Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Scottish Government's review of foster care in Scotland and to the Education Committee report on fostering, published on 22 December 2017, HC 340, if the Government will undertake a review of the foster care system in England and Wales.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
In March 2017 The government commissioned Sir Martin Narey and Mark Owers to undertake an independent review of the fostering system in England. Their report was published on 6 February 2018, which sets out a number of recommendations to improve the outcomes of looked after children in foster care. The report is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/ 679320/Foster_Care_in_England_Review.pdf.
The department is considering these recommendations, alongside those made by the Education Select Committee. The government response will be published in the spring.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment the Government has made of the effectiveness of peer-to-peer support groups for foster carers.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The Education Select Committee and the government’s independent review into foster care considered the support foster carers receive, including peer support. The department is carefully considering the recommendations and the government response will be published in spring this year. The independent review is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/
%0b679320/Foster_Care_in_England_Review.pdf.
In addition, the department funds projects to support foster families through the Children’s Social Care Innovation Programme. This includes the Mockingbird Family Model. One of that project’s aims is to increase rates of foster parent recruitment and retention, which includes providing peer support to foster parents. The project will be subject to rigorous independent evaluation and will inform the evidence base of what works in children’s social care.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if the Government will make training on supporting looked-after children a mandatory part of teacher training.
Answered by Nick Gibb
All initial teacher training courses must be designed so that trainees can demonstrate that they meet all of the Teachers' Standards at the appropriate level. The Teachers’ Standards include a requirement that teachers have a clear understanding of the needs of all pupils, including looked after children, and are able to use and evaluate distinctive teaching approaches to engage and support them.
In July 2016, the Department published ‘a framework of core content for initial teacher training’ developed by independent experts, aimed at supporting teacher trainers and trainees to have a better understanding of the essential elements of good Initial Teacher Training content. The Framework can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/initial-teacher-training-government-response-to-carter-review.