Schools: Well-being and Personal and Social Needs

Lord Hill of Oareford Excerpts

Thursday 14th June 2012 Lords Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools (Lord Hill of Oareford)]

My Lords, I am the 15th speaker and the noble Lord, Lord Griffiths of Burry Port was 14th because we had a no show, but it is always a great pleasure to speak after him. He has reminded me how long it is since lunch and how long we still have to wait until supper. I will try not to detain him or the House too long in responding to the important issues that the noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Whitchurch, has raised this afternoon.

I am sorry to disappoint the noble Baroness, Lady Morris of Yardley, but she will not find someone to disagree with her basic contention about the importance of the contribution that schools can make to the well-being and personal social needs of children. It has been an extremely good debate this afternoon, as is always the case. The noble Lord, Lord Pendry, said that he hoped that I would listen and learn from the debate; I always try to do that in your Lordships’ House. I always learn things when I come to the House and listen, whether it is about research that I had not heard of before or a range of other issues that provide food for thought along the lines referred to by the noble Lord, Lord Griffiths.

I very much agree about the contribution that schools can make and, as has been argued this afternoon, I think that schools do that in a variety of ways. They certainly do it through sport, for example The Government agree with the noble Lord, Lord Pendry. I know that we disagree about some of the mechanisms. I know what he has contributed in the past and of his disagreement on how we are now approaching it, but it is not the case that we do not value the importance of the contribution that sport makes not just to health and in tackling obesity. Those things are important, but it contributes in terms of character and learning about oneself. I agree with the noble Lord as well on the important contribution that competitive sport makes, but there are other ways, such as dance, for example. When I go around the country I am lucky to see the variety of ways that schools try to engage pupils in different physical activity. Often the boys do the dance as well. Contributions can be made through sport, music and diet, as we have already discussed, and as mentioned by my noble friend Lady Miller of Chilthorne Domer, and of course through PHSE, as once again set out by the noble Baroness, Lady Massey. They are all crucial in helping to improve well-being and in preparing young people for the world that they will discover when they leave school.

I agree with the point made early on by my noble friend Lady Walmsley about the importance of parenting. We cannot expect schools to pick up all the pieces. We expect a huge amount from schools and over the years they have become the repository of more and more of our concerns about social ills generally. We think, “Oh well, let’s get the schools to do it”. We must not expect them to pick up all the pieces but I recognise, as the noble Baroness, Lady Massey of Darwen, reminded us, the important contribution that they make and how many schools help to make up for some of the deficiencies that too many children suffer with the decline of parenting skills and family life.

I very much take the point about the importance of soft skills that employers are looking for and the question of character, which was first raised by the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Chester. Character and resilience are in a way much the same thing. I agree with him about the contribution that church schools make to community cohesion, and it was important that he reminded us of that. We have heard of some of the many excellent examples of outstanding teaching and pastoral care that brilliant teachers provide up and down the country, including, as the noble Baroness, Lady Tyler of Enfield, reminded us, in the independent sector.

All that having been said, I emphasise what I believe to be the core contribution that schools can make to a child’s well-being: to provide a decent education. The noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Whitchurch, said that in a way the Government sometimes seem too fixated on exam performance. In reply, I say that without literacy there is not likely to be a huge amount of well-being; without numeracy there is not likely to be a huge amount of well-being; and without decent qualifications, whether academic or vocational, there is not likely to be much well-being either. I agree that it is not an either/or situation but the reason why the Government are so concerned about tackling educational underperformance, particularly in the most disadvantaged areas, is that we see it as being central to helping improve children’s life chances. That is a broad goal that will include their overall well-being.

To state the obvious—this point has already been made—a well run and orderly school with high aspirations for all its children will not just equip them with better qualifications but will help them meet their other personal and social needs. The best schools that I visit do not just do well at exams; they care about music, drama, sport, the quality of food that they offer and how the children socialise. That point was made by my noble friend Lady Benjamin. Taking up the point of the noble Lord, Lord Layard, the schools care about the happiness and well-being of their children. I agree with the noble Baroness, Lady Morris of Yardley, that they do not see qualifications and well-being as being polar opposites.

We know that there are schools in this country with very challenging intakes that outperform schools in much wealthier areas with much more favoured intakes. Cuckoo Hall school in Enfield and Thomas Jones primary school in North Kensington do not have an attainment gap. In both schools, exactly the same percentage of children eligible for free school meals as those from wealthier homes reach an acceptable level in English and maths—and in both cases the figure is 100%. Therefore, I do not think for a moment that there is a difference between us on the importance of the contribution that schools make to children’s well-being. However, I accept that there is a difference between us in how best we can achieve that. My noble friend Lady Walmsley made the point that there are different ways of going about things.

I will set out as quickly as I can the Government’s overall approach, and some of the practical steps that we have taken. First, we have the overriding goal of reducing the amount of prescription from the centre and the number of central initiatives. This is not because we do not think that any of the policy objectives of the sort that we have discussed today are desirable but because we are trying, bit by bit, to increase the space for head teachers to exercise their professional judgment. Going back in time, Governments of all complexions have tended to shove the system first one way and then another to try to fix a problem or pursue a policy. I have a lot of sympathy with the points made in this regard by the noble Lord, Lord Wills. While one can understand the rationale behind any of the individual initiatives, the cumulative effect over time was to silt up the system, leading to governing bodies and heads struggling with paperwork and directives, and being pulled in all kinds of different directions. The old Ofsted framework was an example. Inspectors reported on a minimum of 27 areas. By contrast, we want a system that is more independent and autonomous, where heads have greater space to do what they think is right for the children in their care.

Secondly, we have recognised the importance, on which there is broad agreement across the House, of intervening early and of making sure that those from poorer backgrounds get more help. We are extending the 15 hours a week of free early education for three and four year-olds to the most disadvantaged two year-olds. We are keen for practitioners to intervene earlier with children who face difficulties. That is why we are introducing a new progress check for two year-olds under the new early years foundation stage, which was referred to by the noble Baroness, Lady Warwick. Our longer-term ambition is to introduce a fully integrated health and early years review in 2015.

We have introduced the pupil premium and are providing £1.25 billion for it this year. In answer to my noble friend Lady Walmsley, certainly the premium can be used to improve pupils’ well-being. That is precisely the kind of use to which we would want schools to put it. They should use their judgment on how best to spend the money; that is one of the principles that we are applying. We are publishing what-works evidence for schools to give them a sense of what works successfully in some areas.

As I said, we are working to raise standards of literacy and numeracy, which are the key skills that children need to succeed. From this summer our new check at age six will help make sure that children are making progress and will pick up those who have problems—for example, with dyslexia. We will get children learning poetry. I agree with noble Lords who think that this will enrich children’s learning rather than being a return to the narrow educational approach of the workhouse.

We are trying to slim down the national curriculum specifically to free up more time for the kind of activities that we have been discussing today. I agree with the point made by a couple of noble Lords about the importance of creativity in teaching. I would not argue that there is only one approach to pedagogy; we need creativity in teaching and I hope that one of the benefits of slimming down the national curriculum generally will be to free up more space for creativity.

