NASUWT: Educational bill – A horriffying visions for the future
The Education Bill receives its second reading in Parliament on 8 February, 2011.
Commenting in advance of the second reading, Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT, the largest teachers’ union, said:
“The Bill sets out a horrifying vision for the future of education in this country.
“The core values and ethos of state education, social justice, democratic accountability and equality, and the principle that education is a service held and managed in trust for the public, are all left in tatters by the provisions in this Bill.
“The public and parents are disenfranchised.
“Children’s rights are undermined.
“Parliamentary scrutiny is sidelined.
“There can be no doubt that a climate is being created for the free market to flourish.
“The concept of education free at the point of delivery is under attack by this Coalition Government.
“There is little to distinguish between the privatising changes being introduced by stealth in the NHS and the naked attempt in this bill to limit access to education on the basis of ability to pay.”
Notes to editors
Examples of the issues cited above are listed below.
Charging for education
See attached the NASUWT letter to the Secretary of State on charging provisions in the Bill. Please click to read in full.
Undermining the rights of the child
. Removing the requirement for searches to be witnessed and to be conducted by a person of the same gender as the pupil infringes the dignity of the pupil and potentially breaches the child’s human rights.
. Provisions to confiscate property (undefined) and delete electronic data opens up an area for entirely subjective actions and judgments to be made, and therefore raises serious questions over respecting the rights of children under the European Convention on Human Rights, incorporated into UK law by the Human Rights Act 1998 and Articles 13 (Freedom of expression) and 16 (Right to privacy) of the UNCRC.
. Removing the duty on schools to cooperate in safeguarding children’s well being, introduced after the Laming Report following the death of Victoria Climbie, is a reckless move which will leave all children and young people vulnerable.
Public and parent disenfranchisement
. Removing public accountability to the local authority in matters of children and young people’s safety and well-being.
. Removing the public accountability and scrutiny of admissions by removing any strategic overview in a locality of fairness or compliance with the fair Admissions Code.
. Over-riding public and local community decisions on the nature of school provision in their area and preventing elected local authorities from responding to local need as they consider appropriate.
. Removing from the inspection framework issues of equality and financial management which are critical issues for many parents and certainly important in terms of public accountability.
. Repeal of the right of parents to make complaints to the Local Commissioner, disempowers parents and gives them no redress except to the Secretary of State.
ENDS
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