Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Barran on 19 December 2023, what consideration they have given to expediting the introduction of a statutory register of children schooled at home and online, given the rise in those numbers, in order to identify children (1) who are at risk, or (2) who have unmet needs.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is committed to a statutory system of registration for children not in school and intends to legislate for that at the next suitable opportunity. My honourable Friend, the Member for Meon Valley introduced a Private Member’s Bill on 11 December with the aim of creating legal duties on local authorities to maintain such registers. The department welcomes her long and ongoing support for those measures, which the department had previously introduced as part of the Schools Bill.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what support they are providing to local authorities (1) to establish new supported lodgings schemes, or (2) to expand existing schemes.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government believes that every child in the care system deserves to live in a high-quality setting that meets their needs and keeps them safe. That is why the department is investing over £140 million to introduce mandatory national standards and Ofsted registration and inspection requirements for providers of supported accommodation for 16 and 17 year old looked after children and care leavers, including supported lodgings. Ofsted began registering providers on 28 April 2023, and registration will become mandatory from 28 October 2023.
The department has commissioned the National Children’s Bureau (NCB) to deliver a sector awareness and provider preparedness programme, through which they are working directly with local authorities and providers to prepare them for registration and adhering to the new standards. This work will be responsive to the needs of the sector. The department has already identified supported lodgings as a key area of focus, given their uniqueness in comparison to other types of setting. Some of the NCB’s work over the summer will therefore target these providers, who also have representation on the steering group for the national programme.
The department is investing £123 million of the overall funding package to support local authorities with the new burdens costs associated with these reforms. Many local authorities are looking to register their own inhouse supported lodgings services and are working closely with external providers to support them to register. Supported lodgings can provide the high-quality accommodation and support that older children need, and the department encourages more of this type of provision in future.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to recruit more supported lodgings hosts to accommodate 16 and 17 year olds in care.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government believes that every child in the care system deserves to live in a high-quality setting that meets their needs and keeps them safe. That is why the department is investing over £140 million to introduce mandatory national standards and Ofsted registration and inspection requirements for providers of supported accommodation for 16 and 17 year old looked after children and care leavers, including supported lodgings. Ofsted began registering providers on 28 April 2023, and registration will become mandatory from 28 October 2023.
The department has commissioned the National Children’s Bureau (NCB) to deliver a sector awareness and provider preparedness programme, through which they are working directly with local authorities and providers to prepare them for registration and adhering to the new standards. This work will be responsive to the needs of the sector. The department has already identified supported lodgings as a key area of focus, given their uniqueness in comparison to other types of setting. Some of the NCB’s work over the summer will therefore target these providers, who also have representation on the steering group for the national programme.
The department is investing £123 million of the overall funding package to support local authorities with the new burdens costs associated with these reforms. Many local authorities are looking to register their own inhouse supported lodgings services and are working closely with external providers to support them to register. Supported lodgings can provide the high-quality accommodation and support that older children need, and the department encourages more of this type of provision in future.