Sector experts are appearing before MPs today to give their thoughts on the schools bill.
Freddie Whittaker is reporting live from the public committee hearing, which includes government ministers Catherine McKinnell and Stephen Morgan asking questions of witnesses.
Those due to appear include academy bosses United Learning’s Sir Jon Coles, Harris Federation’s Sir Dan Moynihan and Luke Sparkes, from Dixons Academies Trust.
(We have a round-up here of all 39 policies in the schools bill)
6.30pm:
Government agrees to amend schools bill on academy pay …
Schools minister Catherine McKinnell confirmed this evening that the government will table an amendment on academy teacher pay.
Trusts were concerned they would have pay freedoms taken away from them. Some trusts use freedoms to offer better pay and conditions.
Government had said they wanted to set a teacher pay floor, but with no ceiling – but the bill as worded did not reflect that.
McKinnell said today they will now amend the clause to make it clearer. Read our full story on it here.
… but minister defends ‘broad’ academy ‘direction’ power
However McKinnell defended the government’s proposals for a power to direct academies to fulfil their duties.
“It will provide the secretary of state with a more proportionate and flexible remedy where it’s really important to address quite a narrow or specific breach of unreasonable behaviour within an academy trust,” she told MPs.
“And I can give you an example as to why this is necessary. Because at the moment existing intervention powers require the Department for Education to use a termination warning notice and subsequently a termination notice.”
She said that was “not always necessary or appropriate when dealing with an isolated breach of a legal duty and clearly we need a proportionate response”.
She added: “Obviously we’ll listen to legitimate concerns on that, but at the moment our view is it’s a much more proportionate way of dealing with breaches that may be in the case of an academy and so that we can avoid disruption to children when there’s another way of dealing with a breach by an academy of a legal requirement within the legislation.”
5.35pm:
Mismatch between intentions and bill wording
As with other issues such as the extension of pay and conditions to academies, witnesses raised concerns about a mismatch between what the explanatory notes for the bill say about the new power to direct trusts to comply with their duties and the bill itself.

David Thomas, a former DfE adviser who now leads Axiom Maths, said section 43 of the bill, which would enact said powers, “as drafted goes beyond the explanatory notes to the bill and what ministers have stated their intention to be”.
“If the intention of the bill, or that clause of the bill, is to allow ministers to intervene where an academy trust is breaching a power but do that in a way that is short of termination that’s a very sensible thing to want to do. I absolutely think the government should be able to do that.
“If the purpose was to, as it says in the explanatory notes, issue a direction to academy trusts to comply with their duty. That feels perfectly reasonable as a thing to be able to do.”
But Thomas, who was part of the DfE team that worked on the doomed 2022 schools bill, warned the new bill as drafted “gives the secretary of state the ability to give the proprietor such directions as the secretary of state considers appropriate”.
“I don’t think it’s appropriate for a secretary of state to be able to give an operational action plan to a school. I think it’s perfectly reasonable for a secretary of state to tell a school they need to follow their duty.
“I think it’s just a mismatch between the stated intention and the particular drafting and I would correct that mismatch.”
4.25pm:
Academy direction power ‘too broad’
The government is proposing a new power for the education secretary to direct academy trusts “comply with specific duties or to prevent the unreasonable use of a power”
But multiple witnesses told the public bill committee the power proposed in the bill was too broad.
“We do have concerns about the power to direct,” Confederation of School Trusts chief executive Leora Cruddas told MPs.
“We think it is too wide at the moment. We accept the policy intention is one of equivalence in relation to maintained schools, but maintained schools are different legal structures from academy trusts and we don’t think that the clauses in the bill as laid really properly reflect that.
“It’s too broad and it’s too wide and we would like to work with the government to restrict it to create greater limits on that. And those limits we think should be around statutory duties on academy trusts, statutory guidance, the provisions in the funding agreement and indeed charity law.”
