Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with the Scottish Government to ensure financial provision is in place for English nursing students studying in Scotland.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has regular discussions with the Scottish Government over a range of important matters.
Eligible undergraduate students from England, who are attending a course in nursing at a university in Scotland, qualify for the same student support package from Student Finance England as English students studying in England, which includes a fee loan for meeting the full costs of their tuition, a partially means-tested loan for living costs and, for students with adult or child dependants, means-tested dependants’ grants. In addition, students with disabilities may qualify for non-means-tested Disabled Students’ Allowance.
The government has increased maximum grants and loans for living and other costs for students from England by 3.1% for the 2025/26 academic year, in line with forecast inflation, based on the RPIX inflation index.
Students studying on nursing courses also qualify for additional support through the NHS Learning Support Fund. However, this is only available to students who study at English Universities, regardless of where they are domiciled.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many early years recruits received the sign-on bonus launched in 2024.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department is supporting the sector to attract talented new staff to join the workforce, as well as encourage skilled and qualified staff to return to early years roles by creating conditions for improved recruitment.
The department has been running a pilot that tests whether offering an incentive payment would increase recruitment levels in 20 local authorities. New starters in early years settings, and those returning to the sector, were required to have started in an eligible provider and meet certain eligibility criteria in one of these local authorities in order to receive a £1,000 payment.
Delivery on the scheme ended in March 2025. Data on the number of recruits receiving financial incentives will be included in the evaluation report, which will be published in due course.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions her Department (a) has had and (b) plans to have with stakeholders on the Best Start digital service.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Best Start in Life website, launched on 1 September. This is accessible at: https://www.beststartinlife.gov.uk/.
As development continues, the department is committed to ensuring the service is designed, positioned, and delivered in a way that meets the needs of parents and families. To date, discussions have taken place with officials across Whitehall and parents have been engaged directly through user research. We will broaden this engagement, including with local authorities and other key stakeholders, and continue to conduct further user research to ensure the service is responsive, effective and accessible to those who will benefit most.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps she has taken to help support youth democracy in schools in (a) Ribble Valley constituency and (b) Lancashire.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Ribble Valley to the answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 55746.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the level of attainment was of (a) girls and (b) boys under 11 in (i) maths and (ii) sciences in Ribble Valley constituency in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
The percentage of girls and boys in the Ribble Valley constituency at the end of key stage 2, that met the expected standard in mathematics and science in 2023/24, is provided in the table below.
| Mathematics | Science |
Girls | 78% | 88% |
Boys | 80% | 84% |
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of exempting parents from fines for school absences caused by their child's (a) neuro diverse needs and (b) pathological demand avoidance.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Tackling absence is at the heart of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity. Thanks to the efforts of the sector, overall absence is moving in the right direction, with children attending over 3.1 million more days this year compared to last, and over 100,000 fewer children persistently absent.
Some children face complex barriers to attendance, such as pupils who have special educational needs and disabilities. Whatever the cause of absence, school staff should always first work with families and pupils to understand the barriers to attendance and provide support where possible. This might include providing pastoral support or making reasonable adjustments where a pupil has a disability. Our statutory guidance expects this ‘support first’ approach from all types of school. The guidance can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-improve-school-attendance.
The law does not exempt parents from receiving penalty notices for absence based solely on their child’s characteristics. It is up to the school and the local authority to decide whether to issue a penalty notice for unauthorised absence or not. They retain discretion about whether to issue a penalty notice because only they know the specific facts of the particular case.
The decision to issue a penalty notice must be made on an individual case by case basis and should only be used in cases where it is deemed likely to change parental behaviour and improve attendance, and in cases where support has already been provided and has not worked or not been engaged with or is not appropriate. For example, in cases of holidays taken in term-time.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much additional funding her Department has allocated for special educational needs provision to Lancashire County Council since the Autumn Budget 2024.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
Following the Autumn Budget 2024, the department is providing an increase of £1 billion for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year, bringing total high needs funding for children and young people with complex special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to over £12 billion. Of that total, Lancashire County Council is being allocated over £219 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG), an increase of £18 million on this year’s DSG high needs block, calculated using the high needs national funding formula (NFF). This NFF allocation is an 8.8% increase per head of their 2-18 year old population, on their equivalent 2024/25 NFF allocation.
In addition, local authorities will receive a separate core schools budget grant for high needs in the 2025/26 financial year. We plan to publish individual local authorities’ allocations later in May 2025.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the sustainability of childcare in breakfast and after school clubs which rely on volunteers.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Schools have the discretion to identify the most appropriate workforce to deliver their breakfast and after school clubs, depending on their school’s context, existing staff contracts and arrangements and the mix of skills and experience required.
The department does not collect data on the number of breakfast and after school clubs run by volunteers, however these clubs can be led by various individuals, including teachers, teaching assistants, school catering staff, volunteers such as parents or others specifically hired to deliver the role. As such, the department has not made any specific assessment of the sustainability of breakfast and after school clubs that rely on volunteers.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many breakfast and after school clubs are run by volunteers in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Schools have the discretion to identify the most appropriate workforce to deliver their breakfast and after school clubs, depending on their school’s context, existing staff contracts and arrangements and the mix of skills and experience required.
The department does not collect data on the number of breakfast and after school clubs run by volunteers, however these clubs can be led by various individuals, including teachers, teaching assistants, school catering staff, volunteers such as parents or others specifically hired to deliver the role. As such, the department has not made any specific assessment of the sustainability of breakfast and after school clubs that rely on volunteers.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department's ambition for 75% of five-year-olds to be school ready by 2028, whether she plans to set sub-targets on outcomes for children with Special Education Needs and Disabilities.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Children’s early years are crucial to their development, health and life chances. That is why the Plan for Change set out the government’s ambition for a record proportion of children starting school ready to learn in the classroom. The department will measure our progress through 75% of children reaching a good level of development in the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile assessment by 2028.
We are clear that in driving progress towards our milestone we must deliver better early education experiences and outcomes for children from low-income families and children with special educational needs and disabilities. The department will set out further plans in due course.