Catherine McKinnell
MP for Newcastle upon Tyne North · Labour · United Kingdom
“The family of a terminally ill constituent contacted me in desperation last month after trying to resolve the pension issues of their family member since January. She died yesterday, with her pension still unresolved. Can the Minister be more specific for that family about what will be done to resolve this issue?”
“As the UK trade envoy to Italy, I thank the Secretary of State for confirming the GCAP funding in his statement. As MP for Newcastle upon Tyne North, I add my voice to those who want to see this as an opportunity to genuinely spread investment and opportunity that will build strength and resilience in our people right across the UK—they a…”
“This report is welcome, but that does not make its existence any less tragic. Far too many mothers and babies have been failed, including mothers like my constituent Amie, who late last year was turned away repeatedly, despite reporting reduced movements. Her baby Seren was born stillborn.”
“Failures to address these issues have significant effects, both on the public finances and on the most vulnerable people in society, and, indeed, they are issues that are often reflected in our constituency mailboxes. I was contacted recently by a young woman who had reported child sexual abuse to the police last year.”
“Her husband was the victim of an assault by the defendant, who had raped his wife. They were forced to wait four hours for the trial to begin. They were eventually told that the defendant would arrive and that the delay to his delivery was causing the delay, but it had a knock-on effect on additional days in court.”
“Friend has said, we need a court estate that is fit for purpose in order to maximise the use of these additional days. I too have visited my local court, in this instance Newcastle Crown court.”
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“That is why we are committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 new expert teachers in secondary schools, special schools and further education colleges. We have made strong initial progress to deliver the key pledge, and our investment is starting to deliver. Up to 2024-25, the workforce has grown by 2,346 full-time equivalents in secondary and special schools. Those are the schools that need these teachers the most. I agree that it is important that the teaching profession reflects the communities that it serves, and that children see themselves reflected in the role models around them. Male teachers and educators can clearly play an important role in teaching, guiding and leading the boys in our classrooms. However, as the Liberal Democrat spokesperson, the hon. Member for Twickenham (Munira Wilson), and my hon.”
“That work will contribute to the regional improvement in standards and excellence teams—the RISE teams—and to our focus, as a Department, on raising attainment across the board. High and rising standards are the key to strengthening outcomes and closing attainment gaps, helping every child and young person to achieve and thrive. We want our reforms to the school system delivered through excellent teaching and leadership, a high-quality curriculum, strong accountability, and an inclusive system which removes the barriers to learning that are holding far too many children back. I mention the excellent teaching we need, because the quality of teaching is the single most important in-school factor to improving outcomes for children, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds.”
“The schools White Paper, which will be published in the autumn, will set out our vision for a school system that drives educational excellence for every child. We are working alongside Sir Hamid Patel and Estelle Morris, who are gathering views from thousands of children, parents, teachers and leaders across the year to build a solid evidence base on the barriers to attainment for white working-class children, and to look at what solutions there are to drive up standards for them. The inquiry is looking to get under the bonnet of what factors are driving underperformance, what best practice can support them and what policies can best be applied to address the challenge.”
“We are determined to drive educational excellence across the country for every child and young person. To do that, many of the issues that have been highlighted need to be addressed. The current school system has many strengths but, as set out starkly by my hon. Friend the Member for Croydon East (Natasha Irons) and my hon. Friend the Member for Cannock Chase (Josh Newbury), we know it is not working well enough for all children. Too many are falling behind and face barriers which hold them back from the opportunities and life chances they deserve. As in previous years, girls continue to do better than boys across all headline measures. Although the gap has narrowed compared with 2018-19, there is clearly still more to do. The Department is committed to addressing that challenge.”
“I add my congratulations to my hon. Friend the Member for Bishop Auckland (Sam Rushworth) on securing this very thoughtful and important debate. He made a powerful opening speech. I add my welcome to Cian and Alex, who are on work experience here in Parliament, supporting my hon. Friend. He touches on a really pressing and important issue. We know that on average boys have lower attainment than girls. As a Government, we are determined to understand and address the drivers behind that. All children should have the opportunity to achieve and thrive in their education, no matter who they are or where they are from. That is the driving mission of our opportunity mission. We are determined to break the unfair link between background and success.”
“Every child, regardless of their needs, deserves the opportunity to achieve, thrive and succeed. We are absolutely clear that the system is too difficult for parents, carers and young people to navigate, and it is simply not delivering the outcomes that we want.”
