Education and Inspections Bill

I am concerned about the direction in which we are travelling. The reforms that we have introduced since 1997 are a recipe for success, and success is beginning to come through: 2005 was the best year ever for results. The recipe is based on strong leadership from head teachers, substantial funding for schools and better, more highly trained teachers, working with children who are now motivated because they are in an environment that is more conducive to learning and teaching. The reforms have brought success, so it is standards that we should concentrate on, not structures. My fear is that altering the structures, and particularly turning foundation schools into trust schools, will lead to unintended consequences. I honestly believe that there is no evidence to support the argument that competition in education can drive up standards. The hon. Member for Altrincham and Sale, West (Mr. Brady) referred to the USA and in particular to California, but he missed out Minnesota. According to research done for the alternative White Paper, the charter school system in Minnesota did not work. Seventeen of its 88 charter schools have closed in the past decade, and the ones that remain open are providing education for better-off people. We need to move away from the argument that by altering the structure of education, we can drive up standards. Altering the structure will not help kids in my constituency, many of whom live in deprived areas. We are already starting to see the benefits of universal nursery education and of Sure Start, which is engaging not just the kids but the parents with education. It is the best thing that this Government have done, and by concentrating on standards we can make improvements. In conclusion, I support the National Union of Teachers’ stance, which is that we should focus on comprehensive education and ensure that better standards lead to the results that we want to see.