Andrew Gwynne

This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. We have now announced that we are extending free school meals to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026. It will lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty and put £500 back in families’ pockets, supporting parents in decisive action to improve lives ahead of the Child Poverty Strategy coming later this year.

The new entitlement will be fully funded. The department has set aside over £1 billion in funding over the multi-year spending review period to cover the additional meal costs. This is new money as opposed to funding within existing school budgets. This will support schools to deliver nutritious and high-quality meals which meet the school food standards to over half a million additional pupils.

Schools fund benefits-related free school meals from core funding, at a rate set by the national funding formula at £495 per eligible pupil for the academic year 2025/26. The current meal rate for universal infant free school meals and further education free meals is increasing to £2.61 for 2025/26. As with all programmes, we will continue to keep funding for free school meals under review.

All children in households in receipt of Universal Credit will be eligible for free school meals (FSM) from September 2026. This unprecedented step will put around £500 back into families’ pockets each year and lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty, breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling the scar of child poverty across our country.

Giving children access to a nutritious meal during the school day also leads to higher attainment, improved behaviour and better outcomes. This will enable children to get the best possible education and chance to succeed in work and life. That is why this government is taking action to make it quicker and easier for both families and local authorities to get children signed up for FSM. Improvements we are making to the process for checking eligibility for meals will make it simpler than ever to receive this entitlement.

All children in households in receipt of Universal Credit will be eligible for free school meals (FSM) from September 2026. This unprecedented step will put around £500 back into families’ pockets each year and lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty, breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling the scar of child poverty across our country.

Giving children access to a nutritious meal during the school day also leads to higher attainment, improved behaviour and better outcomes. This will enable children to get the best possible education and chance to succeed in work and life. That is why this government is taking action to make it quicker and easier for both families and local authorities to get children signed up for FSM. Improvements we are making to the process for checking eligibility for meals will make it simpler than ever to receive this entitlement.

The government announced a £40 million package to trial a new kinship allowance, which will begin in autumn 2025. We will evaluate the pilot to build an evidence base on how best to deliver financial support for kinship families.

Through the Children’s Wellbeing and School’s Bill, we are enshrining the first definition of kinship care in law and mandating local authorities to publish their kinship local offer, increasing their accountability for ensuring all kinship families are getting the information they need.

As set out in statutory guidance, local authorities must publish the support and services available to kinship families in a clear, accessible way. This includes the legal support that may be available to kinship carers and potential kinship carers, including the eligibility and extent of that support.

The government also created the National Kinship Care Ambassador role to advocate for kinship families. The appointee, Jahnine Davis, works with local authorities to help them improve their kinship practice and local policies and ensure they are following national guidance.

The department funds the charity ‘Kinship’ to deliver over 140 peer support groups and a training package that all kinship carers across England can access for free.

Since its launch, 903 users have engaged with the ‘A whole-school approach to food’ e-learning module.

The department receives evaluation data of the training from post-completion user-assessments. 99% of users said they were satisfied with the module and 87% of users felt their knowledge had increased as a result of completing the training.

This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. We have now announced that we are extending free school meals to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026. It will lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty and put £500 back in families’ pockets, supporting parents in decisive action to improve lives ahead of the Child Poverty Strategy coming later this year.

Providing over half a million additional children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds with a free, nutritious lunchtime meal every school day will also lead to higher attainment, improved behaviour and better outcomes, meaning children get the best possible education and chance to succeed in work and life.

It is important that these meals follow the latest nutritional guidance. We are currently engaging with stakeholders on revising the School Food Standards, to ensure they support our work to create the healthiest generation of children in history.

The government’s Plan for Change set out our ambition for a record proportion of children starting school ready to learn in the classroom. We will measure our progress through 75% of children reaching a good level of development in the early years foundation stage profile assessment by 2028. The department will use a number of strategies to achieve this.

Firstly, we will roll out government-funded childcare support to improve access. We are delivering the expansion to 30 funded hours and have awarded 300 schools £37 million in the first phase towards 3,000 new and expanded school-based nurseries, increasing the availability of high-quality childcare places where they are needed most.

The department will also work in partnership with the sector, reforming training and support for the workforce to drive up standards. We will ensure that the reception year sets children up for success, by increasing schools’ access to evidence-based programmes that boost early literacy and numeracy skills. We are hosting a series of regional conferences focused on reception year quality starting later this month.

In addition, the department is working to strengthen and join-up family services to improve support through pregnancy and early childhood. This includes continuing to invest in and build up Family Hubs and Start for Life programmes to support early child health, parenting and home learning programmes, and strengthening health visiting services for all families, as well as improved early identification of special educational needs and disabilities.

