Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of variation between local authorities in the provision of SEND support for children from Armed Forces families.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department recognises that Armed Forces life may present particular challenges for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including the need for their families to relocate regularly. Nationally, we want there to be much greater consistency in the support for children and young people with SEND.
Our reforms include proposals for new National Inclusion Standards, setting out support that should be available in every mainstream setting. We also proposed a nationally consistent set of specialist provision packages to provide comprehensive, evidence-based support for children and young people with the most complex needs, underpinning education, health and care (EHC) plans. Additionally, EHC plans and new Individual Support Plans will be digital, and help deliver smoother transitions when families move.
We will confirm our intentions over reform in light of the consultation responses.
Data is collected on a pupil’s SEN provision or whether their parent(s), or person(s) exercising parental responsibility, are service personnel via the school census.
Further information about the school census is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/complete-the-school-census/data-items-2025-to-2026
Although analysis combining both SEN and service status is not routinely undertaken, overall data on educational outcomes for service children is published annually by the Ministry of Defence and is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/armed-forces-covenant-annual-reports
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of family mobility on the continuity of SEND provision for children from Armed Forces families.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department recognises that Armed Forces life may present particular challenges for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including the need for their families to relocate regularly. Nationally, we want there to be much greater consistency in the support for children and young people with SEND.
Our reforms include proposals for new National Inclusion Standards, setting out support that should be available in every mainstream setting. We also proposed a nationally consistent set of specialist provision packages to provide comprehensive, evidence-based support for children and young people with the most complex needs, underpinning education, health and care (EHC) plans. Additionally, EHC plans and new Individual Support Plans will be digital, and help deliver smoother transitions when families move.
We will confirm our intentions over reform in light of the consultation responses.
Data is collected on a pupil’s SEN provision or whether their parent(s), or person(s) exercising parental responsibility, are service personnel via the school census.
Further information about the school census is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/complete-the-school-census/data-items-2025-to-2026
Although analysis combining both SEN and service status is not routinely undertaken, overall data on educational outcomes for service children is published annually by the Ministry of Defence and is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/armed-forces-covenant-annual-reports
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data her Department holds on the outcomes of Service children with (a) special educational needs and (b) disabilities.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department recognises that Armed Forces life may present particular challenges for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including the need for their families to relocate regularly. Nationally, we want there to be much greater consistency in the support for children and young people with SEND.
Our reforms include proposals for new National Inclusion Standards, setting out support that should be available in every mainstream setting. We also proposed a nationally consistent set of specialist provision packages to provide comprehensive, evidence-based support for children and young people with the most complex needs, underpinning education, health and care (EHC) plans. Additionally, EHC plans and new Individual Support Plans will be digital, and help deliver smoother transitions when families move.
We will confirm our intentions over reform in light of the consultation responses.
Data is collected on a pupil’s SEN provision or whether their parent(s), or person(s) exercising parental responsibility, are service personnel via the school census.
Further information about the school census is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/complete-the-school-census/data-items-2025-to-2026
Although analysis combining both SEN and service status is not routinely undertaken, overall data on educational outcomes for service children is published annually by the Ministry of Defence and is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/armed-forces-covenant-annual-reports
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of collecting data on the number of pupils in each local authority receiving SEN support for literacy and dyslexia, particularly in relation to (a) the Government's White Paper 'Every Child Achieving and Thriving' and (b) to support the Expert at Hands service.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department continuously seeks to update and build its evidence base on the prevalence of different types of special educational needs (SEN). The department publishes annual statistics on the primary and secondary types of need for pupils receiving SEN support in the ‘Special educational needs in England’ publication.
The department is consulting on the approach to areas of development and will set out future plans in due course.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish the number of pupils in England receiving SEN support for literacy and dyslexia.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department continuously seeks to update and build its evidence base on the prevalence of different types of special educational needs (SEN). The department publishes annual statistics on the primary and secondary types of need for pupils receiving SEN support in the ‘Special educational needs in England’ publication.
The department is consulting on the approach to areas of development and will set out future plans in due course.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help ensure that individual needs are assessed and met through Specialist Provision Packages.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of developing a joint workforce plan with the Department for Health and Social Care to support sustainability of Experts at Hand service.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department is working closely with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS England on special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms, including delivery of the Experts at Hand offer, strengthening joint workforce planning and commissioning at a local level between education and health partners.
We are investing around £1.8 billion over the next three years for local area partnerships, including local authorities and integrated care boards to develop a new ‘Experts at Hand’ offer, strengthening mainstream education through access to health and specialist education support.
To support delivery, we are investing over £40 million in the specialist workforce, including £26 million to increase educational psychologists and £15 million to grow the speech and language therapy workforce.
Local area partnerships will develop and deliver their own Experts at Hand, tailored to local population needs and supported by strong national oversight. The government will set the overall framework, provide guidance and tools, and work closely with local areas to ensure consistent quality.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of children with SEND are out of education.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department publishes data on compulsory school-aged children missing education (children not registered at school or otherwise receiving suitable education). In autumn 2025/26, local authorities in England reported 34,700 children missing education.
Of this total, just under 8% of children were recorded as requiring SEN support and just over 8% were recorded as having an education, health and care plan. This compares with 14% and 5%, for the overall school population.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has considered moving from a term‑time funding model to a year‑round model for early years entitlements.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
It is our ambition that all families have access to high-quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change.
Children become eligible for the working parent entitlement 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 better 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: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve (a) recruitment, (b) retention, (c) career progression and (d) workload in the early years workforce.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The early years workforce is at the heart of our mission to give every child the best start in life and deliver the Plan for Change. This is why the department is supporting the sector to attract talented staff and childminders by creating conditions for improved recruitment, alongside programmes to better utilise the skills of the existing workforce and make early years careers as accessible as possible.
The department is attracting new people into the early years sector through initiatives like our national recruitment campaign and financial incentives programmes. We are also ensuring there is a career path for everyone who wants to become an early years teacher, through increasing places on our existing teacher training programmes and introducing a new early years teacher degree apprenticeship route.
The department is confident that through our Best Start in Life Strategy, we can lay the foundations for long-term change. We will give early years educators the status they deserve, creating more opportunities to enter the profession, gain higher qualifications, and build fulfilling careers.