diff --git a/client/src/entrypoints/admin/telepath/__snapshots__/widgets.test.js.snap b/client/src/entrypoints/admin/telepath/__snapshots__/widgets.test.js.snap
index c8a10974dd..465c79ed4f 100644
--- a/client/src/entrypoints/admin/telepath/__snapshots__/widgets.test.js.snap
+++ b/client/src/entrypoints/admin/telepath/__snapshots__/widgets.test.js.snap
@@ -1,7 +1,5 @@
 // Jest Snapshot v1, https://goo.gl/fbAQLP
 
-exports[`telepath: wagtail.widgets.CheckboxInput it renders correctly 1`] = `"<input type="checkbox" name="sugar" id="id-sugar" checked="checked">"`;
-
 exports[`telepath: wagtail.widgets.RadioSelect it renders correctly 1`] = `
 "<ul id="the-id">
           <li>
diff --git a/client/src/entrypoints/admin/telepath/widgets.js b/client/src/entrypoints/admin/telepath/widgets.js
index 79dc6891ff..201e0f8bd5 100644
--- a/client/src/entrypoints/admin/telepath/widgets.js
+++ b/client/src/entrypoints/admin/telepath/widgets.js
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-/* global $ */
 import { gettext } from '../../../utils/gettext';
 
 class BoundWidget {
@@ -10,8 +9,11 @@ class BoundWidget {
     parentCapabilities,
     options,
   ) {
-    var selector = ':input[name="' + name + '"]';
-    this.input = element.find(selector).addBack(selector); // find, including element itself
+    var selector = ':is(input,select,textarea,button)[name="' + name + '"]';
+    // find, including element itself
+    this.input = element.matches(selector)
+      ? element
+      : element.querySelector(selector);
     this.idForLabel = idForLabel;
     this.setState(initialState);
     this.parentCapabilities = parentCapabilities || new Map();
@@ -19,15 +21,15 @@ class BoundWidget {
   }
 
   getValue() {
-    return this.input.val();
+    return this.input.value;
   }
 
   getState() {
-    return this.input.val();
+    return this.input.value;
   }
 
   setState(state) {
-    this.input.val(state);
+    this.input.value = state;
   }
 
   getTextLabel(opts) {
@@ -65,17 +67,31 @@ class Widget {
     parentCapabilities,
     options = {},
   ) {
-    var html = this.html.replace(/__NAME__/g, name).replace(/__ID__/g, id);
-    var idForLabel = this.idPattern.replace(/__ID__/g, id);
-    var dom = $(html);
+    const html = this.html.replace(/__NAME__/g, name).replace(/__ID__/g, id);
+    const idForLabel = this.idPattern.replace(/__ID__/g, id);
+
+    /* write the HTML into a temp container to parse it into an element */
+    const tempContainer = document.createElement('div');
+    tempContainer.innerHTML = html.trim();
+    const dom = tempContainer.firstChild;
+
+    /* replace the placeholder with the new element */
+    placeholder.replaceWith(dom);
+
+    /* execute any scripts in the new element */
+    dom.querySelectorAll('script').forEach((script) => {
+      const newScript = document.createElement('script');
+      newScript.text = script.text;
+      script.replaceWith(newScript);
+    });
 
     // Add any extra attributes we received to the HTML of the widget
     if (typeof options?.attributes === 'object') {
       Object.entries(options.attributes).forEach(([key, value]) => {
-        dom.attr(key, value);
+        dom.setAttribute(key, value);
       });
     }
-    $(placeholder).replaceWith(dom);
+
     // eslint-disable-next-line new-cap
     return new this.boundWidgetClass(
       dom,
@@ -91,16 +107,15 @@ window.telepath.register('wagtail.widgets.Widget', Widget);
 
 class BoundCheckboxInput extends BoundWidget {
   getValue() {
-    return this.input.is(':checked');
+    return this.input.checked;
   }
 
   getState() {
-    return this.input.is(':checked');
+    return this.input.checked;
   }
 
   setState(state) {
-    // if false, set attribute value to null to remove it
-    this.input.attr('checked', state || null);
+    this.input.checked = state;
   }
 }
 
