Education: Alternative Providers

Lord Sterling of Plaistow Excerpts

Wednesday 27th March 2019 Lords Chamber

[Viscount Younger of Leckie]

The right reverend Prelate makes an extremely good point. It is important that local needs are taken into account. She raised one example and I can give another: the Family School, an AP free school that opened in September 2014. Its ethos is built around supporting pupils to cultivate,

“a productive lifestyle, personal resilience and the values required to become responsible members of society”.

As the right reverend Prelate will know, we have a Green Paper out on children’s mental health.

[Lord Sterling of Plaistow (Con)]

My noble friend made the observation that a given number of schools have closed down. Of particular interest is what has happened to the children who were at those schools.

[Viscount Younger of Leckie]

The local authorities have ultimate responsibility for ensuring that each and every one of those pupils is placed in a school that gives them equal chances to those who are in mainstream schools.