Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Department for Education

Oral Answers to Questions

John Cryer Excerpts
Monday 24th June 2013

(10 years, 10 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Edward Timpson Portrait The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Mr Edward Timpson)
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I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his keen interest in schools in his constituency that provide important and excellent special educational needs provision. It is important that we have an accountability system that recognises the achievements of all pupils, which very much chimes with Sir Michael Wilshaw’s comments last week, as well as the strengthening of the SEN element of inspection from September 2012. We will launch an accountability consultation shortly, and doubtless my hon. Friend will want to contribute to it on the very point that he has just made.

John Cryer Portrait John Cryer (Leyton and Wanstead) (Lab)
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Will the Secretary of State assure the House that the heads of academies cannot create small sub-committees of governors that can then take crucial decisions about the general future of the schools in question?

Michael Gove Portrait Michael Gove
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It is absolutely the case that the principals of academies are tightly bound by a set of rules about how governing bodies or boards of trustees should operate. If there are specific cases about which the hon. Gentleman is concerned but which, for understandable reasons, he does not wish to raise on the Floor of the House, perhaps we can meet to discuss what is giving him concern.