Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential educational and literacy merits of establishing a scheme to send regular age appropriate books to looked-after children under the age of five in England.

Having access to age appropriate books is an important part of the development of all children, including those who are looked-after. It is an integral part of every local authority’s responsibilities to promote the educational achievement of the children it looks after, including through encouraging their curiosity for reading. This includes ensuring that foster carers see the value of and encourage children of all ages to enjoy reading.

In 2015, 120 local authorities took part in BookTrust’s Letterbox Club scheme (http://www.letterboxclub.org.uk/local-authorities/). As part of this scheme, looked-after children aged 5 to 13 in participating local authorities receive a colourful parcel of books, maths activities, stationery and other complementary materials once every month for six months.

To support their learning, looked-after children aged 3 and 4 attract Early Years Pupil Premium funding, which is managed by the Virtual School Head in the authority that looks after them.