Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to deliver accessible training and support services for kinship carers.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Following the Care Review, the government appointed the first ever National Kinship Care Ambassador and updated the Kinship Care Statutory Guidance for Local Authorities, which can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/670d3ed5e84ae1fd8592f2fa/Kinship_Care_-_statutory_guidance_for_local_authorities__October_2024.pdf.
The government has also extended both the delivery of over 140 kinship carer peer support groups across England and the virtual school head role (on a non-statutory basis) to include championing the education, attendance, and attainment of children in kinship care.
Through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, we will mandate all local authorities in England to publish their local kinship offer and offer Family Group Decision Making at pre-proceedings where that is in the child’s best interests.
The department will soon launch a Kinship Allowance Pilot to support eligible kinship carers with the costs of raising a child, which will support up to 4,500 children in kinship care in pilot local authorities. Any wider rollout of this will be informed by findings of the evaluation.
Kinship leave is also in scope of government’s parental leave review, which will recommend improvements to the current parental leave system.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to meet to meet the ambition for kinship care set out by the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Following the Care Review, the government appointed the first ever National Kinship Care Ambassador and updated the Kinship Care Statutory Guidance for Local Authorities, which can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/670d3ed5e84ae1fd8592f2fa/Kinship_Care_-_statutory_guidance_for_local_authorities__October_2024.pdf.
The government has also extended both the delivery of over 140 kinship carer peer support groups across England and the virtual school head role (on a non-statutory basis) to include championing the education, attendance, and attainment of children in kinship care.
Through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, we will mandate all local authorities in England to publish their local kinship offer and offer Family Group Decision Making at pre-proceedings where that is in the child’s best interests.
The department will soon launch a Kinship Allowance Pilot to support eligible kinship carers with the costs of raising a child, which will support up to 4,500 children in kinship care in pilot local authorities. Any wider rollout of this will be informed by findings of the evaluation.
Kinship leave is also in scope of government’s parental leave review, which will recommend improvements to the current parental leave system.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to extend the Kinship Allowance programme to all eligible local authorities.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Following the Care Review, the government appointed the first ever National Kinship Care Ambassador and updated the Kinship Care Statutory Guidance for Local Authorities, which can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/670d3ed5e84ae1fd8592f2fa/Kinship_Care_-_statutory_guidance_for_local_authorities__October_2024.pdf.
The government has also extended both the delivery of over 140 kinship carer peer support groups across England and the virtual school head role (on a non-statutory basis) to include championing the education, attendance, and attainment of children in kinship care.
Through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, we will mandate all local authorities in England to publish their local kinship offer and offer Family Group Decision Making at pre-proceedings where that is in the child’s best interests.
The department will soon launch a Kinship Allowance Pilot to support eligible kinship carers with the costs of raising a child, which will support up to 4,500 children in kinship care in pilot local authorities. Any wider rollout of this will be informed by findings of the evaluation.
Kinship leave is also in scope of government’s parental leave review, which will recommend improvements to the current parental leave system.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to financially support kinship carers.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Following the Care Review, the government appointed the first ever National Kinship Care Ambassador and updated the Kinship Care Statutory Guidance for Local Authorities, which can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/670d3ed5e84ae1fd8592f2fa/Kinship_Care_-_statutory_guidance_for_local_authorities__October_2024.pdf.
The government has also extended both the delivery of over 140 kinship carer peer support groups across England and the virtual school head role (on a non-statutory basis) to include championing the education, attendance, and attainment of children in kinship care.
Through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, we will mandate all local authorities in England to publish their local kinship offer and offer Family Group Decision Making at pre-proceedings where that is in the child’s best interests.
The department will soon launch a Kinship Allowance Pilot to support eligible kinship carers with the costs of raising a child, which will support up to 4,500 children in kinship care in pilot local authorities. Any wider rollout of this will be informed by findings of the evaluation.
Kinship leave is also in scope of government’s parental leave review, which will recommend improvements to the current parental leave system.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding her Department has provided for programmes that support the mental health of teachers and school staff in the last 12 months.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department is funding the charity, Education Support, to deliver free mental health and wellbeing support to school and college leaders. Professional supervision enables leaders to work with qualified and experienced supervisors to develop strategies to support their mental wellbeing.
