The stated policy intentions of the Government’s consultation paper are to:

• expand radically the number of good school places available to all families, by providing the right incentives for all schools with a strong track record and valuable expertise to expand their offer to even more pupils;

• leverage the expertise of high performing institutions to set up new good places in the state sector as well as turn-around existing schools; and

• deliver a diverse school system that provides all children, whatever their background, with schooling that will help them achieve their potential.

The non-selective state sector is by far the largest school sector, and almost nine out of ten such schools are good or outstanding. This sector is surely absolutely key to making these policy intentions a reality.

We are concerned that there is a significant mismatch between the government’s policy intentions and the proposals in the consultation document. There are many excellent independent, faith and grammar schools. However, there is no evidence that increasing selective provision will raise attainment, improve social mobility, or meet the government’s stated policy intentions.

Read the full response here.