Children and Families Act 2014 CHAPTER 6 Explanatory Notes have been produced to assist in the understanding of this Act and are available separately £28.75 Children and Families Act 2014 CHAPTER 6 CONTENTS PART 1 ADOPTION AND CONTACT Adoption 1 Contact between prescribed persons and adopted person’s relatives 2 Placement of looked after children with prospective adopters 3 Repeal of requirement to give due consideration to ethnicity: England 4 Recruitment, assessment and approval of prospective adopters 5 Adoption support services: personal budgets 6 Adoption support services: duty to provide information 7 The Adoption and Children Act Register Contact 8 Contact: children in care of local authorities 9 Contact: post-adoption PART 2 FAMILY JUSTICE 10 Family mediation information and assessment meetings 11 Welfare of the child: parental involvement 12 Child arrangements orders 13 Control of expert evidence, and of assessments, in children proceedings 14 Care, supervision and other family proceedings: time limits and timetables 15 Care plans 16 Care proceedings and care plans: regulations: procedural requirements 17 Repeal of restrictions on divorce and dissolution etc where there are children 18 Repeal of uncommenced provisions of Part 2 of the Family Law Act 1996 ii Children and Families Act 2014 (c. 6) PART 3 CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE IN ENGLAND WITH SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS OR DISABILITIES Local authority functions: general principles 19 Local authority functions: supporting and involving children and young people Special educational needs etc 20 When a child or young person has special educational needs 21 Special educational provision, health care provision and social care provision Identifying children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities 22 Identifying children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities 23 Duty of health bodies to bring certain children to local authority’s attention Children and young people for whom a local authority is responsible 24 When a local authority is responsible for a child or young person Education, health and care provision: integration and joint commissioning 25 Promoting integration 26 Joint commissioning arrangements Review of education and care provision 27 Duty to keep education and care provision under review Co-operation and assistance 28 Co-operating generally: local authority functions 29 Co-operating generally: governing body functions Information and advice 30 Local offer 31 Co-operating in specific cases: local authority functions 32 Advice and information Mainstream education 33 Children and young people with EHC plans 34 Children and young people with special educational needs but no EHC plan 35 Children with SEN in maintained nurseries and mainstream schools Assessment 36 Assessment of education, health and care needs Children and Families Act 2014 (c. 6) iii Education, health and care plans 37 Education, health and care plans 38 Preparation of EHC plans: draft plan 39 Finalising EHC plans: request for particular school or other institution 40 Finalising EHC plans: no request for particular school or other institution 41 Independent special schools and special post-16 institutions: approval 42 Duty to secure special educational provision and health care provision in accordance with EHC Plan 43 Schools and other institutions named in EHC plan: duty to admit 44 Reviews and re-assessments 45 Ceasing to maintain an EHC plan 46 Maintaining an EHC plan after young person’s 25th birthday 47 Transfer of EHC plans 48 Release of child or young person for whom EHC plan previously maintained 49 Personal budgets and direct payments 50 Continuation of services under section 17 of the Children Act 1989 Appeals, mediation and dispute resolution 51 Appeals 52 Right to mediation 53 Mediation: health care issues 54 Mediation: educational and social care issues etc 55 Mediation 56 Mediation: supplementary 57 Resolution of disagreements 58 Appeals and claims by children: pilot schemes 59 Appeals and claims by children: follow-up provision 60 Equality Act 2010: claims against schools by disabled young people Special educational provision: functions of local authorities 61 Special educational provision otherwise than in schools, post-16 institutions etc 62 Special educational provision outside England and Wales 63 Fees for special educational provision at non-maintained schools and post-16 institutions 64 Supply of goods and services 65 Access to schools, post-16 institutions and other institutions Special educational provision: functions of governing bodies and others 66 Using best endeavours to secure special educational provision 67 SEN co-ordinators 68 Informing parents and young people 69 SEN information report Detained persons 70 Application of Part to detained persons 71 Assessment of post-detention education, health and care needs of detained persons 72 Securing EHC plans for certain detained persons 73 EHC plans for certain detained persons: appeals and mediation iv Children and Families Act 2014 (c. 6) 74 Duty to keep EHC plans for detained persons 75 Supply of goods and services: detained persons Information to improve well-being of children and young people with SEN 76 Provision and publication of special needs information Code of practice 77 Code of practice 78 Making and approval of code 79 Review of resolution of disagreements Supplementary 80 Parents and young people lacking capacity 81 Disapplication of Chapter 1 of Part 4 of EA 1996 in relation to children in England 82 Consequential amendments 83 Interpretation of Part 3 PART 4 CHILDCARE ETC 84 Childminder agencies 85 Inspections at request of providers of childcare to young children 86 Repeal of local authority’s duty to assess sufficiency of childcare provision 87 Discharge of authority’s duty to secure free early years provision 88 Governing bodies: provision of community facilities 89 Childcare costs scheme: preparatory expenditure PART 5 WELFARE OF CHILDREN Child performances 90 Extension of licensing of child performances to children under 14 Tobacco, nicotine products and smoking 91 Purchase of tobacco etc.