The department does not currently have any plans to create a new register for orphaned children. Our priority for children who have been orphaned is to find them a new, permanent, loving home as soon as we can.

Some are taken in by a member of their family in a kinship arrangement and are provided with a range of support and care from within their existing family network, with the support of the local authority where needed.

Others may be adopted and will receive support through the Regional Adoption Agencies.

Local authorities have a statutory duty to ensure sufficient provision in their area to meet the needs of children in their care. The department is supporting them through funding and legislation.

Tackling child poverty is at the heart of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and improve the life chances for every child. For too many children, living in poverty robs them of the opportunity to learn and prosper.

The Child Poverty Taskforce, which is co-chaired by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, and my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, is exploring all available levers to drive forward action across government to reduce child poverty. More detail on the approach and priorities for the strategy is set out in the publication ‘Tackling Child Poverty: Developing our Strategy’, which was published on 23 October and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tackling-child-poverty-developing-our-strategy.

The department is already taking steps to reduce the cost of living through action on the high cost of branded school uniforms and commitment to roll out free breakfast clubs for primary school-aged children from the start of this summer term. The government has also extended the Household Support Fund.

The government’s Plan for Change sets out a commitment to give children the best start in life. Low income families, children with education, health and care plans and looked after children are eligible for 15 hours funded early education from age 2. In addition, eligible disadvantaged children can get early years pupil premium (EYPP). This additional funding supports the delivery of high-quality early education improving disadvantaged children’s outcomes. In December 2024, we announced an unprecedented 45% increase to EYPP.

School-based nurseries are a key part of this government’s Opportunity Mission. We have awarded 300 primary schools £37 million to repurpose spare space for new or expanded nursery provision, which will be opening from September 2025.

In addition, from September 2026, every pupil whose household is in receipt of Universal Credit will be entitled to free school meals.

This means that over half a million children from the most disadvantaged households will become eligible for a free nutritious lunchtime meal every school day. This will lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty and put £500 a year per child back in parents’ pockets to support parents in decisive action to improve lives ahead of the Child Poverty Strategy coming later this year.

We are also investing an additional £126 million in 2025/26 to build up the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme. The 75 local authorities on the programme have already opened more than 400 family hubs in some of the most deprived areas in the country.

The government’s Plan for Change sets out a commitment to give every child the best start in life. Progress on this commitment will be measured by assessing whether 75% of five-year-olds are reaching a good level of development in the Early Years Foundation Stage assessment, which looks at children’s development across areas such as language, personal, social and emotional development, and mathematics and literacy, by 2028.

Delivering this will require strengthening and co-ordinating family services to improve support through pregnancy and early childhood. This includes continuing to invest in and build up Family Hubs and Start for Life programmes, which build on the lessons from Sure Start.

75 local authorities with some of the highest levels of deprivation have received funding and there are now more than 400 Family Hubs open across those local authorities. The department is investing a further £126 million in the 2025/26 financial year to give every child the best start in life and deliver on the Plan for Change. Future funding decisions are subject to the multi-year spending review.

Data on the number of Sure Start children’s centres is supplied by local authorities via the department’s Get Information about Schools (GIAS) database portal, which can be accessed here: https://www.get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/.

Based on information supplied by local authorities in the Greater Manchester area, 39 children’s centres have closed since 2010. Local authorities in Greater Manchester have converted a further 62 children’s centres into children’s centre linked sites. ‘Children’s centre linked sites’ are formerly children's centres in their own right, but they no longer meet the statutory definition of a children’s centre. They offer some early childhood services on behalf of another children's centre.

The information on numbers of children’s centres that have closed or converted to linked sites since 2010 is based on data supplied by the local authorities in Greater Manchester as of 2 June 2025. These figures could change again in future, since local authorities may update the database at any time.

The government’s Plan for Change sets out a commitment to give every child the best start in life. Progress on this commitment will be measured by assessing whether 75% of five-year-olds are reaching a good level of development in the Early Years Foundation Stage assessment, which looks at children’s development across areas such as language, personal, social and emotional development, and mathematics and literacy, by 2028.

Delivering this will require strengthening and co-ordinating family services to improve support through pregnancy and early childhood. This includes continuing to invest in and build up Family Hubs and Start for Life programmes, which build on the lessons from Sure Start.

75 local authorities with some of the highest levels of deprivation have received funding and there are now more than 400 Family Hubs open across those local authorities. The department is investing a further £126 million in the 2025/26 financial year to give every child the best start in life and deliver on the Plan for Change. Future funding decisions are subject to the multi-year spending review.

