‘A seminal moment for child protection’ – UK Education Secretary introduces Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
The UK Labour government has introduced the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, aimed at improving child welfare, safeguarding, and educational standards across England.
The bill, presented by Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, seeks to enhance protections for vulnerable children and provide a more cohesive approach to education and social care.
Key provisions of the bill
The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill addresses multiple areas impacting children’s welfare and education, including:
Registers for Children Not in School: The bill mandates new registers to identify children who are not enrolled in formal education. This measure will enable local authorities to ensure that all children receive quality education and necessary support.
Unique Identifier for Children: Similar to a National Insurance number for adults, a unique identifier will be introduced to streamline data sharing among services. This aims to prevent vulnerable children from being overlooked by social services and educational authorities.
Restrictions on Home-Schooling: The bill removes the automatic right for parents to home-school their children if the child is under a protection investigation or subject to a protection plan. Local authorities will have the power to mandate school attendance in cases where the home environment is deemed unsafe.
Focus on safeguarding and welfare
The bill also introduces measures to bolster safeguarding processes by enhancing collaboration between schools, social care, and local authorities. Teachers, who often play a critical role in identifying signs of abuse or neglect, will be more involved in safeguarding decisions.
Dame Rachel de Souza, the Children’s Commissioner, underscored the urgency of these changes. She said:
“For children who are at risk of serious harm or abuse today, there can be no delay: children with complex needs, who are being deprived of their liberty without a say in decisions about their care. Children in crisis who are being housed in caravans because there aren’t enough safe homes. And children at risk of abuse who are kept hidden at home, invisible to services that should be protecting them.
“For these children, this legislation cannot come quickly enough. For them, I will always be pushing for this work to be more ambitious, more quickly.”
The legislation also emphasizes the role of schools in safeguarding children. Teachers and schools, as primary sources of child social care referrals, will be involved in safeguarding decisions.
Bridget Phillipson, Education Secretary, emphasized the importance of these measures:
“This bill will be a seminal moment for child protection. No more words, no more lessons learnt. This government will put children first at every turn. That means a child-centered government, with better protections for young people and real join-up between children’s social care, schools, and local services.”
Supporting children and families
The bill increases funding for family support services, with an additional £500 million allocated for 2025. This investment aims to address challenges such as substance misuse and mental health issues within families, with a focus on early intervention to prevent crises.
Measures such as Family Group Decision-Making are included, enabling extended family involvement in child welfare decisions. The bill also requires councils to provide a "local kinship offer," detailing available support for family members caring for children.
Educational standards and teacher support
The bill introduces new measures to enhance school standards.
Qualified Teacher Status (QTS):
All teachers entering the profession must either hold or be actively working towards Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). This requirement ensures that new educators meet a defined set of professional standards before teaching independently. Teachers must complete a statutory induction period, which provides structured support and mentorship in the early stages of their careers.
Pay and Conditions:
The bill mandates standardized core pay and working conditions for all teachers, including those in academies. Historically, academies have had flexibility in setting pay scales and conditions, sometimes leading to disparities between academy and local authority-maintained schools. The government aims to create a more equitable system that improves teacher retention and recruitment by standardizing these elements.
School Admissions:
The bill grants local councils greater authority to manage school admissions to reflect the needs of their communities more accurately. This includes prioritizing the placement of vulnerable children, such as those in care or with special educational needs, ensuring they have timely access to appropriate educational settings. Councils will be able to intervene when schools’ admission policies do not align with local priorities, reducing the risk of disadvantaged children being overlooked.
Addressing profit-making in social care
The bill also tackles concerns regarding profit-making in children’s social care services. There is growing criticism that private providers of children’s care homes and related services are generating excessive profits, diverting funds away from improving care quality. The proposed legislation includes provisions to cap excessive profits made by these providers. This measure aims to ensure that more resources are invested directly into enhancing the welfare and support of children in care, rather than increasing profit margins for private companies.
