Ever since ministers started talking about more autonomy for schools, fears have been growing for the safety of the Every Child Matters agenda.
Among the first to identify the danger was Paul Ennals, chief executive of the National Children's Bureau. Speaking in July 2004, after the publication of the five-year plan for education, he protested that the Government's "so-called" choice agenda "flies in the face of the agenda laid out in Every Child Matters. Every step towards giving schools greater autonomy is a step away from the integrated schools agenda."
Since then, the Government has devoted much energy to getting the five-year plan onto the statute book. The Education Act 2005 will ringfence funding to local authorities, meaning that they lose their ability to decide how much money goes to schools. And the new Education Bill will allow more schools to qualify for foundation status.
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