MPs urge Government to prove how new grammar schools will close the gap, calling them an “unnecessary distraction”
The Education Select Committee has said the Government’s focus on opening new grammar schools is an “unnecessary distraction”.
The cross-party committee of MPs said ministers still needed to demonstrate how this would improve social mobility and close the gap between rich and poor pupils.
A new report, published last week by the Committee as an evidence check on plans to increase selective education, , urges the Government to demonstrate how its plans will help close the attainment gap within the wider school system, stating that the policy aims set out “differ significantly from the characteristics of grammar schools of the past and present”.
It also calls on the Government to look carefully at the consequences for school funding, the supply of teachers and the “overall health of schools in England”.
Committee members expressed their scepticism at the possibility of making entrance tests for grammar truly “tutor proof”.
The report follows minutes of a private meeting between Justine Greening, Nick Gibb and the Grammar School Heads’ Association being published online. According to the notes, new grammar schools could open from 2020, with expansion plans for existing schools to begin in the meantime and £150m funding will be made available to carry them out.
One of the options discussed during the meeting is to admit only the top 10% of the ability range.
The paper took into consideration multiple oral evidence sessions held by the Committee with education experts such as Dr Rebecca Allen (Education Datalab), Luke Sibieta (IFS), Prof. Anna Vignoles (University of Cambridge) and Dr Tim Leunig (Department for Education).
The Committee recommends that the Government’s proposals take account of the needs of the economy for a broadly skilled workforce, adding:
The Government’s proposals must take into account the UK’s competitiveness in a globalised economy. This will involve having regard to international trends and the performance of other countries’ education systems, which do not always point towards earlier specialisation within school systems, and attention should be paid to the Dutch model, which is overall a successful system and one that includes selection. If England is to take this course, it would be important for the Government to demonstrate clearly how this policy will meet the requirements of the Industrial Strategy.
SCHOOLS NorthEast submitted a response to the Department for Education’s consultation on the expansion of selective education, in which we reflected our region’s school leaders’ categorical opposition to the creation of new grammar schools.
Further reading:
Grammars ‘unnecessary distraction’, say MPs
‘New grammars by 2020’ reveal heads after meeting ministers
Ministers consider new ‘national selection test’ to replace 11-plus