rs1812305.635-641

House of Commons

Session 2005 - 06
Internet Publications
Other Bills before Parliament

Report Stage Proceedings: 23rd May 2006
635

Education and Inspections Bill, continued

Helen Jones

Jon Trickett

Mr John Grogan

Clive Efford

Jim Dobbin

Graham Stringer

John Austin

Mr Andrew Dismore

Not called  9

Page  21,  line  43  [Clause  31],  leave out ‘20’ and insert ‘50’.

Helen Jones

Jon Trickett

Mr John Grogan

Clive Efford

Jim Dobbin

Graham Stringer

John Austin

Mr Andrew Dismore

Not called  10

Page  22,  line  4  [Clause  31],  leave out ‘20’ and and insert ‘50’.

Helen Jones

Jon Trickett

Mr John Grogan

Clive Efford

Jim Dobbin

Graham Stringer

John Austin

Not called  11

Page  22,  line  7  [Clause  31],  leave out ‘20’ and and insert ‘50’.

Secretary Alan Johnson

Agreed to  46

Page  22  [Clause  31],  leave out lines 9 to 14 and insert—

‘(5)
Regulations may disqualify persons from acting as charity trustee in relation to a

school to which this section applies.’.

Mr Gordon Marsden

Jeff Ennis

Mrs Joan Humble

Not called  92

Page  22,  line  12  [Clause  31],  after ‘foundation’, insert ‘including its duties to act in

a collaborative fashion with other maintained schools in the local authority area’.

Secretary Alan Johnson

Agreed to  47

Page  22,  line  23  [Clause  31],  at end insert—

Report Stage Proceedings: 23rd May 2006
636

Education and Inspections Bill, continued

‘ “purpose” includes object’.

Secretary Alan Johnson

Agreed to  70

Page  121,  line  38  [Schedule  2],  leave out ‘local education’ and insert ‘relevant’.

Secretary Alan Johnson

Agreed to  84

Page  124,  line  39  [Schedule  2],  leave out ‘local education’ and insert ‘relevant’.

Secretary Alan Johnson

Agreed to  85

Page  124,  line  43  [Schedule  2],  leave out ‘local education’ and insert ‘relevant’.

Secretary Alan Johnson

Agreed to  86

Page  125,  line  18  [Schedule  2],  leave out ‘a local education’ and insert ‘the

relevant’.

Secretary Alan Johnson

Agreed to  71

Page  125,  line  24  [Schedule  2],  leave out ‘local education’ and insert ‘relevant’.

Secretary Alan Johnson

Agreed to  72

Page  125,  line  26  [Schedule  2],  leave out ‘local education’ and insert ‘relevant’.

Secretary Alan Johnson

Agreed to  73

Page  127,  line  38  [Schedule  2],  after ‘8’ insert ‘and not referred to the adjudicator’.

Secretary Alan Johnson

Agreed to  74

Page  128,  line  24  [Schedule  2],  after ‘proposals’ insert ‘under section 14’.

Report Stage Proceedings: 23rd May 2006
637

Education and Inspections Bill, continued

Secretary Alan Johnson

Agreed to  75

Page  128,  line  32  [Schedule  2],  leave out ‘a local education’ and insert ‘the

relevant’.

Remaining Government new clauses and new schedules

Offences relating to independent schools

Secretary Alan Johnson

Added  nc34

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1)
Part 10 of EA 2002 (independent schools) is amended as follows.

(2)
After section 168 insert—

“168A
Proceedings for offences

No proceedings for an offence under this Chapter shall be instituted

except by or with the consent of the registration authority.

168B
Offences by bodies corporate

(1)
Where an offence under this Chapter committed by a body corporate is

proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to

be attributable to any neglect on the part of—

(a)
any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the

body corporate, or

(b)
any person who was purporting to act in any such capacity,


he (as well as the body corporate) is guilty of the offence and liable to be

proceeded against and punished accordingly.

