Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Lord Young of Cookham Excerpts

Thursday 1st May 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Young of Cookham (Con)]

My Lords, when I was in the other place, I went round a primary school in Andover whose catchment area was from the less well-off part of the town. The year 1 teacher had been there for 20 years, and she was also a local JP. She told me that, within a few weeks of the beginning of term, she could tell which children were likely to end up in trouble. There are many other primary school teachers like her. So early intervention for children who need support is crucial. That brings me to SEND. The current system is failing too many children, too many parents and too many other children in the class. One statistic makes the case. Councils won just 1.3% of appeals in 2023-24. So, to underpin what is in the Bill, we will need a comprehensive SEND reform plan to give the children who need the support the support when they need it, without all the current delays.

Because of some of the problems with SEND, many families are home-educating. Along with the noble Lord, Lord Hampton, and the noble Baroness, Lady Garden, I sit on the Social Mobility Policy Select Committee. Last week, we heard from witnesses that, within the cohort of children educated at home, there are a few for whom it was not an active choice but a decision of last resort—in many cases as a result of bullying, and sometimes after encouragement to deregister. Some of those children may then fall through the various safety nets, so I agree with my noble friend Lady Morgan of Cotes that we need to make sure that we look after those children through this Bill.

On that subject, Clause 30 requires local authorities’ consent for certain children—mainly those who have protection concerns—to be withdrawn from school. I am vice-chairman of the APPG on young carers, and there is concern that some young carers are being withdrawn from school to increase their caring responsibilities at home. That means that they could have even more responsibility foisted on them, and also cuts them off from the support that they would get through the school. An amendment to that bit of the Bill might be needed.

I will say a quick word on fostering. A long time ago, my wife and I were registered foster parents. I welcome what is in the Bill, and what was in the Spring Statement, on fostering. The MacAlister review, which has already been referred to, describes foster carers as the

“bedrock of the social care system”.

However, in the last five years we have lost over 5,000 foster carers, and more than 5,000 extra children are in care. Living with a family, as opposed to being in a children’s home, can provide a child with a more stable environment as they grow up. It also does so at a quarter of the cost. Can the Minister say what is being done to encourage more foster carers to come forward and to address the long delays in the assessment process?

On smartphones, along with other noble Lords, I joined a webinar hosted by Policy Exchange, in which we listened to Damian McBeath, the principal of the John Wallis Academy. He had tried what many schools have tried: a ban on the use of phones during lessons, with progressive penalties for breach. He said that had simply not worked, with one-third of lessons continuing to be disrupted by smartphones. Therefore, 18 months ago, the school went smartphone-free. Truancy was reduced; attendance increased; there were fewer instances of bullying, both in and out of school, which dropped by 80%; children were politer to each other and to their teachers; and teacher well-being improved. Children even started playing chess during the lunch hour. So we need a serious debate about smartphones, led by the noble Baroness, Lady Kidron.

The Minister has difficult choices to make. The universities are in trouble as overseas students fall away. Primary and secondary have unfunded pay increases, even before the pay review. So I end where I started: all the evidence I have seen shows that investment in early years—under-five provision, children’s centres, family hubs and Sure Start—has the greatest return, not just for the child but for society as a whole. I hope the Government will safeguard that investment.