Topical Questions

Question

On a personal level, may I thank the Secretary of State for sponsoring my charity event yesterday for disabled children with SYNGAP1? Of course, I welcome the Government's funding of 60,000 new school places for children with special educational needs, but we need a fairer funding formula for those resources, and we need a further £4.6 billion just to prevent the crisis in special needs from getting worse, so what steps are the Government taking to ensure that funding is allocated according to need, not postcode?

Question

I associate myself with the Secretary of State's comments, and send my thoughts and best wishes to all those in the school community of Ammanford at this very difficult time. “The extension does not achieve its primary aim or demonstrate value for money”. That is a damning line from the National Audit Office's report into the Government's childcare expansion. For months, the Secretary of State has told parents and providers that they were wrong to be concerned, yet now we learn that even her own Department considers delivery to be “problematic”—her own failure exposed. Why has she not listened and got a serious plan in place, or is she simply waiting for Labour to publish ours so that she can steal it? [Laughter.]

Question

Nonsense, Mr Speaker. What people right across this country want is a general election, and it cannot come soon enough. It is not only on childcare that the Secretary of State is in a total mess; school leaders, teachers and staff have been dismayed by her failure to reform Ofsted. She simply refuses to listen to staff, to the Education Committee, or indeed to parents. I am clear that under Labour, the days of one-word judgments will come to an end, so when can we expect the Secretary of State to follow Labour's lead and commit to ending Ofsted's headline grades?

Question

Are powers available to the Secretary of State where schools refuse to implement her guidance on social transitioning?

Question

I thank the Secretary of State for mentioning exam season. I am sure she will include the Scottish young people sitting their exams, whose exams started last week—they are already in the throes of it. Deepfake images and nudification apps pose massive threats to the mental health of girls in particular, and therefore their educational outcomes. I am pleased that the Government have taken steps to criminalise the creation of such images, but how is the Secretary of State working with Cabinet colleagues to put pressure on internet companies to take the radical action necessary to remove such images, which can have such an impact on girls' education?

Question

There has been a 6% decline in nought to four-year-olds between 2015 and 2021, leading to challenges for local authorities managing school populations. Given this context, I ask if the government will work with schools and local authorities to promote more inclusion for SEND pupils in mainstream schools.

Question

The Secretary described the system as 'lose-lose-lose'. However, how can parents obtain the right school if they cannot appeal, and who has caused issues in this system?

Question

What measures is the Department implementing to make apprenticeships more attractive for young individuals, particularly women?

Question

Does the Secretary agree that Scotland's new First Minister should commit to factual, science-based education based on the Cass review findings?

Question

The council plans to close an outstanding-rated SEND nursery and leisure centre. Does my hon. Friend agree that specialist provision must be protected?

Question

The Department's delay in applying for planning permission for King's Leadership Academy has caused issues. When will the Department take action to ensure the academy opens as planned?

Question

Research highlights the decline of level 2 apprenticeship starts. What work is being carried out to reverse this trend?

Question

Five years on from the approval of a new secondary school in my Middlesbrough constituency, not a brick has been laid and the children of Outwood Academy Riverside remain in an old Home Office block, and the next two years' intake are going to be bused to Redcar to portacabins plonked on a field. Children are spending their entire secondary school years in temporary accommodation and it is just not good enough. Will the Secretary of State tell ministerial colleagues to get a grip and crack on with building the new school these students need and deserve?

Question

My hon. Friend will be aware of my campaign to improve literacy across the country by improving children's access to libraries in their schools and communities. Much can also be done by parents, grandparents and carers in the years before children start school. What is the Department doing to improve access to books and audiobooks in particular, as well as other literary materials, for pre-school children?

Question

Can the Minister give us an update on the schools-based work of the Youth Endowment Fund on trying to stop young people getting involved in crime, and can he tell us how the success of that work will be judged?

Question

In regard to the worrying topic raised earlier of antisemitism and Islamophobia in schools, will Ministers please bear in mind sections 406 and 407 of the Education Act 1996? The former bans political indoctrination in schools, and the latter says that when political subjects are brought to the attention of pupils, they must be presented in a fair and balanced way.

Question

While it is welcome that Ministers are finally investing in childcare, the scheme just is not working, with local providers telling me it falls far short of what they need to meet demand, exacerbated by the especially low rate paid in central Bedfordshire. Will Ministers change course to make sure that central Bedfordshire families can finally access the childcare they need?

Question

St Francis School and Heathfield School are two excellent special educational needs schools in Fareham, supporting a variety of children with conditions ranging from Down's syndrome to epilepsy, but around the country there are 95,000 children at independent special educational needs schools. Does my hon. Friend agree that Labour's misguided attack on independent schools will be harmful and punitive to vulnerable children all around the country?

Question

In 2024-25, Scottish students living away from home will be entitled to a minimum of £8,400 in student maintenance, whereas English students living outside London will only be getting a minimum of £4,767. Given the current cost of living crisis, which is undoubtedly a factor in the withdrawal of almost 16,000 undergraduate students in England last year, will the Government commit to providing the same encouragement and reinforcement to students in England as students in Scotland enjoy?

Question

The Sir Robert Pattinson Academy in my constituency is a great school providing an excellent education to children. However, it is struggling with the challenges of aged infrastructure, and an urgent bid for it to rectify the heating and wiring challenges has been refused. An urgent meeting on Friday with officials was unproductive, not least because the data they were looking at was out of date. Can I ask the Secretary of State to please ensure that the senior leadership team gets an urgent meeting with senior officials and that she personally ensures that this bid is looked at properly and quickly?

Question

Why are the Government withdrawing funding from Now Teach when they are missing their teacher training targets by 50% in certain subjects and when Now Teach has had such a successful track record in getting people to retrain as teachers?

Question

What assurance can be given to pupils and their families that their concerns will be heard and they will have greater educational choice over which schools their children attend?

Question

Will the Secretary of State pledge to work with the Welsh Government to ensure safety measures are put in place following various investigations?

Question

What work is being done to encourage more older workers into the apprenticeship system?

Question

Will the Minister ask the Home Secretary to quash rumours about banning graduate visas given their significant economic and cultural contributions?

Question

Given the high number of good and outstanding schools in Bracknell and the focus on apprenticeships at Bracknell and Wokingham College, might I tempt her to visit?

Question

Should I keep campaigning for an end to the faith cap given its ineffectiveness in preventing the opening of new Catholic schools?