When asked why the state has failed to protect children it knew about, the Minister for Education avoided the question by implying that she is more concerned about children who are not being seen regularly by teachers.
What’s been said?
This Byte reports on two connected items: a wide-ranging interview – available for 12 months with Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson on the Laura Kuenssberg Show on 27 October, and a Schools Week article from 29 October on the work and new membership of the Education Select Committee.
Kuenssberg did not give Phillipson an easy time. She pressed her hard on various issues, trying to pin her down on a pre-budget definition of a “working person,” and on how soon parents might expect to see a plan for improved provision for their children with SEND.
When it came to shortcomings within children’s social care, Kuenssberg highlighted the failure of the safeguarding system in reference to the ongoing Sara Sharif trial, stressing that this child was in school and known to Social Services. She later reiterated this point, reminding Phillipson that Star Hobson and Arthur Labinjo-Hughes were also both known to services.
Phillipson correctly avoided direct comment on the Sharif trial. Whilst acknowledging the existence of problems within the children’s care system, she parried the question by switching the focus to children who are not visible to services, and making an all-too-familiar conflation with CNiS registers:
“…there is also a question increasingly of visibility of children, whether we know where they are and what’s happening in their lives, and that’s why we will legislate for a register of Children Not in School, because there are real worries there about that lack of visibility and knowing where children are and knowing whether they’re safe.” [Emphasis added in all cases]
Towards the end of the interview Phillipson spoke of her concerns about the “steady erosion of family support services,” and intimated that the Children’s Wellbeing Bill [CWB] is potentially imminent or at least high on the government’s priority list when she said:
“…the Children’s Wellbeing Bill, which we are bringing forward by the end of the year, I would hope, will address many of these issues around children’s social care, around keeping children safe.”
Why does it matter?
The timing and content of the CWB are of course of significant interest to home educating families. Until the text of the Bill is actually published, thoughts about its possible content remain speculative, but it would not be surprising to see some reworked form of Parts 3 & 4 of the 2022 Schools Bill.
In terms of timing, Phillipson’s tentative “by the end of the year” could indicate that the Government are working towards introducing the Bill in either late November or early December. (Commons recess begins on 19 December.) Now that the conference season, the Autumn Statement and the Conservative party leadership election are over, will this new Parliament settle down to business? Or will other things arise to derail their intentions? Time will tell.
In any event, the potential for a draft CWB to be before the House by the end of the year brings the matter of the membership of the new Education Committee into sharper focus.
The Schools Week article headlines the fact that the Education Committee is influential because it “holds the Department for Education to account.” It is important to bear this in mind in any interactions we may have with its members. They are not simply mouthpieces for DfE policy. Their remit is to monitor, scrutinise and if necessary challenge the DfE’s work and policies.
Reflecting the balance of power in the Commons, the present Committee comprises seven Labour, two Conservative and two Liberal Democrat members. Of these eleven, nine are newly elected to parliament, so this Committee has neither length of service nor experience in its favour.
Any connections therefore that home educating parents can establish with Committee members are especially valuable, particularly at present because of the number of first-time MP members who probably know comparatively little about home education and connected issues, apart from the prevailing negative feedback loop from the usual media-driven narrative. Here is the full list of members; if one them is your MP, please engage with them:
- Helen Hayes, Labour, Dulwich and West Norwood, London (Chair)
- Jess Asato, Labour, Lowestoft, Suffolk
- Sureena Brackenbridge, Labour, Wolverhampton North East
- Dr Caroline Johnson, Conservative, Sleaford and North Hykeham, Lincolnshire
- Amanda Martin, Labour, Portsmouth North
- Darren Paffey, Labour, Southampton Itchen
- Manuela Perteghella, Liberal Democrats, Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire
- Mark Sewards, Labour, Leeds South West and Morley
- Patrick Spencer, Conservative, Central Suffolk and North Ipswich
- Dr Marie Tidball, Labour, Penistone and Stocksbridge, South Yorkshire
- Caroline Voaden, Liberal Democrats, South Devon
What can I do?
Watch the part of the Phillipson interview featured in the clip below, noting the level of concern about visibility of children, and how CNiS registers are seen as the answer to the need for improved safeguarding. Note too how in all the high profile cases mentioned, the children concerned were known to services.
Be aware of how the issues of safeguarding and education continually become conflated in public dialogue, which of course also impacts the views of MPs. Think about how to separate these strands in people’s thinking, to encourage logical rather than emotive problem-solving.
The actual title of the Bill is also a matter for concern because ‘welfare’ limits the level of permissible state intervention much more than more generic ‘wellbeing’ objectives do.
Look carefully at the above list of MPs who are on the Education Committee. Do you live in one of their constituencies? If so, do all you can to establish a meaningful connection with your MP, with a view to becoming a conduit for bringing useful and relevant material to their attention. You can keep up to date with Committee on Parliament’s website: news; events; & publications. The Committe also frequently posts on X(Twitter).
The comment from Phillipson that the CWB will be tabled sooner rather than later is a reminder that it is time to hone the counter-arguments, be vigilant, and engage with national and local politicians.
Two and a half minute extract from Bridget Phillipson’s interview on the Laura Kuenssberg Show, 27 October 2024
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