The right to home schooling will no longer be automatic for parents of the most vulnerable children under new government proposals.
Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, will unveil a new bill in parliament on Tuesday – the same day that Sara Sharif’s killers will be sentenced – that aims to address some of the safeguarding concerns prompted by the high-profile case.
Under the proposed legislation, the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, local councils will be given the power to intervene and demand school attendance if they deem a child’s home environment unsuitable or unsafe.
It will also remove the automatic right for parents to home-school their child if their child is subject to a protection investigation or is under a protection plan – meaning they are suspected of being at risk of significant harm.
New registers will also be brought in to identify children not in school, as well as unique identifier numbers to record any issues and prevent children from “falling through the cracks”.
Last week Sara’s father, Urfan Sharif, and stepmother, Beinash Batool, were convicted of her murder.
Her uncle, Faisal Malik, 29, was convicted of causing or allowing her death, prompting the prime minister to say there were “questions that need to be answered“ on protections for children.
During the trial at the Old Bailey, prosecutors said Sara started wearing a hijab to hide her injuries and that she was taken out of school in April 2023 after teachers spotted bruises on her face and referred her to social services.
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However, her case was closed after six days.
It later emerged that concerns about Sara’s care were first raised when she was less than a week old, while her parents were known to social services three years prior.
Ms Phillipson said the bill would be a “seminal moment for child protection”.
“In recent years, too many children have been failed by their last line of defence: the state,” she added.
“This bill will be a seminal moment for child protection. No more words, no more lessons learnt. This government will put children first at every turn.
“That means a child-centred government, with better protections for young people and real join-up between children’s social care, schools and local services.”
The Department for Education said measures in the bill will ensure teachers and schools are always involved in decisions around safeguarding children in their area.
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Ms Phillipson’s words were echoed by Dame Rachel de Souza, the children’s commissioner, who said the bill “lays a foundation for change in many children’s lives – many of whom have been neglected or hidden by services working in silo”.
“As children’s commissioner I have called on successive governments to introduce a unique identifying number for children and a register of all children not in school.
“Writing these two landmark measures into law will be of huge significance for any child currently at risk of harm in this country – it must now be supported by proper data-sharing between organisations so no child can become invisible in the system.”