@@ -119,19 +134,24 @@ class BoundRadioSelect {
   }
 
   getValue() {
-    return this.element.find(this.selector).val();
+    return this.element.querySelector(this.selector)?.value;
   }
 
   getState() {
-    return this.element.find(this.selector).val();
+    return this.element.querySelector(this.selector)?.value;
   }
 
   setState(state) {
-    this.element.find('input[name="' + this.name + '"]').val([state]);
+    const inputs = this.element.querySelectorAll(
+      'input[name="' + this.name + '"]',
+    );
+    for (let i = 0; i < inputs.length; i += 1) {
+      inputs[i].checked = inputs[i].value === state;
+    }
   }
 
   focus() {
-    this.element.find('input[name="' + this.name + '"]').focus();
+    this.element.querySelector('input[name="' + this.name + '"]')?.focus();
   }
 }
 
@@ -142,7 +162,8 @@ window.telepath.register('wagtail.widgets.RadioSelect', RadioSelect);
 
 class BoundSelect extends BoundWidget {
   getTextLabel() {
-    return this.input.find(':selected').text();
+    const selectedOption = this.input.selectedOptions[0];
+    return selectedOption ? selectedOption.text : '';
   }
 }
 
diff --git a/client/src/entrypoints/admin/telepath/widgets.test.js b/client/src/entrypoints/admin/telepath/widgets.test.js
index 55fef28555..e1085025d2 100644
--- a/client/src/entrypoints/admin/telepath/widgets.test.js
+++ b/client/src/entrypoints/admin/telepath/widgets.test.js
@@ -46,10 +46,14 @@ describe('telepath: wagtail.widgets.Widget', () => {
 
   test('getValue() returns the current value', () => {
     expect(boundWidget.getValue()).toBe('The Value');
+    document.querySelector('input').value = 'New Value';
+    expect(boundWidget.getValue()).toBe('New Value');
   });
 
   test('getState() returns the current state', () => {
     expect(boundWidget.getState()).toBe('The Value');
+    document.querySelector('input').value = 'New Value';
+    expect(boundWidget.getState()).toBe('New Value');
   });
 
   test('setState() changes the current state', () => {
@@ -87,6 +91,37 @@ describe('telepath: wagtail.widgets.Widget', () => {
   });
 });
 
+describe('telepath: wagtail.widgets.Widget with inline JS', () => {
+  let boundWidget;
+  let widgetDef;
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    // Create a placeholder to render the widget
+    document.body.innerHTML = '<div id="placeholder"></div>';
+
+    widgetDef = window.telepath.unpack({
+      _type: 'wagtail.widgets.Widget',
+      _args: [
+        '<div><input type="text" name="__NAME__" maxlength="255" id="__ID__"><script>document.getElementById("__ID__").className = "custom-class";</script></div>',
+        '__ID__',
+      ],
+    });
+    boundWidget = widgetDef.render(
+      document.getElementById('placeholder'),
+      'the-name',
+      'the-id',
+      'The Value',
+    );
+  });
+
+  test('it renders correctly', () => {
+    expect(document.body.querySelector('input').outerHTML).toBe(
+      '<input type="text" name="the-name" maxlength="255" id="the-id" class="custom-class">',
+    );
+    expect(document.querySelector('input').value).toBe('The Value');
+  });
+});
+
 describe('telepath: wagtail.widgets.RadioSelect', () => {
   let boundWidget;
 
@@ -141,9 +176,8 @@ describe('telepath: wagtail.widgets.RadioSelect', () => {
   test('focus() focuses the text input', () => {
     boundWidget.focus();
 
-    // Note: This widget always focuses the last element
     expect(document.activeElement).toBe(
-      document.querySelector('input[value="coffee"]'),
+      document.querySelector('input[value="tea"]'),
     );
   });
 });
@@ -168,7 +202,6 @@ describe('telepath: wagtail.widgets.CheckboxInput', () => {
   });
 
   test('it renders correctly', () => {
-    expect(document.body.innerHTML).toMatchSnapshot();
     expect(document.querySelector('input[id="id-sugar"]').checked).toBe(true);
   });
 
diff --git a/docs/releases/6.1.md b/docs/releases/6.1.md
index 00dbb1f4d3..a4eb6b600d 100644
--- a/docs/releases/6.1.md
+++ b/docs/releases/6.1.md
@@ -276,3 +276,7 @@ In the new approach, we no longer need to attach an inline script but instead us
     data-w-block-arguments-value="[{value_json},{error_json}]"
 ></div>
 ```
+
+### Removal of jQuery from base client-side Widget and BoundWidget classes
+
+The JavaScript base classes `Widget` and `BoundWidget` that provide client-side access to form widgets (see [](streamfield_widget_api)) no longer use jQuery. The `element` argument passed to the `BoundWidget` constructor, and the `input` property of `BoundWidget`, are now native DOM elements rather than jQuery collections. User code that extends these classes should be updated accordingly.