Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrew Turner and Michael Gove

Monday 24th March 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight) (Con)]

4. What guidance his Department has issued to head teachers on what constitutes the exceptional circumstances in which children may be granted leave of absence for holidays during school term time.

[The Secretary of State for Education (Michael Gove)]

My Department has not issued any specific guidance on this matter.

[Mr Turner]

There have been examples on the Isle of Wight, and I am sure elsewhere, of parents being told that the Government have banned all term-time holidays, which is particularly difficult for those who work during the holidays. Will the Minister confirm that the definition of exceptional circumstances is made by the head teachers, and not the Government, the council or even the governing body, and that the normal use of language should be sufficiently clear for heads to make those decisions?

[Michael Gove]

As ever, my hon. Friend is absolutely right: the decision as to what constitutes exceptional circumstances is a matter for the head teacher. It is important, however, to stress that children wherever possible should be in school and learning, and a drive to reduce truancy and push up the number of days and hours that children spend in school is at the heart of our long-term plan to raise standards in our state schools.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrew Turner and Michael Gove

Monday 9th September 2013 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Northamptonshire has been one of the counties most transformed by academies involving a range of sponsors. I thank my hon. Friend for the energetic work that he has done on behalf of the children of Kettering, making sure that standards and expectations are increased.

[Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight) (Con)]

8. What proportion of 16 to 18-year-olds were not in education, employment or training in (a) the UK and (b) Isle of Wight constituency in the latest quarter for which figures are available.

GCSEs

Debate between Andrew Turner and Michael Gove

Tuesday 11th June 2013 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

Those are very generous words from an experienced politician that I shall take to heart.

[Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight) (Con)]

What are the Government doing to ensure that a putative future Labour Government will not falsely inflate the grades of schoolchildren, as Labour has done before?

[Michael Gove]

My hon. Friend makes a very good point. We cannot guarantee that a future Government, of whatever political colour, will not be tempted to try to flatter itself by bringing in a little grade inflation. We have in Ofqual and in its current regulator a strong leader determined to ensure that that will not happen. It is a pity that we do not have the same robust system of regulation in Wales, for example.

Secondary Education

Debate between Andrew Turner and Michael Gove

Thursday 21st June 2012 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

That is a typically acute point by the right hon. Gentleman; every time he speaks on education, I hear a voice of good sense. It is absolutely right to say that we need to tackle a culture low aspiration that has held students back in many northern cities and in places such as east Lancashire for far too long. Any reform of the examination system and curriculum needs to ensure that we do not place a cap on aspiration in those areas.

I have had a look at the Financial Times analysis and think that it suffers from one thing: it itself is a prisoner of the culture of low aspiration that we are tackling. I hope to work with the right hon. Gentleman and other fair-minded people to ensure that we do not fall into that trap.

[Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight) (Con)]

Does the Minister welcome international GCSEs, which have always been legal outside the United Kingdom?

[Michael Gove]

We absolutely do, and one of our first reforms was to ensure that they would count in league tables in order to inject additional rigour.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrew Turner and Michael Gove

Monday 16th January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

When we had to close the Building Schools for the Future programme, it was inevitable that a significant number of schools in urgent need of repair would be just the wrong side of where the line was drawn. I know that in Coventry a number of schools are in desperate need of refurbishment. The priority school building programme is designed to ensure that as many schools as possible qualify and we will not be able to make an announcement until next month because we want to be absolutely sure that marginal cases such as this school, as it appears from the information the hon. Gentleman has shared with us, are fairly treated.

[Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight) (Con)]

The Minister is well aware of my support for steps taken to prepare young people for apprenticeships and the world of work, but is he aware that an arbitrary decision about payments due for academic work undertaken in apprentices’ own time towards their qualification might threaten the ability and willingness of small employers, such as Amazon World in my constituency, to take them on?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrew Turner and Michael Gove

Monday 11th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

It is vital to ensure that we have an accurate picture of the schools that are most in need of capital funding. One of the unfortunate consequences of decisions made by the previous Government is that in about 2006 we stopped collecting data at a national level on the state of school buildings, which means that we do not have an accurate picture of the schools that are most in need. The hon. Lady makes a very good case for a school in her constituency, which I know she represents effectively, but we have to look at the picture in the round.

[Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight) (Con)]

T2. Five families have been refused admission to Wootton primary school on the Isle of Wight from the beginning of next term, which means that four-year-olds will have to travel to other schools, the nearest of which is 2.5 miles away. Mothers who want to travel with their child would have to pay for that, assuming that public transport was available. This is a complete scandal. Surely the ridiculous limits on the size of primary schools imposed by the Labour party need to be reconsidered, and before the beginning of next term.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrew Turner and Michael Gove

Monday 23rd May 2011 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

It is good to see the hon. Gentleman walking the walk without any mechanical or medical aid of any kind whatever; we are all reassured to see him in fine form. I have to say that the hon. Gentleman, as a former grammar school boy himself, should accept one thing: the difficult economic situation that we inherited and the difficult position that Derbyshire county council put us into after years of Labour rule mean that it is very difficult for us to do the work necessary to repair the school which needs our support so desperately.

[Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight) (Con)]

What happens to children under seven when they are the only ones sent to another village because there is no place for them in the local school?

[Michael Gove]

We are doing everything possible with our reform of the school admissions code, which will be published shortly, to ensure that all children have a high-quality school place. I know that my hon. Friend has argued vigorously to ensure that every child on the Isle of Wight has a school of high quality close at hand. I look forward to working with him and the council.