We have spoken about the importance of an orderly environment in which children can learn and are free from bullying. A bullied and frightened child cannot learn and cannot be happy. We have introduced a number of measures to help schools provide a safe and secure environment. Some came in with the Education Act which a number of us debated last year. We are taking forward trials to improve the education of pupils who are at risk of exclusion from school. We have not talked today about that group of children that we want to help. It is important to remember that for those children who end up being excluded, the conveyor belt from educational failure to exclusion to, unfortunately, prison is too direct and horrible. It is important that we should try to break some of the links. The exclusion trials we are now taking forward are based on some good work that local authorities in Cambridgeshire have been doing where, by giving schools greater responsibility for their pupils, the number of pupils in their pupil referral units fell from 700 to 150 in only a couple of years. We can learn from that.

We are also taking action to improve the opportunities and well-being of our most vulnerable children and their families, those with special educational needs, through the Children and Families Bill, to which the noble Baroness, Lady Warnock, referred. I shall make sure that the views she expressed will be referred to my honourable friend Sarah Teather. She is in the lead in this area and her views always carry great weight. We are trying to give those children and their families more of a say and more of a choice, and to bring their health and educational needs together in a more co-ordinated way. If we can achieve that, we will have made a good contribution to the well-being of some of the most vulnerable children in the country.

As we want an education system that responds to the needs of all children, we are also working to improve the quality of vocational education alongside our efforts to secure academic rigour. I accept that sometimes it sounds as though we are only concerned about the academic side and qualifications, but that is a consequence, in some ways, of the nature of politics and how the media operate. However, the work we are doing in that area, the work that we have done with the Wolf review, the work we are doing to expand a couple of initiatives undertaken by the previous Government— university technical colleges and studio schools, of which I am a great supporter and trying to expand as rapidly as is sensible—and the increasing number of apprenticeships are all signs of our intent to cater for children who have a broad range of talents and aptitudes. We are also working to bring the worlds of work and education closer together.

We are also taking action outside the classroom to address some of the issues that we have touched on today. These include action on child sexual exploitation, the Bailey review, steps to speed up adoption, more support for troubled families and the introduction of the National Citizen Service, which will build up to 90,000 places a year, as a way of giving young people a chance to contribute more broadly to society.

That is a quick canter through some of the broad measures we are taking and I hope that it counters to some extent the picture that is sometimes painted of the Government as being interested in schools only as exam factories. I do not accept that that is an accurate picture of the aims and ambitions of the Government. I hope that some of the examples of the steps that we are taking across the piece will help to counter that.

I turn to some of the specific issues that were raised, and if I fail to pick up on all of them, which undoubtedly I will in the time available to me, I will follow them up. The noble Lord, Lord Wills, talked about the transition from key stage 2 to key stage 3, which I agree is important. It is an aspect that we are considering as part of the national curriculum review. Obviously, PSHE was a theme that we came back to repeatedly. The review, which is continuing, is looking at the kind of research we heard about this afternoon, as well as the kind of evidence that the noble Lord, Lord Layard, brought to our attention. That consultation is going on and, as the noble Baroness, Lady Massey, knows, the review is being tied in with the broader national curriculum review that is under way. We are trying to bring the two together, but until we have done the second bit I am not able to go any further on the first bit.

An important point was raised by my noble friend Lady Miller about universal credit and eligibility for free school meals. It is certainly the case that the intention behind the reforms to universal credit is not to reduce eligibility for free school meals, so we will work closely with the Department for Work and Pensions to make sure that in the definition, the priority for families with free school meals is maintained. We have talked about dance.

Important points were raised by the noble Baroness, Lady Warwick of Undercliffe, about early years. A number of her points are being considered by the Nutbrown review, and the report is due. Ten early years teaching centres are being funded to deliver professional development and leadership support to foundation years providers in their areas, but if there are some more detailed points I can follow up in order to update the noble Baroness on where we are on that, I will do so afterwards.

My noble friend Lady Tyler of Enfield talked about the importance of being able to spot mental health problems and general emotional and behaviour problems. I agree with her, and we are sharpening the focus on special educational needs in qualified teacher status. We have increased the number of placements for trainee teachers in special schools, up from 400 last year to 900 this year. We have provided funding for an additional 1,000 SENCO places this year. It is an important area and we will persevere with it.

Another important point that was raised concerned careers. I agree that it is important to provide good careers advice. As noble Lords know, one of the changes we made in the Education Act last year was to devolve that responsibility to schools, who we think know their pupils. I agree with the point that was made about the most disadvantaged. The statutory guidance we have issued makes it clear that schools should consider particularly the needs of their disadvantaged pupils in the guidance they give.

I agree strongly with the proposition that schools should educate the whole child. I also agree strongly that education is more than about learning facts and accumulating qualifications. It is about preparing children for the rest of their lives. As the noble Lord, Lord Layard, said, it is about inculcating a love of learning. But at the heart of that is the core task of equipping children well with the basic building blocks of education. We know of the terrible progression whereby illiteracy leads to so many other social ills. That is why the Government are so intent on raising educational standards, particularly in disadvantaged areas. I believe that if we can do that, it will make it much easier for us to achieve all the other desirable ends that noble Lords have discussed today and which I know we are all keen to achieve.

Schools: Nutrition

Lord Hill of Oareford Excerpts

Wednesday 13th June 2012 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Jones of Whitchurch]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will enforce nutritional standards for school food in academies and free schools in the light of new evidence that some schools are reintroducing junk food.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools (Lord Hill of Oareford)]

My Lords, we know that nutritious food has positive effects on behaviour and attainment. The evidence indicates that many academies have responded positively to the standards, and some are going beyond them. The quality of food offered in all schools, including academies, has improved, but further improvement is needed. The latest findings from the School Food Trust show no significant difference between the lunch provided by maintained schools and by academies.

[Baroness Jones of Whitchurch]

I thank the Minister for that reply. However, at a time of rising childhood obesity, with more than one-third of 11-year-olds now being classified as overweight or obese, with all the associated health problems, is he not shocked by the School Food Trust’s research, which shows that while healthy eating is increasing in maintained schools, nine out of 10 academies are ignoring the nutritional standards introduced by the previous Government and selling crisps, chocolate and cereal bars? Does this not undermine the Government’s faith that academies can be trusted to do the right thing on nutrition? How much worse must the situation get before the Government act? Is not the simplest answer to enforce the nutritional standards in all schools regardless of their status?

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

My Lords, having looked at all the research and the most recent qualitative survey carried out by the School Food Trust into what is going on in academies, I find it difficult to draw the very clear conclusion that the noble Baroness has come to. The survey concluded that there are maintained schools that are not doing as well as they ought to, there are academies exceeding the standards and there are also academies not doing as well as any of us would like them to do. I agree with her entirely about the importance of decent food in terms of obesity and of concentration in school. The question in my mind is whether the regulatory approach is the necessary way forward. I agree with her that the Government need to reflect on whether there is more that they can do to raise the quality of school food. My right honourable friend the Secretary of State has indicated that that is what he will do.

[Baroness Trumpington]

My Lords, how would the Minister analyse junk food? Surely he would agree that one man’s junk may be another person’s Ritz-Carlton.

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

My Lords, when I walk to the department in the morning I pass a number of schools and, sadly, I see children drinking Red Bull and eating crisps for breakfast. I would call that junk food because it is not very healthy or good. There are things we need to do to improve the quality of food. There are many schools doing that, including academies, and that is something that we should encourage.

