Baroness Blower

The Adult Education Budget (AEB) fully funds or co-funds skills provision for eligible adults aged 19 and above from pre-entry to Level 3. About 60% of the AEB has been devolved to nine Mayoral Combined Authorities and the Mayor of London and these authorities are now responsible for, and determine, the funding rates for the provision in their areas. The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) provides the remaining funding for learners who live in non-devolved areas. Within the ESFA AEB, the department funds qualifications on the programme weighting of the qualification and its size. It is up to providers to decide what provision they offer and then claim the funding rate and therefore the department does not hold the information regarding the cost of delivering specific National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs).

For 16 to 19 year olds, the department calculates funding for institutions using national funding rates, which depend on the overall size of students’ programmes, rather than funding based on specific qualifications. Therefore, the department does not hold information regarding the costs of delivering specific NVQs.

The department does not hold information about the mean and median amounts spent by a school or local authority on an unregistered alternative provider place in England for (a) pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan, (b) pupils classified as a Child In Need, (c) Pupil Premium Pupils, and (d) pupils excluded from school. Commissioning arrangements are managed directly by schools and local authorities who require the provision, and they do not report their expenditure at the level of detail requested.

The department also does not routinely collect data on the number of safeguarding concerns that have taken place in unregistered APs. Commissioners are responsible for the AP they use and ensuring that it is safe.

The Alternative Provision (AP) statutory guidance is clear that AP, including unregistered AP, should be good quality, registered where appropriate, and delivered by high quality staff with suitable training, experience and safeguarding checks. The guidance can be found in the attached document. Responsibility for the AP used rests with the commissioner. The nature of the intervention, its objectives and the timeline to achieve these objectives should be agreed and clearly defined.

Some local authorities or partnerships of schools have developed a local directory of ‘approved’ provision, which meets clearly defined standards, including registration where necessary, safeguarding, health and safety, quality of accommodation, quality of education etc. These lists, where they exist, can provide a helpful starting point. However, prior to placement, commissioners should still assess whether the provision offers high quality education and is suitable for the pupil’s individual needs.

‘Keeping children safe in education’ is statutory guidance to which all schools and colleges must have regard when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, and can be found in the attached document. The guidance states that where a school places a pupil in AP, the school continues to be responsible for the safeguarding of that pupil and should be satisfied that the provider meets the needs of the pupil. Schools should obtain written confirmation from the AP that appropriate safeguarding checks have been carried out on individuals working at the establishment, for example, those checks that the school would otherwise perform in respect of its own staff.

Ofsted does not inspect individual unregistered AP settings unless they are part of a criminal investigation where there are concerns that the provider may be operating illegally as an independent school. Any provider of AP must be registered as an independent school if it caters full time for five or more pupils of compulsory school age, or one pupil who is looked after or has an education, health and care plan. Under Section 97 of the Education and Skills Act 2008, the Unregistered Schools Team does not inspect the quality of the provision or the safeguarding arrangements.

The School Inspection Handbook states that during school inspections, inspectors will evaluate how well a school continues to take responsibility for its pupils who attend AP, including in unregistered AP. The Handbook can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-inspection-handbook-eif/school-inspection-handbook-for-september-2023. Inspectors will normally visit a sample of any part-time unregistered AP during the inspection. This is to assess the adequacy of the school’s quality assurance process. A school is likely to be judged inadequate for leadership and management if it is making ineffective or inappropriate use of AP, failing to ensure the suitability of a provision, being unaware of the number of their pupils attending AP or not taking responsibility for their pupils who attend AP.

From January 2023, Ofsted is inspecting the local authority commissioning of AP as part of Area Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) inspections. The Area SEND inspection Handbook states that in doing so inspectors will consider whether the local authority’s use of unregistered and online provision is lawful and appropriate to children and young people’s needs. The Handbook can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/area-send-framework-and-handbook/area-send-inspections-framework-and-handbook.

The department does not hold information about the mean and median amounts spent by a school or local authority on an unregistered alternative provider place in England for (a) pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan, (b) pupils classified as a Child In Need, (c) Pupil Premium Pupils, and (d) pupils excluded from school. Commissioning arrangements are managed directly by schools and local authorities who require the provision, and they do not report their expenditure at the level of detail requested.

The department also does not routinely collect data on the number of safeguarding concerns that have taken place in unregistered APs. Commissioners are responsible for the AP they use and ensuring that it is safe.

