Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to include data on the neurodivergent and disabled composition of the school workforce within the evidence base for the (a) SEND Improvement Plan and (b) forthcoming Schools White Paper.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan was published in March 2023 under the 2022/24 Sunak Conservative government.
Every Child Achieving and Thriving was published in February 2026. It set out the case for change across the school system and the evidence underpinning a comprehensive programme of reforms, including action to improve recruitment, retention and support for the school workforce.
The Schools White Paper and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) consultation document, published on 23 February 2026, set out our proposed changes to improve help and support for children and young people with SEND across the 0 to 25 years system. The SEND consultation ran for 12 weeks and closed on May 18. We will publish a response to the consultation in due course and bring forward legislation at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of neurodivergent staff representation and disclosure on outcomes for neurodivergent pupils in mainstream schools.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department recognises the importance of enabling all pupils, including those who are neurodivergent, to thrive in mainstream schools. While no specific assessment has been made of how neurodivergent staff representation or disclosure affects outcomes for neurodivergent pupils, we remain committed to improving outcomes through high-quality teaching, effective special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) support and inclusive school environments.
Our Neurodivergence Task and Finish Group has informed proposed SEND reforms, including National Inclusion Standards, an inclusion continuing professional development package backed by over £200 million and £3.7 billion to create more inclusive school environments.
Information about an individual's disability or neurodivergence is personal and schools must support their workforce in line with their legal obligations. Accredited ITT providers must comply with equality legislation and consider making anticipatory adjustments, including providing opportunities for teacher trainee applicants to identify any support they may require.
The School Workforce Census is regularly reviewed to ensure balance between managing burden and risks of data collection against the value of developing policy to support staff and pupils. The department has no current plans to collect neurodivergence data separately from disability data due to expected low coverage and privacy risks related to data collection.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to amend the School Workforce Census to capture neurodivergence as a category distinct from disability.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The School Workforce Census (SWC) records whether staff are reported as disabled, but not the nature of their disability. As neurodivergence is not identified separately, and disclosure is voluntary, the department cannot specifically identify or analyse data on neurodivergent staff in schools.
The census is reviewed regularly to ensure balance between managing burden and risks of data collection, especially related to protected characteristics, against the value of developing policy to support the school workforce. The department has no current plans to amend the SWC to collect neurodivergence as a category distinct from disability due to expected low coverage and privacy issues and risks related the data collection.
The department continues to develop its understanding of workforce diversity. Accredited Initial Teacher Training providers must comply with equality legislation and consider making anticipatory adjustments, including providing opportunities for teacher trainee applicants to identify any support they may require. The teacher retention programme, announced in the Schools White Paper, will also include a focus on encouraging inclusive cultures.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the proportion of the school workforce that is neurodivergent.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Information on the school workforce, including the number of teachers in state-funded schools, is published in the ‘School workforce in England’ statistical publication, available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england/2024.
The department does not collect data centrally on whether school staff are neurodivergent.
Schools are asked to record whether staff self‑report a disability, which may include neurodivergent conditions where individuals choose to declare them. However, the disability data collected does not enable the department to identify or extract information specifically on neurodivergent staff.
In the November 2025 school workforce census, around 85% of teachers provided disability information. Where disability information was reported, around 3% of teachers were recorded as disabled. This is the most recent data available and has been available since 4 June 2025
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps Skills England is taking to integrate (a) applied financial literacy and (b) technical innovation modules into Level 3 technical qualifications.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Curriculum and Assessment Review recommended ways to ensure financial literacy is incorporated into the curriculum throughout all key stages of education, including post-16 education. There are a range of financial education qualifications available for 16 to 19-year-old students. This includes qualifications and courses at levels 1 and 2 for lower attaining GCSE students to support their financial literacy.
Skills England is responsible for ensuring occupational standards continue to reflect skills needs. Skills England engage with sector experts, including employers, to identify and revise standards. The government is working with stakeholders to develop Skills Plans setting out proposals to address current and future skills needs within each priority sector.
