Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing monthly start dates for the 30 hours funded childcare scheme.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The government’s Plan for Change sets out a commitment to give children the best start in life, breaking the link between background and opportunity.
Children become eligible for an early education and childcare place from 1 September, 1 January or 1 April, the term after they reach the relevant age and meet relevant eligibility criteria.
Depending on when a child is born and when the eligibility criteria are met, there will be differing periods to wait until the relevant termly date.
Termly deadlines enable local authorities and childcare providers to plan and ensure sufficient early years places are available for parents each term, as there are clear periods for when children are likely to enter into a place.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking t support the expansion of (a) return to work and (b) accredited conversion courses at UK universities for (i) overseas workers and (ii) BNO visa holders seeking to re-enter the UK workforce.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
UK higher education (HE) providers offer a wide range of conversion courses designed to help individuals transition into new career areas. Many providers also offer tailored support for students, including pre-sessional programmes, careers guidance and post-graduation employability support.
As autonomous bodies which are independent of government, universities and other HE providers are responsible for their business decisions in relation to both domestic and international students.
The UK European Network of Information Centre supports the recognition of international qualifications in the UK. The service facilitates the entry of students with qualifications from other countries into UK educational institutions and work by enabling them to provide evidence that they meet the entry requirements for courses and jobs.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the repayment threshold of student loans on plan five in line with those on plan two.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Where government reforms lead to the introduction of a new student loan plan type, the terms of the new loan, such as repayment threshold, interest rates and length of the loan are considered as a whole. They are then set in legislation to apply to that specific loan type, such as for Plan 5 which was introduced in 2023.
Comparing only one element, such as the threshold, of a historic plan to a new plan does not provide a balanced assessment. Though the Plan 5 repayment threshold is lower than for Plan 2, the Plan 5 interest rate is lower (RPI+0%) when compared with Plan 2 Plan (RPI+3% during study and varies with earnings post-study).
In 2022, the department conducted a government consultation to assess the impact of policy reforms on higher education funding and finance, including changes to repayment thresholds from Plan 2 to Plan 5. Details on the consultation are available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/62223cfb8fa8f549071fc82c/Higher_education_policy_statement_reform_consultation_-_Equality_analysis.pdf.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of a delay in settlement for British National (Overseas) child visa holders caused by a change from a 5+1 to a 10+1 route on access to (a) scholarships, (b) tuition support and (c) student finance.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Subject to meeting the normal eligibility requirements, Hong Kong British National (Overseas) status holders will be able to qualify for student finance, including tuition fee loans and maintenance loans, and home fee status once they have acquired settled status in the UK. This is in line with most other persons on routes to settlement.
The Home Office has made clear that they will be consulting on the earned settlement scheme later this year and further details of the proposed scheme will be provided at that time.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of air quality in classrooms in Surrey.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The department has not assessed the air quality of classrooms in Surrey.
The department regularly reviews its guidance to ensure that it aligns with best practice and industry standards in order to deliver high-quality school environments.
Between January 2022 and April 2023, the department provided over 9,000 air cleaning units to over 1,300 settings that had been identified with poor ventilation. The department has published guidance on how to use CO2 monitors and air cleaning units, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/using-co-monitors-and-air-cleaning-units-in-education-and-care-settings.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve the air quality of classrooms.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The department has not assessed the air quality of classrooms in Surrey.
The department regularly reviews its guidance to ensure that it aligns with best practice and industry standards in order to deliver high-quality school environments.
Between January 2022 and April 2023, the department provided over 9,000 air cleaning units to over 1,300 settings that had been identified with poor ventilation. The department has published guidance on how to use CO2 monitors and air cleaning units, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/using-co-monitors-and-air-cleaning-units-in-education-and-care-settings.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of children eligible for free school meals who are not currently receiving them in Epsom and Ewell constituency.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
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 (FSM) to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026. This 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 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.
The department publishes data on FSM eligibility and the number of eligible pupils taking a free school meal on school census day in the annual 'Schools, pupils and their characteristics' accredited official statistics. These statistics can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics/2024-25.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending existing provisions for mandatory Relationships, Sex and Health Education under the Children and Social Work Act 2017 to ensure everyone under the age of 18 can access (a) guidance and (b) support.
Answered by Janet Daby
Relationships and sex education (RSE) is at the core of the personal development tutorial system in post-16 settings that enables students to discuss important issues relating to their lives as active adult citizens.
As well as learning about British values, resilience, financial literacy and how to navigate the world of work, students participate in debates about respect, consent, coercive control, misogyny, domestic abuse and stereotyping, considering the impact of negative behaviours.
Ofsted’s inspection regime includes personal development. Its judgement evaluates a college’s intent to provide for the personal development of learners and the quality of the way it does this, and education in healthy relationships is one of the areas of focus.
The department has engaged an expert college leader and former Chair of the National Association of Managers of Student Services to develop a RSE toolkit to help colleges deliver high-quality, consistent lessons. This will provide delivery advice and tutorial materials, giving both sixth form college staff and general further education college staff the confidence and skills to deliver on personal development effectively, and to tackle misogyny head on. The toolkit is due to be launched in November.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has considered making relationships, sex and health education mandatory in (a) sixth form colleges and (b) other further education institutions.
Answered by Janet Daby
Relationships and sex education (RSE) is at the core of the personal development tutorial system in post-16 settings that enables students to discuss important issues relating to their lives as active adult citizens.
As well as learning about British values, resilience, financial literacy and how to navigate the world of work, students participate in debates about respect, consent, coercive control, misogyny, domestic abuse and stereotyping, considering the impact of negative behaviours.
Ofsted’s inspection regime includes personal development. Its judgement evaluates a college’s intent to provide for the personal development of learners and the quality of the way it does this, and education in healthy relationships is one of the areas of focus.
The department has engaged an expert college leader and former Chair of the National Association of Managers of Student Services to develop a RSE toolkit to help colleges deliver high-quality, consistent lessons. This will provide delivery advice and tutorial materials, giving both sixth form college staff and general further education college staff the confidence and skills to deliver on personal development effectively, and to tackle misogyny head on. The toolkit is due to be launched in November.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department is considering replacing the Dance and Drama Awards scheme with the Lifelong Learning Entitlement.
Answered by Janet Daby
The Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) will not be replacing the Dance and Drama Awards (DaDA) grant scheme. The LLE will provide individuals with a loan entitlement to the equivalent of four years’ post-18 education to use over their working lives (£38,140 in today’s fees). The LLE will eventually be replacing the advanced learner loans scheme for levels 4 to 6.
To offer LLE provision, providers will need to be registered with the Office for Students. Funding for the 2026/27 academic year will be subject to confirmation in the government’s spending review.