Guest Author: Jon Trew
The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill was first introduced into Parliament in December 2024 and is one of the most significant pieces of education and child protection legislation in recent years. At the time of writing, the bill is currently in the ‘committee stage’ and contains various reforms designed to improve children’s welfare and educational outcomes.
The government states that “These benefits focus on prioritising children’s needs and enhancing family support systems. It emphasises that the government prioritises children. It aims to keep families together and ensure child safety. […] The Bill aims to drive high standards for every child. It focuses on removing barriers to educational opportunities. It aims to create a safer and higher-quality education system.”
There are many significant changes that will impact safeguarding processes included in the bill and within this briefing, I have highlighted the most important updates that will affect education settings in the UK.
1. Enhanced Teacher Misconduct Investigations
Perhaps one of the most vital updates relates to the Bill’s provisions on teacher misconduct. The legislation will alter how allegations against education professionals are investigated and managed. Under the new system, teachers may be investigated for misconduct regardless of whether they were employed as teachers at the time of the alleged incident or offence. This retrospective investigation will close a significant loophole. It will also mean that individuals who managed to escape scrutiny by leaving the profession before investigations began will no longer be able to do so.
Schools will need to develop more robust reporting systems and ensure all staff understand their obligation to report concerns, even if they involve former colleagues. The extended scope of investigations means schools must keep detailed records of staff conduct and cooperate with investigations that may go beyond current employment relationships.
The implications will also affect recruitment processes. Schools will need to implement more thorough background checks, safer recruitment and reference procedures. The knowledge that misconduct can be investigated retrospectively adds to the responsibilities of school leaders to oversee staff conduct and create environments where concerns can be raised safely.
2. Strengthened Safeguarding Framework
The Bill introduces comprehensive reforms to children’s social care that directly impact school safeguarding, including:
- The legislation will establish clearer pathways for information sharing between schools, social services, healthcare providers and other agencies involved in child protection.
- Schools will need to ensure they have adequate safeguarding information management systems to meet these new requirements.
- Settings must also provide sufficient training for staff to handle the new sharing obligations while maintaining appropriate confidentiality standards.
- Schools will be expected to identify vulnerable children more proactively and work with support and early help services before issues become critical.
3. Regulatory Changes for Independent Educational Institutions
The Bill imposes stricter regulation on independent educational institutions, including ones that previously had little oversight. The new law will require these institutions to meet the same safeguarding standards as maintained schools.
For maintained schools using off-site provision or working with independent settings, they will need to ensure these partnerships meet the new regulatory standards. This involves conducting due diligence on their safeguarding policies, staff vetting procedures, and child protection training within partner organisations to ensure they meet national standards.
Schools will also need to develop stronger monitoring systems for pupil attendance at these settings and be proactive in addressing situations where standards are not being met.
4. Academy School Oversight and Accountability
The Bill will introduce many changes to the status of academy schools, bringing them more under the scrutiny of Local Authorities. This includes compliance with local safeguarding partnership requirements, participation in multi-agency working, and adherence to standardised policies and procedures.
Safeguarding arrangements in academy schools will also be subject to more regular review.
5. Employment & Vetting Implications: Expanded Checks & Ongoing Monitoring
The legislation will extend background check requirements and ongoing monitoring to staff beyond traditional teaching roles, including all adults with regular contact with pupils. This will encompass volunteers, contractors, and visiting professionals.
Where staff are employed directly by the school, they will need to improve recruitment procedures for these non-teaching staff. This includes establishing systems for regular suitability reviews, not just at hiring but throughout their employment.
Effectively, there may be a need for retrospective checks on existing staff as well as ongoing monitoring. Schools will be expected to manage and record these checks systematically.
Staying Prepared with Safeguarding Technology
The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will bring in a series of reforms that will significantly change how schools and other institutions safeguard children. These changes will require considerable time and evolution of processes to ensure they are implemented across your school.
CPOMS StudentSafe can help your setting stay ahead of the curve and dramatically improve your safeguarding processes in keeping with the proposed changes included in the bill. The software’s robust reporting tools and digitisation of safeguarding information cuts down the reliance on manual processes and paper files, allowing safeguarding practitioners to make prompt decisions to support vulnerable children, before issues escalate.
Implementing stronger safer recruitment processes is a key requirement included within the bill, and CPOMS StaffSafe is the ideal solution to support schools when it comes staff safeguarding. The platform simplifies the laborious process of maintaining and staying up-to-date with continual DBS checks for all staff within the school, providing a digitised SCR and automated reminders when compliance checks are due to expire.
Managing staff misconduct investigations effectively is also a crucial part of safeguarding outlined in the bill. StaffSafe provides a confidential system through which low level concerns for any member of staff can be recorded, monitored and reported on. Not only does this allow school leaders to monitor the welfare of staff and address any concerns, it also provides a secure record of evidence to support misconduct allegations and allow for prompt interventions when needed.
CPOMS Engage plays a crucial role in supporting schools in sharing vital safeguarding information between settings and the local authority. With secure share contracts, safeguarding leads can efficiently share and monitor information and concerns across settings to keep children safe, whether they attend multiple schools, alternative provisions or pupil referral units.
To discover how CPOMS solutions can support your school with the upcoming changes in the bill, book a demo today: https://www.cpoms.co.uk/cpoms-book-a-demo/
