Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department provides to educators to support their understanding of kinship care.

The government recognises that there is a need for greater awareness of the needs of kinship children and families and the importance of improving data collection in this space and is therefore exploring including kinship in the school census.

Following the Care Review, the government has updated ‘Kinship Care Statutory Guidance for Local Authorities’. This guidance outlines the framework for the provision of support for kinship children and kinship families.

The government has also extended both the delivery of over 140 kinship carer peer support groups across England and the virtual school head (VSH) role (on a non-statutory basis) to include championing the education, attendance, and attainment of children in kinship care.

The government intends to make this role statutory through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. We will publish updated statutory guidance setting out how VSHs will be expected to work with kinship carers and guardians to support the educational outcomes of these children.