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Education and Inspections Bill

I thank the Secretary of State for making available the letter he sent to the hon. Member for Wolverhampton, North-East (Mr. Purchase) about the matter. It is a helpful letter, which explains how the simple technique of inserting the word ““Wales”” in legislation changes the law relating to England. Amendment No. 29 relates to the employment of staff at a school. At present, as the Minister so ably explained, the head teacher of a foundation or voluntary controlled faith school cannot be included among the 20 per cent. of teachers who can be selected for their fitness and competence to give religious education and specifically appointed to do so. The Government have argued, and we agree, that it should not be necessary for a foundation or voluntary controlled faith school to convert to voluntary aided status simply to be able to appoint a head teacher who will also lead religious education at the school. The amendment also removes a restriction in section 60 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, which prevents voluntary-aided schools from employing support staff on the basis of their religious beliefs. It is designed to ensure that faith schools are able to appoint non-teaching members of staff, such as pastoral assistants, who follow the religion and ethos of the school. One of the key features of a faith school is its ethos and it is important to protect it. One thing that always strikes me on visiting faith schools is that a school is a community with shared values that permeate it, so where a school considers it necessary, it should be able to appoint teachers who reinforce that ethos. The religious aspect of faith schools is not something that stops outside religious education lessons or collective worship: it lies at the very heart of every activity that the school engages in. In the words of the canon law of the Catholic Church:"““The instruction and education in a Catholic school must be grounded in the principles of Catholic doctrine; teachers are to be outstanding in the correct doctrine and integrity of life.””" The same principle should apply to other staff involved with the pastoral care of children in the school. That is particularly the case in view of the impact of work force remodelling, which the Minister mentioned, as an increasing number of support staff are involved in pastoral roles. Our approach to employment is the same as our approach to admissions. We welcome schools that embrace teachers and staff from outside the faith in the same way as we welcome the Church of England’s decision on admission policies, but we believe that it should absolutely be a matter for the schools, not for prescription and legislation. I recognise the concern in some quarters, particularly as expressed by the hon. Member for Amber Valley (Judy Mallaber), about how the power will be used in respect of staff who are not involved in either a pastoral or academic way with the running of the school. I listened carefully to the Minister and I am sure that he could give a more specific assurance that staff who are not involved in the education of pupils—caretakers, administrative staff, caterers and so forth—will not be employed on the basis of faith. Indeed, appointment on that basis should be permitted only where there is a genuine occupational requirement.