A new three-year contract was awarded to Education Support to deliver this support from April 2024 to March 2027 at a value of up to £1.5 million with the aim of supporting approximately 2,500 leaders. Over 1,300 leaders have been supported since April 2024.
Funding figures for the last 12 months are not available. For the 2025/26 financial year, approximately £500,000 is expected to be spent.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve early intervention for dyslexic learners.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Tewkesbury to the answer of 1 December to Question 85049.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the provision of multi-sensory impairment teachers.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
It is the responsibility of local authorities, schools, and further education (FE) settings to commission appropriately qualified staff to support the education of children and young people in their area.
To teach a class of pupils with sensory impairments, a teacher is required to hold the relevant mandatory qualification in sensory impairment (MQSI). This is in addition to qualified teacher status (QTS) and must be achieved within three years. Teachers working in an advisory role to support these pupils should also hold the appropriate qualification. To offer MQSIs, providers must be approved by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education. There are currently seven providers of the MQSI.
An apprenticeship in sensory impairment has been available since September 2025 and will open up a paid, work-based route into teaching children and young people with sensory impairments. This will improve the supply of those qualified to teach this important cohort and further help to improve their outcomes.
Trainee teachers intending to work as special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) specialists in the FE sector are eligible for a training bursary worth £15,000, tax free. The bursary will again be offered in the 2026/27 academic year. SEND specialist teachers working with learners with sensory impairments are eligible to apply for the bursary.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of taking steps to help ensure that all local authorities employ multi-sensory impairment teachers.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
It is the responsibility of local authorities, schools, and further education (FE) settings to commission appropriately qualified staff to support the education of children and young people in their area.
To teach a class of pupils with sensory impairments, a teacher is required to hold the relevant mandatory qualification in sensory impairment (MQSI). This is in addition to qualified teacher status (QTS) and must be achieved within three years. Teachers working in an advisory role to support these pupils should also hold the appropriate qualification. To offer MQSIs, providers must be approved by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education. There are currently seven providers of the MQSI.
An apprenticeship in sensory impairment has been available since September 2025 and will open up a paid, work-based route into teaching children and young people with sensory impairments. This will improve the supply of those qualified to teach this important cohort and further help to improve their outcomes.
Trainee teachers intending to work as special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) specialists in the FE sector are eligible for a training bursary worth £15,000, tax free. The bursary will again be offered in the 2026/27 academic year. SEND specialist teachers working with learners with sensory impairments are eligible to apply for the bursary.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve recruitment and retention of multi-sensory impairment teachers.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
It is the responsibility of local authorities, schools, and further education (FE) settings to commission appropriately qualified staff to support the education of children and young people in their area.
To teach a class of pupils with sensory impairments, a teacher is required to hold the relevant mandatory qualification in sensory impairment (MQSI). This is in addition to qualified teacher status (QTS) and must be achieved within three years. Teachers working in an advisory role to support these pupils should also hold the appropriate qualification. To offer MQSIs, providers must be approved by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education. There are currently seven providers of the MQSI.
An apprenticeship in sensory impairment has been available since September 2025 and will open up a paid, work-based route into teaching children and young people with sensory impairments. This will improve the supply of those qualified to teach this important cohort and further help to improve their outcomes.
Trainee teachers intending to work as special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) specialists in the FE sector are eligible for a training bursary worth £15,000, tax free. The bursary will again be offered in the 2026/27 academic year. SEND specialist teachers working with learners with sensory impairments are eligible to apply for the bursary.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to introduce a standardised national framework for supporting children with SEND.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.
We are aware of the challenges in the SEND system and understand how urgently they need to be addressed.
We will build a better system which is grounded in evidence, identifies and supports need at the earliest opportunity, and ensures families can secure support swiftly without a fight.
We are continuing to engage closely with children, parents and experts as we develop plans to ensure all children get the outcomes and life chances they deserve.