New education Bill condemned as 'whingers' charter' » Education » 24dash.com

Children's Secretary Ed Balls' plans to guarantee pupils and parents certain rights from the education system were condemned by school leaders today, who said it will lead to a "whingers' charter" for families to complain.

A new education Bill to be unveiled in the Queen's Speech today is due to include a set of pupil and parent guarantees, setting out what each can expect from the schools system, and providing a means of redress if these expectations are not met.

But the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) said the proposals are "prescriptive" and open the door to litigation.

ASCL general secretary John Dunford said: "It is easy for the government to 'guarantee' specific rights for pupils and parents when ministers aren't the ones who have to deliver. It is school leaders and staff whose jobs will be on the line if they don't meet the 'guarantees'. If government is going to make a guarantee on behalf of schools, it must provide the means for schools to deliver on all these items.

"Raising so many aspects of education to the status of a 'guarantee' will have the effect of making everything quasi-statutory. It will take statute into realms it has never previously covered.

"Instead of the increasingly diverse system that the government has often said that it wants to encourage, England will have one of the most centrally prescriptive systems in the world. Researchers have stated that English heads are among the most autonomous; these 'guarantees' tell a very different story.

"School leaders are extremely concerned that these 'guarantees' will turn into a whingers' charter for the more litigious parents to complain, first to the head, then to the governors, then to the Local Government Ombudsman service, which has just been created by last week's new education act. This will create an immense amount of work for school leaders, who are currently trying, with government encouragement, to create more productive relationships with parents."

Under the guarantee parents will have the right to demand information about their child's performance and about their child's school, closer involvement with their child's progress through a designated tutor, including regular face-to-face meetings and more influence over their schools.

Pupils will be guaranteed a say on how their school is doing and how it can be improved, primary school children who are falling behind in English or maths will get one-to-one help and students will have the right to a personal tutor at secondary school.

If a parent believe a school is failing to meet the guarantees they can complain to the head, then to the local authority, and then to the Local Government Ombudsman.

Mr Balls has previously admitted that if these avenues fail to provide a resolution then a parent could take a school to court in the form of a judicial review.

But he insisted this would be a "last resort."

A DCSF spokesman said: "This is not telling schools to reinvent the wheel - they should already be doing this. This is about setting out in law what pupils and parents should expect from their schools and making sure that happens wherever they are in the country.

"This simply will not lead to a flood of court cases against schools. There will be a clear process so teachers, heads, governing bodies and local authorities can deal with any complaint - as they already do with the vast majority of issues.

"If they do not, we've now given the Local Government Ombudsman powers to hear parents' complaints and recommend that schools take remedial action. If they still will not, the Secretary of State will be able to intervene and direct schools to act."