Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effect of Ofsted excluding young carers from its 2019 Draft Inspection Framework on schools' ability to identify young carers early and initiate support.

No group of pupils is considered less important than another, and we would not expect schools to become negligent in their support of vulnerable pupils due to an absence of named groups in Ofsted's proposed new inspection framework.

While Ofsted could list all of the different groups that schools need to consider, including young carers, it believes an exhaustive list fails to acknowledge that many pupils may fit into several groups. Ofsted has consulted on its proposed new inspection framework and its response to the consultation will be published shortly.

The government is committed to supporting young carers, so they are safeguarded from excessive or inappropriate caring responsibilities and supported to achieve their full potential.

As well as delivering the commitments set out in the Carers Action Plan 2018-20, we have also launched the Children in Need Review. This will identify how to spread best practice on raising educational outcomes of children in need, including young carers assessed as being in need.