Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by Jon Trickett (Labour). It was answered on Monday, 17 December 2007 on behalf of the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

International Comparisons

Question: Has my hon. Friend noticed the PISA report on science competencies, which concluded that the governance of schools, especially autonomy, had little effect on educational outcome? What has a real impact is the steepness of socio-economic inequalities. Therefore, will my hon. Friend move the agenda on from school governance to offering opportunity to those at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder, who struggle so much to attain the educational level of the rest of the population?

Answer: My hon. Friend will be pleased that the children's plan shows that we unambiguously set out to narrow the attainment gaps between those from advantaged areas and those from disadvantaged areas. He is right to highlight that aim. However, that is not to say that governance does not have a role. The most important factor in achieving educational success is to combine the engagement of parents with their child's learning, high-quality teaching driven by good leadership, and good leadership driven by strong governance. That is the model of school improvement that we want, so that we can narrow the attainment gap that my hon. Friend rightly points out.

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 469 c579
Session: 2007-08
Oral question type: Supplementary
Chamber / Committee: House of Commons chamber
Subjects: Disadvantaged Equality Education Standards Curriculum Primary education Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Science Literacy Numeracy Programme for International Student Assessment
Link: View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk