Roz Savage

As part of the last reform of the national curriculum, an equalities impact assessment was carried out to evaluate whether the proposed changes would impact positively or negatively on groups with protected characteristics. This equalities impact assessment is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/211061/Equalities_impact_assessment_-_FINAL_v3.pdf.

Additionally, Public Health England provided a framework that guides teachers in applying best practice for food education in secondary schools. It is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a80d9c440f0b62305b8d7ff/Foodteaching_Secondaryguidelines_FINAL.pdf.

The curriculum and assessment system in England is currently under review by an independent panel of experts. The Curriculum and Assessment Review is now carrying out further investigation into specific policy and subject issues, working closely with the sector and building on the body of evidence gathered so far. No decisions about individual subjects have yet been made. Any subject-specific findings and recommendations that come out of the Review will be included in the final report which will be published in autumn.

The Education Act 1996 requires local authorities to arrange free home-to-school travel for eligible children of compulsory school age, 5 to 16. The department publishes statutory guidance to help them fulfil this duty. Neither the guidance, nor the law, expects local authorities to provide an eligible child with free travel to and from more than one address. It would not be reasonable for them to do this in every case.

The guidance does however stipulate that local authorities should make clear in their school travel policies how they will determine a child’s home address for the purposes of assessing their eligibility for travel, including in circumstances where their parents do not live together and the child spends part of the week with each parent.

There are no plans to change this, but local authorities do have a discretionary power to arrange travel for other children and may use this to arrange travel to and from more than one address if they choose to do so.

Young carers were added to the school census as a specific group for the first time in 2022/23. The department expects the recording of census data to improve over time as the collection becomes better established but are looking at the ways the data is entered to see if we can make technical changes that will support more accurate reporting without overly burdening schools.

In its inspections of local authority children’s services, Ofsted evaluates whether professionals identify children and young people in need of help and protection. Ofsted recently consulted on a new education inspection framework, with their full response due in September. The proposals include a specific evaluation of inclusion, ensuring that schools get it right for all disadvantaged and vulnerable children, including young carers.

Statutory guidance ‘Keeping children safe in education’ sets out that all school and college staff should be alert to the potential need for early help for children who are young carers and requires designated safeguarding leads to undergo training to provide them with the knowledge and skills to carry out their role. This includes having a good understanding of, and alertness to, the needs of young carers.

Young carers were added to the school census as a specific group for the first time in 2022/23. The department expects the recording of census data to improve over time as the collection becomes better established but are looking at the ways the data is entered to see if we can make technical changes that will support more accurate reporting without overly burdening schools.

In its inspections of local authority children’s services, Ofsted evaluates whether professionals identify children and young people in need of help and protection. Ofsted recently consulted on a new education inspection framework, with their full response due in September. The proposals include a specific evaluation of inclusion, ensuring that schools get it right for all disadvantaged and vulnerable children, including young carers.

Statutory guidance ‘Keeping children safe in education’ sets out that all school and college staff should be alert to the potential need for early help for children who are young carers and requires designated safeguarding leads to undergo training to provide them with the knowledge and skills to carry out their role. This includes having a good understanding of, and alertness to, the needs of young carers.

Young carers were added to the school census as a specific group for the first time in 2022/23. The department expects the recording of census data to improve over time as the collection becomes better established but are looking at the ways the data is entered to see if we can make technical changes that will support more accurate reporting without overly burdening schools.

In its inspections of local authority children’s services, Ofsted evaluates whether professionals identify children and young people in need of help and protection. Ofsted recently consulted on a new education inspection framework, with their full response due in September. The proposals include a specific evaluation of inclusion, ensuring that schools get it right for all disadvantaged and vulnerable children, including young carers.

Statutory guidance ‘Keeping children safe in education’ sets out that all school and college staff should be alert to the potential need for early help for children who are young carers and requires designated safeguarding leads to undergo training to provide them with the knowledge and skills to carry out their role. This includes having a good understanding of, and alertness to, the needs of young carers.

