Select Committee on Education and Skills Fourth Report


3 Diversity in English Secondary Education

13  Diversity in secondary education can be described and delivered in a number of ways, by reference to school type, the constitutional arrangements under which schools are governed, financed and held accountable; their curriculum; their pupil intake; or combinations of these. Recent governments have placed great emphasis on attaining diversity among schools by creating or emphasising structural differences between schools, in terms of their constitutional arrangements, and the present Government has explicitly linked this form of diversity with its efforts to raise standards. The specialist schools programme has been explicitly identified as a school improvement programme designed to raise pupil achievement by this means. However, the scope for creating diversity through the curriculum is significantly limited by the requirement for all maintained schools to deliver the National Curriculum.[11]

14  Differences between schools in terms of their intake reflect both geography and active measures to determine the pupil profile of schools through admissions criteria and/or selection. The fourth and final part of this inquiry will focus on admissions to English secondary schools and their consequences, but for the purposes of this stage of the inquiry we have taken the opportunity to consider the evidence on the relationship between diversity and admissions.

15  Our theme is diversity so we begin with a review of the range of diversity in the secondary sector. This is not intended to be an exhaustive account but rather to clarify, for the purposes of this report, the common school descriptors and their meanings.

16  The School Standards and Framework Act 1998 established a new framework for the organisation of schools and the following categories of maintained schools, to take effect from September 1999.

Community schools where the local education authority (LEA) employs school staff, owns the schools' land and buildings and is the admissions authority;

Foundation schools where the governing body is both employer and admissions authority. A school's land and buildings are either owned by the governing body or by a charitable foundation.[12]

Voluntary Aided schools where the governing body is both employer and admissions authority. The school's land and buildings (apart from playing fields which are normally vested in the LEA) are usually owned by a charitable foundation. The governing body will contribute towards the capital costs of establishing the school and any subsequent capital building work.

Voluntary Controlled schools where the local education authority employs schools' staff and is the admissions authority. School's land and buildings (apart from playing fields which are normally vested in the LEA) are usually owned by a charitable foundation.[13]

17  Foundation, voluntary aided and voluntary controlled schools may be designated by the Secretary of State as having a religious character. The staffing arrangements of these schools include scope to preserve the religious character of schools through the application of a religious or denominational test in appointing or promoting staff. Such schools also provide denominational collective worship.[14]

18  While most pupils transfer from primary to secondary school at age 11, this arrangement is not universal. In the maintained sector some pupils are educated in middle schools, either 'deemed primary' (years 4-7) or 'deemed secondary' (years 5-8). In addition secondary schools are known by a further level of nomenclature reflecting, with varying degrees of accuracy, the manner in which they admit pupils. Such labels include comprehensive, designated grammar (selective), secondary modern, faith, and independent schools.

Comprehensive schools

19  Theoretically the dominant model in English education, the comprehensive principle of a balanced pupil intake and equality of educational opportunity for pupils of all ability levels and social backgrounds, consistently has been attacked by influential voices in successive governments and the national media whose preference is for a more stratified education system. Consequently, 10% of English LEAs retain a wholly selective admissions policy for secondary schools, almost one third of English LEAs operate a partially selective system and a majority of the remainder have to deal with a variety of more subtle forms of selection. Consequently, in some parts of the country the comprehensive label has not been attractive. Professor Tim Brighouse has said of the term comprehensive that:

"Its use has increasingly implied something vaguely second-rate. The phrase "the local comp" has become sufficiently worrying that very few of the 3,000 plus schools which could reasonably incorporate its use in their headed notepaper and school signs choose to do so."[15]

20  Designed to replace the tripartite secondary model of grammar, secondary modern and technical schools, comprehensive schools, in their original mission, were essentially defined by their intake, based within a community, admitting pupils across the full ability range of that community. In some areas, this has been refined by the development of banding for school admissions; allocation of school places based on intelligence tests to ensure a good ability mix in each school. In practice other factors, including a multiplicity of Government initiatives, have served to frustrate this comprehensive ideal so that most secondary schools, and certainly those in the larger towns, cities and metropolitan areas, do not attract and retain a truly comprehensive pupil intake that is representative both of the full ability range and the communities within which they are located.

21  School diversity impacts on schools' pupil intake in ways surely unimagined by policy makers. Wholly selective schools and those schools which select a proportion of their intake; the operation of parental preference; specialist, single sex and faith schools, all have the effect of narrowing the pool from which the intakes of non-selective, non-specialist schools are drawn. Such schools therefore largely comprise the children of parents who fail to obtain a place in their preferred school and of those who were unwilling or unable to exercise their preference. Thus, physical and social geography combine to produce a spectrum of schools distinguished by their intake.

