Clause 78

Part of Education and Skills Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 1:15 pm on 28 February 2008.

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Photo of Nick Gibb Nick Gibb Shadow Minister (Education) (Schools) 1:15, 28 February 2008

I beg to move amendment No. 123, in clause 78, page 48, leave out lines 18 and 19.

Clause 78 introduces an additional standard to those already legislated for in section 157 of the Education Act 2002, which apply to independent schools. The additional standard set out in subsection (1)(h) relates to the quality of the leadership and management of independent educational institutions. Paragraph 2.38 of the Government’s consultation paper states that the proposal is to

“introduce a new management standard to ensure that independent schools have good quality leadership that enables the school to meet the standards required for registration, and continued registration.”

It is extraordinary that the Department should want to legislate over that. The independent sector in this country is not just excellent but world class. It represents the benchmark against which we should be assessing all schools in the country.