The Schools Bill would implement many of the proposals set out in the government’s recent policy papers on schools and school funding. These include measures aimed at making it easier for schools to become academies; changes to the national funding formula; and introducing a register of children being educated outside of schools.
Schools Bill [HL] (359 KB , PDF)
The House of Lords is scheduled to debate the second reading of the Schools Bill [HL] on 23 May 2022. The bill was announced in the Queen’s Speech on 10 May 2022 and introduced in the House of Lords on 11 May 2022.
The explanatory notes to the bill highlight the government’s “long-term vision to improve the school system”, including ambitions to improve attainment in both literacy and numeracy. The government has described the bill as underpinning its education ambitions for England, the majority of which were outlined in the government white paper on schools ‘Opportunity for all: Strong schools with great teachers for your child’, published in March 2022.
The bill includes a range of measures on issues such as:
The Labour Party has described the bill as “narrow in scope, hollow in ambition and thin on policy”. The Liberal Democrats have been critical of its focus on school structures.
Plans to introduce a register of children not in schools were welcomed by the National Education Union (NEU) and the National Association of Headteachers (NAHT). The Local Government Association welcomed plans to increase the schools inspector Ofsted’s powers to inspect schools operating illegally, without registration.
However, overall the NEU was critical of what it described as the “piecemeal and patchwork approach” of the bill. The NAHT noted that the government’s ambition to reform school structures outlined in the schools white paper was “likely to be controversial”.
The majority of the provisions in the bill apply to England only.
Schools Bill [HL] (359 KB , PDF)
The Education (Non-religious Philosophical Convictions) Bill [HL] is a private member’s bill sponsored by Baroness Burt of Solihull (Liberal Democrat). It would introduce an explicit requirement for schools in England to include non-religious worldviews such as humanism in religious education (RE). At the time of writing, the bill’s second reading debate has yet to be scheduled.
![Education (Non-religious Philosophical Convictions) Bill [HL]: HL Bill 29 of 2022–23](https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/content/uploads/sites/2/2020/09/Communities-1-1232x924.png)
Following the release of this year’s GCSE and A-level results, some commentators have raised concerns that the educational attainment gap between the north and south of England has widened. This issue is the focus of an upcoming question for short debate in the House of Lords. In preparation for the debate, this briefing looks at recent commentary on the issue and provides an overview of this year’s results.
The government has published an updated plan for music education. It emphasises aspects such as early years music; cooperation between schools and other organisations, for example music hubs; and providing a variety of ways to progress in music. Commentators have welcomed the plan but called for more funding. Some observers have also argued that the structure of testing in schools from age 14 skews the curriculum against music.
