Asked by: Mark Sewards (Labour - Leeds South West and Morley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that Education Otherwise Than At School (EOTAS) is available as part of the continuation of SEND support where a child cannot be educated in school.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department’s consultation, “SEND reform: putting children and young people first”, proposes the introduction of Specialist Provision Packages for all children and young people with complex needs, including those children and young people whose needs are currently met through Education Other Than At School (EOTAS) packages of support.
After a 12-week consultation period, including over 200 engagement events, meetings and roundtables, the department’s consultation has now closed. We are carefully reviewing and taking into account all responses submitted to the consultation and continuing to engage widely on our proposals.
As part of that continued engagement, we intend to publish a consultation on the use of EOTAS provision in the coming weeks. It is crucial that we get support for EOTAS children and young people right, particularly given their often complex needs. This consultation will seek views to ensure we meet those specific needs, and that these children and young people benefit from the inclusive education we want for all.
Asked by: Mark Sewards (Labour - Leeds South West and Morley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what arrangements will be in place to provide expert advice on children’s mental health alongside Experts at Hand for SEND.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department is 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. This offer is designed to strengthen the capability of mainstream education settings by providing access to support from key services and health and specialist education practitioners.
The government is expanding Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) to cover 60% of schools this year and we will continue to expand until we reach universal coverage by 2029/30. These teams will be coordinated with Experts at Hand, and should together form a ‘team around the setting’, ensuring timely access to the right support through a coordinated, multi-agency approach.
Where appropriate, local areas are also expected to commission specialist settings, including special schools and alternative provision, to provide outreach and share their expertise, drawing on existing specialist support including mental health provision.
The department is expanding MHSTs to provide early mental health support. As of March 2025, 52% of pupils (70% in secondary schools) were supported, with further data for 2025–26 to be published.
The government has further delivered its manifesto commitment to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers three years ahead of schedule, increasing capacity across services.
Asked by: Mark Sewards (Labour - Leeds South West and Morley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what processes her Department will put in place to ensure children, young people and families remain involved in SEND decision-making where responsibility is assumed by the Department from a local authority.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Under the Children and Families Act 2014, local authorities are statutorily responsible for decisions relating to special educational needs (SEN), both in managing the ‘Local Offer; of services and provision for SEN and in decisions relating to individual children and young people’s Education, Health and Care plans (EHCP). Local authorities must work in co-operation with children, young people and their parents in fulfilling their statutory duties.
Asked by: Mark Sewards (Labour - Leeds South West and Morley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans for decisions on Individual Support Plans to be within the scope of (a) the First-tier Tribunal (SEND) or (b) another independent adjudication route.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Individual Support Plans (ISPs) will provide a record of need and provision for all children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). They will allow settings to work alongside parents, providing a single, consistent record of what support has been tried, what has worked and what needs to change.
Under our proposals, ISPs will not be in scope for the SEND Tribunal nor for any other independent adjudication route. Where there are concerns about provision, parents and young people would be able to raise these directly with the setting, including through the improved schools complaints process where necessary.
We will seek to strengthen the school complaints system with the inclusion of an appropriate, independent SEND specialist such as a SENCO, MAT inclusion director, or senior school manager, on a panel, if the complaint cannot be resolved by the school’s senior management team or head teacher.
The SEND Tribunal remains an important legal backstop for the most important Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan decisions. Families will be able to appeal the most important decisions around needs assessment, eligibility for a specialist provision package, the type of package, the placement and outcome of an EHC plan review.
Asked by: Mark Sewards (Labour - Leeds South West and Morley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to maximise the portability of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities provision for children of Armed Forces families when they move between (a) local authority areas within England and (b) UK nations.
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: Mark Sewards (Labour - Leeds South West and Morley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of (a) current funding models in the context of high mobility and separation on Service pupils and (b) targeted support for those with special and additional education needs, and disabilities.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Over £26 million of targeted funding was allocated in 2025/26 to help schools in England support their Service pupils, through the Service Pupil Premium. The rate increased to £350 per eligible pupil in 2025, reflecting the department’s commitment to recognising the unique challenges faced by Armed Forces families. This funding enables schools to provide targeted pastoral and academic support to mitigate the effects of mobility and parental separation on pupil progress and wellbeing. The department reviews the Service Pupil Premium annually.
