Government’s Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill ‘falls short of delivering the vital educational and mental health support’ for children in kinship, says charity

The government announced the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, saying its measures will help ensure all children get the best start in life, to drive the sustainable, lasting change that children and families need to achieve and thrive.

Over recent years, there has been a number of cases of children being failed by a disjointed system. The measures introduced aim to write children’s best interests into law and make child-centred government a reality, according to the UK government.

The bill will introduce new registers to identify children who are not in school. With better knowledge of where children are, the government said councils can more easily deliver the support that’s needed and ensure a high-quality education is being provided.

The bill will also introduce a unique identifier number for children across services – like the national insurance number works for adults. 

Parents will no longer have an automatic right to educate their children at home if their child is subject to a child protection investigation or under a child protection plan. If a child’s home environment is assessed as unsuitable or unsafe, local authorities will also now have the power to intervene and require school attendance for any child.  

Measures in the bill will make sure that teachers and schools are always involved in decisions around safeguarding children in their area.  

Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, said:  “In recent years, too many children have been failed by their last line of defence: the state.

“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-centred government, with better protections for young people and real join up between children’s social care, schools and local services.”

The government said it is doubling the investment for family help services to £500 million next year, allowing local authorities to support vulnerable families and protect children before issues escalate to tragedy. It said the cash boost will strengthen family security and go towards providing wrapround support for families struggling with issues like substance misuse or mental health, getting help to the family and identifying children at risk earlier in the process, before problems get worse.  

The unique identifier number for children will allow those responsible for the safeguarding and welfare of children to better join together relevant data, according to the government.

While there will always be cases where children need to go into the care system, with earlier intervention, families can often be supported to stay together. 

The government said this is why the new laws will see all councils offer Family Group Decision Making – a service that brings extended family members together where a child is on the brink of entering care. This comes alongside a requirement on councils to publish a local kinship offer, so that family members and friends stepping in to care for children know what support is available to them. This could include training or access to peer support groups which provide valuable support networks for new carers.

New measures, according to the government, will include:

• Councils will be able to welcome proposals for all types of school, not just academies, so new schools are opened by the provider with the best local offer for local children and families

• Teachers entering the classroom will hold or be working towards qualified teacher status. They will also need to complete a statutory induction period

• Every schoolteacher will have the same core pay and conditions offer, and schools will have greater flexibility to attract and retain the best teachers

• Schools and councils will have to work together when it comes to school admissions, with councils given greater powers to ensure admissions decisions reflect local needs including the placement of vulnerable children

• Failing schools run by local authorities will not be automatically forced to become an academy, opening up a broader range of levers to quickly drive-up standards.

Commenting on the bill, CEO of Kinship, Lucy Peake said: “The government’s Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill…is further recognition of the vital role that kinship carers are playing in the lives of more than 141,000 children across England and Wales. However, it falls short of delivering the vital educational and mental health support which children in kinship care urgently need.

“The government has said that the bill focuses on making sure no child falls through gaps between different services and that families can get help when they need it, but it doesn’t sufficiently address the huge disparity in access to educational and therapeutic support between children in kinship care and those in local authority care.

“Our recent Forgotten report revealed how an uneven and inadequate landscape of support is preventing children in kinship care getting the help they need with their education and mental health. Almost a third of children in kinship care (31 per cent) have diagnosed or suspected social, emotional or mental health needs, and too many are missing out on support to help them heal from experiences of trauma, separation and loss.

“We will push for amendments to the bill which recognise the unique needs and experiences of kinship children and look to introduce additional support to give them the best chance of success at school and beyond.”