Data on the number of Sure Start children’s centres is supplied by local authorities via the department’s Get Information about Schools (GIAS) database portal, which can be accessed here: https://www.get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/.

Based on information supplied by local authorities in the Greater Manchester area, 39 children’s centres have closed since 2010. Local authorities in Greater Manchester have converted a further 62 children’s centres into children’s centre linked sites. ‘Children’s centre linked sites’ are formerly children's centres in their own right, but they no longer meet the statutory definition of a children’s centre. They offer some early childhood services on behalf of another children's centre.

The information on numbers of children’s centres that have closed or converted to linked sites since 2010 is based on data supplied by the local authorities in Greater Manchester as of 2 June 2025. These figures could change again in future, since local authorities may update the database at any time.

The government’s Plan for Change sets out a commitment to give every child the best start in life. Progress on this commitment will be measured by assessing whether 75% of five-year-olds are reaching a good level of development in the Early Years Foundation Stage assessment, which looks at children’s development across areas such as language, personal, social and emotional development, and mathematics and literacy, by 2028.

Delivering this will require strengthening and co-ordinating family services to improve support through pregnancy and early childhood. This includes continuing to invest in and build up Family Hubs and Start for Life programmes, which build on the lessons from Sure Start.

75 local authorities with some of the highest levels of deprivation have received funding and there are now more than 400 Family Hubs open across those local authorities. The department is investing a further £126 million in the 2025/26 financial year to give every child the best start in life and deliver on the Plan for Change. Future funding decisions are subject to the multi-year spending review.

Data on the number of Sure Start children’s centres is supplied by local authorities via the department’s Get Information about Schools (GIAS) database portal, which can be accessed here: https://www.get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/.

Based on information supplied by local authorities in the Greater Manchester area, 39 children’s centres have closed since 2010. Local authorities in Greater Manchester have converted a further 62 children’s centres into children’s centre linked sites. ‘Children’s centre linked sites’ are formerly children's centres in their own right, but they no longer meet the statutory definition of a children’s centre. They offer some early childhood services on behalf of another children's centre.

The information on numbers of children’s centres that have closed or converted to linked sites since 2010 is based on data supplied by the local authorities in Greater Manchester as of 2 June 2025. These figures could change again in future, since local authorities may update the database at any time.

The government’s Plan for Change sets out a commitment to give every child the best start in life. Progress on this commitment will be measured by assessing whether 75% of five-year-olds are reaching a good level of development in the Early Years Foundation Stage assessment, which looks at children’s development across areas such as language, personal, social and emotional development, and mathematics and literacy, by 2028.

Delivering this will require strengthening and co-ordinating family services to improve support through pregnancy and early childhood. This includes continuing to invest in and build up Family Hubs and Start for Life programmes, which build on the lessons from Sure Start.

75 local authorities with some of the highest levels of deprivation have received funding and there are now more than 400 Family Hubs open across those local authorities. The department is investing a further £126 million in the 2025/26 financial year to give every child the best start in life and deliver on the Plan for Change. Future funding decisions are subject to the multi-year spending review.

Data on the number of Sure Start children’s centres is supplied by local authorities via the department’s Get Information about Schools (GIAS) database portal, which can be accessed here: https://www.get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/.

Based on information supplied by local authorities in the Greater Manchester area, 39 children’s centres have closed since 2010. Local authorities in Greater Manchester have converted a further 62 children’s centres into children’s centre linked sites. ‘Children’s centre linked sites’ are formerly children's centres in their own right, but they no longer meet the statutory definition of a children’s centre. They offer some early childhood services on behalf of another children's centre.

The information on numbers of children’s centres that have closed or converted to linked sites since 2010 is based on data supplied by the local authorities in Greater Manchester as of 2 June 2025. These figures could change again in future, since local authorities may update the database at any time.

The government is determined to ensure that children who have lost their parents live in a loving and stable home, with the opportunities they deserve.

Many orphaned children will be raised by a friend or family member through kinship care. Where this is in the child’s best interest, the local authority can secure a long term home for the child through a number of arrangements, or this can be done privately. Kinship carers often take on this role when they were least expecting to raise a family. This is why the government has announced £40 million to trial a new kinship allowance. Furthermore, the virtual school head role was expanded in September 2024 to include championing the education, attendance and attainment of children in kinship care.

Where orphaned children are unable to live with wider family networks, they may enter the care system. Local authorities have a statutory duty to provide a stable, loving home for all children in care. For most children, foster care is likely to be the most suitable option, as they can be supported in a family-centred environment. Our national minimum standards clarify that children in foster care deserve to be treated as any good parent would treat their own children.

