Clause 8 - Removal of exemptions
Education Bill
3:00 pm
Mr Chris Grayling (Epsom and Ewell, Conservative)
The hon. Member for Harrogate and Knaresborough has identified an important issue. The clause does not allow for unexpected developments in the history of a school that can affect its results or its performance. The Bill provides for schools to form a federation and, de facto, to become a single school with a single governing body. There could be linkages between less successful schools and more successful schools.
We all hope that best practice in education can be spread to schools with problems. A less successful school might seek the guidance of a better performing school and to share some of its culture, facilities, expertise and so on. In such an environment, as two schools get closer together there may well be fluctuations in the performance of a school. If they truly merge into one school and become a single unit, it is conceivable that there may be ups and downs in its performance that reflect particular arrangements rather than the academic performance of pupils. That is a possible example.
Equally, demographics change, and every school has its ups and downs and good years and bad years. A school may move down the league table before returning up a year or two later for reasons that are probably beyond the control of the governing body, head teacher or the staff. This is not an exact science. There is a danger that if the Secretary of State has absolute powers to intervene and remove qualifying status, and may do that without referring to those on the ground who know the school's detailed situation, the removal of the exemption would be unfair and would bear no relation to the long-term trends, skills and competences in the school.
I ask the Minister to address the important issues raised by the amendment.