- guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 14 May 2008 16.32 BST
Ed Balls: gets new powers to force local authorities to intervene in failing schools. Photograph: Jonathan Buckmaster/AP
The government is planning to boost the powers of ministers, allowing them to intervene more directly in schools suspected of failing.
The draft legislative programme announced by prime minister Gordon Brown today addresses the problem of faltering school performances, which is still a huge concern for a government that put education at the heart of its manifesto when it came to power.
The measures are aimed at addressing government concerns over the 638 "failing schools" where fewer than 30% of pupils get five A* to C grades at GCSE, including English and maths.
A new education bill would give the schools secretary, Ed Balls, new powers to force local authorities to intervene early where schools were "seriously underperforming".
There are also plans to expand the number of apprenticeships and look at giving England's 22 million employees the legal right to request time to train from their employers.
The bill takes forward the policy objectives set out in the Children's Plan published last December, aimed at improving children's lives by 2013.
Ministers are seriously concerned about the widening gap in attainment between poor pupils and their peers. The bill will set out how pupils who are falling behind will receive targeted support to help them keep up, including the possibility of one-to-one tuition.
Children's trusts will take responsibility for improving children's lives by joining up local services, with a particular focus on supporting children with additional needs.
Pupil referral units will be reformed after the schools watchdog, Ofsted, said last year that too many units let their pupils down. Local partnerships will be bolstered to provide better support for vulnerable children and improve behaviour and attendance.
The bill proposes to make schools more accountable to parents who will get a greater say on raising standards and the need for new schools.
Christine Gilbert, the chief inspector at Ofsted, said today a new consultation would look at arrangements for parents to trigger school inspections.
Arrangements for 14-19 education, a key policy area, will be streamlined while funding and responsibility for 16-18 education will be transferred to local authorities.
Brown said: "Attaining the highest of education standards as we expand opportunity is the theme of the new education bill - for schools and lifelong learning.
"It is unfair to consign any child to a poor school or even one that is coasting along without the ambition to do better. So having legislated this year for education to 18, there will be a second education bill to support our plan to ensure that, by 2011, no school is underperforming.
"There will be the first independent qualifications system to guarantee to parents the highest standards. There will be more power for parents to receive regular information on their children's progress and, as we expand academies, reform to strengthen the accountability of schools to parents, giving them a bigger say on how to raise standards and whether new schools are needed in an area."
Balls said schools had been transformed since Labour came to power but increasing the powers of local authorities would give every child "an excellent education and the chance to reach their full potential".
Teachers called the bill a "mix of good and bad".
Christine Blower, acting general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said: "Of course an expansion in apprenticeships and second chances in education is vital. And one-to-one tuition for pupils who need it is long overdue.
"But schools need an expansion of top-down accountability like a hole in the head. Before the government leaps to legislation, it should review the crushing and oppressive accountability structure already experienced by schools. Simply adding punitive intervention powers for local authorities is hardly going to gain the confidence of teachers."
School leaders called for a halt to the "treadmill of education legislation".
Dr John Dunford, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: "The current education and skills bill hasn't yet gone through parliament and ministers are already busy planning the next round of legislation.
"More than 20 education acts have been passed in the last 20 years and the very last thing schools and colleges needs is more change. We understand the need for legislation to create Ofqual [the qualifications regulator]. However, heads and principals are weary of this annual treadmill of education bills and need time to implement the legislation that is already in the statute books."
He said underperforming schools were already being improved and legislation to make school-to-school support work well was unnecessary.
"Schools are already improving the quality of information to parents and we welcome the government's decision to consult the profession before deciding whether to legislate on parental engagement. ASCL is clear that this does not require further legislation."
Martin Johnson, the eputy general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said the government was right to focus on improving the opportunities for students who were failed by the system.
"We support the emphasis on education and training for the over 16s, but are not convinced the opportunities being offered are the right ones," he said.
"Education should give all children the opportunity to learn and gain skills. However, the government will not cut the number of so-called failing schools until it accepts the overwhelming evidence that the major cause is an unbalanced intake of pupils from different backgrounds, and finds a way to deal with this."
