HL Deb 14 May 1998 vol 589 cc1172-4

3.23 p.m.

Baroness Blatch

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many incompetent teachers have been dismissed under the fast-track system introduced by the Government in 1997.

Lord Whitty

My Lords, my honourable friend the Minister for School Standards wrote to the chair of the National Employers' Organisation for School Teachers on 31st October last year to ask him to take the necessary steps to put in place the outline capability procedures drawn up by an ACAS working group, and to monitor implementation and report back to the Minister by the end of October 1998. The necessary steps for implementation are: review by each local education authority of the procedures that they recommend to schools followed, where necessary, by adoption by schools of new procedures which are consistent with the outline capability procedure. The national employers' organisation will therefore report on progress at the end of autumn.

Baroness Blatch

My Lords, so the answer is "none". If and when an education action zone is established in areas where education is deemed to be failing—which is the rationale for the policy—will the education action forum have the power, if it is deemed necessary, to dismiss a teacher or teachers who are failing, using either the normal or the fast-track procedure?

Lord Whitty

My Lords, the answer is not, "No"; it is that these procedures have yet to be adopted, and we shall receive a report in October. As regards action zones, procedure agreements operate between local education authorities or governing bodies. Those will remain the employers in most cases. The fast track will be part of the normal procedure, and that procedure is with the governing body or the local education authority.

Lord Rotherwick

My Lords, will the Minister clarify a point that I do not quite understand? Is the fast-track procedure now actually occurring, or will it not occur until October?

Lord Whitty

My Lords, the local education authorities have to adopt separately the so-called fast-track procedure. The procedure is often represented as the four weeks' dismissal. It would apply in very limited cases, in extreme circumstances relating to the incapability of a teacher. The general approach is that a dismissal procedure should be completed within two terms; at present, it may take several stages and, in some cases, several years. Those procedures are in the process of being introduced, local authority by local authority and governing body by governing body. We shall have the full report on the process in October.

Baroness Blatch

My Lords, my question was: who will have the power in the case of a teacher failing? When the education action zones are set up, will the power reside with the education action forum, or not?

Lord Whitty

My Lords, the position of the education action forum in those circumstances will be almost equivalent to that of the local education authority. But in many cases the governing body will be the employer. Therefore the procedure rests with the employer in the first instance.

Lord Gisborough

My Lords, how many local authorities have not adopted the procedure and therefore will not be able to comply by October?

Lord Whitty

My Lords, my understanding is that virtually all local authorities have now adopted the procedure. Negotiations are taking place with the local teacher unions. Virtually all bodies will have adopted the procedure within a very short time.

Lord Campbell of Alloway

My Lords, is there any appeal procedure under the fast track in relation to dismissal for incompetence? If so, how does one establish the competence of those who judge competence?

Lord Whitty

My Lords, the existing procedures, and all procedures throughout industry, have means of judging incompetence, subject to a fair assessment by the person accused of incompetence. The point of the fast-track procedure is that in extreme circumstances teachers can be dismissed within four weeks from the beginning of a process to the end, but that in a normal assessment of incompetence no longer than two terms would elapse, whereas at present that period can be two or more years.

Baroness Maddock

My Lords, how will that process interact with the setting up of a professional body for teachers; namely, the general teaching council, under the Teaching and Higher Education Bill?

Lord Whitty

My Lords, the GTC will have no direct role, but clearly its advice on how to nurture the competence of teachers will be relevant. Suggestions for changes in the procedure may well be taken into account at a later date. At present no direct role is envisaged for the GTC.

The Earl of Lauderdale

My Lords, how are members of the educational forum to be appointed in the first place?

Lord Whitty

My Lords, if the noble Earl refers to education action zone fora, that matter is covered by the school standards Bill before the House. The noble Baroness shakes her head. It is included in a clause that we shall, I hope, debate reasonably shortly. The education action zone forum will consist of representatives of the schools within the forum and members from local business and other interested bodies, including in most cases the local education authority.