😊 Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

• Corporate Parenting Responsibilities: New clauses 18 to 22 extend the duty of “corporate parenting” to relevant public bodies and local authorities. This means they must be alert to the wellbeing of looked-after children and care leavers, assess services available to them, and provide opportunities to enhance their employment prospects and overall wellbeing.

• Support for Care Leavers: The Bill, as amended, strengthens support for care leavers up to age 25 by requiring local authorities to publish a local offer detailing the support and assistance provided during their transition to adulthood and independent living. This includes support for accommodation.

• Family Group Decision Making: The Bill encourages earlier intervention by offering family group decision making before formal child protection proceedings, aiming to keep families together where appropriate.

• Kinship Care: Significant investment (£400 million) has been committed to a kinship financial allowance pilot. Although specific new rights like kinship care leave were not added, existing workplace employment rights support kinship carers, and schools can direct pupil premium funds to pupils in kinship care.

• Adoption Support: While a formal review of adoption support services was not mandated, Ofsted already reports regularly on these services as part of local authority inspections.

• National Care Offer: There was a call for a national care offer to ensure consistent support for care leavers across different local authorities, but the Bill does not currently include this measure.

• Health Assessments for Children in Care: The Bill retains existing requirements for health assessments of children in care, which must include evaluations of their emotional and mental health.

• Temporary Accommodation Notification: A proposed requirement for local authorities to notify schools and GPs when children are placed in temporary accommodation was not adopted, but the Government has committed to further discussion on the matter.

• Children in Secure Accommodation: The Bill maintains stringent regulations for the deprivation of liberty for children, with plans for additional regulations regarding children under 13.

• Ban on Physical Punishment: Proposals to ban the use of the common law defense of reasonable punishment for physical punishment were noted, but the Government awaits further evidence from recent legal changes in Wales and Scotland.

• Child Sexual Abuse Prevention: The Government is committed to acting on recommendations from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, including the establishment of a child protection authority.

• Mobile Phones in Schools: Despite calls from the opposition for a legislative ban on mobile phones in schools, the Government reaffirmed existing guidance and plans to monitor implementation, highlighting recent announcements about studies and forthcoming advice from the chief medical officer.

The session exhibits a moderate level of disagreement. The primary areas of contention include debates over new clauses and amendments proposed by various MPs, ranging across parties, indicating diverse viewpoints on specific issues within the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. The disagreement is not overtly hostile but indicates differences in policy approaches and priorities.

Examples of disagreements include:

1. New Clause 36 (Mobile Phones in Schools): There was notable contention over new clause 36, proposed by the Conservative party, to ban mobile phones in schools. Neil O’Brien strongly supported this ban, arguing that the current guidance was insufficient and emphasizing the negative impact of smartphones on children’s mental health and education. However, the government has not accepted this amendment, with Stephen Morgan indicating a preference for existing measures and monitoring rather than introducing new legislation. This represents a clear policy dispute.

2. New Clause 8 (Abolition of Common Law Defense of Reasonable Punishment): Jess Asato’s proposal to abolish the defense of reasonable punishment saw support from members across parties, including Munira Wilson and Carla Denyer, who argued that physical punishment is a form of abuse. However, Stephen Morgan mentioned the government’s intention to review evidence before deciding on such a significant legislative step, indicating a divergence in the urgency and approach to this issue.

3. New Clauses 25 to 28 (Support for Kinship Carers): Munira Wilson proposed extending rights to kinship care leave and financial allowances, among other support measures. While Stephen Morgan acknowledged the importance of kinship care, he pointed to existing pilots and funding commitments as sufficient steps, suggesting a disagreement on the necessity and scope of additional legislative support.

4. New Clause 14 (Notification for Children in Temporary Accommodation): Dame Siobhain McDonagh’s push for mandatory notification to schools and GPs of children placed in temporary accommodation was not supported by the government, despite strong arguments presented about the risks and challenges faced by these children. Stephen Morgan, while not accepting the new clause, committed to further engagement on the issue, indicating a disagreement on immediate action versus continued discussion.

Despite these areas of disagreement, many aspects of the Bill received support, and the session was marked by constructive dialogue, with members expressing willingness to work together to improve the bill. Therefore, a rating of 3 is justified as there is evident disagreement, but it is managed within a collaborative framework.