HC Deb 05 December 2001 vol 376 cc411-2W
Angela Watkinson

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many supply teachers are on register; and how many were on the register in each of the past five years. [6548]

Mr. Timms

My Department does not hold a central register of supply teachers.

The numbers of qualified occasional teachers (short-term supply teachers on contracts of less than one month) employed in the maintained schools sector in England for the whole day, on the third Thursday in January were as follows:

January Number
1997 13,600
1998 13,200
1999 14,100
2000 16,700
2001 19,600

Supply, temporary and agency teachers on a contract of at least one month cannot be separately identified from teachers in regular service.

Ms Shipley

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what measures she is taking to ensure that agencies which supply temporary teaching staff check their qualifications; [20518]

(2) what guidance she offers head teachers employing supply teachers; [20519]

(3) what measures she is taking to ensure that head teachers who discover supply teachers lack appropriate qualifications report them to the police; [20520]

(4) what measures she is taking to ensure that head teachers who discover supply teachers behaving in an inappropriate manner report them to the police; [20521]

(5) what measures she is taking to ensure that supply teachers are properly vetted. [20522]

Mr. Timms

My Department's "Guidance Notes for Teacher Employment Businesses and Agencies" describes the requirements for checks which the Department considers must be made by agencies providing supply teachers to schools in order to comply with the law. These include checks to establish that supply teachers have the necessary qualifications and checks of identity, health and fitness to teach, as well as against criminal records and the register of barred teachers. Regulation of agencies and employment businesses is provided under the Employment Agency Act 1973 and Conduct Regulations, which are the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. The Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate enforces this legislation.

Circular 7/96, issued to schools in parallel with the "Guidance Notes for Agencies" mentioned, provides guidance to head teachers taking on temporary teachers. It emphasises that schools should be clear about the checks that have been carried out, even where by an agency; that it is a school's responsibility to ensure that all checks have been made; and that schools should ask for written assurance that any agency used has carried out these checks.

My Department also issued further guidance to local education authorities (LEAs), schools and agencies in 1998 reminding them about the checks that should be made on teachers, and others seeking to work with children. Schools were advised that cases of serious or deliberate deception by an applicant might constitute a criminal offence, and should be reported to the police and to my Department.

The White Paper "Schools Achieving Success" proposed a Quality Mark for agencies and LEAs. I would expect any Quality Mark to lay out expectations of agencies and LEAs in terms of their recruitment and management practice and their relations with schools.