Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the proposed updated School Food Standards improve the nutritional quality of meals provided to pupils in receipt of Free School Meals.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department is committed to raising the healthiest generation ever. The action we are taking to extend free school meals to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit will ensure that over 500,000 additional children and pupils from the most disadvantaged households will receive a free and nutritious lunchtime meal, pulling 100,000 children out of poverty.
We are ensuring that the proposed updated School Food Standards fully support the provision of free school meals. The changes we propose to make are related to increasing fibre, reducing sugar and further restricting foods higher in fat, sugar and salt, in line with the latest nutritional advice set by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition.
We are consulting on the proposed updates to the School Food Standards and the consultation will run until 12 June 2026. Details of the consultation can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/school-food-standards-updating-the-legislative-framework.
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 merits of providing free school milk to the end of reception year for all children.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Department of Health and Social Care-led Nursery Milk Scheme (NMS) allows early years childcare settings registered with OFSTED to reclaim the cost of providing 189ml (one-third of a pint) of milk to children in their care who are under the age of five and who attend the childcare setting for at least two hours per day.
While the NMS entitlement ends once pupils reach the age of five, there are other provisions in place. The School Food Standards require lower fat or lactose reduced milk to be available to children who want it during school hours. As part of our proposals for updated School Food Standards, this daily requirement is retained, with semi‑skimmed milk, skimmed milk or lactose free milk continuing to be available for drinking at least once a day during school hours.
There is also separate legislation which allows pupils who are eligible under the current free school meal criteria, to continue to receive free milk at school after the age of five years old.
The government is expanding eligibility to free school meals meaning that more children are able to access milk when it is offered as part of their free meals. For these reasons, there are no current plans to extend NMS eligibility to the end of reception year.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that independent faith schools meet independent school standards.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
All private schools are required to comply with the Independent School Standards (ISS). Schools that fail to meet the ISS at inspection are subject to regulatory action as per the ‘Independent Schools: Regulatory and Enforcement Action’ policy statement.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment has she made as to the suitability of the teachers' contractual obligation to work for a maximum of 1265 hours over 195 days in a year.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Directed and undirected time is a contractual provision unique to teaching, and we know that many teachers work significantly more than 1265 hours; so, this year’s remit asked for the School Teachers Review Body’s (STRB) views on the benefits and drawbacks of the current working hours arrangements within the ‘School teachers pay and conditions’ document, to gather information as part of work to reduce working hours and make teaching a more attractive profession.
To be clear, the department has not proposed the removal, or a specific change, to the current 1265 directed hours limit, which is a key teacher protection. We will take into account the Review Body’s views and evidence from statutory consultees, including unions, before considering whether to pursue any change to the provision for teachers or leaders. No policy change is being recommended or decided upon at this stage.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to review teachers' contractual obligation to work for a maximum of 1265 hours over 195 days in a year.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Directed and undirected time is a contractual provision unique to teaching, and we know that many teachers work significantly more than 1265 hours; so, this year’s remit asked for the School Teachers Review Body’s (STRB) views on the benefits and drawbacks of the current working hours arrangements within the ‘School teachers pay and conditions’ document, to gather information as part of work to reduce working hours and make teaching a more attractive profession.
To be clear, the department has not proposed the removal, or a specific change, to the current 1265 directed hours limit, which is a key teacher protection. We will take into account the Review Body’s views and evidence from statutory consultees, including unions, before considering whether to pursue any change to the provision for teachers or leaders. No policy change is being recommended or decided upon at this stage.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department's policy paper entitled Every child achieving and thriving, published on 23 February 2026, how much and what proportion of the proposed teacher training will be delivered in person.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
We are currently in the design phase of the £200 million professional development package referenced in the Every Child Achieving and Thriving White Paper. We are working with a wide range of experts, including the department’s Inclusion Expert Advisory Group and the Education Endowment Foundation, to identify what will be most impactful in supporting settings to be more inclusive.
We have confirmed that the courses for teachers and leaders in schools and colleges will include a mixture of flexible 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 assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the level of financial support for foster carers.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Foster carers do not foster for financial reward, but need adequate support to ensure that they, and the children in their care, can achieve and thrive.
The department has set the National Minimum Allowance to cover the cost of looking after a child. The amount depends on the age and location of the child, but ranges from £176 to £309 per week, and increases annually along with tax relief and in line with inflation to reflect the cost of living.
The department recognises that wider support, such as fees and expenses, remain inconsistent. To better understand this variation and the impact this has on recruitment and retention, we have committed to an in-depth study of fostering finances. Alongside this, we will work closely with local authorities to understand and promote the full range of incentives they offer to carers, such as council tax discounts or exemptions and reduced rate local authority parking.
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 the support available for children in care to help them prepare for life post-18 years.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Local authorities have the primary responsibility for supporting care leavers and must publish their ‘local offer’ for care leavers, setting out their legal entitlements, plus any further discretionary support they provide. All care leavers are entitled to support from a Personal Adviser (PA), whose role is to help care leavers access support from mainstream services, such as housing, healthcare, benefits, and to provide practical and emotional support to help them prepare for the challenges of adulthood. PAs work with the young person to develop a pathway plan which should include their career aspirations and ambitions, providing access to high quality information, advice and guidance to inform their plans for continuing education, training or employment.
The department is going further through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, placing a new duty on local authorities to provide Staying Close support to care leavers up to the age of 25 where their welfare requires it. The bill also requires local authorities to publish information on their arrangements for supporting care leavers’ transition to adulthood, and seeks to change housing legislation so that care leavers cannot be found intentionally homeless.
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 a risk assessment of whether, as a result of the proposed reforms to the END system, schools could be discouraged from identifying children as having SEND due to inadequate resourcing and capacity.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Effective early identification and intervention is critical in improving the outcomes of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). In the SEND reform consultation document, we stated that the department intends to create clear statutory duties for schools, including identifying and meeting needs as early as possible and ensuring that they monitor children and young people’s progress to ensure timely and effective interventions. Parents can also continue to seek a needs assessment and obtain resolution via mediation or through appealing to the tribunal if necessary.
To support schools to meet this legal duty, the department will develop National Inclusion Standards that set out evidence-informed tools, strategies and approaches for educators to draw on to identify and support children and young people with additional needs. By 2028, we will have invested up to £15 million to build the evidence base for and then bring into effect National Inclusion Standards.
This comes alongside significant investment to bolster capacity and expertise. This includes £4 billion over three years, which includes £1.8 billion so every community has access to Experts at Hand, £1.6 billion directly to schools for early intervention, and over £200 million to train all staff across early years, schools and colleges.
The children’s rights impact assessment conducted by the department on the proposed reforms in the SEND consultation document is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69985b75047739fe61889ebe/SEND_reform_child_s_rights_impact_assessment.pdf.
For schools and colleges, we will over time rebalance funding, by moving a portion of funding currently distributed through local authorities from high needs budgets directly into mainstream core budgets, to support earlier intervention and a more proactive approach to meeting needs. Alongside this, mainstream settings will continue to receive high needs funding from local authorities which covers the costs of delivery of a specialist provision package for those with the most complex needs, including through specialist bases.
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 an assessment of the number and availability of trained professionals needed to meet the Experts at Hand plan published in the Schools White Paper.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Poole to the answer of 24 March 2026 to Question 121419.