“We want them to receive the right support, succeed in their education, and lead happy, healthy and productive adult lives. We know that is possible. We have seen it in innovative examples across the country, including when the Secretary of State visited Becontree primary school in Dagenham in December. It was heartening to hear my hon. Friend’s account of the practice in Barking and Dagenham, but much more needs to be done to improve the system for children and their families, and to ensure consistent good practice in every part of the country. I am grateful to the hon. Member for Dorking and Horley (Chris Coghlan) and my hon. Friend the Member for Ilford South (Jas Athwal) for their contributions. It is clear that there is much shared interest in this issue, and their contributions were an important part of this timely debate.”
“Congratulations to my hon. Friend the Member for Dagenham and Rainham (Margaret Mullane) on securing this debate on an incredibly important subject. I know that she and other hon. Members in the Chamber have an interest in supporting families in their constituencies in navigating the special educational needs system; hon. Members have conveyed compellingly just how complex it can be. In her powerful speech, my hon. Friend made clear her interest in the subject, and her passion for the improvements that need to be made. I reassure hon. Members that improving the SEND system is a priority for the Government. We want all children to feel that they belong in a mainstream setting, if that is the best place for them to have their needs met.”
“That support is there for all children, depending on their needs. Local authorities need support with their educational psychology services, and we are investing over £21 million to train 400 more educational psychologists. As these trainees complete their studies, they will be able to join the workforce and support local authority education services, including by contributing to statutory assessments. We know those assessments are a big challenge, and workforce shortages are a huge barrier to delivering our ambition for an inclusive mainstream education system.”
“High-quality teaching is central to ensuring that pupils with SEND are given the best possible opportunity to achieve in their education, so to support teachers, we are implementing high-quality teacher development. It begins with their initial teacher training, continues into their early teaching career, and carries on right through to middle and senior leadership. We want to offer professional development to all teachers, so that they have the skills to support all pupils to succeed, including those with SEND. The partnership for inclusion of neurodiversity in schools is also deploying health and education specialists in the workforce to upskill primary schools, so that they can support neurodivergent children. The support operates on a whole-school level and is not reliant on a diagnosis.”
“It is in its third year of delivery, and it offers a really excellent alternative pathway to the traditional degree route into a successful career as a speech and language therapist. Of course, we need many more such therapists. It takes a vast workforce, from teachers to teaching assistants, and from early years educators to allied health professionals, to help children and young people thrive, and we are investing in each of those areas to improve outcomes and experiences across the country. I am aware of the ten-minute rule Bill sponsored by my hon. Friend the Member for Dagenham and Rainham, which is on this very issue, and is due to be presented in the House tomorrow.”
“To support the demand, in partnership with NHS England, we are funding early language support for every child: ELSEC. This is trialling new ways of working to better identify and support children with speech, language and communication needs in their early years and at primary school. I have seen this in practice, and seen the difference it makes to not just the children who participate in the programme and clearly thrive as a result, but the teaching workforce, who grow in confidence and in their ability to untap and unlock children’s learning. It is having a great impact, and we are keen to see the results of the pilot, the roll-out, and the impact taking root in schools. Continuing to ensure a pipeline of speech and language therapists is essential. That is why we have introduced a speech and language degree apprenticeship.”
“Independently commissioned insights published last year showed that extensive improvements to the system using early intervention and better resourcing of mainstream schools could have a significant impact, with more children and young people having their needs met without an EHCP, and in a mainstream setting, rather than in a specialist placement. We have listened to parents, local authority colleagues and partners right across education, health and social care. We are considering really carefully how to improve the EHCP process for families, and are reflecting on what practices could or should be made consistent nationally. Children and young people with SEND frequently require access to additional support from a broad, specialist workforce right across education, health and care.”
“That has had a really detrimental impact on the experience of accessing support through the EHCP process, and has contributed to pushing up costs and creating an increasingly unsustainable system. The latest data shows that in 2024, just over 46% of new EHCPs were issued within the 20-week timeframe. The Government want to ensure that EHC need assessments are progressed promptly, and that plans are issued quickly to provide children and young people with the support that they need to achieve positive outcomes.”
“We are prioritising early intervention and inclusive provision in mainstream settings, because early intervention prevents unmet needs from escalating, and is the best way to support all children and young people to achieve their goals alongside their peers. We are committed to working with the sector and our partners to ensure that our approach is fully planned, and developed in partnership with families, stakeholders and the entire sector, which needs to deliver these reforms. The number of education, health and care plans has increased each year since their introduction in 2014, with over 630,000 children and young people having an EHCP as of January 2025. Over time, flaws and lack of capacity in the system to meet lower-level need have put additional strain on specialist services.”
