Confederation of School Trusts Chief Executive Leora Cruddas CBE said: "We welcome the proposed new register to identify children not in school and the unique identifier number for children across services. This will help to ensure that no child falls through gaps.
"We also welcome the investment in family help services. The government is right to attempt to stop excessive profit-making in children’s homes and children’s social care providers.
"We have yet to see the details of the proposed provisions in the bill relating to schools. We will want to scrutinise these provisions carefully and talk to our members before making a comment. It is important to say that academy trusts have made a sustained and significant contribution to improving schools in the most challenging circumstances, including in the most economically deprived areas of the country.
"School trusts have lived up to the original mission of the previous Labour government to make a difference to the education of children, particularly in the most disadvantaged areas. We must ensure that the enabling conditions for excellence and innovation are protected and indeed enhanced going forwards.”
