Why the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill Is Unnecessary — and Dangerous for Families of SEN Children

For families of children with special educational needs (SEN), education is rarely simple. Many children are placed in inappropriate schools, denied therapy or support, or forced to mask distress until they break. Parents fight tirelessly for the right provision, often navigating a hostile system with little help. Some, after years of trauma, turn to home education — not out of ideology, but as a last resort to protect their child’s wellbeing.

Now, those same families face a new challenge: the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.

This Bill, introduced in England but with increasing relevance in Wales, is said to be about ensuring all children receive suitable education and protection. But for SEN families, it represents a fundamental misunderstanding of both the law and lived experience. It is, at best, misguided. At worst, it is a dangerous piece of legislation that will punish families for the state’s own failings.

The Law Already Exists – It’s Just Not Being Followed

The government claims new powers are needed to ensure all children are in education. But the truth is this: the law already provides for that.

Under section 7 of the Education Act 1996, parents are legally responsible for ensuring their child receives a suitable education, “at school or otherwise.” This includes home education.

Section 436A requires local authorities to identify children who are not receiving such education.

Sections 437 to 444 allow councils to issue school attendance orders and, if necessary, bring legal proceedings against parents who refuse to engage or whose children are genuinely not being educated.

These powers are broad and sufficient. The real issue is that they are not being used properly. Local authorities often lack accurate records, fail to act on concerns, or focus on bureaucratic process rather than individual need.

Meanwhile, families who step in to provide personalised, therapeutic, or trauma-informed home education are treated with suspicion rather than support.

The Bill Shifts the Blame – Onto Parents

Instead of addressing local authority failures, this Bill blames parents.

It introduces a new offence (proposed section 436P) that makes it a criminal offence to breach a school attendance order. The punishment? Up to 51 weeks in prison, or a fine of up to £2,500 – or both.

And who decides whether education is “suitable”? Not a court. Not a panel of experts. The local authority.

This is the same group of bodies that, according to Ministry of Justice statistics, lose the majority of SEND Tribunal appeals. Time and again, they are found to have wrongly assessed children, ignored evidence, or refused provision that should have been delivered.

Yet under this Bill, those same local authorities will not only decide whether your child’s education is suitable- they’ll be able to criminalise you if they disagree.

This is not about protecting children. It’s about creating a scapegoat for systemic failure.

Targeting the Most Vulnerable

The Bill specifically targets “relevant children” — those attending special schools, or those subject to a section 47 child protection investigation. These are often the most complex children, whose lives already involve multiple agencies and profound need.

Under the new proposals, home education will require local authority consent in these cases. If the council refuses, the family has no right of appeal. Parents are simply overruled.

This is profoundly worrying.

First, because it assumes that if a child has special needs or is involved with social services, their parents are suspect.

Second, because it fails to recognise that councils frequently get things wrong – and that in many cases, the parents are the ones who truly understand the child’s needs.

Families of SEN children often turn to home education because the school system has failed. Many have watched their child deteriorate in mainstream or specialist settings — becoming anxious, self-harming, withdrawing, or even suicidal. Some have been unlawfully excluded, left without support for months, or bullied into silence.

In these situations, home education is not a luxury. It is a lifeline.

Yet this Bill would treat those families as the problem — not the solution.

A Bill That Misunderstands Disability and Disregards Equality

Perhaps most troubling is the Bill’s complete disregard for the principles of equality and reasonable adjustment. Children with SEN are not all the same. What works for one child may be harmful to another. That is why the law recognises the importance of individualised support, and why parents play such a vital role in advocating for their child’s needs.

This Bill, however, imposes blanket rules and grants disproportionate powers to councils. It creates a two-tier system: one in which disabled children and their parents are subject to greater surveillance, more restrictions, and less trust than their non-disabled peers.

That is not equality. That is discrimination by design.

What SEN Families Need – and Deserve

SEN families do not need punishment. They need respect, flexibility, and support.

They need local authorities who listen to professionals and for schools that deliver the contents of the EHCP. They need honest communication and collaborative planning, and above all, they need to be trusted, not criminalised, when they act in their child’s best interests. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill offers none of this. It confuses control with care. It dresses up authoritarianism as safeguarding and leaves the most vulnerable families to bear the burden of a broken system. If the government truly wishes to support children, it should start by listening to those who know them best – their parents. Not by threatening them.