Education and Inspections Bill

moved Amendment No. 138: Before Clause 36, insert the following new clause- ““GOVERNING BODIES: DETERMINATION OF POLICY WITH RESPECT TO YOUNG CARERS (1) The governing body of a maintained school must ensure that policies designed to ensure the identification of young carers and to promote their welfare are pursued at the school. (2) A person is a young carer for the purposes of this section if- (a) he assumes a level of responsibility for another person which would normally be assumed by an adult, (b) he is a registered pupil at the school.”” The noble Baroness said: This is a probing amendment. We would like to see the Government further considering young carers’ welfare. Like looked after children, children who take on a caring role in the family are pupils who are at particular risk of not receiving sufficient support from the education system. About 3 million children in the UK are affected by disability in their families and 175,000 of them become young carers. It is estimated that the majority of young carers remain unidentified. We must ensure that these children are identified and offered the best support so that they can achieve their potential. Amendment No. 142—proposed by the noble Baroness, Lady Massey, and supported by the noble Baroness, Lady Walmsley—which attempts to address the issue, is unsatisfactory. It is far too prescriptive and would unnecessarily restrict the freedom and autonomy of our schools. Our amendment will enable each school to develop a policy suited to its circumstances, ensuring that young carers are identified and their welfare promoted. It is drafted along the same lines as the discipline provisions. There is no substantive relation, but it seemed appropriate that a governing body would take a special interest in the welfare of young carers, and develop a policy suited to their particular school. That can be achieved without hindering the school’s powers and freedoms to run their own affairs, and would offer each school the opportunity to safeguard the welfare of their own pupils. I look forward to the Minister’s response on this important matter. I am sure that many schools already take an interest in young carers, but it is important to emphasise that the amendment is not intended to create an index of young carers for all to see. I am well aware that many young carers may not wish to be identified in front of their classmates, or share their home situation. Their privacy should be respected. That message is terribly important. The aim of the amendment is to improve the support given to young carers, not to expose their personal lives to unwanted scrutiny. I beg to move.