§ Sir Michael McNair-WilsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what measures are taken by Her Majesty's inspectorate to assess the social welfare of pupils; whether any of his inspection staff have any training in matters relating to child abuse.
§ Mr. Kenneth BakerHer Majesty's Inspectorate assesses the quality of pastoral care provision in schools as well as assessing teaching and learning in all subjects. This range of activities includes tutorial arrangements, the social structures devised by the schools and the quality of pupils' responses to these. More generally, Her Majesty's Inspectorate pays attention to children's attendance and behaviour, to relationships both within lessons and about the school, and to teachers' records on pupils' development and progress. Inspectors also have regard during inspection to the qualifications and experience of teachers at the school.
In schools where residential accommodation is provided, Her Majesty's Inspectorate pays attention to the nature and suitability of the accommodation, and to the daily routines of pupils both during school time and at evenings and weekends in order to assess the contributions that these make to the pupils' overall education.
Her Majesty's inspectorate has designated inspectors with national responsibility for child abuse and for counselling. A number of Her Majesty's inspectors have dealt with child abuse cases before joining the inspectorate; others have worked as educational psychologists and therefore also have experience of case-work relating to child abuse. In addition, Her Majesty's inspectorate runs internal training courses on child protection, and is currently running a course for "named persons" in LEAs who have responsibility for child protection. In December, Her Majesty's inspectorate will run a course for representatives from each LEA for those involved in training for child protection. The training programme therefore extends beyond the inspectorate itself.