Schools Bill [HL]

Debate between Lord Shipley and Baroness Fox of Buckley

Report stage & Lords Hansard - Part 2
Tuesday 12th July 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Shipley (LD)]

My Lords, Amendment 64 would require the Secretary of State to create a framework for careers education in primary schools and to give financial assistance to primary schools in areas of disadvantage to deliver the programme. We did effectively discuss this amendment in Committee three weeks ago, on 20 June, and in her reply the Minister said that the Government did in fact want to do this and would announce details in due course. I am delighted that, last week, the Department for Education issued a tender for the delivery of a programme for careers provision in primary schools in areas of disadvantage. I just want to acknowledge that; it is a most welcome development.

As we said in Committee, this is an issue of social mobility; it is about levelling up; it is about widening children’s and young people’s horizons. There is so much evidence that shows that if you start talking about careers guidance only at secondary school, it can be too late for some, because some children, at the age of seven, have already formed life-defining decisions about the kinds of careers they aspire to. I do not wish to take any more of the House’s time but I just acknowledge that the Government have made a very helpful move with the issue of the tender. I shall be withdrawing the amendment, but for now, I beg to move.

[Baroness Fox of Buckley (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, I want to raise some quick reservations about Amendments 64, 112 and 113. I apologise that I did not speak on this before: it was always grouped with other things that I was speaking on. I absolutely understand the sentiment behind improving careers education; I just want to get some clarification on the focus of these amendments.

One real worry for me over recent years has been the constant instrumentalisation of education for non-educational outcomes—schools are always asked to solve economic, social and cultural problems. Even though performance at school can of course be related to job prospects, I am worried that a utilitarian approach to school as a means to gain employment seems far too narrow and can backfire. I would like some reassurance that a focus on careers education will not lead to that.

As a teacher for many years, years ago, I always found it very dispiriting when pupils and students adopted a rather philistine attitude and would say things like, “What’s the point of studying Jane Austen or Shakespeare? It won’t get me a job.” Knowledge for its own sake was always sneered at, and that is perfectly understandable; they were teenagers, and it was a battle one had in the classroom. The argument was always, “Why don’t you teach us relevant, useful skills that will help me earn some money—not all this guff?” I just want to ensure that we do not inadvertently encourage that kind of philistinism here. I suppose I am wary that too much focus on careers education can chip away at the importance of what is a young person’s entitlement, even if they do not thank you at the time, to the best of what is known and thought, regardless of whether the students appreciate why it is important, or even if it is totally useless for job acquisition.

In that context, I worry about the proposed mandatory work experience of 10 days in one of the amendments, when there is so much to teach the young. I also notice the amendments focusing on primary schools. Although it has just been explained why—that by seven, perhaps you are already fixed in life—I am less deterministic. For primary school pupils in particular, it is a time for dreaming, imagination and a notion that the world is one’s oyster—that you can be anything—and I am concerned about bringing them down to earth with a mighty bump if we send them off on careers skills education.