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Education and Inspections Bill

I have three amendments standing in my name in this group: Amendments Nos. 248D and 248E, to which I wish to speak, and Amendment No. 251A, which I shall not speak to or move. We have tabled Amendments Nos. 248D and 248E on behalf of the Local Government Association. They relate to Clause 130, on reviews of local education authorities. The LGA is putting forward these amendments to give the chief inspector a power rather than a duty to review and rate the overall performance of each local authority every year. The LGA sees the creation of a single inspectorate for children as an important step forward as it reflects the focus on the child rather than the institutions providing services. However, the LGA is concerned about the proposal to require the chief inspector to review the overall performance of each local authority every year and to award a performance rating. Whileit is adamant that inspection of direct services to children, and children in situations where they are most vulnerable—for example, children’s homes, schools and so forth—must continue, it nevertheless believes that the complete review of each local authority every year is not the best or, indeed, the only means of encouraging local partnerships to improve. To review only the local authority misunderstands the multi-agency and interdisciplinary approaches required to ensure that outcomes and the well-being of children are being well provided. The landscape of children’s services has changed significantly, even in the short time in which children’s services inspections have been formally under way. The LGA and the IDA have proposed that the new local performance framework to replace CPA should be consistent with the way localities are governed and focus on improvement rather than compliance. They would like to see an annual assessment at the heart of a new framework undertaken by local authorities and their partners. This would draw on a robust evidence base, including the inspections carried out by the new inspectorate, so they would expect that inspection and assessment of services for vulnerable children would continue to be important. The results of these inspections would be used by local authorities and their partners in their own annual assessments but they do not want to see the new single inspectorate required to carry out an annual review of the local authority’s performance in isolation or to give authorities a performance rating. This reflects the current CPA framework, and they do not think that the legal basis for the new inspectorate should prescribe existing inspection methodology for the future.