Academies Bill [HL]

My Lords, I shall start by speaking to Amendments 1, 5, 6, 8, 9, 65, 77, 86, 87, 93, 94, 194 and 195, which all seek to change the title and name of all existing and future academies to direct-maintained schools. Before I do so—perhaps with the words of the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Lincoln ringing in my ears at the beginning—I should say that I know that the whole point of Committee stage is for us to tease out misunderstandings and to try to get clarity on various issues as we go forward. I am committed to doing that during this process and shall do my best to do so in the days ahead. I have already had lots of help and advice from all sides of the House over the past couple of weeks and I know that that will continue. I am a little perplexed as to why the noble Baroness, Lady Morgan, would want to turn her back on a policy and a name which, greatly to its credit, her party pioneered in government. I was even more perplexed when over the weekend I read the 2005 White Paper, Higher Standards, Better Schools for All, which clearly argued for the extension of academy freedoms. As I think we mentioned at Second Reading, the day before the launch of the White Paper, the then Prime Minister was even more explicit. He said: "““We need to make it easier for every school to acquire the drive and essential freedoms of Academies ... We want every school to be able quickly and easily to become a self-governing independent state school ... All schools will be able to have Academy style freedom””." That, in general terms, is what the Academies Bill makes possible. I know that the noble Baroness, Lady Morgan, argued that using the name ““academy”” for all schools converting to the programme might in some way dilute the original intentions, and she specifically mentioned grant-maintained schools. These were quite different, not least because they got additional funding and operated effectively outside the system, which is not what is proposed with academies. She spoke about the policy now being for outstanding schools, rather than the original focus of the policy, which was, she said, on the most challenging schools. That point has already been picked up by my noble friend Lady Perry. I know that there has been a lot of comment about this and I am sorry if I did not do a better job in explaining it at Second Reading. The fact is that the focus on failing schools remains and, if anything, is strengthened because the Secretary of State will be able to act more decisively without local authority consent, should that be necessary. Secondly, in line with what we believe was the previous Government’s intention, all schools will be able to apply for academy status, should they want to. In other words, the outstanding schools are simply a sub-set of all schools. I hope that that provides some reassurance on the point made by the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Liverpool. In what we propose, there is no intention that the generality of schools should be excluded from the chance to take part in this programme. Because those schools are outstanding, we believe that conversion for them should be relatively straightforward, and therefore we are saying that, if they want to convert, they should be able to go first. They would not have to have sponsors, but all other converting schools would. My main argument in resisting the amendment has already been made for me by my noble friend Lady Walmsley and the noble Lord, Lord Adonis. I am particularly sympathetic to what was described as alphabet soup—what I think of as Alphabetti Spaghetti—in that, as a new Minister trying to get my head round the descriptions of all the different kinds of schools, the thought of having one more to learn would be almost intolerable. The reason we believe the new wave of academies should be called academies is, precisely as the noble Lord, Lord Adonis, said, because they are set up on the same legal basis as an existing academy with the same freedoms, duties and responsibilities. Perhaps it would help if I set those out briefly. Academies are publicly funded independent schools which do not charge the pupils to attend the school. They are not maintained by the local education authority but receive funding directly from the Secretary of State. Their curriculum must be balanced and broadly based with an emphasis on their secondary curriculum on a particular subject area. They must provide education for pupils of different abilities drawn wholly or mainly from the local area of the school. They must not charge pupils to attend the school and they can be for any age range since the Education Act 2002. I understand the intention behind Amendment 39: to ensure that only schools classed as failing could convert to academy status from September 2010. In fact, the way in which the amendment is drafted, listing it as a characteristic of an academy, would have the unintended consequence of making it an obligation on the academy proprietor to ensure that the academy met that characteristic, which I cannot believe was the noble Baroness’s intention. However, I shall address the substance behind the amendment. While our focus will remain on failing schools and narrowing the attainment gap, we want the best schools to have the freedom and flexibility to deliver an excellent education in the way that they see fit, within a broad framework where they are clearly accountable for the results that they deliver. These schools, as we have discussed before, will be expected to work with a weaker school to share expertise and best practice. Many school leaders have already shown a keen interest in their schools becoming academies. It is clear that they understand the benefits that that will bring and they want the liberation that comes from genuine independence. While I understand the thinking behind the amendment, in order that the academy programme simply maintains its focus on failing schools, I hope that the noble Baroness will be reassured that our expansion of the academies programme will not dilute in any way our focus on failing schools. On the contrary, by saying that all outstanding schools will be expected to partner with a weaker school we hope to bring about further improvements for all concerned. Amendment 40 would require all schools converting to academy status from 2010 to have a sponsor in place with whom to work. It is our intention that all maintained primary, secondary and special schools will be able to apply to become an academy, with schools rated outstanding being fast-tracked for approval. These outstanding schools will have a proven track record of success so will not be required to have a sponsor in place and will, in effect, be self-sponsoring. They will be able to work with a sponsor should they choose but there is no requirement to do so. Other primary, secondary and special schools which will be able to convert at a later stage will still be required to have a sponsor, with the final decision on which schools become academies resting with the Secretary of State. Our focus remains on failing schools and narrowing the gap, but in our view it is also right that our best schools should have the freedom and flexibility to deliver an excellent education in the way they see fit within a broad framework where they are clearly accountable for the outcomes they deliver. I think that there has been general acceptance on all sides of this House that the definition of an academy and its legal status is broadly accepted. Academies set up by the noble Baroness’s party have done a great job. This is a logical next step in our view and an expansion of what has gone before. It was clearly the original intention in 2005 to move in the direction that this Government, five years late perhaps, are starting to do. I hope that that detail has clarified why the amendments are not necessary and I therefore urge the noble Baroness to withdraw her amendment.