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Education and Inspections Bill

I pay tribute to the Government on these clauses, which are well balanced and clearly define the role of the headmaster and governors. In these clauses, we ought to be careful not to add unnecessary things or to go into too much prescriptive detail. I have some sympathy with the point made by the noble Lord, Lord Lucas, in Amendment No. 215, but, given that the roles of the headmaster and governors in setting out disciplinary codes are clearly defined, we do not need to add what could be construed as yet another piece of bureaucracy that a school has to deal with. More than enough procedure is defined. The Bill makes it clear that schools have to have a clearly defined disciplinary policy, and it is clear about the roles of the governors and of headmasters and teachers in relation to discipline. I have some sympathy with the views expressed in Amendment No. 216, and I will welcome what the Minister has to say on that amendment. I was puzzled by the point made by the noble Baroness, Lady Sharp, on Amendment No. 220. I am a school governor who has to deal with cases where parents protest about discipline, and I know that their rights are clearly defined. Parents are aware of this. If they are not satisfied, they can contact the governors either informally or in writing. I do not believe that we need to put anything else in the Bill. The same could be said about Amendment No. 222. There is just too much detail here. We should accept that what the Government have done is basically right. There will always be areas where things could be improved but, in terms of defining the school’s role on discipline and the responsibilities of parents and pupils, I commend the Government for what they have done.