Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions the Department has had with relevant stakeholders in Northumberland to ensure parents have accessible information regarding the available safeguarding for extracurricular activities.

The government is committed to safeguarding children across all education settings, including extracurricular providers outside the statutory education and childcare system, referred to as out-of-school settings (OOSS). Local authorities are legally responsible for safeguarding and promoting the welfare all children in their area, regardless of the education setting they attend.

All OOSS have a legal duty of care to ensure the safety of children attending their settings. The department has published guidance for:

• Parents and careers – this outlines the safeguarding standards providers should have in place.
• Local authorities – to support them to meet their responsibilities for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children in their area.

The ‘Early education and childcare’ guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-education-and-childcare--2/early-education-and-childcare-effective-from-1-april-2025, and applies to:

• The duty on local authorities to secure sufficient childcare for parents to enable them to work or undertake education or training which could assist them to obtain work, including wraparound care (Part B).
• The provision of information, advice and assistance to parents (Part C).
• The provision of information, advice and training to childcare providers (Part D).

Whilst the department believes most out-of-school settings offer enriching education in a safe environment, we want this to be true for all. That is why the government held a call for evidence regarding sector safeguarding practices and invited views on approaches for further strengthening safeguarding, including potential regulation. This closed on 21 September and analysis is ongoing. We will respond in due course.