HC Deb 14 June 1994 vol 244 cc475-6W
Mr. Llwyd

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is his Department's policy on establishing a confidential counselling service in all schools; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Forth

Teachers have a general pastoral responsibility for the welfare and well-being of their

colleges are now encouraging 15 and 16-year-old school students to take A-levels in college rather than a school sixth form.

Mr. Boswell

The Department has received some representations from schoolteacher organisations and others about the general question of pupils transferring from schools to colleges in the FE sector. The Department has made it clear that we would expect pupils of compulsory school age to be admitted to FE colleges only exceptionally, where it was clearly justified in the individual case. The Department has also received representations from eight schools proposing that the requirement on schools to distribute information about local colleges to pupils in key stage 4 should be extended to include information about post-16 provision in neighbouring schools.