The department is working across government to improve awareness and access to support for kinship carers. Through the Children’s Wellbeing and School’s Bill, we are enshrining the first definition of kinship care in law and mandating local authorities to publish their kinship local offer, increasing their accountability for ensuring kinship families are getting the information they need.

As set out in statutory guidance in October 2024, local authorities must publish the support and services local authorities should provide to kinship families in a clear, accessible way. The publication should also provide information about charities dedicated to kinship care that practitioners in children’s services, educational institutes and health services can signpost kinship carers to.

The department funds the charity Kinship to deliver over 140 peer support groups and a training package that all kinship carers across England can access. As part of their role, Kinship works with multi-agency partners to ensure that kinship carers are aware of and can access the support they need through these contracts.

Finally, the Children’s Social Care National Framework applies to those who work in and with local authority children’s social care and sets a clear expectation that ‘leaders will know and signpost to the support kinship cares and children in kinship care are eligible for’. Educational institutions and health services therefore share this duty.

In October 2024, the department published the kinship care statutory guidance for local authorities, which outlines the framework for the provision of support for kinship children and kinship families.

Measures included in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill also seek to mandate local authorities to publish a kinship local offer, which sets out the information and support in a local authority's area for children living in kinship care and kinship carers, and defines what kinship care is for the purpose of the kinship care local offer. These measures will make it clear for local authorities, schools and other statutory services what support is available to those involved in a kinship arrangement.

The department recognises that some families have reported challenges around the recognition of kinship care in their interactions with schools, hospitals, and children's services. We have not carried out a formal assessment of the feasibility or potential merits of implementing a national kinship identification card, but will continue to monitor and review the needs of kinship carers and children living in kinship care and discuss the issues raised with other governmental departments and with local authorities to ensure they receive the support they deserve.

In October 2024, the department published the kinship care statutory guidance for local authorities, which outlines the framework for the provision of support for kinship children and kinship families.

Measures included in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill also seek to mandate local authorities to publish a kinship local offer, which sets out the information and support in a local authority's area for children living in kinship care and kinship carers, and defines what kinship care is for the purpose of the kinship care local offer. These measures will make it clear for local authorities, schools and other statutory services what support is available to those involved in a kinship arrangement.

The department recognises that some families have reported challenges around the recognition of kinship care in their interactions with schools, hospitals, and children's services. We have not carried out a formal assessment of the feasibility or potential merits of implementing a national kinship identification card, but will continue to monitor and review the needs of kinship carers and children living in kinship care and discuss the issues raised with other governmental departments and with local authorities to ensure they receive the support they deserve.

The department is not currently planning specific advice or increased support on the issue of abusive or controlling behaviours from their foster child’s birth parents.

However, our investment in foster care does include sources of support for foster carers who are facing difficulties with family time or birth parents. This investment includes the rollout of the Mockingbird Family Help model, which offers peer support to foster carers and the children in their care. We also continue to fund Fosterline, which is a free helpline service for current and prospective foster carers.

The department’s guidance makes clear that children should, where appropriate, have constructive contact with their parents and other relatives who play a significant role in their lives.

Facilitating family time with parents can be challenging for some foster carers and our guidance makes clear that they should receive the necessary support, including financial assistance, to manage these arrangements. Additionally, emotional and other issues arising from family time should be addressed. Foster carers should be encouraged to raise any concerns they have with their supervising social worker and with the child’s social worker.

All children and young people should have every opportunity to succeed, no matter where they are from. However, the department knows pupil attainment varies considerably across the country. This is not acceptable, which is why the Opportunity Mission will break down barriers and the unfair link between background and success so all children can achieve and thrive.

High and rising standards are at the heart of this mission and the key to unlocking stronger outcomes and a better future for all children and young people, no matter where they live.

To deliver these improvements and reduce disparities, we have introduced new regional improvement for standards and excellence teams and launched an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review that is looking closely at the key challenges to attainment. We are also committed to recruiting 6,500 new expert teachers across the country.

We will support the aspiration of every person who meets the requirements and wants to go to university, regardless of their background, where they live or their personal circumstances.

All higher education (HE) providers registered with the Office for Students (OfS) that intend to charge higher level tuition fees must have an Access and Participation Plan approved by the Office for Students. These need to set out how HE providers will improve equality of opportunity for underrepresented groups and the support that they will provide to do this. While there are many examples of interventions that show a real commitment to widening successful participation, we want the sector to go further and be even more ambitious.

