Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy for schools to (a) appoint a designated young carers lead and (b) implement a (i) flagging and (ii) registration scheme for young carers.

The statutory guidance 'Keeping Children Safe in Education' states that all school staff should be alert to the potential need for early help for young carers and requires designated safeguarding leads to be trained to understand and respond to their needs, ensuring young carers are supported to thrive in school.

We have no plans to introduce a registration scheme for young carers. Local authorities have a statutory duty to identify young carers who may need support and undertake a needs assessment where support may be needed, or upon request.

To further improve visibility and support, young carers were added to the school census as a distinct group in 2022/23. This has increased their visibility in the school system, providing valuable demographic data and insights into their educational outcomes.

Further, Ofsted’s new education inspection framework references young carers when assessing the impact of a school’s work on attendance, behaviour, personal development and wellbeing of disadvantaged pupils.