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| Private schools plan 10,000 free places for low-income pupils | Private schools plan 10,000 free places for low-income pupils |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Private schools will offer to provide up to 10,000 free places a year to low-income families in England. | |
| The Independent Schools Council (ISC) says if the government pays £5,550 per place - the cost in the state system - the schools will cover the rest. This is expected to cost up to £80m. | The Independent Schools Council (ISC) says if the government pays £5,550 per place - the cost in the state system - the schools will cover the rest. This is expected to cost up to £80m. |
| Some pupils would be tested for academic ability but the scheme would not just target the brightest children. | |
| Chief inspector of schools Sir Michael Wilshaw said the plan was not enough. | |
| The proposal, originally seen by the BBC and now confirmed, will be made in the ISC's response to a government consultation on the future of education. | |
| The scheme would be open to primary and secondary school-age children. | |
| However, details about which families would benefit and what form the tests would take are yet to be settled and the scheme could not take place without the government's approval. | However, details about which families would benefit and what form the tests would take are yet to be settled and the scheme could not take place without the government's approval. |
| 'Tax privileges' | 'Tax privileges' |
| The plan is designed to meet government demands that - in exchange for its tax-free, charitable status - the private education sector does more for potential pupils whose families cannot afford to pay the fees. | |
| This status saves independent schools at least £150m a year. | |
| But Sir Michael said the proposal did not go far enough, adding: "I think they can do better than that and if I was government I would be asking them to do more as a quid pro quo for their tax privileges." | But Sir Michael said the proposal did not go far enough, adding: "I think they can do better than that and if I was government I would be asking them to do more as a quid pro quo for their tax privileges." |
| There are roughly 600,000 pupils in each year group in England, and private schools only educate 7% of the total school population. | |
| The ISC says independent schools will also help set up new free schools and academies in areas identified as needing extra help by ministers. | The ISC says independent schools will also help set up new free schools and academies in areas identified as needing extra help by ministers. |
| The government's Schools that Work for Everyone consultation, which set out plans for new grammar schools, included demands on independent schools. | The government's Schools that Work for Everyone consultation, which set out plans for new grammar schools, included demands on independent schools. |
| It said they must support existing state schools, open new ones or offer funded places to children whose families could not afford fees. | It said they must support existing state schools, open new ones or offer funded places to children whose families could not afford fees. |
| It proposed setting "benchmarks" for public schools, and suggested new legislation could see them stripped of their charitable status if they failed to reach those benchmarks. | It proposed setting "benchmarks" for public schools, and suggested new legislation could see them stripped of their charitable status if they failed to reach those benchmarks. |
| 'Crumbs off your tables' | 'Crumbs off your tables' |
| The ISC said its offer would provide a number of school places equivalent to building 10 state secondary schools. | The ISC said its offer would provide a number of school places equivalent to building 10 state secondary schools. |
| It says it already provides 40,000 bursaries worth £350m, but only 5,500 of these provide fully funded places. | It says it already provides 40,000 bursaries worth £350m, but only 5,500 of these provide fully funded places. |
| Critics have often questioned whether private schools deserve to be charities. | Critics have often questioned whether private schools deserve to be charities. |
| In 2013, Sir Michael told them they were providing no more than the "crumbs off your tables" with support for state schools. | In 2013, Sir Michael told them they were providing no more than the "crumbs off your tables" with support for state schools. |
| If put in place, the proposal would introduce a system similar in scale to the Assisted Places Scheme, which gave more than 75,000 pupils private educations between 1980 and 1998. | If put in place, the proposal would introduce a system similar in scale to the Assisted Places Scheme, which gave more than 75,000 pupils private educations between 1980 and 1998. |
| It was scrapped by Labour to save money that Tony Blair's government said would be spent reducing class sizes in primary schools. | It was scrapped by Labour to save money that Tony Blair's government said would be spent reducing class sizes in primary schools. |
| Former Labour Education Secretary Estelle Morris said the proposal would "skim off" some of the brightest pupils from mixed-ability classrooms in the state sector. | |
| She added that many of these pupils would more than likely have done well in comprehensives anyway. | |
| But Barnaby Lenon, ISC chairman, said the free places would be welcomed by parents and would expand social mobility. | |
| A spokesman for the Department for Education said: "We welcome contributions to the consultation and will respond in due course." | A spokesman for the Department for Education said: "We welcome contributions to the consultation and will respond in due course." |
| Were you on the Assisted Places Scheme? Email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk with your stories. | |
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