Defibrillators are designed to be simple and safe to use with no prior training. The devices talk users through step-by-step instructions at the time of use.

​As part of the department’s defibrillator programme, we provided awareness videos to schools showing how simple defibrillators can be to use, and asked schools to share these videos in staff meetings and assemblies. By providing defibrillators and raising awareness, this programme will help to produce a generation of young people who feel able and confident to use this life saving equipment.

The department’s defibrillator guidance signposts to free resources and additional support which schools may find helpful. More information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/automated-external-defibrillators-aeds-in-schools.

All state-funded schools are required to teach first aid as part of the mandatory relationships, sex and health education curriculum. This involves children aged over 12 being taught CPR and the use of a defibrillator. More information can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education.

As part of our Education Estates Strategy, a 10-year plan to transform schools and colleges across England, we will provide targeted support for digital connectivity. As part of this £325 million of funding will be used for the expansion of Connect the Classroom and to support hard to reach schools to access fast, reliable gigabit-capable broadband. New selection criteria will be announced in the summer.

Connect the Classroom is currently supporting schools on the regional improvement for standards and excellence programme, ensuring that poor connectivity isn’t a barrier to school improvement. To date, over £900,000 of Connect the Classroom funding has been spent on schools in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.

The department’s home to school travel policy aims to make sure that no child is prevented from accessing education by a lack of transport. Local authorities are responsible for arranging free home to school travel for eligible children. A child is eligible if they are of compulsory school age, 5 to 16, attend their nearest school and would not be able to walk there because of the distance, their special educational need, disability or mobility problem, or because the nature of the route means it would be unsafe for them to do so. There are extended rights to free travel for children from low-income families.

In addition, the Bus Services Act 2025 puts the power over local bus services back in the hands of local leaders right across England. This will enable them to ensure local bus services meet the needs of local communities, including supporting access to education.

We are investing almost £3 billion per year by 2034/35 in capital maintenance to improve the condition of the school and college estate, rising from £2.4 billion in 2025/26.

As part of this, in 2025/26, Lincolnshire County Council was allocated almost £6 million to invest across its maintained schools. Capital funding for other bodies responsible for schools in South Holland and the Deepings are also available on GOV.UK. We expect to publish capital allocations and the outcomes of the Condition Improvement Fund for the 2026/27 financial year in the spring.

We are also investing almost £20 billion in the School Rebuilding Programme through to 2034/35, delivering rebuilding projects at over 500 schools within the existing programme, with a further 250 schools to be selected within two years. We plan to open a nomination round early in 2026.

Lincolnshire has also been allocated £62.2 million of Basic Need capital funding to support it to create mainstream school places needed between May 2024 and September 2028.

It is a requirement of the PE national curriculum that schools must provide swimming and water safety lessons to pupils in either key stage 1 or 2. Whilst academies are not required to follow the national curriculum, they must provide a broad and balanced curriculum. The department is processing information gathered on swimming and water safety through the Digital Expenditure Reporting Return and will publish a summary of quality assured data in the new year.

I refer the right hon. Member for South Holland and The Deepings to the answer of 31 October 2025 to Question 83935.

Schools are responsible for their school meals service and how and where they choose to buy their produce. We encourage schools to provide a wide range of foods using fresh, sustainable locally sourced, seasonal ingredients including produce from the school vegetable garden where possible.

Alongside this, we encourage schools to follow the Government Buying Standard for food and catering, which includes advice around procurement and sustainable sourcing of produce.

We aim to revise the School Food Standards and are engaging with stakeholders to ensure they support our work to create the healthiest generation of children in history and will be consulting publicly in due course. As part of this work, we will review our guidance on sourcing good quality produce.

The department does not require pupils to own specific technology and does not hold information on individual pupil requirements. Our policy focuses on ensuring schools have the right infrastructure to support teaching and learning.