3.45pm:
Academy bosses Sir Jon Coles, Sir Dan Moynihan and Luke Sparkes gave their views on the proposed rowback of academy freedoms. Despite leading some of the country’s most successful trusts, all three said they had not been consulted. Here’s 5 key highlights …
1. Reforms would ‘fundamentally change’ successful schools, for the worse
The trio were all critical of Labour’s plans to withdraw academy freedoms, particularly so on pay and conditions.
Coles said the best people are needed to turnaround failing schools, adding that ability is “fundamentally important to us”.
Sparkes, who leads Dixons Academies Trust, said its most successful schools, getting the “best results for disadvantaged pupils, would have to fundamentally change” which is “bound to impact significantly on outcomes for children”. He called it a “significant backwards step”.
However, all three were more positive about government claims they want to introduce a pay “ceiling, but no floor”.
But Coles stressed “that’s not what the bill says”, and questioned whether officials should be asked if the bill does what ministers want it to?
2. Where will the innovation come from?
Sparkes said that many schools “on the edges” are the ones who drive innovation.
“The idea is that a few innovate, that over time diffuses and then becomes the norm. If we lose the opportunity for anyone to innovate, we’ll just stagnate,” he said.
Dixons is currently trialling a nine-day fortnight, and “want to be bolder and totally reimagine the school workforce” as “post-millennials are not going to accept the norms that currently exist”, he added.
But a set of “expectations around conditions will stifle innovation … leaders working in our contexts [challenging schools in deprived areas] need the freedoms to do things differently”.
Moynihan questioned why government is “freezing the system where it is now. If we want world-leading … one key way to do it is to give schools the freedoms that academies have to transform failing schools – why shouldn’t every school have that?”
3. Quell admission power concerns by issuing guidance
Government has proposed giving councils more powers on admissions over academies – including a new duty for both to collaborate, and for councils to direct an academy to admit a child.
Moynihan said a “key issue” was a potential conflict of interest if a council is opening its own school and also allocating places for very hard to place children.
“There needs to be a clear right of appeal in order to ensure that conflict can be exposed if necessary,” he added, saying some schools had become “dumping grounds” under local authorities.

Academies can appeal to the schools adjudicator. But, while admitting current admission arrangements are “fractured”, Sparks questioned whether the adjudicator is “well placed to make policy and financial decisions” on what is “becoming a commissioner role”.
Coles suggested government could issue guidance on the new powers, such as “how they are going to be used and the rules of the game .. and what good practice looks like”.
This would help “make everyone comfortable that things would be done fairly,” he added.
4. What’s Labour’s school improvement strategy?
Coles said he would “love to see” government “set out its strategy for improvement and how it will drive improvement across the system”.
“Part of the response to this bill has been, because the government hasn’t had a policy document ahead of publication, people have read into the bill their concerns and fears and worries.
“There hasn’t been a clear government narrative around how this is going to drive forward improvement in the school system overall, how to tackle achievement gaps.”
Moynihan added the government also needs an explicit strategy on tackling disadvantage – saying this hasn’t been a real focus for years. He suggested upping pupil premium rates or setting new metrics to drive improvement.
“It’s a door that’s wide open,” he added.
5. Judicial review fears over academisation watering down
But Moynihan said academy takeovers are sometimes “hotly, politically contested”.
Academy conversion opponents are likely to “go to judicial review” which “could leave children in a situation of failure for months of even more than a year”, he added.
Opponents will “want to know on what basis that discretion has been given”.
Schools not academised will get support through new regional school improvement teams, who will commission support.

But Moynihan said “it’s much better if we quickly want to improve schools to give someone full power over that school to improve it and do what’s necessary quickly”.
“That must be more effective than a RISE team going in that doesn’t have that authority over the governance of the school.”
When questioned about the number of future academies falling, Coles added: “I don’t want this to be political knockabout, I want this to be about how are we going to make the school system better – that is the only question I care about.”
