The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2014-04-30.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what representations he has received on extending the powers provided to the National College for Teaching and Leadership for the investigation of historical incidents of abuse; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Edward Timpson
The Secretary of State for Education has received no representations on extending the powers provided to the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) for investigation of historical incidents of abuse.
The NCTL’s remit sits within a broad safeguarding framework. The investigation of incidents of abuse by the NCTL historically or current will depend on the nature of the abuse. Where incidents of abuse relate to issues of child protection these would not ordinarily be matters that the NCTL would be directly involved in.
All employers of people working with children have a statutory duty to refer to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) all individuals who have been:
- convicted or cautioned for a relevant offence;
- engaged in conduct that has harmed a child or put them at risk of harm; or
- deemed to have satisfied the ‘harm test’ in relation to children, i.e. there has been no relevant conduct but a risk of harm to a child still exists.
The DBS will then consider whether to bar that person from working with children. Alongside this duty, where a teacher has been dismissed or resigned in the face of dismissal for a serious conduct matter, employers have a statutory duty to consider referring that teacher to the NCTL. In circumstances where the DBS decides to bar an individual any ongoing NCTL case would be discontinued. The NCTL primarily takes to a conclusion cases which have not met the DBS threshold for barring.
