Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to introduce a mandatory registration of staff working in children's homes.

The government set out its position regarding professional registration of the children’s homes workforce in its ’Tackling child sexual abuse: progress update’, published on GOV.UK in April 2025 here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tackling-child-sexual-abuse-progress-update.

The immediate focus is to develop workforce standards and review sector qualifications to ensure staff working in children’s homes are equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to provide the best possible care, and have access to high quality continuing professional development.

This will provide the essential foundation for looking at the risks and benefits of a registration model for care staff, including a wider consultation in the longer term.