§ 5. Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what criteria he uses when deciding whether a teacher who has served a term of imprisonment should be precluded from taking up a teaching post after leaving prison; on how many instances his Department has had to adjudicate during the past 10 years; and, of these, how many were banned from teaching and how many were allowed to continue their careers as teachers.
§ Dr. BoysonMy right hon. Friend is concerned in these cases with the welfare and protection of children and the need to maintain high standards of conduct in the teaching profession. Over the past 10 years, 198 cases involved teachers serving prison sentences. A breakdown in the form requested is not available for that period, but in the year ended 31 March 1981, of 32 such cases, 20 resulted in total and two in partial exclusion.