retention incentive (TRI) worth up to £6,000 after tax for teachers of key subjects in the first five years of their careers who work in disadvantaged schools, including rural areas. Three schools in Fylde constituency are eligible for the TRI.

Our interventions are having impact with 2,346 more teachers across secondary and special schools in 2024/25. In Fylde, there were 14 more teachers in secondary and special schools. We are also helping schools recruit and retain support staff, with support staff numbers increasing by 42 to 668 in Fylde in 2024/25.

Information on the school workforce, including the number of subject teachers in state-funded secondary schools, is published in the ‘School workforce in England’ statistical publication.

As of November 2024, the latest date for which data is available, there were 5,649 (headcount) physics teachers employed in state-funded secondary schools in England: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/fast-track/eb317beb-0226-4d5e-2d32-08ddcdee7988. This has been available since 5 June 2025.

School workforce statistics as of November 2025 will be published in summer 2026.

Information on the further education workforce, including the number of subject teachers in sixth-form colleges, is published in the 'Further education workforce' statistical publication. This has been available since 29 May 2025.

As of the 2023/24 academic year, the latest date for which data is available, there were 101 (headcount) physics teachers employed in sixth-form colleges in England: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/9a8eb9b8-83f4-4737-0b18-08de07233b94.

Further education workforce statistics for the 2024/25 academic year will be published in spring 2026.

Schools receive core funding for activities within the curriculum, including delivery and travel for swimming and water safety lessons. After pupils have completed their core curriculum swimming and water safety lessons, it is permissible to use the physical education and sport premium for top-up lessons, including transport costs for pupils who have not met national curriculum requirements.

The pupil premium is additional funding to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in state-funded schools in England.

This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity so that all children have the freedom to achieve and thrive in education. Pupil premium supports the aim of narrowing the gap between the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and their peers. This will help to break the link between children’s outcomes and those of their parents.

We are providing over £3 billion of pupil premium funding in the 2025/26 financial year. Schools must use pupil premium funding to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils, and the approaches they use should be informed by evidence.

We want to support all schools to use the wealth of evidence of what works, evaluated by the Education Endowment Foundation, to use pupil premium funding effectively to drive high and rising standards for disadvantaged pupils.

Schools must spend their pupil premium in line with the department’s 'menu of approaches' which is informed by evidence of how best to improve disadvantaged pupils’ attainment.

We are reviewing how we allocate pupil premium funding in the longer term, while maintaining the overall amount we spend on tackling the challenges faced by children with additional needs. We will provide more information in due course.

The government fully supports the arts and the development of a skills pipeline into the creative industries.

The department is providing £36.5 million for the Music and Dance Scheme this academic year. Funding beyond the current academic year, including any introduction of multi-year funding agreements, will be considered in due course. This follows the department’s Spending Review in June, where my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer allocated funding to the 2028/2029 financial year for revenue spending.

Ofsted typically gives a short period of notice of its inspections, to support the effective conduct of the inspection visit. It retains the ability to inspect without notice where it has concerns about a provider. For example, in early years inspections, notice normally takes place at around midday on the day before the inspection. Between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025, there were 1,400 unannounced inspections (16%) in early years settings.

In the 2025 Spending Review, we announced that funding for schools is increasing by £4.2 billion by 2028/29 compared to 2025/26. This additional funding will provide an above real terms per pupil increase on the core schools budget, which will take per-pupil funding to its highest ever level and enable us to transform the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system.

The funding announced at the Spending Review means a significant investment in the support available for pupils with SEND within mainstream schools. We are continuing to engage closely with children, parents and experts as we develop plans to ensure all children get the outcomes and life chances they deserve. We will be setting out further steps later this year.

Climate education can already be taught in geography, science and citizenship within the national curriculum. The Curriculum and Assessment Review is considering where evidence suggests content needs to be updated to reflect rapid social, environmental and technological change, including a greater focus on sustainability and climate science.

The Sustainability Support for Education hub and Climate Ambassadors programme provide support to enable settings to establish their climate action plan and embed sustainability into their setting.

The National Education Nature Park provides curriculum-linked resources and practical activities to engage children and young people in nature and the improvement of their local environment. There are currently six settings registered to the programme in the Surrey Heath constituency, and we encourage more settings to get involved.

The department has also published statutory guidance on school uniforms which states that schools should ensure second-hand uniforms are available, which benefits all parents and is more sustainable. Additionally, we provide procurement support through the Get Help Buying for Schools service to encourage sustainable procurement decisions.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and those in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.

The funding and other arrangements for improving the SEND system are under review, and we are continuing to engage closely with children, parents and experts as we develop plans to ensure all children get the outcomes and life chances they deserve.

In the meantime, the department is providing total high needs funding this financial year of over £12 billion for children and young people with complex SEND. Of that total, East Riding of Yorkshire Council is being allocated over £42 million through the high needs funding block of their dedicated schools grant. This high needs funding is to help meet the costs local authorities are facing this financial year, as they in turn provide support to schools and other education providers, and ultimately to children with SEND.

