Written questions by McMurdock.

Whether her Department plans to allocate new (a) funding and (b) resources to support children with special educational needs and disabilities in schools.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.The department is providing an increase of almost £1 billion for high needs budgets in the 2025/26 financial year, bringing total high needs funding for children and young people with complex SEND to £11.9 billion.The department is providing this increase to high needs funding to help meet the increase in costs local authorities will be facing next year, as they in turn provide support to schools and to pupils with SEND.The department is now in the process of calculating local authorities’ indicative high needs funding allocations for the 2025/26 financial year, which it expects to publish before the end of November.

Whether she has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on tackling knife crime in schools.

Keeping children safe is a top priority for this government. The department works closely with the Home Office to deliver better and safer outcomes for young people through the Opportunity and Safer Streets Missions. For example, the department is working cross-government to deliver on the government’s manifesto commitments on the Young Futures Programme, to establish Prevention Partnerships and Young Futures Hubs.Education plays a key role in ensuring children can lead safe and fulfilling lives, and it provides opportunities to educate young people on dangerous behaviour and provide preventative support to those most vulnerable.Relationships, sex and health education includes content on the situations that can lead young people to carry weapons such as knives, including criminal exploitation through involvement in gangs and county lines drugs operations, and in particular the grooming relationships that can accompany this. Issues around gun and knife crime can also be taught as part of a school’s wider curriculum.School-led Support, Attend, Fulfil, Exceed taskforces have been established in ten hotspot areas in England. The taskforces are investing in and delivering evidence-based interventions to help young people get back on track with their education and reduce their vulnerability to serious violence. The department’s Alternative Provision Specialist Taskforces see teams of specialists providing integrated, child-centred support in the largest alterative provision schools in serious violence hotspot areas.

Whether she has made an assessment of the (a) adequacy of and (b) potential merits of undertaking a review of provider access legislation for students with SEND to assist them with acquiring employment.

The Provider Access Legislation places a duty on all schools to provide at least six opportunities for all their pupils to meet providers of approved technical education qualifications or apprenticeships during school years 8 to 13.The delivery of provider encounters may need to be adapted for some audiences, for example special schools and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Schools should involve parents/carers, the Special Educational Needs Coordinator and other relevant staff to identify any specialist support needed, and tailor each encounter appropriately.Schools can access resources for Provider Access Legislation in SEND settings through The Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC) here: https://resources.careersandenterprise.co.uk/resources/provider-access-legislation-pal-send-settings, as well as by contacting their local Careers Hub for support.Data published by the CEC outlines that the majority of specialist settings are offering meaningful provider encounters for their pupils. In the 2023/24 academic year, 89% of special schools reported that most students had meaningful encounters with further education colleges. 78% of special schools reported that the majority of students had meaningful encounters with independent training providers.The department will continue to monitor and review the level of compliance with the Provider Access Legislation, the support in place and the impact on young people.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure parents have access to the materials used to teach their children in (a) relationships, sex and health education, (b) religious education and (c) other lessons.

The department agrees that parents should be able to see what their children are taught, and that schools should be responsive to parents who request to see specific curriculum materials.Schools are required to share information concerning their curriculum with parents, including for relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) and religious education.Guidance on what maintained schools must or should publish online is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/what-maintained-schools-must-publish-online. Guidance on what academies and further education colleges must or should publish online is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/what-maintained-schools-must-publish-online.Schools are also required to consult parents in advance on their relationships and sex education policies. The statutory guidance is clear that this should include sharing examples of the materials they plan to use.If a parent feels that a school is failing to comply with its legal requirements relating to the provision of the curriculum, or that a school is acting unreasonably in the way it complies with them, they can make a formal complaint by following the school’s statutory complaints procedures.The department is currently reviewing the RSHE statutory guidance. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has been clear that children’s wellbeing must be at the heart of this guidance for schools. As such, the government will look carefully at the consultation responses and consider the relevant evidence, including the Cass Review which has since been published, before setting out next steps.

What recent steps her Department has taken to provide rehabilitation support to children who have lived in care who are (a) in police custody and (b) serving custodial sentences.

