Achievement Records (Hansard, 17 July 1984)

§ Sir Keith Joseph

[pursuant to the reply, 14 March 1984, c. 172]: The Department of Education and Science and the Welsh Office are publishing today a policy statement which sets out the views of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales and myself on records of achievement in schools, together with our proposals for next steps. Copies have been placed in the Library.

My right hon. Friend and I hope that it will be possible by the end of the decade to establish throughout England and Wales arrangements under which all young people in secondary schools will have records of achievement and will take with them when they leave school a summary document of record prepared within a framework of national policy which leaves scope for local variations.

Before that point can be reached, it will be necessary to establish the greatest possible amount of agreement among local education authorities, schools, colleges, parents, employers and others concerned on crucial issues such as the purposes, content, format, compilation, validation and ownership of records. It will also be necessary to examine carefuly the resource implications of records of achievement systems. Considerable progress has been made in some of these areas already by local education authorities both individually and in groups, schools in both the maintained and independent sectors, 101W examining bodies and others. But more practical experience and piloting are needed, together with some central co-ordination.

The Government intend accordingly to provide education support grants for some pilot schemes in partnership with local education authorities. The object of the schemes will be to identify the most fruitful ways of recording pupils' achievements and thus to prepare the way for the establishment of agreed principles and a framework of national policy which can provide a basis for introducing records of achievements throughout England and Wales.