§ 2.57 p.m.
§ Baroness Sharp of Guildfordasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they can reconcile the concept of "personalised learning" with the possibility that schools of the future may have fewer qualified teachers.
§ Baroness Ashton of UphollandMy Lords, teacher numbers are at a 21-year high and support staff numbers at their highest level ever. This means that schools are able increasingly to call on the skills of a team comprising qualified teachers and other specialist staff to meet pupils' individual learning needs. But there are no proposals from the Government or any of their workforce partners to reduce teacher numbers in the school of the future.
§ Baroness Sharp of GuildfordMy Lords, I thank the Minister for that reply. Can she confirm the report in the Times Educational Supplement of 5th December which suggested that in future we may see schools with only one qualified teacher—the head—and other support staff or teaching assistants supplied by an agency on a contract basis? Does she agree that if such ideas are around, they fly completely in the face of the evidence which suggests that the personal relationship between pupil and teacher, particularly among the young, is vital to learning?
§ Baroness Ashton of UphollandMy Lords, I agree wholeheartedly with the noble Baroness. Indeed, the paper was produced and then presumably leaked to the Times Educational Supplement without Ministers' knowledge. We have said in our statements that we do not agree with this. No work will be done on it, and it was a stupid thing to do.
§ Lord TanlawMy Lords, is the noble Baroness aware that in the hills and uplands of Eskdalemuir in Dumfriesshire there is a shortage of teachers and the local schools are closing, much to the detriment of the small farming economy? Does the noble Baroness not agree that before such time as these schools close, mainly because of the low population, broadband should be introduced into the area so that at least the local people will be able to get their own education via this new medium?
§ Baroness Ashton of UphollandMy Lords, the noble Lord referred to low population. Where we have 1056 falling rolls, there is an issue about ensuring that we are using our school estate appropriately. I support him wholeheartedly in wanting to see broadband introduced so that we have the ability to use technology for learning.
§ Lord Brooke of Sutton MandevilleMy Lords, as an ancillary question, is the Minister aware that the salaries available to staff recruited for her department's Connexions programme for counselling young people is draining experienced staff from the youth service, with the corollary consequence of leaving the youth service, which is also within her department's purview, to try to recruit at lower salaries new substitute staff for the more testing task of leading and supervising larger groups of young people?
§ Baroness Ashton of UphollandMy Lords, that rather plays back to the previous question that I answered, about the workforce unit. It is very important that the workforce unit is able to look at where our people are recruited from and to ensure that we have appropriate salary levels and career structures to keep people working for children and young people without draining from each other.
§ Baroness SeccombeMy Lords, may I take it from the Answer that the Minister gave that she can guarantee on behalf of the Government that the use of teaching assistants will never result in their replacing qualified teachers in schools?
§ Baroness Ashton of UphollandMy Lords, in the regulations debates, we have described the ability of schools to consider the broader workforce. I have made it plain that the reports in the Times Educational Supplement have no bearing on the policy that we pursue. We believe that schools should make good use of qualified teachers. We also believe, as I know that all noble Lords do, that there are some highly qualified and experienced teaching assistants, who should be used appropriately. The regulations give us that appropriateness for the first time.