Schools: Admissions

Tuesday 21st October 2014 Lords Chamber

Question

15:05

Asked by

[Baroness Massey of Darwen]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure a fair admissions policy in schools.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools (Lord Nash) (Con)]

My Lords, there are a number of safeguards to ensure that school admission policies are fair. The School Admissions Code sets out what is and is not allowed, and requires that places are allocated in a clear, fair and objective way. Anyone who feels that a school’s admission policy is unfair may complain to the Office of the Schools Adjudicator, whose decision is binding. Parents who are refused a place at a school of their choice have the right to appeal.

[Baroness Massey of Darwen (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for his response. Is he aware of a freedom of information request to all English local authorities to ascertain the number of children missing education? Is he surprised that 42% of those missing education are doing so because they have not been allocated a place? Is this not a shocking state of affairs and what will the Government do about it?

[Lord Nash]

My Lords, it is true that a high proportion of children missing education are awaiting a place but we have massive in-year movement in this country, partly as a result of immigration. We take the issue of school attendance very seriously. All local authorities are required to put in place a fair access protocol for their schools, which requires all schools to comply. Indications from local authorities are that fair access protocols are working well, indeed, better than in previous years, and we will continue to monitor their impact. I hope that the noble Baroness will be pleased to hear that overall absence rates are at their lowest since termly absence data were first collected in 2006.

[Baroness Sharples (Con)]

Does my noble friend accept that every school faces a problem because a year ago 6% of children had English as their second language when they went to school? That has now increased to 16%.

[Lord Nash]

It is true that some schools struggle with this. It is also true that a great many students who are technically classed as “English as additional language” are very high-achieving. However, it is a fact that we have a high number of pupils in this country who would be described as EAL, and it is our duty as a Government to ensure that all pupils are properly educated.

[The Earl of Listowel (CB)]

My Lords, will the Minister confirm that children in local authority care continue to have first priority in admissions? Does he not agree that children in the care of the state should at least be offered the very best educational opportunities by the state?

[Lord Nash]

I agree entirely with the noble Earl and, of course, most schools prioritise looked-after children.

[The Lord Bishop of Peterborough]

Will the Minister join me in congratulating the four latest Church of England free schools to be announced, which between them offer nearly 2,500 places to young people of all faiths and none, especially in areas of severe shortage?

[Lord Nash]

My Lords, I congratulate the church on this. It has played an active part in education in this country since long before the state got involved. Church schools generally perform better and are particularly successful at promoting community cohesion.

[Baroness King of Bow (Lab)]

Further to the last point, is the Minister aware that more state school places in England are allocated by religious selection than by ability, gender and private schools combined? Is he surprised, as I was, by this finding? Does he have any message for Simon Barrow, co-director of the Christian think tank Ekklesia, who says that he does not believe that children’s access to education should be so determined by their faith background, as this runs contrary to his Christian beliefs?

[Lord Nash]

As I said, faith schools and church schools are an essential part of our school system. They account for a third of our schools and perform generally very well. However, faith schools may give priority to children from faith, but many do not do so. All free schools and new-provision academies may prioritise only a maximum of 50%. We are keen to build a diverse system that offers parents choice but we believe that all schools should educate their children in the basic tenets of all main faiths practised in this country.

[Lord Storey (LD)]

My noble friend will be aware that many families, particularly those who can afford it, move house or rent a house so that they can get the school of their first choice. He will also be aware that the top 100 best-performing schools do not take disadvantaged pupils as measured by the pupil premium. How can we ensure that children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds get the same opportunities as those more advantaged pupils? Do we need to provide more information and education to those families so that they can have those choices as well?

[Lord Nash]

The Government are intent on improving the schools system so that all pupils have the opportunity of a good place. It is clear that some parents are able to buy houses near better schools. We are not in favour of that at all. We believe we should make all schools of a much higher standard so that that kind of thing does not happen.

[Baroness Perry of Southwark (Con)]

My Lords, have the Government made any assessment of how many parents are managing to get their children places in the schools of their choice?

[Lord Nash]

We have. The current rate is that 87% of parents get their children into the school of their first choice and 96% get them into their top three. As I said, we are intent on making sure that every school is as good as it can be.

[Baroness Farrington of Ribbleton (Lab)]

My Lords, would the Minister care to comment on his repeated use of the term “better schools” and his comparing of schools—for example, his remark this afternoon about church schools by and large being better? My experience of church schools is that they want to be as good; they do not see education as a competition. But surely if schools are assessed by parents on the basis of Ofsted reports, among other things, those reports ought to be conducted on equal terms for all schools, with no warnings being given favourably to some.

[Lord Nash]

The noble Baroness and I probably disagree in principle on the concept of competition, but we are aiming for all schools to be as good as possible. Ofsted now gives minimum notice to all schools. It is quite clear that Ofsted conducted a thorough investigation relating to recently reported events. Its findings were very clear and it made a statement on that last night.