COLLEGE OF ALL SAINTS (LONDON) (Hansard, 11 December 1975)

§ Mrs. Joyce Butler (Wood Green)

I am very grateful for the opportunity to raise on the Adjournment the question of the College of All Saints, which is greatly valued in my constituency and in the surrounding area and which is threatened with closure.

The background to the situation, as I understand, is that to comply with national policy for a reduction in teacher training places the Church of England agreed to reduce the number of its student teacher places from 19,000 in 1971 to 10,000 in 1981.

The Department of Education and Science, which has the final say in these matters, had previously proposed that three Church colleges should close. These were Culham in Oxfordshire, St. Peter's in Birmingham and Hockerill at Bishop Stortford. However, a Church education conference last Easter took the view that such closures should not be decided hastily and that a national strategy for Church colleges should be developed.

The working party concerned with this matter ensured that representatives of the three colleges threatened with closure were heard, but the other colleges had to submit their views by written answers to a brief questionnaire.

Therefore, it came as a complete bombshell when the working party reported in September recommending the closing of four colleges, of which All Saints in Tottenham, which had received no word of warning and had no opportunity to make representations, was one. Although the college immediately 816 asked to make personal representations to the Board of Education of the Church, this was refused.

Considerable concern about the decision, and also about the procedure, followed, has been expressed by the maney people who know and value the work of All Saints. The matter was also subsequently raised at the recent meeting of the Church Synod on 5th December. As I understand the result of this meeting—I have had only a second-hand account over the telephone of what happened—apparently the decision of this further meeting was to give All Saints a deferred threat of closure. The college would be given an intake in 1976 and 1977 which would slightly reduce the annual intake of the other Church colleges for those two years. This would be without prejudice to the numbers already recommended for Church colleges in 1981.

Although the Board of Education now accepts that All Saints should remain as an active institution, it agreed that the only way to enable All Saints to continue beyond 1981 was for the Department of Education and Science to increase the total allocation of teacher training colleges and Church colleges. I believe that the Board made certain suggestions as to how this might be done within the confines of the Department's policy. So, although the situation at All Saints is not as bleak as it appeared to be a week ago, it is still far from satisfactory with this merely probationary right to continue to exist.

It surely is unreasonable to expect the college, alone of the Church colleges, to recruit students against a background of a continued, though deterred, threat of closure. This is all the more unreasonable in view of the unique contribution that the college is making in this inner-city area where the problems of a multi-cultural society are most acute. It is the only Anglican college in North London. One of the students has described it as "the Church in action" in North London. It has important specialisms, particularly in multi-cultural education, and its situation in a multi-racial district makes it especially suitable for this work. It is important that 75 per cent. of the students, when they leave the college, remain to teach in the London area.

817 Its basic teacher training course is strongly geared to the needs of those working with children from deprived urban areas, and a new diploma in multiracial education has just been approved by the Department of Education and Science.

Strong moves have been made in recent years to diversify courses, and work is now being done for social workers and youth leaders. Much in-service training is organised by the college, and there are plans for a professional in-service training centre immediately adjacent to the college, which can serve Haringey, in which it is situated, and its adjacent London boroughs.

A joint academic working party of staff from All Saints and the Tottenham College of Technology is planning joint courses, some of which have already started, whereby staff from each college work together on certain courses for the benefit of the students. The students themselves voluntarily undertake a wide range of social work in the surrounding community—after-school clubs, tapes for the blind, English teaching of immigrants, the remedial teaching of gipsies, help for elderly people, and so on.

An important factor in the life of the college is that many of the students are already resident in the area and know its problems at first hand. Here, I should declare a personal interest, since my own daughter took a teacher training and B.Ed. course at All Saints and is now teaching at a multi-racial school in the borough.

In this connection, an ex-student makes an important point when she writes: There is still a shortage of teachers in many parts of the country, including London, where many teachers cannot afford to live, especially when they marry and wish to buy a house. So London depends heavily on colleges like All Saints to provide a supply of young teachers who have formed their friendships and wish to stay in the area as long as they can afford to do so. The challenge of working in a multiracial and deprived area is immense, but many past members of the college face it with great spirit. The local education committee and Haringey council strongly back the college and have passed unanimous resolutions of support for All Saints, as also has Waltham Forest Education Committee. The Bishops of London and Edmonton—with their first-hand know- 818 ledge of the area—have expressed themselves strongly against any closure. MPs from all the neighbouring constituencies over a wide area, some of whom would have been here tonight if the debate had not been so late, have also asked to be associated with this debate.

