Children and Families Act 2014

Question 1

What is the Children and Families Act?

Answer 1

The Children and Families Act 2014 includes reforms for adoption, special educational needs, and children in care

Question 2

What are the key points of the Children and Families Act?

Answer 2

• The Role of the Children’s commissioner
• Parents who have a new child
• Family courts and justice
• SEND (children with special educational needs and disabilities)

Question 3

What does it mean by The Role of the Children’s commissioner?

Answer 3

• The act has given the commissioner stronger powers
• The commissioner has to focus on the rights of all children, including those in care or living away from home.
• The commissioner’s role has increased from representing the ‘views and interests’ of children to ‘promoting and protecting’ the rights of children

Question 4

What does it mean by Parents who have a new child?

Answer 4

• Parental leave - mothers, fathers and adopters can opt to share parental leave so each can take time off work when they have a new baby
• Fathers or a mother’s partner can take unpaid leave to attend up to two weeks of antenatal appointments
• Allows both parents to have time off to go to clinic appointments before their baby is born
• Allows people who are going to adopt a child to go to meetings about adoption

Question 5

What does it mean by Family courts and justice?

Answer 5

• Introduced a 26 week deadline to the family court to rule on care proceedings
• In cases where parents are splitting up, the courts should help parents do what is right for their child, not what the parents might want
• Courts are to take the view that after separation both parents should be involved in their children’s life, if it is safe and in the child’s best interests
• Introduced a single order called and ‘child arrangements order’ to replace contact and residence orders

Question 6

What does it mean by SEND (children with special educational needs and disabilities)?

Answer 6

• Introduced Education and Health Care (EHC) plans which ensure children, young people and their families get support from birth until they are 25
• Children’s needs are assessed in a holistic way with EHC plans
• Gives rights to a personal budget for children with an EHC plan so they can pay for services they need
• When writing an EHC plan, parents have to be involved in decisions about the child’s care and education
• Young people and parents must be informed by the local authority of services they are entitled to so they are aware of the choices that are available
• Schools to be provided with more support for children with medical conditions. This means children can choose to attend mainstream schools if they want to
• Aims to get education, health, and social care services to work together