Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of trends in the prevalence of child morning hunger in (a) early years, (b) primary and (c) secondary school settings in England on school (i) readiness and (ii) attendance.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department appreciates the publication of the report and look forward to giving it our full consideration. This government is committed to tackling child poverty and delivering meaningful action to support children and families. The removal of the two child limit on Universal Credit will lift 450,000 children out of poverty, rising to around 550,000 alongside other measures set out in our Child Poverty Strategy, such as the expansion of free school meals. These interventions will lead to the largest expected reduction in child poverty over a Parliament since comparable records began.
We recognise the importance of a healthy breakfast at the start of the day for pupils and the impact this can have on attendance and readiness to learn. This is why we are rolling out free breakfast clubs in every state-funded school with primary-aged pupils in England, so that all children can have the best start in life. Since April 2025, the programme has delivered seven million meals to almost 180,000 pupils across the country. We are investing a further £80 million to fund approximately 2,000 additional schools between April 2026 and March 2027.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her department has made of the potential impact on schools of ongoing uncertainty around future national funding for physical education and school sports.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Manchester Rusholme, to the answer of 03 March 2026 to Question 115304.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of levels of inclusion of climate change and environmental sustainability in the national curriculum beyond geography and science subjects.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Young people have consistently expressed a strong desire for more education on climate change, nature and sustainability. Teachers have also highlighted that limited visibility and emphasis on climate topics in the national curriculum has made it difficult to develop effective provision in this area.
Climate education was already present in the science and geography curricula. The Curriculum and Assessment Review recommended stronger climate education and sustainability content across the curriculum, with detailed engagement and earlier sequencing with climate education in subjects such as geography, science, design and technology and citizenship.
Work is now underway to embed content on climate change, nature and sustainability across the curriculum and sequence knowledge throughout the key stages.
Funding is already committed for the National Education Nature Park to provide curriculum-linked activities and resources for all key stages, and for supporting climate action plans via the Climate Ambassador Programme and Sustainability Support for Education. Climate action plans encourage settings from early years to further education to consider how they take a holistic approach to climate across four key pillars of adaptation, biodiversity, curriculum and decarbonisation.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to introduce targets and funding commitments for climate education across all key stages.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Young people have consistently expressed a strong desire for more education on climate change, nature and sustainability. Teachers have also highlighted that limited visibility and emphasis on climate topics in the national curriculum has made it difficult to develop effective provision in this area.
Climate education was already present in the science and geography curricula. The Curriculum and Assessment Review recommended stronger climate education and sustainability content across the curriculum, with detailed engagement and earlier sequencing with climate education in subjects such as geography, science, design and technology and citizenship.
Work is now underway to embed content on climate change, nature and sustainability across the curriculum and sequence knowledge throughout the key stages.
Funding is already committed for the National Education Nature Park to provide curriculum-linked activities and resources for all key stages, and for supporting climate action plans via the Climate Ambassador Programme and Sustainability Support for Education. Climate action plans encourage settings from early years to further education to consider how they take a holistic approach to climate across four key pillars of adaptation, biodiversity, curriculum and decarbonisation.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to include mandatory training on the climate emergency within Initial Teacher Training and the Early Career Framework.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework (ITTECF) is universal and designed to work for all new teachers regardless of subject, phase, or school. Whilst the ITTECF underpins what all new teachers should learn, it is not a curriculum. Training providers and schools can design a curriculum based on the ITTECF and which is responsive to the needs of the participants and individual school settings.
Beyond the ITTECF, decisions relating to teachers’ professional development rest with schools, headteachers, and teachers themselves as they are in the best position to judge their own requirements.
We recognise that continuous improvement is essential in transforming the training and support for all new teachers, and to review the experiences and needs of early career teachers as well as trainees. This is why we have committed to a full review of the programme in 2027 to ensure it continues to provide the best possible support for trainees and early career teachers.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to conduct a review of collective worship in schools in England.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Collective worship remains an important part of school life, supporting pupils to reflect on the concept of belief and the role it plays in our country’s traditions and values.
Schools in England already have flexibility in how they meet this requirement and can deliver collective worship or assemblies in ways that reflect the diverse needs of their pupils and local communities. Students over 16 and parents of younger pupils also retain the right of withdrawal from collective worship.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of including humanism as part of the national curriculum on religious education.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department recognises that non-religious worldviews, including humanism, can play an important role in supporting pupils’ understanding of beliefs and values. Religious education (RE) is not part of the national curriculum but is a mandatory subject for all pupils aged 5 to 18 in state-funded schools in England. Schools should deliver RE in an objective, critical and pluralistic way and already have the flexibility, through their locally agreed syllabuses, to include the study of non-religious world views such as humanism.
The department welcomes the Curriculum and Assessment Review’s recommendation that Vanessa Ogden, a former review panellist specialising in RE, should lead a sector group, independent from government, to develop a draft RE curriculum. We expect that the sector group’s work on RE will reflect the role the subject plays in building understanding between people of different faiths, beliefs and communities, including those with non-religious world views. If the group reaches consensus on a draft curriculum, the government will consult on whether to add it to the national curriculum.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to introduce (a) free and (b) subsidised meal provision in (i) private, (ii) voluntary and (iii) independent early years settings for children from low-income households.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. We have introduced the Best Start in Life strategy, and the Child Poverty strategy was published on 5 December 2025.
The department is extending free school meals to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026.
This significant extension of support will also apply to children attending school-based nurseries and maintained nursery schools.
Whilst children attending a private nursery do not currently receive free school meals, the department has tightened statutory guidance to make clear that while providers can charge parents who are accessing entitlement hours for certain optional extras, including food, these charges must not be mandatory or a condition of accessing their entitlements. If parents do not wish to purchase these from their provider, they should discuss with their provider what alternative options are available, including potentially supplying their own food and consumables.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the recommendations set out in the Law Commission's review of disabled children’s social care law, published on 16 September 2025.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
On 16 September 2025, the Law Commission published its final report following an extensive review of the legal framework governing social care for disabled children in England, commissioned by the department in April 2023. The report sets out 40 recommendations aimed at improving how the law operates, with a focus on simplifying and strengthening the system to better support disabled children and their families.
In line with the Protocol agreed between the Lord Chancellor and the Law Commission, the department is expected to provide an initial response to these recommendations within six months of publication, and a full response within one year. This full response will set out which recommendations have been accepted, rejected or will be accepted in a modified form. It may also include a timeline for implementation. We will have regard to the views outlined in the report and we will engage relevant stakeholders at appropriate points as we consider our response.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to require educational leaders to take steps to narrow the gap between (a) disabled and (b) nondisabled children’s holistic experience of education.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
We have been clear that a more inclusive education system is needed to give children and young people opportunities they need to achieve and thrive. All schools have a duty to support children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
Settings are held to account for their support for pupils with SEND through Ofsted, who are focusing on inclusion in their new approach to inspection. Their renewed education inspection framework sets out expectations for how leaders should be aware of and responsive to some pupils’ increased need for help and protection, including those with SEND.
There remains a crucial role for special schools, not only in supporting children and young people with particularly complex needs, but also in building capability across the system.