2.20pm
Oliver: Curriculum freedoms used to ‘hot-house’ kids on English and maths
Ofsted chief Sir Martyn Oliver said the current education inspection framework reduced deviation from the national curriculum because it set out a need to follow a broad and balance curriculum. (One of Labour’s proposals is to make academies follow the national curriculum again).
He said the bill “puts everyone on the same footing – so I think there’s good in that”. But he would “always want to give headteachers the flex to do what is right for those children as long as it ultimately delivers a broad and balanced education”.
Oliver added that the “most typical reason” for deviating from the national curriculum “would be a focus on the core standards of English and mathematics”.
“We would often see that taking place. But I’m afraid in some cases it goes from a deviation to improve their core standards, some would hot-house and then would do that at the exclusion of the broad and balanced.”
He said Ofsted’s report card consultation, due next week, would “allow more nuance and better identify” such issues.
Ofsted: Give us more power on unregistered AP, too
Oliver said Ofsted was “happy in large parts of the bill”. For instance, the definition of what constitutes a private school will be expanded so that any operating on a full-time basis must now get government approval and be subject to regular inspections.
Oliver said the “ability” to look at illegal and unregistered settings is “hugely important. Where [these schools] are out of line of sight, it causes of great concern”.
But he said the bill could “go further and look at unregistered AP – because all children educated anywhere for the majority of time should be in sight of the inspectorate or regulator.”
He also said new powers for Ofsted to search illegal schools would be “burdensome” and require “additional resource”.
2pm:
De Souza: I need to know how failing schools will be improved under Labour plan
Children’s commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza, a former headteacher who led the Inspiration Trust, opened the afternoon session.
She started by saying she wants to see a “vision for a new, vibrant schools system”. (She’s not the only one…)
As a former trust boss, she was asked about the proposed academy changes. De Souza said she was concerned about automatic academisation changes.
“I cannot let children remain in failing schools – I need to know what was going to happen. How are we going to ensure those schools are improved: quickly and effectively?”

She also asked for better data and predictions around what will happen to attainment under the proposed new system.
She pointed to the first academy she turned around, under the Tony Blair government, adding: “It’s never gone to less than ‘good’ – any new system has to deliver for the most vulnerable as well as that.”
But she added she wasn’t “hung up” on any particular system. She wanted to see the “vision for how to work together with the best knowledge we’ve got about school improvement, and a sense of urgency and making sure no child is sitting in a failing school.”
12noon:
Tabled amendments include national SEND body, free lunches for all primary pupils and pay floor added into bill
MPs can table amendments to the bill, but in reality they will only succeed with government support.
Our reporter Freddie Whittaker has got a copy of all the amendments on the table so far – which, even if they are unlikely to go through, still gives you a decent idea of the key issues for each party.
The Conservatives have put forward amendments that would do the following…
- Make the pay set out in the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document a floor and extend freedoms over pay and conditions to maintained schools
- Require the government to continue with the existing secondary school breakfast clubs scheme
- Allow schools to require more than three branded uniform items if parents have not had to pay for them
- Require councils to submit a statement of reasons when they refuse permission for a child to be home educated
- Give parents a right to view materials used in the teaching of the school curriculum
- Require the government to provide an academy conversion support grant, a trust CEO development programme and restore the trust capacity fund
- Require government to proceed with the opening of free schools
The Liberal Democrats have put forward amendments that would do the following…
- Require the government to implement the recommendations of the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse
- Require councils to publish their performance against statutory deadlines for EHCPs
- Extend the 50 per cent cap on faith-based admissions to over-subscribed free schools to cover all new schools (following fears the scrapping of the free school presumption opens the door to greater selection)
- Require councils to register all eligible children for free school meals
- Introduce a “national tutoring guarantee”
- Establish a national body for SEND
Meanwhile, a group of Labour backbenchers, Green politicians and independents have put forward amendments that would do the following…
- Extend free school lunches to all primary school pupils
- Require councils to provide or coordinate free meals and activities for children eligible for free school meals during school holidays
- Place a duty on the government to proactively identify children eligible for free school meals, making the application process opt-out rather than opt-in
10.30am:
Academies aren’t only way to improve schools, say unions …
Both school leadership unions were questioned by MPs this morning. One of the key questions was around new plans to make academisation for failing schools “discretionary” instead of automatic.
