Ruth Kelly named as Labour minister sending a child to private school

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Ruth Kelly, leaving her home this morning

Former Education Secretary Ruth Kelly has been named as the minister who has sent one of her children to a £15,000-a-year private school.

The disclosure that she removed the child from a state school caused anger among some Labour MPs and brought charges of hypocrisy.

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Ms Kelly, who was herself educated privately at Millfield and Westminster, was planning to make a full statement on why she made the decision later today.

Up to eight months ago she was the minister responsible for schools, suggesting she chose to reject the state sector while in charge of it.

The school she has chosen is based at a country house and offers some 60 pupils aged up to 13 the use of a swimming pool, tennis courts and music rooms. It is understood her child has dyslexia and she decided that her local schools in east London were not suitable.

The independent school is said to provide intensive one-to-one tuition and to excel at helping similar children. However, an Evening Standard analysis of schools close to her home reveal that she ignored six, including one Catholic school, that provide specialist help for dyslexic children.

Tower Hamlets education authority denied that it was unable to provide a suitable education.

The analysis of official inspection reports shows that 14 of the 20 primary schools in the minister's postcode provided services for children with special needs that education watchdog Ofsted said were "good". Six were described as "excellent" or "outstanding" in this area.

Labour was criticised while Ms Kelly was education secretary for closing special schools that cater for children with learning difficulties.

The Government's "inclusion" policy dictates that children with special needs - even severe ones - should be taught in ordinary primaries and secondaries. Ministers deny a deliberate policy to shut special schools. But figures show that since 1997, some 117 have closed, including 26 in 2004-5.

Tory leader David Cameron has called for a moratorium on further closures.

Tower Hamlets schools cater for unusually high levels of children whose first language is not English, with percentages well above average even for London - and large numbers of children with special educational needs.

By contrast, the private school the Communities Secretary has chosen has a record of preparing children for Eton and Harrow.

But Mr Cameron, whose disabled son Ivan goes to a state-run special school, defended her decision. "She is a parent first, rather than a politician," he said. "She must do her best by her children.

"Some people say it is hypocrisy. If they were going to abolish private education it would be different but they are not."

He added: "I would like my children to go to state schools but we must all do the right thing as parents. People need to recognise that politicians are parents like everyone else."

Education Secretary Alan Johnson said: "I think people would want to ensure that the child at the centre of this has their privacy protected."

Ms Kelly's decision was first reported in the Mail on Sunday, which did not name her. But her identity was reported in the Labour-supporting Daily Mirror and on TV and radio this morning despite her attempts to keep it secret.

Teachers' union leaders accused the minister of reinforcing the middle class reluctance to send their children to state schools that Labour was committed to stopping.

The Association of Teachers and Lecturers said Ms Kelly enjoyed the advantage of living in the "best-funded" borough in Britain for state schools.

An ATL spokeswoman added: "The state education system needs the support of the wealthy and the privileged and these families should be staying in the system to make sure they apply their skills to improve the system for everyone."

The inspection reports for all 20 schools in Tower Hamlets showed Ofsted judged their overall standards were at least satisfactory.

Only one admitted its Special Educational Needs (SEN) teaching was not as good as it should be, according to inspectors.

The local authority was this year awarded the highest possible grade for its education and children's social services by Ofsted and the Commission for Social Care Improvement. A spokeswoman said: "We recognise that every child has different needs and every parent has to work out how best to meet them. Our schools are well-resourced and provide high-quality education for all."

It is the latest in a series of rows over Labour ministers' choice of schools.

Tony Blair, among others, was lambasted in the mid-Nineties for choosing a grant-maintained school for his two eldest sons, the London Oratory in Fulham, and avoiding the comprehensives in his home borough of Islington.

Labour MPs have criticised Ms Kelly - and some may raise it at a private meeting of backbenchers tonight.

Left-winger Ann Cryer said: "MPs should try to get state provision for their children because that is what we believe in."

She added that if more middle class parents kept their children in the state sector then "the schools would be better". Norwich North MP Ian Gibson labelled the move "wrong". He said: "I deprecate anybody, any minister who chooses to do this. You should set an example as a minister and support your local school.

"It's a slap in the face for the teachers and the pupils in the school that the child has been taken out of."

Birmingham Selly Oak MP Lynne Jones said: "I think it goes against the principles of the Labour Party. I am saddened by this and it makes me wonder about the sort of people who achieve high office who are in New Labour."

Austin Mitchell, MP for Great Grimsby, said: "I think we should expect Labour ministers to put their children through the state system. I deplore others transferring their children out of the system to go private."

 

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