Written questions by Evans.

What recent discussions she has had with local authorities on the Kinship Allowance Pilot Scheme; and when that scheme will begin.

The department is ensuring that a fair and transparent process is used to identify which local authorities are best placed to deliver the Kinship Allowance Pilot, through a published expression of interest process. The application window for the expression of interest has now closed.The department has communicated clear guidance on this process to local authorities through webinars, published expression of interest guidance and a two-week clarification window, following the launch of the expression of interest application window.The Pilot will launch this autumn, following the announcement of successful pilot local authorities in September.

If she will make an assessment of the effectiveness of school career services in (a) highlighting and (b) encouraging apprenticeships.

The department has introduced a ladder of support and intervention, as set out in our careers statutory guidance, to support compliance with the provider access legislation which requires schools to offer pupils encounters with providers of technical education and apprenticeships. We will continue to monitor compliance, the support in place and the impact on young people.We will also continue to monitor progress against the Gatsby Benchmarks, especially benchmarks 5, 6 and 7 which are relevant for highlighting and encouraging apprenticeships take-up.Alongside this, the Careers and Enterprise Company’s (CEC) future skills questionnaire shows a move from 38% understanding of apprenticeships in year 7 to 88% by year 13.There are multiple resources available to schools and young people to highlight and encourage apprenticeships participation:CEC’s network of Careers Hubs (covering 95% of schools and colleges) works with schools and colleges to support their careers education programmes.The Skills for Careers Apprenticeships support page, which can be found here: https://www.skillsforcareers.education.gov.uk/pages/training-choice/apprenticeships.CEC’s resource directory, found here: https://resources.careersandenterprise.co.uk/.‘Amazing Apprenticeships’ resources and support for schools and colleges.The ‘Find an apprenticeship’ government website which currently hosts over 40,000 live vacancies and is available here: https://www.findapprenticeship.service.gov.uk/apprenticeshipsearch.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of teacher's awareness of young people's caring responsibilities.

Young carers have been a hidden cohort for too long. They provide essential care and support to their loved ones, often stepping up in challenging situations at the expense of their own development and wellbeing.The department is using school census data to shine a light on young carers’ attendance, suspensions and exclusions, and is aiming to publish data on their educational progress and attainment this autumn. This will ensure they receive tailored support and do not miss out on vital educational opportunities.The statutory guidance ‘Keeping children safe in education’ 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 to identify their needs.

What steps she is taking to help ensure that guidance and resources for School Attendance Support Teams includes young carers.

The department wants to ensure that young carers have the best life chances by supporting them in their education. We recognise that absence from school is almost always a symptom of wider needs and barriers that a family are facing and is often also the best early indication of need in a family that may not be in contact with other services.The department’s expectations of local authorities and schools, as set out in the ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ guidance, were made statutory on 19 August 2024 and include specific reference to young carers. The ‘support first’ ethos of the attendance guidance is that pupils and families, including young carers, should receive holistic, whole-family support to help them overcome the barriers to attendance they are facing. This includes holding regular meetings with the families of pupils who the school, and/or local authority, consider to be vulnerable to discuss attendance and engagement at school. Schools are expected to recognise that absence is a symptom and that improving pupil’s attendance is part of supporting the pupil’s overall welfare. This ethos is reflected in resources provided to schools on school attendance, and our Attendance Toolkit for Schools includes reference to supporting young carers in its self-assessment tool.The guidance can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-improve-school-attendance.The toolkit can be accessed via: https://attendancetoolkit.blob.core.windows.net/toolkit-doc/Attendance%20toolkit%20for%20schools.pdf.The department also publishes daily attendance data fortnightly and will continue to monitor the quality of data on young carers that is collected via the school register for consideration to include in the daily data collection in the future.

If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of AI companion software on (a) children's mental health, (b) children's social skills and (c) trends in the level of children's loneliness.

The department is working to build evidence of the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) tools for education, both on the opportunities and the risks. We are supporting the sector to use AI safely.We are funding the development of global guidelines for the safe and effective use of generative AI in education, in partnership with the OECD and, in January 2025, we announced that leading global tech firms had committed to making AI tools for education safer by design. Google, Microsoft, Adobe and Amazon Web Services have helped develop a set of expectations AI tools should meet to be considered safe for classroom use. These are accessible at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/generative-ai-product-safety-expectations/generative-ai-product-safety-expectations.The Generative AI product Safety Expectations framework was announced on 22 January 2025 and we have published online materials to help all educators. These materials can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/using-ai-in-education-settings-support-materials.Screens are prevalent in children's lives at home and in education. It is crucial to have protections like the Online Safety Act, while using technology to benefit children. Schools play a key role in promoting balanced technology use, minimising harmful content, and teaching online safety.The department is working across government to implement the Online Safety Act and address technology-related risks, including AI in education, while maximising opportunities for these technologies to support education.

If she will make an assessment of the challenges faced by young carers in balancing their caring responsibilities with (a) education and (b) training.

Young carers have been a hidden cohort for too long. They provide essential care and support to their loved ones, often stepping up in challenging situations at the expense of their own development and wellbeing.The department is using school census data to shine a light on young carers’ attendance, suspensions and exclusions, and is aiming to publish data on their educational progress and attainment this autumn. This will ensure they receive tailored support and do not miss out on vital educational opportunities.The statutory guidance ‘Keeping children safe in education’ 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 to identify their needs.

