I am amazed at Nick Clegg's about turn on free schools. He has supported them wholeheartedly before the 2010 election and ever since. Now he is undermining them. He is manifestly wrong. David Laws and Jeremy Browne have made it clear they disagree with their boss.
Last week I was in the chamber to support David Laws, the Liberal MP and the Schools Minister. I like David, and he certainly impressed our teachers when he visited Hexham QEHS this summer.
The background to the Q and A was the problem with one free school in Derby, over which the government is rightly taking action. Our exchange went like this:
Guy Opperman (Hexham, Conservative)
I welcome the action taken in respect of this school and the fact that the majority of the 170 free schools are outperforming local authority schools. Does the Minister agree that one bad apple does not spoil the barrel, and has he learned anything about Labour’s policy on free schools?
Hansard source (Citation: HC Deb, 17 October 2013, c895)
David Laws (Yeovil, Liberal Democrat)
I entirely agree with my hon. Friend. It is interesting that the shadow Secretary of State who speaks for the Opposition on these matters has not concluded that the Labour party’s last academies programme was deficient because some of those academies have failed. There is a basic lack of logic in Labour’s position and an ideological resistance to innovation in the school system.
As to Labour they backed them last week and have now come out against them.
I suspect that David Laws is at one with Michael Gove and surprised at his boss's change of heart. Gove is Education Secretary, Laws is schools minister – and here’s the official statement from the department which they run:-
‘Free schools are raising standards and giving parents more choice. They are run by teachers – not local bureaucrats or Westminster politicians – and are free to set their own curriculum, decide how they spend their money and employ who they think are the best people for the job. This Government is not going to take these freedoms away. Independent schools have always been able to hire brilliant people who have not got QTS. Free schools and academies now have the same freedoms as independent schools to hire great linguists, computer scientists, engineers and other specialists so they can inspire their pupils.’
The DfE also released the following information, to combat the criticism of Clegg about ‘qualified’ teachers.
Non-QTS teachers: The successful independent school sector has always taken the opportunity to employ teaching staff who do not hold QTS. Ensuring the highest quality of teaching is paramount to the success of each school. Head teachers know this, which is why we trust them to employ staff that they believe to be well-qualified for the job. All schools continue to be held accountable for the quality of teaching through Ofsted inspections and the publication of school performance data.
Going forward I am a fan of free schools and academies. Up to last Sunday David Laws and Clegg were too. We now have a bizarre situation where David Laws is being undermined by his own boss. I fully understand we are in a Coalition but there is a real issue here and Laws is definitely right.
