The Education Committee has today published the Government's
response to its report which made recommendations to improve the
Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill.
The Government's response is attached to this press
release.
Read about the Committee's report, published February
2025, on its website.
The Committee's report recommended that all children who are
eligible for free school meals should be automatically enrolled,
after hearing evidence that one in 10 eligible children miss out
due to factors such as language barriers or difficulty with the
admin process. The Department for Education's (DfE) said it is
making it “quicker and easier” to get children signed up for free
meals with an upgraded Eligibility Checking System.
The report also urged the Government to strengthen local
authorities' requirement to assess the mental health and
wellbeing of children in the care system. The response says that
statutory guidance in this area is being reviewed and updated,
and that the Government “will consider what changes are
needed”.
Regarding the rollout of breakfast clubs, the Committee
recommended the explicit inclusion of children with special
educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in the Bill's
provisions on breakfast clubs. This would place the onus on the
Government to take account of this requirement when allocating
funds to schools in the national rollout of the policy. DfE said
the inclusion of children with SEND is implicit in the wording of
the Bill, that “all” children should have access, and that local
authorities should work with schools to meet children's specific
needs.
The response rejects the recommendation to develop a ‘national
care offer' of support for young people leaving care, instead
arguing that “to impose a framework centrally would be
unnecessarily bureaucratic”.
The Committee will continue to take a close interest in the Bill
as it progresses through its further Parliamentary stages and in
its impact once it becomes law.
ENDS
