Draft Legislative Programme: Education
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Martin Johnson, deputy general secretary, said: "The government is right to focus on improving the opportunities for students who are failed by the current system. We support the emphasis on education and training for the over-16s, but are not convinced the opportunities being offered are the right ones.
"Education should give all children the opportunity to learn and gain skills.
"However, the government will not cut the number of so-called failing schools until it accepts the overwhelming evidence that the major cause is an unbalanced intake of pupils from different backgrounds, and finds a way to deal with this."
Stakeholder response: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development 
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John McGurk, CIPD skills adviser, said: "We are concerned that the proposed statutory entitlement to an apprenticeship could undermine employer support. Apprenticeships are valuable if they are designed to meet business needs.
"Employers are ready to offer apprenticeships if they meet these business needs and are being taken up by young people keen to improve themselves. But they should not be allowed to be approached by apprentices as an 'entitlement'. Youth unemployment will not be solved by a 'right' to an apprenticeship.
"We cautiously welcome the proposal to introduce a 'right to request' time off for training. The 'light touch' right to request approach has worked well with flexible working, for both employers and employees. Four out of five such requests are accepted by employers, who are in turn experiencing a higher level of employee engagement and motivation from their growing flexible workforces.
"However, it is important that we do not lose sight of the fact that training is a two-way street. It is of benefit to the learner, but must also contribute to meeting the business needs of the employer. If this test is not met, the employer must be able to decline requests for training."
Stakeholder response: The National Union of Teachers
Christine Blower, acting general secretary, said: "The prime minister's draft Education Bill is a mix of good and bad. Of course an expansion in apprenticeships and second chances in education is vital. And one to one tuition for pupils who need it is long overdue.
"But schools need an expansion of top-down accountability like a hole in the head. Before the government leaps to legislation it should review the crushing and oppressive accountability structure already experienced by schools. Simply adding punitive intervention powers for local authorities is hardly going to gain the confidence of teachers.
"Parents have a vital role, but if developing positive parent partnerships means nothing more than having a requirement for parents councils then we will have traded in genuine dialogue between parents and teachers for an expansion of needless bureaucracy.
"The new bill should rectify the yawning democratic deficit that exists at local level. Children's trusts do not tackle this deficit. The development of academies and trusts is separating many schools from their communities. We need structures which enhance the involvement of communities, alongside parents and teachers, in decisions about the local running of schools."
Stakeholder response: NASUWT
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Chris Keates, general secretary, said: "The announcement gives a legislative base to a number of prior announcements and so there are no major surprises.
"For teachers, there are a number of issues on which the devil will be in the detail, particularly the flagged reform to strengthen schools accountability to parents. If this prompts a review of the whole accountability framework under which schools are currently labouring, to see if it is fit for purpose, then it will be welcome. If it results in another layer of accountability on top of the existing regime then there is a danger schools will crumble under the pressure.
"The proposed reserve powers (for the Secretary of State in relation to local authorities) give clear recognition that some local authorities are not carrying out their statutory duties. The NASUWT has been highlighting this for sometime.
"These reserve powers need to be focused on schools underperforming in relation to school workforce issues. However, for these to be effective the Secretary of State will need to also find a mechanism to challenge the cosy, unhealthy relationships that exists between some schools and some local authorities which results in statutory provisions being breached."
