Found: Through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, we are introducing corporate parenting responsibilities

Found: the new corporate parenting duty on health partners, contained with the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Found: Likewise, in the then Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill Baroness Kidron had an amendment on AI chatbots

Found: .69 64 Children Act 1989, section 22H as amended by section 5 of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Found: programme, with full national implementation expected by March 2027; the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Found: Non-Domestic Rating (Multiplier and Private Schools) Bill Correspondence from the Minister of State

Found: Peck CBE as Chair of the Office for Students HC 731 2nd Scrutiny of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Found: Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 18 Closed on 25 October 2025 Withdraw the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Found: motion “That this House has considered e- petition 722377 relating to the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Found: Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill The Committee considered this matter.

Found: Through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, the Department for Education should introduce legislative

Found: without any legal protection from the government. 9 Barnardo’s (2025) Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Found: //bills.parliament.uk/bills/3909 [6] Department for Education (2026) Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Found: : The Government is delivering this manifesto commitment through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Found: The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill in England (2025) proposes implementing a Single Unique Identifier

Found: The new placeholder for a single unique Digital ID in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill is likely

Found: During the passage of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, we committed to consulting on a scheme

Found: Children’s Well-being and Schools Bill – children’s rights statutory duty amendments 21.

Found: The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill currently going through Parliament will introduce a new mandate

Found: There is currently a proposed amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools bill that would include

Found: The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill: an opportunity to strengthen protection for children’s rights

Found: The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, if enacted in its current form, will place a duty on local

Found: reliance on these orders, the government has proposed reforms in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Found: The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill amends s.25 of the Children’s Act to provide a statutory framework

Found: within updated statutory guidance and as a new legal duty within the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Found: acknowledges that the government is seeking to address this problem in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Found: should be extended to all children in care who have suffered trauma. the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Found: .  Clause 22 of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill risks excluding immigration functions from

Found: through Parliament.24 We recommend a similar amendment be made to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Found: When the Government introduced the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, it was important to undertake

Found: peers on the legislative efforts to tackle social media harms in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Found: Whilst uniform costs and the measures in the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill are included in the

Found: coordinating voices across the sector and tabling amendments on targets to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Found: This duty, as introduced in the proposed Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, can ensure the monitoring

Found: coordinating voices across the sector and tabling amendments on targets to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Found: This duty, as introduced in the proposed Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, can ensure the monitoring

Found: Whilst uniform costs and the measures in the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill are included in the

Found: responsibilities is currently being legislated through the developing Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Found: peers on the legislative efforts to tackle social media harms in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Found: to the extension of corporate parenting responsibilities within the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Found: We broadly welcome the attempts being made in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, to place much

Found: Peck CBE as Chair of the Office for Students HC 731 2nd Scrutiny of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Found: Peck CBE as Chair of the Office for Students HC 731 2nd Scrutiny of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Found: enable delivery on new powers envisaged as part of the Government’s Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Found: Q28 Mr Dillon: As part of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, we had unique identifier numbers

Falling pupil numbers drive budget pressures for schools, most of whose funding is provided on a per-pupil basis, as facilities and senior staffing costs are relatively static. In 2023/24, 14.7% of local authority-run schools were in debt, up from 7.9% six years earlier. The IfG estimates that empty school places account for almost two-fifths of that rise.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 on the home school register.

Answered by Olivia Bailey

The Children Not in School measures in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, when implemented, will require local authorities in England and Wales to maintain registers of children who are not in school, including home-educated children.

The department has published impact assessments considering a broad range of impacts of the measures, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/childrens-wellbeing-and-schools-bill-impact-assessments. These include the regulatory impact assessment for the measures which outlines estimated costs to businesses and households. More information on the regulatory impact assessment is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67dd5d05d8e313b503358c04/Children_Not_in_School.pdf.

We have assessed that the measures will result in new burdens for local authorities. We are currently conducting a full new burdens assessment to establish the exact amount of additional funding required by local authorities in England to fulfil the new duties, including the support duty. Further evidence for this assessment will be gathered through a public consultation ahead of implementation of the measures.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the annual cost of the statutory duty introduced in the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 to provide support to home-educating families who request it.

Answered by Olivia Bailey

The Children Not in School measures in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, when implemented, will require local authorities in England and Wales to maintain registers of children who are not in school, including home-educated children.

