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Education and Inspections Bill

I am glad to be able to respond positively to two groups of amendments before us. The first is Amendment No. 258 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Lucas. It would require the Secretary of State to establish a foundation for research and excellence in education. We entirely agree with the noble Lord that evidence should have an important role in both the design and delivery of education. My department already commissions a wide range of research—indeed, a colossal range, as I see all the proposals that go through which are funded by my department. However, we are aware that in other sectors, such as health and social care, sector-wide organisations provide guidance drawn from research and other evidence. The noble Lord referred to the National Institute for Clinical Excellence and one might also cite the Social Care Institute for Excellence as examples of that. We are considering whether some form of evidence centre in education could summarise and provide digests of research and other evidence in a form that front-line organisations and practitioners could easily absorb. That might take place in conjunction with a university. Such a centre would be likely to cover some of the functions which the noble Lord envisages for the foundation that he described. In considering an evidence centre, we need to be careful in defining its role and remit so that it can command widespread credibility. It is a matter that we have in hand, and I will report back to the noble Lord and the Committee when I can. Amendment No. 252A tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Buscombe, would incorporate into the Bill the recommendation of the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee that orders under Clause 153 which amend primary legislation should be subject to the affirmative resolution procedure. I can assure the noble Baroness that we accept the recommendations of that committee and intend to table an amendment at Report in line with that recommendation. We cannot accept the noble Baroness’s amendment, unfortunately, because parliamentary control of orders and regulations are set out in Clause 167 rather than against individual clauses. But we will achieve the objective that she seeks by means of an amendment at Report. Amendment No. 252B, tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Walmsley, replicates AmendmentNo. 184, laid by my noble friend Lord Judd in that it would apply a wealth of legislation currently applicable to maintained schools to academies. We have already debated this point fully on 18 July, when I stated why I believe adequate protection is already afforded to pupils attending academies. I have since written in some detail to both my noble friend Lord Judd and the noble Baroness in response to the points they have made during the debate. I simply reiterate that we believe adequate protections are already afforded to pupils attending academies, including in all three of the areas to which the noble Baroness referred. All admissions arrangements in academies must be in accordance with the admissions code of practice. There is no better guarantee of that than the fact that they must be agreed personally by the Secretary of State, including any changes made. As I said in an earlier debate, the nutritional standards will be required through the funding agreements. As regards school improvements, I think there is a misconception as to the regulatory authority. It is not that there is not a regulatory authority in respect of academies—there is—but the regulatory authority is the Secretary of State. It is the Secretary of State who appoints school improvement partners for academies and who has the duties which, for maintained schools, are fulfilled by local authorities, as the noble Baroness described. We accept that there needs to be a regulatory authority and that it may, in certain circumstances, need to address poor performance, but that authority is the Secretary of State. As I said to the noble Baroness, Lady Scott, on a previous occasion in Committee when she raised the issue of one academy that has been failing—the Unity Academy in Middlesbrough—we have undertaken significant interventions, both in the governance and the leadership of the academy, which are precisely the kind of interventions that we would expect a local authority to undertake in respect of maintained schools within their area of responsibility. Amendment No. 252 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Lucas, questions the role of the Secretary of State in judging power to innovate applications. I emphasise that we are talking about power to innovate applications which relate to the suspension of legislation in respect of schools, not any power to innovate in the much broader area beyond that which does not require any contravention of existing legislation. Of course we encourage schools to be as innovatory as they wish to be, consistent with meeting their obligations to their pupils. That is the reason why we think there is a role for the Secretary of State. It is essential to ensure that all the evidence on a proposal under the power to innovate requirements—which can have significant implications for the operation of the law—demonstrates to the Secretary of State’s satisfaction that it will contribute to raising standards and that pupils and students are not disadvantaged. In her Amendment No. 254A, the noble Baroness, Lady Buscombe, seeks to commence provisions in the Education Act 2002 giving exemptions related to school performance on teachers’ pay and conditions and the curriculum. I frankly confess to the noble Baroness that we are thinking this through further because, since we enacted those provisions, we have significantly extended the scope for innovation within the curriculum. We have slimmed down the scope of the statutory curriculum and we are seeking to do so further, for example, with the key stage 3 review that we are currently conducting. We have also, through the recommendations of successive reports of the school teachers’ pay review body and the additional powers and responsibilities we have given to head teachers in respect of the appraisal of teachers and decisions taken about the putting of teachers on to higher pay spines, given schools greater flexibility in these areas. So, in the context of the changes we have made in respect of schools at large, we are considering whether commencing the provisions in the 2002 Act to which the noble Baroness referred would be a sensible thing to do. But we wish to keep the issue under review and we have not yet reached a definite decision on it. Finally, in his Amendment No. 257, the noble Lord, Lord Lucas, asks what is the reason for the relevant provision in respect of the registration authority—being the Secretary of State for England and the National Assembly for Wales—having powers to institute proceedings against any person who has committed an offence relating to independent schools. My explanation, I am advised by my lawyers, is this: it is essential that the legal requirements relating to the registration of independent schools can be enforced. It is entirely appropriate that the registration authority that has responsibility for determining all aspects of an independent school’s registration should have the final authority to take action where an offence has been committed. As a condition of registration, independent schools must meet the standards set out in regulations, ensuring that all children are able to learn in a safe and secure environment. Experience has shown that the circumstancesin which these powers would be exercised are, thankfully, very infrequent. However, it is only right that the registration authority should be able to act where offences occur which would put children’s well-being at risk, and that is the reason for these provisions. On that technical note, I believe we are now well and truly on the home stretch.