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.

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.

Found: Rebecca Paul (Conservative; Reigate) Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat; Stratford-on-Avon) Mark Sewards

Found: Barron; Johanna Baxter; Sureena Brackenridge; Amanda Hack; Darren Paffey; Manuela Perteghella; Mark Sewards

Found: Language and descriptions in our records Your colleague Mark Sewards MP asked about the type of language

Found: Barron; Johanna Baxter; Sureena Brackenridge; Amanda Hack; Darren Paffey; Manuela Perteghella; Mark Sewards