Schools Councils (Hansard, 20 May 1988)

§ Mr. Kenneth Baker

During the debate on Second Reading of the Education Reform Bill, on 1 December 1987, at column 776, I announced my intention to set up the National Curriculum Council (NCC) and the School Examinations and Assessment Council (SEAC) in shadow form during the passage of the Bill. Establishment of the councils in this way, which is without prejudice o parliamentary approval of the provisions in the Bill relating to the creation of statutory councils, will enable the bodies to begin planning: for implementation of the national curriculum and its associated assessment arrangements, and for the approval of qualifications and syllabuses provided for under the Bill. In particular. it will enable the shadow NCC to plan for consideration of, and consultations on, the reports of the curriculum working groups in mathematics and science due at the end of June.

I am pleased to say that Mr. Duncan Graham, who is currently the chief executive of Humberside county council and formerly chief education officer of Suffolk, has agreed to be chairman and chief executive of the shadow NCC. Mr. Philip Halsey, deputy secretary in the Department of Education and Science until his retirement earlier this month, has agreed to be chairman and chief executive of the shadow SEAC. I am also appointing the following people as members of the shadow councils:

National Curriculum Council

Professor Paul J. Black, OBE. PhD: Professor of Science Education, Kings College, London and Head of the Centre for Educational Studies.
Mr. Malcolm Brigg: TVEI Regional Adviser, Northern Region.
Ms. Judith Chaplin: Head of institute of Directors' Policy Unit.
Mrs. Daphne Gould: Head of Mulberry Girls' School, Tower Hamlets.
Dr. Hilary Nicolle: Headmistress of Tiffin Girls' School, Kingston-upon-Thames.
Mr. Colin Smith MBE: Headmaster, Delaval County Middle School, Northumberland.
Mr. Christopher J. Webb: Principal, Handsworth Technical College, Birmingham.
Mr. J. Peter Whitehouse: Industrial Consultant.

School Examinations and Assessment Council

Mr. Ivor H. Cohen: Chairman of Remploy Ltd.
Mr. Richard Daughtery: Dean of the Faculty of Educational Studies, University College, Swansea.
Mr. John Day: Secretary-General of the Associated Examining Board.
Mr. Neil Fitton: Director of Education, Cheshire LEA.
Dr. Arthur Hearnden: General Secretary of the Independent Schools Joint Council.
Dr. Stephen Nepaulsingh: Deputy Headmaster, Heath Park High School, Wolverhampton.
Dr. Margaret Rayner: Vice-Principal, St. Hilda's College, Oxford.
Ms. Hilary Steedman: Senior Research Officer at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research.
Mrs. Elizabeth Tarr: Head, Thornbury Primary School, Plymouth.
Ms. Kathleen Tattersall: Joint Secretary of the Northern Examinations Authority. Secretary of the North-West Regional Examinations Board.
Mr. Christopher J. Webb: Principal, Handsworth Technical College, Birmingham.
Mr. J. Peter Whitehouse: Industrial consultant.

They have been chosen after a good deal of consultation with interests directly concerned with the work of the two councils, and between them reflect a wide range of knowledge and experience of educational matters. I am grateful to all for their willingness to serve.

I have chosen not to fill all the places available on each council—15 if the Bill is passed in its present form—because I wish to consider further appointments in the light of the councils' early experience and of further comment about interests which should be reflected. But I shall be seeking to make an early further appointment to the NCC to bring to bear more knowledge and experience of primary education, and I also intend to ensure that people knowledgeable about special educational needs are appointed to both bodies.

Subject to the Education Reform Bill completing its passage through Parliament and receiving Royal Assent, I expect to confirm the appointments to their respective councils of the chairmen/chief executives and of the members at a later date.

The School Curriculum Development Committee and the Secondary Examinations Council, which will respectively be replaced by the NCC and SEAC, will continue their present work for the time being, but will be formally wound up in the autumn after Royal Assent. I am very grateful to their members, and to their chairmen, Professor Roger Blin-Stoyle and Sir Wilfred Cockcroft, for the valuable service they have given and for continuing to serve until the new councils are formally established.