“We are not wasting any time on this. We are already working to ensure that children and young people get the support they need; we are building a robust evidence base about what works to drive inclusive education, and we are creating the expert advisory group for inclusion, led by Tom Rees. We are introducing new regional improvement for standards and excellence—RISE—advisers, who will work with mainstream schools to ensure that they become more inclusive. We are extending PINS—partnerships for inclusion of neurodiversity in schools—to a further cohort of mainstream primary schools, so that we build teacher and staff capacity to identify, and better meet, the needs of neurodivergent children in mainstream school settings.”
“I know the hon. Gentleman cares passionately about this issue, and he is clearly keen to see the expansion of provision. As he knows, we are investing in the capital estate in the round, and supporting mainstream schools to expand. We have already given local authorities the funding, and we hope that they are working with their local schools to increase capacity. Obviously, the building of any additional schools is considered in the light of that, because we need to ensure that the right provision is available for the children who need it. We are giving close consideration to that, and are working closely with local authorities, whose duty it is to make sure that they have the places to meet those needs. We have announced that the details of our longer-term approach to SEND reform will be set out in the schools White Paper in the autumn.”
“We all want to deliver the best for children and young people, including those with SEND, so that they have the best start in life; and we want to prepare them for life, work and the future. The Government will continue to work to that end. Question put and agreed to .”
“That will come alongside an extension to the dedicated schools grant statutory override up until the 2027-28 financial year, because we recognise the time it will take to put this right. We will provide more details on this by the end of the year. We are running out of time, but I want to thank my hon. Friend the Member for Dagenham and Rainham again for bringing this matter forward, and to thank all who have contributed to the debate. We have made a clear commitment to addressing the challenges, so that we can help children and young people to achieve and thrive. I am determined that progress will be made on this issue. I conclude by recognising all those who work in our education, health and care systems, and who work for our children and young people with SEND in Barking and Dagenham, and right across the country.”
“Where a local authority identifies a school that could provide more places or make more provision, we need to ensure that it has the capital to support that. That is why we have allocated £740 million for the 2025-26 year to deliver those additional places in mainstream and special schools and other specialist settings, or to adapt buildings to make them more accessible and more appropriate for providing inclusive mainstream education. The Department’s spending review has confirmed the funding for reform of the SEND system; we will set out the details in the White Paper in the autumn. We recognise that local authorities will need support during the transition to a reformed SEND system, so we will commence a phased transition. We will work with local authorities to manage their budgets and deficits.”
“I recognise the challenge that the hon. Member and others have set out. We are looking at the national funding formula. Obviously, this cannot happen as fast as one might want, because it is important to maintain stability in the system, and changes from year to year can create challenges for local authorities and schools. We have to look at the system carefully and introduce any changes in a careful and considered way, and that is what we are doing. We are taking on board the representations that we are receiving about the funding currently in the system. One other area that we are focused on is capital funding to expand the estate. Many mainstream settings are going above and beyond to deliver specialist provision, but we want to ensure that all capacity is maximised.”
“Music hubs play a vital role across England in supporting children and young people to access music education and providing opportunities for them to progress. The 43 music hub partnerships across England offer a range of services, including musical instrument tuition, instrument loaning, whole-class ensemble teaching and CPD for teachers.”
“As this work develops, we will very much take on board some of the concerns about how the current system is working. The intention is to launch the new centre by September 2026, and to appoint a new delivery partner for the centre through an open, competitive procurement. We have been engaging with sector stake- holders, including the music hubs network, to refine the details of the centre, and the invitation to tender will be issued later this year. I can assure my hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme that the funding for the national centre will be separate from the grant funding for the music hubs. Funding for the centre and the hubs from September 2026 will be confirmed in due course.”
“Friend the Member for Southgate and Wood Green, who wants to see less bureaucracy and a more streamlined service. The aims of the national centre will be to support excellent teaching, develop sustainable partnerships and promote arts education. The research is clear that high-quality teaching is the in-school factor with the greatest positive impact on a child’s outcomes, particularly for disadvantaged children. Sustainable partnerships between schools themselves, within and between academy trusts, and with cultural organisations with knowledge of arts education are so important in supporting teachers and addressing equity in arts education. The promotion of arts education in and of itself is needed to tackle the persistent inequity of access in and beyond schools.”