Service children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) might experience delays in identifying needs and inconsistent services and support between local authorities when their parents are redeployed and they move to a new area. The SEND reforms we are proposing respond directly to long-standing concerns about the outcomes for children with SEND and the inconsistency and inefficiencies in support. For example, National Inclusion Standards will set out support that should be available in every mainstream setting so that children can receive more consistent support. Education, health and care plans and new Individual Support Plans will be digital, to support smoother transitions when children move between schools or local authorities.
Asked by: Mark Sewards (Labour - Leeds South West and Morley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the portability of (a) special and (b) additional needs, and (c) disability provision for children in Armed Forces families.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
As part of the consultation on the government’s special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms, I recently attended a roundtable hosted by the Armed Forces Community All-Party Parliamentary Group. I met representatives from armed forces families and the charities that support them to hear first-hand about the problems they face. Children and young people from armed forces families might have to change nursery, school or college when their parents are redeployed. They can experience delays in identifying their needs, and inconsistent services and support between local authorities.
To address the problems caused by delays, the department’s special educational needs and disabilities reforms will improve early identification of children’s needs so that provision can be put in place more quickly. We will invest in new training for all staff and increase the number of specialists. Education health and care plans and new Individual Support Plans will be digital, which will support services children by facilitating smoother transitions when they move between schools or local authorities.
In future, services children should receive more consistent services when they move. National Inclusion Standards will set out, for the first time, support that should be available in every mainstream setting. A nationally consistent set of Specialist Provision Packages will provide comprehensive, evidence-based packages of support for children and young people with the most complex needs.
Education is a devolved matter and the reforms will apply to England only.
Asked by: Mark Sewards (Labour - Leeds South West and Morley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 29 August 2025 to Question 73095, whether her Department has complemented a New Burden Assessment regarding the potential financial impact of extending the Armed Forces Covenant Duty on its Departmental responsibilities.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
New burdens assessments are required when a department’s actions meet the government definition of a new burden, ensuring that the financial impact on local authorities is estimated for at least the first three years and fully funded by the relevant department.
The Ministry of Defence will lead on developing a new burdens assessment in relation to the new Legal Duty extending the Armed Forces Covenant.
Asked by: Mark Sewards (Labour - Leeds South West and Morley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 23 December 2025 to Question 98631, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the mathematical sciences on delivering the Industrial Strategy and the Growth Mission; and whether the reviewed Strategic Priorities Grant budget for 2026-27 will include additional funding for those sciences.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government recognises mathematical sciences as a valuable subject in higher education.
As outlined by my hon. Friend, the Member for Vale of Glamorgan, the 25/26 Guidance Letter from my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, to the Office for Students (OfS) sets out that the department will work with the OfS to review and reform the high-cost subject funding element of the Strategic Priorities Grant (SPG). This ensures that the funding best aligns with the government’s Growth Mission and is targeted effectively towards high-cost provision that supports the Industrial Strategy and future skills needs. We are collaborating closely with the OfS to assess the impact of any changes to SPG funding.
Asked by: Mark Sewards (Labour - Leeds South West and Morley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 18 December 2025 to Question 98630, if she will recognise mathematical sciences as a strategically important high-cost subject as part of the Strategic Priorities Grant funding for 2026-27.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government recognises mathematical sciences as a valuable subject in higher education.
As outlined by my hon. Friend, the Member for Vale of Glamorgan, the 25/26 Guidance Letter from my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, to the Office for Students (OfS) sets out that the department will work with the OfS to review and reform the high-cost subject funding element of the Strategic Priorities Grant (SPG). This ensures that the funding best aligns with the government’s Growth Mission and is targeted effectively towards high-cost provision that supports the Industrial Strategy and future skills needs. We are collaborating closely with the OfS to assess the impact of any changes to SPG funding.