We have set six core digital and technology standards for schools and colleges to meet by 2030: broadband internet, wireless networks, network switches, digital leadership and governance, filtering and monitoring, and cyber security. These standards provide the foundations for safe and reliable connectivity at school and ensure safeguarding is a priority. Schools can use the ‘Plan technology for your school’ service to assess readiness and plan upgrades.

I refer the hon. Member for South Holland and The Deepings to the answer of 4 September 2025 of Question 70188.

The information is not held by the department at local authority district level.

Information on penalty notices for unauthorised absence is collected at local authority level. The latest available data, covering the 2023/24 academic year, is available in the parental responsibility measures statistical release, which can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/parental-responsibility-measures/2023-24.

The department wants to drive a consistent and inclusive approach to supporting children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to achieve and thrive in mainstream settings through early identification, effective support, high-quality teaching and effective allocation of resources.

We are engaging extensively with stakeholders, including our Expert Advisory Group for Inclusion, on the best ways to drive inclusive practice and how to improve mainstream education outcomes and experiences for children and young people with SEND.

Details of the government's intended approach to SEND reform will be set out in a Schools White Paper in the autumn.

The department has recently announced over £1 billion of new capital investment to support local authorities to create mainstream school places needed by September 2028. £640 million will be allocated in the financial year 2026/27, of which Lincolnshire local authority will receive £23.9 million.

Other capital budgets for 2026/27 will be decided as part of the ongoing multi-year spending review.

The department supports local authorities, academy trusts, and voluntary-aided school bodies responsible for the school estate by providing capital funding, delivering major rebuilding programmes and offering guidance and support.

We have increased funding to improve the condition of the estate to £2.1 billion for the 2025/26 financial year, up from £1.8 billion last year. Allocations are published on GOV.UK and are partly informed by consistent data on the condition of the estate collected by the department, reflecting the relative need of schools. This is in addition to our continued investment in the school rebuilding programme, including five schools in Lincolnshire, of which two are in the South Holland and The Deepings constituency.

From 2021 to 2026, the department’s Condition Data Collection 2 programme is visiting every government-funded school and college in England to collect data about the condition of their buildings. This data is providing an updated and comprehensive picture of the condition of the school estate in England to support our capital funding policy and programmes. Information on the condition of schools, as assessed by Condition Data Collection 1, can be found here: https://depositedpapers.parliament.uk/depositedpaper/2285521/files.

The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or who require alternative provision sits with local authorities.

This government knows that many children and young people with SEND struggle to find a suitable school placement that is close to their home and meets their needs. We are committed to addressing this by improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools to support a range of needs, reducing the need for pupils to travel a long way to access a specialist placement, as well as ensuring special schools cater to those with the most complex needs. Many mainstream settings are already going above and beyond to deliver specialist provision locally, including through resourced provision and special educational needs units.

The department has now published allocations for £740 million in high needs provision capital allocations for the 2025/26 financial year, to support local authorities to deliver new specialist places.

Lincolnshire Council has been allocated £10.3 million for 2025/26, and it is up to the local authority to make decisions about the places they create and to prioritise this funding to meet local needs.

I refer the hon. Member for South Holland and The Deepings to the answer of 30 December 2024 to Question 20796.

School buildings are integral to high and rising standards and need to be fit for the future. The department has announced, for the 2025/26 financial year, capital funding allocations for school condition and for funding high needs capacity.

Mainstream basic need allocations have been published for the 2025/26 to 2027/28 financial years. Other funding plans for 2026/27 and beyond will be confirmed following the multi-year spending review.

We are increasing capital funding to improve the condition of school buildings to £2.1 billion for the 2025/26 financial year, up from £1.8 billion for 2024/25. As part of this, Lincolnshire County Council, which includes South Holland and South Kesteven districts, has been provisionally allocated a school condition allocation (SCA) of £5,873,159 to invest across its maintained schools. Maintained schools in Lincolnshire have also been provisionally allocated a total of £913,014 in devolved formula capital (DFC) to spend on their own capital priorities.

