Former education secretaries Lord Blunkett and Lord Baker have given powerful speeches in the House of Lords today, calling for UTCs to be exempted from the Schools Bill’s requirement that all schools teach the national curriculum.
Lord Blunkett, who has two grandchildren studying at UTC Sheffield City Centre with another starting in September, expressed his hope the National Curriculum requirement will not “interfere with the innovation and creativity of UTCs.”
Baker Dearing’s Life President Lord Baker asked the government to “think again” on the national curriculum requirement and highlighted that Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson MP visited UTC South Durham as a shadow minister and that Skills Minister Baroness Jacqui Smith earlier this year visited Aston University Engineering Academy to see the high-quality, employer-led provision of UTCs.
Lords Blunkett and Baker speaking to peers this afternoon during the second reading of the Schools Bill.
Lord Aberdare, who served on the Education for 11-16 Year Olds Select Committee during the previous Parliament, told peers that “skills-based subjects require greater flexibility,” and he praised UTCs for “providing a more work-focused balance between academic skills and marketable job-related skills.”
Lord Daniel Hannan said UTCs have an “extraordinary success rate by any definition,” with over 86 per cent being rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted. He also mentioned the new UTCs in Southampton and Doncaster, responding to local demand.
