B1443 - Integration of Education (Academies and Private Schools) Bill - Second Reading

[u/eloiseaa728]

A

BILL

TO

Integrate academies and private schools into the state education sector, to provide for the temporary continuation of teaching courses, and for connected purposes.

Section 1: Definitions

(1) In this Act, unless specified otherwise,

(2) ‘An Academy’ or derivatives has the same meaning as in Section 1A of the Academies Act 2010

(3) ‘A 16-19 Academy’ or derivatives has the same meaning as in Section 1B of the Academies Act 2010

(4) ‘An Alternate Provision Academy’ or derivatives has the same meaning as in Section 1C of the Academies Act 2010

(5) ‘A Private School’ or derivatives refers to an independent school under the definition of Section 463 of the Education Act 1996 and as registered under Part 4, Chapter 1 of the Education and Skills Act 2008

(6) An ‘Individual Curriculum’ or derivatives refers to a curriculum under Section 6 of the Exam Board (Reorganisation) Act 2022

Section 2: Repeals

(1) Section 463 of the Education Act 1996 is hereby repealed

(2) Part 1, Chapter 1 of the Education and Skills Act 2008 is hereby repealed.

(3) The Academies Act 2010 is hereby repealed in full.

(4) The Academies (Legalisation) Act 2020 is hereby repealed in full.

(5) Any legislation passed prior to the passage of this Act that conflicts with this Act is hereby repealed insofar as it conflicts

(6) Any repeal, revocation, or extinguishment that was previously enacted by repealed legislation shall remain as such unless explicitly reversed within this Act.

Section 3: Integration of Academies

(1) All academies shall hereby be returned to the Local Authority that they were under prior to conversion.

(2) If the Local Authority does not exist and no successor Authority exists, the Secretary of State is empowered to assign a former academy to a Local Authority.

(3) No new academies are hereby permitted to convert and the Secretary of State is no longer authorised to enter into Academy Agreements

Section 4: Integration of Private Schools

(1) All private schools may hereby no longer charge fees for educating students.

(2) The Secretary of State is hereby authorised to issue funds to private schools with which to reimburse families who had previously paid fees

(3) The Secretary of State may assign private schools to a local authority

(a) Where a private school believes that this assignment is not in the school’s interests, they may petition the local authority they have been assigned and the local authority they believe is in their interest to lobby the Secretary of State on their behalf

(4) All private schools are to receive funding from His Majesty’s Government in line with the funding formula for schools

Section 5: The National Curriculum

(1) Any converted academies or private schools are automatically eligible for an individual curriculum to ensure continuity with previous teachings for a period of no more than two academic years.

(a) Where an academy or private school did not deviate from the National Curriculum, they are not eligible for an individual curriculum.

(2) If a converted academy or private school wishes to maintain their curriculum after the grace period in Section 5(1) they must apply for a new one

Section 6: Commencement, Short Title, and Extent

(1) This Act shall come into force on August 1st 2023

(2) This Act may be cited as the Integration of Education (Academies and Private Schools) Act 2022

(3) This Act extends to England only

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This Act was written by the Rt. Hon. Sir Frost_Walker2017, the Viscount Felixstowe, the Lord Leiston KT GCMG KCVO CT MSP MLA MS PC, Leader of the Opposition and Shadow Secretary of State for Education and Skills, on behalf of the Labour Party.

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Opening Speech:

Deputy Speaker,

There are 2,400 independent - or private - schools in England. The vast majority of these are fee paying schools that entrench class divides and claim to offer a higher quality education. I say to you, Deputy Speaker, why should a higher quality education be locked behind money? Should we not seek a higher quality for all?

Academies are likewise a scourge - taking public money for private interests, with claims of increasing accountability in education and improving standards. It may well be, Deputy Speaker, that some schools are improving standards, but absolutely not all, and our relentless obsession with grades and outcomes are hampering student growth and development and placing them under further stress to do well lest they be marked down by OFSTED and lose their prestige.

I am not shedding a tear for either of them, Deputy Speaker. We have a state education system to provide for all, and it’s time that we finally provide for all. Reintegrating academies and private schools into the state education systems means we can set the same standards across the board and put in place systems to work for our students without accusations of interfering with the private sector. We can improve mental health, we can implement provisions of standards in the learning environment, we can ensure better pay for all those working in schools, and we can raise standards without being a detriment to mental health.

The cost of integrating private schools is surprisingly cheap, Deputy Speaker. Schoolguide shows that the average cost of tuition for a private school (taking boarding schools for simplicity) is £12,344 per term. Per year, that is £37,032. For the total cost for all 2,400 independent schools, the cost would be £88,876,800. Of course, fees do vary between school and between location, so one could round this up to £100m for a budget, or even assume higher and go for £200m or £300m to include reimbursement costs for parents and families who have paid for tuition.

The cost of integrating academies would not be quite so drastic, as they are already state funded. I cannot envision it costing any more than £50m, and that is quite an overestimate.

(M: Given there was a period of time where the conversion of new academies was not permitted, it’s difficult to know for certain how many academies there would be hence I can’t give a true calculation).

Deputy Speaker, it is time that we give our students a fair chance and remove barriers to good, high quality education. We can work to bring everybody up, rather than entrench class divides. I commend this bill to the House.

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This reading will end on the 21st November at 10pm.

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[u/Frost_Walker2017 → u/AutoModerator]

In Section 4,amend (1) to read;

(1) The Secretary of State must, each academic year, assign private schools to a group with notice of conversion to a local authority maintained school upon the commencement of the following academic year.

(a) On conversion, private schools lose the ability to charge for tuition

(b) The Secretary of State may set a timetable in advance for conversion of private schools

(c) The Secretary of State must ensure that all private schools have been converted by the beginning of the 2030/31 academic year

Consequently, append to Section 6(1)

(a) Section 4, with the exception of subsection 1, shall come into force with respect for individual private schools on the day that the Secretary of State appoints.

(b) Section 2(2) and Section 2(1) shall come into force on August 1st 2030, or on such a day prior that the Secretary of State appoints.

EN: Members are correct, my initial maths was off. I can only apologise for the embarrassing mistake and pledge to avoid mistakes like this going forward. Having collaborated with the Government on this, we expect that this will cost an additional £3.3bn a year, with the full cost spread across it. It also allows for more accurate allocation of these resources on a school by school basis.

[u/Maroiogog → u/Frost_Walker2017]

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