(2)
Where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members,

subsection (1) applies in relation to the acts and defaults of a member in

connection with his functions of management as it applies to a director of

a body corporate.

168C
Offences by unincorporated bodies

(1)
Proceedings for an offence alleged to have been committed under this

Chapter by an unincorporated body are to be brought in the name of that

body (and not in that of any of its members) and, for the purposes of any

such proceedings, any rules of court relating to the service of documents

have effect as if that body were a corporation.

(2)
A fine imposed on an unincorporated body on its conviction of an offence

under this Chapter is to be paid out of the funds of that body.

(3)
If an unincorporated body is charged with an offence under this Chapter,

section 33 of the Criminal Justice Act 1925 and Schedule 3 to the

Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980 (procedure on charge of an offence against

a corporation) apply as they do in relation to a body corporate.

Report Stage Proceedings: 23rd May 2006
638

Education and Inspections Bill, continued

(4)
Where an offence under this Chapter committed by an unincorporated

body (other than a partnership) is proved to have been committed with

the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the

part of, any officer of the body or any member of its governing body, he

as well as the body is guilty of the offence and liable to be proceeded

against and punished accordingly.

(5)
Where an offence under this Chapter committed by a partnership is

proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to

be attributable to any neglect on the part of, a partner, he as well as the

partnership is guilty of the offence and liable to be proceeded against and

punished accordingly.”

(3)
In section 159 (unregistered schools), omit subsection (3).

(4)
Sections 168B and 168C of EA 2002 do not have effect in relation to offences

committed before the commencement of this section.’.

New Clauses and new schedules relating to allegations against teachers

Duty in relation to allegations against teachers

Mr David Willetts

Mr Nick Gibb

Mr John Hayes

Mr David Evennett

Withdrawn  NC1

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1)
This section applies where it is alleged that a teacher or member of staff,

inlcuding a volunteer at an educational institution providing education for

persons under 18 years of age, has—

(a)
behaved in a way that has harmed a child, or may have harmed a child,

(b)
committed a criminal offence against or related to a child, or

(c)
behaved towards a child or children in a way that indicates he is

unsuitable to work with children.

(2)
Any person involved in investigating such an allegation must act with a view to

ensuring the confidentiality of any information that might identify—

(a)
the person who made the allegation;

(b)
the person in respect of whom the allegation is made.

(3)
The governing body of a maintained school shall in particular ensure that policies

and procedures in relation to allegations against teachers or members of staff

provide for disciplinary action to be taken against any teacher or member of staff

who discloses any information to which subsection (2) applies without the

express authorisation of the governing body.

(4)
This section ceases to apply—

(a)
in the case of a criminal offence, where the teacher or member of staff is

found guilty in a court in respect of the offence, or

Report Stage Proceedings: 23rd May 2006
639

Education and Inspections Bill, continued

(b)
in other cases, when at the completion of investigation and consideration

of the allegation it has been determined that the allegation is proved.’.

new clauses and new schedules relating to school discipline or home-

school contracts

Acceptance of school rules a condition of admission

Mr David Willetts

Mr Nick Gibb

Mr John Hayes

Mr David Evennett

Negatived on division  NC2

To move the following Clause:—

‘An admission authority may make it a condition of a child’s admission to a

school that the parent of a child agrees to secure compliance with any school rules

made by the headteacher of that school.’.

Home-school contracts

Mr David Willetts

Mr Nick Gibb

Mr John Hayes

Mr David Evennett

Not called  NC10

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1)
Section 111 of SSFA 1998 is amended as follows.

(2)
Omit subsections (4)(b), (4)(c) and (5)

(3)
After subsection (4) insert—

“(4A)
A governing body of a school to which section 110(1) applies or the local

education authority where it is the admission authority for such a school

may make it a condition of being admitted to the school that the parental

declaration is signed in respect of the child.”

(4)
In the heading of sections 110 (home-school agreements) and 111

(supplementary provisions about home-school agreements) for “agreements”

substitute “contracts”.’.

