Introduced in the House of Commons, 17 December 2024
For following the progress of the Bill we recommend Parallel Parliament’s CWS Bill page.
Unlike Parliament’s own website, links to all the relevant documents are displayed in a single list. The “Timeline of Bill Documents and Stages” is ordered with the most recent publication at the top. Above that is a “Latest Key documents” section, which saves searching for more recent publications.
Page last updated: 28 January 2025
Next Event: 21 January to 11 Feb | Committee Stage (Commons)
On Monday 13 January, the Committee published it’s Call for Evidence.
See below for information on how to submit your evidence. It is unclear when the Committee will consider the clauses relevant to Children not in school, but to be certain of giving the Members of the Committee time to read it, you should aim to get your submission to the no later than Friday 24 January.
Details of the Committee’s membership and potential sittings dates and times are available on a separate page to prevent overcrowding this one.
Links to the transcripts of the sessions can be found on either Parallel Parliament’s page or the main page’s Publications tab. Recording can be located here.
Previous Event: 8 Jan | Second Reading
- Parliamentlive.tv – House of Commons | Video
- Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill – Hansard – UK Parliament | Transcript
- Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill (Programme) – Hansard – UK Parliament
- Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill (Money) – Hansard – UK Parliament
Official Parliamentary pages
The Bill’s Home Page | other tabs: Publications; Stages; News.
Direct links to key PDF documents listed on the Publications tab:
- Bill 151 2024-25 (as introduced)
- Bill 151 2024-25 (as introduced) – large print
- Explanatory Notes: Bill 151 EN 2024-25
- Explanatory Notes: Bill 151 EN 2024-25 – large print
- Delegated Powers Memorandum: Memorandum from the Department for Education to the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee
- Human rights memorandum: European Convention on Human Rights Memorandum
Videos of all session which consider the Bill can be found by using this search term.
Department for Education Publications
- Legislation breaks down barriers to opportunity for all children | Press release | 17 Dec
- The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill: what parents need to know – The Education Hub | 17 Dec
- Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill 2024: policy summary [page] | Direct link to PDF | 18 Dec
- Children’s bill to keep children safe from exploitation | Press release | 8 Jan
House of Commons Library
Note: The HoC Library is a branch of Parliament, not the Government. It is a research and information service based in the UK Parliament. One of its responsibilities is to produce briefings for MPs on matters before Parliament or those which may be raised by their constituents. These are read by MPs and their staff so they can be ‘informed’ about matters they are unfamiliar with. These briefings should not be mistaken for “statements from the Government;” they are written by journalist-researchers, and express their own understanding of any matter.
- Research Briefing – Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill 2024-25 | 3 Jan
Direct link to full report | PDF 152 pages
Resources to help you
To help you make your own notes on the contents of the Bill and the proposed changes to existing legislation, a friend of the Byte team has created tables based on clauses 24-29 in the Bill and other documents which are directly relevant to elective home education. [N.B. Other clauses worth noting include “Independent educational institutions” (30-37) and “Information sharing and consistent identifiers” (4).] The tables are available in 3 formats [Word, Open Document, PDF] with separate ones for each clause. See the bottom of this page for download options, along with further information.
If you require a simple introduction to help you explain key points in the Bill which will affect HE children and their families to family, friends and even your MP (& local Councillor), you will find this two page briefing helpful. It has been written by a HE parent, and is shared with their permission. We suggest it will be more effective if you use your own words and story, rather than simply forwarding MPs a copy.
Flowcharts of the Bill’s stages in through both houses. Click an image below to view and download each chart as a Portable Network Graphics (.png) file, or download an easy print PDF file of both.
Related Bytes
- Lord Frost calls out the Education Blob | 24 Jan
- The Real Problem with the Problem Bill | 22 Jan
- The Most Dangerous Bill Yet – 3 | Wellbeing v Welfare | 12 Jan
- The Most Dangerous Bill Yet – 2 | Data Protection & Single Unique Identifier | 2 Jan.
- The Most Dangerous Bill Yet – 1 | Parliamentary Process | 30 Dec.
Recommended reading and listening
No Nationalisation of Our Kids
- Children’s Wellbeing & Schools Bill – Home Education Update – 27 Jan 2025 | video 28 Jan.
- CWS Bill – Submitting Evidence to the Bill Committee | video 13 Jan.
Defend Digital ME
Ed Yourself
- Overview Children Not In School Wellbeing Bill | post 25 Jan.
- Children Not In School Bill Committee Dates | post 24 Jan.
- Tight Timing Written Evidence Bill Committee | post 15 Jan.
- Evidence Children’s Wellbeing Bill Committee | post 14 Jan.
- Bill Committee Children’s Wellbeing and Schools | post 9 Jan.
- Second Reading Children’s Wellbeing & Schools Bill | post 7 Jan.
- Children’s Wellbeing & Schools Bill – page| 5 Jan.
Resources:
- Easy view spreadsheet of Clauses 24 to 29 (and Schedule 1 s9) relevant to CNiS registers
Educational Freedom
- The bill and what you need to be doing about it | 23 Jan.
- Feeling overwhelmed, confused and scared about the proposed children’s wellbeing bill? | 17 Jan.
- 2nd reading of the Children’s wellbeing bill and home education register – what next? | 10 Jan.
- What the heck is happening?? What is the Children’s…. | 2 Jan.
- Special School Deregistration | 1 Jan.
- If it is important to you, it is important to take action | 1 Jan.
- Prison (up to 51 weeks) and fines (up to £2500) | 31 Dec.
- Clause 25! If you have nothing to hide why bury the detail in Secondary Legislation | 31 Dec.
- Have they thought this through? | 30 Dec
- The Bill of many parts, but does not appear to reflect its namesake | 30 Dec.
- More data is not the answer | 28 Dec.
- It is not about a CHILD’S RIGHT to EDUCATION | 22 Dec.
- Home must always be a child’s safe space | 22 Dec.
- Childrens Wellbeing and Schools Bill | 20 Dec.
- Erosion of Parental Responsibility by the Backdoor | 19 Dec.
- The proposed children’s wellbeing bill including home education changes | 18 Dec.
- Don’t panic – take action – the home education fight against the Children’s wellbeing bill | 17 Dec.
Encouraging articles from the wider media
- Take home education out of detention | Benjamin Sharkey | The Critic Magazine | 25 Jan.
- The state versus the family | Christian Hacking | The Critic Magazine | 23 Jan.
- Letter from the (potential) future – by Daniel Karrasch | Substack | 20 Jan.
- Home-schooling helps us resist indoctrination | Telegraph [pay-walled] / Archive Today [open access] | 16 Jan.
Downloadable Clause Tables
These tables have three columns as illustrated below:
The contents of each column are as follows:
- Current: The wording of the Education Act 1996 as it stands at present;
- Proposed additions: New wording which will be inserted into the Education Act if the Bill is passed in its current form;
- Notes: Most of these sections are blank for your own notes, but where the compiler has spotted something important in the accompaning documents, as above, they have provided comments to draw your attention to those sections.
The three download colums below contain files as per the column heading, the exception being the top item which are .zip files containing every file listed in that particular format.
If you find these useful, please tell others about this page.