In focus: Education Bill reforms

Last updated at 13:00 15 March 2006


The controversial Education Bill, which sets out the Government's detailed plans for reforming schools in England, will face its second Commons reading today.

Here we look at its implications:

:: More than four out of 10 15-year-olds fail to get at least five C-grades in their GCSEs.

:: About one in five 11-year-olds leave primary school without mastering basic English, and a quarter do not reach the expected level for their age in maths.

:: Ofsted says that too many schools are "coasting" and should be pushed further, while nearly one in 10 are inadequate, according to recent figures.

:: Children from disadvantaged backgrounds are much less likely to get into good schools and achieve well than those from middle-class homes.

:: The Government says that schools with more independence and support from private backers achieve better exam results than so-called "bog standard" comprehensives.

:: Three-quarters of secondary schools in England are now "specialist schools", which have raised at least £50,000 in private sponsorship to focus on a particular area such as technology or arts. They also get extra Government cash.

:: Privately sponsored city academies are expensive new schools designed to transform failing secondaries in poor areas. They take the idea of "external partners" even further.

:: Academy sponsors take control over the school's ethos and management in exchange for providing £2 million towards the typical start-up costs of around £25 million.

:: The Government says that its latest plans for a new breed of "trust schools" build on these policies, giving schools more independence to run their own affairs, free from local authority control.

:: Like academies, trust schools will be backed but not necessarily financially supported by faith groups, businesses and other organisations.

:: Although the 200-page Education and Inspections Bill, published on February 28, does not use the words "trust schools", the Department for Education and Skills has denied the plans have changed.

:: The bill bans schools from introducing more selection of pupils by academic ability and gives teachers a clear legal right to use "reasonable force" on badly-behaved children.

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