HC Deb 12 July 1994 vol 246 cc590-1W
20. Mrs. Dunwoody

To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many times a year he meets chief education officers to discuss grant-maintained schools.

Mr. Robin Squire

My right hon. Friend and other Ministers meet chief education officers throughout the year as the need arises and discuss a wide variety of topics, including grant-maintained schools.

27. Mr. Liddington

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the opinions of parents whose children attend grant-maintained schools about the quality of education which those schools provide.

Mr. Robin Squire

Growing numbers of parents are choosing self-governing schools for their children. Some 70 per cent. of grant-maintained schools responding to a recent survey reported increases in pupil numbers. Pupil numbers at secondary schools which have been grant-maintained for the last four years have grown three times faster than the secondary pupil population as a whole. This is clear evidence of parents' confidence in the quality of education provided by self-governing schools.