[Lord Morris of Handsworth]

My Lords, the consumption of so-called junk food is a clear indication of poverty. What steps are the Government taking to implement the target inherited from the previous Government for ending child poverty?

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

I am not sure that I agree with the noble Lord’s premise that eating junk food is necessarily an indicator of poverty. It is an indicator of people not being properly educated in the importance of good food and that is something that we need to look at. It can also be an indicator of a number of other things. I know from visiting academies which are dealing with some of the poorest children that they are inculcating extremely good habits of eating with pupils all sitting down together, learning and, I hope, building habits for a lifetime. The broader issue of child poverty is clearly important and the Government are working to make further progress on that.

[Baroness Parminter]

My Lords—

--- Later in debate ---

[The Lord Bishop of Bath and Wells]

My Lords, yesterday I visited one of our schools, which is hoping to become an academy. It has reinstated its kitchen, providing excellent food not only for the school but for those in the locality. I was also involved in a discussion yesterday about the increasing number of young people whose family food is being taken from food banks around our country today. Does the Minister agree that the priority is to ensure that all school food provides adequate nutritional standards in the light of the fact that too many of our most vulnerable people are experiencing a need to get food from food banks in the 21st century?

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

There were two strands to the right reverend Prelate’s remarks. One was to make the point that in a school which he knows which is hoping to become an academy good work is being done to make sure that the quality of food is good, and I welcome that. On his broader point, standards clearly can play a part in helping to address the concerns that he raises. One of the things that we have discovered is that although standards are in place and the nutritional quality of food has improved, the take-up of that food by children has not increased at the same rate. So better food is available but the children are not always exercising their choice to eat it. One of the challenges for us is to make sure that children understand that eating healthy food is good for them.

[Baroness Parminter]

My Lords—

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Parminter]

My Lords, with almost 18% of children between two and 15 growing clinically obese in the past decade, can the Minister tell the House what discussions have taken place or are planned to take place with colleagues in the Department of Health to discuss this new evidence from the Government’s own advisers on school food and children’s meals about the potential risks to the life expectancy of children and the increasing costs to the NHS, particularly in the light of the Secretary of State’s own view that the majority of secondary schools will become academies by the end of this Parliament?

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

I agree about the importance of my department working closely with the Department of Health. We do so. The Department of Health has recently published a new policy tackling that important issue, and we will continue to work closely with it.

[Lord Ramsbotham]

My Lords, I declare an interest as the vice-chairman of the Institute for Food, Brain and Behaviour which is currently conducting work in a school in Dagenham replicating work that in young offender institutions reduced the offending rate by 40%. Will the Minister agree to invite the scientists from the Oxford Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics who are conducting this work to talk to his officials about what lessons are learnt from this very important trial which has implications for behaviour as well as for nutrition?

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

My Lords, I am very grateful for the suggestion. Yes, of course.

[Lord Lawson of Blaby]

My Lords—

Education: 16-19 Bursary Fund

Lord Hill of Oareford Excerpts

Monday 11th June 2012 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Benjamin]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they are planning to measure the impact of the 16-19 bursary fund on young people’s participation in education.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools (Lord Hill of Oareford)]

My Lords, the Government publish annual and quarterly statistics on young people's participation, and we monitor the take-up of the bursary by 16 to 19 year-olds. In addition, we have commissioned an independent evaluation to examine both the process and the impact of the new bursary fund. In order to provide a valid comparison with the impact of the EMA, the study will run until July 2014 and be completed by the end of 2014.

[Baroness Benjamin]

I thank my noble friend for that reply. I am sure that he is aware of the Government’s post-16 transport guidance, which clearly states that local authorities should ensure that accessible and affordable transport is available for all young learners. Research done by the children's charity Barnardo’s—I declare an interest—suggests that many local authorities are not complying with the guidance. Young people mainly use the bursary fund to pay for their transport, and have to pay the full adult fare to colleges and schools. By providing affordable transport, local authorities will reduce the financial pressure on disadvantaged young learners, which is causing many of them to consider leaving their courses. What measures are the Government taking to remind all local authorities of their duty and obligation to provide subsidised travel for young learners?

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

As my noble friend says, local authorities are under a statutory duty to ensure that they make reasonable arrangements for young people post-16 for transport. The Government are monitoring the provision made. We will continue to remind them of that duty. As my noble friend also says, one of the purposes to which the 16-19 bursary fund can be put is to pay for transport costs. Particularly for providers in rural areas, that is an important use.

[Baroness Howarth of Breckland]

My Lords, the parents of young people with severe disabilities are extremely anxious since funding has transferred to local authorities. There is uncertainty that funding will remain not only for travel, through bursaries, but for places. Can the Minister assure me that local authorities will be required to ensure that those young people—some of the most vulnerable—are given the opportunities of their peers?

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

I very much agree with the noble Baroness about the importance of making sure that the group she talks about has those opportunities. The bursary fund has a specific sum, £1,200 a year, which is available to such groups to help with costs. As she knows, our proposals for reforming special educational needs generally, with the Bill to come, cover how we can try to increase such provision. Obviously, local authorities have an important part to play in that as well.

[Baroness Jones of Whitchurch]

My Lords, is the Minister aware that since the very popular education and maintenance allowance was replaced with a discretionary fund allocated by individual colleges, huge discrepancies are arising in the grants available, with young people in some of the poorest parts of London, for example, receiving the least? How can that be fair, and what are the Government doing to protect young people from the postcode lottery funding under the new scheme?

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

As we have previously debated, the Government decided that we had to change the EMA because it was going to 45% of all 16 to 19 year-olds and we did not feel that was a targeted measure of support. I recognise the purpose that lay behind it, but we felt that in a difficult time we had to make some savings. We have managed to reduce the costs by £380 million. There is the element that goes to the neediest children; that £1,200 a year is a fraction more than they would have received under the old system. However, we have taken the view, which I know is different from that of the previous Government, that local institutions such as schools and colleges should decide how to allocate the funds. We have put enough in there—£180 million—to pay the equivalent of the old EMA to 15% of that age group, which is about the proportion who were in receipt of free school meals.

[Baroness Brinton]

My Lords, given that three times the number of students who study in further education colleges come from backgrounds which would entitle them to free dinners, can the Minister explain why these young people are denied access to free lunches unlike their counterparts who remain in school and academy sixth forms? When will the Government end this unfair and discriminatory practice, which affects over 100,000 students?

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

I understand the point and the anomaly to which my noble friend refers. It is true that, unfortunately, there are a number of anomalies in education where decisions on different cut-offs, age ranges and so on have been taken over the years. As regards when we will be able to put it right, I am afraid that, in the circumstances and with the current limited budgets, the honest answer is that I am not able to give her any date. It is the case that the bursary fund can be used to help defray some of those costs and I know that colleges are using it for that purpose.

Schools: Careers Advisers

Lord Hill of Oareford Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd May 2012 Lords Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools (Lord Hill of Oareford)]

My Lords, the recent publication of statutory guidance on careers marks an important step, as schools prepare for the introduction of the new duty to secure independent careers guidance from September. Schools will be expected to work in partnership with expert careers guidance providers as appropriate to ensure that pupils receive impartial advice. The statutory guidance is clear; face-to-face careers guidance can help pupils, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, to make informed choices and successful transitions.

