Education Bill

My Lords, I start by welcoming the noble Baroness, Lady Crawley, from the substitutes’ bench. As I am sure that she knows far better than I do, that is not all it is cracked up to be. There have been many times this afternoon when I would very happily have been sitting on the substitutes’ bench. However, it is very nice to hear from her in such an important debate. We have discussed these broad issues many times in this House, even in my short time here, but I think that we have covered the ground well again today with a great deal of thought and passion. It has been a good discussion, in which I hope we have managed to clear the air on some issues. On the amendment, as we heard in the debate on the previous group, Clause 40 consolidates and refocuses the arrangements around core issues related to education in its widest sense, covering academic and personal development. The point has been well made that education is not solely about academic achievement but is about everything that makes children develop and, indeed, be happy. On the specific issue of children being happy—a point raised by the noble Lord, Lord Layard—inspectors seek the views of parents and children about the school, and in both cases views are sought on whether children are happy in school. It is right that that should be so, and this will continue to feature as a question to parents and children. I believe it is also the first question that is put to parents in Ofsted’s new online questionnaire, which gathers parents’ views outside inspections. I agree that it is important that those points are picked up. The amendment moved by the noble Baroness, Lady Massey, seeks to add well-being to the main reporting areas for school inspections, including some specific aspects of well-being, which she set out for us. As I hope my noble friend made clear in her response to Amendment 77, although well-being is not included in the consolidated provisions set out in Clause 40, that does not mean that it is absent from the new arrangements. Indeed, we argue that having behaviour and safety as one of the four core areas—areas that we are trying to slim down so that there is more attention on a smaller number—shows how important well-being will be within the new arrangements. Child protection measures, which we have also talked about, will be a key element of the assessment of the effectiveness of leadership and management of a school. Safeguarding will be picked up there as well as through thematic surveys, as we discussed on the earlier group. The reason that the Government are keen to change the focus of inspection is illustrated by Ofsted’s inspection findings for 2009-10. In that year, teaching was judged outstanding in only 5 per cent of primary schools and 4 per cent of secondary schools. That is one reason why we are keen to make sure that inspection focuses on teaching quality. Schools that perform strongly in terms of pupil achievement also do well on wider aspects of well-being. However, the reverse is not always the case. For example, last year all primary schools that were judged outstanding for achievement were either good or outstanding in terms of healthy lifestyles, but for primary schools that were inadequate in terms of achievement, over half were good or outstanding on healthy lifestyles. I stress that inspection will focus on those key aspects of well-being. For example, inspectors will be checking to ensure that all pupils have an equal and fair chance to thrive and learn in an atmosphere of respect and dignity. Inspectors will consider pupils’ behaviour towards and respect for other young people and adults, including freedom from bullying, and will also consider pupils’ ability to assess and manage risk appropriately and keep themselves safe, including from some of the risks that we have discussed—those associated with new technology, substance misuse, knives and gangs, and those associated with relationships, including sexual relationships. This is set out specifically in the new evaluation schedule that inspectors will follow. Turning to the delivery of citizenship and PSHE, as the noble Baroness, Lady Massey of Darwen, will know better than me, those subjects are not routinely reported on in the current inspection framework. Like other subject areas, they are covered separately through subject surveys and that will continue to be the case. Aspects of PSHE and citizenship will also be picked up as part of the requirement to take into account the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils and in considering the breadth of the curriculum that is being offered by the school. In response to the question asked by the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Ripon and Leeds, as I think I said earlier, there is nothing in the clause that changes the position on the legislation regarding sex education. As the noble Baroness knows, we are seeking to remove areas of prescription from inspection so that the process of inspection can itself be more focused and rigorous. That point was first made by the noble Lord, Lord Hylton, and then argued very persuasively by the noble Lord, Lord Clarke of Hampstead. I agree with them. My noble friend Lord Lingfield reminded us of the effects of piling lots of words into legislation that can translate into thousands of pages of bumph. Although I cannot vie with my noble friend Lord Elton in speaking as easily as he can in Latin, I agree with the substance of his point about the sometimes unintended consequences of putting things in lists. We strongly agree that pupils’ well-being is vital and we believe that the arrangements set out in Clause 40 will enable Ofsted to pick that up in an effective and proportionate way. I ask the noble Baroness to withdraw her amendment.