By prioritising early intervention, training and inclusive support in mainstream schools, while ensuring special schools can support the most complex needs, we are expanding the capacity to deliver timely, consistent, high quality special educational needs and disabilities provision.

We are engaging with children, parents and experts on wider reforms.

The National Conditions of Service for Teachers in England and Wales is a national agreement between local authority school employers and teaching and headteacher unions. The government has no input into the agreement or its implementation. As it has no statutory force, while maintained schools are expected to incorporate its provisions into teachers’ contracts, there is no legal obligation for them to do so. Academies will, following the passage of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, be required to “have regard” to the entirety of the School Teachers Pay and Conditions Document.

There are challenges in the special educational needs and disabilities system. We will make mainstream education more inclusive through early identification of needs, effective support and high quality teaching while ensuring special schools can support the most complex needs.

We are engaging with children, parents and experts and experts on wider reforms.

The department is committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special and alternative provision schools cater to those with the most complex needs.

The department is continuing to engage closely with children, parents and experts as we develop plans to ensure all children get the outcomes and life chances they deserve.

The department is committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special and alternative provision schools cater to those with the most complex needs.

The department is continuing to engage closely with children, parents and experts as we develop plans to ensure all children get the outcomes and life chances they deserve.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. The department is providing an increase of £1 billion for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year.

We are continuing to engage closely with children, parents and experts as we develop plans to ensure all children get the outcomes and life chances they deserve. We are engaging with experts, teachers, parents and young people on wider reforms and are keeping the funding arrangements under review to help ensure that mainstream schools are inclusive for children with SEND. It is important that we establish a fair school funding system that directs funding to where it is needed and that does not inadvertently disincentivise schools from admitting and retaining pupils with SEND.

No staff member should ever be pressured into leaving their job. Headteachers have the freedom to manage employment at their schools in accordance with the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document guidance for maintained schools and relevant employment law for all schools.

In addition, the government is taking action to ensure that non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) cannot be used to take unfair advantage of workers. For example, the Employment Rights Bill now includes a measure that will void any provision in an agreement, such as a contract of employment or settlement agreement, between a worker and their employer that prevents a worker from speaking out about relevant harassment or discrimination. The government intends to outline strict conditions in regulations under which NDAs can still be validly entered into.

We are also taking significant steps to reduce pressure on teachers and therefore increase teacher retention. Our ‘Improve workload and wellbeing for school staff’ service contains a range of supportive resources for schools to review and reduce workload, as well as improve staff wellbeing. This year saw one of the lowest leaver rates since 2010, with 1,300 fewer teachers leaving the state-funded sector.

No staff member should ever be pressured into leaving their job. Headteachers have the freedom to manage employment at their schools in accordance with the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document guidance for maintained schools and relevant employment law for all schools.

In addition, the government is taking action to ensure that non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) cannot be used to take unfair advantage of workers. For example, the Employment Rights Bill now includes a measure that will void any provision in an agreement, such as a contract of employment or settlement agreement, between a worker and their employer that prevents a worker from speaking out about relevant harassment or discrimination. The government intends to outline strict conditions in regulations under which NDAs can still be validly entered into.

We are also taking significant steps to reduce pressure on teachers and therefore increase teacher retention. Our ‘Improve workload and wellbeing for school staff’ service contains a range of supportive resources for schools to review and reduce workload, as well as improve staff wellbeing. This year saw one of the lowest leaver rates since 2010, with 1,300 fewer teachers leaving the state-funded sector.

The national curriculum for English aims to ensure an appreciation of our rich and varied literary heritage. It emphasises the importance of listening to, discussing and reading a wide range of stories, poems, plays and non-fiction. While the curriculum does not prescribe specific reading lists, it outlines broad categories for text selection. Teachers have flexibility in their choice of books to teach within the context of the curriculum.

The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, covering ages 5 to 18, chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE. The Review wants to ensure an excellent foundation in the core subjects of reading, writing and mathematics, and a rich, broad, inclusive and innovative curriculum that readies young people for life and work, and reflects the diversity of our society. The Review’s final report and recommendations will be published in the autumn, at which point the government will respond.

The information requested is not held centrally.

I refer the hon. Member for Huntingdon to the answer of 13 June 2025 to Question 57466.

Supporting neurodivergent pupils into the workplace is important for all schools, including specialist schools.

As set out in the SEND Code of Practice, all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) should be prepared for adulthood (PfA). This means being prepared in the following four areas:

• Higher education and/or employment.
• Independent living.
• Participating in society.
• Health.

For those with an education, health and care (EHC) plan, the annual review of the plan from year 9 onwards must include a focus on PfA.

The Gatsby Benchmarks are a framework for delivering high quality careers guidance in schools and colleges. For SEND learners, the benchmarks apply equally, but with adaptations to meet individual needs. Where a learner has an active EHC plan, careers guidance is provided up to age 25.

