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Mr. Edward Leigh (Gainsborough): Has the hon. Gentleman noted that the top 64 schools in the league tables on key stage 2 results were Church schools, many of which are three times oversubscribed? I therefore refer him to page 67 of the document, "Foundation Schools", and wonder whether the Government will consider allowing existing county or private schools to become faith-based schools. That would give a greater opportunity to parents who want to send their children to such schools, which provide such excellent education. Those schools emphasise that good education is not just about academic standards, but about creating a whole person who wants to give to society. Are the Government therefore committed to expanding the Church-based sector?
Mr. Byers: The hon. Gentleman has said nothing with which I could disagree. I assure him that when we issue our technical consultation paper on the structure of schools, which will address the issue of community-aided and foundation schools, we shall refer specifically to not just the role of the aided sector, but whether schools that are currently maintained could express a preference about which of the three new types of school they may prefer to become. There will be a presumption that certain types of schools will become a certain type under the new
structure. That will be a decision for individual schools, and no restriction will be placed upon them. They will have the freedom to choose which of the three new types of school they believe would be in the best interests of the school, the community and the parents.
The White Paper is based on six fundamental principles that are applied across the range of the proposals contained within it. First, education will be at the heart of the Government. That means a commitment by all Departments, not just the Department for Education and Employment. For example, the new Department for Culture, Media and Sport, which is responsible for the national lottery, will provide some funding to train teachers in information technology. It also means working with the Department of Health on our healthy schools initiative. Perhaps above everything else, education will be at the heart of the Government because we have a Prime Minister who values and recognises the importance of education not just to individual children, but to the country.
Secondly, we want policies designed to benefit the many, not just the few. That will mean an end to divisive funding. It will mean making sure that our children can read, write and add up by the time they leave primary school. It means using resources that were targeted on elite entry to private schools in order to reduce class sizes in primary schools for the benefit of all children.
Hon. Members know that yesterday our Bill to phase out the assisted places scheme suffered an amendment in the House of Lords. That amendment would deny the resources to reduce class sizes for five, six and seven-year-olds and seeks to preserve the existing position. We will overturn it when it returns to this House next week. I have not had the opportunity to discover which of their noble Lords voted for it, but I guess that the majority were hereditary peers. It is a classic example of privilege defending privilege.
Mrs. Angela Browning (Tiverton and Honiton):
Is the Minister aware that many of their lordships pressed for that amendment because they have had correspondence, as we have had, from parents who, before Labour came to power, were given pledges in writing from his colleagues that places between 11 and 13 would be honoured? It is a matter not of hereditary peerages but of keeping one's word.
Mr. Byers:
On precisely that point, the hon. Lady may not have read the debate yesterday. When she has time, she will find that a clear pledge was given by my noble Friend Baroness Blackstone that any parents who had relied on the letter to which the hon. Lady referred would have the discretion offered in the Bill exercised in their favour. If, as she says, it is a question of trust, we have honoured the content of the letter. The amendment that was carried yesterday had little to do with trust, and more to do with defending privilege.
Ms Margaret Hodge (Barking):
Does my hon. Friend agree that it is a bit rich for Opposition Members to talk about keeping their word, given their record in government? Is it not for the Government to keep their word and implement our manifesto pledge, which was
Mr. Byers:
My hon. Friend is right. It is a question of keeping our word. It was given in a letter from my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, Walton (Mr. Kilfoyle), who was then Opposition spokesman, and it will be kept, as Baroness Blackstone said in yesterday's debate. We will keep our word to the electorate and honour our pledge to reduce class sizes for five, six and seven-year-olds.
Mr. Don Foster (Bath):
Will the Minister confirm that Baroness Blackstone went even further than he has suggested by stating that there would be a presumption that children in prep schools who expected to go on to the age of 13 would be allowed to do so, subject to the quite proper individual checks that she announced to the Lords?
Mr. Byers:
The hon. Gentleman is right. It has been pointed out to me that the defeat would not have been inflicted but for hereditary peerages. It is a good example of privilege defending privilege. The assisted places scheme is going to go; the sooner we get rid of hereditary peerages, the better.
The third principle that underpins the White Paper is that we have made it clear that standards matter more than structures. It is good teaching and strong leadership by heads that make the difference, not tinkering with school structures. We shall get the structures right, but they are a means to an end, not an end in themselves. Structures alone do not raise standards.
The fourth principle underpinning the White Paper is that intervention will be in inverse proportion to success. We shall challenge schools to succeed. We shall provide advice and guidance. We shall celebrate schools' successes, but where a school is failing, we shall not hesitate to intervene to protect the interests of the pupils. Linked to that is the fifth principle: there will be zero tolerance of underperformance. That applies to teachers, schools, local education authorities and this Government. We intend to create an education service in which every school is excellent, improving or both. Our children do not get a chance to retake their childhood or school years. For their sake, we must not tolerate failure.
The sixth principle is that the Government will work in partnership with all those committed to higher standards. We shall put an end to the divisiveness that has characterised the education world over the past 18 years. The Government will lead, but they cannot succeed alone. We want to take with us parents, teachers, governors, local education authorities, Churches and employers, all of whom have a vital part to play. We are confident that they will want to join us in our crusade to raise standards.
In the time that I have today, I cannot go through all the proposals in the White Paper. I want to highlight two important areas about which there has already been some debate and several important questions raised. The first is the relationship between schools, local education authorities and the Government, and their respective roles in raising standards. Secondly, I want to address the issue of teaching as a profession based on high status and high standards.
The relationship between schools, local education authorities and the Government is important. Several concerns about that relationship have been raised,
especially by the right hon. Member for Charnwood (Mr. Dorrell) during the statement to the House on 7 July. I want to take this opportunity to make clear the Government's thinking about this important area and to clarify the way in which we wish the relationship to develop.
It is important to stress that the White Paper must be seen as a whole. Individual sentences should not be taken out of context. In considering the new relationship between schools, local education authorities and the Government, there are three specific matters that I want to address: first, setting targets for Government, local education authorities and individual schools; secondly, the role of local education authorities in school improvement; and thirdly, how we see education development plans working to raise standards.
On setting targets, we propose that, by September 1998, every school will have targets set for it. Every school can and must improve. Even the best schools, with some of the best examination results, can do better. Those schools know that, and we want to set them challenging targets, as we shall challenge schools that are underperforming. The real challenge facing the Government and our country is not the 300 schools that have been identified as failing schools by Her Majesty's chief inspector and that are under special measures as a result; it is the 40 to 50 per cent. of schools that are getting by. They are coasting, doing well enough. Parents may be content, but those schools must be challenged because they could do a lot better. It is those schools, thousands of them, that will play a key part in raising national attainment standards. Every school will have targets set.
If schools are to take their targets seriously, it is vital that they take direct responsibility for them. Individual school targets should be based on national targets and the rate of progress needed to achieve them, benchmark information on the performance of similar schools at local and national level, and the most recent inspection evidence.
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