Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she is taking steps to ensure that the educational needs of adopted and kinship children are reflected in the plans for adoption support reform set out in the Government’s consultation entitled Adoption support that works for all.

The department has not sought to make a comparison between changes to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund and family crisis, placement instability or family breakdown, which may be the result of multiple factors if they occur. However, the department is continuing to strengthen its understanding of permanence outcomes through the Family Routes longitudinal study, which tracks the experiences, needs and outcomes of children who leave care through adoption or special guardianship. This study can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/family-route-longitudinal-study.

The recent consultation, Adoption support that works for all, considers how adoption support can be strengthened at every stage. It explores proposals to improve universal and proactive support, including introducing multidisciplinary assessments that take a holistic view of the child. The consultation also recognises the vital role of education in supporting adopted and kinship children, and highlights the importance of stronger collaboration between health, education and children's social care services. A government response to the consultation will be published in due course.