
The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill
- what we need to know
The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill was introduced in Parliament on 17th December 2024. The Bill is a comprehensive piece of legislation which aims to:
- Enhance the quality of education.
- Safeguard children, particularly those in care.
- Support families and vulnerable children.
- Ensure a consistent and high-quality education system.
Summary of changes to schools
Free Breakfast Club Provision: State-funded primary schools must provide free breakfast clubs for all children from Reception to Year 6, ensuring that every child starts the day with a nutritious meal, supporting better concentration and learning outcomes.
School Uniforms: The number of branded uniform items that primary and secondary schools can require will be limited, therefore, making uniforms more affordable.
Children Not in School: Compulsory registers for children not in school will be introduced, LA’s will be required to provide support to parents of these children. Ensuring that all children receive a suitable education.
Expanding the Scope of Regulation: More independent educational institutions will be brought under regulation to ensure they provide a suitable education and meet required standards.
Independent Education Setting and Safeguarding: Improve due diligence and standard setting for proprietors of independent educational institutions, strengthening safeguarding and quality of education.
Suspension of Private School Registration and Boarding: The Secretary of State will have the power to temporarily suspend the registration of independent educational institutions where there are serious safeguarding concerns.
Private School Deregistration Appeals: The process for appeals against deregistration decisions will be changed to focus on future compliance with standards.
Ofsted Powers of Entry and Investigations: Ofsted’s powers to investigate suspected unregistered independent schools will be strengthened.
Teacher Misconduct: The scope of the teacher misconduct regime will be broadened to include more settings and will allow the DfE to make referrals.
School Teachers’ Qualifications and Induction: The requirement for Qualified Teacher Status and statutory induction will be extended to teachers in academies, ensuring all teachers are well-qualified.
Academy Schools: National Curriculum: Academies will be required to teach the National Curriculum following the Curriculum and Assessment Review.
Education Provision for Improving Behaviour: The power to direct pupils off-site to improve behaviour will be extended to academies.
Power to Secure Performance of Proprietor’s Duties: A new power will be created to direct academy trusts that are not complying with their legal duties.
Repeal of Duty to Make Academy Order: The duty to issue an academy order for schools causing concern will be converted into a discretionary power, allowing for more flexible and appropriate interventions to improve underperforming schools.
Extension of Statutory Pay and Conditions: The statutory pay and conditions framework will be extended to include teachers in academies.
Co-operation on Admissions and Place Planning: New duties for schools and LA’s to work together and co-operate on admissions and place planning will be introduced.
Local Authority Direction Powers: Local authorities’ powers to direct academies to admit children will be extended.
Functions of Adjudicator in Relation to Admissions Numbers: The Schools Adjudicator will be enabled to set a school’s published admission number where they uphold an objection.
Establishment of New Schools: Changes to the legal framework for opening new state-funded schools will be changed, allowing for a broader range of school types.
Summary of changes to Children’s Social Care
Family Group Decision Making: Local authorities (LA) will now be required to offer family group decision-making meetings to families at the pre-proceedings stage. Looking to prevent children from entering the care system by encouraging family-led solutions.
Education’s Role in Safeguarding: Education and childcare settings will be required to participate in multi-agency safeguarding arrangements, therefore ensuring that education is part of the safeguarding network.
Multi-Agency Child Protection Teams (MACPTs): Make amendments to the Children Act 2004 to require safeguarding partners to establish at least one MACPT in their area – requiring the LA to nominate someone with experience in education to support with improving risk assessment and influence decision making.
Information Sharing and Consistent Identifiers: Enhanced data sharing between agencies, imposing a duty on specified persons/bodies to disclose information which may be significant for safeguarding and/or promoting the welfare of a child or children.
The introduction of a consistent identifier for children (Single Unique Identifier (SUI)) which designated persons must use when processing safeguarding information, to streamline the process of tracking and supporting vulnerable children.
Kinship Local Offer: LA’s will be required to publish information about the support available to kinship carers and children in kinship care, ensuring that these families have access to necessary resources.
Virtual School Head: The role of the Virtual School Head (VSH) will be extended to promote the educational achievement of children with a social worker and those in kinship care, providing additional support to these vulnerable groups.
Staying Close: LA’s will assess and provide support to care leavers, helping them transition to independent living. This support includes assistance with accommodation, education, and employment.
Local Offer for Care Leavers: An amendment to the Children and Social Work Act 2017 to require each LA to publish the arrangements it has in place to support and assist care leavers in their transition to adulthood and independent living
Regional Cooperation Arrangements: The Secretary of State will have the power to direct LA’s to establish regional care cooperatives. These cooperatives will improve the planning and commissioning of children’s care places.
Use of Accommodation for Depriving Liberty: A statutory framework will be introduced for authorising the deprivation of liberty in community-based provision for children with complex needs, ensuring their safety and wellbeing.
Provider Oversight Regime: Ofsted’s powers will be strengthened to hold provider groups accountable for quality issues in children’s social care settings.
Ofsted Powers to Issue Monetary Penalties: Ofsted will have expanded enforcement powers, including the ability to issue monetary penalties for breaches of the Care Standards Act.
Financial Oversight Scheme: A new scheme will monitor the financial health of significant children’s social care providers, ensuring stability and transparency.
Future Profit Cap: The Secretary of State will have the power to cap the profits of non-local authority providers of children’s social care placements, preventing excessive profiteering.
Children’s Social Care Agency Workers: The use of agency workers in LA children’s social care services will be regulated to ensure stability and quality.
Ill-Treatment or Wilful Neglect: Protections against ill-treatment or wilful neglect will be extended to 16- and 17-year-olds in children’s social care settings.
Employment of Children: Regulations will be updated to give children more opportunities for suitable employment while ensuring their education is not adversely affected.
In Summary
The proposed Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will no doubt be subject to further debate, and amendments during its passage. However, it will represent a significant change in enhancing the role of education in safeguarding. Additionally, the measures to regulate independent educational institutions, strengthen teacher qualifications, training and the duty to share information, can only contribute to more robust and effective safeguarding systems to protect children and improve education.
Some provisions of the Bill will take effect immediately upon the passage of the act, including the powers to make regulations and orders. Other provisions, such as the duty to publish information for kinship carers and children in kinship arrangements, and the new MACPTs will be implemented over a longer period of time.