Clause 17
Education and Inspections Bill
5:15 pm
Sarah Teather (Shadow Secretary of State for Education and Skills, Education & Skills; Brent East, Liberal Democrat)
What I am saying is that we particularly favour a model of collaboration. Certain people—the hon. Gentleman has alluded to one example—have a track record of involvement in education, and that would be a different matter. We are concerned about particular trusts coming into an area, picking off the best schools and moving across boroughs, rather than working in collaboration for the benefit of all schools in the area. Given the focus on league tables and exam results, there is a danger that chains of schools will have an incentive to become elitist and to use their freedom on admissions to exclude difficult or under-achieving pupils.
If trusts are to be involved in several schools, that implies that there will be a much greater commitment to the local area. As outlined in the guidance that the Minister circulated, such trusts could be made up of several partners. The vision that we have laid out would allow organisations other than just schools to be involved in forming partnerships. For example, external partners such as youth services providing child care or youth, social or family support could link with learning providers. There could also be links with FE colleges, as we discussed at considerable length during this morning’s sitting.
The key point about collaboration is that it would ensure that the trust model provided greater diversity in the curriculum and greater choice for young people. The benefits would include the ability to share teaching expertise, which will be vital if we are to work towards providing for Tomlinson or even just the rather limited version of diplomas that are offered in the Bill.