Preface
1. The Government published its White Paper on proposals
for schools, Higher Standards, Better Schools for All,
on 25 October 2005.[1]
This is a major policy initiative, strongly backed by the Prime
Minister with a speech the day before publication and a four-page
foreword to the document, as well as by the Secretary of State
for Education and Skills herself. In oral evidence to the Committee
on 2 November 2005 the Secretary of State told us that a Bill
to enact those proposals which required legislation would be published
early in 2006.[2] We therefore
decided to undertake an inquiry as a matter of urgency, and to
publish our conclusions by the end of January 2006.
2. We took evidence from the Secretary of State on
two occasions, as well as from Rt Hon Jacqui Smith MP, Minister
of State for Schools and 14-19 Learners, and from Stephen Crowne,
Acting Director General, Schools Directorate, Department for Education
and Skills. The Chairman wrote to all Members of Parliament to
ask for their views. We are grateful to all those who replied
and their comments have informed our discussions.
3. We also heard evidence from the Local Government
Association; Professor Al Aynsley-Green, the Children's Commissioner;
Sir Alan Steer, Chairman of the Practitioners Group on School
Behaviour and Discipline; the National College for School Leadership;
the Training and Development Agency for Schools; the Association
of Teachers and Lecturers; NASUWT, National Union of Teachers;
the Professional Association of Teachers; the National Association
of Head Teachers; the Secondary Heads Association; Unison; the
National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations; the National
Association of School Governors; the National Governors' Council;
the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust; Dr Elizabeth Sidwell,
Chief Executive, Haberdashers' Aske's Federation; Sue Fowler,
Group Employment Adviser, GKN plc; Dr Melvyn Kershaw, Headteacher,
Haybridge High School and Sixth Form, Worcestershire; Dr Philip
Hunter, Chief Schools Adjudicator; Professor Simon Burgess, University
of Bristol; Professor Stephen Gorard, University of York; and
Professor John Micklewright, University of Southampton. We also
received more than seventy memoranda. We are grateful to all of
those who contributed to our inquiry. We are also grateful to
Dr Ruth Lupton, Sir Peter Newsam, Professor Alan Smithers and
Professor Geoff Whitty who advised us during the inquiry.
1 Cm 6677, DfES 25 October 2005. Back
2
2 November Qq145-146 Back
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