Asked by: Laura Kyrke-Smith (Labour - Aylesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help strengthen safeguarding arrangements in out-of-school settings.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government is committed to safeguarding children and protecting them from harm, including in out-of-school settings (OOSS).
The department has already updated guidance for providers and produced free e-learning, to support them in their legal duty to ensure the safety and wellbeing of children in their settings and protect them from harm. We also strengthened guidance for local authorities on identifying and intervening in settings of concern, alongside updating guidance for parents and carers to help them make informed choices, including warning signs to look out for and steps to take if concerns arise.
On 29 May 2025, we launched a Call for Evidence on OOSS safeguarding to better understand current practice and invite views on possible approaches to further strengthen safeguarding. This was extended for an additional month in August 2025 and finally closed on 21 September 2025. We are currently analysing responses, and will undertake further engagement with sector representatives, safeguarding experts, and parents before issuing a full response in due course.
Asked by: Laura Kyrke-Smith (Labour - Aylesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will hold discussions with Ofsted on reducing the time taken to licence people who are in charge of children's homes.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is already taking steps to support Ofsted with effective prioritisation of registrations for new children’s social care provision. To address registration delays, we have supported Ofsted to update their registration prioritisation criteria, enabling Ofsted to prioritise applications for homes urgently needed to meet identified sufficiency gaps, homes receiving capital funding from us, and provision providing highly specialist care for children with complex needs and/or disability. The department will assist Ofsted to review the policy’s impact in April 2026 and consider further changes.
We are also committed to working with Ofsted to identify improvements to the registration process for children’s home managers. This includes considering changes to regulations and procedures to streamline registration transfers when managers move between children’s homes so that they can take up new positions more quickly where they are needed.
Asked by: Laura Kyrke-Smith (Labour - Aylesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will consider adding cheerleading as an approved (a) sport and (b) activity which can be assessed for GCSE Physical Education qualifications.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Cheerleading was recognised as a sport by the Home Nations Sport Councils in December last year.
It is not part of the current GCSE activity list, which was last reviewed in 2018. The department and awarding organisations developed a set of five key considerations which were applied to each activity in order to ensure parity and rigour of assessment.
The government launched an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review for ages 5 to 18, led by Professor Becky Francis CBE. As part of this review, curriculum and assessment arrangements are being evaluated, including the full range of national curriculum subjects and most GCSEs. This will address the key barriers to pupil achievement and ensure all young people have access to high standards and future opportunities. The department is currently awaiting the outcomes of the Review.
Asked by: Laura Kyrke-Smith (Labour - Aylesbury)
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 including essential safeguarding aspects of the law in the curriculum.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
Relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) has a vital role to play in supporting pupils’ wellbeing, health and safety. Pupils are taught a range of topics in relation to safeguarding, and guidance sets out that they should be made aware of the relevant legal provisions when relevant topics are being taught.
The RSHE statutory guidance is currently under review. The department is looking carefully at responses to the public consultation conducted last year, considering the relevant evidence and discussing with stakeholders before setting out next steps to make sure the guidance draws from the best available evidence.
Asked by: Laura Kyrke-Smith (Labour - Aylesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the level of funding available for Music Hubs.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
The government has committed £79 million per year for the Music Hubs programme, inclusive of the 2024/25 academic year. The 43 Music Hubs partnerships across England offer a range of services, including musical instrument tuition, instrument loaning and whole-class ensemble teaching. To widen access to musical instruments, the government is investing £25 million in capital funding for musical instruments, equipment and technology from the 2024/25 academic year. This funding enables Music Hubs partnerships to better cater to the needs of the children and young people they work with.
The government believes creative subjects like music, art and drama are important elements of the rounded and enriching education every child deserves. Future programme budgets will be considered as part of the spending review and subsequent business planning process.
Asked by: Laura Kyrke-Smith (Labour - Aylesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the prevalence of incidents relating to dysphagia in SEND settings; and what steps she is taking to manage dysphagia safely in those settings.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units to make arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions. Some children with medical conditions may be considered to be disabled under the definition set out in the Equality Act 2010. Where this is the case, governing bodies must comply with their duties under that Act.
Governing bodies should ensure that all schools develop a policy for supporting pupils with medical conditions that is reviewed regularly and is readily accessible to parents and school staff. They must ensure that the arrangements they put in place are sufficient to meet their statutory responsibilities and should ensure that policies, plans, procedures and systems are properly and effectively implemented.
Asked by: Laura Kyrke-Smith (Labour - Aylesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of ensuring all (a) teachers and (b) support staff in SEND settings receive training on dysphagia.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units to make arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions. Some children with medical conditions may be considered to be disabled under the definition set out in the Equality Act 2010. Where this is the case, governing bodies must comply with their duties under that Act.