​​​​All children and young people should have the opportunity to succeed. That is why, through our work to deliver the Opportunity Mission, this government will work in partnership with those inside and outside of government to break the unfair link between background and success.

High and rising standards across education are at the heart of this mission. As one of the department’s first steps for change, we are committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 expert teachers. We have also introduced new regional improvement for standards and excellence teams and launched an independent, expert-led Curriculum and Assessment Review that is looking at the key challenges to attainment.

The government is also developing a comprehensive strategy for post‐16 education and skills, to break down barriers to opportunity, support the development of a skilled workforce, and drive economic growth through our Industrial Strategy across all areas of the country.

We have established Skills England to ensure we have the highly trained workforce needed to deliver the national, regional and local skills needs of the next decade. It will ensure that the skills system is clear and navigable for both young people and adults, strengthening careers pathways into jobs across the economy.

The department’s recently published policy paper specified that families should receive support immediately when the child is placed, delivering on our mission to provide children with the best start in life. Regular discussions are held with other departmental ministers on these issues.

The department recently announced £8.8 million for Adoption England to improve adoption services and help regional adoption agencies to put in place support to respond more effectively to adoptive families in crisis.

The department is also ensuring that children in kinship care get the right support. This includes promoting their educational and mental health needs and supporting their carers. We are also delivering over 140 kinship peer support groups and a package of training and support for kinship carers.

The £50 million adoption and special guardianship support fund will continue to enable families to access a significant package of therapeutic support. Local areas may supplement with their own funding as needed.

Statutory guidance states that all local authorities must publish information about services for children in kinship care and how they will meet their needs. It states that children should receive the support they and their carers need to safeguard and promote their welfare. All local authorities should be clear what support services they provide.

The department’s recently published policy paper specified that families should receive support immediately when the child is placed, delivering on our mission to provide children with the best start in life. Regular discussions are held with other departmental ministers on these issues.

The department recently announced £8.8 million for Adoption England to improve adoption services and help regional adoption agencies to put in place support to respond more effectively to adoptive families in crisis.

The department is also ensuring that children in kinship care get the right support. This includes promoting their educational and mental health needs and supporting their carers. We are also delivering over 140 kinship peer support groups and a package of training and support for kinship carers.

The £50 million adoption and special guardianship support fund will continue to enable families to access a significant package of therapeutic support. Local areas may supplement with their own funding as needed.

Statutory guidance states that all local authorities must publish information about services for children in kinship care and how they will meet their needs. It states that children should receive the support they and their carers need to safeguard and promote their welfare. All local authorities should be clear what support services they provide.

The department’s recently published policy paper specified that families should receive support immediately when the child is placed, delivering on our mission to provide children with the best start in life. Regular discussions are held with other departmental ministers on these issues.

The department recently announced £8.8 million for Adoption England to improve adoption services and help regional adoption agencies to put in place support to respond more effectively to adoptive families in crisis.

The department is also ensuring that children in kinship care get the right support. This includes promoting their educational and mental health needs and supporting their carers. We are also delivering over 140 kinship peer support groups and a package of training and support for kinship carers.

The £50 million adoption and special guardianship support fund will continue to enable families to access a significant package of therapeutic support. Local areas may supplement with their own funding as needed.

Statutory guidance states that all local authorities must publish information about services for children in kinship care and how they will meet their needs. It states that children should receive the support they and their carers need to safeguard and promote their welfare. All local authorities should be clear what support services they provide.

The department’s recently published policy paper specified that families should receive support immediately when the child is placed, delivering on our mission to provide children with the best start in life. Regular discussions are held with other departmental ministers on these issues.

The department recently announced £8.8 million for Adoption England to improve adoption services and help regional adoption agencies to put in place support to respond more effectively to adoptive families in crisis.

The department is also ensuring that children in kinship care get the right support. This includes promoting their educational and mental health needs and supporting their carers. We are also delivering over 140 kinship peer support groups and a package of training and support for kinship carers.

The £50 million adoption and special guardianship support fund will continue to enable families to access a significant package of therapeutic support. Local areas may supplement with their own funding as needed.

Statutory guidance states that all local authorities must publish information about services for children in kinship care and how they will meet their needs. It states that children should receive the support they and their carers need to safeguard and promote their welfare. All local authorities should be clear what support services they provide.

The project is in the procurement stage and a contractor is expected to be appointed later this year.

The department currently anticipates that the new school will be ready from September 2027.

The project is in the procurement stage and a contractor is expected to be appointed later this year.

The department currently anticipates that the new school will be ready from September 2027.