Asked by: Lord Laming (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to match-fund the incentive costs of Stepladder Plus, a money management and learning programme for 15–17 year olds in care operated by the Share Foundation.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
The department is committed to reforming the children’s social care system so that all children can grow up in stable and loving homes. To support this, the department has recently announced that it is investing an additional £44 million in kinship and foster care.
The King’s Speech on 17 July committed to a Children’s Wellbeing Bill, which will ensure our education and children’s social care systems transform lives for millions of children and young people in England. The department will use the Bill to deliver the government’s commitment on children’s social care.
The department wants to ensure that children leaving care have stable homes, access to health services, support to build lifelong loving relationships and are engaged in education, employment and training.
The department does not currently have any plans to provide match funding to incentivise children in care to participate in the Stepladder Plus programme.
Asked by: Lord Laming (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve services that aim to prevent children being taken into the care of local authorities.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
This government is committed to whole system reform of children’s social care to give hundreds of thousands of children and young people the start in life they deserve.
The department recognises that there is a strong evidence base for early intervention to support families to stay together and thrive, and this will be at the heart of its whole system reform of children’s social care.
This department also recognises the valuable and important role that kinship carers play in caring for some of the most vulnerable children. The government’s manifesto set out a commitment to working with local government to support children in care, including through kinship arrangements.
Through the £45 million Families First for Children pathfinder and Family Network Pilot, the government is testing the implementation of intensive whole family support in ten pathfinder local authorities. In these local authorities, multi-disciplinary teams are providing targeted support to help families overcome challenges at the earliest opportunity to prevent escalation.
These local authorities are also making greater use of family networks by involving them in decision-making at an earlier stage and providing practical and financial support via family network support packages to help keep children safe at home.
Asked by: Lord Laming (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce the number of children who are taken into the care of local authorities.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
This government is committed to whole system reform of children’s social care to give hundreds of thousands of children and young people the start in life they deserve.
The department recognises that there is a strong evidence base for early intervention to support families to stay together and thrive, and this will be at the heart of its whole system reform of children’s social care.
This department also recognises the valuable and important role that kinship carers play in caring for some of the most vulnerable children. The government’s manifesto set out a commitment to working with local government to support children in care, including through kinship arrangements.
Through the £45 million Families First for Children pathfinder and Family Network Pilot, the government is testing the implementation of intensive whole family support in ten pathfinder local authorities. In these local authorities, multi-disciplinary teams are providing targeted support to help families overcome challenges at the earliest opportunity to prevent escalation.
These local authorities are also making greater use of family networks by involving them in decision-making at an earlier stage and providing practical and financial support via family network support packages to help keep children safe at home.
Asked by: Lord Laming (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce the number of children who frequently fail to attend school.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
This government has been clear that absence from school is a key barrier to overcome, because if pupils are not attending school they cannot benefit from good teaching and learning.
Thanks to the efforts of the sector, there are more learners in school almost every day this year compared to last. However, with 1.6 million children still persistently absent, missing 10% of lessons or more, poor attendance remains a major challenge.
That is why the department will work with the sector to bring breakfast clubs to all primary schools, so that every child is in on time and ready to learn. The department will also introduce new annual Ofsted reviews of safeguarding, attendance, and off-rolling. The department will also tackle mental health issues among young people by providing access to specialist mental health professionals in every school.
This is in addition to activity to support schools and local authorities to tackle the school absence challenge. This includes:
Wider measures such as the pupil premium, the special educational needs and disabilities and alternative provision improvement plan, and the holiday activities and food programme also benefit attendance.
Asked by: Lord Laming (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve the support given to unpaid carers.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to ensuring that families have the support that they need. We want to ensure that people who care for family and friends are better able to look after their own health and wellbeing.
Long-term reform is needed in social care, and we will engage with a wide range of stakeholders, including unpaid carers, to ensure their voices are heard as we develop plans to create a National Care Service. The National Care Service will be underpinned by national standards and delivered locally to ensure that everyone, including unpaid carers, is supported to live independent, dignified lives.
The Government recognises that many unpaid carers can face challenges balancing employment with caring. That is why we are committed to reviewing the implementation of carer’s leave, and examining the benefits of introducing paid carer’s leave.
We must also ensure that carers are supported by the benefits system. The Department for Work and Pensions will keep Carer’s Allowance under review to see if it meets its objectives. The previous Work and Pensions Committee made a number of recommendations for changing the rules and processes. The Government will respond to those recommendations in due course.
Asked by: Lord Laming (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to reduce the number of children in care in England.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
The department is committed to working with local government to support children in care, including through kinship, foster care, and adoption. The department is also strengthening regulation of the children’s social care sector, so that every child has the best start in life no matter where they grow up.
