Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department plans to update its document, Teachers’ standards: Guidance for school leaders, school staff and governing bodies, last updated in June 2013; and for what reason care experienced children are not identified as a cohort of children in Standard 5 of that document.

The Department is committed to ensuring that all children, regardless of background, have the opportunity to fulfil their potential. There are currently no plans to update the document, Teachers’ Standards: Guidance for school leaders, school staff and governing bodies. The document does reflect the needs of looked after children by setting out the expectation for teachers to: have a secure understanding of how a range of factors can inhibit pupils’ ability to learn and; have a clear understanding of the needs of all pupils, and be able to use and evaluate distinctive teaching approaches to engage and support them.

Further information, including the reports of the independent review of the Teachers’ standards, is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/teachers-standards.