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21 May 2009 : Column 1568W—continued
Children: Protection
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what timetable he has set for revising (a) statutory guidance on Working Together to Safeguard Children and (b) the guidance and systems used by hospital accident and emergency departments in relation to safeguarding children in response to Lord Laming's recommendations. [274249]
Beverley Hughes: As stated on page 6 of ‘The protection of children in England: action plan—The Government's response to Lord Laming’, published on 6 May, revised statutory guidance, ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’, will be completed by the end of 2009 following consultation. Page 34 explains that the Department of Health and the Department for Children Schools and Families will work with the College of Emergency Medicine and others to take forward work to ensure that systems, guidance and training are in place so that all A and E departments are playing their full part in identifying and dealing appropriately with children at risk. Recommendations will be produced by December 2009 that take account of the cost and affordability of implementation.
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether there is a statutory duty on schools to designate a child protection teacher. [275235]
Beverley Hughes: Although there is no specific statutory duty on schools to designate a child protection teacher, schools do have a duty under sections 175 and 157 of the Education Act 2002 to have regard to any guidance given to them from time to time by the Secretary of State when considering what arrangements they need to make with regard to the welfare of children. Guidance contained in Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education 2007 makes clear that a senior member of the school’s leadership team should be designated to take lead responsibility for dealing with child protection issues.
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent estimate he has made of the number of schools with a designated child protection teacher; and if he will make a statement. [275269]
Beverley Hughes: The Department do not collect this information. School governing bodies and proprietors of independent schools are responsible for ensuring that their establishment has effective policies and procedures in place to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in accordance with guidance issued under sections 157 and 175 of the Education Act 2002. Guidance in Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education 2007 makes clear that a senior member of the school’s leadership team should be designated to take lead responsibility for dealing with child protection issues. In some schools it may be necessary to have more than one designated person, and in all schools a deputy should be available to act in the designated person’s absence.
Departmental Correspondence
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent steps his Department has taken to ensure that all its correspondence conforms to the font size requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. [274785]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department appreciates that clear, concise and legible communications are critical to promoting equality for disabled people. The Department is committed to ensuring that all its communications, both internal and with people beyond the Department, are accessible. Our business correspondence system requires that all e-mails and letters sent by the Department are in a 12-point font size and we have published guidance to encourage all staff to comply.
Pupil Referral Units
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which pupil referral units were placed in special measures in each year since 1997. [256422]
Jim Knight: This is a matter for Ofsted. The information was included in HMCI Christine Gilbert’s reply given on 2 March 2009, Official Report, column 1312W.
Schools Recruitment Service
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) when the Schools Recruitment Service was originally planned to be launched; when he expects it to be launched; and what the reasons are for the difference; [276669]
(2) how much his Department has spent on the procurement, development and implementation of the Schools Recruitment Service. [276670]
Jim Knight: The Schools Recruitment Service was originally scheduled for launch in spring 2009. This has now been rescheduled to launch in September 2009. There have been delays as a result of the Department ensuring the need for this service is robust and fit for purpose for our schools and local authorities to use and a request from prospective suppliers during the procurement process for more time to respond to the requirement.
It is not possible to give an exact figure on the costs for the Schools Recruitment Service as it forms part of the wider Education Sector Shared Services programme. The budget for this programme for 2008-09 was £647,500.
Social Work: Education
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (1) how many people have enrolled on a social work degree course in each year since 2003; [269664]
(2) how many people have graduated with a degree in social work in each year since 2003; [269665]
(3) how many social work graduates have entered the social work profession in each year since 2003. [269666]
Beverley Hughes: The General Social Care Council registers both social work students and practicing social workers.
The number of social work graduates entering the social work profession is not recorded by the General Social Care Council; however they do record the number of students enrolled on the course each year (line A in the following table) and the number that have graduated with a degree since 2003 (line B). The Council also holds information on the year in which all social workers who are currently registered with them achieved their qualification.
Line C in the table shows the year of graduation for currently registered social workers who hold the social work degree.
| 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | ||
|
Number of people enrolled on the social work degree since 2003 | ||||||
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Number of people who have graduated with a social work degree since 2003 | ||||||
Social Workers: Assessments
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether he has made a recent assessment of the standard required to achieve a pass mark in social work degree examinations for those who work with children. [275684]
Beverley Hughes: Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) determine the requirements for a pass mark in accordance with their internal academic quality assurance procedures which validate degrees and ensure they are fit for purpose. The internal quality assurance procedures are overseen by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA).
The General Social Care Council (GSCC) regulates and promotes standards of delivery of the social work degree and quality assures social work education. It also accredits HEIs offering social work qualifications at both qualifying and post-qualifying levels.
The Secretaries of State for Children, Schools and Families and for Health are committed to ensuring that social worker training is highly effective. They have established a Social Work Task Force which will make recommendations on how to drive forward long term reform of social work, including in response to many issues raised in Lord Laming’s recent report “The Protection of Children in England” on the areas of training, practice, recruitment and leadership.
Social Workers: Pay
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the average (a) starting salary and (b) salary of a child social worker is. [276381]
Beverley Hughes: Children and families’ social workers are employed in a range of organisations in the statutory, private and third sectors. Their salaries are determined at a local level and the Department for Children, Schools and Families does not directly collect information about this.
In their 2006 Children’s, Young People’s and Families’ Social Care Workforce Survey, the Local Government Analysis and Research group (LGAR) estimated the average (mean) minimum salary for a children and families’ social worker employed in a local authority in England to be £22,513.
In their Children’s, Young People’s and Families’ Social Care Pay and Workforce Survey 2007, LGAR estimated the average (mean) salary for all social workers employed by local authorities in England and Wales to be £28,389.
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