Children's legislation to keep children safe from exploitation

Key reforms to protect thousands of vulnerable children hidden from view will take another significant step forward today, as the Children's Welfare and Schools Bill is debated in Parliament (8 January 2025).

Unregistered children, stronger powers for Parliament to ensure children get the right education, and a unique identification number for every child are part of key reforms to address the tragedy of children missing from education and protect young people from exploitation. Grooming and abuse.

The recent Child Protection Practice Review Panel Annual Report 2024 highlighted that children who experience harm outside the home, including exploitation, are more likely to be unenrolled in school, out of education or have low school attendance, which is why this Bill requires multi-agency This is also a reason to strengthen it. Protective measures to quickly identify serious damage. It comes as the Government this week announced action on three key recommendations from Professor Alexis Jay's review to address significant failings in keeping children safe.

The latest government data shows about 111,000 children and young people are being educated at home, up from about 55,000 before the pandemic. This is alongside the 150,000 children who were out of education at some point last year. The Bill will introduce unprecedented safeguards for children educated at home, strengthen the powers of parliament and force local authorities to establish dedicated multi-agency safeguarding teams to track children.

It will also put more cash back into the pockets of working parents by limiting the number of branded items that schools can require as part of the school uniform. This can save some families more than 50 per child during back-to-school shopping, giving parents maximum flexibility to shop and save. It would also give every parent of a primary school child the legal right to a breakfast club, saving them up to $450 a year.

The Children's Welfare and Schools Bill, which will enshrine these measures into law, receives its second reading in Parliament today and will help make child-centred government a reality and deliver on the Government's plans for change.

Education Minister Bridget Phillipson said:

Keeping children safe will always be my first duty as Secretary of Education, but we can only truly do that if we know where our children are. The sad reality is that thousands of children are currently hidden from view.

This Government will make no apologies for taking all the necessary steps to protect children from harm. And we will not watch some young people lose access to a good education and become vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.

This groundbreaking legislation achieves our mission to protect all children while supporting parents by putting more money in their pockets as we deliver a plan for change and give every child the best start in life. This is an important step.

Measures being introduced in the Child Welfare and Schools Bill that will help reform children's social care and reduce the number of children out of education include:

Every council must keep a register of children who are out of school. Councils can require parents and out-of-school education providers to share information such as name, address and nature of education. Just as every adult has their own National Insurance number, every child is given a unique number. Put your systems together and make sure no child gets into trouble. Using consistent identifiers will help child protection and welfare officers better engage with relevant data and identify children who would benefit from additional support. Removal of a parent's automatic right to educate their child at home if the child is in child custody pursuant to an investigation or child protection plan. Schools should check with their local authority to see whether they need to obtain local authority consent if a parent asks to remove their child from school for home education. If a child's home environment is assessed as inadequate or unsafe, the local authority will have the power to intervene and require attendance at school. Every council will have a best practice multi-agency safeguarding panel to bring together all the experts to ensure children have the best possible care in their home environment. Store safely inside and outside the home

The bill's broader measures include limiting the number of branded items that schools can require as part of school uniforms. Primary schools can request up to three branded items, while secondary schools have the option to include additional items if there is a tie on one of them.

Data shows 24% of primary schools and 70% of secondary schools are still asking for more than five branded items, with some parents being asked to provide more than 10.

Limiting the number of branded items that must be purchased from a given supplier will provide greater flexibility to purchase from a variety of retailers, saving some parents more than 50 items per child during the back-to-school shopping period from September 2026.

Primary school children will also benefit from attending a free breakfast club, saving parents up to 450 a year. Clubs will begin in April 2025 at schools participating in the Early Adopter Scheme.

Mark Russell, CEO of The Children's Society, said:

The high price of school uniforms has long placed an unnecessary financial burden on families. This is a pivotal moment on an issue we have been campaigning for for years, and it is very encouraging to see progress towards a fairer and more affordable approach.

Schools will play a key role in ensuring these changes reach families, so new measures must be practical and effective. All children deserve to feel equal and included regardless of family income, and removing the pressure on expensive branded uniforms is a vital step in making this a reality.

We will continue to advance reforms that put children and families first, ensuring that no child is left out or disadvantaged by the cost of school uniform.

Sir David Holmes CBE, Chief Executive of Family Action, said:

It's great to see the Child Welfare and Schools Bill continuing to make its way through Congress. The second reading stage provides an important opportunity for lawmakers and everyone with an interest in children's welfare to scrutinize this new and important draft bill.

We particularly welcome proposals to introduce unique identification numbers for children across services, a register to identify children who are out of school and provisions to introduce universal free breakfast clubs in state-funded primary schools.

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