Asked by: Baroness Bull (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of requiring GCSE mathematics as an entry qualification to future study and careers on individuals with dyscalculia or other mathematics learning disabilities, including in professions with limited mathematical demands such as English teaching, social work, or the Armed Forces; and whether they have considered this requirement in the context of the Equality Act 2010.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Students aged 16 to 19 on study programmes or T Levels who have not achieved a grade 4 in GCSE English or mathematics must continue studying these subjects. If a student has a grade 3 in GCSE mathematics, they are expected to work toward a GCSE, as these students are closest to securing grade 4 or above. Those with grade 2 or below can study either a GCSE or a Level 2 Functional Skills qualification.
The recently published Post-16 education and skills white paper sets out our plan to support more eligible students to improve their grade and, wherever possible, achieve a GCSE grade 4+ English and mathematics by the time they leave 16 to 19 education. This includes developing new 16 to19 level 1 stepping stone qualifications as a preparation for GCSE to better support lower prior attaining students to progress. The department plans to consult on these qualifications in early 2026.
Entry requirements for further education courses are not set by the department. They are decided by individual providers based on the course and their own policies. All accredited initial teacher training (ITT) providers must ensure that, in the case of graduate programmes of ITT, all entrants hold a first degree from a United Kingdom higher education institution or equivalent qualification.
As part of our Plan for Change, the department is committed to improving the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system. We want schools to better identify and support children early, before issues escalate. We are working closely with children, parents, and experts to shape these plans and ensure every young person gets the support and opportunities they deserve.
In September 2025, the department introduced the early career teacher entitlement (ECTE). The ECTE revised and improved the delivery of what we formerly referred to as the early career framework programme, maintaining the grounding in evidence, to ensure the highest standards of professional development for new teachers. There is now significantly more content related to adaptive teaching and supporting pupils with SEND. The adaptive teaching content includes, for example, developing an understanding of different pupil needs, and learning how to provide opportunities for success for all pupils.
The department funds a national network of Maths Hubs, aiming to help teachers in state-funded schools teach maths effectively to all children. Maths Hubs encourage practice such as quick and systematic identification of gaps in learning, and requisite support to prevent pupils falling behind.
Asked by: Baroness Bull (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to close the research funding gap between dyscalculia and dyslexia, where the funding for dyscalculia research is significantly lower than that of dyslexia, despite research suggesting that the two conditions have comparable prevalence rates and life consequences.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department does not fund specific standalone research into either dyscalculia or dyslexia
Recently published evidence reviews from University College London ‘Identifying and supporting children and young people with cognition and learning needs: a rapid evidence review’ will help to drive inclusive practices as they highlight what the best available evidence suggests are the most effective tools, strategies and approaches for teachers and other relevant staff in mainstream settings to identify and support children and young people (0-25) with different types of needs. This report is attached.
In addition, the What Works in SEND research programme, led by a research team from University of Warwick and supported by special educational needs and disabilities academics from the University of Birmingham, is researching tools settings can use to identify the needs of neurodivergent children and young people.
Both of these programmes will support the teaching of children with special educational needs, including dyscalculia.
Asked by: Baroness Bull (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government why educational psychologists are not required to learn about dyscalculia as part of their training, but they are required to learn about dyslexia.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Educational psychologists play a critical role in the support available to children and young people, including those with special educational needs and disabilities. That is why we are already investing over £21 million to train 400 more educational psychologists over two cohorts, starting their studies in 2024 and 2025. This is in addition to the £10 million currently being invested in the training of over 200 educational psychologists who began their training in September 2023.
The Educational Psychology Funded Training scheme is a three-year doctorate programme delivered by universities on behalf of the department. The courses are approved by the Health and Care Professions Council and accredited by the British Psychological Society, who set programme content requirements. The curriculum includes 'individual differences in Maths difficulties', which we expect would cover conditions such as dyscalculia.
Asked by: Baroness Bull (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the announcement on 19 June of new plans to give every child access to high-quality physical education and sport at school, whether dance activities will count towards the two hours of physical education schools will offer each week; and whether local dance schools and clubs will be included in the new national network of schools, local clubs and National Governing Bodies.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Dance is part of the physical education (PE) national curriculum at key stages 1, 2, and 3.
One of the roles of the new national network is to support the delivery of high-quality PE, including dance. The department will engage schools and stakeholder organisations when drawing up the detailed design of networks, including how to make links to dance providers.
In March the department also announced plans to establish a new National Centre for Arts and Music Education from September 2026 onwards. Its aim is to ensure young people across the country have greater access to high-quality arts education and wider creative opportunities. It will do this by supporting the delivery of high-quality arts education subjects, including art and design, drama, music and dance, through training and development for teachers, promoting opportunities for children and young people to pursue their artistic and creative interests in school, and by boosting partnerships between schools and cultural providers.
The government is also developing an Enrichment Framework, ensuring that all young people have equal access to high-quality extracurricular activities.
Asked by: Baroness Bull (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 26 February (HL4587), which sector experts and stakeholders (1) the Neurodivergence Task and Finish Group, and (2) the Expert Advisory Group for Inclusion, have invited for collaboration; and whether those invited included experts on dyscalculia and stakeholders engaged with dyscalculia.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In the terms of reference for both the Neurodivergence Task and Finish Group (NDTFG) and the Expert Advisory Group for Inclusion (EAG), the department has been clear that in developing their advice, both groups are expected to draw on a wide range of inputs.
