Oral Answers to Questions

Georgia Gould Excerpts

Monday 20th April 2026 Commons Chamber

[Jodie Gosling (Nuneaton) (Lab)]

5. What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of supported internships.

[The Minister for School Standards (Georgia Gould)]

Last week we announced an expansion of our supported internships offer to unlock opportunities for more young people with special educational needs and disabilities, so that they can benefit from a seamless transition into the world of work. I have spoken to young people and teachers and heard how transformative supported internships can be for confidence and in supporting children to take those steps into work, and we are determined to get behind the talent of children with SEND.

[Jodie Gosling]

I thank the Secretary of State for her commitment to supporting supported interns and for the announcement of £9 million for non-EHCP—education, health and care plan—pilots. Almost 80% of our brilliant supported interns in Nuneaton go on into paid employment, well above the national average of 5% of young people with learning difficulties. Will the Secretary of State please give us more information about what support will be available to enable our colleges to deliver in line with the SEND White Paper? Also, will she join me at either our brilliant Queen Elizabeth award-winning North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire college, or at George Eliot hospital to see the real impact of supported interns and celebrate their achievements?

[Georgia Gould]

I am incredibly grateful for the work of my hon. Friend in championing children with special educational needs and disabilities, both before and during her time as a Member of Parliament, and thank her for bringing her expertise to this discussion. I would be delighted to visit and see some of the work of supported internships in practice. As I have set out, we have invested £9 million and are continuing to work with colleges to support inclusion, as well as support into employment.

[Liz Jarvis (Eastleigh) (LD)]

I have been contacted by a mum in my constituency who is trying to find a supported internship for her son, who has an EHCP. Even with the “Find an apprenticeship” service, parents are left having to research and find suitable options themselves. What further action will the Minister take to ensure young people with SEND are not disadvantaged in accessing supported internships?

[Georgia Gould]

I welcome the hon. Lady’s question. We want to make it much easier for children with special educational needs and disabilities to find support and access opportunities, and are working closely with colleges to do that. As part of our reforms, we will be delivering new national inclusion standards that set out our expectations, and as I have said, we are investing in broadening supported internships.

[Lloyd Hatton (South Dorset) (Lab)]

6. What steps her Department is taking to fund sports facilities in secondary schools in South Dorset constituency.

[The Minister for School Standards (Georgia Gould)]

The Government are opening up access to music, art, drama and—crucially—sport. We want schools to have access to high-quality sports facilities so that children can achieve and thrive. The Department is improving school facilities through guidance and rebuilding programmes, with £2.1 billion of capital funding.

[Lloyd Hatton]

Budmouth academy has received a record multimillion-pound investment from this Labour Government to rebuild many of the school’s buildings. However, its crumbling outdoor courts—which are home to the South and West Dorset netball league—are currently not included in the rebuild. More than 300 women and girls are part of that league, and of course the courts are also used by students all year round. We desperately want to rebuild the courts, so can the Minister work with us to explore how those courts can be included in the scope of the rebuild?

[Georgia Gould]

I would like to start by acknowledging the proactive response of the brilliant team at Budmouth academy in response to a recent meningitis case, and I am really pleased to hear how welcome the investment in the school rebuilding programme is at that academy. On top of that investment, the Aspirations Academies Trust has been provisionally allocated investment of over £1.9 million to improve its estates. I would welcome the opportunity to meet my hon. Friend to discuss this matter further.

[Dame Caroline Dinenage (Gosport) (Con)]

I hope that schools in South Dorset and—crucially—the Minister will have read the Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport’s “Game On” report, which was published today. It makes the case for increased physical activity in schools and the positive impact it has on a pupil’s ability to learn. However, recent reports suggest that the Government are proposing funding cuts for physical education, so will the Minister please give a very clear commitment today that there will be no reduction in funding for PE in our schools? In fact, I would love to hear from her that there will actually be increased investment in our children’s health, wellbeing and learning through a more active school day.

[Georgia Gould]

The Government absolutely want to see children engaged in physical activity, and to support that through the school day. We have recently announced funding for school games organisers and will be setting out further information about our new partnership model, which will bring together different partners from across the private, public and voluntary sectors to ensure that children in every community have opportunities.

[Fleur Anderson (Putney) (Lab)]

7. What plans she has to review school food standards requiring mandatory servings of meat, fish and dairy.

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[The Minister for School Standards (Georgia Gould)]

This Government believe that a collaborative school system is the best way to drive high and rising standards, so that every child can achieve and thrive. In our schools White Paper, we have set out how we plan to support further collaboration while improving accountability to deliver the education our children deserve.