Large multi-academy trusts and large voluntary aided school bodies have also been provisionally allocated SCA, but allocations typically span across district and local authority boundaries. Smaller multi-academy and single academy trusts and sixth form colleges were instead eligible to apply to the Condition Improvement Fund, with outcomes due to be published later in the spring. Eligible non-maintained schools in Lincolnshire have also been provisionally allocated DFC. Final allocations will follow later in the spring.

In addition, the School Rebuilding Programme is rebuilding or significantly refurbishing buildings at over 500 schools, including Tulip Academy and University Academy Long Sutton in South Holland.

The department has published £740 million in High Needs Provision Capital Allocations (HNPCA) for the 2025/26 financial year, to support local authorities to deliver new places in mainstream and special schools, as well as other specialist settings, and to improve the suitability and accessibility of existing buildings. Of this, Lincolnshire County Council has been allocated £10.3 million.

Lincolnshire County Council has also been allocated just over £39 million of basic need capital grant over the current and next two financial years, to support it to create the mainstream school places needed by September 2028.

The department has recently announced 300 successful applicants for the school-based nursery capital grant, including two within the South Holland and the Deepings Parliamentary constituency.

All state-funded schools in South Holland and the Deepings that did not already have a defibrillator received them under the department’s programme, which has now closed.

I refer the hon. Member for South Holland and The Deepings to the answer of 21 March 2025 to Question 38113.

The department has made no separate estimate of the number of pupils in individual local authority areas who have left the independent school system as a result of VAT on school fees.

​The government predicts that, in the long-term steady state, there will be 37,000 fewer pupils in the private sector in the UK as a result of the removal of the VAT exemption applied to school fees. This represents around 6% of the current private school population.

Of the expected 37,000 pupil reduction in the private sector, the government estimates an increase of 35,000 pupils in the state sector in the steady state following the VAT policy taking effect, with the other 2,000 consisting of international pupils who do not move into the UK state system and domestic pupils moving into homeschooling. This state sector increase represents less than 0.5% of total UK state school pupils, of which there are over 9 million. This movement is expected to take place over several years.

The impact on individual local authorities will interact with other pressures and vary between authorities. Every year, many pupils move between schools, including between the private and state-funded sectors.

Local authorities routinely support parents who need a state-funded school place, including where private schools have closed. Where local authorities are experiencing difficulties in ensuring there are enough school places for children that need them, the department will offer support and advice.

​The department provides capital funding through the Basic Need grant to support local authorities to provide school places, based on their own pupil forecasts and school capacity data. They can use this funding to provide places in new schools or through expansions of existing schools.​

Local authorities in the East Midlands region have been allocated a total of £177.1 million, including £23.2 million for Lincolnshire, to support the provision of new mainstream school places needed over the current and next two academic years, up to and including the academic year starting in September 2026.

Local authorities receive funding to provide school nursing through the Public Health Grant. It is local authorities’ responsibility to commission school nursing around the needs of their respective populations according to their local health plan. The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities provides both commissioning guidance and a service framework through the Healthy Child Programme. School nursing is a clinical service, and providers must be registered with the Care Quality Commission who assure quality through their inspection regime.

We will ensure we have the staff we need so that children and their families are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it. This will take time, but we are committed to building a health service fit for the future with the workforce it needs.

In the ’School accountability reform – school profiles improvement and intervention’ consultation, the department defined ’stuck school’ as a school that was graded ‘requires improvement’ or equivalent at its most recent Ofsted inspection and was also graded below ‘good’ at its previous inspection.

For this purpose, we have considered a sub-judgement of ‘requires improvement’ for leadership and management and/or quality of education for a school inspected in 2024/25 academic year as equivalent to a previous single headline grade of ‘requires improvement’.

