ANNEX I
GOVERNMENT'S RESPONSE TO THE COMMITTEE'S
SIXTH REPORT
Letter to Barry Sheerman MP, Education
& Employment Committee from Estelle Morris, Minister for School
Standards, Department for Education and Employment
12 July 2000
I am responding on behalf of the Government to the
Sub-committee's report about HM Chief Inspector's annual report
for 1998-99 which was published on 16 May. I understand that HM
Chief Inspector has written to you with a separate response on
behalf of OFSTED.
The Government's response to the Sub-committee's
specific conclusions and recommendations is as follows:
1. We welcome the positive tone of the 1998-99
Annual Report.
The Government endorses the Committee's welcome of
the positive tone of HM Chief Inspector's Report. We recognise
that good, well-motivated teachers are the key to success in every
school and appreciate that the improvements noted have been achieved
as a result of their hard work and dedication. The Green Paper
Teachers—meeting the challenge of change set out
a vision for a modern teaching profession and we will to continue
to work to ensure that teachers' efforts are valued and rewarded.
The improvements highlighted in the Annual Report
demonstrate that our literacy and numeracy strategies are having
a real impact on standards of pupil achievement, paving the way
to success in secondary education and to lifelong learning. We
expect to see further improvements as the strategies become more
fully established.
2. OFSTED had not carried out an empirical study
into the extent to which the investment in reducing Key Stage
1 class sizes represents value for money. We expect that OFSTED
will consider carrying out such a study in due course.
We welcome the comments from HMCI on the Government's
infant class size initiative, and in particular the fact that
inspection reports indicate a clear correlation between class
size and attainment at Key Stage 1. It also seems sensible for
OFSTED to consider a study along the lines suggested.
3. We recommend that OFSTED should bring
forward proposals for monitoring the quality and classroom readiness
of supply teachers, in order to identify areas where improvement
is needed. The next step would be to put in place a strategy to
help supply teachers with weaknesses to improve their performance.
The Green Paper, Teachers—meeting the challenge
of change, recognised how important it is that supply teachers
have the skills and knowledge we expect of all teachers. While
by no means all supply teaching is of poor quality, it is too
variable. The Government wants to raise the expectations of supply
teachers throughout the system, by providing help for supply teachers
to access training opportunities, encouraging schools to provide
better support to temporary teachers and ensuring that those who
supply temporary teachers to schools are committed to the standards
agenda.
Already, the new professional bursaries for teachers
are available to supply teachers in the pilot areas; in addition,
the Department will shortly introduce: a distance learning package
for supply teachers; a new framework clarifying responsibility
for the training of supply teachers in different circumstances;
a model introduction package to help schools support supply teachers;
and a voluntary quality mark for teacher supply agencies.
My Department's officials have collaborated with
OFSTED on the development of these proposals and will continue
to work with colleagues during their implementation. OFSTED's
analysis of the effectiveness of supply teaching in schools will
be the measure of their success.
4. We recommend that OFSTED should study ways
in which the impact of staff mobility on pupil attainment may
be monitored and evaluated.
We recognise that staff mobility is amongst the factors
which impact on pupil attainment and is taken into consideration
by inspectors.
5. We feel strongly that teachers in all subjects
should be given every assistance to improve their information
and communications technology skills, and that this assistance
should be made equally available for part-time teachers as for
full-time teachers.
£230 million of proceeds from the National Lottery
are being made available to support the training of serving teachers
in the use of ICT in subject teaching over the period up to 2002.
The training is available to both part-time and full-time teachers
employed by maintained schools. It is focused on pedagogical rather
than technical skills, and is intended to bring all serving teachers
up to the standard required of teachers now emerging into the
profession. All trainee teachers are now subject to the Initial
Teacher Training (ITT) National Curriculum for the use of ICT
in subject teaching which was introduced in September 1998.
It is hoped that other qualified teachers who received
their training before the introduction of the ITT National Curriculum,
can make arrangements with local authorities, schools or fellow
teachers to receive training in ICT. Information about the Lottery
funded teacher training programme, including all the approved
training providers, and CD-ROM based training needs identification
materials are available free-of charge from the New Opportunities
Fund, which is administering the training programme.
6. We urge the Government to develop urgently
a sound alternative to the current formula based funding mechanism.
The Government will be issuing a Green Paper on local
authority funding later in the summer, which will also cover the
future of education funding. We agree with HM Chief Inspector
and the NAHT that a more equitable and transparent funding system
is desirable. The Green Paper will contain a range of options
for debate, and could include for example, improvements to the
distribution of funding from central Government to make it fairer.
The objective is to remove the worst of the disparities which
exist across the country: we will be looking to level up not down.
We also want to examine the separation of school and LEA budgets,
to bring greater clarity to the funding received by schools. At
the same time we are also working to increase the overall level
of delegation by LEAs, and to bring greater simplicity and clarity
to the formulae LEAs use to fund their schools.
7. We recommend that a detailed study of the impact
of bullying on pupil attainment should be included in the next
Annual Report.
The emotional and mental distress which bullying
causes can damage a child's education and lead to disaffection.
We attach a high priority to helping schools prevent and combat
bullying and want all schools to treat bullying seriously and
deal with it promptly and firmly whenever and wherever it occurs.
Since last September headteachers have been required by law to
put measures in place to prevent all forms of bullying among pupils.
Our role is to provide guidance to help schools draw
up strategies and keep those strategies under review. We included
advice on bullying, and difficult behaviour generally, in Circular
10/99 Social Inclusion: Pupil Support sent to schools last July.
We will be launching a further anti-bullying initiative this Autumn,
comprising a public information film; a video aimed at young people;
a revised and updated anti-bullying pack for schools and an anti-bullying
website. We also provide funding for locally devised projects
to tackle behavioural problems including bullying.
8. We look forward to seeing the improved collection
of data on pupil attainment in swimming, which we consider to
be a key life skill.
The National Curriculum entitles all children to
learn to swim unaided for a distance of 25 metres by the time
they leave primary school. We have asked OFSTED to report on swimming
at Key Stages 1 and 2, using enhanced inspection evidence gathered
during November 1999 and information from their existing inspection
database. We anticipate receiving their report in the Autumn.
9. We re-iterate the firmly held view, expressed
in our Report last year on the Work of OFSTED, that it is of the
highest importance that HM Chief Inspector's advice to Ministers,
and his Commentary on education in print, in public lectures and
elsewhere, can be backed up by the inspection evidence gathered
by OFSTED.
10. In our view, it is essential for the improvement
of educational standards that the supporting evidence for statements
made in the HMCI's Annual Report should be clearly identified.
There is a long standing convention that HM Inspectors'
advice and comment on educational standards is in every case underpinned
by inspection evidence.
Estelle Morris
| 