[Baroness Hughes of Stretford]

I thank the Minister for his Answer. The Government have commendably continued the work of the previous Labour Government to establish a national careers service for adults, and the Business Secretary has specified the qualifications that advisers must have and that face-to-face advice must be provided to target groups of adults. Why, then, has the Education Secretary allowed schools complete discretion—because that is what the guidance does; there is nothing required of schools—in the quality of service provided to young people? Has not therefore the Secretary of State for Education really failed in his duty to young people by not setting even a minimum standard of service that every school must meet?

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

My Lords, we had these debates at length during the passage of the Education Act. As the noble Baroness will know, it is the Government’s view, and our starting point—and it is what we are trying to do across the piece—to trust schools and heads and people running schools to make the best judgments in the interests of their children. That is something that we are seeking to do across the board. It is not the case that the guidance does not provide any framework at all in terms of what schools should take into account. It is clear, for instance, that they should secure access to independent face-to-face careers advice when they judge that it is appropriate, particularly for children who are disadvantaged and with special educational needs. I agree with her about the importance of careers guidance and advice, and there are a range of ways in which we are seeking to do that and to increase employer involvement in schools, whether through studio schools and UTCs or through getting 100,000 employers to come into schools to explain how children can prepare themselves for the world of work.

[Baroness Sharp of Guildford]

My Lords, I believe that there has been some discussion of examples of best practice in careers guidance being published to supplement the guidance that has already been issued. Is that likely to be the case? Such best guidance would, I believe, bring out the necessity of face-to-face guidance when it is appropriate.

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

My Lords, it is the case in terms of producing statutory guidance. The department’s view, which I think is the right view, is that statutory guidance should always as short, focused and clear as possible. But it is the case, as my noble friend mentions, that there could be benefits in having some practical information and additional support to schools to help them to understand what their duties are. It is the case that my honourable friend John Hayes, who is the responsible Minister, would be very happy to have that discussion with my noble friend Lady Sharp and to see how that practical information could best be provided.

[Baroness Howe of Idlicote]

My Lords, the Minister will know that there are many industries and careers in which girls are under-represented. Within the Government’s plans, do they have specific arrangements for seeing that girls are enlightened about some of the better paid and more needed careers within the communities that they live in?

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

The general point to which the noble Baroness refers would be well illustrated in the kind of work that we want to do with university technical colleges, trying to make sure that girls, for example, have the opportunity to study and get those technical qualifications that will lead to well paid jobs. In terms specifically of the guidance, consistent with my earlier answer, our overall approach is to say that we would trust schools to take the best judgment as to what is in the interests of their pupils, whether that is boys or girls. But I agree with her that careers guidance is important for children of both sexes.

[Lord Brooke of Sutton Mandeville]

My Lords, I realise that most of your Lordships’ House will have received qualified careers advice for, otherwise, they would not be here. However, can my noble friend tell me what qualifications are needed in order to give qualified advice?

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

My Lords, if I had received good careers advice, I would not be here. In terms of what qualifications we look for in good careers advisers, the accredited providers of careers advice will have to meet a quality standard set by the national careers service. However, generally, we can all benefit from advice from a whole range of people. We have all had it in different ways, which is why we are where we are.

[Lord Roberts of Llandudno]

My Lords, does the Minister really think that one short interview will be sufficient? Should there not be ongoing mentoring and guidance? Some children develop late; others change their minds—as we all have at one time or another. However, they should be ongoing, well-resourced and thorough.

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

My Lords, my basic view is that it is horses for courses. Different children need different things. There will be some who will need intensive support of the sort to which my noble friend refers. There will be others who know exactly what they want to do and will need less.

[Baroness Knight of Collingtree]

My Lords, will my noble friend continue to bear in mind that, however good the careers advice may be, if the student cannot get an apprenticeship it is often very difficult to follow such advice that they may have received? The link is very important.

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

My Lords, I agree with my noble friend. That is why we have rapidly been increasing the number of apprenticeships for under-18s and over-18s. The best support that one can give to children to prepare for a career is a decent education. That is why our focus is on what goes on in schools before they are 16 because careers advice, however good it is, cannot compensate if there is a basic deficiency in the education that has been provided.

[Lord Sutherland of Houndwood]

My Lords, in agreeing with the Minister’s last remark—

Schools: Parenting Skills

Lord Hill of Oareford Excerpts

Thursday 17th May 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord Northbourne]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to implement the recommendation of the Independent Review on Poverty and Life Chances that parenting and the responsibilities of parenthood should be taught in all secondary schools.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools (Lord Hill of Oareford)]

My Lords, the teaching of parenting skills in schools falls within the remit of personal, social, health and economic education. We are reviewing PSHE to determine its core body of knowledge and improve the quality of teaching without being overly prescriptive about it. Schools will have the flexibility to determine whether they include parenting skills as part of their PSHE lessons based on local circumstances and the needs of their pupils.

[Lord Northbourne]

I am most grateful to the noble Lord for that Answer. However, I cannot help wondering whether the Government take this issue sufficiently seriously. Are they aware of the number of children who arrive in school at five years old damaged by a lack of appropriate parenting—sometimes almost by a lack of parenting at all? Do the Government realise the extent to which this damages and will continue to damage those children, and makes difficult the coalition’s commitment to developing social mobility and equality in schools?

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

The Government do take this issue seriously. I know how much the noble Lord, Lord Northbourne, cares about it and I was glad to have the chance to discuss some of these issues with him a month or two back. The Government are taking a range of measures such as extending free education and care to 15 hours a week for disadvantaged two year-olds from September 2013, and doubling that again by September 2014. We have announced parenting trials and more flexible parental leave, so there are a number of measures. When one draws those together, I hope he will see that we take this issue seriously. We need to approach it across a broad front.

[Baroness Gardner of Parkes]

Is there any thought of including parents, along with the children, in these educational matters because the parent very often knows nothing about them? It is all very well to think of the next generation, but the present generation could do with a bit of help too, and if schools could in some way include parents in this scheme it would be to the good.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

My Lords, many schools do precisely that. They might have Sure Start centres on the same site as the school. They often run programmes to involve parents and educate them more generally. My noble friend makes a good suggestion and I know that schools already undertake it.

[Baroness Massey of Darwen]

My Lords, perhaps I may ask two brief questions. First, how seriously are the Government taking the recent reviews on early intervention and social mobility? Secondly, when will we have the results of the review on personal, social and health education?

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

We certainly take those reviews seriously and, as I have said, we have already made some announcements and introduced new policies on the back of the recommendations that we received from Frank Field and Graham Allen. We are in the process of setting up, for example, the Early Intervention Foundation to help provide evidence for some of the policies that we have been discussing. So far as the PSHE review is concerned, I hesitate to raise this again—actually, I have not raised it; the noble Baroness raised it with me but we have been having this exchange for a long time. I know the delay is probably too long, and I know that that is what she feels. As she knows, the sequence is that we want to make our announcements on the national curriculum review, which we expect to do shortly, and then, on the back of that, it seems sensible to bring the PSHE review together with it—so the national curriculum will be first and, after that, the PSHE review.

