Teaching and Higher Education Bill [H.L.]

Teaching and Higher Education Bill [H.L.] - continued	House of Commons
PART I, THE TEACHING PROFESSION - continued

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CHAPTER III

TEACHER TRAINING

Induction periods

Requirement to serve induction period.

16. - (1) Regulations may make provision for, and in connection with, requiring persons employed as teachers at schools, subject to such exceptions as may be provided for by or under the regulations, to have satisfactorily completed an induction period of not less than one school year in a school.

(2) Regulations under this section may, in particular, make provision-

(a) as to the length of the induction period in any prescribed circumstances;

(b) as to the supervision and training of a person during his induction period;

(c) authorising the Secretary of State to determine the standards against which a person employed as a teacher at a school is to be assessed for the purpose of deciding whether he has satisfactorily completed an induction period;

(d) requiring the appropriate body to decide-

(i) whether such a person has achieved those standards, or

(ii) whether, and (if so) to what extent, his induction period should be extended;

(e) requiring the head teacher of a school to make a recommendation to the appropriate body on the matters referred to in paragraph (d);

(f) enabling a person affected by a decision under paragraph (d) to appeal against the decision; and

(g) requiring the appropriate body to inform the Secretary of State and either the Council or the General Teaching Council for Wales of any decision under paragraph (d).

(3) Once the Council or the General Teaching Council for Wales have been established, the Secretary of State shall consult one or both of those Councils (as appropriate) before making any determination as to standards by virtue of regulations made under subsection (2)(c).

(4) In subsection (2) "the appropriate body" means such person or body as may be prescribed by regulations under this section.

(5) During the induction period which a person is required to serve by virtue of regulations made under this section, the provisions of section 49 of the Education (No. 2) Act 1986 (appraisal of teachers' performance) and regulations made under that section shall not apply to him.

(6) In this section-

(a) any reference to persons employed as teachers shall be construed in accordance with section 218(13) of the Education Reform Act 1988, and

(b) "schools" means such schools as are referred to in subsection (12) of that section.

Inspection of teacher training institutions

Inspection of institutions training teachers for schools.

17. After section 18 of the Education Act 1994 there shall be inserted-

"Inspection of institutions training teachers for schools.	18A. - (1) The Chief Inspector may inspect and report on-
	(a) any initial training of teachers, or of specialist teaching assistants, for schools, or
	(b) any in-service training of such teachers or assistants,
	which is provided by a relevant institution.
	(2) When asked to do so by the Secretary of State, the Chief Inspector shall-
	(a) give advice to the Secretary of State on such matters connected with training falling within subsection (1)(a) or (b) as may be specified in the Secretary of State's request;
	(b) inspect and report on such one or more relevant institutions as may be so specified.
	(3) The Chief Inspector may at any time give advice to-
	(a) the Secretary of State,
	(b) a funding agency,
	(c) the General Teaching Council for England, or
	(d) the General Teaching Council for Wales,
	on any matter connected with training falling within subsection (1)(a) or (b).
	(4) The Chief Inspector may-
	(a) make such reports of inspections carried out by him under this section as he considers appropriate, and
	(b) arrange for any such report to be published in such manner as he considers appropriate.
	(5) When inspecting a relevant institution under this section, the Chief Inspector shall have at all reasonable times-
	(a) a right of entry to the premises of the institution, and
	(b) a right to inspect, and take copies of, any records kept by the institution, and any other documents containing information relating to the institution, which he considers relevant to the exercise of his functions under this section;
	and section 42 of the School Inspections Act 1996 (inspection of computer records for purposes of Part I of that Act) shall apply for the purposes of this section as it applies for the purposes of Part I of that Act.
	(6) Without prejudice to subsection (5), a relevant institution to which an inspection under this section relates-
	(a) shall give the Chief Inspector all assistance in connection with the exercise of his functions under this section which it is reasonably able to give; and
	(b) shall secure that all such assistance is also given by persons who work for the institution.
	(7) The Chief Inspector shall not carry out any inspection under subsection (1) unless-
	(a) at least eight weeks previously, he has given notice of his intention to carry out the inspection-
	(i) to the relevant institution concerned, or
	(ii) where that institution is a partnership or association of eligible institutions, to one of those institutions; or
	(b) with the agreement of that institution or (as the case may be) one of those institutions, he has given it shorter notice of that intention.
	(8) Any notice under subsection (7)-
	(a) shall be given in writing, and
	(b) may be sent by post;
	and any such notice may (without prejudice to any other lawful method of giving it) be addressed to an institution at any address which the institution has notified to a funding agency as its address.
	(9) Nothing in this section confers any right or imposes any duty, whether as regards the carrying out of any inspection or otherwise, in relation to any course which consists of instruction given wholly or mainly for purposes other than training falling within subsection (1)(a) or (b).
	(10) In this section-
	(a) "the Chief Inspector" means-
	(i) in relation to England, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools in England; and
	(ii) in relation to Wales, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools in Wales;
	(b) "relevant institution" means-
	(i) any eligible institution, or
	(ii) any other institution, body or person designated by the Secretary of State as being in receipt of public funding in respect of the provision of training falling within subsection (1)(a) or (b); and
	(c) "document" and "records" each include information recorded in any form.
	(11) Any reference in this section to the Chief Inspector shall be read, in relation to any inspection which he is authorised or required to carry out under this section, as including a reference to any person authorised to act on his behalf under sub-paragraph (1) or (2) of paragraph 5 of Schedule 1 to the School Inspections Act 1996.
	(12) Nothing in this section shall be taken as prejudicing the generality of section 2 or 5 of that Act or of paragraph 5(1) or (2) of Schedule 1 to that Act."

Inspection of institutions training teachers for schools: Scotland.

18. In section 66 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 (inspection of educational establishments), after subsection (1A) there shall be inserted-

"(1B) Notwithstanding subsection (1) above, the Secretary of State shall have power to cause inspection to be made of the education and training, wherever it is carried out, provided by institutions within the higher education sector (within the meaning of the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992) wholly or mainly for persons preparing to be, or persons who are, teachers in schools, and such inspections shall be made by Her Majesty's Inspectors or other persons appointed by the Secretary of State for the purpose."

Prepared 12 March 1998