Based on the latest published Ofsted inspection data, there were 4 stuck schools in the South Holland and the Deepings constituency and 18 stuck schools in Lincolnshire by the end of December 2024.

The cost of school uniform, particularly of branded items, remains a key concern for parents. Whilst uniforms play a valuable role in creating a sense of common identity among pupils and reducing visible inequalities, too many schools still require high numbers of branded uniform items despite statutory guidance stating branded items should be kept to a minimum. Currently 24% of primary and 71% of secondary schools still require five or more branded items, with some parents saying they were asked to provide 10 or more.

This is why the department has introduced legislation to limit the number of branded items of uniform and physical education kit that schools can require to bring down costs for parents and remove barriers from children accessing sport and other school activities. This will give parents more choice in where to purchase uniform and allow them greater flexibility to make the spending decisions that suit their circumstances.

High-quality careers information, advice and guidance is key to helping young people make informed decisions about their future and involves finding out about and considering the different options available to them, including maritime industries.

As new technologies and industries emerge, it is critical that young people understand the breadth of careers and opportunities available and can make informed decisions about their future, including the value of technical and vocational pathways to employment. Good quality careers advice is essential if we are to ensure we meet the higher technical skills needs of our country.

Whilst an essential element of careers advice is that it is person-centred and impartial, the department’s partner organisations provide a range of wider careers information and advice across all employment sectors, including maritime industries.

The Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC) supports schools and colleges to embed best practice so that young people are aware of the full range of careers across all sectors of the economy.

The department also funds Careers Hubs, which lead partnerships of secondary schools, colleges, employers, combined authorities, local authorities and careers providers to help young people connect closely to local skills and economic needs through a responsive careers education programme. Through this network, schools can engage with employers from a wide range of sectors to raise awareness of different career pathways and to improve careers education. This supports young people to make informed choices, and to develop the skills they need and employers want.

Sector bodies and individual employers can register their interest through CEC to support schools and colleges, for example through the Enterprise Adviser Network or as a Cornerstone Employer. Cornerstone Employers are a flagship group of employers from a range of sectors that work with networks of schools and colleges to improve careers education and make sure key skills for their sector are understood by teachers and education leaders.

Cowes Enterprise College has created Maritime Futures, an exciting model for integrating maritime into a mainstream curriculum at key stage 3, showcasing successful engagement between schools and employers. In discrete curriculum subjects, including mathematics, science, geography, history, art, the national curriculum content is taught through a maritime lens, using the wealth of learning opportunities the maritime sector presents.

Subject leaders work together so that learning in each discipline reinforces and enhances the learning in other subjects. Students apply the robust knowledge acquired to practical projects. For example, students build boats in design technology and apply what they have learnt on the physics of buoyancy, drag and variables. Local maritime employers advise on curriculum content and help deliver some lessons.

In addition, the National Careers Service, which is a free, government-funded careers information, advice and guidance service, draws on a range of labour market information to support and guide individuals. The service website gives customers access to a range of useful digital tools and resources to support them, including ‘Explore Careers’ which includes more than 130 industry areas and more than 800 job profiles, including a range of maritime roles ranging from merchant navy to boat building describing what those roles entail, qualifications and entry routes.

The department's ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. The department’s home-to-school travel policy aims to make sure no child is prevented from accessing education by a lack of transport.

Local authorities must arrange free home-to-school travel for children of compulsory school age who attend their nearest school and would not be able to walk there because of the distance, their special educational needs, disability or mobility problem, or because the route is unsafe. There are extended rights to free home-to-school travel for children from low-income families, aimed at helping them exercise school choice.

The department is aware that challenges within the wider SEND system are creating pressure on home-to-school travel. The government is committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, with specialist provision supporting children with the most complex needs, so fewer children need to travel long distances to a school that can meet their needs. This will reduce the pressure on home-to-school travel over time.

