Source · Select Committees · Education Committee
Recommendation 33
33
Deferred
Paragraph: 149
Review framework supporting low-income families with school costs and issue best practice guidance.
Recommendation
Ultimately, pupils from low-socio economic backgrounds should not be prevented from receiving an education due their financial situation, and this should be considered a priority for the Department as the cost of living continues to rise. We recommend the Department review its framework for supporting low-income families in meeting the costs of school attendance. As part of this review, the Department should conduct an impact assessment of its statutory guidance on school uniform, Persistent absence and support for disadvantaged pupils 67 support available for pupils with additional costs such as school trips, and support with transport costs. Following this review, the Department should issue supplementary guidance highlighting best practice, so schools and local authorities can make informed decisions on how to best support low-income families.
Government response summary AI-generated
The government welcomed the Committee’s support for its existing expansion of attendance mentors and acknowledged the importance of individual and whole-family support, rather than committing to a review of financial support for low-income families.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Paragraph Reference:
149
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government · verbatim extract
Deferred
85. The Government is committed to supporting children from low-income families to achieve their potential, including £5bn investment in education recovery and £2.9bn annually in the pupil premium. The pupil premium funds evidence-based high-quality teaching, targeted academic support and wider strategies that will benefit pupils and help to raise their attainment. This can include wider strategies and/or interventions to support 1 Letter to school leaders on mild illness and school attendance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) Government response 17 attendance. The Department is supporting schools to consider how their pupil premium can support attendance, for example there will be a webinar on this topic in November 2023.
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