Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to uphold free speech in universities.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government is absolutely committed to freedom of speech and academic freedom in universities. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, confirmed to Parliament on 15 January the government’s plans for the future of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023, which will create a more proportionate, balanced and less burdensome approach to protecting academic freedom and freedom of speech.
On 28 April, the Secretary of State for Education signed commencement regulations, bringing the following provisions into force on 1 August 2025:
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase the number of pupils learning languages in school.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
The study of languages is compulsory under the national curriculum at key stages 2 and 3 for all maintained schools, and will become compulsory in academies, subject to the passage of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.
The government continues to fund the National Consortium for Languages Education, which is developing a new model of language support for schools and online continuing professional development for teachers that will support high-quality language teaching. This programme is designed to have national reach, ensuring that all schools can benefit regardless of their location.
To further support languages education, the department is offering a £26,000 tax-free bursary for trainee language teachers starting courses in 2025, or alternatively, a £28,000 tax-free scholarship for those training to teach French, German, or Spanish. Additionally, Oak National Academy is developing modern foreign languages lesson resources for key stages 2 to 4, to be fully released by autumn 2025, helping teachers deliver high-quality lessons and reduce planning time.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential (a) merits of virtual teachers in allowing pupils to (i) rewatch and (ii) relisten to lessons and (b) impact of those teachers on pupils with lower achievement rates.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
Oak National Academy, an arm’s length body of the department, aims to support teachers to improve curriculum delivery, reduce workload and support improved pupil outcomes. Oak works with teachers across the country, giving them and their pupils access to high-quality digital curriculum resources across key stages 1 to 4. These digital curriculum resources, including recorded lessons, are free, adaptable and can be accessed at any time.
We do not prescribe the number of teaching hours for each subject, or the format of lessons. This, and the use of recorded lessons online, is left to the discretion of schools on what works best for their pupils.
The department continues to invest in building the evidence base and providing strategic guidance to support safe and effective adoption of digital tools, while respecting school autonomy with regard to its implementation.
The national curriculum provides a broad framework, giving schools and teachers the flexibility to organise the content and delivery of the curriculum to meet the needs of their pupils and local contexts, which may include recording additional lessons.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an estimate of the number of schools in England that have a fast food facility within 400m.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The department has not made an estimate of the number of schools in England that have a fast food facility within 400 meters, as the department has no remit over the locations of fast food outlets.
As part of the summer 2024 National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) consultation, the government sought views on how national planning policy could better support local authorities in promoting healthy communities, specifically in tackling childhood obesity.
The revised NPPF published in December 2024 introduced a new policy to restrict new hot food takeaways and fast food outlets within walking distance of schools and other places where children and young people congregate unless the location is in a designated town centre. Applications should also be refused where there is evidence that a concentration of such uses is having an adverse impact on local health, pollution or anti-social behaviour.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that teachers are adequately trained to deal with students with ADHD.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
High-quality teaching is the most important in-school factor for improving outcomes for all children, including those with neurodivergent conditions such as ADHD, and we are committed to ensuring that all pupils receive excellent support from their teachers.
The Teachers’ Standards set clear expectations that teachers must understand the needs of all pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and this is embedded in teacher training. From September 2025, all new teachers will benefit from 3 years of evidence-based training through the revised initial teacher training and early career framework. This has significantly more content related to supporting pupils with SEND, including content adapted from the new national professional qualification for special educational needs co-ordinators.
To ensure ongoing review, the department’s Neurodivergence Task and Finish Group brings together experts to make recommendations on how to best meet the needs of neurodivergent children and young people within mainstream education settings. Additionally, the Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) programme is a national, cross-governmental programme, backed by £22 million of investment, which deploys specialists from both health and education workforces to build teacher and staff capacity to identify and better meet the needs of neurodivergent children in mainstream primary schools.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps schools are taking to help make children aware of the dangers of groomers online.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
Keeping children safe is an absolute priority for this government and schools play a critical role in this.
As part of statutory relationships education in primary schools and relationships, sex and health education in secondary schools, pupils are already taught about online safety and harms.
The new statutory guidance, published on 15 July, is clear that pupils should be taught about online sexual harassment and online sexual abuse including grooming and sextortion, about understanding the risks and signs that they may be at risk of grooming or exploitation, and how to seek help where there is a concern. This guidance is accessible at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/68761d6b39d0452326e28e6f/RSHE_statutory_guidance_-_July_2025_.pdf.
The department also publishes ‘Keeping children safe in education’, the statutory guidance that all schools and colleges must have regard to. This can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2.
This guidance provides schools and colleges with robust information on how to protect pupils and students online and how to respond to any concerns or signs of abuse including grooming.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 10 April 2025 to Question 43513 on Financial Services: Curriculum, what assessment she has made of the impact of financial education in the national curriculum.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
Financial education is an important way of equipping children and young people with the skills and knowledge to achieve good financial wellbeing. This is why it forms part of the national curriculum in England.
The independent Curriculum and Assessment Review’s interim report, published in March, sets out that the Review has heard consistently that children, young people and their parents want more focus on the applied knowledge and skills that will equip them for later life and work, such as financial education.
The Review’s final report and recommendations will be published in the autumn, at which point the government will respond.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure children have access to drama education in schools.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
Drama is included in the current English national curriculum, compulsory up to age 16 (key stages 1 to 4). At key stage 4, all pupils in maintained schools have an entitlement to study an arts subject, including drama, if they wish.
The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, covering ages 5 to 18, chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE. The Review seeks to deliver a rich, broad, inclusive and innovative curriculum, including drama. The final report and government response will be published this autumn.
To help meet our ambitions for improved and more equitable arts education, we will be launching a new National Centre for Arts and Music Education, which will promote arts opportunities to children and young people, support excellent teacher training in the arts, and boost partnerships between schools and arts organisations.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she plans to take to roll out integrated family hubs.
Answered by Janet Daby
On 11 June 2025, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, set out plans for spending and public sector reforms through the Spending Review 2025. This announcement confirmed departmental budgets for 2026/27 onwards and committed that the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme, working with parents to help give children the best start in life.
On 7 July 2025, the government published the policy paper ‘Giving every child the best start in life’, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/giving-every-child-the-best-start-in-life.
This outlines the government’s commitment to delivering a new Best Start Family Service to bring together parenting, healthcare and education support services, as well as creating and funding Best Start Family Hubs in every local authority to give children the best start in life by strengthening and joining up family services.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she plans to take to ensure a wide roll out the Family Hubs programme.
Answered by Janet Daby
On 11 June 2025, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, set out plans for spending and public sector reforms through the Spending Review 2025. This announcement confirmed departmental budgets for 2026/27 onwards and committed that the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme, working with parents to help give children the best start in life.
On 7 July 2025, the government published the policy paper ‘Giving every child the best start in life’, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/giving-every-child-the-best-start-in-life.
This outlines the government’s commitment to delivering a new Best Start Family Service to bring together parenting, healthcare and education support services, as well as creating and funding Best Start Family Hubs in every local authority to give children the best start in life by strengthening and joining up family services.