This government is committed to helping children thrive and wants the best for every child and family. That means providing the right early support for families facing challenges, keeping children close to their communities and family networks and stepping in to keep children safe from harm where this is necessary. For example, the Families First for Children Pathfinder is working with ten local areas to test delivery of children's social care reforms spanning family network engagement and support, safeguarding partners, targeted early help (‘family help’) and child protection. The department will build on the foundations laid by local authorities over recent years to create for a care system that works for everyone.
Asked by: Lord Laming (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to provide greater support to unpaid carers in England; and, if so, what additional support they intend to provide.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
This Government is committed to ensuring that families and friends who provide care for loved ones have the support they need and can look after their own health and wellbeing as well as those for whom they care.
We recognise the challenges carers are facing, and we want to provide the financial help and support they need and deserve, including through Carer’s Allowance and Universal Credit.
Local authorities also have duties to support carers. The Care Act 2014 requires local authorities to deliver a wide range of sustainable, high-quality care and support services, including support for carers.
The Government is also committed to reviewing the implementation of Carer’s Leave and examining all the benefits of introducing paid Carer’s Leave.
Asked by: Lord Laming (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce the number of times children in care must change school.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The needs of the child are paramount when deciding the right care placement. The Children’s Act 1989 places a duty on local authorities to make sure that there is sufficient provision in their area to meet the needs of children in their care and ensure placements safeguard and promote the child’s welfare. Further, the guidance is clear that the child’s allocated social worker, supported by local authority management and resources, should do everything possible to minimise disruption to the child’s education and, where a child is in key stage 4, a move should only be made in exceptional circumstances. Responsibility for looked-after children sits with the local authority. The guidance and regulations of the Children Act 1989 can be found attached.
Every local authority must appoint a Virtual School Head (VSH), who has a statutory duty to promote the educational attainment of all children in their care. All maintained schools and academies must appoint a designated teacher to act as a source of advice and expertise about the needs of the looked-after children on the school’s roll. Looked-after children also have top priority in school admissions and attract Pupil Premium Plus funding of £2,570 per child, up to age 16. This is managed by the VSH, who works with the child’s education setting to deliver objectives in the child’s personal education plan.
Whilst the number of placements experienced by looked after children in a one year period has remained broadly stable over the past 5 years, the government recognises there are issues with finding stable placements. That is why the government has announced over £400 million in capital funding to help local authorities create more beds in their local areas which will aim to further reduce the number of children experiencing multiple placements.
Asked by: Lord Laming (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to reduce the number of children in care experiencing multiple placements.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The needs of the child are paramount when deciding the right care placement. The Children’s Act 1989 places a duty on local authorities to make sure that there is sufficient provision in their area to meet the needs of children in their care and ensure placements safeguard and promote the child’s welfare. Further, the guidance is clear that the child’s allocated social worker, supported by local authority management and resources, should do everything possible to minimise disruption to the child’s education and, where a child is in key stage 4, a move should only be made in exceptional circumstances. Responsibility for looked-after children sits with the local authority. The guidance and regulations of the Children Act 1989 can be found attached.
Every local authority must appoint a Virtual School Head (VSH), who has a statutory duty to promote the educational attainment of all children in their care. All maintained schools and academies must appoint a designated teacher to act as a source of advice and expertise about the needs of the looked-after children on the school’s roll. Looked-after children also have top priority in school admissions and attract Pupil Premium Plus funding of £2,570 per child, up to age 16. This is managed by the VSH, who works with the child’s education setting to deliver objectives in the child’s personal education plan.
Whilst the number of placements experienced by looked after children in a one year period has remained broadly stable over the past 5 years, the government recognises there are issues with finding stable placements. That is why the government has announced over £400 million in capital funding to help local authorities create more beds in their local areas which will aim to further reduce the number of children experiencing multiple placements.
Asked by: Lord Laming (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to improve the education of children in care.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The government is committed to ensuring that looked-after children are supported to succeed in education and achieve positive outcomes. Every local authority must appoint a virtual school head (VSH), who has a statutory duty to promote the educational attainment of all children in their care. All maintained schools and academies must appoint a designated teacher to act as a source of advice and expertise about the needs of the looked-after children on the school’s roll. Looked-after children also have top priority in school admissions and attract pupil premium plus funding of £2,570 per child, up to age 16. This is managed by the VSH, who works with the child’s education setting to deliver objectives in the child’s Personal Education Plan.
In February 2023, the department announced the national rollout of £24 million of pupil premium plus style funding to looked-after children and care leavers at post-16 for the next two years, from 2023/24. This funding, which builds on an initial £8 million pilot that launched in October 2021, gives VHSs the financial levers to positively impact the educational outcomes of looked-after children and care leavers in post-16 education.