The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill - What You Need to Know

Please Educate Yourself On This

This post is written by Poppy Coles, a now-adult member of the UK home education community. I'm re-posting it here, word for word, because she's explained things far better than I could've done and because it's so important to get the word out about this. Please read:

“If there's one positive thing you do today, please choose NOT to scroll past this VITAL post...

The government's proposed Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill is set to affect each and every parent and child currently residing in England and Wales and will drastically reshape the relationship between families and the state.

The concerned voices of those who are already standing up against this bill, however, are remaining largely unheard; drowned out by the forceful rhetoric of a government which persistently (and falsely) hails the bill as a champion of children's wellbeing, claiming it will bring only positive outcomes to all whom it's set to affect. This, however, is far from the truth.

In reality, the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill will severely infringe on the rights of both children and parents, placing an increasing level of power in the hands of the state. It's an affront on parental rights and responsibility, regardless of whether you're a home educating parent or take advantage of the school system, and undermines a parent's ability to judge what's best for their child, with the new government policies surrounding children all seeking to pass an ever larger proportion of their care to the state, threatening the bond between parent and child.

It consistently reinforces these actions through proposals such as:

👉 Introducing powers for local authorities to deny deregistration of a child from a school setting if they attend a special or independent school under local authority arrangements, or if they're under a Section 47 investigation or protection plan. Section 47 investigations in particular often find no cause for concern, so this new measure threatens to disproportionately act against a child's wellbeing, with local authorities given the ability to insist a child remain in school, regardless of a parent or guardian's opinion.

👉 Introducing a compulsory Children Not In School register, requiring home educating parents/guardians to impart a huge, unrealistic amount of data regarding their children, families and educational provision, all to be judged under stricter monitoring by local authorities who have little understanding of the ethos and diverse nature of home education. This will have far reaching, negative effects on all home educating families.

👉 Giving local authorities the power to demand home visits if educational provision is brought under question, with threats of school attendance orders and prison sentences if this request is denied by parents/guardians. This directly infringes on our right to a private life, and will seriously impact the wellbeing of many home educating families, particularly those with SEN.

👉 Enforcing a duty for academies to follow the National Curriculum, restricting the ability to offer a more diverse and independently led education, forcing academies to run in line with the standardised, one-size-fits-all experience offered in state funded schools.

👉 Introducing a Single Unique Identifier for every child, allowing personal data to be shared between multiple parties. This poses a huge data protection risk, with potential for abuse and breaches.

This is just a brief outline of the main concerns with the bill, but the proposed legislation as a whole will act to remove any form of autonomy in education and greatly diminish the quality of education many children receive, restrict a parent/guardian's right to educate their child other than at school, and risk discriminating against many children and families, particularly those with SEN. Many SEN families or those with children struggling in school are already targeted by harsh punishments and non-attendance fines if they struggle to attend a school setting, and many are being outpriced by newly implemented VAT charges on private schools, which offer a vital alternative for many SEN children. The bill will only accentuate these struggles. Mine is not an opinion based on scaremongering, but one based on lived experience; a broad experience of neurodivergence, school trauma and home education.

As a long standing member of the home education community, I have a deep understanding of its dynamics, and feel confident in my interpretation of the negative impacts the bill will have on home educating families in particular. In this regard it oversteps lawful boundaries, breaching several acts which were put in place to protect our rights, all with the effect of targeting a minority community whose only aim is to provide a tailored educational experience based on the individual needs of their children in an environment which allows them space and time to thrive.

Our school system is outdated and broken, but this bill does nothing to address these deep routed problems, from a lack of SEND support to huge increases in mental health issues amongst students. Rather than addressing these failings, the bill's clauses consistently push for more children to be forced to attend a school setting which is in desperate need of reform, and those in government pushing for its implementation are working hard to suggest that school is the best and safest place for every child. This, however, is far removed from the experiences of so many families who find that the rigid, pressurised and often overwhelming environment of school has detrimentally effected their children's wellbeing, particularly in cases where bullying or unmet needs have played a part. These families rely on the ability to educate their children in an alternative setting in order to improve their child's welfare. In direct action against this, the bill will act to weaken a parent/guardian's opportunities to utilise such an avenue, threatening to use increased powers to ensure that an increasing number of children attend a school setting, regardless of the suffering it may cause them.

