School's White Paper should involve local Democracy

6.29.46pm GMT Mon 31st Oct 2005

Reform of education needs careful consideration

Commenting today on the Government's White Paper on school reform, Wendy Johnson Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Ashfield said: "What matters is raising standards and narrowing gaps in educational achievement. For example, we must encourage more young people in Ashfield to avoid leaving school at 16 without a job to go to. But this white paper is all about structures, not standards.

"We support school autonomy and an increased role for parents. But this must work in the interests of all the children. And that's where local democratic accountability comes in. For instance, fair admissions cannot be delivered on a school by school basis. A school could have the best admission system in the world, but that is meaningless if the schools around it play by different rules.

"While it is right to build on success, each new place in an expanded school means an empty place next to a child in a less successful one - and as a result less money to employ the right staff to teach them. So again, local accountability is crucial. These are the children who get a raw deal at the moment and we fear they will get a worse deal under the government's new proposals."