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Educators are split over the government’s proposed Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, with some saying the move will improve fairness and accountability and others warning it could limit innovation in academy schools.

Pushed by the Department for Education (DfE) as a means to reform the education system, the bill seeks to improve school standards, strengthen attendance policies, and ensure that children receive a well-rounded education that prioritises their wellbeing.

The legislation also includes measures to increase school accountability, particularly for academies, by giving more oversight to the DfE.

Katharine Birbalsingh, headteacher of Michaela School in Wembley, north London, called it “absolutely appalling”.

“I’m just really concerned because, at the moment, school leaders have the freedom to do various things that are right for their intake,” she told Sky News.

“This bill will take those freedoms away.”

Ms Birbalsingh, also known as ‘Britain’s strictest headteacher’, added: “We got unlucky because we could have had Wes Streeting as education secretary, which would have been fine. Unfortunately, we got her [Bridget Phillipson].

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“She [Ms Phillipson] is so arrogant. She’s just marched in there and gone, ‘I know what I’m doing, I’ll just do what I want’.”

But some argue that academies are left to their own devices and have a lack of accountability when it comes to things like parental complaints.

The bill will require all schools to follow the national curriculum and employ teachers who have Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) or are working towards it.

The founder of the Oasis Academies, Steve Chalke
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Steve Chalke, founder of Oasis Academies

The founder of Oasis Academies, Steve Chalke, told Sky News: “We’re excited about the changes because we feel that education has been in a very, very poor place for the last decade or more.

“Schools have been stripped of resources and there have been giant problems about the recruitment and retention of teachers.

“We feel that this important bill is beginning to address all of those issues.”

The bill plans to provide all primary school children with breakfast, alongside uniform limits.

This would prevent schools from having more than three items of branded uniform clothing, potentially addressing concerns parents have about the cost of uniforms.

Mr Chalke said: “I am a fan of working hard collaboratively to create the best opportunities for any and every young person and their family.

“Because behind every struggling child is normally a parent who’s struggling with that.”

He added: “We at Oasis are excited about all of this, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have questions.

“It doesn’t mean that we’re being led blindly down the road, but our job is to be engaged in the discussion about how academies work more widely with their local authorities.”

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The bill will also give local authorities greater control over the pupil admission process.

Ms Birbalsingh said: “Any council could decide to reduce the number of children in one school and therefore reduce the money at that school and give more pupils to another school that’s struggling.”

Mr Chalke said: “Educational academy boards, academy groups, need to be accountable in strong partnership with others. And if this bill delivers everything it promises, wow. I think [it] will be an extraordinary outcome.”

Empty classroom chairs TOP
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The bill will give local authorities greater control over the pupil admission process

The bill is set to be debated further in the coming weeks as it moves through parliament.

A DfE spokesperson said: “This government is determined to drive high and rising standards for every child through our Plan for Change, to ensure every family has a good local school for their child.

“Our landmark Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill delivers on this mission, getting high-quality teachers into every classroom, and ensuring there is a floor on pay and no ceiling.

“These measures will make sure we are giving every child an education as good as the best.”

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Woman dies in skydiving incident in County Durham

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Woman dies in skydiving incident in County Durham

A woman has died in a skydiving incident in County Durham.

Emergency crews were called to Wreford’s Farm in Shotton Colliery, near Peterlee, on Sunday morning.

The woman, aged in her 30s, was pronounced dead at the scene.

A Durham Constabulary spokesperson said the woman’s death is not being treated as suspicious and a file will be prepared for the coroner.

North East Ambulance Service said it was called to the incident at 10.17am on Sunday.

“We dispatched one ambulance crew and one specialist paramedic to the incident,” a spokesperson added.

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Wreford’s Farm is described on its website as a “small, family run farm” which produces pork and beef using “regenerative agriculture”.

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No criminal charges over death of ice hockey player Adam Johnson whose neck was cut by opponent’s skate

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No criminal charges over death of ice hockey player Adam Johnson whose neck was cut by opponent's skate

No criminal charges will be brought over the death of an ice hockey player who died during a match in Sheffield, prosecutors have announced.

Nottingham Panthers’ Adam Johnson died in October 2023 after his neck was cut by an opposition player’s skate during a match at Sheffield’s Utilita Arena.

The Sheffield Steelers player, Matthew Petgrave, was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and later bailed – but the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has now said it will not bring criminal charges against the Canadian.

Michael Quinn, deputy chief crown prosecutor, said: “This was a shocking and deeply upsetting incident. The CPS and South Yorkshire Police have worked closely together to determine whether any criminal charges should be brought against the other ice hockey player involved.

“Following a thorough police investigation and a comprehensive review of all the evidence by the CPS, we have concluded that there is not a realistic prospect of conviction for any criminal offence and so there will not be a prosecution.

“Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Adam Johnson.”

Flowers and messages left in tribute to Nottingham Panthers' ice hockey player Adam Johnson outside the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham, the home of the Panthers. Mr Johnson died after an accident during a Challenge Cup match with Sheffield Steelers on Saturday night. Picture date: Monday October 30, 2023.
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Tributes were left outside the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham following the ice hockey player’s death. Pic PA

Before joining Nottingham Panthers, the Minnesota-born Johnson played in Pennsylvania for the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Sweden for the Malmo Redhawks.

He also played in California for Ontario Reign and in Germany for Augsburger Panther.

A post-mortem examination confirmed the 29-year-old died as a result of the fatal neck injury.

