Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of a Substitute Teachers Register to help ensure supply teachers are not underpaid or maltreated by their employer.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Sheffield Hallam to the answer of 26 February 2026 to Question 109848
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department's announcement of 11 February 2026 entitled 10-year plan to revitalise schools and colleges for every child, how many and what proportion of secondary schools do not have an inclusion base, SEN units or pupil support unit.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The number of state-funded secondary schools with resourced provision or special educational needs units, as of January 2025, was 485. This represents 14% of all state-funded secondary schools.
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 promote teaching as a career path for young people and current teachers.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Since July 2024, this government has taken targeted action to boost teacher supply. This work started with our reset of the relationship with the sector, to re-establish teaching as an attractive profession, making it one that existing teachers want to remain in, former teachers want to return to, and new graduates wish to join. We have published our delivery plan for 6,500 new expert teachers, focusing delivery across three key themes:
We are offering recruitment incentives in the subjects where they are needed most, with significant investment in tax-free teacher training bursaries and scholarships of up to £31,000 for school and college teachers.
We have recognised the importance of teachers with a pay rise for school teachers and leaders of nearly 10% since this government took power.
Our approach is already starting to pay-off, with the secondary and special school workforce growing by 2,346 teachers between 2023/24 and 2024/25.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
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 changes to SEND funding on mainstream school budgets in Maidenhead.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Nationally, mainstream school funding allocated through the dedicated schools grant (DSG) is increasing by 2.6% per pupil, from £6,608 in 2025/26 to £6,778 in 2026/27. This brings total funding for mainstream schools through the DSG schools block to £50.5 billion in 2026/27. This will support mainstream schools with ongoing costs and deliver an excellent education for all, including pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
From 2026/27 onwards, we will provide £1.6 billion for a new Inclusive Mainstream Fund over three years.
We will provide more details on how this funding will be distributed in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of current Initial Teacher Training provision in preparing teachers to support children with speech and language needs.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department is committed to improving support for all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including pupils with speech and language needs.
Courses must incorporate the minimum entitlement set out in the Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework. It remains for individual providers to design courses that are appropriate to the needs of trainees and for the subject, phase and age range that the trainees will be teaching.
We have recently updated the Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework, adding significantly more content related to adaptive teaching and improving inclusivity for pupils with SEND.
We have also committed to a full review of early career teacher training in 2027, which will include a focus on SEND.
In addition, we have announced a training package of over £200 million that will upskill staff in every school, college and nursery to better support pupils with SEND. Finally, we know the importance of ensuring children can speak and listen well from the earliest years, so we will develop a new oracy framework to sit alongside the revised national curriculum.
Asked by: Lord Mott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of free school breakfasts on school attendance in (1) early years, (2) primary school, and (3) secondary school, settings in England in the past 12 months.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Free breakfast clubs are for schools with primary-aged pupils, so that we make sure we give the youngest pupils the best start in life whilst helping parents with costs of childcare. Free breakfast clubs remove barriers to opportunity by offering primary school children, no matter their circumstance, a supportive start to the school day. School leaders report that free breakfast clubs are improving punctuality, attendance, behaviour and concentration. We have an ongoing free breakfast club programme evaluation which aims to build evidence and insights into impact on attendance for primary-age pupils.
Asked by: Lord Mott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the change in prevalence of child morning hunger in (1) early years, (2) primary school, and (3) secondary school, settings in England in the past 12 months.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department appreciates the publication of the report and looks forward to giving it our full consideration. This government is committed to tackling child poverty and delivering meaningful action to support children and families. The removal of the two- child limit on Universal Credit will lift 450,000 children out of poverty, rising to around 550,000 alongside other measures set out in our Child Poverty Strategy, such as the expansion of free school meals. These interventions will lead to the largest expected reduction in child poverty over a Parliament since comparable records began.
We recognise the importance of a healthy breakfast at the start of the day for pupils and the impact this can have on attendance and readiness to learn. This is why we are rolling out free breakfast clubs in every state-funded school with primary-aged pupils in England, so that all children can have the best start in life. Since April 2025, the programme has delivered 7 million meals to almost 180,000 pupils across the country. We are investing a further £80 million to fund approximately 2,000 additional schools between April 2026 and March 2027.
Asked by: Lord Mott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the findings in the report by Magic Breakfast, Root causes of child morning hunger, published on 9 March.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department appreciates the publication of the report and looks forward to giving it our full consideration. This government is committed to tackling child poverty and delivering meaningful action to support children and families. The removal of the two- child limit on Universal Credit will lift 450,000 children out of poverty, rising to around 550,000 alongside other measures set out in our Child Poverty Strategy, such as the expansion of free school meals. These interventions will lead to the largest expected reduction in child poverty over a Parliament since comparable records began.
We recognise the importance of a healthy breakfast at the start of the day for pupils and the impact this can have on attendance and readiness to learn. This is why we are rolling out free breakfast clubs in every state-funded school with primary-aged pupils in England, so that all children can have the best start in life. Since April 2025, the programme has delivered 7 million meals to almost 180,000 pupils across the country. We are investing a further £80 million to fund approximately 2,000 additional schools between April 2026 and March 2027.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will (a) complete a full skills audit of staff within her Department and (b) share that audit with trade unions.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department supports 15 professions to which we encourage staff to align themselves, and we collect data monthly on the number of members of each. As part of the Government Skills Campus platform, which is currently in development, the department is exploring the most effective ways to capture the live skills of staff. The department will then seek to agree with trade unions an appropriate approach to sharing this data.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the (a) availability and (b) consistency of guidance offered to parents of children with communication difficulties.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
As part of our new investment, schools will be able to access support, advice, training and specialist expertise from professionals such as speech and language therapists, educational psychologists, occupational therapists and specialist teachers. These experts will work directly with school staff to equip them with the skills and strategies to better meet need, including delivering group‑level interventions to address needs early and effectively.
We will also set out guidance on inclusive, evidence-based ordinarily available provision through the National Inclusion Standards, to support all mainstream settings to meet the needs of all children and young people effectively. Schools will be required to produce an Inclusion Strategy, encouraging effective cohort-level planning for common and predictable needs and the meaningful implementation of inclusive education.
We also continue to involve and engage with families and special educational needs and disabilities stakeholders through our Participation and Family Support programme.