Grahame Morris MP supported the Education and Training (Welfare of Children) Bill in its Committee Stage yesterday afternoon.

The Private Members Bill, presented by Mary Kelly Foy MP, was debated at second reading on Friday 13 March 2020.

The Bill extends statutory safeguarding duties to all post-16 providers of education and training.

The Bill simplifies the current system where safeguarding duties are imposed through a combination of contractual arrangements, Ofsted requirements and statutory provisions.

There is an existing duty on local authorities, the governing bodies of maintained schools and the governing bodies of FE institutions to make arrangements in regard to the welfare of children in section 175 of the Education Act 2002.

This Bill extends the duty to all providers of publicly funded post-16 education and training in relation to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children receiving education or training at the institution, as well as having regard to any guidance given by the Secretary of State.

The Bill contains two substantive clauses and will amend the Education Act 2002 and the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009.

• The Bill will bring 16-19 Academies, SPIs and ILPs in scope of the duty to follow the statutory guidance note Keeping Children Safe in Education.
• The Bill places direct statutory safeguarding duties on 16-19 Academies. For SPIs and ILPs, the Bill places a duty of the Secretary of State so that all funding provided to SPIs and ILPs is subject to an obligation to comply with the safeguarding duties. The duties ensure that institutions are under a duty to safeguard the welfare of those children receiving education or training at the institution and a duty to follow Keeping Children Safe in Education. This includes training and education as a part of a statutory apprenticeship, an approved technical education qualification or approved step towards occupational competence training.

This would also mean any new type of post 16 provider would be covered by the guidance.