They are my hon. Friends the Members for Edmonton (Mr. Graham) and Tottenham (Mr. Atkinson), whose constituencies closely adjoin the college, the hon. Member for Southgate (Mr. Berry), and my hon. Friend the Member from as far afield as Welwyn and Hatfield (Mrs. Hayman).

My hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State, who has her own special knowledge of the difficulties of education in London, will, I am sure, agree that AP Saints should not remain in this invidious position. As she knows, the final decision about the future of the college rests with her Department. I recently took a deputation of education committee members to see her colleague in another place, and we were very kindly received. I hope very much that now that the college has been given a limited reprieve by the Church the Minister will be able to make the crucial decision about its continued viability as quickly as possible and enable it to continue the work that it is doing without fear for the future.

I urge my hon. Friend to use any influence she can to this end. I know that she cannot say anything definite about this tonight, because the decision has yet to be made, but I hope that she will be able, in reply, to make some kind of helpful comment to the college. Everyone concerned is extremely worried about the present situation and a word of hope from her would be very much appreciated. I ask my hon. Friend to throw out some lifeline to a college which is doing an excellent job and which has very great support. It gives to the local community and it helps the local community, and the local community very much wants it to continue.

§ The Under-Secretary of State for Education and Science (Miss Joan Lestor)

I have long known of the interest of my hon. Friend the Member for Wood Green (Mrs. Butler) in this college and she has pleaded most eloquently that it be allowed to continue its role in teacher 819 training. As my hon. Friend said, she has already led a deputation to see my noble Friend the Minister of State. The supporters of All Saints College—their numbers are considerable—are very fortunate in having a Member of Parliament who is so actively interested in its future. As she said, no decision has yet been taken by my right hon. Friend to stop teacher training at this college. Therefore, as has already been said, the purpose of this debate is to try to influence a decision that is pending rather than to change one that has been taken.

The House may appreciate a few comments by way of background. For almost three years the Department, local authorities, voluntary bodies and the colleges themselves have been engaged in a reorganisation of the colleges of education. The reorganisation has two aims: first, to bring teacher education into closer contact with higher education generally and, secondly, to reduce substantially the number of teacher training places so as to bring the output of trained teachers into line with forecast demand.

Originally, the intention was to reduce the number of places to 80,000 in 1981 from a present figure of 114,000. In March of this year, however, the number of places to be planned for 1981 was further reduced to 60,000 on the evidence of the latest forecasts of the birth rate. This further reduction exacerbated the difficulties of the reorganisation and made it inevitable that teacher training would have to cease at a number of colleges, both maintained and voluntary. The Church of England entirely accepts that its colleges must bear a fair share of the reduction and their allocation for 1981, at about 10,000 places or about one-sixth of the total, reflects their historical share.

The Church of England Board of Education has drawn up proposals for the future of its colleges based on the 1981 allocation of about 10,000 places. The proposals recommend that teacher training should be given up as soon as practicable at three colleges—Hockerill College in Hertfordshire, Sarum St. Michael 820 in Wiltshire, and St. Peter's Saltley in Birmingham. But the College of All Saints has been singled out for rather different treatment. It is not proposed that teacher training should cease there as soon as may be but that students should be admitted in September 1976 and September 1977. With four-year courses the last students would leave the college in the summer of 1981 when, unless other arrangements are made, the college would close for teacher training. The Board of Education is suggesting that it could be kept open after 1981 by my right hon. Friend agreeing to increase the Church's 1981 allocation beyond 10,000 places.

These proposals have been received only within the last few days and officials of my Department are to discuss them with the Board of Education tomorrow. Therefore, I am sure that my hon. Friend appreciates that there is very little that I can say about the likely outcome of the discussion at this stage.

However, I should like to add that I happily acknowledge the value of the work done by All Saints in, as my hon. Friend said, a densely populated and deprived urban area which is also multi-racial, and it has made a very big contribution in that respect. Sadly, however, some colleages must give up teacher training and in this there is inevitably some loss. Whether, in the end, All Saints must be one of these or whether it is thought right to keep it going and some way is found to do this remains to be seen. Decisions about the Church colleges are now urgent, if only to end the anxiety which uncertainty brings to all involved, not least the college staffs. Time must, however, be allowed for those concerned to make representations to my right hon. Friend if they wish, but that done, he will reach his conclusions about All Saints and the other Church colleges as quickly as possible. I shall see that my hon. Friend is informed of the decision as soon as it is made.