Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministerial Statement

Educational Poverty: Children in Residential Care

14 July 2022 · 6 other contributors

Opened by Robert Halfon Con Southend West

EducationChildren & Families

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Robert Halfon raised concerns about educational poverty: children in residential care in the House of Commons. A government minister responded. Other MPs also contributed.

Key points

  • The Minister of State, Department for Education Robert Halfon, announced findings from a report on educational outcomes for children in care.
  • The report highlighted a 37% achievement rate for looked-after children reaching expected standards at key stage 2, compared to 65% for non-looked-after children.
  • Only 7.2% of looked-after children achieved a grade 5 in English and maths GCSE, significantly lower than the national average.

How the debate unfolded

MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said.

Government Statement

Robert Halfon

The Minister of State, Department for Education Robert Halfon, announced the findings from a report on educational outcomes for children in care. He highlighted widespread state failure to ensure looked-after children receive quality education, citing statistics such as only 37% reaching expected standards at key stage 2 compared with 65% of non-looked-after children and just 7.2% achieving the grade 5 good pass in English and maths GCSE. Key issues include schools blocking admissions for looked-after children, unregulated education settings, unsuitable accommodation, poor career outcomes, and high homelessness rates among care leavers. The report recommends tackling data black holes with annual data publication through a dashboard, penalising schools refusing admissions, sanctioning local authorities failing in their duty, extending pupil premium plus funding beyond age 16, rolling out the Staying Close scheme nationally, exploring options to funnel excessive care home profits into improving the system, and increasing early intervention spending.

Other contributors (6)
  • Ian Mearns Lab Gateshead East

    Question

    It was a privilege to serve on the Education Committee and produce this report, I could not agree more with the Chair about the recommendations. Statistics show that 41% of care leavers aged 19-21 are not in education or employment and only 2% take up apprenticeships at age 16-18; paying £4.81 an hour to youngsters living independently after coming out of care for apprenticeships is not satisfactory.

    Minister reply

    I thank the hon. Member for his support and agree that the statistics are unforgivable. The answer, as outlined in our report, is to change the levy to incentivise big business to hire apprentices and ensure care leavers are paid the national living wage.

  • Tim Loughton Con East Worthing and Shoreham

    Question

    Referring to the Register of Members’ Financial Interests, Tim Loughton congratulates Robert Halfon on his report but expresses disappointment that issues such as children being placed far from their homes and constant changes in placements persist despite previous efforts. He asks why this is still happening and what new evidence was gathered regarding smart commissioning to provide more stability.

    Minister reply

    Robert Halfon acknowledges the point about children moving around too much, noting it can be necessary but should not happen unnecessarily. He agrees that keeping children in stable placements and good schools needs to improve and suggests a digital passport for qualifications that follow a child wherever they go if moves are unavoidable.

  • Kate Green Lab Wirral West

    Question

    Welcoming the report, Kate Green supports points made about constant moving of children in care. She questions whether more should be done to secure good data sharing following a child across placements and if there are any recommendations on schools' exclusions policies affecting those from care backgrounds.

    Minister reply

    Robert Halfon agrees with securing better data sharing and keeping moves of children to a minimum. He mentions the idea of digital passports for qualifications that follow the child, but asks Kate Green to clarify her point about exclusions policies.

  • Jim Shannon DUP Strangford

    Question

    Impressed with Robert Halfon's work on the Committee, Jim Shannon inquires about approaches taken for adequate mental health care for children in care given that 9 out of 10 will develop mental health problems by age 18 if issues are not addressed early.

    Minister reply

    Robert Halfon acknowledges the significant impact of poor mental health among young people, including those from care backgrounds. He calls for a 'rocket-boost' to the programme for mental health counsellors in schools and proposes a levy on social media companies to fund resilience programmes. He also advocates for a longer school day focusing on wellbeing activities.

  • Liz Twist Lab Blaydon

    Question

    Criticising the Government's complacency regarding children’s social care, Liz Twist mentions that half of local authorities’ children’s services departments are inadequate or require improvement. She questions whether the Chair believes it is important for the Government to introduce measures to improve access to education and educational outcomes immediately.

    Minister reply

    Robert Halfon thanks Liz Twist for her question and acknowledges some good work by the Government but highlights the need for improvements based on reviews like the MacAlister review. He hopes that any new Prime Minister and Education Secretary will seriously consider recommendations from these reports and implement them as soon as possible.

Shadow Comment

Ian Mearns

The shadow Minister for Children and Families Ian Mearns emphasised the urgent need for the Government to react positively to the report's recommendations. He highlighted alarming statistics such as 41% of care leavers aged 19-21 being out of education, employment or training and only 2% taking up apprenticeships at age 16-18. Mearns stressed that paying £4.81 an hour to youngsters living independently after coming out of care is not satisfactory.

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