Ambitious Education Reform - Children's Wellbeing Bill

Sara Spinks 29 July 2024 4 min read

safeguarding children mental health wellbeing

In a significant announcement during the 2024 King's Speech, King Charles III outlined the Labour government's comprehensive plan for overhauling the education system. This initiative, spearheaded by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, focuses on enhancing educational standards and prioritising children's wellbeing through a series of legislative measures, notably the introduction of a "Children's Wellbeing Bill."

Children's Wellbeing Bill: Central to Education Reforms

The cornerstone of Labour's education policy is the Children's Wellbeing Bill, which aims to place children's wellbeing at the heart of the education and children's social care systems. The bill seeks to ensure that all children are safe, healthy, happy, and treated fairly while also eliminating barriers to opportunity and raising school standards.

Key Provisions of the Children's Wellbeing Bill:

Strengthening Child Protection: Enhancing multi-agency child protection and safeguarding arrangements.
Free Breakfast Clubs: Mandating free breakfast clubs in every primary school.
Uniform Cost Limits: Restricting the number of branded uniform and PE kit items schools can require.
Support for Home Education: Obliging councils to maintain registers of children not in school and provide support to home-educating parents.
Ofsted Powers: stronger powers to investigate unregistered independent schools.
Teacher Misconduct Investigations: Allowing investigations into serious teacher misconduct, regardless of when or where it occurred.
Cooperation with Local Authorities: Requiring schools to collaborate with local authorities on admissions, SEND inclusion, and place planning.
National Curriculum Enforcement: Ensuring all schools teach the national curriculum following a comprehensive review of curriculum and assessment.
Qualified Teacher Status (QTS): Mandating that new teachers possess or work towards QTS and recognising the role of support staff in setting pay and conditions. Currently, academies and independent schools can employ teachers without QTS.
Inspection of Multi-Academy Trusts: Bringing multi-academy trusts under the inspection system and enabling direct intervention when necessary.

Modernising Curriculum and Assessment

Labour's manifesto also pledges to modernise the school curriculum while building on the success of knowledge-rich syllabuses. To ensure the curriculum remains rich, broad, inclusive, and innovative, an expert-led review will involve school staff, parents, and employers. The review will also address assessment methods, maintaining the significant role of examinations while exploring diverse approaches.

Curriculum and Assessment Policies:

Ensuring children study a creative or vocational subject until age 16, with accountability measures reflecting this.
Implementing numeracy standards similar to phonics for reading.
Funding early-language interventions in primary schools.
Establishing regional improvement teams to enhance school support and spread best practices.
Replacing single headline Ofsted grades with a new report card system for clearer performance communication.
Introducing annual reviews focusing on safeguarding, attendance, and off-rolling.

Phillipson's Address:

In a recent webinar, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson emphasised the Labour government's commitment to integrating Ofsted's inspection role in schools with a broader understanding of community services and support for children. She assured teachers that a forthcoming curriculum and assessment review would recognise and build on their existing work.

The curriculum and assessment review will begin 6 August and be led by Professor Becky Francis, CEO of the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), supported by an expert group. The review will launch a call for evidence in September, with national roadshows to ensure input from frontline education staff. while fostering creative, digital, and communication skills Recommendations are expected in 2025, but changes may not be implemented until September 2026 due to workload commitments and the need for a year’s lead time.

The review aims to develop a curriculum with strong foundations in reading, writing, and maths, while fostering creative, digital, and communication skills, and addressing challenges for disadvantaged and special needs students. It will also consider improvements to the assessment system while maintaining examinations. The approach seeks gradual improvements rather than radical changes, mindful of current pressures on schools. The goal is to ensure high standards and inclusivity, with academies required to follow the national curriculum up to age 16.

Key Takeaways from Phillipson's Address:

Ofsted's Broader Role: Ofsted will consider a wider range of services available in communities, aiming to join these more effectively with school inspections.
High Standards and Curriculum Breadth: The curriculum review will span the entire compulsory education system, aiming to combine high standards with a broad educational experience.
Acknowledging Existing Efforts: The review will build on the expertise and work already in place, focusing on expanding opportunities for young people.
Maintaining School Structures: Labour will not propose major structural changes to schools but will ensure all school types deliver high-quality education.
Support Staff Progression: Reestablishing the school support staff negotiating body will aim to provide career progression and fair pay for support staff.
Behaviour and Mental Health: Phillipson highlighted the importance of addressing behaviour issues comprehensively, considering the impact of rising mental health challenges.
Fiscal Challenges: Acknowledging the dire fiscal situation the government inherited, Phillipson emphasised the need for multi-year settlements for local authorities.
Commitment to Collaboration: Phillipson pledged to work closely with the education sector, recognising that mistakes will be made but emphasising a genuine commitment to improvement.

Financial Commitments and Funding Sources

Labour has outlined the financial commitments for its policies, with significant investments planned. The removal of VAT exemptions for private school fees is expected to raise £1.5 billion, funding initiatives such as recruiting 6,500 new teachers, enhancing training, and providing mental health support.

Detailed Financial Commitments:

Recruiting 6,500 teachers: £450 million.
Increased teacher and headteacher training: £270 million.
Work experience and careers advice for all young people: £85 million.
Early language interventions: £5 million.
Ofsted reforms: £45 million.
Opening new school nurseries: £35 million.
Mental health support for every school: £175 million.
Funding free breakfast clubs in every primary school: £315 million, met by closing non-dom tax loopholes.

Employment Rights and Equality Legislation

In addition to the Children's Wellbeing Bill, Labour's legislative agenda includes the Employment Rights Bill and the Equality (Race and Disability) Bill, which contain provisions affecting schools.

Employment Rights Bill:

Reinstating the School Support Staff Negotiating Body to establish national terms and conditions, career progression routes, and fair pay rates for school support staff.
Modernising trade union laws to support good faith negotiation and remove unnecessary restrictions on trade union activities.

Equality (Race and Disability) Bill:

Introducing mandatory ethnicity and disability pay reporting for larger employers (250+ employees) to address pay gaps.

Reaction from the Education Sector

Pepe Di'Iasio, General Secretary of the ASCL school leaders' union, expressed strong support for the Labour government's focus on tackling inequities and improving life chances for vulnerable and disadvantaged children. However, he highlighted the critical need for sufficient funding to ensure schools and colleges can sustain these improvements.

Di'Iasio emphasised that addressing the current financial pressures on educational institutions is essential and called for the government to tackle this issue in their upcoming spending plans.

Conclusion

The King's Speech has set a clear and ambitious agenda for the Labour government's educational reforms. Through the Children's Wellbeing Bill and accompanying legislation, the government aims to create a fair, inclusive, and high-quality education system. As these proposals move forward, the focus will be on ensuring the necessary funding and support to make these transformative changes a reality. Let’s just wait and see….

Sara Spinks

SSS Author & Former Headteacher