Governing bodies should ensure that all schools develop a policy for supporting pupils with medical conditions that is reviewed regularly and is readily accessible to parents and school staff. They must ensure that the arrangements they put in place are sufficient to meet their statutory responsibilities and should ensure that policies, plans, procedures and systems are properly and effectively implemented.
Asked by: Laura Kyrke-Smith (Labour - Aylesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 17 October 2024 to Question 8936 on Religion: Education, whether locally agreed syllabuses on religious education must also take into account the teaching and practices of (a) humanism and (b) other principal non-religious worldviews.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
Following the ruling in the Bowen vs Kent County Council case, the department published additional guidance for local authorities regarding the membership of Standing Advisory Councils for Religious Education (SACREs). The guidance sets out the department’s view on the ruling and makes clear that, where an application has been received, representatives from non-religious belief systems may be appointed to Group A of a SACRE and/or to an Agreed Syllabus Conference (ASC). The non-religious beliefs adhered to by the person/s to be appointed must be analogous to a religious belief, in accordance with case law under the European Convention of Human Rights and the Human Rights Act 1998, and attain the necessary level cogency, seriousness, cohesion, and importance to attract protection under the Convention Rights. The final decision on appointment of persons to a SACRE or ASC, however, is a matter for local authorities.
Locally agreed syllabuses should take account of non-religious worldviews. As referenced in the department’s 2010 guidance, religious education (RE) should encourage pupils to explore their own beliefs, whether they are religious or non-religious. Inclusion of non-religious worldviews should be seen as part of a well-rounded RE curriculum.
Asked by: Laura Kyrke-Smith (Labour - Aylesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 17 October 2024 to Question 8936 on Religion: Education and with reference to her Department's Guidance for local authorities about membership of Standing Advisory Councils for Religious Education, published in September 2023, whether membership of (a) Standing Advisory Councils on Religious Education and (b) Agreed Syllabus Conferences must also be drawn from non-religious worldviews analogous to a religious belief.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
Following the ruling in the Bowen vs Kent County Council case, the department published additional guidance for local authorities regarding the membership of Standing Advisory Councils for Religious Education (SACREs). The guidance sets out the department’s view on the ruling and makes clear that, where an application has been received, representatives from non-religious belief systems may be appointed to Group A of a SACRE and/or to an Agreed Syllabus Conference (ASC). The non-religious beliefs adhered to by the person/s to be appointed must be analogous to a religious belief, in accordance with case law under the European Convention of Human Rights and the Human Rights Act 1998, and attain the necessary level cogency, seriousness, cohesion, and importance to attract protection under the Convention Rights. The final decision on appointment of persons to a SACRE or ASC, however, is a matter for local authorities.
Locally agreed syllabuses should take account of non-religious worldviews. As referenced in the department’s 2010 guidance, religious education (RE) should encourage pupils to explore their own beliefs, whether they are religious or non-religious. Inclusion of non-religious worldviews should be seen as part of a well-rounded RE curriculum.
Asked by: Laura Kyrke-Smith (Labour - Aylesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has carried out research into the impact of AI in education settings on children's wellbeing.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Artificial intelligence (AI) represents an opportunity to give our schools’ leaders and teachers a helping hand with classroom life, but only if the technology is safe and reliable and risks are managed appropriately.
The department has undertaken a range of research and engagement to understand the risks and opportunities posed by AI in education. The call for evidence on generative AI in education sought views and experiences from practitioners across all stages of education, as well as the education technology sector and AI experts. The report highlights the opportunities and risks of AI, including consideration of the impacts on pupils and concerns around the quality and reliability of tools.
In partnership with The Responsible Technology Adoption Unit within the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the department commissioned research to understand parent and pupil attitudes to the use of AI in education. This research can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/research-on-parent-and-pupil-attitudes-towards-the-use-of-ai-in-education/research-on-public-attitudes-towards-the-use-of-ai-in-education.
Parents and pupils were found to be supportive of opportunities for teachers to use AI to help reduce workload and allow them to focus on face-to-face interactions with pupils, but had concerns about pupil use of AI, including the impacts on wellbeing through over-reliance on technology and privacy and safeguarding risks.
The department’s approach to AI in education is informed by these insights. We have committed to publish expectations for the safety of generative AI products used in education to address concerns around safeguarding and privacy. Our project to develop a store of educational content optimised for use with AI aims to drive up the reliability and quality of tools. We are providing funding for innovation to develop tools which will help to reduce everyday feedback and marking workload for teachers, whilst avoiding AI use for high stakes marking, responding to parent and pupil views.
The department will continue to gather feedback and evidence on AI in education to inform the policy direction and remains committed to working in partnership with the sector to respond to technological developments.