Member

Accepting either amendment would mean accepting a two-tier system where some children receive an education which is potentially less safe and subject to less oversight than that of their peers—that case was exemplified very clearly by the points made by the noble Baroness, Lady Spielman—purely because the educational setting that they attend full-time offers religious instruction to a greater or lesser degree. It is an important principle that settings whose hours of operation suggest that they are operating like a school and providing all or a majority of a child’s education are regulated. Clause 36 supports that principle and, although I understand the position from which the amendments are coming, Amendments 427A and 427C would undermine that principle.