Tower Hamlets Liberal Democrats comment on personal statement by Ruth Kelly

3.45.59pm UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 8th Jan 2007

Former Education Minister in the Labour Government, Ruth Kelly MP, has today issued a personal statement about her decision to withdraw her son from a state school in Tower Hamlets in order to continue his education in the private sector. Tower Hamlets Liberal Democrats have issued the following comment:

We are sympathetic to the decision that has been made by Ruth Kelly and her family. Every child is unique and special, and when a child has a particular educational need, we believe it is up to the family to decide how best to meet that need.

Tower Hamlets Schools offer a variety of educational provision for children with special educational needs. In this case, the family feel that it would be better for the child to attend a specialist school in the private sector. We note that Ms Kelly's other children will continue to be educated in the Borough.

Cllr Stephanie Eaton, Leader of the Liberal Democrat group commented: "The Borough is proud of the overall improvement in its schools. However, the quality of education received by our young people is variable, and some of our schools are still in special measures. We need to work to ensure that all of our children, especially those with special educational needs, can get an excellent education in the state sector in Tower Hamlets. As not all of our parents have the choice to go private, our schools must be at least as good as those in the private sector."

Cllr Dr Stephanie Eaton is the lead Scrutiny Member for Learning, Achievement and Leisure on Tower Hamlets Council and is a Senior Lecturer in Criminology at Kingston University.