7 December 2006
Thanks for all your questions for our webchat with Schools Minister Andrew Adonis. He only had an hour so please accept our apologies if your question didn’t get answered this time.
Lord Adonis did answer questions on school admissions, bullying, this week’s Ofsted report and ethnic minority pupils.
Read the transcript of the webchat
Andrew says: Hello, this is Andrew Adonis, the Schools Minister and I am looking forward to answering your questions about education policy following the Prime Minister’s major speech last week.
Sue: I would like to ask the minister two questions about the draft Schools Admission Code 2006 for secondary schools, in particular section 2.13, which proposes to remove the criterion which allows younger siblings of children at partially selective schools to gain a place at the same school as an older sibling.
Firstly:
If it is desirable, as stated elsewhere in the Code (Section 2.10), for siblings to go to the same school, why is it not desirable for all families, including those with children at partially selective schools?
Secondly:
This change in rules is unfair on parents who have already made a choice of school for their families under the old rules based on the assumption that siblings would be automatically allowed to attend the same school. What will be done for them?
Andrew replies: A consultation is under way on the admissions code and all comments will be considered carefully. However, the reason for the policy proposal is that, in respect of partially selective schools, the application of a siblings policy in conjunction with partial selection serves drastically to reduce the number of places available without selection to members of the local community. A balance has to be struck on this issue, so that admissions are fairer to the whole community and do not deny local parents places unfairly.
Heather Edwards: You have stated that the rationale behind section 2.13 of the admissions code, which proposes to abolish the right to give preference to siblings at partially selective schools, is to make the schools "more comprehensive" and "more local". If this is the case why are you attacking siblings and not selection? Why not legislate to abolish selection at all schools, including grammar schools (which remain unaffected by the code) instead of attacking siblings, which would destroy the family ethos and make full parental support of these schools (which you say you would encourage) impossible? If it is fairness and equity you want, why not make all schools abide by exactly the same rules? Or is it choice you want to promote? Please tell me what exactly you hope to achieve with this clause, as I have yet to hear a cogent, logical argument regarding its outcome from anyone in your department.
Andrew replies: We are not in any way seeking to "attack" siblings but there is a fundamental issue of fairness here. If one member of a family gets a place in a partially selective school by virtue of passing the selection test, and therefore all other siblings are entitled to places in that school, then this drastically - and possibly unfairly - reduces the number of places available without selection to other local families. In the case of fully selective grammar schools, no such siblings policy applies because it would be regarded as fundamentally unfair, and similar arguments hold sway in respect of partially selective schools. However, we are consulting on this issue at the moment and we will of course take account of representations made before deciding the policy finally.
Paul Creeley: What evidence exists that supports the need for change to the selection criteria for siblings beeen admitted to partially selective schools?
If adopted, what measures will be in place to assees the sucess or failure of the change in this code?
Andrew replies: Most partially selective schools are over subscribed, and many of them heavily so, within the local communities they serve. This is an incontrovertible fact, as is the fact that giving preference to siblings of those who gain places by means of partial selection, can reduce the number of places available on a non-selective basis within the local community. That is why we have proposed the policy as set out in the admissions code. However, we keep all admissions policies under review and would do so with this policy if the government proceeds with it in the final version of the admissions code.
JK: Happy slapping still takes place within school premises, what are you doing to tackle this?
Andrew replies: All forms of bullying are not to be tolerated and we give strong guidance to schools on cracking down on bullying. The recent Education Act strengthens the powers of teachers in schools to maintain good behaviour and discipline, and we would expect them to apply these powers in respect of happy slapping.
Rose Alexis: I have read many reports recently about education. Children with special education needs are never mentioned. I have had to give up a well paid job to teach my child who has specific learning difficulties. My local authority will not take my concerns seriously. Does every child matter unless he or she has a learning disability.
Andrew replies: I am Minister for Special Educational Needs, and I can assure you that we take this issue very seriously indeed. So much so that we are significantly increasing spending on pupils with special educational needs so that the quality of education available to them is improved. This year we will spend more than £4 billion on SEN - an increase of more than £1 billion in only three years. This extra resource is being made available both to special schools and to mainstream schools in order to improve their support for pupils with specific learning difficulties.
shaun walmsley: i think the goverment has done a exellant job regarding education,one of vits centrepieces of goverment policy, i am currently taking advantage of the free english and maths course (skills for life) at my local collage.what further polices have you in mind for adult learners,also for disabled adults
Andrew replies: Thank you very much for your positive comments on education. As well as the free courses in English and maths you mention, the government also subsidises courses in a wide range of vocational subjects in further education colleges, so that adults like you can improve their skills and their employability.
We also provide significant funding for disabled learners, including dedicated funding for colleges catering for students with specific learning difficulties. You can find out more on the DFES website.
