New Clause 4 - Procedure for making certain orders specifying learning and development requirements
Childcare Bill
10:00 am
Maria Eagle (Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Children and Families), Department for Education and Skills; Liverpool, Garston, Labour)
The two new clauses deal with slightly different things. New clause 4 requires the Secretary of State to consult representative organisations and to provide all those with an interest in early years with an opportunity to make representations on the order specifying the early learning goals or educational programmes under clause 39(1)(a).
I hope that the new clause will be welcomed by members of the Committee and others with an interest in the matter. It is based on section 96 of the Education Act 2002, which sets out a similar process for the Secretary of State to follow when making certain orders and regulations in relation to the national curriculum, including the current foundation stage. It seemed sensible to have such an arrangement and a duty replicated as far as possible in respect of the development of the early years foundation stage. That is why we want to include the new clause. I hope that it will reassure hon. Members that the Government intend fully to consult those who have an interest. There has been a lot of interest in the early years foundation stage. I hope that the new clause provides an extra assurance that we intend to consult properly.
New clause 5 sets out that Ofsted may, if regulations so provide, deem a person to be unsuitable and to cancel or refuse registration when consent for third party checks is refused or withdrawn. That means that if Ofsted wants to check information from a third party which requires the consent of the individual seeking to be registered and that consent is refused or withdrawn, it need not look further but can, at that point, deem a person to be unsuitable and cancel or refuse the registration without having to go through the entire process to the end and have potential appeals. That retains the status quo. Without the provision, it is impossible for Ofsted to make decisions about the suitability of a person for registration if it cannot get hold of the third party information—for example, through Criminal Records Bureau checks—that it needs. In such cases, it seems sensible that Ofsted can refuse to register the person.
These matters were overlooked—I suppose that is the best way of putting it—during the complicated business of writing legislation to tight deadlines. With those explanations, I hope that the Committee will accept the new clauses.