The Alternative Provision (AP) statutory guidance is clear that AP, including unregistered AP, should be good quality, registered where appropriate, and delivered by high quality staff with suitable training, experience and safeguarding checks. The guidance can be found in the attached document. Responsibility for the AP used rests with the commissioner. The nature of the intervention, its objectives and the timeline to achieve these objectives should be agreed and clearly defined.

Some local authorities or partnerships of schools have developed a local directory of ‘approved’ provision, which meets clearly defined standards, including registration where necessary, safeguarding, health and safety, quality of accommodation, quality of education etc. These lists, where they exist, can provide a helpful starting point. However, prior to placement, commissioners should still assess whether the provision offers high quality education and is suitable for the pupil’s individual needs.

‘Keeping children safe in education’ is statutory guidance to which all schools and colleges must have regard when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, and can be found in the attached document. The guidance states that where a school places a pupil in AP, the school continues to be responsible for the safeguarding of that pupil and should be satisfied that the provider meets the needs of the pupil. Schools should obtain written confirmation from the AP that appropriate safeguarding checks have been carried out on individuals working at the establishment, for example, those checks that the school would otherwise perform in respect of its own staff.

Ofsted does not inspect individual unregistered AP settings unless they are part of a criminal investigation where there are concerns that the provider may be operating illegally as an independent school. Any provider of AP must be registered as an independent school if it caters full time for five or more pupils of compulsory school age, or one pupil who is looked after or has an education, health and care plan. Under Section 97 of the Education and Skills Act 2008, the Unregistered Schools Team does not inspect the quality of the provision or the safeguarding arrangements.

The School Inspection Handbook states that during school inspections, inspectors will evaluate how well a school continues to take responsibility for its pupils who attend AP, including in unregistered AP. The Handbook can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-inspection-handbook-eif/school-inspection-handbook-for-september-2023. Inspectors will normally visit a sample of any part-time unregistered AP during the inspection. This is to assess the adequacy of the school’s quality assurance process. A school is likely to be judged inadequate for leadership and management if it is making ineffective or inappropriate use of AP, failing to ensure the suitability of a provision, being unaware of the number of their pupils attending AP or not taking responsibility for their pupils who attend AP.

From January 2023, Ofsted is inspecting the local authority commissioning of AP as part of Area Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) inspections. The Area SEND inspection Handbook states that in doing so inspectors will consider whether the local authority’s use of unregistered and online provision is lawful and appropriate to children and young people’s needs. The Handbook can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/area-send-framework-and-handbook/area-send-inspections-framework-and-handbook.

The department does not hold information about the mean and median amounts spent by a school or local authority on an unregistered alternative provider place in England for (a) pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan, (b) pupils classified as a Child In Need, (c) Pupil Premium Pupils, and (d) pupils excluded from school. Commissioning arrangements are managed directly by schools and local authorities who require the provision, and they do not report their expenditure at the level of detail requested.

The department also does not routinely collect data on the number of safeguarding concerns that have taken place in unregistered APs. Commissioners are responsible for the AP they use and ensuring that it is safe.

The Alternative Provision (AP) statutory guidance is clear that AP, including unregistered AP, should be good quality, registered where appropriate, and delivered by high quality staff with suitable training, experience and safeguarding checks. The guidance can be found in the attached document. Responsibility for the AP used rests with the commissioner. The nature of the intervention, its objectives and the timeline to achieve these objectives should be agreed and clearly defined.

Some local authorities or partnerships of schools have developed a local directory of ‘approved’ provision, which meets clearly defined standards, including registration where necessary, safeguarding, health and safety, quality of accommodation, quality of education etc. These lists, where they exist, can provide a helpful starting point. However, prior to placement, commissioners should still assess whether the provision offers high quality education and is suitable for the pupil’s individual needs.

‘Keeping children safe in education’ is statutory guidance to which all schools and colleges must have regard when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, and can be found in the attached document. The guidance states that where a school places a pupil in AP, the school continues to be responsible for the safeguarding of that pupil and should be satisfied that the provider meets the needs of the pupil. Schools should obtain written confirmation from the AP that appropriate safeguarding checks have been carried out on individuals working at the establishment, for example, those checks that the school would otherwise perform in respect of its own staff.