“We recognise, however, that curriculum reforms alone will not be enough to give all children access to a high-quality arts education, including in music. We know that we need to support our schools and teachers, which is why we have announced our intention to launch a national centre for arts and music education, which a number of Members asked about. The new centre will help us meet our ambition for an improved and more equitable arts education. It will support schools in the teaching of music as well as art and design, drama and dance. Music will be an important aspect of the centre’s work, as it will also be the national delivery partner for the music hubs network. The 43 hub partnerships are central to supporting schools. I recognise some of the challenges outlined by my hon.”
“We have had over 7,000 responses to the public call for evidence, and a range of research and polling. The final report, with recommendations, will be published this autumn, along with the Government’s response. We will consider all the associated implications for accountability measures, such as EBacc and Progress 8, alongside the changes. We are legislating too, so that, following the review and the implementation of reforms, academies will be required to teach the reformed national curriculum alongside maintained schools. That will ensure that music education is reinstated as an entitlement for every child in a state-funded school. It will give parents certainty over their children’s education while giving both academies and maintained schools the freedom to adapt their curriculum to meet the needs of their pupils.”
“That is why one of our first actions in government was to launch the independent review of the curriculum and assessment system, chaired by Professor Becky Francis. The review is an important step in the Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity, with a new curriculum that will set up all our children to achieve and thrive at school. It is considering all subjects, including music, and seeks to deliver a curriculum that readies young people for life and for work, including in creative subjects and skills. The review is being informed by evidence and data and is being conducted in close consultation with education professionals and other experts, parents, children and young people—as the hon. Member for Harborough, Oadby and Wigston referred to—and other stakeholders, including employers, universities and trade unions.”
“I played the flute, which, I have to say, conflicted with my talkative nature—that was probably the thinking when they gave it to me. I had the opportunity to play in the school orchestra, perform in school productions and sing in the choir. From those experiences, I know that music can be incredibly beneficial to academic achievement, too. It taps into parts of the brain that many subjects just do not reach. It builds confidence, presentation skills, teamwork and resilience, and it really feeds the soul, which is what keeps the mind expanding as well. It starts with the curriculum. We want every child, regardless of their background, to have a rich, broad, inclusive and innovative curriculum, including in music.”
“That obviously shows the measure of him, but it also indicates the level of cross-party agreement on this issue, which is always welcome in this place. The Government are clear that music education must not be the preserve of the privileged few. Creative subjects such as music are important pillars of a rounded and enriching education, which every child should have. That is why, as part of our opportunity mission, we want to widen access to the arts so that young people can develop their creativity and find their voice. That is important in its own right—creative exploration is a critical part of a rich education—but it also helps young people to find opportunities and helps to support our desire to power growth for the creative industries. I learned to play a musical instrument at school.”
“Member for Frome and East Somerset (Anna Sabine) and about that aspect of music that creates a sense of belonging and friendship. That is in short supply for too many young people; where music can meet that demand, we need to make sure that the opportunity is available. My hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Adam Jogee) gave a wide-ranging speech, covering an array of Departments, which clearly displayed his passion for this issue. I hope that I can answer his questions. Finally, I thank the hon. Members for St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire (Ian Sollom) and for Harborough, Oadby and Wigston (Neil O’Brien) for their thoughtful contributions—in particular the latter, who was uncharacteristically comradely.”
“Let me begin by expressing my gratitude to my hon. Friend the Member for Southgate and Wood Green (Bambos Charalambous) for opening this valuable debate on the future of music education. He made it clear what a great advocate he is for music education. He chairs the APPG on music education and is a constant powerful voice on this issue in this House. I also want to declare that my husband runs a music venue. It is not directly relevant to this debate, but I put it on the record just to be clear. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Rugby (John Slinger) for his thoughtful contribution. I appreciate his concerns about ensuring that music is held in the high esteem it deserves in the education system; they came across clearly in his speech. I enjoyed hearing about the childhood experiences of the hon.”
“The pilot is delivered by Young Sounds UK in 12 areas of the country as an expansion of its successful Young Sounds Connect programme. I saw for myself the impact of the pilot on a visit to Mountfield primary school in Washington, where I had a lovely time chatting to the children about the difference that accessing music education had made to them. Indeed, for some of them it was why they came to school. The impact was evident. We will use the pilot’s findings to inform future policy on widening music opportunities, but it is a really rich start.”
