Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment has been made of the effectiveness of financial support schemes for pupils pursuing specialist (a) musical or (b) dance training in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government will consult shortly on an improved version of Progress 8 that balances a strong academic core with breadth and student choice. It will recognise the value of subjects, including the arts, which strengthen our economy and society, and the importance of a broad pre-16 curriculum.
The Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper sets out our vision for a world-leading skills system that breaks down barriers to opportunity, meets student and employers’ needs, widens access to high quality education and training, supports innovation, research, and development, and improves people’s lives.
We plan to introduce V-Levels, which will become the only pathway for vocational qualifications at level 3 for 16-19 year olds and two clear post-16 pathways at level 2, alongside technical and academic pathways. We have launched a consultation on these measures, which will close on 12 January 2026.
The department is providing £36.5 million for the Music and Dance Scheme this academic year, with future funding to be announced in due course. The scheme provides access for all students in the UK to high quality training in music and dance, such as at the Yehudi Menuhin School in Surrey and the Royal Ballet School in Richmond upon Thames.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps are being taken to ensure that all pupils are able to pursue (a) creative or (b) vocational education pathways in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government will consult shortly on an improved version of Progress 8 that balances a strong academic core with breadth and student choice. It will recognise the value of subjects, including the arts, which strengthen our economy and society, and the importance of a broad pre-16 curriculum.
The Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper sets out our vision for a world-leading skills system that breaks down barriers to opportunity, meets student and employers’ needs, widens access to high quality education and training, supports innovation, research, and development, and improves people’s lives.
We plan to introduce V-Levels, which will become the only pathway for vocational qualifications at level 3 for 16-19 year olds and two clear post-16 pathways at level 2, alongside technical and academic pathways. We have launched a consultation on these measures, which will close on 12 January 2026.
The department is providing £36.5 million for the Music and Dance Scheme this academic year, with future funding to be announced in due course. The scheme provides access for all students in the UK to high quality training in music and dance, such as at the Yehudi Menuhin School in Surrey and the Royal Ballet School in Richmond upon Thames.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of access to (a) specialist arts or (b) vocational training for young people in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government will consult shortly on an improved version of Progress 8 that balances a strong academic core with breadth and student choice. It will recognise the value of subjects, including the arts, which strengthen our economy and society, and the importance of a broad pre-16 curriculum.
The Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper sets out our vision for a world-leading skills system that breaks down barriers to opportunity, meets student and employers’ needs, widens access to high quality education and training, supports innovation, research, and development, and improves people’s lives.
We plan to introduce V-Levels, which will become the only pathway for vocational qualifications at level 3 for 16-19 year olds and two clear post-16 pathways at level 2, alongside technical and academic pathways. We have launched a consultation on these measures, which will close on 12 January 2026.
The department is providing £36.5 million for the Music and Dance Scheme this academic year, with future funding to be announced in due course. The scheme provides access for all students in the UK to high quality training in music and dance, such as at the Yehudi Menuhin School in Surrey and the Royal Ballet School in Richmond upon Thames.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of eligibility criteria for free school transport on young children who are advised to walk to school in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department’s home-to-school travel policy aims to make sure that no child is prevented from accessing education by a lack of transport. Local authorities must arrange free home-to-school travel for eligible children. A child is eligible if they are of compulsory school age, 5 to 16, attend their nearest school and would not be able to walk there because of the distance, their special educational needs, disability or mobility problem, or because the nature of the route means it would be unsafe for them to do so. There are extended rights to free travel for children from low-income families.
Local authorities also have a discretionary power to arrange travel for other children if they choose to do so.
Tackling school absence is at the heart of this government’s mission to break down the barriers to opportunity. Since September 2024, we have added a new absence code to school registers to reflect issues with local authority arranged transport. Only 0.011% of the total number of school sessions for the 2024/25 academic year were missed due to issues with transport normally provided by the local authority or school not being available.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding will be available for new special educational needs and disabilities schools through the Special Free Schools Programme in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
There are three planned special free schools in the county of Surrey. We are making a funding package available to the local authority so they can deliver the places planned for these schools themselves more quickly and with a greater focus on mainstream inclusion where appropriate. The total funding available to Surrey is up to £27 million.
For the two schools in Surrey that are closest to delivery, the local authority has a choice about whether to continue with the school or take the funding package. The department will fund the capital delivery of schools the local authority chooses to proceed with in the usual way.
Local authorities have until 27 February 2026 to make their decisions, and we will confirm the total funding for all local authorities, as well as the schools that are going ahead, in due course after that date.
