Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the support available to schools for hockey provision.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Schools play a vital role in giving many pupils their first experience of playing sport, including hockey, in a structured and inclusive environment. This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity so that every child can access high quality physical education and school sport.
That is why, in June 2025, my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister announced a new approach to PE and school sport, focused on building strong partnerships between schools, local clubs and National Governing Bodies of sport, such as England Hockey, to support greater participation and physical activity.
National Governing Bodies provide valuable resources, workforce development and teacher support to help schools deliver high‑quality sporting opportunities, both within the PE curriculum and through enrichment activity. The department is preparing to procure a national partner to lead the new PE and School Sport Partnerships, which will provide an opportunity to regularly assess the adequacy of support available to schools across PE and school sport, including hockey provision.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of children with SEND are out of education.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department publishes data on compulsory school-aged children missing education (children not registered at school or otherwise receiving suitable education). In autumn 2025/26, local authorities in England reported 34,700 children missing education.
Of this total, just under 8% of children were recorded as requiring SEN support and just over 8% were recorded as having an education, health and care plan. This compares with 14% and 5%, for the overall school population.
Asked by: Laurence Turner (Labour - Birmingham Northfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what funding has been allocated to the construction of the Frankley Hill specialist school in New Frankley, Birmingham.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Frankley Hill School in Birmingham is currently at an early stage of development. At this stage, a specific project budget has not yet been confirmed. A feasibility study is underway, including site surveys and initial design work, which will inform the overall project budget.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what factors have affected the timing of her responses to Questions (a) 96357, (b) 96475 and (c) 96477.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The response to Written Parliamentary Questions 96357, 96475 and 96477 was published on 20th April 2026.
Asked by: Rosie Duffield (Independent - Canterbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on the future sustainability and funding of the Music and Dance Scheme; and what steps she is taking to support young musicians and dancers.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Canterbury to the answer of 12 February 2026 to Question 111333.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take legislative steps to ensure kinship carers receive an allowance equivalent to that provided to foster carers.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Kinship carers play a vital role in providing stable, loving homes for children who cannot live with their parents, and the government recognises the significant contribution they make.
The department is testing the impact of financial support through the Kinship Zones pilot, including an allowance set at the fostering National Minimum Allowance. This pilot is designed to support up to 5,000 families over the life of the pilot, with over £126 million confirmed for the first two years while we test and learn.
The pilot is exploring how this can improve outcomes for children in kinship care and provide greater stability for families. An independent evaluation will track outcomes for carers and children and will inform any future policy decisions.
The department is also investing in wider support for kinship families, including ensuring all local authorities publish a kinship local offer and that all kinship carers have access to free information, support and peer group services nationally.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of trends in the level of children’s happiness at school.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department is committed to improving pupils’ experience of school, which can affect attendance, engagement, attainment and wider wellbeing.
As set out in the Every Child Achieving and Thriving white paper, the government will work with partners to produce a Pupil Engagement Framework to be published later this year. This framework will help schools to measure and improve the key factors that determine pupils’ engagement in education, including their sense of belonging and safety, inclusion and relationships with teachers and fellow pupils. By the end of the Parliament, we expect every school to monitor children’s sense of belonging and engagement, up from around 60% of schools today, and take action in line with the Framework so more children, including those who are disadvantaged or have special educational needs and disabilities, will feel a strong sense of belonging in school.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will (a) introduce a dedicated employment status for foster carers, (b) establish an independent register and appeals system for foster carers and (c) launch a public inquiry into the fostering system.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Fostering is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
The government does not believe that fostering should be considered a form of employment. Foster care is a family-based vocation and fostering homes should feel like family homes with people who love them, not a workplace with staff. Foster carers should not need to be considered workers to get the support and respect they deserve.
The department recently launched a Call for Evidence on a national fostering register, including purpose, scope, design features and safeguards. We are analysing responses and will publish results and our response in the summer. The Independent Review Mechanism provides independent panels that review decisions made by fostering providers.
Our focus is on delivering on our ambitious action plan to renew foster care, published in February 2026. By April 2029, we will create 10,000 more foster places, providing a foster place for every child who needs one. We have no current plans to launch a fostering inquiry. There have been several independent reviews into fostering and the wider care system, including ‘Foster Care in England’ (2018), the ‘Independent Review of Children’s Social Care’ (2022) and the Education Select Committee’s 2025 inquiry into Children’s Social Care.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with local authorities in Surrey on delivering Best Start Family Hubs in the area.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The government has committed to provide funding for all local authorities to deliver Best Start Family Hubs, backed by over £900 million. In October 2025, the department paid a £351,991 development grant to Surrey local authority, the start of the investment to be provided to rebuild family services. Surrey local authority has a funding allocation of £7,709,100.00 to deliver Best Start Family Hubs from 2026/29 and they now have two Best Start Family Hubs open in Guildford and Reigate.
The department works closely with local authorities to monitor implementation and ensure they are meeting programme expectations. Each local authority has a named contact responsible for overseeing delivery, and the department intends to work in close partnership with local authorities to review progress, share effective practice, and ensure areas are appropriately supported to drive improvements for children and families. Guidance for Best Start Family Hubs and Healthy Babies was provided to local authorities on delivery expectations for April 2026 to March 2029 and is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/best-start-family-hubs-and-healthy-babies-guidance-for-local-authorities.
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Sutton Trust’s Selective Inclusion report, what assessment she has made of the extent to which low-income pupils with SEND are currently underrepresented in the top-performing comprehensive schools.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The School Admissions Code requires admission arrangements to be fair, clear and objective. A school must admit a child where it is named in the child’s education health and care plan.
The ‘Every Child Achieving and Thriving’ White Paper sets out the government’s commitment to developing new resources to support and encourage schools to use existing provisions within the Code, such as a pupil premium priority, to adopt more inclusive admission arrangements. We have also committed to strengthen scrutiny of all pupil movement including unacceptable off-rolling practice by developing a new, internal dashboard that identifies school level trends in how children move through the education system, paying particular attention to schools where special educational needs and disabilities, free school meals or demographic trends appear significantly out of sync with their local context.