Baroness Butler-Sloss (CB)

My Lords, I declare my interest that I went to an independent school, as did my children. I must say, like many others have said so far today, that doing that spent all our money. We did not take foreign holidays and things like that, but it was worth it. I strongly support what the noble Lord, Lord Hacking, said, as well as many other speakers. The Government have not looked across the independent sector; they have concentrated on the great schools. As has been said, the great schools will survive, probably largely because of foreign pupils. I have had a lot of experience of small independent schools, right across the country, and I have had—like everyone else here, I am sure—endless emails from parents from small independent schools, many of which are likely to close. They are often local, and parents have put their children in them for very good reasons. One example I read was of a nine year-old autistic boy who is extremely clever. In the state sector, he was absolutely hopeless. He was removed and sent to a small independent school, where he was cherished. That sort of child may well cope in ordinary school if he has sufficient help, which this child did not have. I also have a personal experience. One of my grandsons is profoundly deaf. He is American, and he went to an independent school in Los Angeles because he could not cope with a lot of noise and had to sit at the front of the class to be sure to hear what was going on. I am sure that similarly profoundly deaf children in this country going through ordinary education would not necessarily have a very good time. I have to say that I am very concerned for the people on modest incomes—many of your Lordships have already been talking about modest incomes—who are still taking the trouble to spend money on education rather than on holidays and other things. That is what is being attacked here with this proposal. As I said, many small schools are almost certain to close. What on earth will the effect be if, in the middle of the academic year, a considerable number of children have to go into the state sector? We know that many schools in the state sector are overfull already, and the teachers will not be there because the money has not yet been raised. I am particularly concerned with pupils in their GCSE and A-level years; nobody has yet spoken particularly about those two groups. How on earth will they go into the state system with probably a completely different programme, working in a state where they absolutely will not be able to cope with what is going to happen? If they do not look at anything else, the Government must look at January. Finally, I ask them to please look at SEND, at special schools for other needs and at military schools.