Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Baroness Grey-Thompson Excerpts

Thursday 1st May 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Grey-Thompson (CB)]

My Lords, I draw noble Lords’ attention to my entry in the register of interests: I am president of the LGA, chair of Sport Wales, chair of the Duke of Edinburgh Awards and a trustee of the Foundation of Light. I thank ALLFIE, the Alliance for Inclusive Education, for its briefing and for its commitment to improving education for disabled children.

The Bill before us presents a valuable opportunity to enhance the well-being of our children and ensure that no child falls through the gaps—sadly, too many do. However, there are many missed opportunities in the Bill and an ongoing failure to address deep-rooted barriers for disabled children. If the Government are serious about getting disabled people into work, education is a key part of that. In 2024, 55% of children cited school failings as a reason for starting home-schooling. It works for many but should not be a last resort due to incorrect provision or used in a way that further segregates disabled children.

The National Audit Office has revealed that funding for SEND support has risen by 58% over the past decade to £10.7 billion. It is not sustainable and needs urgent reform. In the same report, published in October 2024, the NAO called for education to become more inclusive.

Parents have to be experts in every part of their disabled child’s life. I was lucky. I was in mainstream junior school when I became paralysed and my parents used the work of Baroness Warnock and, citing my right to be educated in the best environment for me, threatened to sue the Secretary of State for Wales over my right to go to mainstream school. It was a long, protracted battle. My parents won and I received an amazing education, but my life would be very different now if it were not for my parents.

What has changed in the last four decades? Not enough. Parents of disabled children are still fighting, and I receive numerous emails about disabled children not receiving the education they need. One parent wrote to me this week and said that the provision they are being offered is not even physically accessible for their child, would exclude their child from the beginning of their education and will negatively impact them for the rest of their lives. I will forward the details to the Minister.

Schools currently have little incentive to support disabled pupils, and there is little lived experience in the system. I spoke to a teacher who became a wheelchair user. I was told they knew they had kept their job only because they had been at the school a long time and knew the law. This is not acceptable. They provide a positive role model for all. The Government should commit to including more disabled people while employing more teachers in the system. The Bill does not recognise the systemic ableism of things such as off-rolling, school excursions and the unmet needs that push children out of school.

I welcome breakfast clubs but they must be accessible to disabled children, both physically and by ensuring that transport arrangements enable them to get there. Feeding children is so important, but the social connections matter too.

There are other gaps in the Bill, and I look forward to hearing from the noble Lord, Lord Moynihan, later. We need a fit and healthy nation and need to think about physical activity in a different way throughout the whole school day. Physical literacy and its measurement should be an integral part of the day. There is so much research on the benefit of activity on learning outcomes and well-being if taught well. Sport England found that a child who is active is happier, more resilient and more trusting of others, yet in 2023-24 over 41,000 fewer hours of PE were taught in schools than nearly a decade ago. We need to establish a more holistic approach to improving the health and well-being of our children.

Tess Howard, the GB hockey player, has done amazing work on the uniforms that children wear to school and how they can increase engagement for girls. The Government should consider consulting her.

In Wales we are lucky that we have the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act—a lens we can use to assess the impact of all legislation on our children. Is it not time that we consider that as well? I look forward to Committee.