My Lords, as set out in our White Paper, Every Child Achieving and Thriving, all children should have access to high-performing schools. However, more could be done to reduce barriers in the system, particularly for children from disadvantaged backgrounds and children with SEND. We will ensure that all mainstream settings are welcoming to children with SEND by investing £1.6 billion over three years to support early years settings, schools and colleges to become inclusive by design. We will also develop new

resources to support and encourage schools to use existing provisions within the code, such as the ability to prioritise children eligible for the pupil premium, to adopt more inclusive admission arrangements.

I think we need to make sure that all schools achieve the levels of inclusive education necessary to support children with special educational needs and disabilities. That is the reason for the investment we are putting in place, the emphasis we are placing on inclusion—for example, through our RISE teams across the country—and the new emphasis that Ofsted will have, when inspecting schools, on the inclusive nature of what is being offered within them.

Despite the efforts of dedicated staff, our school system is not serving all children well, with unacceptable disparities in attainment existing across all phases of education and all areas of the country.

Disadvantaged children, especially white working-class children, and those with special educational needs and disabilities are not succeeding as they should.

The attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and all other pupils remains high and persistent at both primary and secondary.

The ‘Every Child Achieving and Thriving’ white paper establishes the department’s plan to improve the outcomes of all children and young people.

When children born under this government finish secondary school, it is our ambition that all children achieve higher standards and the disadvantage gap will be halved, equating to 30,000 more disadvantaged young people passing their English and maths GCSEs than today.

To deliver this we will provide family support to help more disadvantaged children arrive at reception school ready, strengthen teacher recruitment and retention, broaden the curriculum and offer high-quality enrichment opportunities.

This government is committed to improving mental health support for all children and young people. This is critical to breaking down barriers to opportunity and helping pupils to achieve and thrive in education.

Over 90% of schools report having a designated mental health lead. The department provides guidance and practical resources on promoting and supporting pupils’ mental health and wellbeing in schools. For example, a resources hub and a toolkit to help choose evidence-based early support for pupils. These can be found here: https://mentallyhealthyschools.org.uk/whole-school-or-college-resources/, and here: https://mentallyhealthyschools.org.uk/whole-school-or-college-resources/.

The government will provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every school by expanding Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs), so every child and young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate.

As at March 2025, 10,100 schools and colleges were supported by an MHST. By April 2026, we estimate an additional 900,000 pupils in schools and learners in further education in England will be covered by an MHST, around 6 million in total, or 60% of all pupils and learners, up from around 5 million in April 2025.

The government will also recruit an additional 8,500 mental health staff to treat children and adults and open new Young Futures hubs with access to mental health support workers.

This government is committed to improving mental health support for all children and young people. This is critical to breaking down barriers to opportunity and helping pupils to achieve and thrive in education.

Over 90% of schools report having a designated mental health lead. The department provides guidance and practical resources on promoting and supporting pupils’ mental health and wellbeing in schools. For example, a resources hub and a toolkit to help choose evidence-based early support for pupils. These can be found here: https://mentallyhealthyschools.org.uk/whole-school-or-college-resources/, and here: https://mentallyhealthyschools.org.uk/whole-school-or-college-resources/.

The government will provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every school by expanding Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs), so every child and young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate.

As at March 2025, 10,100 schools and colleges were supported by an MHST. By April 2026, we estimate an additional 900,000 pupils in schools and learners in further education in England will be covered by an MHST, around 6 million in total, or 60% of all pupils and learners, up from around 5 million in April 2025.

The government will also recruit an additional 8,500 mental health staff to treat children and adults and open new Young Futures hubs with access to mental health support workers.

The government has defined a stuck school in its consultation on school accountability reform, which was published on 3 February 2025, as a school which was graded ‘requires improvement’ or equivalent at its most recent graded Ofsted inspection and was also graded below ‘good’ at its previous inspection. The consultation also proposes how to define stuck schools in future, subject to the outcome of Ofsted’s separate consultation on improving the way it inspects education.

