What is the new Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act?
As of the 29th April 2026 the new Act came into law.
The Act will focus on making sure no child falls through gaps between different services and that families can get help when they need it. It also makes the changes needed to ensure every child can get a great education at a good school in their area.
How will it benefit families?
The Act will give 500,000 more newly eligible children free school meals and it will mandate free breakfast clubs in every primary school providing parents an extra 30 minutes childcare and it will cap the amount of branded uniform items a school can request to 3 items plus a tie for secondary schools.
How will it affect school education?
The Act introduces several key changes to improve your child’s education.
Teacher training
Every new teacher must be qualified and trained to a high level to ensure children are given the knowledge and skills to succeed. As part of the Act, new teachers in state primary and secondary schools will need to have qualified teacher status, or be working towards it. The requirement will come into effect from 1st September 2027, which gives schools time to prepare.
Pay and conditions
To make sure schools can continue to attract and retain the best teachers, the Act sets out that all teachers will be part of the same core pay and conditions framework – whether they work in a maintained school or an academy.
One strengthened curriculum for all
Core education with an excellent foundation in reading, writing and maths, and support to develop essential digital, speaking, and creative skills. Unlike previously when half of academies were not required to teach National Curriculum, this will change. The Act will require all state-funded schools – including academies – teach the new national curriculum that is being developed.
School places
Councils and schools are going to work together better to make sure there are enough school places in the local area and that children without a place can get one quickly.
Councils will be given the opportunity to open all types of school, not just academies, so they can meet the needs of local parents. Schools and local authorities will also work together when it comes to school admissions and place planning.
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Home Education
If you already home educate your child, or are thinking about it, there will be some important changes in the Act.
Parents know their children best and it is right that they have a say in the best education for their child, including home education. But whilst many home educators do a good job, this is not the case for all. It is vital all home education is suitable and safe and that no child falls through the cracks.
That’s why they are introducing compulsory Children Not in School registers in every local authority in England, so local authorities can identify all children not in school in their area and ensure that all children are receiving a suitable education.
There will be additional checks before some children can be taken out of school for home education – children subject to a child protection investigation, children under a child protection plan or who were under one in the last five years, and children attending special schools. For all home educated children, if a local authority deem the education and/or home environment unsuitable local authorities can intervene, including by requiring school attendance.
There are many reasons why parents choose to home educate, including where their child has special educational needs. As long as they are providing a suitable, safe education they can continue to do so. The measures will ensure that some of the most vulnerable children or those with very complex needs cannot be withdrawn from school for home education if it would be in their best interests to attend school, or no suitable arrangements have been made for their education outside of school.
How will the Act actually help protect children?
The Act introduces a series of safety measures that are new, with a focus on a joined-up system to stop vulnerable children falling through cracks in services.
Improved information sharing and Single unique identifier (SUI) number
In order to keep children safe, the Act introduces a new information sharing duty that makes it easier for important personal information to be shared between schools and social services. This is so that children receive earlier support when they need it and can be kept safe from harm if teachers or others have concerns about their situation.
They are also piloting using a Single Unique Identifier number for children across services – similar to how the NHS number works for adult social care. When rolled out nationally, this will help social services to support children, so they don’t become invisible to the system.
This will also help frontline safeguarding professionals to better identify children who will benefit from additional support. The SUI would have been beneficial in cases like those of Sara Sharif or Nonita Grabovskyte in keeping track of vulnerable young people.
Keeping children safe is the key driver of this change, and existing data protection laws already make clear that safeguarding must be prioritised when deciding whether to share information. This new law will mean more confidence for those responsible for requesting and providing sensitive information – speeding up the process and providing a clear legal basis for sharing information on the grounds of safeguarding and promotion of welfare.
Strengthening the role of education in safeguarding
Teachers and educators are often the first to spot warnings of abuse or neglect, and last year, schools were the second largest referrer of cases into children’s social care. But currently the law doesn’t require all nurseries, schools or colleges to be included in safeguarding arrangements. This means opportunities to protect children can be missed.
The government are placing a duty on the safeguarding partners for local authorities, police and health to give educators a greater role enabling them to influence decision-making at every level.
This change will see better join-up between children’s social care, police, and health services with education, to better safeguard and promote the welfare of all children in local areas.
What extra support will be available?
The government is investing £2.4 billion in reforming children’s social care over the next three years, including improving Family Help services. This means more support will be available for families dealing with challenges like mental health issues.
They will also provide help to keep families together where possible, prioritising family members who step in to care for children before they go into care.