Ofsted does not inspect individual unregistered AP settings unless they are part of a criminal investigation where there are concerns that the provider may be operating illegally as an independent school. Any provider of AP must be registered as an independent school if it caters full time for five or more pupils of compulsory school age, or one pupil who is looked after or has an education, health and care plan. Under Section 97 of the Education and Skills Act 2008, the Unregistered Schools Team does not inspect the quality of the provision or the safeguarding arrangements.

The School Inspection Handbook states that during school inspections, inspectors will evaluate how well a school continues to take responsibility for its pupils who attend AP, including in unregistered AP. The Handbook can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-inspection-handbook-eif/school-inspection-handbook-for-september-2023. Inspectors will normally visit a sample of any part-time unregistered AP during the inspection. This is to assess the adequacy of the school’s quality assurance process. A school is likely to be judged inadequate for leadership and management if it is making ineffective or inappropriate use of AP, failing to ensure the suitability of a provision, being unaware of the number of their pupils attending AP or not taking responsibility for their pupils who attend AP.

From January 2023, Ofsted is inspecting the local authority commissioning of AP as part of Area Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) inspections. The Area SEND inspection Handbook states that in doing so inspectors will consider whether the local authority’s use of unregistered and online provision is lawful and appropriate to children and young people’s needs. The Handbook can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/area-send-framework-and-handbook/area-send-inspections-framework-and-handbook.

The department does not hold information about the mean and median amounts spent by a school or local authority on an unregistered alternative provider place in England for (a) pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan, (b) pupils classified as a Child In Need, (c) Pupil Premium Pupils, and (d) pupils excluded from school. Commissioning arrangements are managed directly by schools and local authorities who require the provision, and they do not report their expenditure at the level of detail requested.

The department also does not routinely collect data on the number of safeguarding concerns that have taken place in unregistered APs. Commissioners are responsible for the AP they use and ensuring that it is safe.

The Alternative Provision (AP) statutory guidance is clear that AP, including unregistered AP, should be good quality, registered where appropriate, and delivered by high quality staff with suitable training, experience and safeguarding checks. The guidance can be found in the attached document. Responsibility for the AP used rests with the commissioner. The nature of the intervention, its objectives and the timeline to achieve these objectives should be agreed and clearly defined.

Some local authorities or partnerships of schools have developed a local directory of ‘approved’ provision, which meets clearly defined standards, including registration where necessary, safeguarding, health and safety, quality of accommodation, quality of education etc. These lists, where they exist, can provide a helpful starting point. However, prior to placement, commissioners should still assess whether the provision offers high quality education and is suitable for the pupil’s individual needs.

‘Keeping children safe in education’ is statutory guidance to which all schools and colleges must have regard when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, and can be found in the attached document. The guidance states that where a school places a pupil in AP, the school continues to be responsible for the safeguarding of that pupil and should be satisfied that the provider meets the needs of the pupil. Schools should obtain written confirmation from the AP that appropriate safeguarding checks have been carried out on individuals working at the establishment, for example, those checks that the school would otherwise perform in respect of its own staff.

Ofsted does not inspect individual unregistered AP settings unless they are part of a criminal investigation where there are concerns that the provider may be operating illegally as an independent school. Any provider of AP must be registered as an independent school if it caters full time for five or more pupils of compulsory school age, or one pupil who is looked after or has an education, health and care plan. Under Section 97 of the Education and Skills Act 2008, the Unregistered Schools Team does not inspect the quality of the provision or the safeguarding arrangements.

The School Inspection Handbook states that during school inspections, inspectors will evaluate how well a school continues to take responsibility for its pupils who attend AP, including in unregistered AP. The Handbook can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-inspection-handbook-eif/school-inspection-handbook-for-september-2023. Inspectors will normally visit a sample of any part-time unregistered AP during the inspection. This is to assess the adequacy of the school’s quality assurance process. A school is likely to be judged inadequate for leadership and management if it is making ineffective or inappropriate use of AP, failing to ensure the suitability of a provision, being unaware of the number of their pupils attending AP or not taking responsibility for their pupils who attend AP.

From January 2023, Ofsted is inspecting the local authority commissioning of AP as part of Area Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) inspections. The Area SEND inspection Handbook states that in doing so inspectors will consider whether the local authority’s use of unregistered and online provision is lawful and appropriate to children and young people’s needs. The Handbook can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/area-send-framework-and-handbook/area-send-inspections-framework-and-handbook.

