Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to expand access to practical trade-based qualifications within mainstream secondary schools before the age of 16, including through partnerships with further education colleges and local employers.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
There are 46 key stage 4 Technical Awards, which pupils can take alongside GCSEs. These qualifications cover broad sector areas such as health and social care, building and construction and support the development of knowledge and practical skills.
In 2024/25, 45% of students in state-funded schools took at least one Technical Award. The Curriculum and Assessment Review emphasised maintaining stability to allow these qualifications to embed fully in the system and did not propose significant reforms to change delivery or uptake at this stage.
School careers programmes introduce pupils to technical and trade occupations early. Under Provider Access legislation, schools must provide at least six opportunities for pupils in years 8 to 13 to meet technical education or apprenticeship providers. The Schools White Paper also sets out the department’s commitment to broadening pupils’ horizons by ensuring access to high quality careers advice and two weeks’ worth of work experience for every secondary pupil.
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when the Kinship Allowance Pilot will commence; and when she plans to publish the list of the ten selected local authorities participating in that pilot.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department announced on 27 February that the Kinship Allowance pilot will be delivered through the new Kinship Zones programme, which will operate in seven local authority areas: Bexley, Bolton, Newcastle, North East Lincolnshire, Medway, Thurrock and Wiltshire.
Delivery of support through the Kinship Zones will begin on 1 April 2026, with local authorities leading engagement with eligible kinship families ahead of the rollout.
The seven participating local authorities were selected following last year’s expression of interest process. The final seven were selected because they provided the strongest conditions for generating robust evidence across a diverse range of local contexts and helping the maximum number of children while remaining within budget constraints.
Details of the participating areas have already been published, and further information about the wider Kinship Zones programme is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-launches-investment-in-support-for-kinship-carers.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the balance between online safety measures and the development of digital literacy skills in young people aged 12 to 18.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
As set out in the department’s Schools White Paper, it is vital that children are supported to become digitally literate and confident users of technology. We must strike a healthy balance between preparing young people for a technologically enabled world, whilst not compromising on safety.
We have updated our generative AI safety standards, introducing measures that safeguard children’s cognitive and social-emotional development, protect their mental health, and guard against manipulation. We will also establish new sovereign education benchmarks to provide a trusted framework for evaluating how well AI models meet stringent safety standards and prevent harmful content.
Following the recommendations of the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, we are strengthening digital education through clarifying digital literacy content within the revised computing curriculum and working with experts to consider incorporating digital content in other subjects. Alongside this, updated relationships, sex and health education statutory guidance, required from September 2026, includes strengthened online safety content, including deepfakes.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how the £1.6 billion Inclusive Mainstream Fund will be allocated between (a) early years settings, (b) primary schools, (c) secondary schools and (d) post-16 institutions; and what accountability mechanisms will apply to that funding.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
We will publish methodology documents to explain the funding distribution of the Inclusive Mainstream Fund for early years settings, schools and 16-19 institutions in the spring.
In our recent publication 'SEND reform: putting children and young people first', we explained we will hold settings and trusts to account on how they take meaningful steps to invest in inclusion. More details can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/send-reform-putting-children-and-young-people-first.
Schools will be required to explain their plans to use their overall funding allocation to embed inclusive practice through a published Inclusion Strategy. 16-19 institutions will be required to demonstrate how they will use their inclusion funding in their Accountability Agreements. In early years settings, local authorities will play a role in ensuring providers use their inclusion funding to support inclusive practice. We will provide further detail on these arrangements in the spring.
Asked by: Jess Asato (Labour - Lowestoft)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to develop a National Trauma Strategy for England.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The government recognises that trauma can have a profound impact on children’s lives and that addressing it requires support from the whole of society.
The NHS provides specialist assessment, talking therapies and medical treatment for conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as self‑help resources and routes to urgent or ongoing psychological support.