Selective schools

22.  Selection is used as an admissions device in a number of different school types. Independent schools and grammar schools routinely select some or all their intake, usually by means of the common entrance examination (in the case of independent schools) or the 11-Plus, (for grammar schools). There are currently 164 designated grammar schools in England. The place of grammar schools in English education has been the subject of much campaigning over the last 4 decades. While such schools are now relatively few in number, their selective practices impact on the educational experiences of very many young people.[16] There are also schools in wholly selective areas whose pupils are largely those not selected (or not submitted for selection) to grammar schools. They have frequently adopted new titles such as high schools and in some cases developed sixth forms.

23  In addition to the wholly selective grammar schools, the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 permits the admissions authority of any maintained secondary school which declares a subject specialism, to select up to 10% of its intake on the basis of aptitude. It is a common misapprehension that this facility is limited to those schools formally designated as specialist by the Department for Education and Skills.

24  There are also an unspecified number of partially selective schools, selecting up to 50% of their intake on grounds of ability or aptitude. These schools, which had selection procedures in place in 1997/8, may continue to select a proportion of their pupils provided that there is no change in the methods of selection or the proportion of pupils selected.[17] This selection is not limited to a maximum of 10%. There is no provision for the creation of new grammar schools. Existing grammar schools may change their admissions to non-selective in response to a parental ballot, though none have yet done so.[18]

Faith schools

25  Faith schools have been enthusiastically supported by the DfES and the Prime Minister on grounds of their distinctive ethos and perceived academic success.[19]

26  The 1944 Education Act provided for the incorporation of existing faith schools into the maintained sector. These schools were designated as Voluntary Aided (mainly Catholic), and Voluntary Controlled (mainly Church of England). There are 580 secondary schools or middle schools, deemed secondary with a religious character. Designation as a faith school is limited to foundation and voluntary schools. In the maintained faith school sector, Roman Catholic and Church of England schools dominate, although there are now a small but increasing number of Muslim, Sikh and Jewish maintained schools.

27  Faith schools have, uniquely for providers of generalist education in the maintained sector, been permitted to interview applicants and their parents in order to ascertain religious affiliation and commitment where this is explicit in the admissions requirements. Professor Richard Pring of Oxford University told us that research on this practice has suggested that "selection based ostensibly on 'faith', skewed the social class intake of Church schools".[20] This may in turn account for the marginally higher than average academic achievements of pupils in faith schools.

28  A recent study by Professor Anne West and Audrey Hind at the London School of Economics on the operation of overt and covert selection in school admission, found that 10% of Voluntary Aided schools reported interviewing parents and 16% reported interviewing pupils.[21] Guidance contained in the new Code of Practice on School Admissions[22] discourages this practice with the advice that "for the admission round leading to September 2005 intakes and subsequent admissions, no parents or children should be interviewed as any part of the application or admission process".[23] The issue of school admissions will be pursued in detail in a later report.

Independent schools

29  Over 9%[24] of pupils in England aged 11-19 years attend fee paying secondary independent schools. These schools, many of which operate under charitable status, are subject to regulation through the Department for Education and Skills and to inspection by Ofsted and the Independent Schools Inspectorate.

The new diversity

City Technology Colleges and Specialist Schools

30  The specialist model has a remarkable pedigree. It has developed through a lineage of eight Secretaries of State, apparently never losing favour. This success is in no small part attributable to the tenacity of its leading proponent, Sir Cyril Taylor, Chairman of the Specialist Schools Trust.[25] This sustained advocacy has enabled the specialist model to withstand changes in administration and educational fashion, and has developed and adapted to the policies of successive Secretaries of State.

31  The trend for subject specialism began with the City Technology Colleges initiative 1988 and the Technology Colleges programme in 1993. Technology Colleges were intended to prepare more young people to go into careers in science and technology, while also attempting to raise levels of attainment in secondary schools, particularly in the troublesome inner cities. The CTCs were set up as independent schools, funded by the Government and sponsored by industry. It was in part the disappointing level of business sponsorship that was the key to the transformation of the initiative into the specialist schools programme.

32  The specialist schools programme was launched in 1994 and was restricted to an elite group of grant maintained and voluntary aided schools wishing to specialise in technology. Evidence of academic success was an explicit criterion for entry to the programme. The initiative continued the emphasis on business links, but reduced the level of financial sponsorship to an initial £100,000, which could be drawn from a number of sources. The programme was expanded in 1995 to incorporate specialisms in modern foreign languages and in 1997 to include sports and arts.[26] Some suggest it is paradoxical that the Government's key diversity policy, the specialist schools programme, apparently emphasises curricula differences, while delivering schools that are largely identical in curriculum terms, but different in terms of their funding and resources.