The department does not hold information about the mean and median amounts spent by a school or local authority on an unregistered alternative provider place in England for (a) pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan, (b) pupils classified as a Child In Need, (c) Pupil Premium Pupils, and (d) pupils excluded from school. Commissioning arrangements are managed directly by schools and local authorities who require the provision, and they do not report their expenditure at the level of detail requested.

The department also does not routinely collect data on the number of safeguarding concerns that have taken place in unregistered APs. Commissioners are responsible for the AP they use and ensuring that it is safe.

The Alternative Provision (AP) statutory guidance is clear that AP, including unregistered AP, should be good quality, registered where appropriate, and delivered by high quality staff with suitable training, experience and safeguarding checks. The guidance can be found in the attached document. Responsibility for the AP used rests with the commissioner. The nature of the intervention, its objectives and the timeline to achieve these objectives should be agreed and clearly defined.

Some local authorities or partnerships of schools have developed a local directory of ‘approved’ provision, which meets clearly defined standards, including registration where necessary, safeguarding, health and safety, quality of accommodation, quality of education etc. These lists, where they exist, can provide a helpful starting point. However, prior to placement, commissioners should still assess whether the provision offers high quality education and is suitable for the pupil’s individual needs.

‘Keeping children safe in education’ is statutory guidance to which all schools and colleges must have regard when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, and can be found in the attached document. The guidance states that where a school places a pupil in AP, the school continues to be responsible for the safeguarding of that pupil and should be satisfied that the provider meets the needs of the pupil. Schools should obtain written confirmation from the AP that appropriate safeguarding checks have been carried out on individuals working at the establishment, for example, those checks that the school would otherwise perform in respect of its own staff.

Ofsted does not inspect individual unregistered AP settings unless they are part of a criminal investigation where there are concerns that the provider may be operating illegally as an independent school. Any provider of AP must be registered as an independent school if it caters full time for five or more pupils of compulsory school age, or one pupil who is looked after or has an education, health and care plan. Under Section 97 of the Education and Skills Act 2008, the Unregistered Schools Team does not inspect the quality of the provision or the safeguarding arrangements.

The School Inspection Handbook states that during school inspections, inspectors will evaluate how well a school continues to take responsibility for its pupils who attend AP, including in unregistered AP. The Handbook can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-inspection-handbook-eif/school-inspection-handbook-for-september-2023. Inspectors will normally visit a sample of any part-time unregistered AP during the inspection. This is to assess the adequacy of the school’s quality assurance process. A school is likely to be judged inadequate for leadership and management if it is making ineffective or inappropriate use of AP, failing to ensure the suitability of a provision, being unaware of the number of their pupils attending AP or not taking responsibility for their pupils who attend AP.

From January 2023, Ofsted is inspecting the local authority commissioning of AP as part of Area Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) inspections. The Area SEND inspection Handbook states that in doing so inspectors will consider whether the local authority’s use of unregistered and online provision is lawful and appropriate to children and young people’s needs. The Handbook can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/area-send-framework-and-handbook/area-send-inspections-framework-and-handbook.

The department does not hold information about the mean and median amounts spent by a school or local authority on an unregistered alternative provider place in England for (a) pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan, (b) pupils classified as a Child In Need, (c) Pupil Premium Pupils, and (d) pupils excluded from school. Commissioning arrangements are managed directly by schools and local authorities who require the provision, and they do not report their expenditure at the level of detail requested.

The department also does not routinely collect data on the number of safeguarding concerns that have taken place in unregistered APs. Commissioners are responsible for the AP they use and ensuring that it is safe.

The Alternative Provision (AP) statutory guidance is clear that AP, including unregistered AP, should be good quality, registered where appropriate, and delivered by high quality staff with suitable training, experience and safeguarding checks. The guidance can be found in the attached document. Responsibility for the AP used rests with the commissioner. The nature of the intervention, its objectives and the timeline to achieve these objectives should be agreed and clearly defined.

Some local authorities or partnerships of schools have developed a local directory of ‘approved’ provision, which meets clearly defined standards, including registration where necessary, safeguarding, health and safety, quality of accommodation, quality of education etc. These lists, where they exist, can provide a helpful starting point. However, prior to placement, commissioners should still assess whether the provision offers high quality education and is suitable for the pupil’s individual needs.

