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Mr. Nicholls: I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for giving way to me again. Over the weekend, a teacher telephoned me to say that it was his understanding of the Children Act 1989 that a teacher would be completely incapable of manhandling, even in the mildest way,
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a child out of a classroom--with a view, no doubt, to that child being excluded--without laying himself open to prosecution for assault. Can my right hon. Friend clarify that in any way? If she cannot do so this afternoon, will she undertake to clarify it to find out whether that point can be dealt with?
Mrs. Shephard: There certainly are problems. They affect not only teachers, but social workers and people who handle others in any way--for example, people who work in homes for the elderly. Allegations are made of abuse, mishandling and so on. There has always been a problem in relation to that. I cannot clarify that matter further for my hon. Friend at the moment, but he might like to know that teaching organisations have welcomed a code of practice, which the Department has produced with them and with social services departments, clarifying some matters and giving guidance to teachers in such positions.
Mr. Barry Jones (Alyn and Deeside): Is the right hon. Lady abandoning her personal position on caning?
Mrs. Shephard: The Government's position on corporal punishment remains as I outlined it in the debate on the Gracious Speech. I do not have anything more to add to that, except to say that we have included in the Bill the provisions on discipline that teachers have asked for. They have not asked for a return of corporal punishment and it is therefore not in the Bill.
Mr. David Blunkett (Sheffield, Brightside): Is it not a fact that the Secretary of State has not simply reiterated what she said on 29 October because, since that date, there has been a change in policy? The policy enunciated on 29 October was surely that that was a Government position, that she would adhere to that position even though she disagreed with it and that her Back Benchers would therefore be part of that process. Has there not been since then, over the past few days, a change--a new convention--which, had it applied to the poll tax, would have saved us all much concern and the nation much upheaval and heartache? There can now be a free vote for her Back Benchers, but not for Front Benchers. The Government's position remains firm; that of Back Benchers does not. Is there likely to be another change that will allow her, as well as her Back Benchers, a free vote?
Mrs. Shephard: I have reiterated the Government's position. I said, I think in the debate on the Gracious Speech, that there would be amendments, but that they would not receive Government backing. As hon. Members know, my colleagues on the Back Benches will have a free vote on those issues.
The Bill allows--but does not require--the signing of home-school agreements to be used in the admissions process as a condition of entry. That will encourage, we hope, a constructive relationship between parents and schools, including on discipline, but sanctions on their own are not enough. Pupils with behavioural problems are still entitled to an education and schools need help in dealing with those problems.
The Bill therefore requires every local education authority to publish in full their policies for pupils with behavioural problems. Authorities will have to consult
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Those measures provide a better framework for dealing with pupil discipline problems. They will bolster the authority of schools, and help to ensure that schools have the support that they need and that individual pupils' behavioural problems are properly tackled.
Mr. Clive Soley (Hammersmith):
The Secretary of State must know that there is a disaster out there with children who have been excluded. The Bill means that other schools will be able to refuse those pupils. There is a total lack of resources for the appropriate alternatives, including one-to-one tuition. If she is serious about that matter, she must provide well-resourced alternatives to a school, including one-to-one tuition for children, who would otherwise be in desperately serious trouble and who would then impose that trouble on the rest of the community.
Mrs. Shephard:
Local education authorities are resourced to deal with all the children in their care, whether they are in school or educated outside. The hon. Gentleman will be interested to note, however, that the Bill will require that, in setting out their plans, local education authorities should consult and work with other relevant agencies--again, a provision that has been welcomed by teaching organisations.
I have concentrated on the parts of the Bill dealing with pupil selection, grant-maintained freedoms and school discipline. I now come to the last part of the Bill, which is about raising standards. All the measures in the Bill have that aim. Selection and deregulation will help to create a pattern of schools in which each can develop its own strengths. The discipline measures will help to create an environment in which effective teaching and learning can take place, but the Bill also sets out specific measures to raise standards.
The Bill requires that all primary schools should assess pupils at or around age five to provide a base line from which to plan each child's education, and to measure each child's progress to completing the national curriculum framework, so that we can have a proper measure of what children achieve through the compulsory school years.
Mr. Lawrence Cunliffe (Leigh):
How then does the Secretary of State reconcile the raising of standards with the statement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer that all teacher pay awards will not be funded centrally? If that is the case, added to the fact that efficiency savings by all local education authorities in Britain are at rock bottom, inevitably, many authorities, especially those in Wigan and Leigh, will be forced to make teacher pay awards through teacher redundancies. How can that possibly raise standards? It will obviously increase teacher share-out and the size of classes, and cut the number of books and expenditure.
Mrs. Shephard:
Teachers' pay is of course a matter for the independent School Teachers Review Body. I do not have to tell the hon. Gentleman that authorities have
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The Bill requires that all schools should set targets for improving their performance. We have ambitious targets for raising our education and training achievements at national level and schools must play a part. It is right to require all schools to set targets, as many already do. We shall set a framework for such assessments. Through the Bill, a national framework will be achieved by the merger of the School Curriculum and Assessment Authority and the National Council for Vocational Qualifications. The new Qualifications and National Curriculum Authority will oversee the curriculum and assessment in schools, but it will also continue the work of developing a coherent set of courses and qualifications for young people at 16 and beyond, in sixth forms, in further education, in training for employment and, as adults, throughout their working lives.
One of the purposes of education is to prepare young people for their adult working lives. The link between education standards and employment is clear. Graduates are only half as likely to be unemployed as non-graduates. Those with no educational qualifications are three times more likely to be unemployed than those who succeed academically. That message has to be understood by those who underachieve at school and by those who teach them.
When so many options are available in education, training and employment, making the right choice depends increasingly on good careers education and guidance. The Bill will ensure that all 14 to 16-year-olds get a planned programme of careers education. It will also ensure that schools and colleges work closely with the careers service in providing the information and guidance that pupils and students need.
Finally, the Bill extends the powers of Ofsted to inspect the work of local education authorities. The Government want schools to have as much independence as possible, but that still leaves LEAs with a significant role. They will need to show that they can fulfil their role effectively and efficiently.
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