§ Mr. PawseyTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what guidelines his Department has produced for local education authorities to use when teachers are charged by pupils with child abuse;
(2) if he will make a statement on the present arrangements covering teachers charged by pupils with child abuse.
§ Mr. FallonIt is for local education authorities and the governing bodies of schools and other establishments to ensure that all cases in which child abuse by a teacher is suspected or alleged are dealt with in accordance with locally established child protection procedures. Revised guidance about the role of the education service and other agencies in child abuse cases is given in the booklet "Working Together Under The Children Act 1989" published on 14 October by the Department of Health, jointly with the Home Office, my Department, and the
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LEA maintained further education colleges1 Adult Education Centres 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 City of London — 859 — — — — Camden — 3,367 3,065 — — 16,789 Greenwich — 1,836 2,182 — — 15,058 Hackney — 4,761 4,203 — — 8,109 Hammersmith — 4,509 4,262 — — 8,759 Islington — 4,392 4,630 — — 8,787 Kensington — — — — — 9,952 Lambeth — 7,633 7,027 — — 215,965 Lewisham — 5,287 5,678 — — 12,211 Southwark — 3,268 3,305 — — 9,802 Tower Hamlets — — 956 — — 25,607 Wandsworth — 8,746 9,520 — — 15,763 Westminster — 2,745 2,526 — — 18,105 ILEA3 51,393 — — 185,346 174,506 — Barking 2,201 2,311 2,459 4,299 4,849 4,475 Barnet 15,001 14,630 14,284 4,305 5,069 4,865 Bexley 1,793 2,600 2,337 13,199 13,049 12,445 Brent 5,520 5,739 5,875 3,503 3,640 5,172 Bromley 2,259 2,143 2,351 14,759 15,569 15,686 Croydon 2,898 3,542 3,721 15,773 17,613 18,382 Ealing 4,440 4,703 4,858 8,842 9,405 9,670 Enfield 11,124 11,741 12,464 — — — Haringey 4,270 5,064 5,277 8,451 9,274 43,000 Harrow 16,676 14,462 14,249 — — — Havering 3,014 4,018 4,559 8,655 8,245 7,939 Hillingdon 2,087 2,202 2,433 8,411 8,898 8,632 Hounslow 2,056 2,716 2,748 11,320 12,013 10,982 Kingston upon Thames 1,908 1,879 1,686 9,830 8,751 7,333 Merton 2,465 2,129 2,448 7,439 7,890 8,095 Newham 8,334 8,632 10,306 — — — Redbridge 2,390 2,435 2,630 6,830 8,035 7,036 Richmond upon Thames 442 564 691 17,000 18,000 218,500 Sutton 15,096 13,947 13,499 595 603 489 Waltham Forest 4,312 4,954 5,326 8,952 8,831 8,939 Birmingham 18,657 20,030 22,766 33,889 34,433 35,274 Coventry 9,131 9,526 11,353 5,648 5,341 5,500 Welsh Office. This makes it clear that, for all educational establishments, local procedures should cover circumstances where a member of staff is accused or suspected of abuse.
Local education authorities and governing bodies are required to make a report to the Department if a teacher or other employee working with children is dismissed or resigns on grounds of misconduct, and the police make a report if such a person is convicted of a criminal offence. All cases reported to the Department are considered to determine whether action by the Secretary of State to bar the person from taking up similar employment in the future is necessary.
§ Mr. PawseyTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many teachers for each of the past five years accused of child abuse were subsequently acquitted; and how many convicted.
§ Mr. FallonThe information requested is not available.