NOTE THAT AS OF 18.9.25 with the bill reissued after committee ended, CNIS is now 31-36 (rather than 30-35 as it was for committee in the Lords, or 25-29 as it was through the latter stages of the Commons)
Children Not In School will start being debated in the Lords on July 3rd, but will only get up to clause 30, so not the areas covered by this page yet.
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Background
My MP Abtisam Mohamed tabled a number of amendments for Report stage of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. [LINK via this page] Debate on the Children Not In School clauses took place on March 18th and can be read HERE. See also https://edyourself.org/amendments-for-wellbeing-bill-2/
Abtisam’s speech took place around 4pm on 18.3.25, appearing in Hansard columns 240-242 LINK I have made the speech into a 1 page PDF which can be read onscreen here https://edyourself.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/abtisam_amendments_speech-scaled.jpg
Lone Parents
The Wellbeing Bill as currently drafted will have a disproportionate impact on lone parents required to supply details of the former partner or risk the school attendance order process.
Amendments 5-7 were about registration and would make it no longer compulsory to provide the second parent’s name (if not relevant to the child’s education)
Amendments 8-12 were about the school attendance order process and would remove the use of school attendance orders for what is called “Conditions C or D” where a parent is unable or unwilling to provide information for the register.
Amendment 5
★. Clause 26, page 49, line 40, leave out “each” and insert “the”
Member’s explanatory statement
This amendment would remove the obligation on parents to provide information on the second parent.
Amendment 6
★. Clause 26, page 49, line 41, leave out “each” and insert “any” See explanatory statement for Amendment 5
Amendment 7
★. Clause 26, page 50, line 2, leave out “each parent of the child” and insert “a parent” See explanatory statement for Amendment 5
Showing How The Bill Would Change 1
436C Content and maintenance of registers
(1) A register under section 436B must contain the following information
in respect of a child registered in it—
(a) the child’s name, date of birth and home address,
(b) the name and home address of each the parent of the child, ★5
(c) the name of each any parent who is providing education to that ★6
child
(d) the amount of time that the child spends receiving education
from each parent of the child, a parent ★7
Amendment 8
★. Clause 27, page 58, leave out lines 22 to 24
Member’s explanatory statement
This amendment, along with Amendments 9, 10, 11 and 12, would mean that preliminary notices
would not be served on a child’s parent for not providing certain information.
Amendment 9
★. Clause 27, page 58, lines 27, leave out “, C or D”
This amendment is related to Amendment 8.
Amendment 10
★. Clause 27, page 59, leave out lines 9 to 22
This amendment is related to Amendment 8.
Amendment 11
★. Clause 27, page 59, line 24, leave out “to D” and insert “or B”
This amendment is related to Amendment 8.
Amendment 12
★. Clause 27, page 59, line 41, leave out “, C or D”
This amendment is related to Amendment 8
Showing How The Bill Would Change 2
436H Preliminary notice for school attendance order(2) A local authority in England may serve a preliminary notice on a ★8
child’s parent if it appears to the authority that either condition C or
condition D is met.
(3) A “preliminary notice” means a notice requiring the child’s parent on
whom the notice is served to satisfy the local authority that—
(a) the child is receiving suitable education, where condition A, C is relied on to serve the notice; ★9
or D
(6) Condition C is that ★10
(a) the child is eligible to be registered by the local authority under
section 436B,
(b) the authority has asked the child’s parent for information under
section 436D(1), and
(c) the child’s parent has not provided that information before the
end of the relevant period (as defined in section 436D(4)(a)),
or has provided incorrect information.
(7) Condition D is that the child’s parent is under a duty to provide
information to the local authority under section 436D(2) in relation to
the child and
(a) has not provided the information before the end of the relevant
period (as defined in section 436D(4)), or
(b) has provided incorrect information.
(8) A preliminary notice must—
(a) state which of conditions A to D or B are relied on to serve the ★11
notice
436I School attendance orders
(1) A local authority in England must serve an order under this section
on a child’s parent if—
(a) the authority has served a preliminary notice on the child’s
parent under section 436H,
(b) the child’s parent fails to satisfy the local authority, within the
period specified in the notice, that—
(i) the child is receiving suitable education, in a case where
condition A, C or D is cited in the notice ★12
Note Government Amendment Commons
At Report on March 18th the government added an amendment (gov 141) providing for a new 436I(2). The explanatory statement said “This amendment ensures that a school attendance order is not to be given where enquiries or action under section 47 of the Children Act 1989 are no longer ongoing (and in a case where there were also other grounds for the preliminary notice, the local authority is satisfied that the child is receiving suitable education).” [LINK page 69] This also had the effect of making the previous 436I(2) into (3) and so on.