Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when her Department plans to publish further details on (a) how V Levels will align with (i) T Levels and (ii) A Levels in the post-16 qualification framework and (b) other matters relating to V Levels.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
On 20 October 2025, the department set out plans to introduce V Levels, a third, vocational pathway at level 3. V Levels will sit alongside A levels and T Levels and will offer a vocational alternative to these academic and technical routes. We launched a consultation on post-16 level 3 and below pathways, closing on 12 January 2026. This can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/post-16-level-3-and-below-pathways. The results of the consultation and the department's response will be published in 2026.
This government remains strongly committed to T Levels and will continue to encourage their growth. T Levels are delivering fantastic results for students, providing the technical skills needed for progression into further study and training or skilled work. Where a learner wants in-depth knowledge of a subject area, they should study the T Level, compared to the V Level which allows learners more flexibility to explore different areas and which we generally expect will be the size of one A level.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to provide guidance to education providers on the introduction of the new Technical Occupational Qualification in Social Care from September 2026.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
For detailed information specific to individual qualifications, the department advises education providers to consult the relevant Awarding Organisation. These organisations are responsible for developing and delivering qualifications and will provide tailored guidance to support providers in their delivery of the Technical Occupational Qualification in Social Care from September 2026.
The department provides comprehensive support materials to help education providers in implementing newly reformed qualifications, including Technical Occupational Qualifications. This includes hosting a toolkit, model pathways, resources for careers advisers, video explainers, links to webinars, newsletters, and the webpage: https://support.tlevels.gov.uk/hc/en-gb/sections/16829562632850-Qualifications-Review.
These resources are regularly updated to ensure providers have access to the latest advice and are signposted to broader support where appropriate.
The department remains committed to maintaining and enhancing guidance materials to ensure continued support for providers throughout the reform process.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to announce (a) how many Technical Excellence Colleges there will be in each (i) sector and (ii) region and (b) other matters relating to Technical Excellence Colleges.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
In August 2025, the department appointed 10 Technical Excellence Colleges (TECs) in construction, backed by £100 million in funding to deliver high-quality construction skills provision. The post-16 education and skills strategy white paper confirmed that we will now go further, expanding the TEC programme to a further 4 sectors which will include: four TECs in advanced manufacturing, five TECs in clean energy, five TECs in digital and technologies and five TECs in defence.
These new TECs, backed by £175 million, will ensure the pipeline of skilled workers into these areas, securing new defence jobs in this growing industry and will help to address shortages in engineering. Exact locations are yet to be determined, and colleges will be appointed through a fair and transparent application process. Selection processes for these TECs will start by the end of 2025, with delivery planned to begin from April 2026. Further details will be published in due course.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many school buildings in Maidenhead are classified as requiring urgent repair under her Department’s Condition Data Collection.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
From 2021 to 2026, the Condition Data Collection 2 (CDC2) programme is visiting every government-funded school and college in England to collect data about the condition of their buildings. This is providing an updated and comprehensive picture of the condition of the school estate in England to support our capital funding policy and programmes.
School reports, setting out the condition of building elements, are shared with each school and their responsible body while the CDC2 programme is in progress, so that schools and responsible bodies have access to the latest assessment of their site.
Information on the condition of schools, as assessed by the predecessor programme (CDC1), can be found at: https://depositedpapers.parliament.uk/depositedpaper/2285521/details.
Responsible bodies, such as local authorities, voluntary-aided school bodies, and multi and single academy trusts, have the responsibility to make regular assessments of the condition of schools in their estate to inform programmes of maintenance works.
The department has increased funding to improve the condition of the estate for the 2025/26 financial year to £2.1 billion, up from £1.8 billion last year. Allocations are published on GOV.UK and are partly informed by consistent data on the condition of the estate collected by the department, reflecting the relative need of schools. This is in addition to our continued investment in the current School Rebuilding Programme.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure academic consistency between (a) GCSEs and (b) iGCSEs; and whether she has held discussions with (i) teachers and (ii) parents on perceptions of the differences between those qualifications.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
International GCSEs, which includes iGCSEs, and GCSEs in England are different qualifications. Unlike GCSEs, international GCSEs are not developed by the department, regulated by Ofqual or funded for use in state schools. International GCSEs have also not counted in school performance tables since GCSEs were last reformed.
International GCSEs were introduced to serve the large international market for British qualifications and are also offered by some independent schools. The awarding organisations that offer international GCSEs decide the content for these qualifications and how that content is assessed. The department has no role in setting grading standards for these qualifications.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
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 making it a statutory requirement for schools to have libraries; and whether her Department is taking steps to ensure that all schools have access to well-resourced libraries.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
I refer the hon. Member for Maidenhead to the answer of 28 January 2025 to Question 25150.