The department has published impact assessments considering a broad range of impacts of the measures, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/childrens-wellbeing-and-schools-bill-impact-assessments. These include the regulatory impact assessment for the measures which outlines estimated costs to businesses and households. More information on the regulatory impact assessment is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67dd5d05d8e313b503358c04/Children_Not_in_School.pdf.

We have assessed that the measures will result in new burdens for local authorities. We are currently conducting a full new burdens assessment to establish the exact amount of additional funding required by local authorities in England to fulfil the new duties, including the support duty. Further evidence for this assessment will be gathered through a public consultation ahead of implementation of the measures.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish an impact assessment of the provisions in Part 2 (Sections 24–29) of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill; and what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of those provisions on (a) children and young people with Education, Health and Care Plans and (b) children experiencing mental health difficulties.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The department has published impact assessments considering a broad range of impacts of provisions in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026.

Under the Public Sector Equality Duty, all public authorities, including government departments, must give due regard to equality considerations, including the impact on disabled people.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help reduce the number of avoidable severe allergic reactions in (a) Yeovil constituency, (b) Somerset and (c) England.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

Last year, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence approved two sublingual immunotherapy treatments for moderate to severe allergic rhinitis.

National Health Service partners in Somerset encourage all patients with a diagnosis of severe allergy to have prescribed and to carry with them an adrenaline injection device which when used early enough in a severe allergy response can prevent patient harm and admission.

Over the past five years, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has delivered a substantial programme of work to improve allergy safety in restaurants and food businesses, including in Yeovil. The FSA published new best practice guidance in March 2025 to improve allergen information when eating out. The FSA has also expanded its free online allergen training, which has now been taken by over one million people since 2020. Through this work, the FSA is aiming to enable people with food allergies to make informed and safe choices and trust the food that they receive.

The Department for Education is developing new statutory guidance which will significantly strengthen how schools support pupils with allergy. The Government has also amended the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to place a new statutory duty on schools to develop and publish an allergy safety policy, and to give powers to my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, to make regulations relating to allergy safety, including requiring schools to stock adrenaline devices, to secure allergy awareness training, and to record and report incidents of near misses. These measures should help to prevent instances of children experiencing severe allergic reactions while at school.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that children who spend the majority of their schooling hours in religious education are enabled to take national examinations and apply for admission to higher education institutions.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

State‑funded schools with a religious character may teach religious education in line with their faith, but they are subject to the same requirements as other state‑funded schools to promote community cohesion and to teach a broad and balanced curriculum.

Since 2014, all schools, including independent schools and those with a religious character or ethos, have been required to actively promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance for those of different faiths and beliefs.

Independent schools with a religious character or ethos must be registered with my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and meet the Independent School Standards, which set minimum requirements relating to safeguarding, the quality of education, and pupils’ welfare. The Standards include, among other things, a requirement to teach a broad curriculum.

The government assesses the sufficiency of education through the inspection and regulatory framework. All registered schools are inspected by Ofsted, and the Secretary of State has statutory powers to intervene where standards are not met.

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill includes measures to strengthen the regulation and oversight of independent schools and will bring additional full-time educational settings, including some which provide a religious education, within the same regulatory regime as independent schools.

The government does not routinely monitor examination entry or progression to higher education for pupils in independent schools, as responsibility rests with schools and parents.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that religious education offered to children who spend the majority of their schooling hours in religious schools does not promote hostility towards religions other than their own.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

State‑funded schools with a religious character may teach religious education in line with their faith, but they are subject to the same requirements as other state‑funded schools to promote community cohesion and to teach a broad and balanced curriculum.

Since 2014, all schools, including independent schools and those with a religious character or ethos, have been required to actively promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance for those of different faiths and beliefs.

Independent schools with a religious character or ethos must be registered with my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and meet the Independent School Standards, which set minimum requirements relating to safeguarding, the quality of education, and pupils’ welfare. The Standards include, among other things, a requirement to teach a broad curriculum.

The government assesses the sufficiency of education through the inspection and regulatory framework. All registered schools are inspected by Ofsted, and the Secretary of State has statutory powers to intervene where standards are not met.

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill includes measures to strengthen the regulation and oversight of independent schools and will bring additional full-time educational settings, including some which provide a religious education, within the same regulatory regime as independent schools.

The government does not routinely monitor examination entry or progression to higher education for pupils in independent schools, as responsibility rests with schools and parents.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the sufficiency of secular education offered to schoolchildren who spend the majority of their schooling hours in religious schools.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

State‑funded schools with a religious character may teach religious education in line with their faith, but they are subject to the same requirements as other state‑funded schools to promote community cohesion and to teach a broad and balanced curriculum.

