Agenda item
Notice of Motion given by Councillor Colin Ross
That this Council:-
(a) notes with great concern that the current government is considering bringing back grammar schools and allowing Free Schools to introduce academic selection;
(b) believes that there is no such thing as an ‘inclusive grammar school’ and this policy is an unwelcome step backwards to a more unequal, divided society;
(c) notes that the re-introduction of grammar schools necessitates the re-introduction of secondary moderns;
(d) believes that the Government’s plan to lift restrictions on faith schools, allowing schools to select 100% of their pupils based on faith, will lead to further division within communities;
(e) notes that increasing academic selection in schools was not in the 2015 Conservative Party manifesto and believes the unelected Prime Minister has no mandate to put this policy into force;
(f) notes the comments of the former Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. David Cameron, “I think it is delusional to think that a policy of expanding a number of grammar schools is either a good idea, a sellable idea or even the right idea.”;
(g) notes the efforts of the previous Government to close the gap in inequality in education through targeted investment towards poorer pupils, such as the pupil premium, free early years education and free school dinners;
(h) regrets that since 2015, schools have seen a real term cut in their budgets, undermining efforts of the previous Government;
(i) believes that young people have varied and complex aptitudes and abilities and believes that our young people’s potential can be best achieved in good comprehensive schools where they are allowed to flourish at their own pace and mix with peers from all walks of life; and
(j) therefore calls on the Administration to write to the Secretary of State for Education calling for the Government to abandon these plans.
Minutes: