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Education and Inspections Bill

I shall speak to AmendmentNo. 127. I was prompted to table this amendment because it seemed to me that if parents were going to be consulted about a proposal for a trust school, it made sense to consult in some way the pupils of that school, especially in secondary schools. I think there is a general principle here. The pupils are the people most directly affected by decisions taken about their school, and in some important respects they will know more. They will have a more intimate knowledge of the school than their parents. It seems right that they should have a right to have their views taken into account by a governing body, or whatever. In this amendment I have made a proposal that, where possible, the consultation—where there is one—should be through the school council. I sought to find out to what extent school councils were already in existence, and I read that whereas in 1998 some 65 per cent of secondary schools and 15 per cent of primary schools had a school council, it is estimated that the proportions have now risen to 80 to 85 per cent for secondary schools and 75 per cent for primary schools. Such councils seem to be a suitable vehicle for consultation. I am aware that the noble Baroness, Lady Walmsley, is proposing that all the pupils should be consulted on disciplinary matters. I have not gone quite as far as that; sometimes there is a rather large number of them. I was thinking of an alternative. Perhaps alongside school councils—and I am pushing the boat out now—there should be a class council. I believe that young people have good sense, especially as regards disciplinary matters and a disciplinary policy. If a council comprising of members of a class sat down with a teacher to talk the matter through, they would be persuasive and effective advocates of an effective disciplinary policy. I believe that a disciplinary policy has to be owned by everybody in the school, otherwise it will not work. Amendment No. 127 would ensure that, where the legislation provides for consultation with parents, there should be suitable provision for consultation with pupils—for example, in school councils.