You can't learn English without talking to English people

I had a letter in the BEP today, in response to a Conservative Councillor's suggestion that a separate academy should be set up to teach children who don't have English as a first language, so that other children don't get held back by them.

The letter is self-explanatory but Councillor Abraham clearly has no idea how quickly young children pick up English. I had an friend at school, whose parents only spoke Italian at home. She started school not knowing more than a few words of English, but very quickly became bilingual. Ditto my nephews and nieces who lived in Spain for five years, picking up not just Spanish but Valencian too. And I've dropped in on an additional language class being held at one of the local secondary schools for pupils who have just arrived in England; I think there was one Somali pupil and the other four or five were from the EU accession countries. One little girl in particular, who'd been in the UK all of three months, was incredibly fluent in English already. OK, such pupils need a bit of extra attention and a bit of extra support, but it's not the children's lack of English we should be worrying about; it's their parents. But that's a topic for another day....

MPs to be banned from schools?

As a supplementary to today's Indy story about authors visiting schools, these new rules will also apply to politicians, I'm told. From September any MP visiting a school in his or her constituency will need a CRB check. No problem with that, you might think, but to get a check carried out you need a sponsoring organisation, which would usually be your employer. I've just bumped into a Labour MP who tells me that the House of Commons authorities are refusing to act as sponsor. This resurrects the whole problem of who exactly is your employer as an MP? The House of Commons authorities? The people who voted for you? The Prime Minister/ leader of your party?

Try renting a flat as an MP and being asked for an employer's reference, which was the situation I was in when I was first elected. I can't remember how I resolved that condundrum in the end. I certainly didn't manage to persuade Tony Blair to write one!

I've already had a CRB check, which was required when I went out to India with two fifteen year olds from a Bristol school. The trip and the CRB check was arranged by WorldVision as part of the Global Campaign for Education. Not sure if it's still in force though, as it was spring 2008. The MP tells me he's on the case, but we need to get it sorted before September, which is always the best time for MPs to visit schools as they're back and we're back at work but not in Parliament. (This will of course be disputed by those who are convinced we're all about to disappear on a 12 week cruise around the Caribbean.)

OK - yet another postscript. I now have it on very good authority that MPs will not be required to have CRB or ISA clearance before visiting schools. Nor will authors unless they are regular visitors. This statement is now on the DCSF website:

16 July 2009
In response to various stories about authors having to be vetted before being allowed to go into schools to read to children, the DCSF has issued the following statement: “These checks have been misunderstood. Authors, MPs or anyone else will not have to register with the Vetting and Barring Scheme if they work with children once or infrequently. People working in schools will only be required to register if they work with children on a regular basis. “These rules do not apply to visitors to a school, but only to people working in schools on a regular basis. The rules apply even if the person working is supervised by a teacher at all times, as they are being placed in a unique position of trust where they can easily become deeply liked and trusted by pupils. We therefore need to be sure that this trust is well placed, in case pupils bump into them out of school where a teacher is not present. “While we fully accept that the vast majority of workers or volunteers would never abuse their position of trust, parents would not want adults working regularly with young children, even on a voluntary basis, without any sort of background check at all. That would be irresponsible. This applies as much to famous authors as it does to cleaners, admin staff or fire-fighters giving safety talks. We are very grateful to authors who give up their time to read to children, young people really benefit from it.”

So, it seems that MPs won't need checks on the basis that there is no danger of them becoming 'deeply liked and trusted' by the pupils!

School

OK, time for some serious stuff. Did a fair bit of running around today, so haven't had time to digest the detail of Bristol's GCSE results yet, but just want to congratulate Ray at the City Academy for breaking the 60% barrier (it was 22% in 2001, before they went for academy status) and Armando at Brunel Academy for a stupendous achievement in his first year running the new school (62% getting 5 good GCSEs, compared to 30% at the old school, Speedwell, in 2007). Armando used to be Ray's deputy at the City Academy, and I suspect may be just a teeny bit pleased that his school has done just that little bit better! Of course there's still plenty of room for improvement, and there needs to be a real focus on increasing the number of pupils with 5 GSCEs including English and Maths (although this was up 11% at Brunel and 2% at the City Academy).

