Balls to map out education strategy

Jun 30 2009

Children's Secretary Ed Balls has stood by ambitious new plans for education reforms, including a legally enforceable right to one-to-one or small group tuition where pupils fall behind in school.

Mr Balls admitted that "tough decisions" would have to be made to get value for money but insisted the Government was committed to introducing the reforms.

"What I am saying today is, to parents, I want you to know that whether your child is academic, wants to go to university, (is) more practical, might want to get an apprenticeship, we will make sure that the schools give you choices, qualifications, so your child can succeed and do well," he told GMTV.

"If your child starts to fall behind, we should step in straight away and give one-to-one or small group tuition."

He was speaking ahead of setting out the Government's new education reforms, designed to drive up standards and reduce Westminster's control over schools.

The Education White Paper is expected to confirm that the Government is abandoning its National Strategies - a flagship of Labour's education policy under Tony Blair - which will end centralised prescription of teaching methods and oversight of literacy and numeracy hours in primary schools.

And it will contain details of the new US-style "report card" - which will see every school ranked on a number of measures, including behaviour, attendance and take-up of sport, as well as academic performance - and given a final overall grade.

The Government is also expected to announce plans for stronger powers for schools to ask for the imposition of parenting orders, which could mean families being forced to attend classes to learn how to control their offspring.

If parents still fail to keep children in line, they would face a £1,000 fine - and a jail sentence if they do not pay.

The wide-ranging document will further unveil plans to strengthen discipline in schools and will also set out plans to make weak schools merge with good schools to create "chains" under the authority of one headteacher.