Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the findings of the Inquiry into White Working Class Educational Outcomes, published in June 2026.

The department welcomes the findings of the Inquiry and, as stated in the ‘Every Child Achieving and Thriving’ White Paper, intends to build on its work to develop better insights into issues specific to white working-class children, families and their relationships with schools.

We are already taking forward a comprehensive programme of reform, including strengthening early family support, introducing free breakfast clubs, revitalising youth services, improving how disadvantage funding is targeted, and consulting on a new progress measure alongside Progress 8 to better recognise pupils who start secondary school behind their peers.

We are also launching and funding two place-based missions, Mission North East and Mission Coastal, to transform outcomes for young people locally and provide a blueprint for national change.

The department will continue to engage with the Inquiry as it enters its second phase focused on advancing further research.