Under questioning from MPs on Parliament's Education and Skills SelectCommittee last week, Kelly claimed that taking fewer poor pupils madeacademies "more inclusive". Giving evidence for the first time since theeducation white paper was unveiled, she also pledged to spend "tens ofmillions of pounds" on transport subsidies for poor pupils.
The education secretary was forced to defend the Government's academyprogramme after committee member Helen Jones, the Labour MP forWarrington North, seized on figures published last week. The figuresshowed that academies - set up to help the poorest children - are takinga smaller proportion of pupils from poor homes than the schools theyreplaced.
Kelly accepted the figures, but said the Government was not concerned bythem. "The proportion of children on free school meals has fallen butthe total numbers have risen," she said. "That must be a testimony tocity academies. We have made the academy schools more inclusive thantheir predecessor schools; their predecessor schools had so many pupilson schools meals that they were not representative."
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