Pupil Premium: Carers

(asked on 8th October 2018) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has plans to ensure that young carers qualify for the pupil premium as a result of their status as a carer.


Answered by
Nadhim Zahawi Portrait
Nadhim Zahawi
This question was answered on 16th October 2018

Schools receive the pupil premium for pupils who are claiming free school meals (FSM) or who have claimed FSM at any point in the past six years. This is because we know that this is a good indicator of which pupils do not go on to achieve their full potential.

We currently have no plans to expand the eligibility of the pupil premium to young carers.

We recognise that young carers face particular challenges. With this in mind, we give school leaders freedom to use their pupil premium grant in any way they wish to meet the needs of their pupils. This means that they can use their share of the £2.4 billion pupil premium to support young carers in their school. Research with young carers aged 14 to 16 suggests that around 60% already attract the pupil premium through their eligibility for FSM.

In addition, the government’s Carers Action Plan, published in June this year, sets out a range of government commitments to support young carers including improving identification, educational opportunities and access to support services.

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