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Education Bill
8:00 pm
Mr Stephen Timms (Minister of State (School Standards), Department for Education and Skills; East Ham, Labour)
We now reach the much anticipated part of the Bill that deals with earned autonomy, or, as the parliamentary draftsman has expressed it, exemptions related to school performance. It would be helpful to begin by clarifying the distinctions between the exemptions available here, and the innovation available under the part of the Bill that we have just finished discussing.
First, when the power to innovate, in chapter 1, is available on application to any school, the exemptions are only available to schools meeting specified performance criteria. Secondly, when the power to
innovate can be used to relax any regulatory requirements in education law, the exemptions can only be applied to curriculum provisions or pay and conditions provisions. Thirdly, when the power to innovate, in chapter 1, will entail a judgment being made by the Secretary of State on whether the proposal will raise educational standards, the exemptions will usually apply, in effect, as of right, without the need for such a judgment to be made, although there may be exceptions to that, to which I shall come in a moment. Fourthly, when the power to innovate is being piloted, as we discussed previously, the exemptions can be of indefinite duration—although they can be removed under clause 8, they are not of fixed duration.
We want the process for schools to earn autonomy to be as clear as possible, as both hon. Members who have spoken have mentioned. Over time, we want to provide all schools with the opportunity to aim towards it, as standards continue to rise, and leadership continues to improve further. The criteria that are used to award autonomy to schools will be clear and consistent, and we will ensure—as far as is possible—that they are objective. However, with regard to amendment No. 9, the criteria will need to involve an element of judgment—it will be impossible for us entirely to dispense with that.
I offer an example to illustrate that point. The two key areas that I would expect the criteria to address are the school's performance and its Ofsted report. It is important to note that the performance data will be published, and that we will increasingly be able to refer to value added performance data. A school might meet the performance criteria, and its latest Ofsted report might suggest that it has strong leadership, in which case, on the objective criteria, it would qualify for the exemptions. However, I hope that Committee members will agree with me that, if the school's entire leadership team had changed since the Ofsted report was produced, the Secretary of State would need to exercise judgment with regard to deciding whether exemptions should be made available.