Most central government funding for home-to-school travel is provided through the Local Government Finance Settlement administered by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. The government recognises the challenges local authorities are facing. The department has listened to voices across the sector and prioritised local government at the Autumn Budget 2024. £1.3 billion of new grant funding in 2025/26 was announced for local government to deliver core services. Together with local income from council tax and business rates, this will provide a real-terms increase in core spending power of around 3.2%.

The department does not hold data on places vacant on 6 September 2024.

Information on unfilled state secondary school places, as at May 2023, is published in the School Capacity statistics publication here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-capacity.

For ease, local authority level information within the publication for Lincolnshire local authority can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/62411dcf-5a26-4262-e175-08dccd7b577b.

School level information is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-catalogue/data-set/5f26c269-bf72-41ab-8292-e17b58ed7c98. This information can be aggregated to borough and parliamentary constituency level by linking to here: https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/.

In summary, for South Holland and The Deepings parliamentary constituency, there were 605 unfilled secondary school places (8%) in May 2023.

High-quality teaching is the factor that makes the biggest difference to a child’s education, therefore delivering the government’s agenda to break down the barriers to opportunity relies on a highly skilled workforce in schools.

There are now 468,693 full-time equivalent teachers in state-funded schools in England. However, the department needs to do more to recruit additional teachers, especially in shortage subjects in secondary schools, which is why the government has set out the ambition to recruit 6,500 new expert teachers.

Financial incentives are one of the most effective ways to increase teacher supply. The department’s initial teacher training financial incentives package this year is worth up to £196 million, including bursaries of up to £28,000 tax free for trainees in mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing. Although the minimum starting salary for teachers in Lincolnshire increased to £30,000 from 2023/24, the department knows fair pay going forward is key to ensuring teaching is an attractive and respected profession. This is why this government has accepted the School Teachers’ Review Body’s recommendation of a 5.5% pay award for teachers and leaders in maintained schools from September.

The department is providing schools with almost £1.1 billion in additional funding, in financial year 2024/25, to support schools with overall costs. This matches what we have calculated is needed to fully fund, at a national level, the teacher pay award and the support staff pay offer in financial year 2024/25, over and above the overall available headroom in schools’ existing budgets.

Recruiting more teachers is a key part of the opportunity mission, but this government is also committed to tackling long-standing retention challenges to ensure teachers stay and thrive in the profession. This is why the department is continuing to support mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing teachers in the first five years of their careers, who chose to work in disadvantaged schools, through retention payments worth up to £3,000 after tax. For the 2023/24 academic year, teachers in 55 schools in the Lincolnshire local authority were eligible for these retention payments.

To further help retention, the department is also addressing teacher workload and wellbeing and supporting schools to introduce flexible working practices. Lapal School of Hales Valley Trust, as one of the department’s flexible working ambassador schools, is helping schools across East Midlands and Lincolnshire to introduce flexible working practices.

In addition, local teaching school hubs, including the L.E.A.D Teaching School Hub and DRET Teaching Hub, are supporting schools across Lincolnshire to deliver teacher training and development.

The department does not collect or hold data about the construction of designated multi-faith areas by schools.

It is the department’s understanding that the vast majority schools which provide multi-faith areas do so by using existing spaces such as classrooms and assembly halls.

I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for South Holland and The Deepings, to the answer of 30 January 2024 to questions 10704 and 10705.

Individual National Health Service organisations are legally responsible for maintaining their estates. NHS England continues to work with trusts to ensure their estates are a safe environment for patients and staff. Where asbestos may pose a safety risk, such as when disturbed during building works, experts are brought in to safely dispose of it.

The Health and Safety Executive regulates schools’ compliance with legislation to manage their asbestos safely and the Department for Education follows their advice that, provided asbestos-containing materials are in good condition and unlikely to be disturbed, it is generally safest to manage them in place. The Department for Education supports schools in managing asbestos by providing capital funding, delivering rebuilding programmes and offering guidance and support.

