§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what incentives there are to encourage more ethnic minority and other specialist training providers to enter further education as staff. [86886]
§ Margaret HodgeWe have introduced a range of initiatives to enable further education (FE) colleges to recruit and retain good staff. Eligible candidates can now benefit from golden hellos, the repayment of teachers' loans and training bursaries. FE colleges are now covered by the provisions of various equal opportunities related legislation, including the Race Relations Act. Their recruitment practices must meet legislative requirements and colleges should be working to ensure that their workforces are more representative of the communities they serve.
We will be working with the Learning and Skills Council and key partners from the FE sector to ensure that the recommendations of a report published by the Commission for Black Staff in Further Education relating to the recruitment, selection, retention and progression of black staff are implemented and evaluated by 2004.
§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has for assessments of further education best practice in teaching and training; and what the timescale is for these assessments. [86887]
§ Margaret HodgeOur strategy for reforming further education and training 'Success for All,' published on 19 November 2002, sets out our plans for developing best practice in post-16 teaching, training and learning. We will make a substantial investment amounting to over £100 million by 2005–06. We will set up a new Standards Unit within DfES which will start work in January 2003. The unit will be responsible for identifying, developing and disseminating good practice. We envisage a gradual build-up, developing new approaches in up to four specified curriculum areas in 2003–04, with the help of expert practitioners.