School Accountability and Intervention

Debate between Lord Watson of Invergowrie and Baroness Smith of Malvern

Thursday 6th February 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

The quality of the inspections that Ofsted carries out is important, as is the capacity and training of Ofsted inspectors to provide that. That, of course, is the responsibility of the chief inspector and the structures in Ofsted, but I am sure that everybody takes the noble Viscount’s point that there needs to be quality in those who are inspecting our schools, as well as the expected quality in those who are directly delivering education.

[Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Lab)]

Further to the comments by the noble Baronesses, Lady Barran and Lady Berridge, about the need for forced academisation, does my noble friend agree that there is no evidence that the only help available to an underperforming school is for it to become an academy? Support is available in the maintained sector—an issue we will come to in more detail when the schools Bill is developed—but it is a fallacy to suggest that that is the only hope for underperforming schools.

It is appropriate that the two consultations published this week were published on the same day, and that the consultation periods ended on the same date. However, I am a bit concerned about the Ofsted proposals. I know that the report is based on the Big Listen, but as I understand it, some aspects of it are already being trialled in certain schools. Does it not bring into question just how accurate it is to describe the document as a consultation, if, as it seems, some people have made decisions already?

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

I can assure my noble friend that, in both cases, they are genuine consultations. The objective of ensuring that all our children are in good schools is shared not just across this House but by parents, teachers, inspectors, school leaders and many others involved in the education sector, and that is why I can assure my noble friend that this is a genuine consultation. Here, trialling can sometimes be part of the consultation, to determine whether things are running successfully. Personally, I think it is possible to trial and pilot, and to consult, to get the broadest input into ensuring that the right decisions are made after that.

Children and Young People: Literacy

Debate between Lord Watson of Invergowrie and Baroness Smith of Malvern

Thursday 23rd January 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Watson of Invergowrie]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the National Literacy Trust’s 2024 annual literacy survey showing that children and young people’s reading for enjoyment has fallen over the past year to an all-time low, and of the link between this and the fall in the number of secondary schools with a designated onsite library area.

[The Minister of State, Department for Education (Baroness Smith of Malvern) (Lab)]

My Lords, reading for pleasure is hugely important and has many benefits. The department has implemented a range of measures to support reading for enjoyment, including through the English hubs programme and the reading framework. Head teachers have the autonomy to decide how best to spend their core schools funding, including how best to provide a library service for their pupils. Given this autonomy, the department does not collect information on the number of secondary school libraries.

[Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Lab)]

I thank my noble friend for that Answer but, notwithstanding it, reading levels among school age children have plummeted recently. That is not just because of the prominence of mobile phones, because comparable-aged children in comparable EU states have higher reading levels. I believe it is very much the case that the closure of school libraries has an important impact on that. While school leaders do indeed have the right to decide the best delivery of library services, as my noble friend said, for whatever reason it is not working. I suggest to my noble friend that, if figures are not collected on school librarians and libraries, they ought to be, and that school leaders need to be reminded of their role in encouraging reading for pleasure, to assist with children’s development and literacy and oracy skills.

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

I share my noble friend’s view about the importance and contribution of school libraries. Perhaps the additional core school funding being provided, or the quite particular advice that is now available in the reading framework—on things such as how to organise a school library, book corner or book stock to make reading accessible and attractive to readers—may well help to ensure that the opportunity is available for more children, as he rightly argues for.

Qualifications Reform Review

Debate between Lord Watson of Invergowrie and Baroness Smith of Malvern

Wednesday 18th December 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

The noble Lord is right that, when faced with a positive phalanx—I do not know what the collective noun is for former Education Ministers—it is probably wise to realise that there is some wisdom there. That has been demonstrated by the results of the review that we have undertaken.

I agree with the noble Lord that T-levels and A-levels would be an insufficient option on their own for all students. To reiterate, where T-levels exist in a route, they are the most appropriate large qualification. One of the other things that we have done is to remove the previously proposed rules of combination, which would have prevented colleges building appropriate courses for their students, in consultation with those students and others. That will provide more flexibility.

I will write to the noble Lord specifically about the cost of T-level placements, but it is right when introducing a new qualification that, as we have done, there is an uplift in revenue funding for T-level students, as well as some capital provision. Any new qualification will need a period of time to scale itself to a position where the normal level of revenue funding would be adequate to deliver it.

[Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Lab)]

My Lords, I too very much welcome the Government’s Statement. I say that on behalf of my noble friends Lord Blunkett, Lady Blower and Lord Knight, who, together with the noble Baroness, Lady Morris, have been campaigning for some time, as my noble friend the Minister knows, to halt the process instigated by the previous Government, who were ditching in a reckless manner far too many other qualifications in favour of T-levels. I am glad to see that it is a Labour Government who have supported BTEC and AGQ students in a way that will not constrain the rollout of T-Levels but will open up more pathways for learners.

I found it rather ironic to hear the noble Baroness, Lady Barran, say that this Statement has been broadly welcomed by the sector. That is not something that could have been said about the proposals she made when she was in government. This goes right back to the time of the skills Bill, as noble Lords on the opposite Benches will recall. We did think that we had had some assurances from the Minister, which subsequently did not materialise, to our considerable annoyance. Many of the applied general qualifications in BTECs, the ending of which was proposed, will now be extended. Those of us who have campaigned to defend rather than defund those qualifications will take some solace from that and welcome the actions of the Government.