School funding is distributed by the department fairly, based on schools’ and pupils’ needs and characteristics. It is then for school heads and governors to decide how this money is spent, in line with their school’s context.

The department does not hold the cost and spending for translating school materials into non-English languages or providing language translators in schools. Such professional services are procured by individual schools and local authorities. Local authorities can ‘de-delegate’ funding from maintained schools in their area to meet the costs to improve the performance of underperforming pupils from ethnic minority groups and meeting the specific needs of bilingual pupils, and local authorities submit data on this spending as part of their annual returns to the department. ‘De-delegated’ funding is spent centrally by local authorities to meet costs faced by maintained schools in their area.

School funding is distributed by the department fairly, based on schools’ and pupils’ needs and characteristics. It is then for school heads and governors to decide how this money is spent, in line with their school’s context.

The department does not hold the cost and spending for translating school materials into non-English languages or providing language translators in schools. Such professional services are procured by individual schools and local authorities. Local authorities can ‘de-delegate’ funding from maintained schools in their area to meet the costs to improve the performance of underperforming pupils from ethnic minority groups and meeting the specific needs of bilingual pupils, and local authorities submit data on this spending as part of their annual returns to the department. ‘De-delegated’ funding is spent centrally by local authorities to meet costs faced by maintained schools in their area.

The Relationships and Sex and Health Education (RSHE) statutory guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education.

It is for schools to make decisions about the content they teach and the materials they use when teaching RSHE. However, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has been concerned to hear reports of inappropriate materials being used in schools and that contested topics are being taught as fact. This is why the department has brought forward the first review of the RSHE statutory guidance, including appointing an independent panel to provide expert advice on what is appropriate to be taught in RSHE and at what age. Details of the independent review panel are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/relationships-health-and-sex-education-independent-review.

In March 2023, the Secretary of State for Education wrote to schools to remind them that copyright law does not prevent them sharing external resources with parents. In October 2023, she wrote again to clarify that any contractual clause that prevents schools from sharing materials is void and unenforceable, and to provide practical advice on how to share materials with parents in a way that is in line with copyright legislation. The department will ensure that the updated guidance fully reflects this very clear position. The guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/secretary-of-state-letter-to-schools-about-sharing-curriculum-resources-with-parents.

A draft of the amended guidance will be published for consultation, at the earliest opportunity, in the new year.

The UK unequivocally condemns the recent terrorist attacks by Hamas and stands in solidarity with Israel in its hour of need. Antisemitism has no place in our society.

The Department does not hold this information. Whilst the Department strongly encourages schools and colleges to record and report all kinds of bullying, there is not a legal requirement for schools and colleges to record and report incidents of bullying.

The Department has published guidance to support schools and colleges to monitor bullying incidents and evaluate the effectiveness of their approaches, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preventing-and-tackling-bullying. The Government is committed to ensuring that all schools and colleges prepare children for life in modern Britain. Every school and college should actively promote the shared values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect, and tolerance for those of different faiths and beliefs.

The Prime Minister has announced that £3 million of extra funding will be provided to the Community Security Trust to protect schools, colleges, nurseries and synagogues and other Jewish community buildings.

The Secretary of State and Ministers visited a Jewish school to show their support and wrote to school and college headteachers on 17 October to remind them of their relevant responsibilities, including the need to challenge intolerance and actively respond to discrimination, as well as outlining their duties under the Prevent programme. The Department’s Educate Against Hate website provides a range of resources and support to challenge discrimination and intolerance, and how to respond where you have concerns. This is available at: https://www.educateagainsthate.com/.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

The Department has engaged with a number of stakeholders in relation to developing the guidance for schools and colleges on gender questioning children.

The Department will be undertaking a full public consultation on the draft guidance prior to publication and will continue to engage with a range of stakeholders throughout this process.