The department has supported the Department for Work and Pensions in developing the use of Adjustment Planners for higher education (HE) students. An Adjustments Planner provides a useful tool to support learners to progress in HE, take up work during term time or move into employment by enabling them to plan for the future. The department is considering how the use of the planner can be widened for more learners.

For the first time in 2023, the School Capacity Survey (SCAP) asked local authorities to provide data on the capacity of special schools and the capacity of special educational needs units and resourced provision in mainstream schools.

The department now have a second year’s worth of data which tells us approximately how many places local authorities think were available on 1 May 2024. This is only approximate at the moment as it is the second year of data collection, and the data are still being developed in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

The survey also asked local authorities to submit forecasts for the number of pupils with education, health and care plans resident in their local authority who are expected to need a place in specialist provision.

Specialist capacity and forecast data for all local authorities can be accessed on GOV.UK here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-capacity/2023-24.

For the first time in 2023, the School Capacity Survey (SCAP) asked local authorities to provide data on the capacity of special schools and the capacity of special educational needs units and resourced provision in mainstream schools.

The department now have a second year’s worth of data which tells us approximately how many places local authorities think were available on 1 May 2024. This is only approximate at the moment as it is the second year of data collection, and the data are still being developed in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

The survey also asked local authorities to submit forecasts for the number of pupils with education, health and care plans resident in their local authority who are expected to need a place in specialist provision.

Specialist capacity and forecast data for all local authorities can be accessed on GOV.UK here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-capacity/2023-24.

The government’s ambition is that all children receive the support they need to achieve and thrive. Our home-to-school travel policy aims to make sure no child is prevented from accessing education by a lack of transport.

A child is eligible for free home-to-school transport if they are of compulsory school age (5 to 16), attend their nearest school and would not be able to walk there because of the distance, their special educational needs, disability or mobility problem, or the safety of the route. If they have an education, health and care plan, the school named in that plan will usually be considered their nearest for home-to-school transport purposes. There are extended rights to free travel for children from low-income households.

We have committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools so fewer children need to travel long distances to a school that can meet their needs and will bring forward a White Paper with plans to improve the special educational needs and disabilities system.

Teachers’ Pensions continue to issue members with their Remediable Service Statements whilst experiencing high levels of member contact. The department is in active discussions with Teachers’ Pensions regarding capacity planning and are continually exploring ways to improve waiting times and customer service, which includes recruiting additional staff and automating functions wherever possible.

Teachers’ Pensions are also monitoring factors that affect the progress of issuing Remediable Service Statements, such as average handling times, response rates and levels of enquiries. Updates are provided to members via the Teachers’ Pensions website. The latest update is available here: https://www.teacherspensions.co.uk/news/public-news/2025/04/delay-in-issuing-remediable-service-statements-rss.aspx.

The department’s home-to-school travel policy aims to make sure no child is prevented from accessing education by a lack of transport. Local authorities must arrange free home-to-school travel for children of compulsory school age, 5 to 16, who attend their nearest school and would not be able to walk there because of the distance, their special educational needs, disability or mobility problem, or because the nature of the route means it would be unsafe for them to do so. There are extended rights to free travel for children from low-income families.

We have committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools so fewer children need to travel long distances to a school that can meet their needs and will bring forward a White Paper with plans to improve the special educational needs and disabilities system.

I refer the hon. Member for Horsham to the answer of 8 September 2025 to Question 73095.

Maintained schools have a legal duty under section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 to “make arrangements” for supporting pupils with medical conditions, and must comply with their duties under the Equalities Act 2010. The NHS is responsible for meeting the health needs of people diagnosed with an illness or medical condition.

The regulatory arrangements for healthcare professionals provide for them to delegate the delivery of healthcare tasks where it is safe and reasonable to do so.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council Code and the Health and Care Professions Council Standards both include regulatory standards requiring registrants to delegate only when they are satisfied that the other person is competent to carry out the delegated task safely, and require the healthcare practitioner to supervise and support those who are delegated to. Where a healthcare task needs to be undertaken by a registered nurse, then it should not be delegated.

Maintained schools have a legal duty under section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 to “make arrangements” for supporting pupils with medical conditions, and must comply with their duties under the Equalities Act 2010. The NHS is responsible for meeting the health needs of people diagnosed with an illness or medical condition.

The regulatory arrangements for healthcare professionals provide for them to delegate the delivery of healthcare tasks where it is safe and reasonable to do so.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council Code and the Health and Care Professions Council Standards both include regulatory standards requiring registrants to delegate only when they are satisfied that the other person is competent to carry out the delegated task safely, and require the healthcare practitioner to supervise and support those who are delegated to. Where a healthcare task needs to be undertaken by a registered nurse, then it should not be delegated.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has responsibility for children and young people at Cabinet.

The government is committed to safeguarding and advancing children’s rights. The department firmly upholds the principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. It is important for all children, regardless of race, religion or abilities, to have equal civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights.

The government is developing a comprehensive strategy for post‐16 education and skills and will shortly publish the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper.