Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that children in school are not exposed to excessively high temperatures during periods of hot weather.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
I refer the hon. Member for North Herefordshire to the answer of 30 June 2026 to Question 13129.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what action she is taking to increase the number of candidates accepted into Initial Teacher Training for Secondary Religious Education for this cycle.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Initial teacher training (ITT) bursaries are offered to incentivise more applications to ITT courses. As such, we review bursaries annually to take account of recruitment to date, forecast economic conditions, and assess teacher need in each subject. The purpose of the scheme is to target resources to where the evidence shows need is highest.
Between the 2023/24 and 2025/26 academic years, postgraduate ITT recruitment increased by 71% in religious education (RE). Partly due to this improved recruitment and higher retention of existing teachers, the need for new postgraduate RE trainee teachers has reduced for the 2026/27 academic year.
Our ‘Get Into Teaching’ marketing campaign and one-to-one support service for prospective trainee teachers continues to support RE ITT recruitment. We will also continue to assess the need for trainees across all subjects and review the bursaries on offer prior to announcing the bursary offer for the 2027/28 academic year this autumn.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the removal of the Religious Education Initial Teacher Training bursary for 2026/2027 on teacher supply.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Initial teacher training (ITT) bursaries are offered to incentivise more applications to ITT courses. As such, we review bursaries annually to take account of recruitment to date, forecast economic conditions, and assess teacher need in each subject. The purpose of the scheme is to target resources to where the evidence shows need is highest.
Between the 2023/24 and 2025/26 academic years, postgraduate ITT recruitment increased by 71% in religious education (RE). Partly due to this improved recruitment and higher retention of existing teachers, the need for new postgraduate RE trainee teachers has reduced for the 2026/27 academic year.
Our ‘Get Into Teaching’ marketing campaign and one-to-one support service for prospective trainee teachers continues to support RE ITT recruitment. We will also continue to assess the need for trainees across all subjects and review the bursaries on offer prior to announcing the bursary offer for the 2027/28 academic year this autumn.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what consideration she has given to reinstating the Religious Education Initial Teacher Training bursary for 2026/2027 and future years.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Initial teacher training (ITT) bursaries are offered to incentivise more applications to ITT courses. As such, we review bursaries annually to take account of recruitment to date, forecast economic conditions, and assess teacher need in each subject. The purpose of the scheme is to target resources to where the evidence shows need is highest.
Between the 2023/24 and 2025/26 academic years, postgraduate ITT recruitment increased by 71% in religious education (RE). Partly due to this improved recruitment and higher retention of existing teachers, the need for new postgraduate RE trainee teachers has reduced for the 2026/27 academic year.
Our ‘Get Into Teaching’ marketing campaign and one-to-one support service for prospective trainee teachers continues to support RE ITT recruitment. We will also continue to assess the need for trainees across all subjects and review the bursaries on offer prior to announcing the bursary offer for the 2027/28 academic year this autumn.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help parents whose children cannot attend mainstream school where there are no local alternative providers.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
We want more children with special educational needs and disabilities to achieve and thrive in their local mainstream school which is why we are investing in making mainstream schools more accessible.
We also recognise the need for more specialist places which is why we’re supporting councils with £3.7 billion in high needs capital between 2025 and 2030. This will fund a transformative expansion of inclusion bases, accessibility adaptations, and special school places for those that need them.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her expected timetable is for publication of the call for evidence on safeguarding children out of school settings.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government launched the call for evidence on 29 May 2025 to better understand current practice in the out-of-school settings sector and invite views on possible approaches to further strengthen safeguarding standards.
This closed on 21 September 2025 and the department is currently analysing responses, with support from independent external analysts, given the significance of this issue.
The department also intends to carry out further engagement, including focus groups with parents and small providers, and sector roundtables with safeguarding experts and sector representatives, before issuing a full response.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what percentage of pupils from primary schools in North Herefordshire can (i) swim 25m (ii) self-rescue as reported through the online reporting tool.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department is processing the information received through the Digital Expenditure Reporting Return and will publish a summary of quality assured data in the new year.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has conducted an equalities impact assessment of the age limit for Lifelong Learning Entitlement tuition fee loans; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure that knowledge of the age limit is widely promoted amongst people who are over 60 years old.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department conducted an equalities impact assessment (EIA) in 2023 that considered the availability of Lifelong Learning Entitlement tuition loans up to the age of 60. The EIA can be found in the public domain and is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64061b31e90e0740d2e5a80b/Lifelong_loan_entitlement_-_equality_analysis.pdf.
The department has published guidance about the availability of the Lifelong Learning Entitlement which is accessible here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/lifelong-learning-entitlement-lle-overview/lifelong-learning-entitlement-overview . The Student Loans Company has also published information on its website: https://www.heinfo.slc.co.uk/lle/lle-faq/lifelong-learning-entitlement-faq/.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to implement a national exemption from council tax for foster carers; and if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of such a policy on the recruitment and retention of foster carers.
Answered by Janet Daby
Councils already have the power to offer council tax discounts and exemptions in their area where appropriate. Some councils use these powers to provide council tax reductions and exemptions for foster carers.
All fostering providers should have a clear policy around remuneration of foster carers. Many fostering service providers provide incentive schemes as rewards, and we encourage the use of these.
Government has published a plain English guide to council tax, which sets out the support available: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/paying-the-right-level-of-council-tax-a-plain-english-guide-to-council-tax/paying-the-right-level-of-council-tax-a-plain-english-guide-to-council-tax#am-i-entitled-to-a-reduced-council-tax-bill.
The department recognises the need to recruit and retain more foster carers, and the need for sufficient financial support to carry out their role. Foster carers pay varying levels of council tax across the country, therefore a nationwide exemption would result in inconsistent financial support, with some foster carers receiving significantly less financial support than others.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the press notice by Become entitled New research shows shockingly high numbers of children in care being moved during GCSEs and A-levels, published on 24 June 2025, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of that charity's findings that 17% of children in care moved school during Key Stage 4.
Answered by Janet Daby
The department is committed to ensuring that looked-after children are supported to succeed in education and achieve positive outcomes. We recognise the critical importance of continuity and stability throughout a looked-after child’s life. Under the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review guidance and regulations, a child’s social worker should do everything possible to minimise disruption to their education. School changes should be minimised and any transitions well-planned and supported. Where a change to a child’s educational arrangements is unavoidable, their Personal Education Plan should set out arrangements to minimise disruption to education, especially during exam periods and other critical periods in their education.
The government is introducing measures, including through the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, to rebalance the market, improve regulation and commissioning of placements, and bring greater visibility to the prices local authorities are paying. This includes a focus on addressing the barriers that prevent homes from being established where they are needed.
Through our Plan for Change, we’re also investing £2 billion over this Parliament to give more children a safe, loving home, including expanding the children’s home estate, delivering more foster care placements and helping keep families together by providing targeted support before problems escalate.
These measures will provide greater placement availability, stability and ensure that, where it is in a child's best interests, they are placed closer to home.