33  Giving evidence to the Committee, Sir Cyril Taylor outlined the seven arguments for the promotion and extension of the specialist schools programme:

a)  Specialist schools raise standards;

b)  They offer diversity and choice in secondary provision;

c)  Many specialist schools specialise in subjects valuable to the modern economy;

d)  They make a positive contribution to education in the inner cities;

e)  Partnerships between specialist schools and their primary and secondary neighbours help to raise standards in other schools;

f)  Specialist schools have been pioneers in developing new approaches to teaching and learning, especially in the use of ICT;

g)  Business/education partnerships bring benefits to support pupils' learning.[27]

34  While the required level of sponsorship to qualify for specialist school status has been reduced (to £50,000, and £20,000 for the smallest schools), this still represents a considerable and sometimes insurmountable difficulty for some schools in areas where schools and local industry alike face difficult circumstances.[28] However, in schools where productive relationships with local business have been forged, such as those we visited in Birmingham, significant benefit has been derived through the involvement of business in education, and this is to be welcomed.

35  The statement made by the Secretary of State on 28 November 2002 that:

"My Department is announcing a new partnership fund of £3 million in 2003-04 to be administered with the technology colleges trust in accordance with guidelines from my Department. This is designed specifically to help schools that have difficulty in meeting the current £50,000 sponsorship requirement."[29]

This additional funding is, of course, welcome. However, the scale of the fund, in the context of the number of schools yet to join the programme and the level of sponsorship to be raised by each school, means that in practice, the fund will sufficient to help only a relatively small number of schools.

36  The emphasis of the programme has shifted over time from creating centres of excellence in the subject specialism, to its current mission which is explicitly aimed at school improvement.[30] David Miliband MP, Minister of State for School Standards, told us:

"The purpose of the specialist school programme is that it is a school improvement programme, not… a sort of fetishism of a particular subject. There is a danger that because we have the label "specialist schools" it could give off the idea that if you go to a science college all we are interested in doing is teaching you science, whereas that is not true. The purpose of the specialist school programme is to help raise standards across the board."[31]

37  The essence of specialist schools is therefore the investment in, and development of, subject-specific staff expertise and resources, rather than schools delivering a curriculum biased towards a particular discipline.

38  To qualify for designation, schools must present a four-year school and community development plan with ambitious but achievable targets and performance indicators against which success can be judged. Each application must raise at least £50,000 in unconditional sponsorship in order to be considered. Schools with less than 500 pupils (based on figures from the most recent Annual School Census) are required to raise a reduced level of sponsorship (equivalent to £100 per pupil, with a minimum of £20,000). Applications for specialist status must include:

a)  A four-year Development Plan with measurable objectives and performance targets which focuses on improving provision for and standards in the relevant specialist subjects;

b)  Sponsorship details, including proposals for achieving ongoing links with sponsors;

c)  An outline of the school's bid for a capital grant to improve facilities for teaching the specialist subjects;

d)  An indication of how the school would use the additional annual grant to implement your School and Community Development Plans and achieve the targets which you have set for improved performance and higher standards

39  It has been widely acknowledged that the process of designation has become a valuable part of the process, encouraging schools to engage in critical evaluation of their work and their future direction,[32] although the amount of work involved in the process, particularly in terms of the effort involved in raising sponsorship is substantial.[33]

40  The role of business and industry in the development of the specialist schools programme has received significant media attention and we acknowledge and welcome the part that both public and private sector organisations have to play in raising pupil achievement. These valuable contributions are made in staff time as well as physical and financial resources and, from the evidence we saw on our visit to Birmingham, clearly make a significant impact on the learning opportunities available to many pupils.

41  We consider that there may be further opportunities for business and public sector organisations to develop their role in education and we are particularly interested in the part that local economic regeneration organisations may be able to play in raising aspirations and achievement in their communities and in encouraging active participation by local business.

42  We are mindful of that the ability of schools to attract sponsorship is linked to the nature of the specialism they pursue and the interests of local business and industry. We are concerned that those schools working towards the recently approved specialisms in the humanities may therefore find it particularly difficult to attract financial support.

