Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support home schooled children with additional needs.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
As part of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act, the department will introduce mandatory Children Not in School registers in every local authority in England and Wales. When implemented, these registers will support local authorities to identify children who are home educated, including those additional needs such as special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
The Act also introduces, for the first time, a statutory support duty on local authorities to provide advice and information to home educating families on the registers who request support. This will establish a consistent baseline of support across all local authorities in England and Wales, including for families of children with additional needs who choose to access this support.
More widely, the Every Child Achieving and Thriving white paper sets out the government's vision for SEND reform to support every child to achieve and thrive.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many a) letters, b) emails and c) written communications were received by her Department from Newcastle-under-Lyme District Borough Council between i) December 2019 and July 2024 and ii) July 2024 and May 2026.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department’s correspondence system holds 2 emails and 1 letter received from Newcastle-under-Lyme District Borough Council between December 2019 and July 2024. The system holds no emails or letters received from Newcastle-under-Lyme District Borough Council between July 2024 and May 2026.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking alongside Staffordshire County Council to ensure that more girls and young women take up sport at secondary schools in Newcastle-under-Lyme.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Our focus is on ensuring that children and young people have equal opportunities to participate in high-quality PE, sports and physical activities and our new PE and School Sport Partnerships Network will be focused on engaging children who are less likely to be active, including girls.
The department held a market engagement event for the new Network on 7 May 2026, and will be releasing further details in due course prior to starting the procurement for a partner to deliver the new PE and School Sport Partnerships Network.
We know that PE kits and barriers around changing facilities can affect girls’ participation in physical education, particularly in teenage years. The department’s non-statutory guidance on school uniform has been updated to include new content on PE kits.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the benefits to the youngest children in a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and b) Staffordshire of learning through play.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The government recognises the important role of learning through play in supporting young children’s development and is investing £900 million to enable all local authorities, including Newcastle‑under‑Lyme and Staffordshire, to deliver Best Start Family Hubs and Healthy Babies services. These hubs will be warm, welcoming, inclusive and play-friendly spaces that provide high‑quality home learning and parenting support, encouraging families with children aged 0 to 5 to chat, play and read together, alongside more targeted support where needed. Services include accessible stay‑and‑play sessions and play‑based early language activities, guided by statutory expectations published in March
Evidence shows that high‑quality early education improves outcomes, particularly for disadvantaged children. The Early Years Foundation Stage statutory framework sets the standards that all early years providers must meet to ensure children learn and develop well and embeds play as central to children’s development.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she has taken to help ensure Staffordshire County Council is able to effectively support children and young people with additional needs in a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and b) Staffordshire.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Our ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.
Departmental officials hold regular meetings and correspond with Staffordshire County Council on SEND as part of monitoring progress against the areas for improvement identified by Ofsted/Care Quality Commission inspectors.
The areas for improvement were:
The department has appointed a SEND Adviser to support and work alongside the Local Area Partnership.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she has taken to help ensure Staffordshire County Council is able to effectively support children and young people with additional needs in a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and b) Staffordshire.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the benefits to the youngest children in a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and b) Staffordshire of learning through play.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking alongside Staffordshire County Council to ensure that more girls and young women take up sport at secondary schools in Newcastle-under-Lyme.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve the condition of the school estate in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (b) Staffordshire.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Education Estates Strategy outlines plans for an education estate that supports opportunity for all, backed by a 10‑year programme to renew and transform schools and colleges. This decade of national renewal is supported by unprecedented long‑term funding and £38 billion in overall education capital from 2025/26 to 2029/30.
The government has committed to capital investment through to 2034/35 to improve the condition of schools and colleges across England, investing almost £3 billion per year by 2034/35 in capital maintenance and renewal. This is in addition to continued investment in the School Rebuilding Programme, expanding across a further 250 schools to be selected.
The Condition Data Collection 1 programme from 2017 to 2019 showed significant variation in the condition of the estate across the country. Updated information provided by schools on the condition of their estate is being collected through the department’s 5-year Condition Data Collection 2, which will complete in 2026.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the number of schools days missed due to (a) poor roads and (b) inadequate road safety measures.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department does not hold information on the number of school days missed due to poor roads and inadequate road safety measures.