The latest data for the year ending March 2023 shows that 2% of children in care aged 10 to 17 were convicted or subject to youth cautions or youth conditional cautions during the year, down from 3% in 2019. This compares to 1% of all children aged 10 to 17 in the general population. Latest data also shows that 3% of care leavers were in custody, which is the same as in 2019. Surveys estimate that around 25% of the adult prison population was in care at some point during their childhoods.In 2019, the department, along with the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice, published a joint national protocol on reducing the criminalisation of children in care, which can be accessed at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/765082/The_national_protocol_on_reducing_unnecessary_criminalisation_of_looked-after_children_and_care_.pdf. The protocol is designed to prevent unnecessarily criminalising already highly vulnerable children and young people where possible. It sets out best practice for avoiding the criminalisation of looked-after children and care leavers up to the age of 25.Furthermore, NHS England commission liaison and diversion services in custody suites across all English police forces to identify people of all ages who have mental health issues, learning disabilities, substance misuse or other vulnerabilities when they first come into contact with the criminal justice system. These services then support these individuals to access appropriate health and social care services.In police custody, appropriate adults play an important role in safeguarding the rights, entitlements and welfare of detained children. This includes providing support, advice and assistance to the detainee, observing whether the police are acting properly and fairly, assisting detained children when communicating with the police and helping them to understand their rights and ensuring that those rights are respected and protected.In the Youth Custody Service, all children in custody are supported via the evidence-based Framework for Integrated Care (SECURE STAIRS) and Constructive Resettlement.The evidence-based Framework for Integrated Care (SECURE STAIRS) introduced trauma-informed ways of working that emphasise the importance of positive relationships between staff and children as a way of supporting their care, wellbeing and potential for change.Constructive Resettlement complements the Framework for Integrated Care (SECURE STAIRS) by providing personalised support, such as by recognising the effects of traumatic experiences on the child, to underpin the structural support provided, for instance, through the provision of a place to live. Staff also support effective resettlement in the community by taking a strengths-based approach and acknowledging that the child may need a variety of support and interventions to keep them and other people safe and enable them to successfully integrate in their communities.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential implications for national security of the proportion of funding for universities from China.

The United Kingdom welcomes international partnerships and students, including from China, who make a very positive impact on the UK’s higher education (HE) sector, our economy and society as a whole. However, we will always protect our national security interests, human rights and values.As a matter of longstanding policy, the department does not comment on the detail of national security assessments. The department recognises the potential for overseas interference in our HE sector. We are committed to ensuring ways to increase transparency and improve HE providers’ overall resilience and economic security, whilst respecting the autonomy of universities.A key element of the government’s International Education Strategy is diversification. Universities must ensure they have appropriate processes in place to manage risks associated with dependence on a single source of funding, whether that is from a single organisation or a single country. The Office for Students is responsible for monitoring and reporting on the financial sustainability of HE providers in England to ensure they have an up to date understanding of the sustainability of the sector.The government is carrying out an audit of the UK’s relationship with China as a bilateral and global actor, to improve our ability to understand and respond to the challenges and opportunities China poses.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of a national curriculum which focuses on British (a) culture and (b) history in state-maintained secondary schools.

The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, covering ages 5 to 18, which is chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE. The terms of reference were published in July and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/curriculum-and-assessment-review.The review will seek to deliver a broader curriculum that reflects the issues and diversities of our society, ensuring all children and young people benefit from a curriculum that represents them and their families, regardless of background, and equips them to shape our response to the challenges of our changing world.The Curriculum and Assessment Review Group will publish an interim report in the new year setting out their interim findings and confirming the key areas for further work. The final review with recommendations will be published in autumn 2025.The government intends to legislate so that, following the review and the implementation of reforms, academies will be required to teach the new national curriculum, alongside other state-funded schools. This will give parents certainty over their children’s education.

Whether her Department is taking steps to improve social mobility.

Every child should have every opportunity to succeed, no matter who they are, where they are from, or how much their parents earn. Too often opportunity for children and young people is defined by their background. That’s why this government is committed to breaking the link between young people’s backgrounds and their future success. Through the Opportunity Mission, we will build opportunity for all by giving every child the best start in life, helping them to achieve and thrive, ensuring family security, and tackling the underlying barriers to opportunity that hold too many children and young people back.