V Levels and T Levels are linked to occupational standards. They will therefore be kept up to date as occupational standards are updated in line with the latest labour market and employer needs, including where there is innovation in a sector.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how does the new Ofsted inspection framework measure and assess workforce inclusion, particularly for neurodivergent and disabled teachers.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
This is a matter for His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver. I have asked him to write to my hon. Friend, the Member for Redditch directly and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data her Department holds on the proportion of neurodivergent and disabled teachers currently working in schools.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Information on the school workforce, including the number of teachers in state-funded schools, is published in the ‘School workforce in England’ statistical publication, available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england/2024.
Schools are asked to record whether staff self‑report a disability. In the November 2024 school workforce census, disability information was either not yet obtained or was refused for around 59% of teachers, the most recent data available. Where disability information was reported, around 3% of teachers were recorded as disabled. However, this may not represent the true proportion due to the level of missing data. This has been available since 5 June 2025.
The department does not collect data centrally on whether school staff are neurodivergent.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department offers (a) paid time off work and (b) other support to employees who become kinship carers.
Answered by Janet Daby
The department introduced Kinship leave and pay in November 2024. Other support available within the department includes access to an Employee Assistance Programme, staff networks, Mental Health First Aiders and the ability to request flexible working.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment her Department has made of trends in the standard of writing in (a) primary schools, (b) secondary schools and (c) universities since 2015.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
High and rising school standards are at the heart of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best life chances. The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review which will seek to deliver, amongst other things, an excellent foundation in core subjects of reading, writing and maths. The review group will publish an interim report early in 2025 setting out their interim findings and confirming the key areas for further work. The final review with recommendations will be published in autumn 2025. In the meantime, the department will continue to consider how to best support writing standards at all ages.
At the end of the academic year in which children turn five, which is usually reception year, each child’s level of development must be assessed against the 17 early learning goals set out in the early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework. In the 2022/23 academic year, just 71% of children met the expected level of development in writing. The EYFS reforms were introduced in September 2021. As part of those reforms, the EYFS Profile was significantly revised. It is therefore not possible to directly compare assessment outcomes with earlier years.
In 2024, the key stage 2 national curriculum assessments in England showed that 72% of pupils met the expected standard in writing. The method of assessing writing changed in 2017/18, when 78% of pupils met the expected standard, therefore 2024 results are not directly comparable to 2015. In 2015, 87% of pupils achieved a level 4 or above in the writing teacher assessment.
The English language GCSE aims to provide all students with robust foundations in reading and good written English, and with the language and literary skills which are required for further study and work. While 50% of this GCSE assesses writing, the results do not directly reflect changes in the standard of writing over time, due to the way GCSEs are graded using comparable outcomes. In 2024, 61.6% of pupils entering the exam achieved a grade 4 or above. GCSEs were reformed for teaching in schools from September 2015 onwards, with first examinations in summer 2017, when 70.8% of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above.
The government takes very seriously the need for high academic standards in higher education (HE), as does the Office for Students (OfS), the independent regulator of HE in England. HE providers are autonomous organisations, responsible for ensuring the standards of students' work. However, the OfS explored the standard of writing in a sample of providers in its 2021 report 'Assessment practices in English higher education providers: Spelling, punctuation and grammar', which sets out the OfS’s view that students should be assessed on spelling, punctuation and grammar in order to maintain quality and protect standards.
As part of the OfS's ‘B4 Registration’ condition, HE providers must establish academic regulations that are designed to ensure the effective assessment of technical proficiency in the English language in a manner which appropriately reflects the level and content of the applicable HE course.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that students can continue to study applied general qualifications from September 2025.
Answered by Janet Daby
The government is committed to ensuring that all young people can access a range of high quality vocational and technical qualifications which supports them to develop the skills they need to thrive at work and throughout life, including applied general qualifications. This is at the heart of the government’s missions to break down the barriers to opportunity and to boost economic growth.
The government is currently conducting a review of level 3 qualifications focusing on those set to lose funding from 31 July 2025, which includes applied general qualifications. The outcomes of the review will be reported by the end of the year.
Additionally, the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, will ensure meaningful, rigorous and high-value pathways for all at ages 16 to 19, with access to qualifications and training that will provide the skills they need to seize opportunity.