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 encourage healthier eating in schools.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
The department is committed to raising the healthiest generation ever. To ensure quality and nutrition in meals for the future, we are working with experts across the sector to revise the School Food Standards, so every school is supported with updated nutrition guidance.
The Relationships and sex education and health education (RSHE) statutory guidance states that by the end of primary school, pupils should know what constitutes a healthy diet, the principles of planning and preparing a range of healthy meals, the characteristics of a poor diet, and the risks associated with unhealthy eating and other behaviours (e.g. the impact of alcohol on diet or health). The guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help support working parents with childcare costs in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The early education and childcare entitlements are a devolved matter.
Parents may be eligible for childcare support through Tax-Free Childcare or Universal Credit Childcare which are UK-wide offers. Tax-Free Childcare can help with an additional 20% contribution to their childcare costs outside the entitlements, which can be worth up to £2,000 per year for children aged 0 to 11 or up to £4,000 per year for disabled children until they are 17.
Universal Credit Childcare aims to support parents to become financially resilient by moving into work and progressing in work. Eligible Universal Credit claimants can claim back up to 85% of their registered childcare costs each month regardless of the number of hours they work.
Support and guidance from pregnancy to early childhood is available here: https://www.beststartinlife.gov.uk/.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve early intervention for SEN children.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
We know that early identification of needs is crucial to children’s development, health and life chances. This ensures that the right support is put in place as early as possible to ensure children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) can get the best start in life.
On 7 July, we published our commitment to Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life. We have pledged to invest close to £1.5 billion over the next three years to realise the Opportunity Mission and ensure every child has the best start in life. Through this investment, we will expand and strengthen family services, make early education and childcare more accessible and affordable, and improve the quality of early education and childcare.
The government has announced funding for Best Start Family Hubs in every local authority to ensure that children and families who need support the most, especially those from low-income backgrounds or those with additional vulnerabilities, can access it. Hubs will be open to all families, but we expect them to be located mainly in disadvantaged communities where support is most needed.
To support settings to identify need early, we are strengthening the evidence base of what works to improve early identification in mainstream settings. Recently published evidence reviews from University College London will help to drive inclusive practices as they highlight what the best available evidence suggests are the most effective tools, strategies and approaches.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had discussions with her Northern Ireland counterpart on substitute teachers unable to get permanent jobs.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Supply teachers perform a valuable role and make an important contribution to the smooth running of schools by filling posts on a temporary basis and covering teacher absences.
Schools, academies and local authorities are responsible for the recruitment of supply teachers, which includes deciding whether they contract supply teachers directly or use employment agencies.
Education is a devolved matter. The department is in contact with Northern Ireland counterparts at an official level to discuss and share valuable knowledge about supply teachers and the supply system in England and Northern Ireland.
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 substitute funding for schools.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
The department does not specifically fund substitute provision. However, the overall core schools budget (CSB) is increasing by £3.7 billion in the 2025/26 financial year. Each school has the autonomy to allocate its budget to best meet the needs of its pupils and ensure they have the best opportunities in life. This may involve decisions concerning the hiring of supply staff, since schools, academies and local authorities are responsible for staff recruitment.
The department is also committed to helping schools get better value for their money when hiring supply staff. We are working closely with the Crown Commercial Service on their agency supply deal, which supports schools to obtain value for money when hiring agency supply teachers and other temporary school staff. The deal has established a list of preferred suppliers that schools can access, all of which will be transparent with schools about the rates they charge.
The department continues to conduct policy research into the supply market.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support her Department provides for people in further education.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
The department provides a range of financial support for students who need it to enable them to participate in post-16 education, including free meals, bursaries to help with the cost of education (such as travel, books, equipment, and trips), plus support for childcare and residential costs where required.
Within the Adult Skills Fund, Learner Support is available to colleges and training providers to help learners meet costs such as transport, accommodation, books, equipment and childcare. In addition, learning support meets the costs of reasonable adjustments as set out in the Equality Act 2010 for learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities.
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 prevent hate speech in schools.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
There is no place for hate or prejudice in our education system. Every school should actively promote the shared values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect for those of different faiths and beliefs.
The department has published advice for schools on promoting these values and made resources available through the Educate Against Hate website.
The new relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) guidance seeks to provide a practical framework that enables schools to teach RSHE in a way that is preventative and protective. It strengthens content on healthy relationships, mental health and the content reflects some of the challenges facing young people today. The guidance was updated on 15 July and is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education.
The department has also published ‘Respectful School Communities’, a self-review and signposting tool to support schools to develop a whole- school approach which promotes respect and discipline. It is available here: https://www.educateagainsthate.com/resources/respectful-school-communities-self-review-signposting-tool-2/.
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 impact of social media in schools on bullying.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
We know that evidence suggests that cyberbullying is often linked to face-to-face bullying.
Mobile phones have no place in our schools. The department’s ‘mobile phones in schools’ guidance is clear that schools should prohibit the use of devices with smart technology throughout the school day, including during lessons, transitions and breaks.
The department expects all schools to take steps in line with this guidance to ensure mobile phones do not disrupt pupils’ learning. If pupils fail to follow those rules, schools have the power to confiscate devices.
Additionally, the department is launching a procurement for an expert and evidence-led review into best practice on managing pupil behaviour, reducing preventable exclusions and tackling and preventing bullying. The learning from this best practice review will inform the support to be given in the longer term by up to 90 new regional improvement for standards and excellence attendance and behaviour hubs, which are being established across regions in England to focus on supporting senior leaders to develop safe, supportive school cultures.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department spends annually on taxi travel for children to and from schools.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
Local authorities are responsible for arranging home to school travel for eligible children. They deliver their duty through a mix of in-house services, passes for free travel on public transport and contracts with private transport operators. Such contracts are a matter for the council and the operator, but the department encourages councils to have robust arrangements in place.
The department has not routinely collected data on how much local authorities spend on different modes of transport. It is working to improve this picture and launched a voluntary data collection on home to school travel arrangements in February 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 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: