Universities: Freedom of Speech

Debate between Peter Swallow and Catherine McKinnell

Thursday 10th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Catherine McKinnell]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his contribution. He is absolutely right. I will make that commitment, which I will pass on to the Minister for Skills and to the Secretary of State.

[Peter Swallow (Bracknell) (Lab)]

Before I was elected to this place, I was a university lecturer and a teacher. I worked hard—as did my colleagues—to ensure that in my lecture hall all views could be expressed, interrogated and debated, even those that I profoundly disagreed with. Does the Minister agree that when Opposition Members make unsubstantiated claims that students who express Tory views are marked down, it undermines—[Interruption.]

[Peter Swallow]

Does the Minister agree that when Opposition Members make unsubstantiated claims that Tory students are being marked down, it undermines the brilliant hard work that our lecturers do to support their students?

[Catherine McKinnell]

My hon. Friend makes an important point. The Government will uphold freedom of speech and academic freedom on our university campuses. Robust debate and challenge to views helps students to grow in an education setting; creating culture wars does not. That is why we will work with academics, students, campaigners and all those with an interest in upholding freedom of speech in our higher education system to get this right.

Ofsted

Debate between Peter Swallow and Catherine McKinnell

Tuesday 3rd September 2024 Commons Chamber

[Catherine McKinnell]

The hon. Gentleman makes a characteristically thoughtful point, and I do not disagree with anything that he said. In fact, the report card system should give a much more holistic picture of school life. A parent knows their child, and they know the sort of school environment that will suit them. A report card system will enable the highlighting of areas where a school may be doing particularly well, and the areas where it may need to strive to improve. That will be useful for parents. It will also be useful for schools to know where they can improve, and it will be useful in driving high and rising standards for every child. We are absolutely determined to deliver that, and we see this as a key part of ensuring that that happens.

[Peter Swallow (Bracknell) (Lab)]

If I were to pick a single word to describe Ofsted’s grading system, it would be “inadequate”, so I welcome the Government’s commitment to reviewing Ofsted’s review system, and particularly to reviewing its focus on special educational needs. Will the Minister engage with families with special educational needs when developing the new school report card system?

[Catherine McKinnell]

Ensuring that we meet the needs of children with special educational needs and their families is a key priority for the Government. We recognise that the system is broken and that there are too many families and too many children not getting the education that they deserve. We see this as part of the process of resetting that relationship and resetting the system so that we can have a school system that is inclusive, where that is appropriate, and so that we can have mainstream schools that serve the whole community. We will endeavour, as part of wider reforms that we are looking at, to ensure that we have a special educational needs system that meets the needs of every child in this country.