As at 1 March 2025, there are a total of 566 academy schools, including free schools, which meet the definition of ‘stuck’ schools (5% of all academies) of which 207 are converter academies (2.7% of all convertor academies). Additionally, there are 91 local authority maintained schools meeting the ‘stuck’ schools definition (0.9% of all local authority maintained schools), of which 48 are community schools (0.8% of all community schools) and 43 are voluntary or foundation schools (1.0% of all voluntary or foundation schools). It should be noted that some stuck schools that are now academies were local authority maintained schools at the time of their most recent inspection and subsequently converted as a result of intervention.

The government is committed to high and rising standards for all children, regardless of the type of school they attend. We are already deploying regional improvement for standards and excellence teams to both maintained schools and academies which meet the current definition of stuck and have not had a change of responsible body since their most recent inspection.

The government has defined a stuck school in its consultation on school accountability reform, which was published on 3 February 2025, as a school which was graded ‘requires improvement’ or equivalent at its most recent graded Ofsted inspection and was also graded below ‘good’ at its previous inspection. The consultation also proposes how to define stuck schools in future, subject to the outcome of Ofsted’s separate consultation on improving the way it inspects education.

As at 1 March 2025, there are a total of 566 academy schools, including free schools, which meet the definition of ‘stuck’ schools (5% of all academies) of which 207 are converter academies (2.7% of all convertor academies). Additionally, there are 91 local authority maintained schools meeting the ‘stuck’ schools definition (0.9% of all local authority maintained schools), of which 48 are community schools (0.8% of all community schools) and 43 are voluntary or foundation schools (1.0% of all voluntary or foundation schools). It should be noted that some stuck schools that are now academies were local authority maintained schools at the time of their most recent inspection and subsequently converted as a result of intervention.

The government is committed to high and rising standards for all children, regardless of the type of school they attend. We are already deploying regional improvement for standards and excellence teams to both maintained schools and academies which meet the current definition of stuck and have not had a change of responsible body since their most recent inspection.

The government has defined a stuck school in its consultation on school accountability reform, which was published on 3 February 2025, as a school which was graded ‘requires improvement’ or equivalent at its most recent graded Ofsted inspection and was also graded below ‘good’ at its previous inspection. The consultation also proposes how to define stuck schools in future, subject to the outcome of Ofsted’s separate consultation on improving the way it inspects education.

As at 1 March 2025, there are a total of 566 academy schools, including free schools, which meet the definition of ‘stuck’ schools (5% of all academies) of which 207 are converter academies (2.7% of all convertor academies). Additionally, there are 91 local authority maintained schools meeting the ‘stuck’ schools definition (0.9% of all local authority maintained schools), of which 48 are community schools (0.8% of all community schools) and 43 are voluntary or foundation schools (1.0% of all voluntary or foundation schools). It should be noted that some stuck schools that are now academies were local authority maintained schools at the time of their most recent inspection and subsequently converted as a result of intervention.

The government is committed to high and rising standards for all children, regardless of the type of school they attend. We are already deploying regional improvement for standards and excellence teams to both maintained schools and academies which meet the current definition of stuck and have not had a change of responsible body since their most recent inspection.

The government has defined a stuck school in its consultation on school accountability reform, which was published on 3 February 2025, as a school which was graded ‘requires improvement’ or equivalent at its most recent graded Ofsted inspection and was also graded below ‘good’ at its previous inspection. The consultation also proposes how to define stuck schools in future, subject to the outcome of Ofsted’s separate consultation on improving the way it inspects education.

As at 1 March 2025, there are a total of 566 academy schools, including free schools, which meet the definition of ‘stuck’ schools (5% of all academies) of which 207 are converter academies (2.7% of all convertor academies). Additionally, there are 91 local authority maintained schools meeting the ‘stuck’ schools definition (0.9% of all local authority maintained schools), of which 48 are community schools (0.8% of all community schools) and 43 are voluntary or foundation schools (1.0% of all voluntary or foundation schools). It should be noted that some stuck schools that are now academies were local authority maintained schools at the time of their most recent inspection and subsequently converted as a result of intervention.

The government is committed to high and rising standards for all children, regardless of the type of school they attend. We are already deploying regional improvement for standards and excellence teams to both maintained schools and academies which meet the current definition of stuck and have not had a change of responsible body since their most recent inspection.

