§ 8. Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York) (Con)What recent representations he has received on schools admissions policy; and if he will make a statement. [187701]
§ The Minister for School Standards (Mr. David Miliband)The Education and Skills Select Committee has recently published a report into secondary school admission arrangements. It is under consideration and we will issue our response in due course.
§ Miss McIntoshIs the Minister not embarrassed at the fact that appeals by parents who did not secure their first choice of school for their children against such decisions have recently risen by 50 per cent.? Does he not agree that it should be left to head teachers, governors and parents to decide which school should accept which child?
§ Mr. MilibandIf I understand the hon. Lady correctly, she is suggesting that every school in the country should have its own admissions policy, with no possibility of appeal against it. Indeed, that is a further development. Last term, we heard that the Conservative party believes that there should be no distance criterion for admission to schools; that would throw into chaos the whole admissions system. Now, the hon. Lady says that every school should be able to invent its own admissions policy without an appeal system; that would be much worse than the current system. The latest research shows that approximately nine out of 10 youngsters get their first choice, and the best way to increase that number is to have more good schools. I would have expected the hon. Lady to applaud the rising attainment levels, especially in previously weak schools that have struggled to get first choice preferences. That is what this Government have pledged to do.
§ Jonathan Shaw (Chatham and Aylesford) (Lab)Does my hon. Friend accept that, as evidence from the Education and Skills Committee shows, appeals processes and admissions systems work most smoothly when there is a single, local authority-based admissions authority? So rather than prescribing myriad different admissions authorities, we should consider the Committee's evidence, which shows that when there is a single admissions authority, everyone, including parents, understands the rules. Such a system creates fairness and leaves parents feeling more satisfied than the alternative, which leads to great frustration.
§ Mr. MilibandI was able to discuss this issue with the Education and Skills Committee when it questioned me in July. It is important to note that the co-ordinated admissions system that is being introduced means that no longer will parents send different forms to different schools in different authorities; rather, there will be a single admissions process. Schools will continue to have rights over their admissions where appropriate—Church schools are an example—but there will be a co-ordinated process. Early evidence from the work in Enfield and elsewhere shows that a co-ordinated admissions process makes a big difference to the satisfaction felt by parents, and brings greater clarity to the system. I hope that my hon. Friend recognises that.
§ Ann Winterton (Congleton) (Con)Has the Minister noted the conclusions of recent research showing that very bright pupils will do well in any secondary school, whether grammar or comprehensive, but that children at the margins—those who have only just passed the 853 11-plus—achieve considerably more in grammar schools than their equivalent cohorts in comprehensive schools? Does the Minister believe that there are any lessons to be learned about the ethos of those schools and the sort of teaching carried out in them, and will he learn some of those lessons and apply them to the whole of the secondary sector?
§ Mr. MilibandThere are some lessons to be learned from the evidence. Unfortunately, we disagree about what those lessons are. On this side of the House, we do not believe that selection at five and 11 provides the right way forward. Conservative Members are proposing that every school, primary and secondary, should be able to have its own selection criteria for admissions, but we do not believe, as I said, that having a five-plus or an 11-plus is the best way forward for this country. Over the past 30 years, since the introduction of mass comprehensive schooling, there has been a doubling of GCSE performance, especially among girls. I would have thought that that would be a source of pride and, indeed, a source of evidence that the hon. Lady should take into account.
§ Angela Watkinson (Upminster) (Con)Will the Minister acknowledge the importance of admissions interviews in denominational schools? Such interviews not only enable schools to assess the credibility of references, but have a pastoral benefit in enabling those schools that wish to continue with interviews to gain a better understanding of the child's needs and personal circumstances. Under the co-ordinated system, schools have to rely solely on the local education authority to relay information to parents about the ethos of each school, how it differs from other schools and whether it offers what they want for their child. With the banning of admissions interviews, that valuable link between schools and prospective parents and pupils has been lost.
§ Mr. MilibandThe House really needs to understand the extraordinary spectacle that we are seeing this morning. The hon. Lady has divorced her party from the position of the Churches on this issue. Both the Church of England and the Catholic Education Service made strong representations that the old mechanisms were not the right ones to use and that the testing of religious affiliation should not be done by interview, but on an objective basis. I am very sorry that the hon. Lady has decided that now is the time for a split between her position and that of the Churches on this matter. We have followed the strong representations made by the Churches and introduced an objective approach—not based on an interview. The hon. Lady would do well to follow the Churches and us in that respect.