Stephen Twigg answers your questions on Labour’s Education policy

Earlier this week Stephen Twigg agreed to answer questions put to him by Labour Party members and supporters following his major speech on Monday. The party sent out an email to all members inviting questions, and I wrote about Twigg’s speech – inviting people to ask Stephen whatever they wanted.

The Labour Party hasn’t always been particularly open to interaction with members – especially on policy – but they deserve credit for the way they gone about this Q&A, as does Twigg. Hundreds of questions were submitted, all of them were read before I selected ten that were both challenging and representative of the questions submitted as a whole. (Apologies if you asked a question that doesn’t appear below, there were hundreds). Nothing was off limits and I was given total freedom to select whichever questions I wanted asked.

So here are the 10 questions that I chose – and Stephen Twigg’s 10 responses:

1. Samuel Reeves – I notice that you ‘would not let unqualified teachers in classrooms’ does this mean you’re against Teach First?

Teach First is an accredited teacher training programme, where trainees work towards Qualified Teacher Status – so these trainees all become fully qualified, which is as it should be. One of the first decisions I made when I was Minister for Schools was to give the go ahead to government funding for Teach First. It’s an excellent way to bring in more high flying graduates to the classroom. Only Labour will ensure that children in all state schools are taught by qualified teachers. With Michael Gove, there is no requirement on teachers in academies and Free Schools to be qualified – this is a shocking undermining of school standards.

2. Sarah Hayward – What’s the role of local authorities in One Nation Labour education policy? 

We want local authorities to be the champion of high standards for children and parents in all schools. So, for example, I want local authorities to be able to issue early warning notices to academies and free schools to challenge underperformance, as they already can for maintained schools. More broadly, I have asked David Blunkett to lead a review into how we improve local oversight of schools. He will look at the role of the local authority, how best central and local government work together and how we can best give local communities a bigger say when new schools are set up.

3. Lynne Wallace – Will free schools be closed down if they are found to be failing Ofsted inspections?

Labour will not tolerate failing free schools or academies, just as we won’t tolerate a failing maintained schools. Free schools and academies that fail will be given a chance to turn things around, or they will have to take on a new sponsor and leadership, for example through the sponsor academies programme that we started in Government.

4. Annie Powell – What’s the difference between a free school and a parent-led academy?

We won’t continue Michael Gove’s Free Schools policy – it’s a flawed programme in which Michael Gove decides where schools open even if the local community doesn’t want them, he sets up schools in areas where there is a surplus of places while children elsewhere struggle to find a school place, and he allows unqualified teachers to teach children. So under Labour there will be new schools led by parents, teachers and other innovative groups but they will open where they are needed, where there is real parent demand and they will be held to the same high standards as other schools. We’ve asked David Blunkett to look into the best way to encourage and set up these parent academies, working with the local community.

5. Eddie Darke – I thought the Labour party was consulting with members about future policy to be included in the 2015 Manifesto. So why are the shadow cabinet making up policy while the current consultation is going on?

We consult with Labour party members through a range of vehicles – the Policy Commission process, the Your Britain website, and I try to visit as many CLPs as possible across the country, as well as taking part in Q&A session like this.I will be at the National Policy Forum in Birmingham this weekend to discuss policy development.

6. Barbara Plant – Why is there no mention of school support staff, particularly class based staff, in your speech and the important role they play in a child’s education?  Does this mean that you are of the same opinion as Michael Gove – that schools should reduce numbers of teaching assistants?

Unfortunately you can’t always mention every aspect of education in one speech, though I have spoken before about support staff and teaching assistants- as I did in my speech to Party Conference last year. Labour brought in teaching assistants, and I totally support the principle of teaching assistants supporting a qualified teacher in the classroom where the school believes this is the best way to raise standards. You’re right that they can play an important role in education, from supporting classroom discipline to providing one-to-one support to children.

7. Nigel Peet – Where is the evidence that the freedoms afforded academies and free schools raise standards? How do you define standards here?

Research from the LSE shows that the increased freedoms academies hold can help to improve performance. There is evidence to demonstrate that giving schools enhanced freedoms can help them improve their performance. For example, Andreas Schleicher, who heads up the OECD’s education programme says “Global educational comparisons such as Pisa show consistently that schools in high-performing education systems tend to have considerable discretion with regard to their academic direction and how they manage resources.”

Many academies themselves report the positive effects on their students of trusting teachers to get on with their jobs, respecting their professionalism, and allowing them to innovate.

So we believe that the freedoms that academies have to raise standards, should be extended to all schools. Equally, where a “freedom” threatens standards, such as allowing unqualified teachers into the classroom, it should not be allowed.

8. Frank Adam – What can be done to ensure schools implement special needs policy?

As with any other issue a parent or young person may have with a school, this is about accountability. All maintained schools are bound by the same legislation and Code of Practice, to ensure there is a minimum level of support. We want to see school leaders have the freedom to go above and beyond that, putting in place innovative support which will help them meet the needs of their pupils, which is one reason why we want to extend procurement freedoms to all schools.

Where schools don’t meet their duties, parents need to have confidence that they can take their complaint to someone in their local area who has the power to actually do something about it, We need to ensure that all schools fulfil their duties so every child gets the support they need.

9. Moira Sykes – How can a Labour government give parents more power but at the same time prevent better off parents using choice and freedoms to skew a schools intake away from being socially and educationally comprehensive?

I worry about social selection. Recent research from the Sutton Trust showed that 95 per cent of the top 500 comprehensive schools take fewer pupils on free school meals than their local average.

All schools must fulfil their commitment to equitable access

So, I would strengthen the Schools Admissions Code to allow all schools to prioritise disadvantaged children who are eligible for the Pupil Premium, a provision that currently exists only for academies. I also think we should look again at the effectiveness of the Schools Adjudicator to ensure that both the letter and the spirit of the Admissions Code are followed.

The appeals process for academies is too opaque. In order to ensure greater transparency and parity, I would extend the powers of the Local Government Ombudsman to investigate academies and free schools on admissions. Parents should not have to write to the Secretary of State to complain about their child’s school – they need a local voice. Under Labour local authorities will also have the power to direct all schools to admit hard-to-place child.

10. Philip John Tunstall – Before announcing your general policy did you consult with Teachers/heads Unions?

I meet regularly with teachers, head teachers and the teaching unions. We always have good and frank discussions, and of course as you would expect, there are area where we agree, and some where we disagree.

Thanks to Stephen Twigg for taking part, and to everyone who submitted questions.