---

Education and Inspections Bill

My Lords, I shall speak to Amendments Nos. 55 and 56, which are grouped with those of the noble Lord, Lord Lucas. These amendments highlight the fact that educational and wellbeing outcomes are closely linked and must be made mutually reinforcing in the Bill. They would ensure that the Bill and the role of the governing body it outlines work towards improving all five well-being outcomes for children as set out in the Children Act 2004 as other partners in children’s services are required to do. The importance of education in supporting the wider outcomes of that Act is also stressed. We want the Bill to ensure that schools help to deliver improvement on all five well-being outcomes for children. Local authorities have embraced the provisions in the Children Act 2004 that create integrated children’s services and give them a duty to improve outcomes for all children. More than 130 now have directors of children’s services, and all over the country authorities are developing children’s trusts to deliver better, more integrated services for children. The development of those integrated services is being reflected in inspection methodology through joint area reviews. The current schools inspection framework, introduced last year, and the creation of the single inspectorate in this Bill are movement in the same direction. If that approach is to be embedded within all children’s services, the Bill needs to support the Children Act 2004 and to reflect in schools the joined-up approach being taken at local level. Through S.I. 2149/2005 and government guidance there is a clear onus on local authorities to ensure that schools are consulted and have full input to developing wellbeing outcomes locally. At present, however, that onus is only in one direction. Given schools’ obvious importance in delivering the educational fulfilment and wider elements of wellbeing for children, the onus on governing bodies to promote wellbeing must be strengthened to ensure coherent and effective local delivery for children and young people. We tried to persuade the Government of that in 2004 but did not succeed, so I am trying again today. When amendments on Every Child Matters were moved in Committee, the Government countered that the Children Act 2004 was sufficient to ensure schools’ co-operation in its delivery. I dispute that. Certainly, some schools are working well with other partners to ensure delivery of wider wellbeing outcomes, yet others are not and do not see matters beyond educational attainment as related and part of their core business in children’s development. Indeed, the more independent schools become, the more difficult it will be to keep wellbeing at the heart of all their activity unless there is a clear duty. The Bill should therefore complement and provide coherence by including provisions to ensure that education outcomes reinforce wellbeing outcomes and vice versa, for they are inextricably linked. The amendment is well supported by many organisations in the Every Child, Every School coalition. In Committee, there was considerable support for this point of view across your Lordships’ House. The noble Lord, Lord Dearing, said: "““The purpose of our amendment is formally to underlinethat the Every Child Matters agenda, as set out in the Children Act 2004, is directly relevant to the educational attainment of every child, and that the educational purposes of the Bill will not be fully achieved unless the agenda is part of its provisions””.—[Official Report, 5/7/06; col. 269.]" The noble Baroness, Lady Massey of Darwen, said: "““We really will not get higher standards in our schools unless we focus on wider issues of welfare and well-being””.—[Official Report, 5/7/06; col. 272.]" The noble Lord, Lord Adonis, pointed out that, "““the law does not need changing to achieve those objectives; it achieves them already””.—[Official Report, 5/7/06; col. 274.]" However, practitioners tell me that unless we have a clear duty, that will not always happen. It already happens in many cases and I am sure it will continue to do so. But this Bill is about putting clear duties on people. I believe that the law does not make it clear if it excludes schools. Let us rectify that today.