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Schools: Statutory Instruments (Merits Committee Report)

My Lords, I should like to start by endorsing the comments made by the noble Lord, Lord Lucas, about the chairman of the Merits Committee, the noble Lord, Lord Filkin. It is for me also a huge pleasure and an instruction to be a member of the committee that he chairs. I very much agree with all the comments that have so far been made and would like to underline one or two of the points made so delicately and so ably by the noble Lord, Lord Filkin. They are worth saying again, perhaps in a slightly different way. Members of the Merits Committee have a unique opportunity to gauge the volume of statutory instruments pouring out of government departments, and no more do they pour out from a government department than from this one, the DCSF. It is an extraordinary business to read them, one after another. In paragraph 4 of our report there is a striking comment about the impact on schools of this stream of statutory instruments. It is from the National Governors’ Association and it will be helpful if I quote it again. It says: ""For the professionals in schools the endless piecemeal change has become one of the main reasons given for leaving the job. It is not unruly and undisciplined children that are forcing good teachers and governors out of our schools; it is unruly and undisciplined legislation"." The cumulative effect of the statutory instruments is becoming almost unbearable, so we were told. I recognise, of course, the need to give directions to schools, but it became apparent from the evidence that there was a lack of co-ordination between different parts of the department; each did not know what the other was doing. I noted with interest that the noble Lord, Lord Filkin, said that if they all came on the same day they might have someone look at them to see whether they were all necessary or whether they co-ordinated the purpose of improving education in our schools. I get the impression from the IRU—which is, for goodness sake, set up to advise the Government—that the Government does not listen to it as much as they should. Paragraph 8 of our report states: ""Recent research commissioned by the IRU shows that in 2006/7 academic year the Department and its national agencies produced over 760 documents aimed at schools. The research also found that no single part of the Department was aware of the totality of what was being offered"." There is, therefore, no overview. There is a need for much better management of statutory instruments. Otherwise it is quite obvious that they will not be as effective as they ought to be. There is another problem in distinguishing between regulations and guidance and an understanding of what it is actually intended should be done by the schools. For example, there is great use of the words "must" and "may" and "shall" and "should", and it is not always easy for schools to know whether what they have is guidance or obligatory regulation. There is obviously—I hope it is not widespread but I fear that it may be—a misunderstanding in some schools as to what is required of them. Bigger schools have to deploy a member of staff to deal with the volume of statutory instruments and guidance; smaller schools do not have that opportunity and there is, undoubtedly, not only misunderstanding but a lack of compliance. Communication is a two-way relationship and a balance has to be struck between instructing schools on what they should do and a degree of flexibility in allowing them to get on with the job on the ground. It is important in communication that each side listens to the other and it is very important that the department should listen to schools and its own advisory body, the IRU. The question is whether the present system is the best way to deliver key outcomes. E-mailing is a good step forward but there is much else to be done. The department should stand back and think holistically of a better way to co-ordinate statutory instruments and guidance. Less volume might arise from that. A greater degree of flexibility should be left to schools and there should be less micro-management. Let schools manage at a local level the day-to-day details that have to be dealt with. If the better schools are left to get on with it, the department could crack down on the schools that are failing to perform. In a speech he made on 5 May at Prendergast School in south London, the Prime Minister set out his vision for education. He talked about coming forward with proposals to reduce the burdens on the schools from guidance, correspondence and statutory duties, and said that the Government would stand back and allow teachers and school leaders greater freedom to innovate. There is, I fear, some scepticism as to the effect on the ground of what the Prime Minister’s welcome words will achieve. The track record is not encouraging. We need to improve the coherence of communication instead of producing more and more statutory instruments. The Government should concentrate on outcomes in a more creative partnership with schools.