Commentary on provisions of Act
Section 1: Welfare of children: 16 to 19 Academies and further education
- Section 1 of the Act inserts new section 175(3A) into section 175 of the 2002 Act. Section 175(3A) extends the safeguarding duties to 16-19 Academies. The proprietor of the Academy must ensure that they have appropriate arrangements in place to safeguard and promote the welfare of children receiving education or training at the Academy. A proprietor is the Academy Trust that is responsible for the running of the Academy. Section 175(4) (as amended) requires the proprietor to take into account any guidance issued by the Secretary of State.
- Section 1 also brings providers who receive funding from the Secretary of State for the provision of further education within scope of the safeguarding duties. This covers SPIs as well as ILPs providing further education. The providers have been identified as either those that enter into agreements with the Secretary of State for the provision of further education (new section 175(3B)(a)), or those that are provided with financial assistance for the provision of further education by the Secretary of State (new section 175(3B)(b)).
- Subsection (3B) does not restrict the Secretary of State's power to enter into an agreement with, or give financial assistance to, an institution to which subsections (3) or (3A) apply. Subsections (3) and (3A) make respective provision themselves for the institutions to which they apply to make arrangements to ensure that functions relating to the conduct of the institution are exercised with a view to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children receiving education or training at the institution. This, in effect, prevents duplication of the duties that apply to those institutions.
- The Secretary of State is obliged to ensure that the terms of the agreement with the proprietor of the institution, or the terms of the financial assistance provided, require the proprietor to comply with the safeguarding duties. The proprietor will be those that are responsible for the management of that institution. The proprietor must make arrangements to ensure that its functions relating to the conduct of the institution are exercised with a view to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, having regard to any guidance issued by the Secretary of State. This includes, for example, ensuring they have appropriate recruitment, security and reporting policies and procedures in place to support the safety and wellbeing of children receiving education and training.
Section 2: Welfare of children: apprenticeships and technical education
- Section 2 inserts into the 2009 Act new section 101A, which extends the safeguarding duties to apprenticeship training providers (which receive funding under section 100(1A)) and providers of education or training associated with a T Level or approved technical education qualification (which receive funding under section 100(1B)).
- The obligation is on the Secretary of State to ensure that the terms of the financial resources provided to these providers contain the safeguarding duties. The safeguarding duties will be contained within the funding agreement that the provider enters into with the Secretary of State.
- The provider must make arrangements to safeguard and promote the welfare of children receiving education or training as part of an apprenticeship or T Level. They must also have regard to any guidance by the Secretary of State in considering what arrangements are required.
Section 3: Extent, commencement and short title
- Section 3(1) sets out the territorial extent of the Act, that is, the legal jurisdictions of which the Act forms part of the law. The extent of an Act can be different from its application. Application is about where an Act produces a practical effect rather than where it forms part of the law.
- The provisions of this Act extend to England and Wales and apply only to England.
- Section 3(3) provides that the short title of the Act is the Education and Training (Welfare of Children) Act 2021.