What steps she is taking to promote technical courses and apprenticeships.

In September 2024, the department launched a new phase of its ‘It all starts with skills’ campaign. The campaign aims to motivate and equip young people, adults and businesses to make informed choices about skills and technical education opportunities.Inspiring action, the campaign promotes a range of skills and technical education programmes, including apprenticeships, T Levels, Skills Bootcamps, Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs), Free Courses for Jobs, Multiply, essential skills (English, mathematics and digital) and support and advice from the National Careers Service.The department has strengthened provider access legislation to require schools to give students at least six opportunities during years 8 to 13 to meet providers of apprenticeships or technical education. The department funds the Apprenticeships Support and Knowledge (ASK) programme to actively promote apprenticeships, T Levels and higher technical qualifications to year 10 to 13 students, parents, teachers and careers advisers. Over the last eight years the ASK programme has reached over 3 million students, over 230,000 parents and 100,000 teachers.The government is also committed to supporting the continued roll-out of T Levels to ensure young people have a choice of high quality options post-16. The department’s T Level ambassador network continues to champion the T Level programme with members sharing their experiences and passion for technical education. The network now stands at over 700 members including employers, providers, students and other organisations.

What steps her Department is taking to promote STEM subjects in state-maintained secondary schools.

High quality teaching is the factor that makes the biggest difference to a child’s education, and therefore ensuring we have sufficient science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) teachers is crucial to the department’s efforts to promote STEM subjects. That is why we have pledged to recruit 6,500 new expert teachers and have taken the first step towards delivering this by agreeing a 5.5% teacher pay award and nearly £1.1 billion additional funding for schools.The department is also offering bursaries worth £29,000 tax free and scholarships worth £31,000 tax free to encourage talented trainees to become mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing teachers. Additionally, we offer a Targeted Retention Incentive, which is worth up to £6,000 after tax, for teachers of the same subjects in the first five years of their careers who work in disadvantaged schools.Bursaries and scholarships are available to non-UK national physics trainees. Non-UK teachers of physics moving to England to start work in the 2024/25 academic year may also be eligible for the international relocation pilot payment worth £10,000.Additionally, the department supports a range of programmes to improve the teaching of STEM subjects, including Maths Hubs programme, the National Centre for Computing Education which also supports uptake of computer science qualifications, and the Advanced Mathematics Support Programme, which delivers high quality teacher professional development for Level 3 mathematics.Further, the STEM Ambassadors programme and Stimulating Physics Network promote STEM across our schools boosting the quality of teaching and enabling young people to explore and develop their skills and interest in STEM.

What steps her Department is taking to improve support for children with epilepsy in schools.

It is the government's ambition that schools should be well supported to meet the needs of their pupils, enabling them all to achieve and thrive. Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units to make arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions. Some children with medical conditions may be considered to be disabled under the definition set out in the Equality Act 2010. Where this is the case, governing bodies must comply with their duties under that Act. Governing bodies should ensure that all schools develop a policy for supporting pupils with medical conditions that is reviewed regularly and is readily accessible to parents and school staff. They must ensure that the arrangements put in place are sufficient to meet their statutory responsibilities and should ensure that policies, plans, procedures and systems are properly and effectively implemented.

What steps her Department is taking to improve the provision of SEND support for children in South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency.

Departmental officials meet regularly with representatives from Essex and Thurrock local area partnerships to discuss their education, health and care (EHC) plan performance, annual review processes, sufficiency strategy and their wider support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Departmental officials challenge Essex and Thurrock about impact where appropriate and share best practice to provide support. Essex has recently announced investment of £2.9 million for additional assistance and resources to improve timeliness of the EHC plan process.Thurrock is also part of the Delivering Better Value (DBV) in SEND programme, which provides £1 million in grant funding to support local authorities to provide more effective SEND services by meeting the needs of children and young people with SEND at an early stage and with the right level of support. The department monitors Thurrock’s progress in the DBV programme through quarterly reporting and meetings with the local authority. Thurrock is also involved in the supported internship programme and has a number of young people starting specialist internships at Amazon.​This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with SEND or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. The department is committed to taking a community-wide approach in collaboration with local area partnerships, improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special schools cater to those with the most complex needs.