There have been concerns the move will lead to government open to judicial reviews, and leave schools waiting longer for support (see point 7 in this story).
But Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT, said “we do have examples of schools that are in difficult circumstances where an academy chain can’t be found for them to accept them in because the challenge is too difficult for an academy to really want to get hold of them”.
Schools minister Catherine McKinnell asked if it’s important a school’s “individual circumstances” are taken into account when determining the “best” action to drive improvement.
“Academisation isn’t always a silver bullet,” Whiteman responded. “It doesn’t always work according to the locality or the status or the circumstances of the school. We absolutely think that different options are available.”
… ‘but most expertise sits in trusts, and we can’t undermine that’
Julie McCulloch, policy director at ASCL school leaders’ union, said that accountability measures “shouldn’t lead to automatic consequences”, and there needs to be a “nuanced conversation on a case by case basis about the best way to help a struggling school improve”.
But she added it was “really important to recognise the extent to which the expertise and capacity to improve schools does now sit in multi academy trusts.
“Not exclusively, but that is where a lot of that capacity sits at the moment. I think it’s really important to make sure we don’t do anything that undermines that.”
McCulloch also flagged concern about proposals for all teachers to have or be working towards qualified teacher status.
It’s really important to recognise the extent to which the expertise and capacity to improve schools does now sit in multi academy trusts
Shadow minister Neil O’Brien asked: “Do you think it’s sometimes better to have a good professional person who the head thinks is a good teacher rather than no teacher at all?
“In some cases yes,” McCulloch replied. “That’s a sad place that we find ourselves. But sometimes that is the case, particularly when we’re looking as tythe top end of secondary school and into colleges.”
10am:
We need more staff for home education checks, say councils …
The schools bill is split into two: schools measures, and children wellbeing measures. One of the big proposals under the latter is new rules on councils over home educating pupils – which includes keeping a register and doing checks of learning environments for pupils not in school.
One concern was whether councils have enough capacity to do such checks.
Andy Smith, Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) president, said some councils have just one home education officer.
“We need to think about the capacity and resource required to visit children in their home [and] the training required for staff so they can tune in to issues around safeguarding and general wellbeing.”
He called for “sufficient capacity to get sufficient workers in post, and sufficiently trained”.
Ruth Stanier, Assistant Director of Policy, Local Government Association (LGA), added the new duties for councils must be “appropriately resources to have the impact that we want”.
She said they are already having discussions with government about this, but they are yet to do full cost estimates.
… but SEND parent relationship issues presents problems’
The number of children being home educated is rising, and more parents are doing so because they believe schools are not meeting their child’s need.
Smith said parents have “moved away” from home educating for “philosophical reasons”.
It’s “often because of bullying, mental health challenges, being encouraged by schools to electively home educate.
“And increasing number of children with SEND, because parents aren’t getting the provision they want, it’s not available or because of the tribunal process.”
He also raised how councils have a “quite challenging” relationship with SEND parents, and “yet local authorities will be going into the family home and asking lots of questions about the nature of education”.
He said councils need “much clearer guidance about what a good EHE offer looks like, so there’s greater consistency across the piece. At the moment we just haven’t got that because we’re talking about very old legislation.”
Schools Bill: we’ve got you covered
The headlines: Bill to enact sweeping academies reform
The round-up: All 39 schools bill policies
The fall-out: Amend bill to add pay ‘floor but no ceiling’, trusts demand
Opinion: Labour’s plans show it gets trusts’ vital role
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