Clause 5

Part of Education Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 10:00 am on 17 March 2011.

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Photo of Nick Gibb Nick Gibb Minister of State (Education) 10:00, 17 March 2011

It does give that possibility. The more of these rights are in statute, the more parents and pupils are able to say, “We know our rights”. We are trying to shift the balance of authority in schools back to the teacher and head teacher and we do not apologise for that. That is the direction of travel we want for schools. Head teachers will be given the freedom to decide what arrangements are most appropriate for their school. They will set a general approach to detentions in their  school behaviour policy and individual teachers will be able to decide, within the framework of the behaviour policy and taking into account the particular circumstances of each case, what arrangements for giving notice of detention are appropriate.

Once this requirement is removed, a number of safeguards will remain in place. There is already a legal requirement that disciplinary penalties must be reasonable in all circumstances and when considering this, teachers must take account of the special circumstances of the pupil, including age and any special educational needs or disabilities. That requirement applies when issuing detention outside school hours and it means that an out-of-hours detention will be unlawful if the pupil’s parents are not given notice, if that is appropriate in the circumstances. Teachers are well placed to consider the individual needs of particular pupils in these contexts and they should be trusted to do so.