Education settings also play an important role in identifying and supporting pupils affected by adversity, with the flexibility to choose the pastoral support that best meets their pupils’ needs. The department’s guidance emphasises creating safe, supportive environments and understanding the lasting impact trauma can have on wellbeing and learning.
The government is expanding mental health support teams to ensure access to specialist mental health professionals in all schools and colleges by 2029, alongside £13 million in pilots to enhance support for children with more complex needs, including those linked to trauma, neurodivergence and disordered eating.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
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 introducing Making Tax Digital at the same time as removing the wear and tear allowance on childminders.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department is taking a range of measures to support the financial sustainability of childminding businesses and other early years providers. From April 2026, local authorities will be required to pass at least 97% of their funding directly to providers.
In addition, the expansion of the early years entitlements is set to benefit childminders. The national average three and four-year-old hourly funding rate for local authorities is increasing by 4.1%, the two-year-old hourly funding rate is increasing by 3.3%, and the nine months to two-year-old hourly funding rate is increasing by 3.4%. Childminders may also benefit from the expected increase in demand for places.
Making Tax Digital standardises the way that sole traders record and claim business expenses. It could benefit childminders as it means that any business expenses related to childminding will be included in their tax calculations. We are however aware of the strength of feeling amongst childminders and those who work with them. The department has been talking regularly to Coram Pacey, HMRC and others to understand the issue, the effect that it is having on the childminding sector and to make sure that the concerns of childminders are clearly understood. The department emphasises its strong support for childminders, who continue to provide high quality and flexible early education, and do so in a way that families across the country greatly value.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether comparisons of the cost of maintained and independent special school placements take account of differences in (a) pupil needs, (b) placement complexity, and (c) length of placement.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Comparisons of the average cost of placements in different types of special school can be made at national level. The data collected on relevant local and central government expenditure is not differentiated on the basis of pupil needs, placement complexity or length of placement.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what projection she has made of the deficit in the High Needs block budgets of English councils between now and the start of FY 2028/9.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department has set out plans for a reformed special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system in the recent Schools White Paper. Our assessment of future SEND spending will be updated following the SEND consultation. From 2028/29, SEND spending will be covered by the overall government Departmental Expenditure Limit budget.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to provide support to schools in South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency where the number of pupils achieving a grade 4 or above in English and Maths is lower than the national average.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
We know unacceptable inequalities in outcomes exist across the country and at every phase of education.
The ‘Every child achieving and thriving’ White Paper establishes our plan to improve the outcomes of all children, building on support at home with a stretching, enriching and inclusive school experience.
Our ambition is that all children achieve higher standards and the disadvantage gap is halved, enabling 30,000 more disadvantaged young people passing their English and maths GCSEs than today.
The department has committed £28.3 million to drive standards in reading and writing, including the new continuing professional development programme for secondary schools, the Unlocking Reading programme, supporting struggling readers in key stage 3.
Our 40 maths hubs provide local school-to-school support to improve maths teaching, including Venn Essex Maths Hub in South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency.
We will go further by deepening the partnership between maths and English hubs and the Universal Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence programme, and strengthening and extending Maths Hubs programmes in reception to boost early numeracy.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of GCSE a) English and b) Maths attainment in South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency over the last two years.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
We know unacceptable inequalities in outcomes exist across the country and at every phase of education.
The ‘Every child achieving and thriving’ White Paper establishes our plan to improve the outcomes of all children, building on support at home with a stretching, enriching and inclusive school experience.
Our ambition is that all children achieve higher standards and the disadvantage gap is halved, enabling 30,000 more disadvantaged young people passing their English and maths GCSEs than today.
The department has committed £28.3 million to drive standards in reading and writing, including the new continuing professional development programme for secondary schools, the Unlocking Reading programme, supporting struggling readers in key stage 3.
Our 40 maths hubs provide local school-to-school support to improve maths teaching, including Venn Essex Maths Hub in South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency.
We will go further by deepening the partnership between maths and English hubs and the Universal Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence programme, and strengthening and extending Maths Hubs programmes in reception to boost early numeracy.