It is vital that the guidance published gives clarity for schools and colleges, and reassurance for parents. The Department is taking the necessary time to ensure that it reflects the best possible advice before publishing the draft.

The Department engages with external bodies on a regular basis and a number of these conversations have related to the guidance the Department is developing for schools and colleges on gender questioning children. The Department will be undertaking a full public consultation on the draft guidance prior to finalisation, and will continue to engage with a range of stakeholders throughout this process.

Careers guidance is the first rung on the ladder of opportunity, setting individuals on the path to success and allowing talent to flourish. The department is spending over £18.8 million to support the full rollout of Careers Hubs across England, so that every secondary school and college can be part of a Careers Hub. The Careers Hubs Network (CHN), delivered by the Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC), is a tried and tested model for partnership and collaboration in careers education.

As of April 2023, coverage of the CHN has been expanded to cover over 90% (4,621) of schools and colleges. Our ambition is to go further still and for 95% of schools and colleges, including in rural areas, to be part of a Careers Hub by August 2024.

Cornerstone Employers are also a key part of our careers offer. The CEC has built a network of around 400 Cornerstone Employers across the country, including rural areas, who support clusters of secondary schools and colleges. They provide strong local leadership in the area and drive the delivery of encounters for pupils.

The Department has put in place measures to help young people make informed choices about their next step in education or training.

All secondary school pupils have opportunities to access information and advice on technical options, including apprenticeships, T Levels and higher technical qualifications. Schools are required by law to provide at least six opportunities for providers of technical education and apprenticeships to speak to all pupils during school years 8 to 13. This legislation came into force on 1 January 2023 and the Department published updated statutory guidance on careers and provider access, which set out what schools need to do to comply.

Through the apprenticeship, support and knowledge (ASK) programme, which is supported by £3.2 million of funding in the 2023/24 financial year, the Department is continuing to provide information, advice and guidance on apprenticeships, T Levels and other technical education routes. ASK has engaged with over 600,000 young people, over 2,200 schools and nearly 80 further education colleges in the 2022/23 academic year.

The Government’s ‘Get the Jump: Skills for Life’ online campaign brings together the different education and training pathways open to young people post 16 and post 18. It helps to raise awareness of technical education options, supports informed choice and signposts users to a new page on the National Careers Service website that brings all the options together for the first time.

Political issues relating to racial and social justice can be taught in a balanced and factual manner, just as pupils are often taught a range of different views on other topics, but schools should not teach contested theories and opinions as fact.

The Department is aware that there has been increasing focus on political impartiality in schools over the last few years. This has been challenging for head teachers, teachers and staff, given a lack of clarity regarding what the legal duties in this area really mean.  That is why the Department has published clear and comprehensive guidance to help those working with and in schools to better understand legal duties on political impartiality. A link to the guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/political-impartiality-in-schools.

As with other aspects of the curriculum, schools have flexibility over how they deliver these subjects. It is important that schools take full responsibility for ensuring lessons and materials are age appropriate, suitable, and politically impartial, particularly when using materials produced by external organisations. When teaching, schools should consider the age of pupils and their religious and cultural backgrounds.

Schools are ultimately responsible for making sure the resources they use are suitable for their pupils. The Department’s guidance includes advice to help schools make good choices.

‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ (KCSIE) is the statutory safeguarding guidance schools and colleges must have regard to when safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the pupils in their care.

The Secretary of State is working closely with the Minister for Women and Equalities to produce guidance to support schools in relation to pupils who are questioning their gender, following calls from schools, teachers, and parents. This guidance will clarify schools’ legal position and the importance of schools involving parents when making any decisions relating to their child and their gender. The Department will undertake a formal public consultation on this guidance before it is published.

The Department will consider whether to include links to the new transgender guidance, within future versions of KCSIE, and take into account any views on its inclusion, as part of the KCSIE public consultation process in the normal way.

