The School Standards and Framework Bill and the Family (Paperback)

The government went into election with the priority of "education, education, education", and promised to raise standards in schools. So educational reform is central to its welfare to work agenda, both as a means of improving young people's employability, and also through raising school achievement enabling the UK to compete more successfully in the global economy. The government set out its plans for raising school standards in the White Paper "Excellence in Schools" which was published in August 1997 (DfEE 1997a). The School Standards and Framework Bill is the vehicle for implementing those parts of the agenda that require legislation. (The Bill deals with England and Wales only). This briefing looks at the measures in the Bill which affect families most directly. It considers whether the drive to raise standards will impact equally on all families, or whether some will benefit more than others. It then looks at three specific areas - home-school agreements, early years' learning, and exclusions - which directly affect parents.