Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to replace the Gifted and Talented programme.

The Department for Education has no plans to replace the national Gifted and Talented programme. Our plan for education is to raise standards at all schools so every child, including the most gifted, can achieve their full potential.

It is a fundamental responsibility of every school in England to ensure that their most gifted pupils receive an education that engages and stretches them at school, as well as inspiring them to reach their full potential. Schools are best placed to know and respond to the individual needs of their pupils, including the most able.

The Government has freed schools from the constraints of excessive ring-fencing and bureaucracy. Schools leaders are free to decide how best to use their funding to provide extra support to talented children, including using the pupil premium to support gifted disadvantaged pupils. In addition, we have given teachers the freedom to tailor lessons so that every child is prepared for life in modern Britain, and Ofsted holds schools to account for how well they meet the needs of the range of their pupils, including the most able.