Clause 40
Education and Skills Bill
9:45 am
Jim Knight (Minister of State (Schools and Learners), Department for Children, Schools and Families; South Dorset, Labour)
Of course we want as many young people as possible to engage voluntarily in learning, without having to use sanctions. That is the aim of local authorities too, as John Freeman from the Association of Directors of Children’s Services told us. He is the director of children’s services in Dudley and in evidence to the Committee he said that
“we see enforcement as the last option and, indeed, an indication that we have failed somewhere. A disengaged young person is not just an indication that they have failed, but that we have failed.”——[Official Report, Education and Skills Public Bill Committee, 22 Jan 2008; c. 72, Q174]
That is why we have emphasised the need to put the provision in place. Every young person, wherever they are in the country and whatever level they are working at, will be able to find a suitable learning option. We are focusing on ensuring that there is the right support, from careers education and guidance in schools, to the Connexions service and talented youth support, for young people both to engage with, and stay in, learning and to achieve. We will also ensure that there is extra help for those with special educational needs.
The amendment to clause 40 is not necessary. It might be helpful if I quickly mention the 10 stages that we have introduced, as opposed to the four stages that the hon. Member for South Holland and The Deepings has identified, so that hon. Members are clear about the extent to which there is a last resort in the courts. The first stage is support from the learning provider. If a young person encounters problems or shows signs of disengaging from learning, the first step is for the learning provider to try to identify and address the issue by providing additional support or identifying an alternative learning programme. The second stage is notification to Connexions. If the young person drops out altogether, the learning provider will have a duty to inform the local authority or its Connexions service provider, which will then contact the young person to try to identify what the problems are. Over time, the guidance service will work with the young person to offer advice and broker support to help them to re-engage with learning. That is the third stage: the support from Connexions, which will identify an appropriate learning option and provide support to take that up.
A last chance—the fourth stage—is provided if the young person still does not engage once a suitable programme has been identified and appropriate support provided—[Interruption.] I am delighted to see that the hon. Member for Yeovil has arrived. I only wish that we could all be party to the discussions that he will probably have with the hon. Member for Bristol, West. He can be assured that an attendance notice is on its way stating that he has missed the fourth stage—the last chance—that I was talking about. If the young person has been offered a suitable programme and additional support has been provided, and they have no outstanding barriers to participation or reasonable excuses for not participating, they should be given a formal last chance to engage voluntarily.
The fifth stage is 15 days’ notice. There is a point at which the local authority takes a clear decision to begin enforcement. A young person cannot enter the enforcement system automatically or accidentally. The local authority must consciously make that decision and then give the young person 15 days’ notice in writing that they will be issued with an attendance notice—the initial steps that are set out in clause 39. Stage six is the issuing of an attendance notice. At stage seven, the young person can appeal against the attendance notice, and stage eight is the serving of a fixed penalty notice, which again is appealable. There would then be a fine in the youth court and, finally, fine enforcement. There are plenty of stages all the way down the track.