What discussions she has had with schools on ensuring that financial education for pupils includes (a) the impact of social media on managing money, (b) managing money in the context of accessible credit and (c) different types of (i) credit and (ii) debt.

Financial education forms a compulsory part of the national curriculum for mathematics at key stages 1 to 4, and citizenship at key stages 3 and 4. Together these cover personal budgeting, saving for the future, managing credit and debt, and calculating interest. Statutory relationships, sex and health education and computing lessons equip pupils to be discerning in evaluating digital content, including content they see through social media.The interim report from the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review noted the consistent call from children and young people and their parents for more focus on the applied knowledge regarding financial education. The Review’s final report and recommendations will be published in autumn with the government’s response.

What recent discussions she has had with the Minister for the Cabinet Office on approval for the final cost information for the development of a new STEM building at Hinckley School.

The department has increased the budget for the project significantly since completion of the feasibility study and officials are working through the costs with the selected contractor. A meeting has been scheduled for 10 June 2025, including the hon. Member for Hinckley and Bosworth, the trust, and the school, during which departmental officials will provide a further update on the project.

What recent discussions her Department has had with local authorities on the impact of changes to employer National Insurance contributions on special educational needs transport providers.

I refer the hon. Member for Hinckley and Bosworth to the answer of 29 January 2025 to Question 26397.

Pursuant to the Answers of 30 April 2025 to Questions 46842 and 46843 on Hinckley School: STEM Subjects, if he will hold discussions with (a) The Futures Trust and (b) the Hinckley School's senior leadership on the work of her Department to consider the costs of a new STEM building at Hinckley School.

The department has increased the budget for the project significantly since completion of the feasibility study and officials are working through the costs with the selected contractor. A meeting has been scheduled for 10 June 2025, including the hon. Member for Hinckley and Bosworth, the trust, and the school, during which departmental officials will provide a further update on the project.

Pursuant to the Answers of 30 April 2025 to Questions 46842 and 46843 on Hinckley School: STEM Subjects, what indicative timescales her Department uses for working through the costs for major infrastructure projects on school estates.

The department has increased the budget for the project significantly since completion of the feasibility study and officials are working through the costs with the selected contractor. A meeting has been scheduled for 10 June 2025, including the hon. Member for Hinckley and Bosworth, the trust, and the school, during which departmental officials will provide a further update on the project.

Pursuant to the Answers of 30 April 2025 to Questions 46842 and 46843 on Hinckley School: STEM Subjects, what her Department's planned timeframe is for working through the costs to develop a new STEM building at Hinckley School.

The department has increased the budget for the project significantly since completion of the feasibility study and officials are working through the costs with the selected contractor. A meeting has been scheduled for 10 June 2025, including the hon. Member for Hinckley and Bosworth, the trust, and the school, during which departmental officials will provide a further update on the project.

Pursuant to the Answer of 31 March 2025 to Question 42805 on Private Education, if she will list the private schools she has visited since 5 July 2024.

I refer the hon. Member for Hinckley and Bosworth to the answer of 6 May 2025 to Question 46839.

What his planned timetable is for the conclusion of a review of the final cost information to develop a new STEM building at Hinckley School.

Officials are currently working through costs, and I will provide an update to the hon. Member for Hinckley and Bosworth in due course.

If she will undertake a review of the potential impact of increases in National Insurance contributions on the availability of SEND home-to-school transport provision.

I refer the hon. Member for Hinckley and Bosworth to the answer of 29 January 2025 to Question 26397.

What recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the final cost of developing a new STEM building at Hinckley School.

Officials are currently working through costs, and I will provide an update to the hon. Member for Hinckley and Bosworth in due course.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of developing a long term funding model for (a) adopted and (b) special guardianship children previously in care.

All funding after March 2026 is subject to the next spending review. However, we recognise and value the positive impact of the adoption and special guardianship support fund in supporting adoptive and kinship families and its importance to many. Therefore, we will be discussing the best approach to the management of funds in future years with key stakeholders. We will announce next steps as soon as possible.

Pursuant to the Answer of 31 March 2025 to Question 42805 on Private Education, on what date she last visited a private school.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education prioritises visits to state schools, which serve 93% of pupils in England. The Secretary of State for Education and the wider Ministerial team visit a wide variety of education settings, including to private schools.

How many and what proportion of schools have pulled out of the Free School Daily Breakfast club pilot in (a) Leicestershire and (b) England.

The evidence is clear on the impact breakfast clubs can have to support children to arrive at school ready to learn. That is why this government is committed to introducing free and universal breakfast clubs in every state funded school with primary aged pupils.The early adopter scheme has not yet started. We were delighted that over 3,000 schools applied to be early adopters and 750 schools will start delivering from the summer term, bringing change now for pupils and parents in every corner of the country.

How many schools have withdrawn from the Free School Daily Breakfast Club pilot in (a) Leicestershire and (b) England.

The evidence is clear on the impact breakfast clubs can have to support children to arrive at school ready to learn. That is why this government is committed to introducing free and universal breakfast clubs in every state funded school with primary aged pupils.The early adopter scheme has not yet started. We were delighted that over 3,000 schools applied to be early adopters and 750 schools will start delivering from the summer term, bringing change now for pupils and parents in every corner of the country.