HC Deb 18 January 1993 vol 217 c27W
Mr. Win Griffiths

To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many local education authorities have used their powers of intervention under section 28 of the Education (No. 2) Act 1986; and on how many occasions.

Mr. Forth

This information is not collected centrally.

Mr. Win Griffiths

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is the latest information he has concerning the number of indefinite exclusions of pupils from(a) local education authority maintained schools and (b) grant-maintained schools.

Mr. Forth

Information on indefinite exclusions is not collected centrally.

Mr. Win Griffiths

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of local education authority serious incident reporting systems.

Mr. Forth

My right hon. Friend has made no assessment of the effectiveness of local education authority serious incident reporting systems.

Mr. Win Griffiths

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what action he has taken on recommendations(a) 68 and (b) 69.1 of the Elton report on discipline in schools.

Mr. Forth

Recommendation 68 deals with the importance of positive parental influence. The Government's stance on this is well known: parents should instil the values of responsible citizenship into their children. Recommendation 69.1 concerns education for parenthood. The National Curriculum Council has issued guidance to schools on the content of family life education, including education for parenthood, and its place in the wider curriculum.

Mr. Win Griffiths

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps have been taken by his Department to overcome bullying and racial harassment in schools.

Mr. Forth

The Government expect schools to deal firmly with bullying and racial harassment. Copies of the pack "Action against Bullying" were sent to all schools in England in July 1992. The Department is also funding research to develop and test a range of intervention strategies against bullying in schools and further guidance will be issued in due course. Guidance on responses to racial harassment was given to chief education officers in 1989 and 1992. OFSTED has been asked to ensure that all inspecting teams appointed under the Schools Act 1992 pay particular attention to the arrangements for securing good discipline and behaviour.