We have also confirmed that £3 billion will be invested between 2025/26 and 2029/2030 to support local authorities to create places outside of the free schools programme. Local authority allocations for 2026/27 will be published in the Spring.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to assess the impact of Relationships Education on pupils' (a) attitudes and (b) behaviour in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The ‘Freedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls’, published on 18 December 2025, sets out the strategic direction and concrete actions to prevent violence and abuse, pursue perpetrators, and support victims, and to deliver the department’s unprecedented commitment to halve violence against women and girls in a decade.
We have committed to investing £3 million in a teacher training fund over the next two years to ensure that the new relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) curriculum has the greatest impact and £5 million to pilot healthy relationships training delivered by external providers.
We have already published updated guidance for RSHE, which includes a focus on developing skills for healthy relationships from the beginning of primary school, and equipping children with the tools to tackle harmful influences. Pupils will have opportunities to develop positive conceptions of masculinity and femininity, and at secondary, to understand the harmful impacts of misogynistic online content, including pornography.
We will be doing a full evaluation of our pilots to ensure we can embed best practice.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what training is available to teachers to support discussions with pupils on (a) consent and (b) respectful relationships in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The ‘Freedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls’, published on 18 December 2025, sets out the strategic direction and concrete actions to prevent violence and abuse, pursue perpetrators, and support victims, and to deliver the department’s unprecedented commitment to halve violence against women and girls in a decade.
We have committed to investing £3 million in a teacher training fund over the next two years to ensure that the new relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) curriculum has the greatest impact and £5 million to pilot healthy relationships training delivered by external providers.
We have already published updated guidance for RSHE, which includes a focus on developing skills for healthy relationships from the beginning of primary school, and equipping children with the tools to tackle harmful influences. Pupils will have opportunities to develop positive conceptions of masculinity and femininity, and at secondary, to understand the harmful impacts of misogynistic online content, including pornography.
We will be doing a full evaluation of our pilots to ensure we can embed best practice.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department will issue to secondary schools on addressing (a) harmful or (b) misogynistic attitudes among pupils in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The ‘Freedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls’, published on 18 December 2025, sets out the strategic direction and concrete actions to prevent violence and abuse, pursue perpetrators, and support victims, and to deliver the department’s unprecedented commitment to halve violence against women and girls in a decade.
We have committed to investing £3 million in a teacher training fund over the next two years to ensure that the new relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) curriculum has the greatest impact and £5 million to pilot healthy relationships training delivered by external providers.
We have already published updated guidance for RSHE, which includes a focus on developing skills for healthy relationships from the beginning of primary school, and equipping children with the tools to tackle harmful influences. Pupils will have opportunities to develop positive conceptions of masculinity and femininity, and at secondary, to understand the harmful impacts of misogynistic online content, including pornography.
We will be doing a full evaluation of our pilots to ensure we can embed best practice.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support schools to teach about healthy relationships in (a) Surrey and (b) Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The ‘Freedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls’, published on 18 December 2025, sets out the strategic direction and concrete actions to prevent violence and abuse, pursue perpetrators, and support victims, and to deliver the department’s unprecedented commitment to halve violence against women and girls in a decade.
We have committed to investing £3 million in a teacher training fund over the next two years to ensure that the new relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) curriculum has the greatest impact and £5 million to pilot healthy relationships training delivered by external providers.
We have already published updated guidance for RSHE, which includes a focus on developing skills for healthy relationships from the beginning of primary school, and equipping children with the tools to tackle harmful influences. Pupils will have opportunities to develop positive conceptions of masculinity and femininity, and at secondary, to understand the harmful impacts of misogynistic online content, including pornography.
We will be doing a full evaluation of our pilots to ensure we can embed best practice.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to reduce misogynistic attitudes amongst pupils in schools in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The ‘Freedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls’, published on 18 December 2025, sets out the strategic direction and concrete actions to prevent violence and abuse, pursue perpetrators, and support victims, and to deliver the department’s unprecedented commitment to halve violence against women and girls in a decade.
We have committed to investing £3 million in a teacher training fund over the next two years to ensure that the new relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) curriculum has the greatest impact and £5 million to pilot healthy relationships training delivered by external providers.
We have already published updated guidance for RSHE, which includes a focus on developing skills for healthy relationships from the beginning of primary school, and equipping children with the tools to tackle harmful influences. Pupils will have opportunities to develop positive conceptions of masculinity and femininity, and at secondary, to understand the harmful impacts of misogynistic online content, including pornography.
We will be doing a full evaluation of our pilots to ensure we can embed best practice.