Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 (2026 c. 21)
- Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 (2026 c. 21)
- Part 1 Children’s social care
- Family group decision-making
- 1 Family group decision-making
- Child protection and safeguarding
- 2 Inclusion of childcare and education agencies in safeguarding arrangements
- 3 Multi-agency child protection teams for local authority areas
- 4 Information sharing and consistent identifiers
- Support for children in care, leaving care or in kinship care and carers
- 5 Information: children in kinship care and their carers
- 6 Promoting educational achievement
- 7 Provision of advice and other support
- 8 Local offer for care leavers
- 9 Care leavers not to be regarded as becoming homeless intentionally
- 10 Sibling contact with children in care
- Accommodation of children
- 11 Children in temporary accommodation
- 12 Accommodation of looked after children: regional co-operation arrangements
- 13 Use of accommodation for deprivation of liberty
- Regulation of children’s homes, fostering agencies etc
- 14 Powers of CIECSS in relation to parent undertakings
- 15 Power of CIECSS to impose monetary penalties
- 16 Financial oversight
- 17 Power to limit profits of relevant providers
- 18 Power of Secretary of State to impose monetary penalties
- 19 Procedure for imposing monetary penalties
- 20 Information sharing
- Care workers
- 21 Use of agency workers for children’s social care work
- 22 Ill-treatment or wilful neglect of children
- Corporate parenting
- 23 Corporate parenting responsibilities
- 24 Cases in which duty under section 23(1) does not apply
- 25 Corporate parenting duty: collaborative working
- 26 Duty to have regard to guidance
- 27 Reports by Secretary of State
- Employment of children
- 28 Employment of children in England and Wales
- 29 Employment of children in Scotland
- Part 2 Schools
- School meals, breakfast clubs etc
- 30 Free breakfast club provision in primary schools in England
- 31 Food and drink provided at Academies
- 32 Free school lunches: eligibility
- 33 Free school meals etc: information sharing
- Allergy safety
- 34 Allergy safety policy for pupils at schools
- School uniforms
- 35 School uniforms: limits on branded items
- Mobile phones
- 36 Guidance on use of mobile phones etc in schools in England
- Children not in school
- 37 Withdrawal of children from school: local authority involvement
- 38 Registration
- 39 School attendance orders
- 40 Children not in school: processing of information
- 41 Guidance on children not in school and school attendance orders
- 42 Children not in school: consequential amendments
- Independent educational institutions
- 43 Expanding the scope of regulation
- 44 Independent educational institution standards
- 45 Unregistered independent educational institutions: prevention orders
- 46 Material changes
- 47 Deregistration by agreement
- 48 Imposition of relevant restrictions
- 49 Powers of entry and investigation etc
- 50 Application of schools provision to independent educational institutions
- Inspections of schools and colleges
- 51 Inspectors and inspectorates: reports and information sharing
- Teacher misconduct
- 52 Teacher misconduct
- School teachers’ qualifications and induction
- 53 School teachers’ qualifications and induction
- Academies
- 54 Academy schools: duty to follow National Curriculum
- 55 Academy schools: educational provision for improving behaviour
- 56 Academies: power to secure performance of proprietor’s duties
- 57 Inspection of Academy proprietors
- 58 Repeal of duty to make Academy order in relation to school causing concern
- Teachers’ pay and conditions
- 59 Pay and conditions of Academy teachers
- 60 Application of pay and conditions orders to education action zones
- School places and admissions
- 61 Co-operation between schools and local authorities
- 62 Power to direct admission: extension to Academies
- 63 Power to direct admission: additional triggers
- 64 Functions of adjudicator in relation to admission numbers
- Establishment of new schools
- 65 Amendments to invitation process for establishment of new schools
- 66 Certain proposals to establish new schools: publication requirements etc
- 67 Establishment of pupil referral units
- 68 Process for considering, approving and implementing proposals for the establishment of new schools
- 69 Transitional provision
- Part 3 Online safety etc
- 70 Power to require providers of internet services to prevent or restrict access by children to internet services
- 71 Progress statement
- 72 Age of consent in relation to processing of a child’s personal data: information society services
- Part 4 General
- 73 Power to make consequential provision
- 74 Power to make consequential provision: Wales
- 75 Power to make consequential provision: Scotland
- 76 Financial provision
- 77 Extent
- 78 Commencement
- 79 Short title
- Schedules
- Schedule 1 Relevant authorities
- Part 1 List of relevant authorities
- Part 2 Power to modify Part 1
- Schedule 2 Children not in school: consequential amendments
- Children Act 1989
- Education Act 1996
- School Standards and Framework Act 1998
- Sentencing Act 2020
- Schedule 3 Pay and conditions of Academy teachers: amendments to the Education Act 2002
- Schedule 4 Establishment of new schools: amendments to Schedule 2 to the Education and Inspections Act 2006