These proposed measures will be costly, invasive and will give no further protection for children at risk. The existing rights and freedoms of educational choice so many families currently benefit from as alternative to mainstream education should be protected, whilst government funding should instead be used to improve our education systems to make them more accessible to those who do wish to access them, as well as ensuring current, established safeguarding procedures are more effectively used. There's already sufficient measures in place to protect all vulnerable children, and I find it wrong that it's children and families as a whole who will suffer under harsh legislation, simply due to the failings of those who already hold the power to protect those at risk.

Many have already been fighting tirelessly against the bill since it was revealed on 17th December 2024, from taking part in online campaigns to 'March For Children' protests, but it's vital we ALL stand against this bill. This is not a campaign aligned to any one party, and is bigger than any single issue. Many who've already joined along have vastly differing worldviews, but we're all united in our singular aim - to stop the overreaches of the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, and to protect the rights of ALL children and their parents, now and in the future.

No matter who we are, or whether the threats will directly affect us, it's vital we ALL stand together whenever the value of any rights are in peril, for, if not your own rights today, yours may soon be at risk tomorrow.

We will all know individuals who will feel the effects of this legislation if passed, or may be personally affected by it in the future, so it's paramount that we ALL take the time to understand the detrimental impact this bill will have on our basic freedoms. If such a law is passed through it will give the government grounds to propose yet more heavy handed bills, with the ability to irrevocably affect all our lives.

📣 We're calling on YOU to educate yourself on the bill and its dangerous clauses, in as small or large a way as you feel able. I know our lives are all so busy and legislation can seem so overwhelming, but campaigners are working hard to present the information in an accessible way, so we can all grasp the gravity of the situation.

You can find out more information about the bill on Fiona Nicholson's brilliant Ed Yourself website. Follow this link to find out more:

https://edyourself.org/faq-2-childrens-wellbeing-bill/

You can find many posts highlighting the concerns about the bill and how we can all play a part in the campaign by searching the hashtag #AreYouListeningNow on all social media platforms.

This open letter perfectly sums up all that's wrong with the bill and the state's idea of education, backed up with plenty of evidence. It's well worth a read:

https://happyparentandchildinitiative.co.uk/blog/f/schools-bill-a-threat-to-child-wellbeing---are-you-listening-now

If you feel confident you can also take a look at the bill itself on the government's website:

https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3909

📣 Add your name to the petitions listed on the site linked below. This simple act can make a huge difference:

https://qr.link/nzE4Le

There's also more simple actions to take here:

https://doingeducationdifferently.co.uk/take_part/

📣 Take a look at Michael Charles' page. As a specialist solicitor in education law, special needs law and human rights, he is tirelessly campaigning against this bill and highlighting the disastrous effects it will have on so many. Here's a link to his page:

https://www.facebook.com/share/1EfEFEp56n/

📣 Write to your local MP to highlight your concerns about the bill, and ask for them to stand up on your behalf in Parliament and support any amendments which will see a reduction of risk if the bill is passed through.

📣 And do make sure to follow the Stop the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill page to find more inspiration for positive actions you can take, and to keep up with news on the campaign:

https://www.facebook.com/share/1VppCucTmL/

Following London's 'March For Children' protest on 18th May, a Labour source claimed that "nothing is going to stop this Labour government from delivering educational excellence for every child, and certainly not today’s sparsely attended protest". We need to show the government that we DO NOT believe in this bill or their approaches to achieving their view of "educational excellence". We need to show the true number of people who oppose this bill, and make our voices loud and clear for all in power to hear.

📣 If you would have attended the 'March For Children' protests but were unable to, or did not hear about it 'til now, you can add your name to this petition to show the government a true representation of how many people actually support the protest against the bill:

https://www.change.org/p/count-us-as-having-attended-the-london-rally-against-children-s-wellbeing-and-schools-bill

As an autistic adult now in my mid twenties I've concluded my own educational journey, but I'm fighting for all those like me who struggle in school and need the choice of an alternative education in order to thrive. This is a fight for us all, so please join along and add your own voice to the campaign.

📣 You can help raise further awareness by SHARING THIS POST AS FAR AND WIDE AS POSSIBLE, by instigating conversations about the bill with your friends, family and colleagues etc., and by posting about the bill on your social media accounts, making sure to use hashtags like: #AreYouListeningNow #SaveOurChildrensRights #MarchForChildren #StoptheCWSBill #StoptheChildrensWellbeingSchoolsBill “

Thank you to Poppy Coles for this brilliant explanation and helpful links on the subject.