CWS Bill – Relevant Bytes, Articles and Videos Page

This page is a part of a suite of pages which supplement our main Children’s and Wellbeing and Schools Bill page.

Last updated 15 June 2025

Related Bytes

• A Troubling Theme – the Misguided Notion that the Bureaucrat Knows Best | 4 Apr.
• Commons Education Committee quizzes experts on CWS Bill | 5 Mar.
• The Most Dangerous Bill Yet – 4 | Minister’s Comments Committee Stage | 18 Feb.
• 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.

Legal Opinions

The legal opinions on the Bill listed below are all relevant to the Clauses 30-35, Children Not in School, and/or 36 to 43 Independent Educational Institutions. Items listed are to material which are open access, therefore this is not a exhaustive list.

• Steve Broach KC
  • Legal Opinion on Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill – see update 10 May | Home Education UK on Chuffed
    • Briefing notes – Google Document
    • Webinar: The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, and children not in school – Benefits, threats and challenge | Video & Slides | 15 May
• Professor Mark Hill KC
  • Schools Bill ‘incompatible with human rights’ – The Jewish Chronicle | 6 May.
• Aiden O’Neill KC
  • Treating parents who home educate like criminals – a potential breach of human rights law, warns top lawyer – The Christian Institute | 1 May.
    • Full legal opinion as a PDF – Aidan ONeill KC legal opinion re-Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
    • KC’s devastating verdict on Schools Bill threat to family life – The Conservative Woman | 30 Apr.
• David Wolfe KC
  • Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill in a Nutshell – by Education Otherwise | Travellers Times
    • Full legal opinion as a PDF (linked from above article) – David Wolfe KC’s opinion on the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Recommended reading and listening from others

Encouraging articles from the wider media

• Schools bill: Lords seek to water-down academies powers | Schools Week | 21 May
• Entrepreneur and author Simon Squibb slams ‘dangerous’ Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill – EdTech Innovation Hub | 19 May
• Nationalising childhood | Sebastian Milbank | The Critic Magazine | 14 May
• Muslim families could be treated with suspicion under schools bill, Lords told – Hyphen | 8 May.
• Peers urge Govt to reconsider introduction of home education register – The Christian Institute | 7 May.
• Regarding the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill – Lord Wei of Shoreditch | 1 May.
• Resist the home education clampdown | Georgia L. Gilholy | The Critic Magazine | 1 May.
• Home educators are being persecuted | Catherine Oliver | The Critic Magazine | 5 Apr.
• MPs challenge Govt ‘overreach’ on home-education | The Christian Institute | 27 Mar.
• Labour’s assault on home education | Catherine Oliver | The Critic Magazine | 21 Mar.
• Phillipson is Letting the Blob Run Rings Around Her | The Daily Sceptic | 7 Mar.
• The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill: an attack on home education and parental rights | West Country Voices | 27 Feb.
• Labour wants the state to raise our children | Telegraph / Archive Today [open access] | 13 Feb.
• The problem with Labour’s home-school crackdown | The Spectator / Archive Today [open access] | 11 Feb.
• The Blob Has Sunk to New Depths in Its Quest to Destroy Educational Freedom | The Daily Sceptic | 7 Feb.
• Stop the UK Bill targeting home educators | Voice of the Family | 7 Feb.
• The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill: An Attack on Home Education and Parental Rights | The PRSD | 4 Feb.
• 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 / Archive Today [open access] | 16 Jan.
• MPs question ‘intrusive and burdensome’ requirements of home education register | The Christian Institute | 15 Jan.

Defend Digital ME

• Concern over Westminster-Wales deal in pupil data pilot and late Bill changes | 17 Mar.
• Policy page
  • Supplemental Briefing on Wales data extractions and distribution – PDF | (may be revised) 15 Mar.
  • Defend Digital Me proposed amendments, for Report Stage 2025 – PDF | 15 Mar.
  • Report Stage Briefing – PDF | 14 Mar.
  • Mapping of the non-consensual data collections and flows under this Bill – PDF | Revised 14 Mar.
  • Impact Assessment and scrutiny not fit for purpose: the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill so far – PDF | 7 Feb.
  • Proposed amendments, Committee Stage 2025 – PDF | 4 Feb
  • Defend Digital Me Briefing for Committee Stage – PDF | Undated
• Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill: more questions than answers | Blog 17 Dec.

Reclaim Rights for Children | Rights protect children – home page

• Open letter on CWS Bill – Reclaim Rights for Children | 1 May.
• Two Dangerous Bills | Data (Use and Access) Bill / Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
• Open letter on Data Use and Access Bill | Reclaim Rights for Children | 4 Mar.

The Victoria Climbie Foundation UK

• VCF Briefing on Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill | 15 May
• VCF calls for meaningful measures in Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill | 13 Jan.
• Does every child matter in 2025? | 10 Jan.
• VCF statement following verdict into the tragic death of Sara Sharif | 16 Dec.

Ed Yourself

• Lords Only Up To Clause 10 | post 13 Jun.
• Still A Way Off Children Not In School | post 12 Jun.
• Children Not In School Debate in Lords | post 9 Jun.
• Lords Amendments Wellbeing Bill | page 8 Jun.
• Children’s Wellbeing Bill How To Track | page 6 Jun.
• Changing A Bill | page 5 Jun.
• Wellbeing Bill Lords May – July 2025 | post 9 May.
• Lords 2nd Reading And After May 2025 | post 1 May.
• Home Education Guidance Wales 2025 | page 2 Apr.
• Wellbeing Bill Applying To Wales | page 2 Apr.
• Bill Committee Evidence January 2025 | page 27 Mar.
• Parent Registration Information | page 26 Mar.
• Parent Registration Information | page 24 Mar.
• Clause 25 is Now Clause 30 | post 24 Mar.
• Impact Assessments Wellbeing Bill | page 17 Mar.
• Tuesday March 18th Report Stage Bill | post 16 Mar.
• Amendments Abtisam Mohamed Parliament March 18 | post 14 Mar.
• Wellbeing Bill Where’s The Money | page 13 Mar.
• Wellbeing Bill Amendments For Report | post 12 Mar.
• Amendments for Wellbeing Bill 2 | page 11 Mar.
• Amendments for Report 1 | page 11 Mar.
• Parliamentary Questions Wellbeing Bill | page 5 Mar.
• Clause 24 is now 25 | post 12 Feb.
• Bill Committee Evidence January 2025 | page 11 Feb.
• Report Stage Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill | post 9 Feb.
• 90 Minutes Home Education 30.1.25 | post 1 Feb.
• 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.

Families First in Education – Wales

• Legislation Justice and Constitution Committee Seek Clarity about Westminster Bill | 10 Jun.
• Further activity in the Senedd on CME Databases and the CWS Bill | 14 Ap.
• Welsh Government Fires Both Barrels at Home Educated Children on the Same Day! | 29 Mar.

No Nationalisation of Our Kids

• Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill – Update 20 February 2025 | video 21 Feb.
• 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.

Educational Freedom

• Home education under attack, STILL! | 20 Mar.
• Time to take action to protect home education | 1 Mar.
• Proposed changes to home education law – what you need to do next! | 5 Feb.
• 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.

About Home Education

Your Window or Your Life? Do home improvement enthusiasts or home educated children have more protection against poor Local Authority decision making? | 11 Apr.

Parent Power

• Protesting the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill | 27 Mar.
• Are you a ‘high risk’ parent? | 13 Mar.
• The alarming small print of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill… | 13 Mar.
• Another database wouldn’t have saved Sara Sharif | 14 Feb
• The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill – a radical undermining of the parent-child relationship | 30 Jan.