My Lords, this amendment would add a new clause after Clause 23. It refers to Section 19 of the Education Act 1996 and seeks to improve it. Therefore, I hope that the Minister will find this a helpful amendment, as it seeks to do what he has been trying to do with his own amendments.
To summarise, Clause 19(6) of the Education Act 1996 would be repealed and after subsection (5) would be inserted a new subsection (5A), which refers to:
“Suitable education for children and young people”,
the definition of which would be inserted according to the wording of my amendment. The amendment would ensure that legislation and subsequent statutory guidance and regulations reflected the Government’s policy intention that all children, regardless of circumstance or setting, should receive a quality education as per the statutory guidance published in January 2013. I commend the Government for the publication of their guidance, and I shall come back to that again.
The reasoning behind my amendment is that Section 19(6) of the Education Act 1996 currently reads:
“In this section ‘suitable education’, in relation to a child or young person, means efficient education suitable to his age”—
it is always “his”, although it means “his or her”—
“ability … and to any special educational needs he may have”.
I consider that a more thorough definition of “suitable education” will help to achieve the Government’s aspiration for young children and persons learning in alternative provision, and it is that inclusion of alternative provision that I am seeking in the definition in the Education Act.
Alternative provision is defined as education arranged by local authorities for pupils who, because of exclusion, illness or other reasons, would not otherwise receive suitable education. This includes the education that a child or young person may receive in a hospital school, in a medical pupil referral unit or through home tuition.
The Committee may well be aware, since other noble Lords have referred to it, that CLIC Sargent, the UK’s leading cancer charity for children and young people, has found in a study that young people—particularly those with cancer, although it also applies to children with other diseases—who are receiving education in a hospital school or medical PRU setting while undergoing treatment do not receive a quality of education equal to those in mainstream education. Its research, published in the document No Child with Cancer Left Out, found that 70% of parents said that their child had very little education outside their normal school. In fact, to quote one parent of a child with cancer:
“We waited nearly a year for a home teacher who was brilliant, but it really should not have taken so long. Five hours a week home teaching is too little for a child in Year 6”.
Teenagers have also commented that the education they get is not appropriate for them at their age, or to help them get through exams. There is also a lack of funding from local authorities for home education.
I return to the Government’s intention, which I thoroughly support, and the statutory guidance for local authorities that they published earlier in the year. It clearly states that alternative provision and the
framework surrounding it should offer good quality education on a par with that of mainstream schooling, along with the support that pupils need to overcome barriers to attainment. I agree that this support should meet a pupil’s individual needs, including social and emotional needs, and enable them to thrive and prosper in the education system. However, it is a statement of intention and good will, not a statement of a directive which the authorities may be obliged to follow. I hope that the Minister will see that strengthening the Education Act and defining suitable education more clearly may help.
I welcome the Government’s belief that,
“pupils with cancer deserve as good an education as any other pupil and poor health should never mean poor education”.—[Official Report, Commons, 10/1/13; col. 576.]
A key part of this will be to ensure that children and young people who receive alternative education receive a quality education, and that all education provision is responsive to the diverse range of needs of children with cancer and other serious conditions. I hope that the Minister will see that this amendment of mine helps his intention, so that he might either accept it or bring his own amendment at a later stage to strengthen the Education Act. I beg to move.