Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of SATs on levels of school attendance of children with SEND.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department has not identified evidence that SATs have a specific or disproportionate impact on the attendance of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Internal analysis indicates that overall attendance patterns for pupils with SEND remain consistent during the SATs assessment period.
Primary assessments are extensively trialled and reviewed by teachers and SEND specialists to ensure they are suitable for all and of appropriate difficulty, with modified papers and access arrangements available for pupils with SEND where needed.
The department’s ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ guidance makes clear that pupils with SEND have the same right to education and the same attendance ambition as their peers, and that schools and local authorities should provide appropriate support to enable their attendance, including during assessment periods.
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Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure access for pre-school children with additional needs to nursery places in the Poole constituency.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
We want every child, including those with additional needs, to be able to access a childcare setting where they can get the best start in life. The special educational needs and disability (SEND) reforms we announced in February, will give early years settings the training, evidence-based tools and expert input they need to welcome children with diverse needs into their settings and provide the right support from day one. We are investing over £200 million to strengthen the SEND offer in Best Start Family Hubs, including funding a family-facing practitioner in every hub to join up support across early years settings, health visitors and SEND teams.
Alongside this, we will work with local authorities to strengthen their childcare sufficiency planning for children with SEND and improve data on the availability of suitable places. This will provide parents greater confidence that their children can access the early education and childcare they are entitled to.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps are being taken to ensure that nursery places are available to children with a range of special needs in Poole constituency.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
We want every child, including those with additional needs, to be able to access a childcare setting where they can get the best start in life. The special educational needs and disability (SEND) reforms we announced in February, will give early years settings the training, evidence-based tools and expert input they need to welcome children with diverse needs into their settings and provide the right support from day one. We are investing over £200 million to strengthen the SEND offer in Best Start Family Hubs, including funding a family-facing practitioner in every hub to join up support across early years settings, health visitors and SEND teams.
Alongside this, we will work with local authorities to strengthen their childcare sufficiency planning for children with SEND and improve data on the availability of suitable places. This will provide parents greater confidence that their children can access the early education and childcare they are entitled to.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the government has conducted any assessment of the efficacy of SEND reforms in Wales whilst developing the Schools White paper.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department has already consulted with colleagues in the Welsh government on analysis published in the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) consultation document comparing rates of special education needs across both nations. The use of data to assess the efficacy of the Welsh SEND reforms introduced in 2021 was not feasible due to variation at school and local authority level.
We will continue to work with the devolved governments as we progress the proposals set out in the SEND consultation document, as well as preparations for future legislation, to ensure that legislative impacts are fully understood and addressed.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment has her Department made as to the impact of having to sit SATS on SEND children.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Statutory tests and assessments at primary school help measure the attainment of pupils in relation to the standards set out in the national curriculum and help teachers and parents identify where pupils may need additional support in a certain subject area.
The key stage 2 tests are subject to robust test development processes, which include reviews involving serving teachers and experts in special educational needs (SEN) and trials with hundreds of Year 6 pupils. Children with SEN have a range of needs and abilities, and it is important they are able to participate in assessments to demonstrate their achievements. Schools are able to utilise a range of access arrangements where appropriate, while for any children with SEN and others who are working below the standards of the national curriculum assessments there are alternative teacher assessments.
Primary assessments were reviewed as part of the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, led by Professor Becky Francis. The review panel, which included an expert in SEN, published their final report in November, concluding that the primary assessment system is generally working well and that the assessments are important for evaluating pupils’ progress.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what rationale does her Department use to support the use of SATS for SEND children.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Statutory tests and assessments at primary school help measure the attainment of pupils in relation to the standards set out in the national curriculum and help teachers and parents identify where pupils may need additional support in a certain subject area.
The key stage 2 tests are subject to robust test development processes, which include reviews involving serving teachers and experts in special educational needs (SEN) and trials with hundreds of Year 6 pupils. Children with SEN have a range of needs and abilities, and it is important they are able to participate in assessments to demonstrate their achievements. Schools are able to utilise a range of access arrangements where appropriate, while for any children with SEN and others who are working below the standards of the national curriculum assessments there are alternative teacher assessments.
Primary assessments were reviewed as part of the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, led by Professor Becky Francis. The review panel, which included an expert in SEN, published their final report in November, concluding that the primary assessment system is generally working well and that the assessments are important for evaluating pupils’ progress.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Schools White Paper 2026, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of Mission Coastal on young people in Poole.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The Schools White Paper launched Mission North East and Mission Coastal. The aim of the missions is to transform outcomes for children and young people and provide a blueprint for national change. The scope of Mission Coastal is still being developed.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will set out how much of the teacher training proposed in the Schools White Paper will be delivered in person.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Great teaching is the most important lever schools have for improving children’s attainment.
The department provides a range of funded offers to schools to help them access high-quality professional development, which includes the new courses on Reception and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) as part of the teacher training entitlement referenced in the Schools White Paper.
When designing new training, the department is careful to consider how it will work with the schedules of teachers and schools, with many of them including a flexible, self-study element.
For example, we have confirmed that the SEND and inclusion courses for teachers and leaders in schools and colleges will include a mixture of online self-study sessions and live facilitated sessions.
We have also announced a package of materials for schools and colleges to support the development and delivery of in-house, in person training.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the prevalence of child morning hunger across early years, primary and secondary school settings in England and its impact on school readiness and attendance.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department appreciates the publication of the report and look forward to giving it our full consideration. We agree that a healthy breakfast at the start of the school day sets children up ready to learn. This is why the department is committed to delivering on the pledge to provide free breakfast clubs in every state-funded school with primary-aged children. Since April 2025, we have delivered over seven million breakfasts and offered places to almost 180,000 pupils across the country. We are investing a further £80 million to fund approximately 2,000 additional schools between April 2026 and March 2027.
Alongside the rollout of free breakfast clubs, we are going further in our mission to lift 100,000 children out of poverty by expanding free school meals to children in all households receiving Universal Credit from the 2026/27 school year.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment the Department has made of the potential implications for its policies of the findings of Magic Breakfast’s recent report entitled Root Causes of Child Morning Hunger.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department appreciates the publication of the report and look forward to giving it our full consideration. We agree that a healthy breakfast at the start of the school day sets children up ready to learn. This is why the department is committed to delivering on the pledge to provide free breakfast clubs in every state-funded school with primary-aged children. Since April 2025, we have delivered over seven million breakfasts and offered places to almost 180,000 pupils across the country. We are investing a further £80 million to fund approximately 2,000 additional schools between April 2026 and March 2027.
Alongside the rollout of free breakfast clubs, we are going further in our mission to lift 100,000 children out of poverty by expanding free school meals to children in all households receiving Universal Credit from the 2026/27 school year.