The groups have engaged stakeholders such as children and young people, parents and carers, teachers, unions and employer organisations, local authorities and wider special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) sector experts, as well as working alongside the department’s SEND strategic advisor, Dame Christine Lenehan. The EAG has also recently launched a sector-led call for evidence, working with ImpactED Group, to identify examples of good, inclusive practice in mainstream schools across the country. The NDTFG has engaged with stakeholders working on dyscalculia and will continue to work with them as they develop their recommendations and advice to Ministers.
Asked by: Baroness Bull (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Initial teacher training and early career framework published on 30 January 2024, when the enhanced requirements on Early Career Teacher training lead providers in creating special educational needs and disabilities exemplification materials will be published; which experts they consulted in the development of those requirements; and whether dyscalculia will be represented in those materials.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The most important in-school factor in determining children’s educational outcomes is high-quality teaching. This is particularly important for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The department knows from feedback that training is most beneficial when it feels relevant to an early career teacher (ECT) context and that too often ECTs feel unprepared and unsupported to teach pupils with SEND.
During 2023, the department reviewed the initial teacher training core content framework and the early career framework to ensure they remained based on the most up-to-date evidence. This review paid particular attention to the needs of trainees and ECTs when supporting pupils with SEND. As part of the review process, we analysed evaluation data and feedback, which included discussions with lead providers, senior school leaders, induction tutors, and mentors and ECTs. We also worked closely and regularly met with groups of influential educational stakeholders. These were representative groups who acted in an advisory capacity, and included SEND educational specialists.
As a result of this review, the updated Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework (ITTECF), which will underpin training for trainee and ECTs from September 2025, contains significantly more content related to adaptive teaching and supporting pupils with SEND. The department has also enhanced the requirement on lead providers of ECT training to develop SEND training materials.
The department has procured 5 lead providers to deliver a funded provider-led training programme for ECTs based on the new and updated ITTECF from September 2025. Providers are responsible for developing a training programme which must cover the content of the ITTECF in full. The materials on which each programme is based have been accredited by the department and quality assured by the Education Endowment Foundation. Where appropriate, training sessions and self-study materials will include exemplification of a range of subjects, phases and contexts to help ECTs feel more confident in responding to the needs of all pupils, including pupils with SEND. It is incumbent on providers to determine the full curriculum, including how to ensure coverage of all framework statements within the limited training time. As such, there is no requirement that the training programmes detail approaches specific to particular additional needs.
The procurement required providers to evidence how their organisation would ensure they have access to SEND expertise and they were also required to submit materials for assessment which included supporting pupils with SEND.
The funded training programmes will be available from September 2025. In addition to the funded provider-led training programmes, 2 lead providers will also supply materials and resources which cover the ITTECF in full to enable schools to deliver their own training for ECTs. These materials will be freely available to schools from summer 2025.
Asked by: Baroness Bull (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the relationship between government support for dance students on the Music and Dance Scheme and (1) the success of UK-trained dance students in international dance competitions, and (2) the continuing prominence of UK-trained dancers on the international stage.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department regularly reviews information from Music and Dance Scheme (MDS) providers about the post-MDS activities of their students in relation to education and employment.
Providers do not share information with the department relating to MDS alumni involved in international dance competitions or their prominence on the international stage.
Asked by: Baroness Bull (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to introducing screening tests to identify early difficulties with numeracy; and whether those tests could take place at the same time and in a similar format to the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check, which helps educators identify problems with literacy.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Curriculum and Assessment Review, covering key stages 1 to 5, is ongoing and ministers will consider its recommendations, including any on primary assessment.
In addition to the duty on schools to carry out statutory national curriculum assessments, schools also administer their own classroom assessments. The department provides optional end of key stage 1 tests and teacher assessment frameworks for English and mathematics to support schools in this work.
Asked by: Baroness Bull (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government when the terms of reference for the Neurodivergence Task and Finish Group will be announced on the Department for Education webpages; and whether there will be expert representation of all Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, in particular dyscalculia, in both the Neurodivergence Task and Finish Group and in the Expert Advisory Group on Inclusion.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The terms of reference for both the Neurodivergence Task and Finish Group and Expert Advisory Group have now been published on GOV.UK along with the associated membership lists. These terms of reference are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/neurodivergence-task-and-finish-group and https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/send-inclusion-in-education-expert-group.
The Neurodivergence Task and Finish group consists of academics, scientists, clinicians, sector charities and education experts. The members of the Expert Advisory Group for Inclusion have a range of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) specialist knowledge and expertise. They are all well-established and trusted voices within the SEND and wider education sector.
In both cases, we have kept the group’s membership small to allow them to be focused, but we expect both groups and the department’s new Strategic Advisor for SEND, Dame Christine Lenehan, to collaborate with other sector experts and stakeholders in order to enrich the input into the groups and ensure appropriate coverage of all neurodivergent conditions, including dyscalculia. Together, the groups aim to inform and challenge the governments thinking on how to best improve mainstream education for all children and young people with special educational needs.
Asked by: Baroness Bull (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the prevalence of dyscalculia; and how many school-age children receive a formal diagnosis of dyscalculia each year.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is not held centrally.
The department collects information on the special educational needs (SEN) of pupils in schools and the SEN of children and young people with an education, health and care (EHC) plan. Both of these data collections use the following categories:
Dyscalculia cannot be identified separately in the collected data.
Information on the SEN of pupils is published in the department’s ‘Special educational needs in England’ publication, which can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england.
Information on EHC plans maintained by local authorities is published in the department’s ‘Education, health and care plans’ publication, which can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-health-and-care-plans.