§ 2. Mr. Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield)What steps he is taking to improve the level of communication and co-operation between schools in the same locality. [88965]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education and Employment (Mr. Charles Clarke)We regard better communication and co-operation between schools and particularly the dissemination of good practice as a vital part of our drive to raise standards in schools. Among the Government's initiatives are the beacon schools initiative, specialist school schemes, "Excellence in Cities", education action zones and a range of other ideas to that end.
§ Mr. SheermanI welcome the Administration's announcements over the past two years, but as my hon. Friend will be aware, we have a legacy of poor co-operation between schools which we inherited from the former Administration. Will he look at innovative supply chain techniques in business and apply them to the relationships from the earliest school—pre-school—to universities? Will he come to my constituency of Huddersfield, where, led by the further education sector, we have achieved amazing results in improving quality, from pre-school to the local university?
§ Mr. ClarkeI accept what my hon. Friend says about the achievements in Huddersfield. May I draw attention to the early-years development schemes, our development of school organisation committees, and the post-16 White Paper that was published last week, all of which are designed to generate co-operation between all aspects of education and to achieve what he mentions?
§ Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York)I entirely endorse the philosophy that local schools should co-operate. On schools in the Vale of York area, which is now within the city of York, there was excellent 1160 co-operation at the level of North Yorkshire county council, which—I say it for the House's benefit—is Conservative controlled. I regret that, since it has had its own Labour-controlled local education authority, the city of York has not even developed a long-term education strategy to deal with the real problem of surplus places in the town. What will the Government do to correct that matter?
§ Mr. ClarkeI have met delegates from the city of York and the local Members of Parliament to discuss those issues. The educational development plans focus precisely on the means of developing co-operation to address those issues; but it is a bit rich of Conservatives, who positively promoted division between schools when in government, to make criticisms on that front. We are trying to build co-operation.