‘Keeping children safe in education’ is statutory guidance to which all schools and colleges must have regard when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, and can be found in the attached document. The guidance states that where a school places a pupil in AP, the school continues to be responsible for the safeguarding of that pupil and should be satisfied that the provider meets the needs of the pupil. Schools should obtain written confirmation from the AP that appropriate safeguarding checks have been carried out on individuals working at the establishment, for example, those checks that the school would otherwise perform in respect of its own staff.

Ofsted does not inspect individual unregistered AP settings unless they are part of a criminal investigation where there are concerns that the provider may be operating illegally as an independent school. Any provider of AP must be registered as an independent school if it caters full time for five or more pupils of compulsory school age, or one pupil who is looked after or has an education, health and care plan. Under Section 97 of the Education and Skills Act 2008, the Unregistered Schools Team does not inspect the quality of the provision or the safeguarding arrangements.

The School Inspection Handbook states that during school inspections, inspectors will evaluate how well a school continues to take responsibility for its pupils who attend AP, including in unregistered AP. The Handbook can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-inspection-handbook-eif/school-inspection-handbook-for-september-2023. Inspectors will normally visit a sample of any part-time unregistered AP during the inspection. This is to assess the adequacy of the school’s quality assurance process. A school is likely to be judged inadequate for leadership and management if it is making ineffective or inappropriate use of AP, failing to ensure the suitability of a provision, being unaware of the number of their pupils attending AP or not taking responsibility for their pupils who attend AP.

From January 2023, Ofsted is inspecting the local authority commissioning of AP as part of Area Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) inspections. The Area SEND inspection Handbook states that in doing so inspectors will consider whether the local authority’s use of unregistered and online provision is lawful and appropriate to children and young people’s needs. The Handbook can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/area-send-framework-and-handbook/area-send-inspections-framework-and-handbook.

The department does collect information on pupils in local authority placements who are placed with unregistered providers in the alternative provision (AP) census and, since 2022, arrangements made by schools via the schools’ census. This includes whether a child has an education, health and care (EHC) plan.

The department collects the number of sessions that children spend in their current placement during a reference week for the school and (AP) censuses, but not how much time in each location over a full academic year.

The department does collect information on pupils in local authority placements who are placed with unregistered providers in the alternative provision (AP) census and, since 2022, arrangements made by schools via the schools’ census. This includes whether a child has an education, health and care (EHC) plan.

The department collects the number of sessions that children spend in their current placement during a reference week for the school and (AP) censuses, but not how much time in each location over a full academic year.

The department collects information on pupils in local authority placements who are placed with unregistered providers in the alternative provision census and, since 2022, arrangements made by schools via the schools census.

As of January 2022, there were 35,600 pupils in local authority placements, of which 2,800 were placements in unregistered providers. Data broken down by how many children were placed in these settings for any part of their education, a majority of their education, or all of their education is not available.

The department collects information on pupils in local authority placements who are placed with unregistered providers in the alternative provision census and, since 2022, arrangements made by schools via the schools census.

As of January 2022, there were 35,600 pupils in local authority placements, of which 2,800 were placements in unregistered providers. Data broken down by how many children were placed in these settings for any part of their education, a majority of their education, or all of their education is not available.

The department collects information on pupils in local authority placements who are placed with unregistered providers in the alternative provision census and, since 2022, arrangements made by schools via the schools census.

As of January 2022, there were 35,600 pupils in local authority placements, of which 2,800 were placements in unregistered providers. Data broken down by how many children were placed in these settings for any part of their education, a majority of their education, or all of their education is not available.

The department is now considering the recommendations of the Independent Review of Children’s Social care carefully with those with care experience and all interested stakeholders. We will publish an implementation strategy later this year, which will set out how the department will improve children’s social care. This will include establishing a National Implementation Board that includes people with their own experience of the care system.

In the meantime, the department is taking action, which includes:

• Support for families with a multi-million-pound package to improve access to support, advice, and services from birth through to adulthood. This includes a total of £695 million for Supporting Families over the next three years. As such, up to 300,000 of the most vulnerable families can be helped before they hit crisis point.
• Getting the right placements in the right places for children in care by investing £259 million to support provision and create additional places in children’s homes. This is the biggest package of investment in children’s social care placements since 2010. The department has also invested £142 million to introduce new national standards, Ofsted registration, and inspection for supported accommodation for young people. This provision that is currently unregulated.

As the department develops its implementation strategy, it will consider where legislation might be required.

