Controversial plans for new grammar schools in England appear to have been accidentally revealed.

An official from the Department for Education was photographed with a document suggesting it is a Conservative party policy.

The document states: "The con.doc says we will open new grammars, albeit that they would have to follow various conditions. The SoS [Secretary of State] clear position is that this should be presented as an option and only t be pursued once we have worked existing grammars to show how they can be expanded and reformed."

In a statement responding to the leak, the DfE said: "We are looking at a range of options to allow more children to access a school that lets them rise as far as their talents will take them. Policies on education will be set out in due course and it would be inappropriate to comment further on internal government documents."

It comes as a row broke out between county education chiefs and Ofsted head Sir Michael Wilshaw who said Kent's selective system was evidence that grammars did not help poorer brighter children.

County education chiefs have hit back at claims saying the chief inspector was wrong.

The issue of allowing new grammars has taken centre stage in the debate about the government’s education agenda after Mrs May hinted she may be prepared to end the ban on grammar schools.

At the weekend, she sidestepped the question of whether she wanted new selective schools. However, the DfE briefing note indicates that it is likely.

Sir Michael Wilshaw said the idea that a new generation of grammars would help poorer children as “palpable tosh and nonsense.”

In a speech to a conference, he said: "I appreciate that many grammar schools do a fine job in equipping their students with an excellent education. But we all know that their record of admitting children from non-middle-class backgrounds is pretty woeful.

"We all know that their record of admitting children from non-middle-class backgrounds is pretty woeful" - Sir Michael Wilshaw

He added in a later interview: “I think we will go backwards if we return to a system where we only expect some kids to do well. Every time you create a grammar school you create three secondary moderns and no one is queueing up to go to a secondary modern.”

He went on to cite Kent - which has 33 grammars - as an example of where he felt selection fell short in helping social mobility.

“In Kent the gap in attainment between free school meals and non-free school meals pupils at key stage 4 is 34 points. If you go to inner London where there are no grammar schools, the gap is 14 points so it is socially divisive.”

But the criticism drew short shrift from Cllr Roger Gough, the politician in charge of schools at KCC.

He conceded more needed to be done in the county’s schools to close the attainment gap between less well-of pupils and their counterparts.

Cllr Gough said the views of the Ofsted chief were not new and improving social mobility was not just confined to grammar schools.

“We have never said that grammar schools are the only way to improve social mobility, there are different ways. And if you look at the intake of children in some east Kent grammars, the proportion on free school meals is quite high.

The achievements of those eligible for pupil premium payments was also rising, he added.
“The gap is too high and we do need to make more progress on that,” he said.

A backbench committee of county councillors recently published a report saying grammars had a “moral responsibility” to ensure there were more opportunities for the less well-off to access them.