Just for the record, 49% of pupils at the City Academy receive free school meals, (I think the Bristol average is around 17%). It's the local school for children living in Lawrence Hill, which is the 19th most economically deprived ward in England/Wales. 38% of the pupils have English as an additional language, and 68% are from ethnic minority groups. I say this because I'm sick of hearing people rubbish what these schools have achieved by accusing them of operating selection by the backdoor. They don't - and from what I know of the two headteachers involved, they wouldn't want to, even if they could.

Visit to Millpond School

Had a really, really enjoyable meeting this morning with Year 6 pupils from Millpond School. I don't think I've ever met a bunch of kids who were so interested, so keen to ask questions - there were hands going up all over the place. I stayed for 90 minutes, and they still hadn't run out of things to say. Sometimes - usually with teenagers! - it's difficult to get much out of them and the teachers ended up asking all the questions, but these kids were great.

A lot of the questions were about what politicians could do to stop people smoking, drinking, dropping rubbish, carrying knives, carrying guns, etc, including this: "If smoking kills, as it says on cigarette packets, why isn't it illegal?" Good point!

We got into quite a debate about how laws can be passed to stop people doing things, and how this will mean that the majority of people comply - e.g. when seatbelts were made compulsory, most people starting buckling up. Then there's the issue of enforcement; some people will comply only if they think they're going to get caught. But the police have to prioritise what they do, so can't always be there to stop them. And then there's social pressure, when things like smoking in public places and drink driving becoming increasingly unacceptable.

When it came to talking about litter, I told them a couple of anecdotes. The first was when I was driving out towards Avonmouth one evening, stuck in traffic behind a minibus. The back doors of the minibus opened, and a carrier bag full of rubbish was dropped bang in the middle of the dual carriageway. And then they drove off. Then a couple of weeks ago, I was in traffic in London; the passenger door of the car in front opened, and a Wagamama bag, presumably full of leftovers, was again deposited on the highway. We've all seen people throw cans and crisp packets out of car windows, but I've never seen anything quite so blatant before. (And don't you kind of assume that people who buy takeaways from Wagamama wouldn't be the sort to dump rubbish in the road?)

The pupils looked suitably horrified when I told them about this. They were also really keen to tell me what they'd learned in lessons about the environment, and to discuss what could be done to encourage people to do more to tackle climate change; I told them the most important thing they could do was to evangelise about these issues to their parents, grandparents and anyone else they could win over. When they're not busy nagging their parents about smoking and drinking and walking to work, that is.

I'd say they were the brightest, best bunch of 10 year olds I've ever met. They've promised to write to me, and to have a look at my website. I really hope that in years to come I bump into some of them again, as they make their way through secondary school. And I hope they stay just as enthusiastic and passionate about the issues we discussed.

Get voting!

On the subject of schools, I'm somewhat surprised by what appears to be an almost total lack of interest in the poll on my website on how we can raise school standards in Bristol. The website is getting more than 2000 hits some days (and they can't all be my mother) but no-one is voting. My theories are (a) most of the people who look at the website aren't from Bristol, or (b) people only vote when it's a for or against poll, i.e. a battle to be won, or (c) people have been given too many choices and can't decide what answer to opt for. (The last poll, which had five options too, didn't attract that much attention either). I know the polls are unscientific, but I am genuinely interested in the results. I think the next one will have to be something more controversial...

Stealth learning

I suppose there's a pretty good chance that those of you who read the Guardian don't always read Tuesday's Education supplement. This week's featured the Assistant Head of Ashton Park school in Bristol talking about a programme called Enquiring Minds, developed by Futurelab, which aims to encourage pupils to develop a more questioning approach to their studies and to work independently. It's something I've seen in action on a smaller, informal scale in the Bristol schools in my constituency, and I think it's fascinating. The idea is that the teacher acts as a facilitator, but it's the children who decide on an issue they're interested in, and have to motivate themselves to develop a project and explore it in detail.