43  In 2001 Ofsted conducted an evaluation of 327 specialist schools with at least 2 years in operation.[34] In January 2003 Ofsted prepared an update on this report for this inquiry.[35] The evidence affirmed the strong academic performance of many specialist schools, particularly the languages colleges, but observed that sports colleges continue to achieve below the national average using the 5 A*-C GCSE measure.[36] Sir Cyril Taylor, in response to this finding, acknowledged that the performance of sports colleges was associated with the profile of the pupil intake, which was of lower ability than that for the other specialisms,[37] while Professor Gorard of Cardiff University, observed that the sports and arts colleges have the least segregated intake of the specialist schools.[38]

44  There are currently 992 designated specialist schools in operation and the Government has a target for at least 2000 to be in operation by 2006.[39]

Academies

45  The Learning and Skills Act 2000 made provision for the creation of City Academies, independent schools funded directly by Government, without the control and accountability structures of local education authorities.[40] Subsequently re-branded as Academies, these schools may be established to replace one or more LEA maintained schools. Academies may be established in any setting, for any age group. They have a broad curriculum but usually place an emphasis on one or two curriculum areas.[41] There are currently three Academies in operation and the Government expects at least 33 to be open by 2006. The strategy document, 'A New Specialist System'[42] notes that the DfES is in discussion with a number of city technology colleges about becoming academies.

A Shifting landscape of initiatives

46  Beyond the high profile policies outlined above, there is a further raft of school based initiatives, including Extended Schools (bringing a broad and variable range of services onto the school site); The Leading Edge Programme, formerly the Advanced Schools programme (the best secondary schools spreading good practice and stimulating school improvement in their neighbours); and Training Schools (developing practice in teacher training). These overlay curriculum initiatives such as the Key Stage 3 strategy and regional programmes including Excellence in Cities, Excellence Clusters and a range of special grants and support for schools facing challenging circumstances, those causing concern and schools in special measures.[43]

47  This intricate and shifting latticework of policy, programmes and initiative, provides a complex backdrop to the focus of our inquiry and a very real challenge to all those who seek to evaluate the impact and the value for money of any one of the Government's education policies.






11   Ev 2 Back

12   Prior to the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 many foundation schools were classified as grant maintained schools.  Back

13   Ev 91 Back

14   Ibid. Back

15   Professor Tim Brighouse, Caroline Benn, Brian Simon Memorial Lecture, 28 September 2002. Back

16   Ev 177 Back

17   School Standards and Framework Act 1998, section 100. Back

18   Ev 92 Back

19   "Blair ensures triumph of faith", Times Educational Supplement, 1 March 2002, p 11. Back

20   Ev 2. Professor Pring cites the work of Benn, C & Chitty, C Thirty Years On, David Fulton, 1996. Back

21   Secondary school admissions in England: Exploring the extent of overt and covert selection, Anne West & Audrey Hind, London School of Economics, 2003. Back

22   School Admissions Code of Practice, 02/2003, DfES/0031/2003. Back

23   School Admissions Code of Practice, 02/2003, DfES/0031/2003 para 3.16. Back

24   Statistics of Education, Schools in England, National Statistics 2002 edition p 26 and 73 not including CTCs. Back

25   Previously the Technology Colleges Trust, and formerly the City Technology Colleges Trust, the TCT changed its name with effect from 31 January 2003. Back

26   Ev 88 Back

27   Q 331 Back

28   Ev 160; Education and Skills Committee, Second Report of Session 2002-03, Secondary Education: visits to Birmingham and Auckland, HC 486, Q 112. Back

29   Rt. Hon Charles Clarke MP, HC Deb, 28 November 2002, col 442. Back

30   Q 277 Back

31   Education and Skills Committee, Minutes of Evidence, Session 2002-03, Work of the Department for Education and Skills, HC177-ii, Q 104. Back

32   Q 353, Q 402 Back

33   Ev 160 Back

34   Specialist Schools: An evaluation of progress, Ofsted, October 2001. Back

35   Ev 64-5 Back

36   Ev 65 Back

37   Q 355 Back

38   Stephen Gorard and Chris Taylor, Specialist schools in England: track record and future prospect, Cardiff University 2001, p 21. Back

39   Ev 93; Target set in Investment for reform, DfES, July 2002. Back

40   Ev 178 Back

41   Ev 92 Back

42   A New Specialist System: Transforming Secondary Education, DfES, February 2003, p 22. Back

43   Including the Leadership Incentive Grant (£125,000 per year for 3 years), grants for schools facing challenging circumstances (£20,000 - £70,000) and support for schools in special measures (through LEAs, £70,000 per year) source: Ev 102, part 4. Back


 
previous page contents next page

House of Commons home page Parliament home page House of Lords home page search page enquiries index

© Parliamentary copyright 2003
Prepared 22 May 2003