[Alison Bennett]

There are three schools in my Mid Sussex constituency that were part of the University of Brighton academy trust. Given that serious concerns about financial management at UBAT persisted for years before re-brokerage was triggered, will reforms to the multi-academy trust governance system include early warning systems, so that failing trusts are identified and intervention takes place before reaching the point of failure?

[Georgia Gould]

I really welcome the hon. Lady’s question. I absolutely agree that we need to spot the early warning signs of financial failure. That is why we are bringing in a new Ofsted inspection framework for multi-academy trusts that will look at other issues, including governance and financial management.

[Harriet Cross (Gordon and Buchan) (Con)]

16. What recent progress her Department has made on implementing the complaints scheme provided for in the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023.

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[Peter Swallow (Bracknell) (Lab)]

T8. As the MP for Sandhurst, I am proud to represent many armed forces families. As the Minister will know, armed forces families often move around, but no particular support seems to be given to their children. There is no marker to identify these children, they do not qualify for fair access protocols, and they are given no particular priority in admissions. Will she meet me to discuss how we can better support the children of armed forces families?

[The Minister for School Standards (Georgia Gould)]

We are deeply grateful for the service of our armed forces families. I would welcome the opportunity to meet my hon. Friend, and I recently met members of the all-party parliamentary group on the armed forces. We will be bringing forward further admissions reforms shortly.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Secretary of State.

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[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

Some 4% of children are diagnosed with foetal alcohol spectrum disorder. It is totally avoidable, yet it can impact on movement, communication, thinking, concentration and many physiological changes, placing significant demands on the SEND system. Will the Education Secretary work with the Health Secretary to deliver a 1,001 critical days strategy, preventing FASD and rising demand on the SEND system?

[Georgia Gould]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising that critical issue. It is an area on which we are already working closely with health colleagues, both in our support for families but also in response to children’s SEND needs. We have a meeting later, where we will discuss the matter.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

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[John Milne (Horsham) (LD)]

T2. There are some brilliant specialist SEND schools in my constituency, such as Muntham House and Aurora Vincent House. In the White Paper, there is currently no clear definition of a specialist school, and concerns remain that provision is being framed as something to be reduced, rather than planned for. What role does the Department see special schools having in the reformed system, and how will they be funded?

[Georgia Gould]

We agree that special schools play an incredibly important role in the system by providing vital care for children with complex needs and supporting their wider education. They have an important role in the schools White Paper with regard both to education support and to the outreach they do for mainstream schools. We are proposing the introduction of specialist provision packages precisely in order to end the postcode lottery and create more clarity over what specialist provision should look like.

[Florence Eshalomi (Vauxhall and Camberwell Green) (Lab/Co-op)]

I thank the Secretary of State for visiting St Paul’s primary school in my constituency a few weeks ago to meet the excellent head, Angela Batchelor, and her staff team, where we heard at first hand from parents the importance of the wraparound nursery service and the additional breakfast club. One of the issues raised was SEND, which I know the Secretary of State is really looking at. Can she outline when we will see those changes coming through in order to help the families who are struggling with accessing SEND services from their local authority?

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[Josh Babarinde (Eastbourne) (LD)]

T4. Eastbourne headteachers have expressed grave concerns about the impact of the new Ofsted framework on staff wellbeing, and its punishing impact on schools in deprived areas. Will the Minister meet me and Eastbourne headteachers for a roundtable to discuss how we can avoid disastrous consequences happening again?

[Georgia Gould]

I would be very happy to meet the hon. Member. The new framework has been designed to support the wellbeing of heads and to give a clear and full view of school performance, but I am happy to continue that conversation.

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[Jayne Kirkham (Truro and Falmouth) (Lab/Co-op)]

I welcome the Experts at Hand service and the £3.7 million that has been given to Cornwall to set it up. We struggle, however, to get occupational therapists, educational psychologists and speech and language therapists in rural and coastal areas. What incentives are there, and what is the Minister doing, to encourage people to come down to Cornwall and work in our services?

[Georgia Gould]

We were delighted to announce £429 million for new speech and language therapists, occupational therapists and educational psychologists, which will go to communities around the country. We are working closely with colleagues in Health to ensure that there are no cold spots and that every single school and child has access to that essential support.