Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to announce plans for primary school on-entry assessment in 2017; and if the assessment will give the different stages of brain development experienced by boys and girls during early years.

The Secretary of State’s written ministerial statement to Parliament of 19 October set out that, while we intend to consult on the best starting point to measure the progress that children make at primary school, no new types of statutory assessment will be introduced in primary schools prior to the 2018-2019 academic year. We have also confirmed that the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile will remain in place for the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 academic years.