Policy expert Sam Freedman and NEU leader Daniel Kebede will be
among witnesses at an Education Committee session on the
Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill.
Across three panels (more info below), the Committee will
scrutinise how the legislation could work in practice to provide
free breakfasts in all state primaries, clamp down on uniform
costs, place new regulations on academies, and give local
authorities more power over admissions policy.
The session comes after the Government laid an amendment to the
Bill clarifying that the legislation would not set a cap that
forces academies to reduce teachers' salaries.
There will also be questions about proposals for all schools to
be taught the National Curriculum. Academies and free schools –
which make up the majority of secondaries – are currently not
legally required to teach the curriculum.
MPs will be interested to hear how local authorities would carry
out their new role of maintaining registers of children not in
school – a measure the previous Education Committee called for in
the last Parliament.
Safeguarding measures such as restrictions on home schooling if
social services have concerns about a family, and giving Ofsted
powers to inspect unregistered schools, will also be
scrutinised.
Witnesses from 10:00 (breakfast clubs,
uniforms)
· Kate Anstey, Head of
Education Policy, Child Poverty Action Group
· Dr , Acting Director of
Research and Policy, Sutton Trust
· Lindsey MacDonald, Chief
Executive, Magic Breakfast
From 10:30 (academy schools)
· Paul Tarn, CEO, Delta
Academies Trust
· Daniel Kebede, General
Secretary, National Education Union (NEU)
· Sam Freedman, Senior
Fellow, Institute for Government
From 11:15 (admissions and children not in
school)
· Cllr Bev Craig, Leader,
Manchester City Council and Vice Chair, Local Government
Association
· Mr Thomas Brooke, Joint
interim Chief School Adjudicator, Office of the Schools
Adjudicator
· Clare Canning, Head of
Centre, Broadleaf home education centre