The feature doesn't seem to be online - perhaps because it was a supplement to the supplement (it's entitled 'stealth learning') - but it's worth digging out of the recycling bin.

New poll on website

A topical issue.... school standards, and what can be done to improve them?

This comes at a time when Bristol City Council is reviewing primary school structures, with suggested amalgamations of infant and junior schools so that all schools are primaries, from reception through to age 11; the federation of some primary schools (as happens in the secondary sector with, for example, John Cabot CTC providing executive leadership for Bristol Brunel Academy); and the closure of some of the smallest schools. The area of my constituency most affected by this is Stockwood, with the suggested closure of Stockwood Green school - which is lovely, but tiny - and the federation of Waycroft and Burnbush. Elsewhere infant and junior schools such as Air Balloon, Summerhill and Broomhill, to name just a few, are earmarked to become primaries.

Nationally, the Government has signalled that it is not prepared to accept below par results from secondary schools, with the launch of its National Challenge to raise results in English and Maths. At the moment, schools such as Brislington, Whitefields and the City Academy would be caught by the Government's proposals: last year the figures for pupils getting 5 GCSEs, including English and Maths, at Grades A-C were 29% for Whitefields; 26% for BEC and 21% for the Academy. (In the Academy's defence, it should be noted that the overall proportion of pupils getting 5 GCSEs - i.e. in any subjects - has been around the 50% mark for the last few years, which is above the Bristol average. And it does have a particularly challenging intake to work with; on contextual value added scores, it's one of the best schools in the country.) But I'm glad the Government has announced extra money to help tackle this.

In the Government's Children’s Plan, it says that by 2020 at least 90 per cent of children will achieve the equivalent of five higher level GCSEs by age 19. I think the idea of requiring children to try and try again until they reach the required standard is a good one - as I think used to happen with the old School Certificate, although I am basing that entirely on my reading of Enid Blyton books during a misspent childhood! I know some people (by which I mostly mean Tories) argue that some children simply aren't academic, and if they don't thrive at school they should be allowed to leave early and go down the pit or up a chimney or whatever. But basic literacy and numeracy skills are so important, I don't think we can allow that to happen. What if someone leaves school without qualifications, goes into a labouring job, but suffers an industrial accident a few years later, which means they can't do manual work anymore? Are they going to spend four decades of their life on incapacity benefit? (OK, they could retrain as adults, but it's a difficult transition for many people to make. We should be ensuring that our education system equips young people for whatever life may throw at them).

Am going to try to collar the Schools Minister, Jim Knight, during the Terrorism Bill votes tonight, to discuss further. In the meantime - start voting!

Men reading books

At the relaunch of Air Balloon's after school club today, I saw on the wall a photo-montage of men sitting reading with children; I was quite struck by the photos, some of which were quite touching, showing what were obviously quite tough, working-class men engrossed in children's story books with young pupils. Turns out that the headmaster had had the bright idea of inviting fathers, grandfathers and other male relatives into the school to encourage boys to read more. More than 100 men turned up which is really impressive. I think it's something which ought to be replicated in schools across Bristol.

Just a list of things to do tomorrow...

I don't know why I always end up staying up to watch 'This Week' on a Thursday, when I've arrived home late from London and I've got a really busy day to follow and, more to the point, it's rubbish (Bruce Forsyth talking about US politics? Lord Levy posing on a tennis court? Andrew Neil just being Andrew Neil?)

My first appointment tomorrow is at Trinity Road police station, to talk to an officer about vice and drugs. Then it's Refugee Action, to talk about Government policy on asylum seekers. Then the office, to sign letters and to take a scheduled phone call from the Department of Health. Then I''m off to the brand new Bristol Metropolitan school (formerly Whitefield Fishponds) - I'm really looking forward to that as I've visited a number of times when building was in progress and I've heard that the new school is phenomenal. After that it's the launch of an after school club at Air Balloon school. Then it's the second meeting of the fledging Somali forum in Barton Hill. And then our monthly Labour Party meeting (and I've just realised I haven't written my GC report to members and won't have time to do it tomorrow... oh dear).

Lord Levy is now talking about the 10p tax rate. I'm off to bed.