[Baroness Walmsley]

My Lords, does not the recent spate of cases of horrendous sexual exploitation of young girls, many of whom were in care, demonstrate that the lack of good parenting makes them very vulnerable? In which case, does the Minister accept that high-quality PSHE in schools can go a long way towards making up for that? It must be provided for every child in every school because, as we know from recent press coverage, sexual exploitation happens all over the country, not just in Derby.

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

I agree with my noble friend’s remarks about those appalling cases, which are shocking. I also agree that good PSHE in schools can help to raise some of those issues, educate children and warn some of those who are most at risk of the kind of behaviours that they ought to avoid. Part of the PSHE review is looking at the question of best practice, the quality of the teaching—which is vital—and the content of PSHE.

[Baroness Howe of Idlicote]

My Lords, bearing in mind that citizenship education, through which it was intended to teach parenting, became devolved and was never sufficiently taken up, can the Minister assure us that parenting skills are emphasised to the young people concerned, because it will be one way to encourage early intervention to be successful, particularly if you can make it clear to young children from deprived backgrounds that their skills are going to be important for future generations?

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

I agree with the broad thrust of that point. One should also say that there is quite a lot of research, which, as one might expect, says that young people think most about parenting just before they become parents. Children in different kinds of schools in different parts of the country will also tend to need different kinds of education. That would include PSHE. However, I agree with the broad thrust when the noble Baroness says how important that is.

[Baroness Jones of Whitchurch]

My Lords, does the Minister accept that the cuts to childcare support and work incentives such as the working tax credit will inevitably result in more children living in poverty, and will therefore inevitably make the role of parenting even more difficult for existing parents?

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

As I have said, we are extending the offer of free education for three and four year-olds to 15 hours a week. We are extending it to disadvantaged two year-olds from September 2013 and to 40% of all two year-olds by 2014. The new universal credit will extend childcare help to those working less than 16 hours a week—that is, families who had not previously been eligible for it. We obviously need to do more to help people with parenting—particularly those from the poorest backgrounds—and I hope that the range of measures we are taking will result in some progress being made in that direction.

Education: Languages

Lord Hill of Oareford Excerpts

Wednesday 28th March 2012 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Coussins]

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper. I declare an interest as chair of the All-Party Group on Modern Languages.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools (Lord Hill of Oareford)]

My Lords, the Government welcome the finding of the language trends survey that in the past year there has been a 15 per cent increase in state schools now teaching languages to the majority of their GCSE pupils. We believe this shows that the English baccalaureate is starting to have a positive impact on take-up. We are considering the expert panel’s recommendations for the national curriculum review and will be announcing our plans shortly. This will be followed by a period of public consultation.

[Baroness Coussins]

My Lords, I agree that the Government deserve to be congratulated on the boost to modern languages as a result of the EBacc. It is also a welcome finding of the survey that significantly more schools with the highest levels of social deprivation are making these improvements. However, does the Minister agree that it is of serious concern that as many as 46 per cent of state schools still say they have no intention of improving their language provision as a result of the EBacc? Does he agree that this points to the need to accept the recommendation of the expert panel and avoid repeating the mistakes of 2004, by restoring modern languages to the compulsory part of the curriculum at key stage 4?

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

My Lords, as I have said, we are considering the recommendations of the expert panel, which, as the noble Baroness says, were very clear. We will set out our response to that. The sharp uptake after a number of years of decline is encouraging. Given that it has happened in such a short time, there are grounds to hope that the process will go further. I understand the points that she makes and we will take them into account as we ponder our response to the expert panel.

[Lord Harrison]

My Lords, given the decline in language provision at independent schools—the reason for which is, I am told, dissatisfaction with the assessment of GCSEs and A-levels—would the Minister research this further in his conversations with that sector, to see why a past rich source of language scholars is in decline?

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

It is still the case that, for its size, the independent sector provides a disproportionate number of young people who go on to study modern languages. That is something that in broader terms one would want to do something about, to increase the uptake in the maintained sector. That is why these figures are encouraging. I am aware that concerns have been expressed over controlled assessment, grading and rigour at GCSE and A-level. Those are issues that Ofqual is leading on and looking at. I agree with the noble Lord that it is something we very much need to keep an eye on.

[Baroness Sharp of Guildford]

My Lords, when this House rather reluctantly agreed to the dropping of the modern foreign language commitment from the national curriculum in 2003, it was because the Minister at the time, the noble Baroness, Lady Ashton, agreed that a systematic programme of teaching languages to primary school pupils would be put in place. Will the Minister tell us what happened to this commitment to primary school pupils and how far are they systematically being taught languages?

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

Part of the answer to that will become clear in our response to the expert panel, which makes recommendations about whether teaching modern foreign languages should be statutory at primary school as well. That will become clear in due course. The last time research was carried out into the teaching of modern foreign languages at primary school, more than 90 per cent of primary schools were doing it. We have a challenge in getting specialist teachers of modern foreign languages into primary schools, and that is something we are seeking to address in looking at teacher training and teacher supply.

[Lord Jones of Birmingham]

My Lords, I declare an interest as a chairman and adviser to many exporters, who will always benefit from a more competitive, globalised UK economy. Does the Minister agree that if we do not start selling around the world even more than we do today, especially in developing and emerging markets, this country will not generate the wealth, tax and jobs that 21st century Britain will need? One of the best ways of closing a sale is to talk to the would-be purchaser in their language. The way to do that is to put pressure on those in state education not to learn what I presume we all did at school at their age—French and German—but Spanish and Chinese. With English, they are the languages of the 21st century. I hope that the Minister agrees with me that the sooner we get Spanish and Chinese Mandarin into state education, the more competitive this nation will become.

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

I very much agree with the noble Lord. Spanish is one subject that has been growing. French and German have been most sharply declining in numbers and Spanish has been growing. Chinese is small, but growing. One of the initiatives that my right honourable friend the Secretary of State took when he visited China last year was an agreement with the Chinese Government to have 1,000 Chinese language teachers training over here in our system. I agree with him that it is extremely important from the business point of view, but it is also extremely important from a cultural educational point of view as well.

Schools: Satellite Sites

Lord Hill of Oareford Excerpts

Tuesday 27th March 2012 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Walmsley]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to prevent the expansion of grammar schools on to satellite sites.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools (Lord Hill of Oareford)]

The legislation governing the establishment or expansion of grammar schools has not changed. The Education and Inspections Act 2006 and the Academies Act 2010 effectively mean that there can be no new grammar schools and we have not proposed any changes to that legislation. Any school can seek to expand by opening another site, as has been the case since 1944, but to do so it must be a continuance of the original school.

[Baroness Walmsley]

I thank my noble friend for restating government policy. However, I do not see how that stacks up with the potential for doubling the number of school places for which selection operates in certain areas. As we know, under the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, no new grammar schools can open, so can my noble friend tell me the criterion for a new school and why the planned satellite grammar school in Sevenoaks can claim not to be a new school but part of Tonbridge Grammar School many miles away? If the new school is given the go-ahead, what will that do to the catchment area of the original school? Could we see a school stretching right across the county as it extends its catchment area by opening a whole chain of satellite schools?