The department is now considering the recommendations of the Independent Review of Children’s Social care carefully with those with care experience and all interested stakeholders. We will publish an implementation strategy later this year, which will set out how the department will improve children’s social care. This will include establishing a National Implementation Board that includes people with their own experience of the care system.

In the meantime, the department is taking action, which includes:

• Support for families with a multi-million-pound package to improve access to support, advice, and services from birth through to adulthood. This includes a total of £695 million for Supporting Families over the next three years. As such, up to 300,000 of the most vulnerable families can be helped before they hit crisis point.
• Getting the right placements in the right places for children in care by investing £259 million to support provision and create additional places in children’s homes. This is the biggest package of investment in children’s social care placements since 2010. The department has also invested £142 million to introduce new national standards, Ofsted registration, and inspection for supported accommodation for young people. This provision that is currently unregulated.

As the department develops its implementation strategy, it will consider where legislation might be required.

The department is now considering the recommendations of the Independent Review of Children’s Social care carefully with those with care experience and all interested stakeholders. We will publish an implementation strategy later this year, which will set out how the department will improve children’s social care. This will include establishing a National Implementation Board that includes people with their own experience of the care system.

In the meantime, the department is taking action, which includes:

• Support for families with a multi-million-pound package to improve access to support, advice, and services from birth through to adulthood. This includes a total of £695 million for Supporting Families over the next three years. As such, up to 300,000 of the most vulnerable families can be helped before they hit crisis point.
• Getting the right placements in the right places for children in care by investing £259 million to support provision and create additional places in children’s homes. This is the biggest package of investment in children’s social care placements since 2010. The department has also invested £142 million to introduce new national standards, Ofsted registration, and inspection for supported accommodation for young people. This provision that is currently unregulated.

As the department develops its implementation strategy, it will consider where legislation might be required.

The department is now considering the recommendations of the Independent Review of Children’s Social care carefully with those with care experience and all interested stakeholders. We will publish an implementation strategy later this year, which will set out how the department will improve children’s social care. This will include establishing a National Implementation Board that includes people with their own experience of the care system.

In the meantime, the department is taking action, which includes:

• Support for families with a multi-million-pound package to improve access to support, advice, and services from birth through to adulthood. This includes a total of £695 million for Supporting Families over the next three years. As such, up to 300,000 of the most vulnerable families can be helped before they hit crisis point.
• Getting the right placements in the right places for children in care by investing £259 million to support provision and create additional places in children’s homes. This is the biggest package of investment in children’s social care placements since 2010. The department has also invested £142 million to introduce new national standards, Ofsted registration, and inspection for supported accommodation for young people. This provision that is currently unregulated.

As the department develops its implementation strategy, it will consider where legislation might be required.

Local authorities have access to £54.1 billion core spending power this financial year to deliver their services, including for children and young people. This is £3.7 billion more than in 2021/22 and includes a £2.35 billion social care grant.

The department is also investing an additional £200 million in funding for the Supporting Families programme by 2024/25, taking planned investment across the next three years to £695 million.

In June 2021 the department extended the duties of Virtual School Heads to include all children with a social worker, backed by £16.6 million of new funding, which will continue in the 2022/23 financial year. This delivers a key recommendation of the Children in Need Review and now means there is a local champion for Children in Need in every local authority across England. Since May 2020 we have also made £26.6 million available to help boost the educational outcomes of children with a social worker and keep them safe from harm, including up to £20.3 million to place social workers in schools in 21 local authorities to support teachers to spot signs of abuse and neglect more quickly.

The independent review of children’s social care is led by Josh MacAlister. The review team is made up of 20 civil servants from across government from a range of backgrounds and disciplines. It is led by a senior civil servant who is Head of the Review team. There are 4 Heads of Team covering: Analysis and Research; Engagement and Participation; Policy and Planning and Stakeholders and Public Engagement. Across these teams are 5 team leaders, five senior policy advisers, three policy advisers, a senior information officer and a senior research officer. Of these 20 civil servants, 5 work part-time.

The independent review of children’s social care is led by Josh MacAlister. The review team is made up of 20 civil servants from across government from a range of backgrounds and disciplines. It is led by a senior civil servant who is Head of the Review team. There are 4 Heads of Team covering: Analysis and Research; Engagement and Participation; Policy and Planning and Stakeholders and Public Engagement. Across these teams are 5 team leaders, five senior policy advisers, three policy advisers, a senior information officer and a senior research officer. Of these 20 civil servants, 5 work part-time.