Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Lord Knight of Weymouth Excerpts

Thursday 1st May 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Knight of Weymouth (Lab)]

My Lords, I declare my education interests as set out in the register, in particular my chairmanship of the E-ACT Multi-Academy Trust, where we are enjoying recent “outstanding” Ofsted judgments in schools, while applying the national curriculum.

This is a good Bill. It is necessary legislation to tackle a legacy in which vulnerable children have become more vulnerable, and schools are struggling on multiple fronts. I will focus my time on the part related to schools. Today we have heard some argue, in effect, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, pointing to improvements in England’s PISA rankings for reading and maths as an indicator of the success of the current system. This ignores the reality facing many schools. Our absolute performance in reading and maths has stagnated in PISA, and in science it has declined. Most worryingly, as so powerfully set out by the noble Lord, Lord O’Donnell, the life satisfaction of our young people has plummeted. Persistent absence remains high, teacher retention is poor and NEETs are way too high. As others have said, we must use this Bill to drive ambition on standards and well-being, regardless of structures.

Academies have, by and large, worked well—but I do not believe that is because of the freedoms initially promised. A Schools Week survey of 120 academy trust CEOs found that the majority believe that the removal of academy freedoms relating to pay, curriculum and the employment of unqualified teachers would have little or no impact on their ability to run and improve schools. The success of academies is much more due to strong governance and effective leadership than so-called freedoms. Good governance is the bedrock of school improvement: it safeguards quality and challenges poor performance. When I took over as a academies Minister from the noble Lord, Lord Adonis, I was conscious that it was the likes of the noble Lord, Lord Harris, putting his personal reputation on the line, that ensured strong governance and the delivery of quality. I have some concerns that the unfettered use by officials of the powers of direction in Clause 49 of the Bill could interfere with that good governance. I will want to explore that in Committee.

I am supportive of where the Bill has got to on pay, but wonder whether we should also explore whether the pay of senior MAT executives should be referred to the STRB, so that MAT remuneration committees receive guidance to prevent pay inflation in that part of the workforce.

The Bill’s measures to bring academies and local authorities closer together are also welcome and overdue. In particular, giving councils a greater role in oversight of academy admissions is a significant step forward for vulnerable children.

Finally, on smartphone bans, like the noble Baroness, Lady Morgan of Cotes, I am sceptical but listening. I am perplexed as to what the sanction would be for a legal ban. Would it not be better, as a few schools are now doing, to use geofencing technology that creates a virtual boundary or fence around a school? When a smartphone enters or exits the school, the technology can automatically block use altogether or restrict its actions—or open it up again. Surely, we need to both protect children from the harms of technology and educate them to use it responsibly and realise its opportunities.

In summary, this Bill is not about rolling back progress; it is about building a system that values robust governance, real accountability and the well-being of every child. It puts children’s interests, not structures or ideology, at the centre of reform. That is why I urge your Lordships to follow the advice of my noble friend Lady Morris to put rhetoric behind us and work together for the benefit of children.