§ Sir A. Meyerasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether she is continuing the programme of inspection of independent unrecognised boarding schools started in 1968.
§ Mrs. ThatcherYes. I have modified the basic principle on which the policy introduced under the previous Government was founded. I intend to ensure through my administration of Part III of the Education Act, 1944, that there is a steady rise in the standard required of all independent schools, both boarding and day, as a condition of registration. But I have concluded that it was inappropriate to equate standards required by the Act with those required for recognition as efficient. Recognition as efficient is defined in Rule 16 as "A special mark of the Secretary of State's approval". I hope that many unrecognised schools will voluntarily seek to achieve recognition as efficient but it is wrong in principle to impose this standard as the minimum required by law. My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Wales is acting similarly in relation to the schools concerned in Wales.