Ivan Corea: Recently the Children’s Commissioner commented that:
"It’s appalling and it’s shameful for our country, the fifth richest economy in the world, to have so many children that are not being looked after and given the resources they need to develop to their full potential. It is shocking and appalling."
How will Her Majesty’s Government improve educational services for ALL 90,000 children with autism - given that many secondary schools are failing young people with autism?
Ivan Corea FRSA
Autism Awareness Canmpaign UK
Andrew replies: We have significantly increased spending on special educational needs, including dedicated schools and support for pupils with autism. I myself, as Minister for Special Educational Needs, recently visited Treehouse, the outstanding special school in North London, for pupils on the autistic spectrum. This school now receives significant government funding and is expanding its work for children with autism. It is just one example amongst many of the improvements being made in this area. But I fully accept that we need to do more as further resources become available.
Patrick Draper: I am Headteacher of a mainstrem primary school in Essex. We have adopted a fully inclusive approach to education asa result of the closure of the local Special school. We have two children in each year group who have profound, multiple and severe learning difficulties. Each year our SAT results are depressed by between five and ten percent. We are disadvantage when parents look at League Tables. Parents think that we are underperforming in comparison with other local schools. Is there an alternative way of presenting the figures so that we are not peceived to be an underperforming school.
Andrew replies: This is a difficult issue Patrick. I understand the concerns you raise. However, it is also the case, as you will appreciate, that many students with learning difficulties - including severe learning difficulties - are capable of achieving to the same level as other pupils, and we believe it would be wrong if their achievement was not recognised and if schools did not have an incentive to develop their skills and talents to the full. That is why we are not persuaded that we should remove these pupils from performance data.
James Mitchell: you still haven’t answered Sue’s specific point about the reasonable expectation that parents had that sibling priority pertained when making their choice of school. they can’t change their choice now
Andrew replies: The proposal in the draft admissions code is not to outlaw siblings policies in paratially selective schools, but rather to define it as poor practice, the application of which would be decided by the Independent Schools Adjudicator if a school chooses to apply such a policy and there are local objections. In such a case the schools adjudicator would need to make a judgement based on all the relevant factors including the one you raise James.
Patricia Kemp, Learning and Teaching Scotland: I am very interested by the government’s commitment to personalised learning for children and young people. Here in Scotland we are moving forward rapidly with this vision. How do you see the use of ICT helping to facilitate pathways to personalised learning opportunties and, if it has a significant role to play, how do we address the digital divide issue, equiry of access, provision etc?
Andrew replies: ICT has a crucial role to play in tailoring teaching and learning to the talents and needs of each individual young person. That is why we have been significantly increasing investment in ICT such that we now have one of the most ICT rich learning environments of any education system in the world. This ICT infrastructure embraces schools in all parts of the country - both the more and the less affluent - which is helping to overcome the digital divide. In terms of support for ICT at home the government gives significant support to organisations such as the E-Learning Foundation which work in this area.
JK: Why are pupils forced to go to schools not on their preferred list (secondary schools) which are further away to their home then other schools in the area?
Andrew replies: I do not properly understand the question. Most schools allocate places on the basis of proximity where they are over subscribed, which gives preference to local parents as opposed to those who live further away. But perhaps you are thinking of areas with grammar schools - where it may be the case that local parents can’t get into a local school because it is a grammar school and their children do not pass the entrance test. However, this applies in a minority of the country.
cyril_worcester: What apspects of the ofsted report do you think will be/are the most complimentary of the progress within schools? And subsequently, what will you be looking to improve?
Andrew replies: The overall verdict of the ofsted report was positive, highlighting the significant improvements in the standards achieved by schools in recent years. However, the reports also stressed that a great deal more needs to be done, for example to tackle the position we are in where one in five of 11 year olds are still not up to the standard expected of their age in reading and mathematics. We fully accept the need to maintain progress in these areas so that all children get the education they deserve.
David Hall-Bowie: What can we do to make sure all young people, including academically gifted young people, experience practical learning both in key stage 4 and when they move into the sixth form?
Andrew replies: From 2008 we are introducing a new range of vocational diplomas precisely to address this issue. These diplomas will be available in all localities - and although we will not be obliging students to take them, we believe they will be highly attractive to students of all aptitudes and abilities, including the most able.
Andrew Brown: I want ask a question about drug education and teacher training. The recent Pathways to Problems report from the ACMD suggested that there should be a fundamental review of drug education in schools. Do you agree and if so do you think that the omission of drug education from initial teacher training is something that needs to be considered?
Andrew replies: We keep drug education under review, but we do not accept that existing drug education is not having a positive effect. In respect of teacher training I do believe we need to keep this issue under review - but as you will be aware, a huge amount needs to be covered in the PGCE year, and is not possible to prescribe everything that would be desirable from the centre.
Beth: My first school was a private school and my mum told me that because of a legislation it might get shut down, is this true?