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

As I said, my Lords, the fundamental position on opening a satellite school has not changed. There is a process in place if people want to come forward with a proposal to open or expand a satellite school, they can apply to the local authority, and to the Secretary of State in the case of an academy. Those proposals would be looked at on a case-by-case basis. The bar on new provision is absolute and clear, and it is not the case that the Government are seeking to shift that position either by the front or the back door.

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath]

My Lords, in the circumstances described by the noble Baroness, it would appear that simply by calling a new school in essence a satellite extension, from what the noble Lord has said, it looks like it might be permitted. Is it not a fact that the Government’s policies are leading to much more selective education? How will we ensure fair admissions to our schools?

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

My Lords, it is absolutely not the case that this Government’s policies are leading to more selection. It is not happening everywhere. There was a big increase in the number of selective places between 1997 and 2011 when the number went up by 35,000 within the existing framework. Wherever it would have been possible for the Government to have sought to increase selection—for example, through new free schools or through the academy conversion programme—we have been absolutely clear in the Academies Act that we have taken the opposite view and have not permitted or encouraged the expansion of selection within the maintained system. We have said—this is the point about the admissions code—that all schools, whether maintained, non-selective or selective, should have the ability, in response to parental demand, to increase their published admissions number. That is the only change that has been made.

[Lord Jones of Birmingham]

Does the Minister agree that there is increased selection? It has happened under all Governments for at least a quarter of a century. It is now selection on the basis of money—whether you can afford a house in a certain area with a good school, or whether you can afford to send your kids to a public school. Governments of all parties have pursued a policy of selection by money, as opposed to what it should be—selection on ability.

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

My Lords, I hope that I have already made clear the Government’s views on selection by ability. The noble Lord is right that one of our big challenges is to make sure that we do not continue to have the consequences that he outlined. That is one reason for our drive and focus on raising standards in the maintained sector. We will try to make sure that more good places are offered to children where money is not an issue.

One reason why we removed the limit on the ability of a good and popular school to expand was to make it possible for more children to go to the school. One reason that we want free schools is to increase choice in the system. Many of those schools are being set up in areas of the greatest deprivation. I agree with the noble Lord that overall we should make sure that, rather than talking about selection for a small number of people—which is a historic argument that we have had in this country for a very long time—our emphasis should be on trying to raise standards for the greatest number of children, of all abilities, and on doing what we can to narrow the gap between rich and poor.

[Baroness Massey of Darwen]

Will the Minister tell me what consultation takes place in a community to advise on the nature of a school in that area?

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

The statutory processes around selective schools that we discussed have not changed at all. Proposals are put forward, and there are consultations, representations and so on. That has not changed.

[Lord McColl of Dulwich]

Does my noble friend agree that many of us in this House would not be here today had we not gone to a grammar school? What exactly is wrong with grammar schools?

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

It is nice to hear the contrary view put by my noble friend. Clearly, for the people who benefited, a grammar school education acted as an extremely powerful rocket booster for their opportunities in life. However, there were large numbers of children for whom that was not the case. The Government are trying to focus on raising standards for all children, recognising that children of differing abilities need a good education—whether it is a core academic education or a core technical and vocational education—and that we need a range of schools that will meet those needs.

[Lord Lea of Crondall]

My Lords, is the Minister aware that the point put so succinctly by the noble Lord, Lord Jones of Birmingham—I never expected to be saying this—is very widely shared in this House?

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

My Lords, I am sorry—I did not catch the beginning of the question.

[Lord Lea of Crondall]

The point put so succinctly by the noble Lord, Lord Jones of Birmingham, is shared very widely in this House. Is the Minister aware of that?

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

My Lords, I am now more aware than I was a moment ago. My answer is the same. I recognise that there is that perception—and that in some cases it is more than a perception, it is true. However, that is something that all of us want to get away from.

Schools (Specification and Disposal of Articles) Regulations 2012

Lord Hill of Oareford Excerpts

Tuesday 27th March 2012 Lords Chamber

Moved By

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

That the draft regulations and order laid before the House on 19 January and 1 February be approved.

Relevant documents: 39th, 40th and 41st Reports from the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments, considered in Grand Committee on 20 March

Motion agreed.

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

Lord Hill of Oareford Excerpts

Thursday 22nd March 2012 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Massey of Darwen]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will implement the commitment made in December 2010 that new legislation and policy will be assessed against the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools (Lord Hill of Oareford)]

My Lords, the Government take their obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child very seriously and are implementing the commitment made in December 2010. The Government have used the home affairs clearance process to consider the implications of their proposals for children’s rights. The Minister for Children has also written recently to all government departments to reinforce this commitment, and departments are being given further guidance and support on the UNCRC in preparation for the next legislative Session.

[Baroness Massey of Darwen]

I thank the Minister for that response. However, does he agree that, despite that commitment, since 2010 only one Bill out of 11 has been scrutinised and child-proofed? Could he say what the barriers to such scrutiny and child-proofing are, particularly in light of the progress made in Wales and Scotland?

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

I agree with the noble Baroness that we need to make sure that the commitment that my honourable friend made in December 2010 is fulfilled. As we prepare for the next legislative Session, part of the way in which we do that is through some of the processes that I outlined. Specific guidance is being prepared by the Cabinet Office, and will go to all departments, on making sure that they take specific account of the UNCRC requirement when considering legislation. There is also a very snappy guide called the Guide to Making Legislation. Therefore, I hope that we will be able to move in the direction in which the noble Baroness wants us to move.

[Baroness Walmsley]

Does the Minister agree that the convention gives children the right to protection from violence in all places of learning, both secular and religious? What is his department doing to ensure that?

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

The Government are working to ensure that children can be educated in an orderly way in all schools. As for making sure that they are safe from violence in those settings, the noble Baroness will know that we are keen to do that in a number of ways. We are taking new measures on behaviour, and guidance on them is going to schools. All schools will want to make sure that they deliver on that commitment.

[Lord Elystan-Morgan]

My Lords, on the Government’s intentions in relation to adoption and accelerating adoption, will the Minister confirm that, however laudable that objective might be, adoption should always be confined to cases where it is in the best interests of the child, taking into account the child’s anticipated life, and should never be regarded as a soft option for a local authority, which might otherwise be saddled with a care order for very many years?

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

I am sure all noble Lords would agree that we want to make sure that adoption processes are delivered in the best interests of the child. As the noble Lord says, the Government are keen to try to accelerate the process because we know that the average length of time it takes for a child to be placed in adoption is more than two and a half years. If it is the right thing for a child, we are very keen that that process should happen as quickly as possible in a sensible way, and to try to address the great disparity in practice between different local authority areas.

[Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall]

My Lords, would the Minister be so kind as to return to the question asked by the noble Baroness, Lady Massey? She specifically asked what the barriers were to the proper scrutiny of Bills that have already been passed into law. I am not sure that the Minister gave us an answer to that question.

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

Forgive me if I did not deal with that. I do not know that there are barriers in the sense in which the question was put. We need to make sure that post-legislative scrutiny takes these factors into account; and that, while legislation is being drawn up within departments, the requirement to take into account the UNCRC obligations is taken properly into account, and that Ministers and departments are aware of that. Another factor that will help is the new powers which we hope will be given to the Children’s Commissioner, if we can get a legislative slot to do so, which will make the Children’s Commissioner more independent of my department and accountable to Parliament rather than to the department. That will also have a role in shining a spotlight on this.

