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30 Mar 2006 : Column 1165W—continued
Criminal Records Bureau
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what advice she has given to employers in regulated child care settings on criminal records bureau checks for their employees. [57094]
Ruth Kelly: In October 2005 changes to the law and relevant national standards clarified that regulated child care employers are legally responsible for determining the suitability of their staff to care for and be in contact with children. Employment checks to determine the suitability of such persons must include a Criminal Records Bureau disclosure. In September 2005 Ofsted issued all day care providers with copies of an addendum containing the revisions to the national standards documentation; a letter from the Department indicating how they could access subsidised Criminal Records Bureau checks for new employees, and additional guidance which included advice on the importance of such checks. Ofsted will shortly be writing out to day care providers again with further advice on their obligations in this area.
Criminal Records Bureau Checks
Dr. Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether schools are to be required by her Department to undertake Criminal Records Bureau checks on all newly appointed (a) school governors and (b) other non-salaried individuals involved in schools. [46153]
Ruth Kelly: My Department's guidance 'Child Protection: Preventing Unsuitable People from Working with Children in the Education Service' (issued May 2002) sets out arrangements for both salaried and non-salaried staff and volunteers in schools. As I have already announced, Criminal Records Bureau checks will become compulsory for all newly appointed members of the schools work force.
The proposed vetting and barring scheme will extend further the requirement for mandatory checks. It will become an offence if a check is not made of a governor's, or other regular volunteer's, barred status before they are appointed.
Departmental Policies
Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to Islington South and Finsbury constituency, the effects on Islington South and Finsbury of her Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [60730]
Phil Hope:
The Islington South and Finsbury constituency lies within Islington local authority. The most recent key stage 2 and GCSE and equivalent
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results showing information for pupils attending schools in Islington South and Finsbury are given in the following tables:
(12) Parliamentary constituency figures are based only on all maintained schools (including city technology colleges and, from 2003, academies) and from 2000 onwards have been adjusted in respect of pupils recently arrived from overseas.
(13) England figures are based on all schools and have not been adjusted in respect of pupils recently arrived from overseas.
(14) From 2004 results incorporate GCSEs, GNVQs and a wide range of other qualifications approved pre-16. Prior to 2004 results are based on GCSEs and GNVQs only.
(15) As standard the results reported relate to pupils aged 15 at the start of the academic year i.e. 31 August and therefore reaching the end of compulsory education at the end of the school year.
Notes:
1. Parliamentary constituency figures are based only on all maintained schools (including city technology colleges and, from 2003, academies) and from 2000 onwards have been adjusted in respect of pupils recently arrived from overseas.
2. England figures are based on all schools and have not been adjusted in respect of pupils recently arrived from overseas.
At national level, standards have improved across all key stages. The primary and secondary national strategies, together with the measures we have taken to help schools in the toughest areas are continuing to deliver better results.
Further information by constituency, is provided within the Department's 'In Your Area' website available at http://www.dfes.gov.uk/inyourarea Where information is not available at the constituency level it has been provided at local authority level.
This website allows users to access key facts and local information about education and skills based on postcodes. The data available within the site offers comparisons between 1997 and the latest available year and covers five geographies. These are parliamentary
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constituency, ward, local authority district, local authority and Government office region. England figures are also provided.
The information available within the website is grouped in a number of broad categories including literacy and numeracy at age 11, literacy and numeracy at age 14, GCSE and equivalent results, pupils with special educational needs, school initiatives, school work force, school funding and resources, children's social services, early years, class sizes, post-16, higher education and adult education.
Additional information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, the Department is investigating ways in which we can disseminate more information about the effects of our policies at a local level.
Learn Direct
John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much Learn Direct has spent on sponsoring the Jeremy Kyle show. [62504]
Phil Hope: Ufi, the organisation responsible for learndirect, is currently sponsoring a package of programmes on TV. This comprises 12 weeks of 'The Jeremy Kyle Show', on ITV and also 12 weeks of Sunday night drama (three weeks of 'Wild at Heart', six weeks of 'The Royal' and three weeks of 'Heartbeat'. The sponsorship extends to having the learndirect logo and name mentioned at the beginning and end of each programme and during the commercial breaks. These programmes have been chosen because they are watched by the people who Ufi want to reach. The total cost of sponsoring these shows is £425,000 which represents excellent value for the projected number of learners that Ufi expects to respond to the advertising.
List 99
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to paragraph 27 of her document, Review of the List 99 decision making process and policy implications, published on 19 January, if she will list the dates on which the 10 individuals were last working in a school. [46643]
Ruth Kelly: The Department does not release information relating to individual cases.
Overseas Trained Teacher Programme
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the adequacy of background checks carried out on teachers placed under the Overseas Trained Teacher Programme; and if she will make a statement. [43605]
Ruth Kelly:
No specific assessment of the adequacy of background checks on teachers placed under the Overseas Trained Teacher Programme has been made. Overseas trained teachers are employed at the time of joining the programme and therefore it is the responsibility of the employer to carry out checks to ensure they meet the standard requirements.
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Building on the List 99 Review report published on 19 January, I announced (on 1 March) my intention to review current arrangements for overseas teachers, and the options for strengthening the vetting and recruitment checks made on overseas staff. Discussions with the Recruitment and Employment Confederation will continue and wider consultation involving stakeholders and other Governments Departments will ensure that any changes to guidance or regulations are properly considered in line with other sectors of the children's work force.
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