Title page

Contents

Summary 11

1. Overview of the bill 14

1.1. What would the bill do? 14

Part one: Children's social care 14

Part two: Schools 15

1.2. Where will the bill's provisions apply? 17

1.3. When would the bill's provisions come into force? 17

2. Background to part 1: children's social care 18

2.1. Local authority duties 18

2.2. Demand for children's social care 18

2.3. Local authority expenditure 19

2.4. Policy development 19

Stable Homes, Built on Love reform strategy 19

Developments under the current government 21

2.5. Keeping Children Safe, Helping Families Thrive policy paper 21

3. Kinship care and family group decision making 23

3.1. Background 23

Policy context 24

3.2. Clause 1: Family Group Decision Making 24

Background 24

Policy development 25

Clause 1 26

3.3. Clause 5: kinship local offers and definition of kinship care 27

Background 27

Clause 5 28

3.4. Clause 6: Virtual School Heads 29

Background 29

Clause 6 30

3.5. Comment 30

4. Child protection and safeguarding 32

4.1. Background 32

Section 47 inquiries 32

Safeguarding partners and relevant agencies 32

Policy development 33

4.2. Clause 2: education in safeguarding arrangements 35

4.3. Clause 3: multi-agency child protection teams 36

4.4. Clause 4: information sharing and consistent child identifier 37

Duty to share information 37

Single unique identifier 38

4.5. Comment 39

5. Children in care and care leavers 40

5.1. Background 40

Local offer for care leavers 40

Staying Close 41

Independent Review of Children's Social Care 42

Stable Homes, Built on Love 42

5.2. Clause 7: Staying Close support 42

5.3. Clause 8: local offer for care leavers 43

5.4. Comment 45

6. Providing homes for looked after children 46

6.1. Background 46

Placements for looked after children 46

Placement providers 47

Availability of placements 48

Issues in the placements market 48

Competition and Markets Authority report 52

Independent review of children's social care 53

Policy development 53

6.2. Clause 9: Regional Care Cooperatives 54

Policy background 54

Clause 9 55

6.3. Clause 10: Deprivation of Liberty 56

Background 56

Clause 10 59

6.4. Clauses 11-12: Ofsted enforcement powers 59

Background 59

Clause 11: oversight of 'parent undertakings' 60

Clauses 12 and 16: monetary penalties 60

6.5. Clauses 13-15: financial oversight and profits 61

Policy background 61

Clauses 13, 15 and 16: financial oversight 62

Clauses 14-16: profit cap 63

6.6. Comment 64

7. Children's social care workers 67

7.1. Clause 18: agency social care workers 67

Background 67

Clause 18 69

Comment 69

7.2. Clause 19: Ill-treatment or wilful neglect 70

Background 70

Clause 19 70

Comment 71

8. Employment of children 72

8.1. Current legislation 72

Clause 20 74

9. Breakfast clubs and school food standards 76

9.1. Free breakfast club provision in primary schools 76

Current position 76

Funding 76

Department for Education guidance for schools 77

Department for Education evaluation of breakfast clubs in schools with high levels of deprivation (2017) 77