[Baroness Knight of Collingtree]

My Lords, has my noble friend noted the number of cases being reported of children being taken from their own parents on a very extraordinary basis of reasoning? Bearing in mind that it is always best if children can have a home with their parents, does he accept that this is a serious matter that worries many of us?

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

I am aware of the issue and of my noble friend’s concerns about it. Clearly if one can be certain that the parental home is the right place for a child to be, that is obviously where one would want them to be: in a loving family. I know that my honourable friend Mr Loughton, who is responsible for adoption, takes those concerns seriously.

[Lord Ramsbotham]

My Lords, can the Minister confirm whether the instructions from the Cabinet Office will also include impact assessments in the post-legislative study of the impact of Bills such as the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill, which has been going through this House?

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

I will need to check to find out precisely what areas that guidance covers. When I have an answer, I will reply to the noble Lord and tell him what I am able to.

[Baroness Jones of Whitchurch]

My Lords, may I follow up the point made by my noble friend Lady McIntosh with a particular example? The Children’s Commissioner recently concluded that the Welfare Reform Bill contravened the UN convention in a number of ways. For example, she argued that the benefit cap risks children suffering unjustified discrimination. In those circumstances, will the Minister explain how the Government took that message on board and went about modifying the legislation to bring it back into line with the convention, because being a signatory does not seem to make much difference to the way in which the legislation eventually pans out?

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

My Lords, the Government believe that the Welfare Reform Bill is compliant with the UNCRC. We know that those issues were debated at length in this House and concerns were expressed about the effect of the benefit cap. The Government said that transitional arrangements would be put in place to deal with some of the concerns that noble Lords expressed, and they have committed to having a report a year on as to the effect of the benefit cap. However, our core position is that if we can help and encourage more people into work, that will be good for those families and for their children.

[Baroness Walmsley]

Will the Minister allow me to clarify my earlier question? I was referring not to bullying by other children but to violence and ill treatment by members of staff. I particularly had in mind certain madrassahs and Christian fundamentalist Sunday schools where the treatment of children is not up to the standard that we would expect in this country.

Schools (Specification and Disposal of Articles) Regulations 2012

Lord Hill of Oareford Excerpts

Tuesday 20th March 2012 Grand Committee

Moved by

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

That the Grand Committee do report to the House that it has considered the Schools (Specification and Disposal of Articles) Regulations 2012

Relevant Document: 39th Report from the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools (Lord Hill of Oareford)]

My Lords, these regulations, which were considered in another place by the First Delegated Legislation Committee on 28 February, take us back to some of our debates about behaviour during the passage of the Education Act 2011. They are separate from the provisions in the Education Act that we discussed at some length in this Room last summer but they are part of our efforts to make sure that schools can provide calm and safe environments in which teachers can teach and pupils can learn.

The Government first announced our intention to strengthen teachers’ powers to search pupils, including making these regulations and giving teachers a more general search power, in a Written Ministerial Statement on 7 July 2010. Then, in our schools White Paper, published in November 2010, we said that we wanted to make sure that teachers and head teachers,

“can establish a culture of respect and safety, with zero tolerance of bullying, clear boundaries, good pastoral care and early intervention to address problems”.

Strengthening teachers’ powers to search is an important part of this process. It means that they have the powers they need to maintain and promote good behaviour in their school.

Perhaps I may set out briefly what these powers mean in practice. Authorised members of school staff can already search for knives and weapons, alcohol and illegal drugs, and they can also search for stolen items. These powers were introduced as a result of the Apprenticeships, Schools, Children and Learning Act 2009. New general search powers included in Section 2 of the Education Act 2011 extend these powers further. From 1 April, head teachers will be able to authorise staff to search pupils for any article which has been, or is likely to be, used to commit an offence or cause harm or damage to property. Authorised school staff will also be able to search for items that are banned by the school and which are identified in the school’s own rules as items that may be searched for.

The regulations that we are discussing today build on the existing provisions simply by adding tobacco and cigarette papers, pornographic images and fireworks to the list of prohibited items. I think we would all agree that none of these items should have a place in our schools. We think that in the interests of safety and for the avoidance of doubt it is necessary for teachers to have the power to search for them, confiscate them and dispose of them appropriately.

We think that giving school staff the ability to search pupils for tobacco and to confiscate it will help to protect the health of pupils. Potential hazards are obviously involved in taking fireworks into school. That is why we want to provide school staff with a specific power to search pupils for fireworks and to be able to confiscate them.

The purpose of including pornography is to ensure that schools can take effective steps to deal with the possession or distribution of pornography by their pupils. Searches could be made for any item that authorised staff members have reasonable grounds for suspecting contained such an image, including books, magazines or electronic devices. For example, if a teacher reasonably suspects that a pupil has a pornographic image on their mobile phone, the regulations would enable the teacher to search for that phone and to search its content for the pornographic image. This is a sensible approach since electronic devices are increasingly replacing books and magazines.

Some of your Lordships may have concerns about examining the content of electronic devices and the risk that staff may, for example, access data that belong to the parents. The fact that a pupil claims that the device is not theirs does not prevent staff examining it. However, in order to examine it they must have reasonable grounds for suspecting that a device contains a pornographic image. Revised departmental advice to schools will explain teachers’ obligations under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights and remind them that pupils have a right to expect a reasonable level of personal privacy. The revised advice will be published on 1 April.

The regulations also set out how the additional prohibited items should be disposed of. School staff can keep or dispose of tobacco and fireworks. Giving staff the flexibility to decide whether to retain or dispose of an item means that they will have discretion to decide on the most appropriate course of action to take in any given circumstance. Pornographic images may be disposed of, unless their possession constitutes a specified offence—for example, if they are extreme or child pornography—in which case they must be handed to the police as soon as possible. Where the image is found on an electronic device, this could mean deleting the image or retaining it so that the article that contains the image can be delivered to the police. This approach is consistent with that taken in the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 in respect of the disposal of illegal drugs and stolen items.

The Government’s role is to give schools the freedom and support that they need to provide a safe and structured environment. Strengthening teachers’ powers to search for, confiscate and dispose of a range of disruptive items is a key part of this. The regulations specifically identify tobacco, fireworks and pornographic images as items that may be searched for. The person conducting the search would be able to use such force as is reasonable under the circumstances to search for these items if they judged it necessary to do so. The Government believe that given the intrinsically harmful nature of these items it is necessary to identify them specifically in regulations. This builds on the approach taken by the previous Government and will mean that teachers’ power to search for them is beyond doubt and does not rely on the pupil’s intention in having the item or on the item being banned by the school rules. I commend the regulations to the Committee.

[Baroness Walmsley]

My Lords, while I support the coalition commitment to giving heads and teachers the powers that they need to ensure discipline in the classroom and promote good behaviour, I cannot resist the opportunity that this statutory instrument gives me briefly to restate an opinion that I expressed many times during the passage of the Education Act 2011. This commitment is much better achieved by good-quality teacher training and good control in the classroom than by any extension of the powers to search. Also, searching of pupils should always be done with a witness and, above a certain age, should always be carried out by someone of the same gender. However, having not resisted the opportunity to say that again—I suppose there is some difference between the two parties in the coalition—I support the Government’s approach.

