Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help prevent AI-driven plagiarism in schools.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The majority of GCSE and A level assessments are taken as written exams under close staff supervision, without access to the internet or artificial intelligence (AI) tools, which prevents the use of AI-generated material in most assessments.
The department is working closely with Ofqual and the wider sector to understand the risks associated with generative AI and to ensure appropriate mitigations are in place.
Strict rules, set by exam boards, are already in place to ensure that students’ work is their own, and sanctions for malpractice are severe, including the possibility of disqualification. Schools and teachers know their students best and are experienced in identifying their individual students’ work.
To support the sector, the Joint Council for Qualifications has published guidance for teachers and exam centres to help prevent and identify potential malpractice involving the misuse of AI in assessments. The guidance is available here: https://www.jcq.org.uk/knowledge-hub/ai-use-in-assessments-your-role-in-protecting-the-integrity-of-qualifications/.
Ofqual, as the independent regulator, has also published its overall approach to regulating AI use in the qualifications sector. The approach can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ofquals-approach-to-regulating-the-use-of-artificial-intelligence-in-the-qualifications-sector.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to engage with the autism community to ensure that public opinion is captured for the SEND Reform White Paper without the need to provide a written submission to the consultation.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
On Monday 23 February, we launched a full 12-week consultation on our special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms because we want to hear directly from people across the country who have an interest in these reforms and build on our national conversation.
There are three ways that we are ensuring we capture the views of those who are part of the SEND community. First, we are hosting a series of online and in-person events throughout the consultation period, including sessions delivered in partnership with the Council for Disabled Children. More information on these sessions will be advertised in the coming weeks.
Second, we are engaging with a range of SEND organisations, including autism organisations, and representatives of those organisations will also be on ministerial engagement groups. Members of our Expert Advisory Group for Inclusion, SEND Development Group, and Complex Needs Group have autism expertise, and we also plan to engage with representatives from other organisations that specialise in autism at our planned deep dives. We are also engaging with academics in this space. Finally, we continue to engage with young people, including those with autism, on the consultation as we did pre-publication.
Third, the department has a dedicated mailbox for SEND reform consultation responses and is accepting non-written as well as written responses to consultation questions. The mailbox is available at: SENDreform.CONSULTATION@education.gov.uk.
The consultation, including accessible versions, can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/send-reform-putting-children-and-young-people-first.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the availability and accessibility of supported apprenticeships and supported internships for young people with Education, Health and Care Plans; whether a centrally held list of such apprenticeships and internships exists at a national or regional level; which Department or body is responsible for maintaining and communicating that information; and what steps are being taken to (a) improve transparency, (b) ensure such information is made publicly available and (c) ensure timely and coordinated responses between relevant Departments in supporting young people into suitable placements.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Since 2022, the department has invested around £33 million in supported internships to provide more opportunities for young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to transition into sustained, paid employment.
As set out in the SEND Code of Practice, local authorities must keep their educational and training provision under review, including the sufficiency of provision, and each local authority’s local offer must include information on supported internships.
The availability of apprenticeships is determined by employers choosing to offer apprenticeship opportunities. The ‘Find an Apprenticeship’ service allows people to identify opportunities from Disability Confident employers.
The government is working to ensure that a learning difficulty or disability is not a barrier to people who want to realise the benefits of an apprenticeship. Additional Learning Support funding is available to training providers to make reasonable adjustments to support apprentices with learning difficulties and disabilities. The government also pays £1,000 to both employers and providers for apprentices aged 16 to 18 and for apprentices aged 19 to 24 who have an education, health and care plan, or have been, or are, in local authority care.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure teachers are equipped to deal with student mental health challenges.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The government will provide access to NHS-funded mental health support teams (MHSTs) in every school by 2029, with around six in ten pupils expected to have access by April 2026. Data for 2024/25 is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/transforming-children-and-young-peoples-mental-health-provision.
MHSTs supplement existing pastoral provision, and schools retain the freedom to determine support based on pupil need, making best use of their funding.
Alongside providing direct support to pupils, MHSTs can also work with the mental health lead in each school to introduce or develop a whole-school approach to mental health.
The department also encourages whole-school approaches to promoting children and young people's mental health and wellbeing, which includes schools equipping teachers with the skills and knowledge to recognise and respond appropriately to pupil’s mental health needs. The department’s guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/promoting-children-and-young-peoples-emotional-health-and-wellbeing.
To support education staff, the department provides a resource hub for mental health leads, and a targeted support guide and hub to help choose evidence-based targeted support for pupils.
Asked by: Bobby Dean (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the rate at which boys move from Children in Need status to becoming looked-after children; and what analysis has been undertaken of the specific support needs of boys who experience this escalation.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Information on the rate at which boys move from children in need status to becoming looked after children is not readily available, nor has the department undertaken any analysis of the specific support needs of boys who experience this escalation.
