“Care Matters”, published in October 2006, set out a range of measures to improve the lives of children in care. Of central importance is improving their education so that we give children in care the best possible chance in life. We propose to put the role of designated teacher on a statutory footing to ensure that all schools have a member of staff responsible for planning and co-ordinating support for the education of young people in care.
The Department for Education and Skills Comprehensive Spending Review settlement gives us an overall spending envelope for 2008-11 which will enable us to deliver our key priorities for children, young people and learners. Decisions to be taken over the coming months will allow us to make more precise announcements about the allocation of resources towards the summer. A forthcoming White Paper will set out how we will take forward measures to improve the education of children in care.