As part of this government’s plan to deliver a better accountability system that sets clear expectations, encourages improvement and spreads excellence, the use of single headline grades was stopped in September 2024, and it is our intention to introduce school report cards from the next academic year. As of 28 February 2025, there are 924 schools graded ‘requires improvement’, which were graded ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ in their previous inspection.

The department is strengthening its tools for faster and more effective school improvement. These schools will be eligible for our new Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence (RISE) universal service to drive high and rising standards. RISE teams will signpost schools to effective practice, encourage peer-to-peer support, and bring schools together to share their knowledge and innovation. This includes organising regional events, conferences and networking opportunities, aligned to our four national priorities of attainment, attendance, mainstream inclusion and reception year quality.

This government is committed to harnessing the potential of technology to drive high and rising standards in education and deliver our Plan for Change. That includes breaking down the barriers to opportunity for all to ensure no one is left behind.

We will set out our initiatives to tackle the digital divide in due course, and in line with the multi-year spending review, which will conclude in late spring 2025.

The information requested is not held centrally.

Under the Education (School Day and School Year) (England) Regulations 1999, local authority-maintained schools are required to meet for at least 380 sessions or 190 days in each school year.

Academies are not bound by these regulations. The length of the school year is the responsibility of the academy trust.

The Department of Health and Social Care is working with the Department for Education and NHS England to consider how to deliver our commitment of access to a specialist mental health professional in every school. We need to ensure that any support meets the needs of young people, teachers, parents, and carers. This includes considering the role of existing programmes of support with evidence of a positive impact, such as mental health support teams in schools and colleges.

The Department of Health and Social Care is working with the Department for Education and NHS England to consider how to deliver our commitment of access to a specialist mental health professional in every school. We need to ensure that any support meets the needs of young people, teachers, parents, and carers. This includes considering the role of existing programmes of support with evidence of a positive impact, such as mental health support teams in schools and colleges.

My noble friend is right that mental health disorders among children are a growing problem. Working alongside the Department

of Health and Social Care, we will provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every school, and develop new young futures hubs, which will include access to mental health support workers. Also, we will recruit an additional 8,500 new mental health staff to treat children and adults, to cut the unacceptably long time that children and young people have to wait for child and adolescent mental health services; that commitment is specific to the Department of Health.

My noble friend is absolutely right that children with special educational needs and disabilities are not receiving the sort of education that they need and deserve, despite the enormously hard work of our teachers and others in supporting them. That is why we are committed to

improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring that special schools cater to those with the most complex needs. As announced in the King’s Speech, we intend to legislate to require schools to co-operate with their local authority on admissions and place planning.

My Lords, including additional pay and pension grants, school funding is increasing to £60.7 billion this year, the highest ever in real terms per pupil, supporting school leaders to meet their costs. This includes over £10.5 billion in high-needs funding, an increase of over 60% from the 2019-20 allocations. Pupil premium funding is rising to over £2.9 billion, a 10% increase from 2021-22. School leaders have flexibility in how they use this to best support disadvantaged pupils.

No, the Minister certainly would not feel that to be appropriate. Looking at how pupil premium can be used, the Education Endowment Foundation has directed three areas: high-quality teaching, which the Government have supported through the national professional qualifications programme, targeted academic support, and tackling non-academic barriers. I very much appreciate and respect the Sutton Trust’s research, but it does not explain that the number of teaching assistants, a figure cited by the noble Lord, rose by 5,300 last year, up by 59,600 since 2010-11.

Mental health support teams now cover approximately 44% of pupils in England and we are working to increase this coverage to 50% of pupils by March 2025. The further rollout of mental health support teams will be subject to future spending decisions.

My Lords, Ofsted, like all public services, is expected to operate efficiently and effectively to provide the best value for money for taxpayers and use its resources to best effect in providing high-quality inspection. Sir Martyn Oliver is very much focused on that, and I understand that he has already taken action internally to prioritise Ofsted’s resource on inspection activity. We will continue to work closely with Ofsted to ensure that it continues to deliver effectively in future.