on behalf of persons under 18 92 Prohibition of sale of nicotine products to persons under 18 93 Amendments consequential on section 92 94 Regulation of retail packaging etc of tobacco products 95 Smoking in a private vehicle Young carers and parent carers 96 Young carers 97 Parent carers Children and Families Act 2014 (c. 6) v Staying put arrangements 98 Arrangements for living with former foster parents after reaching adulthood Educational achievement of looked after children 99 Promotion of educational achievement of children looked after by local authorities Pupils with medical conditions 100 Duty to support pupils with medical conditions Local authority functions: intervention 101 Local authority functions relating to children etc: intervention Regulation of children’s homes etc 102 Application of suspension etc powers to establishments and agencies in England 103 Objectives and standards for establishments and agencies in England 104 National minimum standards for establishments and agencies in England 105 Disqualification from carrying on, or being employed in, a children’s home Free school lunches 106 Provision of free school lunches PART 6 THE CHILDREN’S COMMISSIONER 107 Primary function of the Children’s Commissioner 108 Provision by Commissioner of advice and assistance to certain children 109 Commissioner’s powers to enter premises 110 Provision of information to Commissioner 111 Advisory board 112 Business plans 113 Annual reports 114 Children living away from home or receiving social care 115 Children’s Commissioner: minor and consequential amendments 116 Repeal of requirement to appoint Children’s Rights Director PART 7 STATUTORY RIGHTS TO LEAVE AND PAY Shared parental leave 117 Shared parental leave 118 Exclusion or curtailment of other statutory rights to leave vi Children and Families Act 2014 (c. 6) Statutory shared parental pay 119 Statutory shared parental pay 120 Exclusion or curtailment of other statutory rights to pay Other statutory rights 121 Statutory rights to leave and pay of prospective adopters with whom looked after children are placed 122 Statutory rights to leave and pay of applicants for parental orders 123 Statutory paternity pay: notice requirement and period of payment 124 Rate of statutory adoption pay 125 Abolition of additional paternity leave and additional statutory paternity pay Further amendments 126 Further amendments PART 8 TIME OFF WORK: ANTE-NATAL CARE ETC 127 Time off work to accompany to ante-natal appointments 128 Time off work to attend adoption appointments 129 Right not to be subjected to detriment: agency workers 130 Time off work for ante-natal care: increased amount of award PART 9 RIGHT TO REQUEST FLEXIBLE WORKING 131 Removal of requirement to be a carer 132 Dealing with applications 133 Complaints to employment tribunals 134 Review of sections 131 to 133 PART 10 GENERAL PROVISIONS 135 Orders and regulations 136 Consequential amendments, repeals and revocations 137 Transitional, transitory or saving provision 138 Financial provision 139 Commencement 140 Short title and extent Schedule 1 — The Adoption and Children Act Register Schedule 2 — Child arrangements orders: amendments Part 1 — Amendments of the Children Act 1989 Part 2 — Amendments in other legislation Children and Families Act 2014 (c. 6) vii Schedule 3 — Special educational needs: consequential amendments Part 1 — Amendments to the Education Act 1996 Part 2 — Amendments to other Acts Schedule 4 — Childminder agencies: amendments Part 1 — The childcare registers Part 2 — Early years childminder agencies Part 3 — Later years childminder agencies Part 4 — Voluntary registration with childminder agency Part 5 — Provisions applying in relation to all childminder agencies Part 6 — Other amendments Schedule 5 — Children’s Commissioner: minor and consequential amendments Schedule 6 — Repeal of requirement to appoint Children’s Rights Director: transfer schemes Schedule 7 — Statutory rights to leave and pay: further amendments ELIZABETH II c.
6 Children and Families Act 2014 2014 CHAPTER 6 An Act to make provision about children, families, and people with special educational needs or disabilities; to make provision about the right to request flexible working; and for connected purposes. [13th March 2014] B E IT ENACTED by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:— PART 1 ADOPTION AND CONTACT Adoption 1 Contact between prescribed persons and adopted person’s relatives (1) In section 98 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 (pre-commencement adoptions: information), after subsection (1) insert— “(1A) Regulations under section 9 may make provision for the purpose of facilitating contact between persons with a prescribed relationship to a person adopted before the appointed day and that person’s relatives. (3) In subsection (7) of that section, after the definition of “appointed day” insert— ““prescribed” means prescribed by regulations under section 9;”. 2 Placement of looked after children with prospective adopters (1) Section 22C of the Children Act 1989 is amended as follows.
2 Children and Families Act 2014 (c. 6) Part 1 — Adoption and contact (2) In subsection (7), after “subject to” insert “subsection (9B) and”. (3) After subsection (9) insert— “(9A) Subsection (9B) applies (subject to subsection (9C)) where the local authority are a local authority in England and— (a) are considering adoption for C, or (b) are satisfied that C ought to be placed for adoption but are not authorised under section 19 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 (placement with parental consent) or by virtue of section 21 of that Act (placement orders) to place C for adoption. (9B) Where this subsection applies— (a) subsections (7) to (9) do not apply to the local authority, (b) the local authority must consider placing C with an individual within subsection (6)(a), and (c) where the local authority decide that a placement with such an individual is not the most appropriate placement for C, the local authority must consider placing C with a local authority foster parent who has been approved as a prospective adopter.
(9C) Subsection (9B) does not apply where the local authority have applied for a placement order under section 21 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 in respect of C and the application has been refused.” 3 Repeal of requirement to give due consideration to ethnicity: England (1) Section 1 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 (considerations applying when making decisions about the adoption of a child) is amended as follows.