Looking at the regulations themselves, I notice that in Regulation 3 the items listed include tobacco and cigarette papers. Next to that I have written “health”. Item (b) is “a firework”, next to which I have written “safety”, while item (c) is “a pornographic image”, next to which I have written “equality, respect, bullying and violence”. The great big bracket that links all three together is PSHE. Therefore, I wonder whether the Minister can tell us a little about how the internal review of PSHE is going on. This is quite relevant to this regulation. It would be nice to think that if in a lawful search of pupils in schools, following implementation at the beginning of April, any of those dangerous items were found on them, they would be given extra PSHE. An understanding of the dangers inherent in having all those items in school is covered by good quality PSHE education.

I have one other point for the Minister. The department’s guidance, Screening, Searching and Confiscation: Advice for Head Teachers, Staff and Governing Bodies, is to be updated. Will he confirm that it will contain advice on children with special needs—for example, children with autism or those who the school knows may have been subjected to physical or sexual abuse? The approach of an adult to such children could cause rather outrageous behaviour which is not the child’s fault and might escalate a situation which a little understanding could prevent. It is important that teachers understand that if they are going to search children who have or have had those problems, they need to be cautious in doing so, even though it is lawful and legitimate.

[Baroness Hughes of Stretford]

I apologise to the Committee, and in particular to the Minister, for being absent at the start of the debate. I mistakenly took a phone call at the wrong time and missed the change indicated on the monitor, which I had been watching. I hope that I missed nothing crucial—

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

Obviously, the noble Baroness did.

[Baroness Hughes of Stretford]

My apologies again. As the noble Baroness, Lady Walmsley, said, we debated the substance of the policy when the legislation was debated in Committee and I do not intend to reopen it. I shall confine myself to the regulations and I want to put two particular points to the Minister. The first concerns the guidance on the use of the powers, which will be forthcoming on the back of these regulations. I should be grateful if the Minister would clarify the current position.

When the guidance Screening, Searching and Confiscation, published earlier this year, was debated in the other place, the Minister said that it would be updated to reflect the more recent changes to the law and that new guidance would be published before implementation on 1 April this year. Will the Minister confirm that? The guidance written so far, which I have looked at on the website, says nothing about what will constitute the reasonable suspicion that a teacher must have to justify a search without consent. It says:

“The teacher must decide in each particular case what constitutes reasonable grounds for suspicion”,

and gives two examples. One is hearing other pupils talking about an item, which is fairly uncontentious. If a teacher hears talk from other pupils, that is fairly obviously reasonable grounds for suspicion. The other example is that,

“they might notice a pupil behaving in a way that causes them to be suspicious”.

That is fairly wide because it could be anything. Will the Minister confirm that the guidance will make it clear, as I believe it should, that after such a search without consent, the teacher must be able to say specifically what constituted the reasonable grounds for suspicion, and that that should usually be hard intelligence or evidence rather than the teacher just feeling suspicious? For example, what would be reasonable grounds for suspicion to justify taking away and looking through a phone, a laptop or an iPad? A pupil might be behaving inappropriately in a class, fiddling with the item or looking at e-mails, but surely that alone would not justify reasonable suspicion of, for instance, the presence of pornographic images to justify a search without consent. There is a lot of grey area here, and I should like to be reassured that the guidance will help teachers to define the thresholds for suspicion in such circumstances.

Regarding another point on the guidance, I could not see any distinction in the current guidance between the approach to situations involving children of different ages—younger children as opposed to older children—in secondary schools. Will the guidance also address that issue?

My second substantive point concerns recording and monitoring the use of these powers. In the other place, the Minister said that the Government had no plans to monitor the use of the powers or to require schools to keep a log of incidents in which the powers have been used. I am particularly concerned about the powers to search without consent. I am in favour of giving teachers these powers, but this extension of powers should require schools to keep a record of the incidents in which they are used.

One may think about similar situations, for instance, in children’s homes—and I have visited very many in a previous life. I always asked to look at the incident log to see whether discipline had been used and recorded appropriately. The use of police powers requires the recording of incidents. In any part of society where professionals in authority are given powers of search and confiscation over other people, it seems only right, and a necessary and visible counterbalance to those powers—necessary though they are—that a record should be required. The Minister may come back and say something about not wanting to burden schools, but this is not about burdening schools with unnecessary requirements. Keeping a record is a reasonable and essential counterbalance to the extension of powers, and we should require schools to do so.

Similarly, there should be a requirement that data using those records be kept for monitoring, so that, for instance, any differential deployment of these powers in respect of different groups of children will be visible. We know the concern that police stop-and-search powers are used disproportionately on young black men. We would want to know—would we not?—if, however unconsciously and inadvertently, these powers of teachers could be shown to have been used differentially in relation to specific groups of children rather than others. Yet, if the information is not recorded by schools, and is not monitored by the Government and inspected by Ofsted, we will have no way of knowing just how these powers are being used, whether they are being used appropriately and whether, however inadvertently or unconsciously, specific groups of children are the subject of these powers in a differential way.

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

My Lords, I congratulate my noble friend Lady Walmsley on her ingenuity in raising some issues that are possibly within the scope of the regulations. I know her feelings on the subject, which we debated at length. The only thing that I would say is, as the revised guidance that she will have seen makes clear, the provisions that allow search by the opposite sex are very much to be used in exceptional circumstances, and the assumption is that in nearly every other circumstance that will not be the case. We had that debate previously.

So far as the PSHE review is concerned—again, the way in which my noble friend managed seamlessly to move from one of her favourite topics to another through the means of the regulation was a wonder to behold—she will know that we had hoped to be in a position at the beginning of the year to come forward with proposals on how we can improve PSHE, but the timescale on reporting back on the national curriculum generally has slowed down, and the proposals on PSHE are being aligned with that. All that I can say is that the issue is still work in progress, and proposals will come later in the year.

As for the guidance, which relates to a point made by my noble friend and by the noble Baroness, Lady Hughes of Stretford, we are on track to publish it on 1 April. However, given some of the points raised, it would be sensible if I shared it in advance of publication so that we can ensure that it deals with the issue clearly and my noble friend can see whether it addresses the question of searching children with autism, for example.

On the point about recording and monitoring, the noble Baroness was right. It is our view that we do not need to set up a detailed and complicated system of recording and monitoring. On her specific point, I understand the concern about what might be a disproportionate effect on some groups—particularly, for example, black boys. The search powers have been in place since 2007 and were extended again in 2009. The fact that we have not collectively been made aware that there is a particular problem with the way that they are exercised gives some comfort. We would rely on parents, staff and others to make their concerns known. If they were flagged up with us, we would want to act on them because, like the noble Baroness, we want to ensure that the powers are used, first, proportionately and, secondly, in an equitable fashion.

On the noble Baroness’s fair point about what is the definition of reasonable suspicion, there is no definition of reasonable suspicion, for fairly obvious reasons. There are many things in legislation that it is hard to define precisely but, over time, practice and custom grows up. We do not have plans to specify that, but I hope that the guidance which, as I said, I will happily share with the noble Baroness, will provide some help in that area so that teachers will be clear on what they are able to do and what they are not.

I hope that that gives some satisfaction and that we will be able to approve the regulations.

Motion agreed.