The latest children in need statistics were published in October 2025 and show that there were 220,210 male children in need as at 31 March 2025. This figure includes the 46,040 boys who were looked after on the same date. These statistics are available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-in-need/2025.
The latest children looked after statistics were published in November 2025, and can be found at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions/2025.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to streamline the process of safeguarding referrals from schools to local authorities.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, we are strengthening the role of education and childcare in multi-agency safeguarding arrangements to better protect children from abuse, neglect, and exploitation.
All schools must also have regard to the ‘Keeping children safe in education’ statutory guidance when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. Part one of this guidance sets out what all staff need to know and do if they have any concerns about a child, including the process for making referrals to local authority children’s social care and for statutory assessments.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to page 22 of her Department's consultation document entitled SEND Reform: Putting Children and Young People First, CP1509, when will schools in Huntingdonshire have to publish a legal Inclusion Strategy.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
In the recent consultation ‘SEND reform: putting children and young people first’, the government proposed holding schools to account on how they will take meaningful steps to invest in inclusion through a published Inclusion Strategy.
On 25 March 2026, the department published the inclusive mainstream fund (IMF) methodology alongside best practice for schools. These documents provided detail on the requirement on schools to produce an Inclusion Strategy, along with information on how the IMF will be allocated to support schools’ inclusive practice. More information on how to produce an effective and ambitious Inclusion Strategy will be published soon.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to provide additional support to schools to help students with their mental health.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The government will provide access to NHS-funded mental health support teams (MHSTs) in every school by 2029, with around six in ten pupils expected to have access by April 2026. Data for 2024/25 is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/transforming-children-and-young-peoples-mental-health-provision.
MHSTs supplement existing pastoral provision, and schools retain the freedom to determine support based on pupil need, making best use of their funding.
Alongside providing direct support to pupils, MHSTs can also work with the mental health lead in each school to introduce or develop a whole-school approach to mental health.
The department also encourages whole-school approaches to promoting children and young people's mental health and wellbeing, which includes schools equipping teachers with the skills and knowledge to recognise and respond appropriately to pupil’s mental health needs. The department’s guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/promoting-children-and-young-peoples-emotional-health-and-wellbeing.
To support education staff, the department provides a resource hub for mental health leads, and a targeted support guide and hub to help choose evidence-based targeted support for pupils.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assistance her Department provides for young people seeking employment upon leaving school.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Young people must continue in education or training until their 18th birthday and may do so through full-time study, full-time work or volunteering combined with part-time learning, or an apprenticeship, while local authorities hold statutory duties to identify and support those needing help, including young people who are not in education, employment or training.
Apprenticeships allow young people to earn and learn. Employers receive financial support to hire young apprentices, including up to £2,000 for small and medium sized enterprises taking on 16 to 24-year-old new starters. Foundation apprenticeships were introduced in August 2025, to give young people a route into critical sectors.
Through the Careers and Enterprise Company, the department is supporting schools to deliver high quality, employer-led careers advice, giving young people clearer insight into the full range of pathways available. We are also bridging the gap between education and work with our commitment to two weeks’ worth of work experience for every secondary pupil.
The Post 16 Education and Skills White Paper set out major reforms, including new Vocational Levels alongside A Levels and T Levels, a further study pathway with a Foundation Certificate, and an occupational pathway with an Occupational Certificate to support progression into study, work or apprenticeships.
For those who want to move into work after they are 18 but cannot find work, the Department for Work and Pensions is strengthening support through the Youth Guarantee, supported by £2.5 billion of investment to create 500,000 opportunities for young people to earn and learn. This includes the delivery of eight Youth Guarantee trailblazers in England, the expansion of Youth Hubs to more than 360 areas across Great Britain, and the introduction of a new Youth Guarantee Gateway in jobcentres, providing more intensive support to 16 to 24-year-olds.
Together these measures demonstrate the government’s commitment to backing young people.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve access to Portage services.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
On 23 February, the government published its ‘Every Child Achieving and Thriving’ White Paper where we announced new investment of over £200 million over three years to strengthen the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) offer in Best Start Family Hubs. This includes funding for a family-facing practitioner in every hub to support children with additional needs and their families from the earliest stages.
Our reforms to the SEND system will give families a more joined up local offer, with Best Start Family Hubs, early years settings, local authorities and health partners working together to ensure children with SEND and their families get the support they need. Portage services play an important role in supporting children with additional needs and Best Start Family Hubs will join up local services and build capacity through partnership working in every community.
Best Start Family Hubs guidance was published on 30 March and is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/every-child-achieving-and-thriving.