Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Written Evidence submitted by Bright Futures UK (BFUK) (CWSB123)

1. Bright Futures UK interest in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill relates to the following clauses:

i. Introduce a local authority consent mechanism for the withdrawal of certain children from school, including those at special schools (clause 24)

ii. Introduce a requirement for local authorities to maintain a register of children not in school, with duties for parents and related requirements for school attendance orders to be issued in some cases (clauses 25 to 29 and schedule 1)

2. We welcome the government taking much needed and overdue action in relation to children not in school by bringing forward these clauses. Our call to action is to strengthen these measures, to ensure children are adequately supported to fulfil their potential in their personal development and education attainment. At present, the challenges are:

i. Children and young people who are unable to attend school because they are going through severe illness, or a mental health condition are not being provided with the support they need to ensure they do not fall behind their peers.

ii. The government’s plan to introduce a children not in school register will play a crucial first step for local authorities to better understand the details of how each child out of school are being provided for. However, only tracking the number of children not in education is not enough and so the legislation must go further.

3. This representation sets out how members of the Bill Committee can put forward a series of amendments that will elevate the safeguards and the provision for those not in education. This is essential from an individual wellbeing perspective, from their participation in society, as well as their future economic contribution. Furthermore, the lack of provision can have compounding implications on families who often reduce work or leave jobs to provide care, increasing reliance on benefits and reducing tax contributions. There is also strong moral case that children not in school should not fall through the gaps.

Introduction

4. Bright Futures UK is a charity that currently supports over 600 young individuals aged 5-24 facing long-term illnesses by filling their educational gaps and fostering personal growth. Through customised programs like one-on-one tutoring, befriending, mentoring, and skill-based workshops, we empower children and young people to reach their full potential all while supporting them with their transition back into education. Our supportive and highly skilled team work with each individual to bolster their academic, social, and emotional development.

BFUK’s Views

5. The government has acknowledged that the number of children in home education has accelerated over the past few years, with recent figures cited by the BBC showing that at least 66,496 children moved to home education in 2023-2024, up from over 28,000 recorded in 2019 / 20. [1] Whilst there are a number of reasons why parents are now resorting to home education, including mental health issues, physical illness or special educational needs, we believe that often, it is done for the right reasons. As a result, we champion parent’s rights to opt for such form of learning if it is in the best interest of the child and that they’re being given the appropriate support.

6. The rate of severely absent pupils (pupils who miss more than 50% or more of possible sessions and are absent more than they are present) from school continues to trend upwards, particularly from pre pandemic levels. In Spring 2024, 157,038 children were severely absent, a return to near record highs – equating to 2.18 per cent of children in state-funded schools. [2] While there are a number of reasons why young people may be severely absent from school, the upwards trend of this number indicates government provisions must go further to alleviate this growing issue.

7. Given that parents are currently not obliged to notify local authorities that they are home educating, we accept that it makes it difficult for such authorities to understand the full picture as to how many children are not in school and / or are being home educated. This makes it difficult for authorities to fulfil its duty to protect and support each child. We anticipate that uptake for home education will continue to increase over the coming years and so we recognise the urgent need to introduce a register to monitor home education and / or children not in school more closely. However, we believe that such measure should go even further and so call for local authorities managing the register to also record and publish the number of children who are not in school, specifically due to continued and / or serious illness.

8. Current local authority provisions are overwhelmed and not able to meet the needs of ECHPs – both in complexity and in timely implementation of support. The most recent ombudsman’s review on EHC plans was carried out in 2019 and highlights systemic failures in EHCP process including delays, inadequate provisions and poor local authority decision making. This alongside a 55% increase in EHCP appeals from the academic year 2022/23 to 2023/24 suggests there is a continuous and growing systematic issue that can’t be resolved by statutory provisions alone.

9. As part of our ask, we would define serious illness as "any physical or mental health condition that negatively impacts quality of life and daily function enough to force the individual to take a period of one month or more (in one continuous absence or spread out over one academic term) out of full-time education for medical treatment or diagnosis, whether at hospital or at home". Responsibility for children out of education should not solely rely on schools. However, in order for the proposed register to be a success, local authority engagement will be crucial. Each local authority must ensure every child who have no choice but to leave mainstream education, specifically owing to long term illness, are provided with high quality alternative education or provision that is catered to suit their needs. It is essential that no child slips through the cracks and that during the recuperation period, they are fully prepared ahead of their transition back into mainstream settings. It is essential that the Bill incorporates the definition of ‘serious illness’ to improve understanding of the scale of the challenge of CME, and to increase transparency and accountability of the register.

10. As part of efforts to improve the quality of data – not simply just tracking the number of children not in school, we also call for the register to be published by each local authority on an annual basis. Tasking local authorities with this responsibility will give them and the government a much clearer picture on how best it can address the issue.

Recommendations

11. In addition to the measures set out above relating to the scope and management of the register, Bright Futures UK proposes amendments that will help to deliver a more robust system that ultimately leads to better outcomes for children and a better financial return on investment. The Bill should be an opportunity for substantial reform and avoids the risk of the provisions becoming little more than a tick box exercise. These are:

· Require the "Children missing education - statutory guidance for local authorities" to be updated on an annual basis at a minimum. This is to ensure a good education for children who cannot attend school because of health needs. This should be done imminently considering Ofsted’s and the ombudsman’s findings that have shown local authorities not being fit for purpose

· Require Ofsted to create proper policy and procedure for schools to adhere to young people missing education due to long term illness. Ofsted must maintain regular inspection rate for these services in line with how often it would assess schools

· At present, there are no minimum hours that education providers or local authorities are required to provide to students missing education because of illness. A minimum statutory requirement for the number of hours of tuition should be provided after a prolonged period and illness.

· Require local authorities to work alongside external organisations to deliver on provisions set out in EHC plans. ECHPs should be implemented within a maximum statutory requirement of time from the point of referral. Exceptions should be made in cases where an illness postpones a young person from engaging with ECHP provisions.

· Mandatory educational support due to illness is provided up to the age of 16. This should be extended to 18 to ensure A-Level students do not fall through the gap and drop out of education completely.

ENDS

January 2025