§ Mr. Hardyasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will take steps to monitor the number of cases when assisted places have been offered to pupils who are sons or daughters of friends or relatives of heads and staffs of the schools concerned.
§ Dr. BoysonNo.
§ Mr. Hardyasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish in the Official Report the letter of the then Minister of State to the hon. Member for Rother Valley dated 9 April 1981 relating to the assisted places scheme; and if this letter still represents Government policy.
§ Dr. BoysonThe text of the letter is as follows: "Thank you for your letter of 25 March about the assisted places scheme.
The Education (Assisted Places) Regulations 1980, which were approved by both Houses of Parliament last autumn, provide that the schools participating in the assisted places scheme will themselves be responsible for the selection of assisted pupils subject to specified criteria concerning the age and residence of the pupils, the income of his or her parents and the requirement that he or she should be capable of benefitting from the education provided at the school. There is no specific requirement in the Regulations that schools should only select `able' pupils however that were defined.However, the schools we invited to participate in the scheme were selected because of their strong academic records particularly as regards the size of their sixth forms and the A level examination results of candidates from the schools. They are schools which are suitable for able pupils and the sort of academic education they provide would not necessarily be appropriate for all pupils. As you note, we have launched the assisted places scheme with the aim of widening educational opportunities for able pupils. However, if a school in the scheme was satisfied that the education it provided would benefit particular pupils of average ability, assisted places could be offered to those pupils (subject to the criteria concerning age, residence and income). One of our principal aims is to widen educational opportunities and parental choice generally and the assisted places scheme will help do this by offering assistance with independent school fees to parents who could not otherwise possibly afford them.My Department will be monitoring very carefully both the operation of the assisted places scheme and the continuing academic performance of schools in the scheme. We will be concerned to ensure that the schools run the scheme in accord with the regulations approved by Parliament and that the schools maintain the standards which led us to invite them to join the scheme. Schedule 4 of the Education Act 1980 provides that the Secretary of State may terminate the participation of a school in the scheme if it does not maintain appropriate educational standards or if it contravenes the regulations.