Clause 5 - Duty to inspect certain schools at prescribed levels
Education Bill [Lords]
10:00 am
Mrs Angela Watkinson (Shadow Minister, Education; Upminster, Conservative)
Clause 5 relates to the duty to inspect certain schools at prescribed intervals. The amendment relates to the availability of the report that arises from the inspection. Subsection (1)(b) states that
“when the inspection has been completed”,
the chief inspector is required
“to make a report of the inspection in writing.”
The list of people to whom that report should be made available is not specified in the clause. The amendment specifies the individuals and groups of people to whom the report should be made available: the head teacher, staff, parents and pupils of the school. In the case of a community, foundation or voluntary school, a community or foundation special school or a maintained nursery school, it should be sent to the school’s governing body, and if the school does not have a delegated budget, to the local education authority. In relation to paragraphs (d) and (g) of subsection (2), it should be sent to proprietors of the school.
The amendment would clarify and specify to whom the report should be made available. It appears that that may be achieved in later clauses, but specifying it in this clause would provide a belt and braces. There is no specific mention of making the report available to staff, students or parents at a school that has undergone an inspection. We feel that that is an essential addition. The Government say that they are moving towards more parental involvement with schools, but making the inspection report available to parents would be an essential part of that process.
Clauses 14 and 16 refer to making a copy available to any interested members of the public. We would like that provision to be more specific to ensure that parents of any child at the school in question or parents of children applying for a place there who have a proper interest in the inspection results would be able to see the report. The amendments would add to and clarify the range of availability and circulation of an inspection report.