Clause 2 - Duties in relation to diversity and choice
Education and Inspections Bill
6:15 pm
David Chaytor (Bury North, Labour)
That is an extremely important point. In many inner urban areas, both Church of England and Roman Catholic schools have increasingly started to diversify their intake of children because of the force of circumstances and different residential patterns. Precisely because those faith schools can provide high-quality education for children from a wide variety of faiths, we should ask ourselves why in other parts of the country, some schools insist on a more rigid set of admissions criteria. There are many parts of the country where it is perfectly normal for children of different faith backgrounds to go to the same primary school, but at age 11, they are segregated into secondary schools of different faiths. I am not saying that this is unacceptable and should be changed. However, there is raised awareness that such a structure of secondary education may lead to growing segregation and may exacerbate the problems of social exclusion about which we are increasingly concerned. Therefore, I support amendment No. 97.
With amendment No. 98, we argue that the concept of fair access should be included in a local education authority’s list of important duties. The concept of fair access was prominent in the original White Paper—in fact, it was reiterated on page after page. Although I am delighted that many aspects of the White Paper are not contained in the Bill, that concept should have been included. It might raise the question of how we define fair access—perhaps, the criticism that I made about including diversity and choice without adequate definition could apply to that concept—but it was a key part of the White Paper.
There is consensus on the argument that if we are to move towards a freer school system, with a slight increase in the autonomy and independence of schools and a change in the nature of the relationships between schools and local authorities, there must be counter-balancing mechanisms to avoid a deregulated free-for-all. At heart, Conservative members believe that a deregulated free-for-all is the best way forward, while Labour members want greater autonomy and freedom for schools. However, to ensure that our best schools are open to those children previously excluded from them, and that we satisfy parents that the admissions system works well, new managerial autonomy must operate in a framework of democratic accountability, part of which must be based on a system of fair admissions and access to schools.
In many parts of the country, parents are confused and bewildered by the complexity and irrationality of the admissions system and by the bizarre criteria used by certain schools to admit some children and to exclude others. There will be time for a longer debate on admissions, but it is vital to reiterate the White Paper’s emphasis on the importance of fair access.