Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

Currently, the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted) is responsible for the inspection and regulation of services that take care of children and services that provide education in the UK.

Ofsted has the power to inspect and take action, if they feel it is warranted, as follows:

1. Raise a requirement
2. Make a recommendation
3. Issue a welfare requirement notice
4. Issue a compliance notice
5. Suspend/cancel registration
6. Restrict accommodation
7. Impose conditions of registration
8. Refuse / vary conditions of registration
9. Refuse a new registration application
10. Refuse a request to vary / remove conditions of registration
11. Undertake regulatory meetings
12. Issue warning letters and cautions
13. Prosecute providers, directors and managers

The Bill itself contains wide ranging measures that impact a number of areas. The measures proposed in relation to Ofsted seek to close loopholes that exist within the current regulatory framework and provide Ofsted with increased powers.

The current legislation covers individual settings and agencies but not provider groups with multiple settings. The proposed Bill will require provider groups to prepare, implement and agree an improvement plan with Ofsted where concerns have been identified – the aim being to allow Ofsted to take action at a higher level rather than by setting to setting. The Bill does not introduce inspections of provider groups, on the basis that there is already an ‘existing robust regime’ in place to inspect from setting to setting.

Despite the fact that running an unregistered independent school or an unregistered children’s home is an offence, it does still happen. The Bill includes new powers for Ofsted to impose monetary penalties on those found to be operating unregistered children’s homes.

In addition to the measures listed above that are available to Ofsted, if the Bill goes through in its current form, Ofsted will also have the power to issue monetary penalties if improvements are not seen and to refuse further registration applications from provider groups.

They will also have the power to issue fines for breaches of the Care Standards Act 2000, including those operating unregistered children’s homes as noted above.

The supporting literature states ‘Ofsted’s new enforcement power to issue a monetary penalties and to limit the granting of registrations are intended to ensure the group implements improvements, and ultimately … help safeguard and protect vulnerable children, reduce risks and improve their experience.

It is not clear how further reducing funds available to implement improvements will achieve the above alleged aims. It seems to be a purely punitive measure but one that is likely to actually get the attention of the group providers.

The rub is likely to come when smaller providers who have been fined no longer have the funds available to them to seek professional input – legal or otherwise – placing further pressure on a sector that is already struggling.

RWK Goodman’s Health and Social Care Team provides support to children’s services including children’s homes, supported accommodation providers and special schools.