Since 2014, all schools, including independent schools and those with a religious character or ethos, have been required to actively promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance for those of different faiths and beliefs.

Independent schools with a religious character or ethos must be registered with my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and meet the Independent School Standards, which set minimum requirements relating to safeguarding, the quality of education, and pupils’ welfare. The Standards include, among other things, a requirement to teach a broad curriculum.

The government assesses the sufficiency of education through the inspection and regulatory framework. All registered schools are inspected by Ofsted, and the Secretary of State has statutory powers to intervene where standards are not met.

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill includes measures to strengthen the regulation and oversight of independent schools and will bring additional full-time educational settings, including some which provide a religious education, within the same regulatory regime as independent schools.

The government does not routinely monitor examination entry or progression to higher education for pupils in independent schools, as responsibility rests with schools and parents.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the cost of providing free GCSE and A-level examinations for home-schooled pupils; and what assessment they have made of the potential benefits of such provision.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The government provides funding to state schools and colleges which covers examination entries for students who are on roll. When a parent chooses to educate their child outside of the school system, for any reason, they take on full responsibility for their child’s education, including all associated costs, such as examination fees. For this reason, the department has not made an estimate of the cost of providing free GCSE and A level examinations for home-educated pupils or an assessment of the potential benefits of such provision.

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will introduce a new requirement for local authorities to provide information on accessing GCSE examinations to home-educating families in their areas who are registered with them and who request it. We will provide additional funding to support local authorities to fulfil their new duties.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the proposed 15 day limit for local authority visits to home educated children in the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill would apply during school holidays.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will empower local authorities to request to see a child in any of the homes in which the child lives within 15 days of the local authority recording the child’s home address(es) on their Children Not in School (CNIS) registers. The 15-day timeframe applies, irrespective of school holidays. After this point, the Bill also empowers local authorities to request a home visit for the purpose of determining whether to serve a preliminary notice or School Attendance Order (SAO).

If the parent on whom the request was made refuses the home visit, the local authority must take this into account when deciding whether to issue a preliminary notice or a SAO. As is the case now, parents of children subject to a SAO would only be subject to sanctions, such as fines, if found guilty in court of the offence of breaching the order. Parents may be found guilty if they do not enrol their child at the named school and are unable to demonstrate that they are providing a suitable education for their child and/or, where relevant, that education outside of a school is in their child’s best interests.

The department does not currently collect data on the number of home visits carried out by local authorities in relation to home educated children, nor on the living arrangements or family dynamics of those children.

However, we will provide local authorities with additional funding to support them to carry out their new duties. The amount of funding will be determined via a new burdens assessment.

We will also provide statutory guidance, which will be publicly consulted on, and a training package to support parents and local authorities to understand how the CNIS measures should work in practice, including how the measures apply in situations where children live across more than one household.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the proposed 15 day limit for local authority visits to home educated children in the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill would apply to (a) requesting the visit, (b) finalising arrangements for a visit or (c) carrying out the visit.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will empower local authorities to request to see a child in any of the homes in which the child lives within 15 days of the local authority recording the child’s home address(es) on their Children Not in School (CNIS) registers. The 15-day timeframe applies, irrespective of school holidays. After this point, the Bill also empowers local authorities to request a home visit for the purpose of determining whether to serve a preliminary notice or School Attendance Order (SAO).

If the parent on whom the request was made refuses the home visit, the local authority must take this into account when deciding whether to issue a preliminary notice or a SAO. As is the case now, parents of children subject to a SAO would only be subject to sanctions, such as fines, if found guilty in court of the offence of breaching the order. Parents may be found guilty if they do not enrol their child at the named school and are unable to demonstrate that they are providing a suitable education for their child and/or, where relevant, that education outside of a school is in their child’s best interests.

The department does not currently collect data on the number of home visits carried out by local authorities in relation to home educated children, nor on the living arrangements or family dynamics of those children.

However, we will provide local authorities with additional funding to support them to carry out their new duties. The amount of funding will be determined via a new burdens assessment.

