Government quizzes children’s directors on education reforms

Education minister Andrew Adonis has ordered department officials to call every director of children’s services to discover their views on the schools white paper.

The consultation comes after several MPs have spoken out publicly against the white paper.

Chris Waterman, executive director of the Confederation of Education and Children’s Services Managers, said that it was “regrettable” that the government had not issued a green paper prior to the white paper allowing people to “respond in detail in the normal way”.

“In honesty it’s a bit late to ring three months after a document has been published,” he said.

However, Waterman concluded there is still time for the forthcoming education bill to be changed in light of directors’ opinions.