The department is engaging with stakeholders on revising the School Food Standards, to ensure they support our work to create the healthiest generation of children in history. The current Standards state one or more portions of vegetables as an accompaniment and one or more portions of fruit must be provided every day and at least three different fruits and three different vegetables each week. Schools are responsible for their school meals service and how and where they choose to buy their produce. Schools can voluntarily follow the government buying standards.

Additionally, the National Procurement Policy Statement, published in February 2025, underscores the government's commitment to increasing the procurement of food that meets higher environmental standards and upholding ethical sourcing practises across public sector contracts, which we believe our high quality British producers are well-placed to meet.

Alongside this, the department’s Food Strategy will deliver clear long-term outcomes that create a healthier, fairer, and more resilient food system, boosting food security, improving health, ensuring economic growth, and delivering environmental sustainability.

As with all aspects of the School Food Standards review, the department will consider our approaches to procurement of UK-grown produce.

The Children and Families Act 2014 requires local authorities to ensure there are sufficient school places for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

The department has published allocations for £740 million in High Needs Provision Capital Allocations for the 2025/26 financial year. The funding can be used to adapt schools to be more accessible for children with SEND, to create specialist facilities within mainstream schools that can deliver more intensive support adapted to suit the pupils’ needs, and to create special school places for pupils with the most complex needs.

The department continues to monitor and work closely with local authorities that have issues with education, health and care plan timeliness, including placement decisions. Where there are concerns about a local authority’s capacity to make the required improvements, we help the local authority to identify the barriers and put in place an effective recovery plan.

Free support and advice for families and local authorities is provided by Special Educational Needs and Disability Information and Advice Services.

Where there are concerns about a child’s safety or wellbeing, support from social care services may be required. Under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989, it is the general duty of every local authority to safeguard and promote the welfare of children within their area who are in need, including disabled children, and to promote the upbringing of such children by their families by providing a range and level of services appropriate to those children’s needs. Where appropriate, social care services may be provided in conjunction with an educational placement such as a residential special school.

It is our ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change.

As the early years entitlements are expanded, it is vitally important they remain accessible and affordable for families. The department updated the early years statutory guidance to ensure there is clarity for parents, providers and local authorities about additional charges associated with entitlement hours.

The statutory guidance also emphasises transparency at the heart of how the entitlement should be passed onto parents, including that any costs should be clearer on invoices and websites. However, for these new transparency expectations, the guidance allows a lead-in time until January 2026 to give providers time to adapt.

Government funding for the entitlements does not cover consumables like meals, nappies or sun cream or additional activities, such as trips, so providers are able to ask parents to pay for these. However, in line with a recent high court judgment, these charges must not be mandatory or a condition of accessing a funded place. The high court judgement is accessible here: https://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewhc/admin/2025/224. This guidance must reflect the law governing the delivery of the early education and childcare entitlements, which has not changed.

I refer the hon. Member for South Cotswolds to the answer of 9 April 2025 to Question 43288.

The department introduced the Online Education Accreditation Scheme (OEAS) in April 2023 to ensure high standards of education and protect pupils receiving a full-time education online. Providers must meet online education standards to become accredited. The scheme is non-statutory. The department encourages all eligible providers to engage with the scheme and for commissioners to use accredited providers only.

Online education should not be viewed as an equal alternative to attendance in school. The department expects schools to consider online education only as a last resort where the alternative would be no education and only after it has been established that the pupil is, or will be, absent from school. In such cases, remote education can have the benefit of allowing absent pupils to keep on track with their education and stay connected to their teachers and peers.

Local authority commissioners, often in conjunction with a child’s school, can use online provision as a form of alternative provision for children with a medical condition or school refusal, where necessary adjustments have not been appropriate. Local authorities can also, as a last resort, provide online education for children who are new to an area and are awaiting a school place.

Where it would not be appropriate for special educational provision to be delivered in a school, college or early years setting, a local authority may put in place education otherwise than at a school or college under section 61 of the Children and Families Act 2014. If a local authority chooses to specify education otherwise than at a school or college in an education, health and care plan, it will be statutorily responsible for securing the provision and funding it.