“For some pupils, in particular those facing disadvantage and with additional needs, the barriers to accessing music education can be particularly high. That is why we are also investing in a new programme to pilot targeted support for children from disadvantaged backgrounds or with special educational needs and disabilities. The Government’s music opportunities pilot offers pupils across primary and secondary schools the opportunity to learn to play an instrument of their choice or to sing to a high standard by providing free lessons and supporting young people to progress, including by taking music exams. The Government are investing £2 million to support the pilot over a four-year period up to 2027-28. It is backed by a further £3.85 million from the Arts Council and Youth Music.”
“That sounds like a very sensible suggestion, and my hon. Friend now has it on the record. We will make sure that it is raised in the appropriate way. We continue to support the crucial music hubs programme, for which grant funding of £76 million has recently been secured for the full academic year 2025-26, up until the end of August 2026, following the outcome of the spending review. We will confirm longer-term funding as part of the spending review process, which is ongoing. To widen access to musical instruments, which my hon. Friend the Member for Rugby rightly raised, from the current academic year the Government are investing £25 million in capital funding for musical instruments, equipment and technology. Those instruments and technology must be put to good use, so we will take his concern on board.”
“The scheme supports students to attend eight independent schools and 20 centres for advanced training that provide places at weekends and evenings and in the school holidays. The bursaries support more than 2,000 pupils per year, with about 900 pupils attending one of the schools. The Government continue to provide such generous support because we recognise how important it is. All families earning below the average relevant income of £45,000 a year and making parental contributions to fees will continue to benefit from the additional financial support in the next financial year, so they will not be affected by any VAT changes introduced in January 2025. Any future funding will be determined as part of the post-spending review process.”
“The fund will be delivered by the National Lottery Community Fund, with which the Government are working to design the specific programmes that will be delivered. We recognise the importance of specialist training in supporting young people to pursue the most advanced levels of music education. That is why we continue to provide generous support to help students to access specialist music and dance education and training: we are committing £36 million for the academic year 2025-26. As several hon. Members have mentioned, this important scheme provides means-tested bursaries and grants to enable high-achieving children and young people in music and dance to benefit from truly world-class specialist training, regardless of their personal and financial circumstances.”
“The Department is working closely with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and we are committed to publishing the framework by the end of 2025. It will identify what a high-quality enrichment offer will look like, reflecting the great practice that already exists in schools and providing advice on how to plan a high-quality enrichment offer more strategically and intentionally, including how to make use of specific programmes to increase access to sport and the arts. In addition, under the first ever dormant assets scheme strategy, which was announced last month, £132.5 million will be allocated to projects to increase disadvantaged young people’s access to enrichment opportunities, including in music, to boost wellbeing and employability.”
“Now that we are in government, I hope that he is still teaching, along with many others, and that he knows that we are determined to deliver our vision to unlock access to music for all children. I hope our brilliant teachers feel supported to have a rewarding and fruitful career inspiring the next generation of musicians. We know that enrichment opportunities like music and the arts help young people to gain skills and strengthen their sense of school belonging, supporting them to thrive. That is why we are supporting schools to plan a high-quality enrichment offer, with a new enrichment framework developed in collaboration with a working group of experts, including from school, youth, sports and arts organisations.”
“I spoke on teacher recruitment at the Schools and Academies Show just over a year ago, prior to the general election, when I was the shadow Minister. After I finished speaking about our vision of unlocking opportunity for children to access art, music, sport and enrichment at school, I said hello to a gentleman who had been patiently waiting to speak to me. He introduced himself; I asked him what he did, and he said, “I’m a music teacher. To be honest, I had taken the decision to give up and do something else, but after listening to you today, I think I’m going to hang on.” I thought he should definitely hang on—we need more people like him—and that we had injected a sense of hope that this Government would care about music and enrichment.”
“The 2024-25 initial teacher training census reported that 331 trainees had begun courses in music, up from 216 in 2023-24. We have also agreed a 5.5% pay award for teachers for 2024-25, and a 4% pay award in 2025-26, meaning that teachers and leaders will see an increase in pay of almost 10% over two years. We have expanded our school teacher recruitment campaign and we are allowing planning, preparation and assessment time to be undertaken at home to give more flexibility to the profession. We are also working hard to address teacher workload and wellbeing, and to support schools to introduce flexible working practices. We have the “Improve workload and wellbeing for school staff” service, developed alongside school leaders, with a workload reduction toolkit to support schools to identify opportunities to cut excessive workload.”
