Mrs Sharon Hodgson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Sharon Hodgson on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will take steps to ensure that attachment theory is understood by teachers across schools in England to help readiness for learning.

Edward Timpson

Attachment issues can impact on educational outcomes, particularly for looked after children and for those children who have left care through adoption. The attachment of these children may have been adversely affected through difficult experiences in their early years.

Every school must have a designated teacher for looked after children who promotes their educational achievement. Every looked after child must also have the support of the local authority’s Virtual School Head. These vulnerable children, including those who have left care, also attract the pupil premium worth £1900 per eligible pupil. Schools may use this funding to purchase training for staff on recognising and responding to attachment related issues.

Stephen Munday is leading an independent group to develop a framework of core Initial Teacher Training content to build a better shared understanding of the essential elements of the training. Although we cannot pre-empt what will be included in the framework, the group will be considering a broad range of course content including special educational needs and disabilities and classroom management, amongst other things. Stephen Munday will report to Ministers in the spring of 2016.