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<p>As my right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer have
both made clear, the government will do whatever it takes to support people affected
by Covid-19.</p><p>Our latest guidance on supporting vulnerable children is set out
below:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-schools-and-other-educational-settings"
target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-schools-and-other-educational-settings</a><em>.</em></p><p>Attending
school is a strong protective factor for many vulnerable children and young people
and educational establishments remain open for them. We are closely monitoring the
attendance of vulnerable children and are encouraging attendance where that would
be in their best interests. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education,
has written to leaders of all education settings and directors of children’s services
in England to encourage attendance for these children.</p><p>69,000 vulnerable children
were attending educational settings on Thursday 7 May, compared to 58,000 on Thursday
30 April.</p><p>My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has also
stressed the need for schools, local authorities and social workers to maintain contact
and support services for vulnerable children and young people throughout this period.
Officials from the department, and re-deployed Ofsted inspection teams, are working
with local authorities directly to ensure that the systems and processes for maintaining
contact with vulnerable children are robust in every local authority in England. We
have also issued detailed guidance for education settings on how they can support
vulnerable children, including how to monitor and encourage attendance.</p><p>These
are rapidly developing circumstances and we will continue to keep the situation under
review and to keep Parliament updated accordingly.</p>
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