The Government’s curriculum and assessment review, led by Becky Francis, is under way and will report shortly. Can my noble friend the Minister say a bit about the way in which the level 3 qualifications set out in the Statement will dovetail with the curriculum and assessment review next year?

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

I thank my noble friend. He is right that there is something very arresting for a new Member of the House of Lords and a returned Education Minister to attend a meeting with my noble friends Lord Blunkett, Lady Morris, Lady Blower and Lord Knight, all of whom are very expert in this area. I am glad that he thinks I at least listened and understood what they said to me.

My noble friend is right that of the qualifications that we started looking at, of which about 460 were due for defunding by 2026, about 200 had very low enrolments: 100 or fewer students. We have largely managed to remove those from the qualifications landscape. It is probably still the case that that landscape is overly complex for students to be able to work their way through, but we kept 157 of the qualifications that were previously proposed to be defunded.

On the point about the curriculum and assessment review, as I touched on earlier, that review has within its remit the consideration of the assessment routes for 16 to 19 year-olds, and—responding to a point made by the noble Lord, Lord Willetts, which perhaps I did not address previously—a particular emphasis on ensuring that our curriculum and assessment routes enable everybody to succeed, including those who are disadvantaged and those with special educational needs and disabilities. For that reason, it will focus carefully on bringing forward recommendations about what the assessment route should look like for students post 16, and we will reflect on those and use them as the basis for further decisions about how to ensure that our qualifications for 16 to 19 year-olds are suitably rigorous, suitably accessible and provide appropriate choice for students.

Sharia-compliant Student Finance

Debate between Lord Watson of Invergowrie and Baroness Smith of Malvern

Wednesday 13th November 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

For students, we are raising information about, for example, degree apprenticeships that would allow students to study towards a degree while they work, without paying for tuition. Students can also find information on other forms of support on GOV.UK, including bursaries, scholarships and awards for eligible students to ensure that, as the noble Lord pointed out, we help to make progress for the about 6,000 students per year that the Muslim census suggested might not be able to access higher education because of the nature of mainstream student finance.

[Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Lab)]

My Lords, I commend the tenacity of the noble Lord, Lord Sharkey, in pursuing this issue, which I know he has been raising since 2012. I recall being in debates with him on what became the Higher Education and Research Act 2017, when it seemed that a solution was close to being found. Yet, as he said, many young Muslims have a barrier to higher education because of this, and those who go to university none the less suffer severe financial hardship. But I disagree with him and say to my noble friend that, rather than separating the need for a sharia-compliant loan to be found and the lifelong learning entitlement, the lifelong learning entitlement’s rollout from 2026 should be used as a backstop. If it is not available to young Muslims, it cannot properly meet the reason that it is being established.

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

My noble friend is right. That is why, in working towards the lifelong learning entitlement rollout, we will also be making progress towards delivering the alternative student finance. We will be able to look at the details about the progress that has already been made and the steps we still need to make in the working group, which I am glad that the noble Lord, Lord Sharkey, will be able to attend.

Schools: Absenteeism

Debate between Lord Watson of Invergowrie and Baroness Smith of Malvern

Tuesday 22nd October 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

The noble Lord is absolutely right. Sometimes children in the care system have to move too frequently from one placement to another, which too often means that they have to move schools. They rightly get priority for admissions to schools but it is crucial that, through the work of our virtual schools and all corporate parents of children in care, we ensure that they have the stability to enable them to attend school and succeed.

[Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Lab)]

My Lords, the main drivers of school absence are mental ill health and poverty, so it is very welcome that the Government will provide specialist mental health counsellors in each school. Hitherto where that has been provided, it has mainly been paid for from the pupil premium. Given that a number of those pupils now requiring assistance and counselling are not in receipt of free school meals, how will it be paid for and will it be the responsibility of the Department for Education or the Department of Health and Social Care?

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

My noble friend is right that mental health disorders among children are a growing problem. Working alongside the Department of Health and Social Care, we will provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every school, and develop new young futures hubs, which will include access to mental health support workers. Also, we will recruit an additional 8,500 new mental health staff to treat children and adults, to cut the unacceptably long time that children and young people have to wait for child and adolescent mental health services; that commitment is specific to the Department of Health.

Education Sector: Equality of Opportunity

Debate between Lord Watson of Invergowrie and Baroness Smith of Malvern

Thursday 17th October 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Lab)]

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Wilcox, who unfortunately is unwell.

[The Minister of State, Department for Education (Baroness Smith of Malvern) (Lab)]

My Lords, this Government are committed to promoting equal opportunities and breaking the link between young people’s backgrounds and their future success. Breaking down barriers to opportunity is one of our five missions, ensuring that every child thrives in education and achieves their ambitions, no matter their background. That is why, as first steps, we are committed to delivering 6,500 additional teachers and rolling out free breakfast clubs in every primary school.

[Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Lab)]

I thank my noble friend for that response. She will be aware that education provision all too often does not meet the needs of all children, particularly those with special educational needs and disabilities. The Government are committed to a community-wide approach to school inclusivity, so does my noble friend agree that there is a need for all state-funded schools to be required to co-operate with their local authorities on school admissions, SEND inclusion and place planning?

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

My noble friend is absolutely right that children with special educational needs and disabilities are not receiving the sort of education that they need and deserve, despite the enormously hard work of our teachers and others in supporting them. That is why we are committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring that special schools cater to those with the most complex needs. As announced in the King’s Speech, we intend to legislate to require schools to co-operate with their local authority on admissions and place planning.