“As my hon. Friend will know, I am a big fan of Newcastles. It would be nice to come and see the other one, as I have never been; I would love to accept his invitation if there is an opportunity. High-quality teaching is the in-school factor that makes the biggest difference to a child’s outcomes. That is why, as part of the Government’s plan for change, we are committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 new expert teachers across secondary and special schools and our colleges, where they are needed the most, over this Parliament. To support that, we are offering a teacher training incentives package for the 2025-26 recruitment cycle worth £233 million—a £37 million increase on the last cycle. It includes a £10,000 tax-free bursary for music. We are seeing positive signs.”
“Baroness Hodge of Barking is leading the independent review of Arts Council England, examining whether the regions have access to high-quality arts and culture across the country and whether everyone is able to participate in and consume culture and creativity regardless of their background or where they live. I know that she was in the north-east recently, as part of that work.”
“That is the responsibility of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, but colleagues in Government are clearly very engaged with counterparts and stakeholders to make sure that these issues are addressed, because clearly there is a huge interest in supporting both non-touring productions and touring productions, where they create cultural, creative and industrial exchanges on a global basis. As part of Labour’s “Creating growth” plan, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is currently undertaking a review documenting current and past funding for the arts, culture and heritage sectors. It is important that all that public money be spent really well.”
“Between 2023 and 2026, Arts Council England will invest £444 million per year in England through its national portfolio to drive participation in cultural activities, including by children and young people. The Government have also announced more than £270 million in investment for our arts venues, museums, libraries and heritage sector. That sum is made up of multiple funds, including the £85 million creative foundations fund and the £20 million museum renewal fund, to invest in fit-for-purpose cultural infrastructure. The arts sector also benefits from generous tax reliefs. From 1 April 2025, theatres, orchestras and museums and galleries benefit from higher tax relief rates of 40% for non- touring productions and 45% for orchestral and touring productions. My hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme asked about touring.”
“My understanding is that the current commitment is for this academic year, 2025-26, and we will confirm funding for future years in due course. The Department also provides a grant of over £210,000 to the Choir Schools Association and its choir schools scholarship scheme, offering means-tested support to choristers attending member schools, including cathedral and collegiate choir schools in England, to help those with exceptional talent to access this specialist provision. As part of our plan for change, we are committed to ensuring that arts and culture thrive in every part of the country, with more opportunities for more people to engage, benefit from and work in arts and culture where they live.”
“We have committed the £36 million for the next academic year, 2025-26, in full, including support for lower-income families.”
“Yes, Ms Vaz. Growth is the number one mission of the Government, and our new industrial strategy is central to the growth mission. As a sector in which the UK excels today, and which will propel us forward to tomorrow, the creative industries have been announced as one of the eight growth-driving sectors. Ensuring that the UK can provide a workforce that has the right skills and capabilities is key to unlocking that growth, which is why we have prioritised it within Skills England. We also want to see all that opportunity unlocked within our education system. In closing, I hope that I have responded to the various questions that have been raised. [Interruption.] Sorry, I have a potential correction—well, I don’t think it is a correction, because I think it is what I said.”
“I hope that I have managed to respond to all the issues raised. Finally, I want to underline my and this Government’s commitment to ensuring that all children can access and engage with high-quality music education. I know that creative subjects, music and art are a vital part of a rich and broad school experience. That is what we are working towards. They must not be the preserve of the privileged few. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Southgate and Wood Green again for the opportunity to discuss these issues today.”
“More than 1.7 million children and young people in England have special educational needs, and the vast majority of those are educated in mainstream settings. We are committed to improving inclusivity, to bringing a new focus on expertise in mainstream settings, and to an inclusive curriculum, so that the vast majority of children can be well supported in mainstream settings, with specialist settings catering to those with the most complex needs.”
“This Government are determined to face up to the facts: too many families and children are simply not receiving the quality of SEND services and provision that they should expect; they are having to fight for those services; and they are having to wait too long before those services are made available. It is this Government’s ambition for all children and young people with SEND to receive the right support at the right time, so that they can succeed in their education and in moving into adult life. To help us achieve that, we have invested £1 billion more in funding for high needs in 2025-26 than in 2024-25. We are also providing £740 million of high-needs capital funding in 2025-26, so that local authorities can adapt schools to be more accessible and can build new places, including in specialist facilities within mainstream schools.”