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Schools

My Lords, I admit that I listened with some disappointment to the claim that in this White Paper, ""we meet the economic imperative by ensuring every young person gets the qualifications they need"." In all of the Statement before that, there was no mention of one of the basic needs that continues to be denied to all our children. Why do we continue to perpetuate the scheme whereby children are automatically moved on once they get into primary school before they can read? Why not make certain that they can read before they move out of the entry level? If they cannot, they cannot keep up with what happens afterwards. Then you get all the problems of being unable to keep up: they are bored, they leave and they truant. Time after time you hear reports of teachers, observers and everyone recommending this. We have Statement after Statement, but still that basic requirement seems to be denied. Can the Minister explain why?