Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to hold schools to account for (a) failing to report the presence of young carers and (b) submitting (i) incomplete and (ii) inaccurate data on young carers in the school census; and with reference to the Carers Trust press notice entitled School census shows young carers still not being recorded by vast majority of schools, published on 5 June 2025, what assessment she has made of the finding that nearly 70 percent of schools reported having no children attending who were young carers.

Young carers were added to the school census as a specific group for the first time in 2022/23. The department expects the recording of census data to improve over time as the collection becomes better established but are looking at the ways the data is entered to see if we can make technical changes that will support more accurate reporting without overly burdening schools.

In its inspections of local authority children’s services, Ofsted evaluates whether professionals identify children and young people in need of help and protection. Ofsted recently consulted on a new education inspection framework, with their full response due in September. The proposals include a specific evaluation of inclusion, ensuring that schools get it right for all disadvantaged and vulnerable children, including young carers.

Statutory guidance ‘Keeping children safe in education’ sets out that all school and college staff should be alert to the potential need for early help for children who are young carers and requires designated safeguarding leads to undergo training to provide them with the knowledge and skills to carry out their role. This includes having a good understanding of, and alertness to, the needs of young carers.