A report from the Commons education select committee has called for a series of changes to their schools white paper.

The study, backed by Labour and Liberal Democrat members of the committee, called for a strengthening of the admissions process to prevent selection, including a ban on admission interviews.

They also backed a bigger role for local education authorities.

The three Conservative committee members largely gave their backing to the proposals being put forward by the education secretary and prime minister.

The Conservatives said the majority report would mean "a return to the old model of education which has let down too many children".

But the Liberal Democrats backed the findings, saying the government's plans would "increase social segregation".

Stakeholder Response: NASUWT

Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT, said: "NASUWT welcomes a number of the key recommendations in the report as they have the potential to move an increasingly entrenched debate forward.

"The proposal to regulate admissions procedures is a move in the right direction and the committee is right to cite the divisive and invidious practice of interviewing pupils and parents for school places as an example of what needs to be outlawed.

"It is disappointing that the recommendation stops short of making the code of admissions mandatory.

"However regulation and even mandatory codes are meaningless unless they are monitored and enforced. The recommendation to place a mandatory duty on local authorities to monitor admissions is therefore crucial.

"Despite the select committee's recommendations on the role of schools commissioner, NASUWT remains unconvinced that such a post is necessary.

"The nature of the relationship between local authorities and all of the schools in their area is a critical issue for the school workforce and indeed for educational standards.

"The notion put forward in the report of a duty on schools to co-operate with local authorities could have a great deal of merit providing it secures good employment practice within the national framework of pay and conditions.

"The report exposes the fact that the concept of trust schools was simply a re-branding of an existing provision. On that basis there will be widespread dismay that rather than recommending the concept be abandoned, the report makes proposals to progress Trust schools."

Stakeholder Response: ATL

ATL general secretary Dr Mary Bousted said: "To date the debate on the education white paper has been all about politics, and little about pupils' learning. Today's report is good news as it recognises the importance of educational equality for all children.

"We are pleased to see helpful proposals on clarifying the status and role of trust schools and the schools commissioner.

"But ATL still firmly believes the trust idea is a solution to which there is no known problem.

"We want the government to forget about school structures and concentrate on the positive proposals in the white paper - on discipline, local authority support for struggling schools, and support for schools who want to work together."

"ATL particularly welcomes the report's recommendations to give local authorities teeth to meet the legal duty, proposed in the fine print of the white paper, to promote fair access for all pupils to all schools.

"The government needs to accept the whole community has a stake in the way schools select their pupils, and that fair admissions cannot co-exist with a school 's right to choose pupils."

Stakeholder Response: NUT

Steve Sinnott, NUT general secretary, said: "The select committee's report is scathing about government's mistakes in spin as well as substance.

"The case for marketisation and independent trust schools has not been made; a fact fully highlighted by the select committee.

"The select committee is right to highlight the fact that the government's spin on trust schools has obscured positive proposals on personalisation and pupil behaviour.

"The minority report opportunistically exploits the dangers in the government's proposals.  The majority of the select committee is quite right in proposing that local authorities have new duties to prevent the potential for social exclusion and segregation which would arise from the government's proposals.

"The minority report's rejection of this says as much about the future direction of the Opposition's education policies as it does about the select committee's report.

"I welcome the select committee proposals to remove selection by aptitude. There is no distinction between academic and aptitude selection. This has enabled those who wish to introduce selection by the back door to exploit this obvious fact.

"The select committee is right to tackle the potential chaos which the government's proposals on admissions would cause and to propose retaining community school status.  At the core of the Education Bill must be a common admissions policy in each local authority which applies to all schools and which parents and teachers believe to be fair.

"Teachers and parents will back the select committee's view that the government's proposals for school expansion will give unfair advantages to schools with the capacity to expand their intake. The white paper's proposals on popular school expansion could lead to widespread school closure which could most damage the poorest communities."

Stakeholder Response: PAT

PAT general secretary Philip Parkin said: "The prime minister and education secretary should listen more carefully to the genuine concerns of those who care about the future of education in this country, and amend their proposals.

"There are some very positive measures in the white paper, such as clarification of teachers' rights in disciplining pupils. 

"However, the proposed trust schools and the implications for admissions procedures give us great concern. While some schools may welcome greater freedom over administration and the curriculum, we do not want less successful schools to be cut adrift or abandoned." 

"Many teachers are concerned about the powers of the proposed trusts and their backers. These groups will have their own agendas - be it political, religious or making a profit. PAT is worried that providing high quality education and care may not be their overwhelming priority. 

"PAT is also concerned about what will happen to pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds, or those with social, behavioural or educational problems or special educational needs. Will shiny new trust schools, promising the best results, want to admit these pupils? We fear not. 

"The initial results from academies suggest that changing the legal and administrative nature of a school does not necessarily deliver better education. We believe all families should have access to good quality local education.

"Devolving greater powers to schools requires strong school leadership. However, applications for headships are down. Finding enough heads to run the proposed trust schools could be very difficult.

"Proposals to change the role of local authorities from providers to commissioners present very real threats to local democratic accountability. The greatest threat to inclusion is the process of divorcing a school from its local community and the network of support services provided by the local authority.

"Such networks encourage collaboration - to the benefit of all - rather than competition - to the benefit of the most successful - which seems to be the model with the proposed trust schools.

"Many PAT members feel that the drive for commissioning will compromise local authorities' abilities to recruit and train quality staff able to target resources to where they are needed, without regard to profit margins or a school 's ability to pay.

"The white paper's proposals for deregulation and delegation do not sit comfortably with the Every Child Matters agenda, which had set in process information sharing and the drawing together of educational and children 's services. The extended schools programme was supposed to put schools at the heart of all those in their communities. The proposals for trust schools and pupil mobility militate against this.

"The extension of free transport for disadvantaged pupils is laudable. However, this will not help parents and children in many rural areas where there is no choice of accessible schools. If pupils do not meet a school's admissions criteria, free transport will not help them.

"PAT has great concerns about what will happen to pupils in 'failing' schools given just one year to improve or face closure. Closing a school is enormously disruptive and dispiriting for both students and staff. Firm action is needed to address 'failure', but struggling schools need support and resources - not closure. They need the collaborative efforts of the local community and local and national government to turn them around.

"The drive for 'higher standards' and 'better schools' must be for all - not for some."