Burnham appeals to Lib Dems over education bill

8th May 2011

Dear Colleague

Education Bill: Remaining Stages

The Education Bill will return to the House on Wednesday 11th May for its Report Stage and Third Reading. In advance of that, we wanted to give you notice of our plans to amend the Bill to promote fairness and protect high standards, which I hope you will feel able to support.

Like the Health Bill, this Bill threatens a free-for-all in our public services. It takes power off parents and pupils, leaving them without clear guarantees. Without amendment, the Government’s plans would weaken the admissions system, bring unqualified teachers into state schools and allow high quality face-to-face careers guidance to wither away.

On Wednesday, we will propose amendments that go to the heart of what matters to parents, promoting fairness and protecting high standards in our school system. We will ask the House to amend the Bill to guarantee:

• FAIR ADMISSIONS – by reinstating local admissions forums and the powers over admissions of the Schools Adjudicator, we will support the rights of all parents to secure the best school for their child

• HIGH STANDARDS – by requiring that all publicly-funded schools employ qualified teachers, parents will have more certainty about minimum standards regardless of which type of school they choose

• QUALITY GUIDANCE – by requiring that schools enable all young people to access high quality, face-to-face careers guidance, we will help young people make the right choices in a changing and challenging world

We believe these simple, common-sense amendments correct real weaknesses in the Government’s plans. They give parents and children some guarantees and protection in the free-market system that is being created.

We hope you that you will feel able to support these amendments, which are true to the spirit of the motion passed at last year’s Liberal Democrat conference, which expressed serious misgivings about the direction of the Government’s education policy.

The Government has a plan for some children and some schools, but not all children and all schools. Just as changes have been conceded to the Health Bill, so we can protect standards and promote fairness in our schools.

Kind regards

Andy Burnham, Shadow Education Secretary