Birmingham Schools

Debate between Lord Gove and David Nuttall

Monday 9th June 2014 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

I totally agree with the Home Secretary and I think that her leadership on counter-extremism has been exemplary.

[Mr David Nuttall (Bury North) (Con)]

Does my right hon. Friend agree that the findings of these reports demonstrate the need to ensure that there is a breadth of views on school governing bodies? One way of achieving that is to ensure that there are governors of different faiths on governing bodies and that they are encouraged to take a proactive role so that pupils receive a balanced education.

[Michael Gove]

My hon. Friend makes a characteristically acute and pertinent point.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Gove and David Nuttall

Monday 6th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr David Nuttall (Bury North) (Con)]

1. What assessment he has made of the performance of primary schools which have attained academy status.

[The Secretary of State for Education (Michael Gove)]

I associate myself and those on the Front Bench, Mr Speaker, with your generous words towards Paul Goggins and his family. We all wish him a very speedy recovery.

In 2013, the proportion of pupils who achieved the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics improved significantly more in sponsored academies than in local authority schools.

[Mr Nuttall]

I wish you, Mr Speaker, and the whole House all the best for 2014.

I am most grateful to the Secretary of State for that reply. Having been judged inadequate by Ofsted in each of the past two years, Elton primary school in my constituency is now the subject of a consultation with a view to its becoming an academy. Will my right hon. Friend reassure me and those parents who have concerns that all the evidence suggests that such a move is more likely to be beneficial than detrimental to their children’s education?

[Michael Gove]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Parents are naturally nervous whenever there is a change of management or leadership in any school and so they should be—they care about their children. The evidence points to the fact that when primary and secondary schools have been converted to academies, they have made significant improvements. One of the most controversial academy conversions happened in Haringey when Downhills school was taken over by the Harris chain. That met furious opposition from the unions and some Labour MPs, but children in that school are now flourishing at last, as are children in so many other academy schools.

GCSEs

Debate between Lord Gove and David Nuttall

Tuesday 11th June 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr David Nuttall (Bury North) (Con)]

Does the Secretary of State agree that as a majority of people believe that GCSEs have become easier in recent years, these substantial reforms are essential to restore the confidence of employers and further education establishments in the GCSE system?

[Michael Gove]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I know he is committed to education—we first met in a school in his constituency—and I know he absolutely believes that we need to restore confidence in these examinations. The only people who are let down if there is not public confidence in these examinations are young people, and he is absolutely right to point out that confidence has been eroded over time.

Exam Reform

Debate between Lord Gove and David Nuttall

Monday 17th September 2012 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

Yes, I would be happy to share with the hon. Lady the work that has been done by the university of Durham, the Royal Society of Chemistry, Ofqual, Ofsted and King’s College London, all of which have pointed out the way in which the current model of GCSE examination needs to change. I would also be happy to share with her best practice in every successful education jurisdiction, which stresses a broad curriculum of the kind that the English baccalaureate aspires to provide.

[Mr David Nuttall (Bury North) (Con)]

I thank the Secretary of State for his statement. Does my right hon. Friend agree that, to reassure everyone of the rigour of the new exam, no pupil should be regarded as having passed it unless they achieve a mark of at least 50%?

[Michael Gove]

I take my hon. Friend’s point. When I was re-reading Mike Tomlinson’s report into what went wrong with A-levels under the last Labour Government, I noted that he made the point that it is very difficult for the public to understand how exam boards convert raw marks into particular scores and then particular grades. It is an opaque process that impedes understanding. I think that my hon. Friend the Member for New Forest East (Dr Lewis) made the point that greater granular detail about attainment can help us all understand how marks are awarded. The simplicity that my hon. Friend the Member for Bury North (Mr Nuttall) wants is not always available to us, but we should aspire to it.