The crowd of 8,000 spectators watched in horror as desperate attempts were made to save his life as he lay on the ice, shielded by fellow players.

The game was abandoned and spectators were asked to leave in the aftermath.

Lit candles among the flowers and messages left in tribute to Nottingham Panthers' ice hockey player Adam Johnson outside the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham, the home of the Panthers. Mr Johnson died after an accident during a Challenge Cup match with Sheffield Steelers on Saturday night. Picture date: Monday October 30, 2023.
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Pic PA

Kari Johnson, Johnson’s aunt, was watching the match via a livestream with his father and grandmother when he was fatally injured.

Speaking to Sky News at the time, Ms Johnson said: “It was a mess, it was a nightmare, it was like it wasn’t real. We were in shock, we couldn’t believe this was happening.”

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Kari Johnson said her nephew was ‘a kind soul’

Ms Johnson described her nephew as a “kind soul” and a “private kid” who “never would have wanted to be in the limelight like this”.

He simply wanted to be “good at hockey and have fun”, she said, adding he was “having the time of his life in the UK” and was planning to get engaged to his girlfriend.

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In January 2024, Sheffield’s senior coroner, Tanyka Rawden, suspended her investigation while the police inquiry took its course.

It later emerged that Ms Rawden had issued a Prevention of Future Deaths Report to Ice Hockey UK and the English Ice Hockey Association (EIHA) about the use of neck guards in the sport.

In the report, Ms Rawden said she was “sufficiently concerned that deaths may occur in the future if neck guards or protectors are not worn”, with the bodies given 56 days to say what action had been taken – or why action had not been taken.

Neck guards have been mandatory in the Elite League (EIHL), in which the Nottingham Panthers and Sheffield Steelers compete, since January 2024.

This followed the International Ice Hockey Federation’s decision in December to mandate the use of neck laceration protectors for its competitions.

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Government reviewing ‘right to family life’ court decisions as sex offenders to be denied refugee status

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Government reviewing 'right to family life' court decisions as sex offenders to be denied refugee status

Court decisions where people were granted asylum after arguing they had a “right to family life” will be reviewed as the government plans to ban migrants convicted of sex offences, the home secretary has said.

Foreign nationals who are added to the sex offenders register will forfeit their rights to protection under the Refugee Convention, the Home Office announced.

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As part of the 1951 UN treaty, countries are allowed to refuse asylum to terrorists, war criminals and individuals convicted of a “particularly serious crime” – which is currently defined in UK law as an offence carrying a sentence of 12 months or more.

The government now plans to extend that definition to include all individuals added to the Sex Offenders’ Register, regardless of the length of sentence, in an amendment to the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, which is currently going through parliament.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told Sky News the new definition would also “take into account” sexual offence convictions in another country.

However, she was less clear if those affected will still be able to appeal against their removal from the UK under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

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More than 10,000 people have now been detected crossing the Channel. Pic: PA
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More than 10,000 people have now been detected crossing the Channel. Pic: PA

She said: “We continue to comply with international law, but the whole point is that our laws and our frameworks are about how we interpret international law… and how we make sure that the courts are then making their decisions based on the UK law that parliament has passed.”

She added the government is “reviewing” a “series of decisions” made in the courts where criminals have been allowed to stay in the UK under Article 8 of the Human Rights Act, which protects the right to respect “your private life, your family life, your home and your correspondence”.

“We are reviewing that because we do believe that the way in which it’s being interpreted in the courts is an issue and actually, there is greater clarification we can provide through our law to address that,” she said.

It is unclear how many asylum seekers will be affected by the change in law, as the government has been unable to provide any projections or past data on the number of asylum seekers added to the Sex Offenders’ Register.

Ms Cooper earlier said: “Sex offenders who pose a risk to the community should not be allowed to benefit from refugee protections in the UK. We are strengthening the law to ensure these appalling crimes are taken seriously.”

Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls Minister Jess Philips said: “We are determined to achieve our mission of halving violence against women and girls in a decade.

“That’s exactly why we are taking action to ensure there are robust safeguards across the system, including by clamping down on foreign criminals who commit heinous crimes like sex offences.”

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Has Labour tackled migration?

The Home Office would like voters to see this as a substantial change. But that’s hard to demonstrate without providing any indication of the scale of the problem it seeks to solve.

Clearly, the government does not want to fan the flames of resentment towards asylum seekers by implying large numbers have been committing sex crimes.

But amid rising voter frustration about the government’s grip on the issue, and under pressure from Reform – this measure is about signalling it is prepared to take tough action.

Conservatives: ‘Too little, too late’

The Conservatives claim Labour are engaged in “pre-election posturing”.

Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said: “This is too little, too late from a Labour government that has scrapped our deterrent and overseen the worst year ever for small boat crossings – with a record 10,000 people crossing this year already.

“Foreign criminals pose a danger to British citizens and must be removed, but so often this is frustrated by spurious legal claims based on human rights claims, not asylum claims.”

The Home Office has also announced plans to introduce a 24-week target for appeal hearings (known as “first-tier tribunals”) to be held for rejected asylum seekers living in taxpayer-supported accommodation, or for foreign national offenders.

The current average wait is 50 weeks.

The idea is to cut the asylum backlog and save taxpayers money – Labour have committed to end the use of asylum hotels by the end of this parliament.

It’s unclear how exactly this will be achieved, although a number of additional court days have already been announced.

The government also plans to crack down on fake immigration lawyers who advise migrants on how to lodge fraudulent asylum claims, with the Immigration Advice Authority given new powers to issue fines of up to £15,000.

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