9.2. Government proposals and early adopters scheme 78

9.3. Clause 21 79

9.4. School food standards: academies 80

9.5. Clause 22 80

9.6. Comment 80

9.7. Further reading 81

10. School uniforms: limits on branded items 82

10.1. Current position on school uniform 82

Costs and branded items 82

Department for Education survey on uniform costs (2024) 83

10.2. Government policy 84

10.3. Clause 23 84

10.4. Further reading 84

11. Register of children not in school 85

Library briefing 85

11.1. The right of parents to educate their children at home 85

Current position 85

Duties to inform the local authority 86

Guidance 86

Consultation on revised guidance 2023-24 86

11.2. Children missing education 87

11.3. School Attendance Orders 87

11.4. Home education trends and concerns about children not receiving a suitable education 88

Why parents may choose to home educate 88

Increasing home education levels 88

Safeguarding concerns and children missing from education 89

11.5. How many children are home educated? 90

Department for Education estimates of children in home education 90

Children missing education 91

11.6. Previous legislative proposals for a register of children not in school 92

Home School Education Registration and Support Bill 2024-25 [HL] 92

Children Not in School (Registers, Support and Orders) Bill 2023-24 92

Schools Bill 2022 93

Home Education (Duty of Local Authorities) Bill 2017-19 93

Children Schools and Families Bill 2009-10 94

11.7. Education Committee report (2021) 94

Government response 95

11.8. Objections to a register of children not in school 95

11.9. Government policy 96

11.10. Clauses 24-29 and Schedule 1 97

11.11. Comment 100

12. Regulation of independent educational institutions 102

12.1. Independent school standards 102

Defining an independent school 103

Defining an independent educational institution 103

Enforcement action 104

Making changes to the details of registered independent institutions 104

12.2. Unregistered schools 105

Out-of-school education settings 105

Independent inquiry into child sexual abuse report (2021) 106

Concerns 106

12.3. Conservative government proposals 107

Consultation (2020) 107

Schools Bill 2022 108

12.4. Government policy 108

12.5. Clauses 30-37 109

13. Inspection of schools and colleges: reports and information sharing 113

13.1. Overview of independent school inspection 113

13.2. Government proposals for change 113

13.3. Clause 38 114

14. Teacher misconduct 115

14.1. Current position 115

14.2. Previous Conservative government consultation on widening scope of existing regime 115

14.3. Bill provisions (clause 39) 116

15. Provisions relating to academies 118

15.1. Background to academies 118

What proportion of schools are academies? 118

Requirements for academies - an overview 119

15.2. School teachers' qualifications and induction 119

Current position 119

What use do academies make of freedoms to employ unqualified teachers? 120

Induction for new teachers 120

Debate about teacher qualifications and the academies programme 121

Labour government case for change 121

Bill provision (clause 40) 121

15.3. National curriculum - current position 122

Curriculum requirements for academies 123

Labour's national curriculum and assessment review 123

Do academies use their current curriculum freedoms? 124

Bill provisions (clause 41 and Schedule A) 125

15.4. Academies' powers to direct pupils offsite for improving behaviour 125

Government's case for change 126

Bill provisions (clause 42) 126

15.5. New intervention powers in academies 126

Current position 126

Labour case for strengthening intervention powers in academies 127

Bill provisions (clause 43) 127

15.6. Repeal of duty to issue academy orders 128

Mandatory academy orders 129

Number of maintained schools currently in an Ofsted category of concern 129

Bill clauses (clause 44) 129

15.7. Teachers' pay and conditions at academies 130

Application of STPCD and 2002 act to academies 130

What is the pay differential between academies and maintained schools? 131

Bill provisions (clauses 45-46) 131

16. School admissions 133

16.1. Background to admissions provisions 133

DfE guidance on school admissions policies 133

Current powers to direct (require) a pupil's admission to a school 133

Current process for challenging a school's published admissions number (PAN) 134

Why do admissions policies and decisions matter? 135

Reductions in pupil numbers and demographic changes 135

Bill provisions (clauses 47 to 50) 137

17. Powers to open new schools 139

17.1. Existing processes for opening new schools 139

17.2. Bill provisions (clauses 51 to 55) 140

18. Commentary 142

18.1. General commentary on academy provisions 142

18.2. National curriculum in academies 143

18.3. Mandatory academy orders 144

18.4. Teacher qualifications 144

18.5. Extension of statutory pay and conditions to academies 145

18.6. School admissions, and changes to process for opening new schools 146

19. General provisions 148

20. How bills go through Parliament 149

20.1. Commons stages 149

20.2. Lords stages 150

20.3. 'Ping pong' 150

20.4. Amendments 151

20.5. Further information on bill procedure 151

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill 2024-25 was introduced on 17 December 2024. The government intends the bill to improve the safeguarding of children (such as in care institutions and schools) and to raise educational standards.