Report Stage Proceedings: 23rd May 2006
640

Education and Inspections Bill, continued

Home-school contracts (No. 2)

Mr David Willetts

Mr Nick Gibb

Mr John Hayes

Mr David Evennett

Not called  NC11

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1)
SSFA 1998 is amended as follows.

(2)
After section 111 insert—

“Home-school contracts

111A
Home-school contracts

(1)
The governing body of a school which is—

(a)
a maintained school, or

(b)
a city technology college, a city college for the technology of the

arts or an Academy,


may adopt a home-school contract for the school, together with a parental

declaration to be used in connection with the contract.

(2)
For the purposes of this section and section 111 a ‘home-school contract’

is a statement specifying—

(a)
the school’s aims and values;

(b)
the school’s responsibilities, namely the responsibilities which

the school intends to discharge in connection with the education

of pupils at the school who are of compulsory school age;

(c)
the parental responsibilities, namely the responsibilities which

the parents of such pupils are expected to discharge in

connection with the education of their children while they are

registered pupils at the school; and

(d)
the school’s expectations of its pupils, namely the expectations

of the school as regards the conduct of such pupils while they are

registered pupils there;


and ‘parental declaration’ means a document to be used by qualifying

parents for recording that they take note of the school’s aims and values

and its responsibilities and that they acknowledge and accept the parental

responsibilities and the school’s expectations of its pupils.

(3)
The governing body shall take reasonable steps to secure that the parental

declaration is signed by every qualifying parent.

(4)
An admissions authority may make it a condition of a child being

admitted to the school that the parental declaration is signed in respect of

the child.

(5)
An admissions authority may not—

(a)
invite any person to sign the parental declaration at a time when

the child in question has not been admitted to the school, or

(b)
make any decision as to whether or not to admit a child to the

school by reference to whether any such declaration is or is not

likely to be signed in respect of the child.

(6)
Subsections (3) and (4) do not require the governing body to seek the

signature of a qualifying parent if, having regard to any special

Report Stage Proceedings: 23rd May 2006
641

Education and Inspections Bill, continued

circumstances relating to the parent or the pupil in question, they

consider that it would be inappropriate to do so.

(7)
Where the governing body considers that a registered pupil at the school

has a sufficient understanding of the home-school contract as it relates to

him, they may invite the pupil to sign the parental declaration as an

indication that he acknowledges and accepts the school’s expectations of

its pupils.

(8)
The governing body shall discharge its duty under subsection (3)—

(a)
in the case of a pupil attending the school on the relevant date, as

soon after that date as is reasonably practicable; and

(b)
in the case of a pupil admitted to the school, as soon after the date

of his admission as is reasonably practicable.

(9)
The governing body shall from time to time review the home-school

contract.

(10)
Where the home-school contract is revised by the governing body

following such a review, subsections (3) to (8) shall, in the case of pupils

admitted to the school after the revision takes effect, accordingly apply

in relation to the revised contract.

(11)
Before adopting the home-school contract or parental declaration, or

revising that contract, the governing body shall consult—

(a)
all qualifying parents, and

(b)
such other persons as may be prescribed.

(12)
In this section—

‘qualifying parent’ means a registered parent of a pupil at the school who is

of compulsory school age;

‘admission authority’ has the meaning given by section 88(1).

(13)
Section 110 does not apply to a governing body that decides to have a

home-school contract.

111B
Contents of home-school contracts

(1)
In discharging any function under section 111A the governing body of a

school shall have regard to any guidance given from time to time by the

Secretary of State.

(2)
If the Secretary of State by order so provides, the governing body of a

school to which subsection (1) of that section applies shall ensure that

any form of words—

(a)
specified in the order, or

(b)
having such effect as is so specified,


is not used in a home-school contract or (as they case may be) in a

parental declaration.

(3)
An order under subsection (2) may apply—

(a)
to any school specified in the order, or

(b)
to any description of school so specified.