§ Mr. Peter Bruinvelsasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many teachers are known by his Department to be currently employed in the state sector of education; and, of them, how many are qualified to teach religious education.
§ Sir Keith JosephIn January 1984, the full-time equivalent number of teachers employed in maintained establishments in England and Wales were:
Number Nursery, primary and secondary schools 438,655 Special schools and units 18,187 Qualified teachers providing education otherwise than at school 2,239 Further Education 102,894 Total 561,975 The latest information on teachers' qualifications is for 1977, when there were estimated to be 14,800 full-time teachers holding a qualification in religious education in maintained secondary schools in England and Wales, around 6.3 per cent. of all full-time teachers, in maintained secondary schools.
§ Mr. Freudasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) whether he has any plans to bring the 548W probationary period of a teacher in Scotland or Northern Ireland into line with those of a teacher in England or Wales;
(2) whether he has any plans to amend the regulations governing the probationary period of teachers to ensure that service in any area of the United Kingdom counts towards completion of the probation in any other area and consequent attainment of full teacher status.
§ Sir Keith JosephNo. My powers under the regulations governing probation extend only to England and Wales. There is provision under the regulations, however, whereby local education authorities may reduce or waive the period of probation to take account of previous experience and they usually do so in respect of probation satisfactorily served in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own probation regulations and I understand that similar provisions are applied in respect of probation satisfactorily served in other parts of the United Kingdom.