Andrew replies: Private schools are only shut down by the state if they are found by the independent schools inspectorate to be offering a seriously inadequate standard of education and are not taking sufficient steps to put that right. There is no power for the government to close private schools on an arbitrary basis.
Tanya: Mr Adonis, I understand that a new A’ level grade, the ‘A*’, will be introduced into the education system. Is this not proof that too many students are getting ‘A’s because they are too easy? What was wrong with the old system of bright students getting ‘A’s? I also think it is unfair that future generations will appear to have a higher grade than the A grades that I earned. What are your thoughts on this?
Andrew replies: Tanya, I do not agree with the view that A levels are getting easier. The independent qualifications agency keeps standards under review, and reports that they are being maintained. However, more students are achieving to a higher level than was the case in the past - which is a positive development reflecting greater motivation and better teaching in our schools. As a result, there has been an increase in the number of A grades, and we think it right to introduce an A star grade in order to give universities a better means of discriminating between the highest achieving students when it comes to awarding their places.
Deborah Rose: Many sucsesful comprehensives are over subscribed, with very few places available for non siblings. Our kids primary school had so many siblings that there where no places for first kids living in the same road as the school! So the LEA expanded class sizes to 35. So would it be better to expand all oversubscribed schools, or stop siblings going to all of them?
Andrew replies: It is possible for successful schools to expand - and we have provided dedicated funding to promote this. However, the decision must be left to individual schools and space constraints are often a factor.
Paul Stainburn: I personally can see both the pros and cons of Inclusion in schools but could you please possibly explain why some schools that take in quite a few pupils with special needs do not receive the extra funding needed to employ a teacher with the necessary skills to teach pupils with special needs?
There are many children with special needs who need that extra (almost 1 to 1 ) tuition and quite often a teacher may have to take responsibility for children from accross the ages ranges in the school and not one particular age.
In the so called re-organisation of education many special schools have ceased to exist placing many children who were so called borderline cases into mainstream schools with only the more seriously in need children being kept on in the remaining special schools.
The mainstream schools which take on these children are already stretched with funding and by the time the funding manages to filter through to them it is not enough to employ a full time teacher skilled in special needs tecching .
So please could you explain to me why this is so?
Andrew replies: The decision about the employment of support staff is largely a matter for the school itself - and we have provided significant extra funding for school budgets in order that head teachers and governors have more flexibility in this area. However, as you will know, statements of special educational needs often specify additional support to be provided as the expense of the local education authority - and the allocation of these additional funds will therefore depend upon the content of statements and the schools which statemented pupils attend. This of course varies from area to area, particularly in areas with fewer special schools and more resourced provision within the mainstream schools.
Lowri Bond: BBC 2’s the Choir programme has highlighted a sad lack of music education in secondary schools in the UK. The young people who have appered on this programme have shown such interest, commitment and enjoyment but above all are gaining in self esteem, the ability to work as a team and believe in themselves. The government recognises that involvement in sport helps to develop these crucial life skills but we can’t and shouldn’t just offer these opportunities to youung people through sport. When will music be reintroduced as a valued and important part of the curriculum and life of our schools and how will resources be allocated to this? Our children deserve more cultural opportunities like these.
Moderator replies: We have significantly boosted funding for school music including an extra £25 million this year for the Music Standards Fund. Most schools should be feeling the benefit of this. We also have a policy of introducing instrumental music intuition much more widely in primary schools, and survey evidence shows that the number of primary school students learning musical instruments has been rising in consequence.
sheila: How could the schools better represent all ethnic group? we have alot of children left behind why? stop reinventing the wheels and playing with word?
Moderator replies: I am glad to say that the performance of pupils from the ethnic minorities has been improving significantly in recent years - particularly the exam achievements of black and asian students. We also have a policy to encoruage the recruitment and promotion of far more teachers from the ethnic minorities and this is also proving successful.
Maurice Kurland: We consistently in the news about bad behaviour of young people. Many teachers have to do crowd control rather than teach during lessons. What measures do you believe should be taken in schools to overcome this?
Andrew replies: The new Education Act gives teachers much stronger powers to enforce discipline in schools - including, for the first time, a statutory right to discipline.
KELLY: why do we have to go to school? we get no fun out of school?
Andrew replies: I am sorry you do not enjoy school. I very much hope it is proving good for you however!
Margaret On ians: How do you propose to broaden the curriculum to develop the creative and practical talents of the less academic children? All I see seems to point to conventional book-learning rather than including those very things that give the private sector their advatange in broadening the minds and developing the talents of all children.
Andrew replies: From 2008 we are introducing new vocational diplomas into the school curriculum, to meet precisely the point you raise Margaret. The subjects will include construction, engineering, health and social care, ICT and media technology.
Andrew says: Thanks very much for all your questions. Do take full advantage of the DFES website where plenty of information is available on education policy and leads to other organisations which can also help you.
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