We will also provide statutory guidance, which will be publicly consulted on, and a training package to support parents and local authorities to understand how the CNIS measures should work in practice, including how the measures apply in situations where children live across more than one household.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the cost to local authorities of the provisions in the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill on visiting home educated children, including travel time.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will empower local authorities to request to see a child in any of the homes in which the child lives within 15 days of the local authority recording the child’s home address(es) on their Children Not in School (CNIS) registers. The 15-day timeframe applies, irrespective of school holidays. After this point, the Bill also empowers local authorities to request a home visit for the purpose of determining whether to serve a preliminary notice or School Attendance Order (SAO).

If the parent on whom the request was made refuses the home visit, the local authority must take this into account when deciding whether to issue a preliminary notice or a SAO. As is the case now, parents of children subject to a SAO would only be subject to sanctions, such as fines, if found guilty in court of the offence of breaching the order. Parents may be found guilty if they do not enrol their child at the named school and are unable to demonstrate that they are providing a suitable education for their child and/or, where relevant, that education outside of a school is in their child’s best interests.

The department does not currently collect data on the number of home visits carried out by local authorities in relation to home educated children, nor on the living arrangements or family dynamics of those children.

However, we will provide local authorities with additional funding to support them to carry out their new duties. The amount of funding will be determined via a new burdens assessment.

We will also provide statutory guidance, which will be publicly consulted on, and a training package to support parents and local authorities to understand how the CNIS measures should work in practice, including how the measures apply in situations where children live across more than one household.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of visiting several homes, including where the non-resident parent lives out of the area, on local authorities under provisions in the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill for local authorities to visit home educated children at more than one home.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will empower local authorities to request to see a child in any of the homes in which the child lives within 15 days of the local authority recording the child’s home address(es) on their Children Not in School (CNIS) registers. The 15-day timeframe applies, irrespective of school holidays. After this point, the Bill also empowers local authorities to request a home visit for the purpose of determining whether to serve a preliminary notice or School Attendance Order (SAO).

If the parent on whom the request was made refuses the home visit, the local authority must take this into account when deciding whether to issue a preliminary notice or a SAO. As is the case now, parents of children subject to a SAO would only be subject to sanctions, such as fines, if found guilty in court of the offence of breaching the order. Parents may be found guilty if they do not enrol their child at the named school and are unable to demonstrate that they are providing a suitable education for their child and/or, where relevant, that education outside of a school is in their child’s best interests.

The department does not currently collect data on the number of home visits carried out by local authorities in relation to home educated children, nor on the living arrangements or family dynamics of those children.

However, we will provide local authorities with additional funding to support them to carry out their new duties. The amount of funding will be determined via a new burdens assessment.

We will also provide statutory guidance, which will be publicly consulted on, and a training package to support parents and local authorities to understand how the CNIS measures should work in practice, including how the measures apply in situations where children live across more than one household.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the resident parent will be subject to sanctions if the non-resident parent refuses a visit request under provisions in the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill for local authorities to visit home educated children at more than one home.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will empower local authorities to request to see a child in any of the homes in which the child lives within 15 days of the local authority recording the child’s home address(es) on their Children Not in School (CNIS) registers. The 15-day timeframe applies, irrespective of school holidays. After this point, the Bill also empowers local authorities to request a home visit for the purpose of determining whether to serve a preliminary notice or School Attendance Order (SAO).

If the parent on whom the request was made refuses the home visit, the local authority must take this into account when deciding whether to issue a preliminary notice or a SAO. As is the case now, parents of children subject to a SAO would only be subject to sanctions, such as fines, if found guilty in court of the offence of breaching the order. Parents may be found guilty if they do not enrol their child at the named school and are unable to demonstrate that they are providing a suitable education for their child and/or, where relevant, that education outside of a school is in their child’s best interests.

The department does not currently collect data on the number of home visits carried out by local authorities in relation to home educated children, nor on the living arrangements or family dynamics of those children.

However, we will provide local authorities with additional funding to support them to carry out their new duties. The amount of funding will be determined via a new burdens assessment.

We will also provide statutory guidance, which will be publicly consulted on, and a training package to support parents and local authorities to understand how the CNIS measures should work in practice, including how the measures apply in situations where children live across more than one household.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the non-resident parent will be subject to sanctions if the resident parent refuses a visit request under provisions in the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill for local authorities to visit home educated children at more than one home.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will empower local authorities to request to see a child in any of the homes in which the child lives within 15 days of the local authority recording the child’s home address(es) on their Children Not in School (CNIS) registers. The 15-day timeframe applies, irrespective of school holidays. After this point, the Bill also empowers local authorities to request a home visit for the purpose of determining whether to serve a preliminary notice or School Attendance Order (SAO).

