WHITE PAPER CONCESSIONS NOT ENOUGH

07 February 2006

The Professional Association of Teachers (PAT) has welcomed some of the reported concessions made by the Government on the Education White Paper but criticised Ministers for not going far enough.

PAT General Secretary Philip Parkin said: “The proposals to strengthen the roles of local authorities and the schools adjudicator and the review of admissions procedures are welcome, although they are minor tweaks rather than major changes.

“These concessions do not go far enough. Many of our concerns remain.

“The Government’s rejection of the Select Committee’s call for benchmarks of students from different socio-economic backgrounds is not very encouraging.

“We understand that the admissions code will not be written into primary legislation because that would be ‘unworkable’. That does not inspire confidence in the code or how it would be work in practice.

“The concession over new schools is welcome but it is difficult to say what impact it will have. It all depends on how many schools choose to become Trust schools and whether they become a dominant force. Local authorities will have to jump through a lot of bureaucratic hoops before they can open new schools.

“Local authorities could be at a disadvantage in the suggested ‘competitions’ to build new schools because officers’ time would be divided between trying to provide education services and preparing bids. Businesses or other organisations would not face such problems and could well have more resources to devote to their bids.

“Would there be a level playing field or would obstacles be placed in the way of local authorities because the Government would still rather see other organisations running schools?

“Many PAT members feel that the drive for commissioning will compromise local authorities’ abilities to recruit and train quality staff able to target resources to where they are needed, without regard to profit margins or a school’s ability to pay.

“We remain concerned about the powers of the proposed Trusts and their backers. These groups will have their own agendas – be it political, religious or making a profit. PAT is worried that providing high quality education and care may not be their overwhelming priority.

“The initial results from Academies suggest that changing the legal and administrative nature of a school does not necessarily deliver better education. We believe all families should have access to good quality local education.”

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