Ethnic Minority Children (Hansard, 17 July 1985)

§ Sir Keith Joseph

In the statement I made on the publication of the Swann committee's report, at columns 451–52, I said that the problem of underachievement at school was not confined to children from the ethnic minorities; and that one way in which the Government would try to improve the position of those children would therefore be through measures intended to raise performance generally. In the White Paper "Better Schools", published shortly after the Swann report, a wide range of policy initiatives—on the curriculum, on examinations and in other areas—was described. They will help tackle the obstacles to higher achievement and as they take effect ethnic minority children will share in the benefit. These policies form the background to the more specific steps we have been taking in response to the Swann report, some of which are outlined below.

We need improved statistical information in order to monitor and secure progress. I informed the House on 11 July, at columns 483–84, that the Department was issuing a consultation paper setting out specific proposals for the collection of statistics on the ethnic origins of teachers and students in teacher training. I intend to establish a working group in the autumn to explore how the scheme might operate. I have also considered an interim report from a working group on the collection of ethnically based statistics on school pupils. I am aware that there is particular concern about the implications of the collection of such statistics by central Government. As a first step, I have therefore asked the group to report to me by the end of the year with proposals for the collection of statistics on a compatible basis at local level.

The response of the education system to ethnic diversity is the theme of some 40 different pilot projects, at a total cost of £1 million, which are being supported through education support grants in 1985–86. A further£ 1 million is being made available under regulations made on 10 July to support new projects in this area in 1986–87. Officials of the Department have also held preliminary discussions with the local authority associations on the possibility that the in-service training grants scheme should, as the Swann committee recommended, be extended to include training dealing with the need to respond to ethnic diversity: I shall propose this formally to the associations in the autumn. As to initial teacher training, I shall be writing to the Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education drawing attention to those of the criteria for the approval of initial teacher training courses which bear on the response to ethnic diversity and to the Swann committee's recommendations that all teacher training students should have an opportunity to gain teaching experience in a multiracial school.

Equally important is the need to recruit more ethnic minority teachers. I informed the House on 11 July, at columns 484–85, that the Department was issuing a 163W consultation paper which invites views on the possible reasons for the apparent under-representation of ethnic minorities in the teacher force and on ways of countering this. Comments are being sought from a wide audience including many ethnic minority organisations.

I have referred to our policies for reforming the curriculum and the examination system generally. Attention is also being paid specifically to the implications of ethnic diversity in both contexts. The School Curriculum Development Committee and the Secondary Examinations Council have agreed to co-operate on multiethnic matters. The SCDC has agreed to ensure that all its projects have due regard to the ethnic diversity of our schools. The SEC will explore means of improving its syllabuses and examinations in community languages, and is enlisting specialist advisers to help in this work. Meanwhile, Her Majesty's Inspectorate is continuing to

	Full-time equivalent number of teachers in schools	Pupils	Number of schools
	Full-time	Part-time
January 1960	256,891	6,481,648	1,703	26,698
January 1970	329,387	7,477,247	27,631	26,137
January 1984	^*390,279	7,216,962	194,469	24,464
^* The figure for 1984 relates to qualified teachers only. Data for January 1985 will be available later this year. Information for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland is the responsibility of my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Wales, for Scotland and for Northern Ireland.