Asked by: Baroness Freeman of Steventon (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what diploma qualifications they will fund for trainee stonemasons from September 2026.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
On 20 October 2025, alongside the publication of the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper, the department published a consultation on post-16 level 3 and below pathways, which closed on 12 January 2026. As part of our consultation, we have been engaging with the sector on transition arrangements. We will set out our response to the consultation in due course.
We will update the information on qualifications funded in the 2026/27 academic year as soon as possible.
Asked by: Baroness Freeman of Steventon (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what support they are giving to nursery providers to help to support children to stop using nappies at an appropriate age.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department is committed to giving every child the best start in life, and we are investing in Best Start Family Hubs across the country. These will offer parenting and home learning environment support and are well placed to provide parents toilet training advice.
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework sets the standards and requirements that early years providers must meet to ensure that children have the best start in life and are kept healthy and safe.
Within the EYFS, children’s personal, social and emotional development is a prime area of learning. Children are expected to learn how to manage personal needs independently, including going to the toilet.
The department has published toilet training guidance, which can be accessed here: https://help-for-early-years-providers.education.gov.uk/health-and-wellbeing/toilet-training. This will help educators to support babies and young children with toilet training in early years settings and signposts the Potty Training Guide. The department will continue to promote this guidance through its online platforms and engagement with the sector. Parents can access the Potty Training Guide from the Best Start in Life website at: https://beststartinlife.gov.uk/.
Asked by: Baroness Freeman of Steventon (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to promote the Potty Training Guide, published on 9 December 2025.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department is committed to giving every child the best start in life, and we are investing in Best Start Family Hubs across the country. These will offer parenting and home learning environment support and are well placed to provide parents toilet training advice.
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework sets the standards and requirements that early years providers must meet to ensure that children have the best start in life and are kept healthy and safe.
Within the EYFS, children’s personal, social and emotional development is a prime area of learning. Children are expected to learn how to manage personal needs independently, including going to the toilet.
The department has published toilet training guidance, which can be accessed here: https://help-for-early-years-providers.education.gov.uk/health-and-wellbeing/toilet-training. This will help educators to support babies and young children with toilet training in early years settings and signposts the Potty Training Guide. The department will continue to promote this guidance through its online platforms and engagement with the sector. Parents can access the Potty Training Guide from the Best Start in Life website at: https://beststartinlife.gov.uk/.
Asked by: Baroness Freeman of Steventon (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following Historic England's report Skills Needs Analysis for the Repair, Maintenance and Retrofit of Traditional (Pre-1919) Buildings in England, 2024 published on 13 September 2024, what plans they have for funding specialist tutors to train and mentor construction trainees, including through microbusinesses, to help them gain experience in relevant, regionally specific building techniques.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department supports vocational education and training programs that include repair, maintenance and retrofit skills. This includes funding for courses at further education (FE) colleges and specialist training providers.
A wide range of government-funded programmes are available for construction employers who are considering hiring employees, offering work experience or upskilling existing staff. These include apprenticeships, T Levels, Skills Bootcamps, and Higher Technical Qualifications.
Together with employers, the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) has developed 90 Apprenticeship standards in the Construction and Built Environment Sector. These apprenticeships provide hands-on experience and formal qualifications in retrofit, such as Heritage Construction Specialist. The department will continue to work with employers to support the growth of apprenticeships in these sectors and IfATE have published occupational maps on their website which display the apprenticeship progression opportunities in each occupation, including in heritage conservation, and construction. The occupational maps can be accessed on IfATE‘s website at: https://occupational-maps.instituteforapprenticeships.org/. These also specify if the occupation is embedded within the green occupational landscape and deliver sustainable outcomes.
Whilst it is a matter for providers to determine course content and the specialist teaching staff they need to deliver in all their provision, the department is supporting FE colleges to recruit and retain more construction FE teachers through the Taking Teacher Further programme, and the targeted retention incentive offer. In addition, we are exploring what more can be done to support dual professionals to work in FE, an approach whereby colleges recruit industry workers as part-time teachers.
Asked by: Baroness Freeman of Steventon (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following Historic England's report Skills Needs Analysis for the Repair, Maintenance and Retrofit of Traditional (Pre-1919) Buildings in England, 2024 published on 13 September 2024, what plans they have for including energy efficiency adaptations to traditionally built housing stock in construction training and qualifications.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department supports vocational education and training programs that include repair, maintenance and retrofit skills. This includes funding for courses at further education (FE) colleges and specialist training providers.
A wide range of government-funded programmes are available for construction employers who are considering hiring employees, offering work experience or upskilling existing staff. These include apprenticeships, T Levels, Skills Bootcamps, and Higher Technical Qualifications.
Together with employers, the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) has developed 90 Apprenticeship standards in the Construction and Built Environment Sector. These apprenticeships provide hands-on experience and formal qualifications in retrofit, such as Heritage Construction Specialist. The department will continue to work with employers to support the growth of apprenticeships in these sectors and IfATE have published occupational maps on their website which display the apprenticeship progression opportunities in each occupation, including in heritage conservation, and construction. The occupational maps can be accessed on IfATE‘s website at: https://occupational-maps.instituteforapprenticeships.org/. These also specify if the occupation is embedded within the green occupational landscape and deliver sustainable outcomes.
Whilst it is a matter for providers to determine course content and the specialist teaching staff they need to deliver in all their provision, the department is supporting FE colleges to recruit and retain more construction FE teachers through the Taking Teacher Further programme, and the targeted retention incentive offer. In addition, we are exploring what more can be done to support dual professionals to work in FE, an approach whereby colleges recruit industry workers as part-time teachers.
Asked by: Baroness Freeman of Steventon (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what are their plans for the new natural history GCSE.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
All young people should have access to a broad and balanced curriculum with a range of qualification routes and choices. The government is considering the next steps for a natural history GCSE.
High and rising school standards are at the heart of this government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best life chances. The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE, an expert in education policy, including curriculum and social inequality. The review, which covers ages 5 to 18, will ensure that the curriculum appropriately balances ambition, excellence, relevance, flexibility and inclusivity for all children and young people. The review group will publish an interim report early in 2025 setting out their initial findings and confirming the key areas for further work. The final report with recommendations will be published in autumn 2025.