Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Ruth Cadbury Excerpts

Wednesday 8th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Ruth Cadbury (Brentford and Isleworth) (Lab)]

I welcome this wide-ranging Bill that focuses on the important issues of keeping children safe, providing more support for children in care, addressing child poverty, raising educational standards and returning local authorities to the centre of school place planning.

Given the cost of living, and with child poverty as high as 32% in my constituency, I welcome the clauses on limiting school uniform costs. Parents are too often forced to prioritise their school choices based on the cost of the school uniform, which is a form of selection. If the Hounslow school my sons attended could limit branded kit to an iron-on blazer badge, a tie and a PE shirt, so that the rest could be bought at supermarkets, why cannot all schools do this? I also welcome the introduction of breakfast clubs in all schools.

As a former local councillor and lead member for children, I am pleased that the Government are giving powers back to local authorities on place planning and proposals for new schools—a right removed by the Conservative Government after 2010. The opening, closing, growth, contraction and entry criteria of any school have a direct effect on neighbouring schools and local transport services. Furthermore, the cynical practice of off-rolling by schools that are trying to up their exam scores is another example of why the local authority role is so important. I welcome the relevant clauses in this Bill.

Finally, every school in Hounslow is rated good or outstanding. I am sorry to disagree slightly with my hon. Friend the Member for Mitcham and Morden (Dame Siobhain McDonagh), who is no longer in the Chamber, but in my experience the single biggest factor in successfully turning around a failing school is not its governance structure but the inspirational leadership of a great headteacher.

To address the recruitment and retention challenge in school leadership, future great school leaders need to be identified and supported before they burn out and leave the profession mid-career, as I fear many are doing. My question to Ministers is whether the workforce and finance challenges inherited from the previous Government will be addressed to deliver the full potential of this excellent Bill.