Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of childcare costs on the ability of parents to undertake postgraduate study.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
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.
Student parents are eligible for the universal 15 hours of free early education which is available to all 3 and 4-year-olds regardless of family circumstances.
Students who work in addition to studying may be eligible for 30 hours free childcare if they meet the income requirements.
The government recognises the value of parents continuing in education and provides a range of support for students in higher education to support them with childcare.
Support available to full-time students with dependent children includes the Childcare Grant and Parents’ Learning Allowance. Entitlement to these grants is based on a student’s household income.
Further information on the childcare offers available to parents can be found at: https://www.beststartinlife.gov.uk/.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the risk of using rubber crumb infill in synthetic turf pitches in schools, in light of the ban on safety grounds on disposing of shredded tyre material in landfill sites and with reference to possible (a) inhalation, (b) ingestion and (c) skin absorption of toxic particles.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Responsible bodies are responsible for managing premises, including for health and safety. They should ensure risk assessments are conducted and measures taken to minimise known critical risks, following Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidance.
Guidance on promoting good hygiene when taking part in physical activity is available to schools at: https://resources.thegma.org.uk/sportshygiene.
The department’s technical guidance, due to be updated early 2026, outlines alternative pitch materials. While primarily intended for new build schools, this advice is available for wider use and outlines the merits of each material.
The department continues to work with other government departments, including the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Department for Culture Media and Sport, the UK Health Security Agency and HSE, to ensure any advice and guidance in this area aligns with best practice and the latest scientific evidence.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to a) reduce public access to and b) ensure the online security of the Children Not in School Register proposed in the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Section 436C of the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill prohibits information from a local authority Children Not in School register being published or made public in a way that would include the name or address of a parent or eligible child or that would identify them.
The department will highlight in statutory guidance that we expect registers to be held securely on local authority systems. Local authorities should have an appropriate data protection policy document and privacy notice regarding the processing of personal data and its secure storage and destruction. We are continuing to engage with the Information Commissioner’s office to ensure that appropriate mitigations are in place for any risks identified.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with the Home Secretary on plans to end the use of strip search powers against minors.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is committed to introducing new legal safeguards around the strip search of children. Department officials are working with officials from the Home Office to deliver this important commitment.
Strip search is one of the most intrusive powers available to the police, and the government is clear that such searches must only be conducted when absolutely necessary in order to protect people, prevent harm, or secure evidence. This must always be done with full regard for the dignity and welfare of the individual involved, particularly where the individual is a child.
The ’Searching, Screening and Confiscation guidance for schools’ supports head teachers and staff to fully understand their rights and the rights of the child, so that searching powers are used in a way that ensures schools are calm, safe and supportive environments in which to learn and work.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the provision of agricultural education in schools.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education meets with Cabinet colleagues, including my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on the actions she is taking to secure high quality education for all pupils, but has not met to discuss agricultural education as a discrete issue.
The national curriculum is a framework designed to give teachers the flexibility to cover particular topics in greater depth if they wish. For example, giving them the freedom to teach about agriculture within the geography and science curricula.
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Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people undertook the Essential Digital Skills qualification in the past two years and how many did not complete the course.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
In the 2024/25 academic year, there were 23,930 aim enrolments and 19,320 aim achievements on Essential Digital Skills qualifications in England by adult further education and skills learners. In the 2023/24, academic year there were 28,430 and 22,310 respectively. These figures are published in additional supporting files accompanying the ’Further education and skills’ accredited official statistics publication and have been available since November 2025. The ‘Further education and skills’ publication is available at:
Aim enrolments and aim achievements are separate measures and should not be used to infer progress within an academic year. Additionally, learners may undertake or achieve more than one learning aim in an academic year.
Achievement rates for Essential Digital Skills qualifications are published in the national achievement rate tables in the ‘Further education and skills’ publication. The latest published data, available since March 2025, covers the 2023/24 academic year in England and is available at:
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Association of Colleges' report entitled From treatment to prevention: how colleges can build a healthier society, published in December 2025, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of access to further education colleges' adult community learning programmes on supporting public health outcomes for local people, including on the level of demand for primary care services.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The primary purpose of Tailored Learning, which includes what used to be called Community Learning, is to support learners into employment and to progress to further learning, in line with the overall purpose of the Adult Skills Fund.
It plays a vital role within adult learning provision of supporting those furthest from the workplace and in improving wider outcomes, such as the health and well-being of learners and equipping parents/carers to support their child’s learning.
It is an important stepping stone for learners, including disadvantaged learners, who are not ready for formal accredited learning or who would benefit from learning in a more informal way.
In the 2024/25 academic year, 62,390 learners participated in learning to improve their health and well-being.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to written statement HCWS1163 made on 15 December 2025, how much government funding has been given to date to each of the 28 mainstream free school projects ahead of their cancellation.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department provides capital funding for the acquisition of sites/land and the construction of free schools.
Where sites have been secured, details and costs of acquisitions will be set out on the Land Registry website. The department also publishes contract details and costs for all free school projects on Contracts Finder.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to written question 100178, if she will publish the criteria used by her Department to evaluate (a) the need for places, (b) value for money, (c) whether they would provide a distinctive or innovative education offer and (d) whether they would negatively affect other local schools.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
We have written to trusts, local authorities and members of Parliament setting out the position on individual projects, as well as offering more detailed feedback.
The department considered whether there was a strong need for the school in the medium term. We assessed published School Capacity data (SCAP24), in line with the department’s longstanding approach to assessing pipeline projects, as well as other data from local authorities, such as plans for future housing developments.
We also considered forecast costs of delivering each school, delivery issues such as finding a suitable site and whether projects would provide a distinctive local offer or risk negatively impacting other local schools.
Final decisions on projects where a ‘minded to cancel’ letter was issued, will be made once trusts and local authorities have had the opportunity to submit any new evidence. Representations should be made by 30 January 2026.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when her Department will resume approvals for applications made by schools to attain purchasing power agreements for the installation of solar panels.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
A temporary pause in Summer 2025 was quickly lifted and the programme is continuing as normal. Schools wishing to take forward solar projects via a Power Purchase Agreement should apply in the usual way following available guidance.