If the parent on whom the request was made refuses the home visit, the local authority must take this into account when deciding whether to issue a preliminary notice or a SAO. As is the case now, parents of children subject to a SAO would only be subject to sanctions, such as fines, if found guilty in court of the offence of breaching the order. Parents may be found guilty if they do not enrol their child at the named school and are unable to demonstrate that they are providing a suitable education for their child and/or, where relevant, that education outside of a school is in their child’s best interests.

The department does not currently collect data on the number of home visits carried out by local authorities in relation to home educated children, nor on the living arrangements or family dynamics of those children.

However, we will provide local authorities with additional funding to support them to carry out their new duties. The amount of funding will be determined via a new burdens assessment.

We will also provide statutory guidance, which will be publicly consulted on, and a training package to support parents and local authorities to understand how the CNIS measures should work in practice, including how the measures apply in situations where children live across more than one household.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department holds information on the number of home educated children with separated parents living at different addresses.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will empower local authorities to request to see a child in any of the homes in which the child lives within 15 days of the local authority recording the child’s home address(es) on their Children Not in School (CNIS) registers. The 15-day timeframe applies, irrespective of school holidays. After this point, the Bill also empowers local authorities to request a home visit for the purpose of determining whether to serve a preliminary notice or School Attendance Order (SAO).

If the parent on whom the request was made refuses the home visit, the local authority must take this into account when deciding whether to issue a preliminary notice or a SAO. As is the case now, parents of children subject to a SAO would only be subject to sanctions, such as fines, if found guilty in court of the offence of breaching the order. Parents may be found guilty if they do not enrol their child at the named school and are unable to demonstrate that they are providing a suitable education for their child and/or, where relevant, that education outside of a school is in their child’s best interests.

The department does not currently collect data on the number of home visits carried out by local authorities in relation to home educated children, nor on the living arrangements or family dynamics of those children.

However, we will provide local authorities with additional funding to support them to carry out their new duties. The amount of funding will be determined via a new burdens assessment.

We will also provide statutory guidance, which will be publicly consulted on, and a training package to support parents and local authorities to understand how the CNIS measures should work in practice, including how the measures apply in situations where children live across more than one household.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department holds information on the number of visits carried out by local authorities to home educated children.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will empower local authorities to request to see a child in any of the homes in which the child lives within 15 days of the local authority recording the child’s home address(es) on their Children Not in School (CNIS) registers. The 15-day timeframe applies, irrespective of school holidays. After this point, the Bill also empowers local authorities to request a home visit for the purpose of determining whether to serve a preliminary notice or School Attendance Order (SAO).

If the parent on whom the request was made refuses the home visit, the local authority must take this into account when deciding whether to issue a preliminary notice or a SAO. As is the case now, parents of children subject to a SAO would only be subject to sanctions, such as fines, if found guilty in court of the offence of breaching the order. Parents may be found guilty if they do not enrol their child at the named school and are unable to demonstrate that they are providing a suitable education for their child and/or, where relevant, that education outside of a school is in their child’s best interests.

The department does not currently collect data on the number of home visits carried out by local authorities in relation to home educated children, nor on the living arrangements or family dynamics of those children.

However, we will provide local authorities with additional funding to support them to carry out their new duties. The amount of funding will be determined via a new burdens assessment.

We will also provide statutory guidance, which will be publicly consulted on, and a training package to support parents and local authorities to understand how the CNIS measures should work in practice, including how the measures apply in situations where children live across more than one household.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether parents will be sanctioned if the child will not agree to a meeting under provisions in the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill for local authorities to visit home educated children at more than one home.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will empower local authorities to request to see a child in any of the homes in which the child lives within 15 days of the local authority recording the child’s home address(es) on their Children Not in School (CNIS) registers. The 15-day timeframe applies, irrespective of school holidays. After this point, the Bill also empowers local authorities to request a home visit for the purpose of determining whether to serve a preliminary notice or School Attendance Order (SAO).

If the parent on whom the request was made refuses the home visit, the local authority must take this into account when deciding whether to issue a preliminary notice or a SAO. As is the case now, parents of children subject to a SAO would only be subject to sanctions, such as fines, if found guilty in court of the offence of breaching the order. Parents may be found guilty if they do not enrol their child at the named school and are unable to demonstrate that they are providing a suitable education for their child and/or, where relevant, that education outside of a school is in their child’s best interests.

