Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to implement (a) statutory requirements on safer sleep in nursery settings, (b) a strengthened Ofsted inspection process for nurseries and (c) mandatory CCTV in nurseries.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework includes a requirement for babies to be placed down to sleep in line with the latest government safety guidance. The department plans to add in more detail to the EYFS frameworks. We have worked with safe sleep experts, including the Lullaby Trust, on proposed new wording and plan to make these changes as soon as possible.
Ofsted inspects early years providers under the Education Inspection Framework against the full range of EYFS requirements, including safeguarding, children’s welfare, leadership and management. Inspectors assess whether providers are meeting statutory requirements and taking appropriate action to keep children safe. The EYFS requires providers to have safeguarding policies that address the use of mobile phones, cameras and other electronic devices with imaging and sharing capabilities. Decisions about installing and using CCTV are for individual providers, subject to safeguarding and data protection requirements.
As part of the department’s ongoing review of safeguarding requirements, an expert advisory group will be appointed to inform guidance on the safe and effective use of digital devices and CCTV within safeguarding, including whether CCTV should be mandated and setting out best practice, technical advice and clear expectations.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the school absence fine system; what guidance is provided to local authorities on (a) determining exceptional circumstances, (b) ensuring consistent application of fines and (c) offering flexible payment terms for families experiencing financial hardship; and whether she plans to review the system to ensure it supports families facing difficulties.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department’s ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ statutory guidance provides support for local authorities on the application of penalty notices, including a national framework for issuing fixed penalty notices designed to embed our support-first approach and improve consistent application nationally.
The department does not specify what constitutes exceptional circumstances for school absence. Headteachers, who know their pupils best, are best placed to make those judgements on a case-by-case basis.
Regulations state penalty notices must be paid in full within statutory timeframes. They offer an alternative to prosecution and influence a change in parental behaviours.
The department will continue to keep the attendance enforcement system under review.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what consideration has been given to addressing historic pension gaps for teachers who were removed from the Teachers’ Pension Scheme without explicit consent.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department actively reviews historic provisions to ensure that the Teachers’ Pension Scheme remains fair for all and, if necessary, take steps to rectify where discrimination has been identified. The Preston cases, which were rectified in the 1990s, and the Goodwin cases, which were rectified in 2021, are cases in point.
The department does not have plans to review any specific historic provisions at present.
Changes to the maternity participation rules were provided in legislation in 1994 and 1995 and widely consulted on. The scheme administrator, Teachers’ Pensions, continue to issue guidance to local authorities and employers to ensure compliance and to manage claims effectively.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to review the potential impact of historic practices on women’s pension entitlements in the teaching profession.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department actively reviews historic provisions to ensure that the Teachers’ Pension Scheme remains fair for all and, if necessary, take steps to rectify where discrimination has been identified. The Preston cases, which were rectified in the 1990s, and the Goodwin cases, which were rectified in 2021, are cases in point.
The department does not have plans to review any specific historic provisions at present.
Changes to the maternity participation rules were provided in legislation in 1994 and 1995 and widely consulted on. The scheme administrator, Teachers’ Pensions, continue to issue guidance to local authorities and employers to ensure compliance and to manage claims effectively.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance was issued to local authorities in the 1990s on the inclusion of part-time teachers in the Teachers’ Pension Scheme following maternity leave.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department actively reviews historic provisions to ensure that the Teachers’ Pension Scheme remains fair for all and, if necessary, take steps to rectify where discrimination has been identified. The Preston cases, which were rectified in the 1990s, and the Goodwin cases, which were rectified in 2021, are cases in point.
The department does not have plans to review any specific historic provisions at present.
Changes to the maternity participation rules were provided in legislation in 1994 and 1995 and widely consulted on. The scheme administrator, Teachers’ Pensions, continue to issue guidance to local authorities and employers to ensure compliance and to manage claims effectively.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the safeguarding bruising protocol on people from ethnic minority backgrounds.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Nothing is more important than keeping children safe.
Our Families First Partnership Programme guidance, published in March 2025, is clear that practice should be inclusive, anti-discriminatory and responsive to the needs and experiences of children and families of different ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds. We would encourage local safeguarding partnerships to align any local protocols, including in relation to bruising, with this guidance, the latest available evidence and with national child safeguarding guidance, and consider the impact of local protocols on children and families from ethnic minority backgrounds.
The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will introduce new measures including improved information sharing and the introduction of multi-agency child protection teams to prevent children falling through the cracks.
We are also investing in the recruitment, training and development of child and family social worders to ensure the workforce has the capacity, skills and knowledge to identify, support and protect vulnerable children who may be at risk of maltreatment.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that child welfare and education charities receive timely and clear information on Government grants and funding.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
All department competed and criteria-based general grants, except those identified as highly sensitive or which are Grant in Aid, are advertised centrally online using the Cabinet Office's Find a Grant advertising service. This process ensures that information on government grants and funding is made available in a single location for all applicants, including civil society organisations, and is free to access on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to increase understanding of (a) politics and (b) Parliament within the national secondary school curriculum.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Pupils learn about politics and Parliament within citizenship at secondary school, as well as within history where relevant.
The independent Curriculum and Assessment Review recommended that the curriculum should support democratic understanding and engagement. In response to the review, the department has committed to make citizenship compulsory in primary schools and to publish revised programmes of study to ensure that all pupils receive an essential grounding in a range of topics including democracy, government and law. We will consult on programmes of study next year, and the new national curriculum will be published in 2027 for first teaching in 2028.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what transport support is available for SEND families (a) in cases where a child is placed in a specialist setting but is not yet of compulsory school age and (b) in other instances.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The Education Act 1996 requires local authorities to 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 have the discretion to arrange travel for other children, such as those below compulsory school age attending a specialist setting, but are not required to do so. It is for each local authority to decide whether and how to exercise their discretionary power.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that music remains central to mainstream school curriculum; and what assessments she has made of the potential merits of music education on students achievement's in (a) Maths, (b) English and (c) other disciplines.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Creative subjects like music are important elements of the rich and broad curriculum every child deserves. Music is in the national curriculum from the age of 5 to 14 years (key stages 1-3). The independent Curriculum and Assessment Review is looking at all subjects, including music, and any subject-specific findings will be included in the final report this autumn. The department also supports music education through a national network of Music Hubs.
Participation in the arts, including music, is valuable in and of itself but can also bring wider benefits for children and young people. The Education Endowment Foundation reports positive impacts on academic outcomes in areas including maths and English, as well as for wellbeing and engagement with learning.