The advice on Standards for School Premises (2015) is clear that suitable toilet and washing facilities must be provided for the sole use of pupils, and that separate toilets for boys and girls aged 8 years or over are provided, except where the toilet facility is provided in a room that can be secured from the inside and that is intended for use by one pupil at a time. The advice on Standards for School Premises is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/410294/Advice_on_standards_for_school_premises.pdf#:~:text=The%20Education%20Act%201996%20places%20a%20duty%20on,and%20new%20schools%20maintained%20by%20a%20local%20authority3.

It is for schools to find reasonable ways, in accordance with the law, to balance every child’s right to access clean and safe toilet facilities when they need them.

The Department does not collect data on the number of schools that only provide gender-neutral toilets.

The Department is currently considering ways in which it, and schools, can commemorate and celebrate The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Details of this will be available once decisions have been made and plans are in place.

We are giving schools the largest cash boost in a decade, which will give every school more money for every child. Core schools funding will increase by £2.6 billion in 2020-21, £4.8 billion by 2021-22, and £7.1 billion by 2022-23, in comparison to 2019-20. We have continued to distribute this funding through the National Funding Formula, which ensures that funding is based on schools’ and pupils’ needs and characteristics, and not on accidents of geography or history.

The National Funding Formula ensures that every school will receive more money for every pupil next year. On average, schools are attracting 4.2% more per pupil in 2020-21 compared to in 2019-20. We are delivering the greatest gains to areas which have been historically underfunded, removing the previous cap on gains so that increases in funding now flow through in full. We are also levelling up the lowest funded schools to ensure they have the right investment to deliver an outstanding education. Every secondary school is receiving at least £5,000 per pupil, and every primary school at least £3,750 next year – putting primary schools on the path to receiving at least £4,000 per pupil from next year.

The formula also ensures that every school is receiving an increase to their pupil-led per pupil funding of at least 1.84% next year compared to their previous year’s allocation.

The department has been working closely with partners to provide resources and update guidance to support and promote children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing during the COVID-19 outbreak. This includes signposting to resources on supporting and promoting mental wellbeing among the list of resources to help children to learn at home, which are available here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-online-education-resources.

During Mental Health Awareness Week, the government announced that a further £4.2 million will be awarded to mental health charities – including the Samaritans, Young Minds, and Bipolar UK. This is in addition to the £5 million Coronavirus Mental Health Response Fund, administered by Mind, for mental health charities to help them adapt, expand and reach those who are most vulnerable.

The return to school is a key part of supporting the mental health and wellbeing of pupils, as attendance at school allows social interaction with peers, carers and teachers, which benefits wellbeing. To support this, we have encouraged schools to focus on mental wellbeing as pupils return. Children in Reception, year 1 and year 6 are now able to return to primary, and year 10 and year 12 pupils are able to receive face-to-face support at secondary. Primaries with capacity can bring back additional groups, in line with existing protective measures, and we have given schools the flexibility to have face-to-face ‘check-ups’ with all pupils during the summer term, which will ensure more children and young people are able to achieve this benefit. Our intention is for all children to return to school from September and guidance will be published soon.

In addition, children and young people can access free confidential support anytime from government-backed voluntary and community sector organisations either by texting SHOUT to 85258, or by calling Childline on 0800 1111 or The Mix on 0808 808 4994. Children and young people can also find online information on COVID-19 and mental health on the Young Minds website, which is available here:
https://youngminds.org.uk/about-us/reports/coronavirus-impact-on-young-people-with-mental-health-needs.

Public Health England and Health Education England have also published advice and guidance for parents and professionals on supporting children and young people's mental health and wellbeing, which is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-on-supporting-children-and-young-peoples-mental-health-and-wellbeing.

The department has also published statutory guidance which states that, as part of the new relationships and sex education and health education curriculum, primary and secondary school children should be taught about loneliness. This will include issues like building positive friendships and mental wellbeing. The department is developing a programme of support and resources to help schools teach the new requirements.