Schools

This page highlights some of the current parliamentary material available on schools. This includes select committee reports, briefing papers on current legislation and other subjects produced by the parliamentary research services, and the latest Early Day Motions put down by MPs.

Standard Notes

Date	Description
14.05.2012	School Funding
	This note sets out the development of the school funding system for current expenditure (rather than capital expenditure, which is concerned with school buildings), including the ring-fenced Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) and other grants given to schools, and details of the 2012-13 settlement including the pupil premium.
27.04.2012	Teachers: Social Indicators page
	Summary of data on teache rnumbers, flows and vacancies
27.03.2012	School Sport
	The purpose of this note is to outline the current debate about the provision of sport and Physical Education (PE) in schools and to highlight recent policy developments and commentary in this area. The note relates to England only.
22.03.2012	The green paper on special educational needs and disability
	This Standard Note briefly outlines of the current special educational needs (SEN) system in England, and highlights the main proposals in the Government's green paper on special educational needs and disability.
16.03.2012	Protection of Freedoms Bill: Lords amendments
	This note summarises the Lords amendments to the Protection of Freedoms Bill, which are due to be considered by the Commons on 19 March 2012.

Research Papers

Date	Description
05.05.2011	Education Bill: Committee Stage Report
	This is an account of the House of Commons Committee Stage of the Education Bill. It complements Research Paper 11/14, prepared for the Commons Second Reading debate, which examines the range of matters covered by the Bill. As originally presented, the Bill sought to make provision relating to the National Assembly for Wales' framework powers. However, these clauses were removed from the Bill following the 'yes' vote in the Welsh Devolution Referendum. A Government amendment to clause 13 (reporting restrictions on alleged offences by teachers) was agreed to without a vote. This inserted new schedule 11B into the Education Act 2002, and was introduced to secure compliance with a European Electronic Commerce Directive. Several minor and technical Government amendments were also made to the Bill. The Opposition tabled many amendments, a considerable number of which were pressed to a division, but none was successful.
07.02.2011	Education Bill [Bill 137 of 2010-11]
	This paper has been written for the House of Commons Second Reading debate on the Education Bill [Bill 137] on 8 February 2011. The Bill seeks to implement the legislative proposals in the Department for Education's schools White Paper, 'The Importance of Teaching', and measures from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills relating to skills and the reform of higher education funding. It is therefore a very wide-ranging Bill.
14.07.2010	Academies Bill [HL] Bill 57 of 2010-11
	The Bill allows the governing body of each maintained school in England to apply to the Secretary of State to convert the school to an academy. The Secretary of State will also be empowered to convert schools that are 'eligible for intervention'. The Bill also makes provision for 'free schools' - new schools set up by parents, teachers, charities, universities, business or community or faith groups where there is parental demand. Free schools will have the same legal requirements as academies. During the Bill's passage through the House of Lords, a number of Government amendments were made, including those on special educational needs provision in academies, consultation during the conversion process and applying Freedom of Information legislation to academies. Many non-Government amendments were proposed, of which two were successful. One of these required the Secretary of State to publish an annual report on academies, which the Government welcomed; the other related to services for children with low incidence special educational needs, which the Government opposed.
15.02.2010	Children, Schools and Families Bill: Committee Stage Report Bill No 8 of 2009-10
	This is an account of the House of Commons Committee Stage of the Children, Schools and Families Bill. The Bill contained a clause on the charitable status of academies, but the Government decided it could achieve its objectives by non-legislative means, and at the end of the Committee Stage the clause was removed. No other changes were made to the Bill in Committee. There were many amendments proposed by the opposition parties but none was successful.
16.12.2009	Children, Schools and Families Bill. Bill 8 2009-10.
	This Bill provides 'guarantees' for pupils and parents in the school system, underpinned by new Home School Agreements, and makes provision for parental satisfaction surveys. It also makes changes to the powers of governing bodies of maintained schools; extends the remit of School Improvement Partners; provides greater powers for local authorities and the Secretary of State in relation to failing schools; paves the way for the introduction of School Report Cards; and makes provision to introduce a licence to practise for teachers. The Bill also seeks to implement the recommendations of several major reports. These changes affect the school curriculum; provide a registration system for home educators; and provide an additional right of appeal for parents of children with special educational needs. The Bill would also make changes to the reporting of information relating to family proceedings. Other provisions relate to Local Safeguarding Children Boards, Youth Offending Teams, the charitable status of academies, and the fees system for the inspection of independent schools.

Select Committee Reports

Date	Description
07.09.2011	Practical experiments in school science lessons and science field trips.
	Science and Technology Select Committee report [Commons]
22.06.2011	Behaviour and discipline in schools.
	Government response. Education Select Committee; Department for Education report [Commons]
07.06.2011	Legislative scrutiny: Education Bill and other bills.
	Human Rights Joint Select Committee report [Commons and Lords]
26.01.2011	Behaviour and discipline in schools.
	Education Select Committee report [Commons]
19.01.2011	The academies programme.
	Public Accounts Committee report [Commons]

Early Day Motions

Date	Description
06.02.2012	NURSERY MILK SCHEME
	That this House is deeply concerned about planned changes to arrangements for the delivery of the current Nursery Milk Scheme which is likely to affect the numbers of children who drink ...
23.01.2012	FORCED ACADEMIES IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS
	That this House believes that the Government's threats to force primary schools in Haringey to become academies are undemocratic and threaten to reverse many of the improvements made ...
11.01.2012	GLOBAL LINKS BETWEEN SCHOOLS
	That this House welcomes the links that have been created between schools in Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire with Mangochi District in Malawi; acknowledges the benefits that can be achieved ...
20.12.2011	SCHOOL TOILET AND WATER FACILITIES
	That this House is alarmed at plans to abolish the specific provisions on toilets in the School Premises Regulations; notes that school toilet facilities are inconsistent and often ...
20.12.2011	PIANOS IN SCHOOLS
	That this House recognises the value of music education for children's creativity and intellectual development; notes the publication on 25 November 2011,The Importance of Music - A ...

Lords Library Notes

Date	Description
14.10.2011	Debate on 20 October: Teaching of History in Schools
	This Library Note provides background reading for the debate on the teaching of history in schools.
09.06.2011	Education Bill (HL Bill 67 of 2010-12)
	This Library Note provides information for the second reading of the Education Bill in the House of Lords.

POST Papers

Date	Description
15.03.2012	Impacts of Video Games
	There is debate surrounding the impact of violent video games on behaviour.
01.06.2011	Informal STEM education, June 2011
	This POSTnote describes the informal sector's links to formal STEM education and its contribution to the national STEM learning agenda. It complements a forthcoming note on STEM education for 14-19 year olds.
01.10.2009	Teaching children to read
	This POSTnote explains the reading process and the underlying basis of specific reading difficulties. It also summarises different methods of reading instruction, and examines their use in the context of current and possible future policy directions.