Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what consideration was given to the social and economic value media studies and film studies as part of the Curriculum and Assessment Review.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

The Curriculum and Assessment Review predominantly focused on GCSE subjects that are taught as part of the national curriculum, so media studies and film studies were not specifically considered. The Review did, however, consider related issues through its wider work on media literacy, creative subjects and preparing young people for life and work.

In addition to the reform of the national curriculum, we have recently committed to transforming technical education from age 14. This will put technical and academic education on an equal footing and giving every young person access to high-quality pathways into skilled jobs and further study, including into media and the arts.

The department does not collect information on subjects that schools offer, but does collect data on GCSE entries. In 2025, 805 state-funded secondary schools in England had at least one entry in GCSE media studies. Schools choose which qualifications to offer.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the number of state secondary schools that currently offer GCSE Media Studies.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

The Curriculum and Assessment Review predominantly focused on GCSE subjects that are taught as part of the national curriculum, so media studies and film studies were not specifically considered. The Review did, however, consider related issues through its wider work on media literacy, creative subjects and preparing young people for life and work.

In addition to the reform of the national curriculum, we have recently committed to transforming technical education from age 14. This will put technical and academic education on an equal footing and giving every young person access to high-quality pathways into skilled jobs and further study, including into media and the arts.

The department does not collect information on subjects that schools offer, but does collect data on GCSE entries. In 2025, 805 state-funded secondary schools in England had at least one entry in GCSE media studies. Schools choose which qualifications to offer.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether his Department wrote to The Executive Office to indicate support for inviting the International Commission on Missing Persons to support the work of the Truth Recovery Independent Panel report into workings of Mother and Baby Homes, Magdalene Laundries and Workhouses in Northern Ireland between 1922 and 1995.

Answered by Sarah Owen - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Northern Ireland Office)

The Government supports the work of the Truth Recovery Independent Panel into the workings of Mother and Baby Homes, Magdalene Laundries and Workhouses in Northern Ireland. I was pleased to see that the Inquiry (Mother and Baby Institutions, Magdalene Laundries and Workhouses) and Redress Scheme Bill secured Royal Assent earlier this month. Victims and survivors have waited too long for what is owed to them.

In response to a letter from a member of the International Commission on Missing Persons about supporting the work of the associated inquiry into the above issues, the Secretary of State confirmed that officials have passed this offer on to the Executive Office, as that office is responsible for the inquiry and associated redress scheme.

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