Today’s Education in the media blog focuses on the support the department is providing to people who adopt children with attachment issues, as well as the requirements on teachers to understand the needs of all types of children.
Attachment issues
Today, Thursday 10 May, the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire Show ran a feature on adopted children who have attachment issues, and the problems they and their adopting families may face.
Children’s wellbeing is extremely important and we want all children to get the support they need. That’s why the department provides funding through the Adoption Support Fund – launched in 2015 – to help pay for essential therapy services for adoptive families, including for children with attachment disorders. To date, this fund has helped provide over £70m in support to thousands of families requiring help.
Funding is also made available through the Pupil Premium to help support adopted children – schools are eligible to receive £2,300 per pupil who is adopted from care to ensure they get the required support they need in education.
The department also makes sure that guidance for teacher training courses includes requirements to understand the different needs of different pupils. In order to be awarded Qualified Teacher Status, trainees must satisfy the Teachers’ Standards, which include a requirement that they “have a secure understanding of how a range of factors can inhibit pupils’ ability to learn, and how best to overcome these”.
A DfE spokesperson said:
All children, especially those with complex mental health problems like those caused by attachment issues, should have the support they need to reach their full potential - and that also means supporting their families and those who care for them.
The Adoption Support Fund helps pay for essential therapeutic services for adoptive families, many of which address attachment disorders, and as of March the fund has provided over £71m to help thousands of families.
Schools also receive £2,300 of pupil premium plus funding for each child adopted from care, to make sure they get the support for their education that they deserve. And, from September, schools will be required to appoint a designated teacher for children adopted from care to help them at school.
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