The Schools Bill was introduced on 11th May 2022 and is awaiting its third reading. There is speculation that the government may, in fact, ‘abandon’ this bill.

1. Schools Bill: Regulation of
Academies and Trusts
EDUCATION
Sir Peter
Birkett

2. SCHOOLS BILL: REGULATION
OF ACADEMIES AND TRUSTS
The Schools Bill was introduced on 11th
May 2022 and is awaiting its third reading.
There is speculation that the government
may, in fact, ‘abandon’ this bill.
The Background
The government stated that the aim of
the bill was to ‘help every child fulfil their
potential wherever they live, raising stand-
ards and improving the quality of schools.’
It was also promised that the bill would in-
clude essential safeguarding measures
by, among other things, increasing Of-
sted’s power to inspect non-registered
schools and strengthening the teacher
misconduct regime currently in place.
The Reaction to the Bill
The initial reaction to the bill was mixed.
Plans to introduce a register of children
not in schools was welcomed by the Na-
tional Education Union (NEU) and the

3. The initial reaction to the bill
was mixed. Plans to introduce
a register of children not in
schools was welcomed by the
National Education Union (NEU)
and the National Association of
Headteachers (NAHT).
“
The government stated that the aim of the bill was to ‘help
every child fulfil their potential wherever they live, raising
standards and improving the quality of schools.’
National Association of Headteach-
ers (NAHT). The Local Government
Association was also positive about
plans to increase Ofsted’s powers to
inspect illegally operating schools.
However, the NEU criticized what it
termed as the bill’s ‘piecemeal and
patchwork approach’ and the NAHT
suggested that the government’s
ambition to reform school struc-
tures was ‘likely to be controversial’.

4. For more information
about the Schools Bill,
visit the blog of Sir
Peter Birkett.