Legal Update: Reintroduction of grammar schools
Mohammed Sesay
Thursday, June 1, 2017
Mohammed Sesay, senior legal adviser at Coram Children's Legal Centre, examines what impact the Conservatives' proposed reintroduction of selective schools would have on England's education landscape.
Prime Minister Theresa May unveiled plans last year to overturn the ban on opening grammar schools, including a £50m annual government subsidy to support selective schooling places. In April, delegates at the National Union of Teachers' national conference voted to oppose the plans, arguing they ignored evidence of the harmful effects of selective schooling on disadvantaged children and those with special educational needs.
The law on grammar schools
There is a general prohibition against state-funded schools selecting pupils on the basis of academic ability, with the exception of grammar schools that have had selective admissions arrangements in place since 1997. Under the Schools Standards and Framework Act 1998 (SSFA 1998), a grammar school is defined as one that selects all (or substantially all) of its pupils on the basis of general (academic) ability. The SSFA 1988 placed a restriction on the creation of new grammar schools, which was restated in Section 39 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006. However, the act does allow for the expansion of existing grammar schools subject to compliance with strict criteria.
Furthering education at a cost
It is argued that grammar schools can offer a superior standard of education as teaching is best done by ability, which is confirmed by the presence of streaming in UK schools. Grammar school students also have access to better opportunities later in life. Graham Brady, Conservative MP for Altrincham, highlighted that the decline in grammar schools has made it harder for mainstream-educated children to establish careers in the civil service and legal professions, which he claimed have become socially exclusive. In his opinion, reintroducing grammar schools would address this imbalance.
The counter argument is that separating children at an early age damages the confidence of children who do not perform well in an exam and that selective schools only work for children from high-income families. Entry into grammar schools is determined by a child's performance in an assessment taken at the end of primary school, commonly referred to as the 11+, and children from poorer backgrounds are in a less privileged position to prepare for the exam.
A Sutton Trust report found children from disadvantaged backgrounds are "significantly underrepresented" in grammar schools. Current and historic data show that children eligible for free school meals are less likely to attend selective schools.
School admissions process
Theresa May has argued that "selection by house price and wealth" in schools already existed, alluding to parents' ability to move into certain areas that help them meet admissions criteria. School admissions are competitive and parents keen to ensure their child attends a school of their preference will factor this in when choosing where to live. Top schools with high Ofsted ratings are often oversubscribed and calls to the Child Law Advice Service show that many parents already find the school admissions process unfair and difficult to challenge.
Currently, school admissions are governed by the School Admissions Code 2014, with every government-funded school required to have an admissions authority that publishes the arrangements for a school as well as an oversubscription criteria. Authorities must give highest priority to looked-after children and previously looked-after children. Other criteria may include residence in the catchment area; having a sibling in the school; and/or attendance at a local primary school. There may also be a "tie-breaker", which is a way of separating applications falling into any one category of the oversubscription criteria. Faith schools may have different criteria. Although parents can appeal decisions, only 13 per cent were successful last year.
While arguing that more grammar schools will result in more choice, the government has recognised the inequality and outlined plans to:
- Require schools to take a minimum number of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds
- Require grammar schools to sponsor existing underperforming non-selective academy schools
- Require grammar schools to establish new non-selective free schools or primary feeder schools in areas where there is a higher density of low-income parents.
If grammar schools are introduced without significant revisions to admissions, parents may face increased difficulty and disappointment in what is already a competitive process.
SELECTION POLICIES
- School admissions are currently governed by the School Admissions Code 2014
- Faith schools may give preference in the admission policy to members of a particular faith or denomination, provided this does not conflict in any way with other legislation
- Only designated grammar schools are permitted to select their entire intake on high academic ability
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Legal Update is produced in association with experts at Coram Children's Legal Centre www.childrenslegalcentre.com
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