Tag: Lord Quirk

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Quirk on 2014-06-04.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether it has been their policy for fixed-period exclusions from school to remain broadly constant over the past decade and for permanent exclusions to fall sharply year by year; if so, how they assess the outcome; and if not, how they account for the difference.

Lord Nash

Exclusion is a decision for headteachers alone to take. The Government does not set targets or expected levels for exclusion. Rather, the Government’s policy is that headteachers need to ensure good discipline in schools, in the interest of all their pupils, and should feel confident in using exclusion where they believe this is warranted by a pupil’s behaviour.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Quirk on 2014-06-04.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have observed any correlation between bad behaviour in schools and the absence of a specified dress code for (1) pupils, and (2) teachers.

Lord Nash

The Government does not have any evidence of any correlation between bad behaviour in schools and the absence of a specified dress code for pupils and teachers.

The Department for Education has issued advice that strongly encourages schools to have a uniform, as it can play a valuable role in contributing to the ethos of a school and setting an appropriate tone. However, it is for the governing body of a school (or the academy trust in the case of academies and free schools) to decide whether there should be a uniform policy and other rules on appearance. This flows from the duties placed upon all governing bodies by statute to ensure that school policies promote good behaviour and discipline among the pupil body.

Dress codes for teachers are a matter for employers to determine, whether that is the governing body, academy trust or local authority. As part of the general terms and conditions of employment agreed with employees we would expect schools to consider an appropriate dress code, relevant to the individual setting, taking into account the requirements of the post.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Quirk on 2014-06-04.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in respect of the latest two years for which figures are available, how many of the pupils excluded from academies were admitted to local authority schools.

Lord Nash

Information on the number of exclusions from academies in England in the 2010/11[1] and 2011/12[2] academic years is available in table 16 of the “Permanent and fixed period exclusions from schools in England” statistical first releases for each year.

Information on the number of excluded pupils that were admitted to local authority schools is not held by the Department.

Academies are bound by their funding agreements to comply with the statutory requirements on admissions and the Admissions Code as if they were a maintained school. Schools, including academies, cannot refuse to admit pupils on the grounds of past behaviour unless they have received two or more permanent exclusions.

[1]https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/permanent-and-fixed-period-exclusions-from-schools-in-england-academic-year-2010-to-2011

[2]https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/permanent-and-fixed-period-exclusions-from-schools-in-england-2011-to-2012-academic-year

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Quirk on 2014-05-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to mitigate any reduction in staffing provision, acquisitions, and essential services in the British Library resulting from reductions in funding since 2010.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has an arm’s length relationship with its sponsored bodies such as the British Library, and operational and management decisions are therefore a matter for the Board and Executive. In the Spending Review of 2010, funding for the British Library was protected by limiting resource cuts to 15% in real terms over four years, and at the Spending Round of 2013, the 5% reduction in capital and resource budgets was below average. The Chancellor signalled in his 2014 Budget announcement that there would not be any further reductions to departmental spending at this time, so that sponsored bodies will maintain current levels of planned spending in 2014/15 and 2015/16.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Quirk on 2014-05-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many pupils were excluded from (1) primary, and (2) secondary, schools in 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010 and during the latest year for which figures are available.

Lord Nash

The requested information for the 2009/10[1] and 2011/12[2] academic years is published in the permanent and fixed period exclusions statistical first releases for each year.

Information on permanent exclusions for the 1999/2000[3] academic year is publicly available in the 1999/2000 permanent exclusions statistical first release. Information on exclusion rates prior to 2005/06 was collected via the Termly Exclusions Survey rather than the School Census.

Information on permanent and fixed period exclusions for the 1979/80 and 1989/90 academic years is not held by the Department for Education.

[1]https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/permanent-and-fixed-period-exclusions-from-schools-in-england-academic-year-2009-to-2010 (table 1 and 6)

[2]https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/permanent-and-fixed-period-exclusions-from-schools-in-england-2011-to-2012-academic-year (table 1 and 8)

[3]http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20120504203418/http://education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000275/index.shtml (table 1)

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Quirk on 2014-05-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many teachers have resigned from their posts in each of the past 10 years, citing disruptive behaviour as a factor in their resignation.

Lord Nash

The information requested is not held by the Department for Education.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Quirk on 2014-06-04.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Nash on 14 May (WA 533), if school exclusion data for the years 1980 and 1990 are not held by the Department for Education, from where they can be obtained.

Lord Nash

Permanent exclusions data was first collected in 1994/95. Information on fixed period exclusions was only collected from 2003/04.

Information on exclusion rates prior to 2005/06 was collected via the Termly Exclusions Survey rather than the School Census.