Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect of school closures during the covid-19 outbreak on the educational attainment of young carers; and what additional support his Department is providing to those young carers.

The department will do whatever it can to make sure no child, whatever their background, falls behind as a result of COVID-19. We know that young carers may be particularly vulnerable during this time and are committed to ensuring that vulnerable children and young people remain protected and supported.

The government has published guidance for both schools and local authorities on how best to support families and protect vulnerable children during COVID-19. This is available on GOV.UK.

Educational settings remain open and safe for vulnerable children and young people. Our definition of vulnerable children and young people includes those who have been assessed as otherwise vulnerable by educational providers or local authorities (including children’s social care services), and who are therefore in need of continued education provision - this can include children on the edge of receiving support from children’s social care services, adopted children, or those who are young carers, and others at the provider and local authority discretion.

Local authority duties to assess the needs of young carers, under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989, remain unchanged.

The government has committed over £100 million to boost remote education, including by providing devices and internet access to vulnerable children who need it most, including young carers who have social workers. Schools continue to receive additional funding through the pupil premium - worth around £2.4 billion annually - to help them support their disadvantaged pupils. We have also given local authorities over £3.2 billion of extra funding to help address the pressures faced in responding to the pandemic, including within children’s social care.

We have also taken wide-ranging action to help schools and parents to support all young people during the school closures. This includes:

• publishing a list of online education resources and guidance for parents
• supporting the launch of a new online academy offering pupils 180 online lessons a week

Additionally, the BBC has created a package of TV and online materials to support learning at home.

The department is also considering, with a range of partner organisations, how best to support all pupils, especially those who are disadvantaged, to make up for time spent out of school.

The government will be publishing advice for young people with caring responsibilities, which will include information and guidance on how and where they can get help and support during this period.