LSE is partnering with the Education Policy Institute (EPI) to produce a series of roundtables centred around the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill as it makes its way through Parliament.
The series sees LSE academics in conversation with expert representatives from the House of Lords, Civil Service, local government, children’s charities and think tanks, and the education sector.
The roundtables centre on five key themes in the Bill: child poverty; accountability; teacher supply and the leadership pipeline; special educational needs and disabilities (SEND); and a concluding roundtable focused on having happier children at school.
Child Poverty
This first roundtable, held in January 2025, discussed the Government’s measures to reduce child poverty in both the Bill and upcoming Child Poverty Strategy.
Read a summary of the discussion and policy recommendations from attendees below.
LSE and EPI Child Poverty Roundtable January 2025.
Accountability
The second roundtable will explore the implications of the Bill for the future of the accountability system, including changes to rules around automatic academisation, legal duties around admissions, and changes to the autonomy of academies. Participants considered how the new requirements on academies will impact how schools and MATs are judged, what is needed from report cards to measure schools in the round, and how to improve how schools work in their local area and collaborate with councils.
A summary of this roundtable will be available in March.
Teacher Supply and Leadership Pipeline
There have been debates over the potential effects on the teacher supply and leadership pipeline as a result of proposals to change pay rule and qualified teacher status. Experts will consider the interrelationship between the Bill, recruitment and retention, and other contextual challenges affecting the teacher supply. They will also consider what more is needed from a workforce strategy to tackle the ongoing employment crisis.
A summary of this roundtable will be available in March.
Support for Students with SEND
This roundtable will be looking at inequalities in SEN provision, alongside specialist teacher training and the tension between different levels of government, alongside how these can be addressed in the short, medium and long term.
A summary of this roundtable will be released in April.
How will the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill make children happier at school?
The final event in this series will explore how the provisions in the Bill will make children happier at school, how the legislation can be translated into real-world, measurable improvements, and what more might need to be done in the future.
A summary of this roundtable will be released in April.