- guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 29 January 2008 10.48 GMT
The Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg accused the government of leaving Britain "shamed by the scars of poverty and social deprivation" in his first major speech on education last night.
Clegg told the Public Management and Policy Association in London that education "should still be the key that unlocks human potential and it should still be 'the way out' for ambitious young people who want to grasp the opportunities that exist in life".
His party would do away with selection in academies, trust and foundation schools so that "a minority of schools don't skim off the brightest pupils at will".
"I want pupils picking schools, not schools picking pupils," he said. "I want to see local comprehensives competing with academies, trusts schools and foundation schools to get poorer kids, rather than bright kids, on their roll."
He said the party's proposed "pupil premium" would raise funding for the poorest pupils up to the level of private ones.
Schools would receive a cash bonus for every deprived student that they accept, which would make poorer pupils more attractive to successful schools and poorer schools more affluent.
He also announced plans for "free schools", which can be run by organisations or individuals, providing they are reliable, ambitious, independently assessed. The schools must have no academic selection.
He said: "Local government will have strategic oversight. Headteachers will be free to innovate - released from bureaucratic constraints.
"Free schools will harness the energy and enthusiasm of private individuals to boost academic performance and provide opportunities for all children from every walk of life."
Clegg criticised the government's target that no school should have less than 30% of pupils achieving five good GCSEs including English and maths. He said no fewer than half of pupils should achieve that level.
"Nearly 60% of pupils attend schools which fail to get those results for half of their pupils. I do not accept that these figures are the best that Britain can do," he said. "Nor do I believe that it is acceptable that attainment should be so closely related to poverty."
He added: "Under the right direction, schools with the poorest pupils can still get good results."
He has established a schools working group to find practical ways to ensure quality education and real opportunity throughout schools. In particular, focusing early years education on developing the listening and speaking abilities of all kids.
Clegg said he would make all parents aware of their childcare entitlements because not every parent - and particularly those who do not meet with other parents - did not all know that every pre-school child is entitled to 12 and a half hours of childcare with an educational element.
"Often these are the parents who are struggling hardest to raise their family. And it is their children who stand to benefit most from pre-school education," he said.
He would extend the childcare tax credit to cover workless households too, on the condition that it is used for education.
Of this, he said: "Children whose parents are out of work are often the very kids who stand to gain most from additional years education. That pre-school education must provide our young people with the tools they need to make the most of future years at school.
"The shocking truth is that half of children from deprived areas start school without basic speaking and listening skills."
