Opinions

The Lib Dems’ view on independent schools

David Laws MP sets out his party’s strategy

In a free society, parents should be free to choose independent, fee-paying, schools for their children, if they wish to do so. I am impressed by the sacrifices that many parents are willing to make to secure the best education for their children.

I am also impressed by the generally very high quality of education that is delivered by the UK’s independent schools sector – some of our independent schools are among the best schools in the world, and we should be very proud of that.

So, I do not waste my time worrying about whether independent schools are a good thing or a bad thing in English education: they are here to stay, and the real issue is how we can ensure that the start in life that most children in the fee-paying sector receive is shared by those in the maintained, state-funded, sector.

I want our state schools to deliver a similarly high-quality, broad-based education to every child, regardless of his or her own background. I also want schools in the maintained sector to be able to enjoy more of the freedom from political meddling that independent schools enjoy, within an accountable framework which ensures that all schools are delivering for their children.

My party and I recently produced a new set of policy proposals designed to tackle the existing deficiencies in state education – including less political interference, a pupil premium to tackle disadvantage, and new plans for sponsor-managed schools.

Free from a micro-managing, centralising, government, independent schools are able to design a more flexible and well-rounded curriculum which stretches and challenges all of their pupils. Maintained schools should also have these freedoms.

Across the whole of the education sector, the Liberal Democrats would encourage schools to work together and share ideas and resources. But I have been very critical of the way this government has attempted to bully the independent sector into working with state schools by threatening to withdraw their charitable status. There are many independent schools already working closely with the state sector. Such a relationship works best when it is voluntary, so that both schools are enthusiastic and agree upon what it is they want to gain from the relationship. Forced co-operation is likely to breed resentment and is unlikely to be particularly fruitful.

I am also concerned that the existing public benefit test could damage the maintained sector, by creating pressure for independent schools to set up scholarship schemes, which will often cream off the most able pupils in the maintained sector. For some of these pupils, the benefit might be significant – but how this is supposed to help the maintained sector as a whole is anyone’s guess.

It is also important to remember that not all independent schools are flush with cash. Many smaller independent schools could find themselves pushed towards closure if unreasonable public demands are placed upon them.

It works both ways
The state and independent education sectors have a lot to learn from one another. Independent schools are seen by many to offer a high quality of education because of their smaller class sizes, real freedoms to innovate and their offer of a rich curriculum; and our proposals detail how this could be replicated in maintained schools. But state schools can also often have a lot to offer the independent sector.

There is also scope for much more sharing of facilities; sometimes this may mean state schools making agreements to use the high quality sports facilities of many independent schools, but sometimes there may be opportunities for the independent sector too.

The Liberal Democrats have set out detailed policies that would help close the gap between the state and private sector, freeing all schools from day-to-day government interference and slimming down the national curriculum to about a twentieth of its current size, giving schools and pupils far more choice. We have also identified extra money to enable schools to cut infant class sizes and properly support all their pupils, regardless of their background.

Under these proposals, some independent schools could be encouraged back into the state sector to help improve choice for all parents. We have already seen some independent schools joining the government’s academy programme and our proposals would develop a new model of sponsor-managed school which would have similar benefits.

The Liberal Democrats want to create an environment where all schools, and all children, have a chance to succeed. “Choice” should not be regarded as a dirty word in education, and we want to offer parents as much opportunity as possible to choose the very best education for their children, in either the state or the independent sector.

David Laws MP represents the Liberal Democrats in Yeovil. David is the spokesman on Children, Schools and Families.

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