The department does not currently collect data on the number of home visits carried out by local authorities in relation to home educated children, nor on the living arrangements or family dynamics of those children.

However, we will provide local authorities with additional funding to support them to carry out their new duties. The amount of funding will be determined via a new burdens assessment.

We will also provide statutory guidance, which will be publicly consulted on, and a training package to support parents and local authorities to understand how the CNIS measures should work in practice, including how the measures apply in situations where children live across more than one household.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support access to education for children from vulnerable and marginalised families.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity so that all children can achieve and thrive.

The ‘Every Child Achieving and Thriving’ White Paper sets out steps to improve school readiness through family support, strengthen teacher recruitment and retention, and broaden curriculum and enrichment opportunities, ensuring funding is targeted where it’s needed most.

The guidance ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ recognises that vulnerable pupils, including those with special educational needs or mental health challenges, may face greater barriers. The guidance is clear that schools should take a support-first approach. Wider attendance barriers are also being addressed through breakfast clubs, improved mental health support, and strengthened guidance on identifying and supporting Children Missing Education.

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will also support access to education by improving the identification of children not in school and introducing new duties on local authorities to support home education, including providing information on access to GCSE examinations when requested by families.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to help improve the health and wellbeing of children living in temporary accommodation.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Homelessness levels are far too high, and this can have a devastating impact on those affected, especially children.

The Child Poverty Strategy and our National Plan to End Homelessness set out our commitments to eradicate unsuitable or poor-quality accommodation and ensure children in temporary accommodation do not experience gaps in health care provision or disruption to their education.

This includes our commitment to eliminate the unlawful use of Bed & Breakfast accommodation for families by the end of this Parliament and improve the supply of good quality temporary accommodation.

Alongside this, the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will provide the strongest protections in a generation, making sure vulnerable children are identified and supported. We are also introducing a new temporary accommodation notification duty, to inform schools and specified health providers when a child is placed in temporary accommodation, to allow additional or different support to be provided to these children.

We will ensure families in temporary accommodation are proactively contacted by health services, and have committed to introduce a new clinical code, to improve data and improve outcomes in temporary accommodation, and end the practice of discharging newborns into Bed and Breakfast or other unsuitable shared accommodation.

We have also set out our ambition to cut school days lost for children in temporary accommodation, backed by data so that targeted support can be provided more effectively. To achieve this, there will be a stronger role for pastoral teams to work closely with families in temporary accommodation including preventing unlawful removal from a school’s roll.

Found: Policing Bill to combat illegal content related to AI chatbots and the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Found: Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill: Fifth Supplementary Delegated Powers Memorandum

Found: Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill: Sixth Supplementary Delegated Powers Memorandum

Found: other organisations) should NOT be recorded. 77 Through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Found: Through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, all state-funded schools with primary- aged pupils

Found: changes to multi agency working ahead of any legislation changes in the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Found: future iterations will reflect the progress into legislation of the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Found: changes to multi agency working ahead of any legislation changes in the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Found: The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill is now an Act of Parliament, and a range of important delivery

Found: The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, when it passes into law, will extend corporate parenting

Found: Refer to the National Archives for previous versions of the document: Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Found: legislation that have occurred over the parliamentary passage of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Found: support for Wales’ involvement in the CNIS measures within the then Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Found: safety policy in schools The allergy safety duties introduced by the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Found: the National Archives for previous versions of the impact assessments: Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Found: 2024, through the King’s speech, the government committed to deliver a Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Found: anticipate that this measure in conjunction with other measures within the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools bill

Found: contact in the family courts due to evidence of potential harm, the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Found: The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill (if enacted) would require all academy teachers to have Qualified

Found: The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill (if enacted) would require all academy teachers to have Qualified

Found: • The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill: The child employment clauses in this Bill will amend

Found: • The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill: This Bill will introduce measures to ensure children

Found: Schools

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Found: 2025 • Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 • Armed Forces Bill • Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Found: . • The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, to protect children and raise standards in education.

Found: The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill (if enacted) would require all academy teachers to have Qualified

Found: The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill (if enacted) would require all academy teachers to have Qualified

Found: MoJ, DfE and DHSC should use the opportunities presented by the new Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Found: The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, when it passes into law, will extend corporate parenting

Found: The Education (Careers Guidance in Schools) Bill will extend the existing duty on maintained schools

Found: The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill is now an Act of Parliament, and a range of important delivery

Found: Background The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill was introduced to Parliament in December 2024 and