Examination of Witnesses (Quesitons 240-244)
JIM KNIGHT
MP AND MR
PARMJIT DHANDA
MP
24 JANUARY 2007
Q240 Mr Marsden: That is a pilot
scheme, is it not, the £1.1 million, I think?
Mr Dhanda: No, I do not think
so. I will write to you. [3]
Q241 Mr Marsden: If you could.
Mr Dhanda: As I understand it,
it is a scheme that is encouraging more training of teachers to
have placements as well in special schools to ensure that a greater
proportion has greater knowledge if they are to go into that field.
Jim Knight: In terms of initial
teacher training, 90% of those who have been through the training,
when surveyed, say that they think that the training was good.
I will put it the other way round. Only 10% thought it was inadequate
for their needs in respect of behaviour in schools. There is a
slight mismatch then in terms of a school's belief that newly
qualified teachers have had sufficient training or that the teaching
workforce as a whole has had sufficient training to deal with
behaviour, and that then becomes a CPD issue that we would look
to TDA and the new performance management arrangements to be able
to address.
Q242 Mr Carswell: Would you agree
that the forcible closure of some special schools, such as The
Leas School in Clacton, and the removal of children with special
needs from a special school settling into mainstream has in some
instances resulted in increased bullying of children with special
needs?
Mr Dhanda: I think we could have
a three-hour chat about this, in fact I think we did just before
Christmas.
Q243 Mr Carswell: We did not get
much of an answer though.
Mr Dhanda: I think you did actually.
What you have got to understand is that local authorities are
making decisions at a local level. The rate of closures has actually
reduced since 1997 compared to the period just before that, but
I think it is also worth scratching the surface and looking at
some of the detail, because what we are seeing is a greater proportion
of new schools being built and co-location as well. I know that
some have been talking about a moratorium on closures. If you
had a moratorium you would not have the brand spanking new facility
they have just created in Leicester, and there are very many others
like that as well.
Jim Knight: One in Weymouth that
I am looking forward to opening soon.
Mr Dhanda: So I think we have
to look at this in the round. These are local decisions being
made by local authorities but in very many cases we are actually
seeing more co-location and new opportunities.
Q244 Chairman: There was a sobering
comment from a mother who was also an educational psychologist.
She said, "The trouble with bullying is identifying it and
dealing with it, because when a five-year-old goes to school and
two other little girls say, `We are not going to play with you',
that is a form of bullying." It is a very sad step towards
an escalation. Ministers, we have been delighted by your presence,
we have been intrigued by your answers and we will be seeing you
again next week.
Jim Knight: I look forward to
it, obviously.
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