Results 1-20 of 1,522 for (in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates') speaker:Baroness Walmsley

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill: Third Reading (10 Nov 2009)

Baroness Walmsley: My Lords, I very much welcome the amendment, which was tabled as a result of one of my urgings. It is a step in the right direction, although I would have preferred it if the Government had accepted the amendment on Report which said that the matter should be down to the head teacher's discretion. The Government have responded to the case study which I suggested whereby a child might have...

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill: Third Reading (10 Nov 2009)

Baroness Walmsley: My Lords, I am most grateful to the Minister for accepting the idea that there should be affirmative resolution, which was in my Amendment 200 at the Report stage. It is right that Parliament has the opportunity to debate these targets, even though they will have been consulted on very widely with the professionals. Parliamentarians are very concerned about the issues surrounding the targets...

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill: Third Reading (10 Nov 2009)

Baroness Walmsley: I am most grateful to the Minister for listening yet again on this matter. I tabled amendments in Committee and on Report and she has come back with a government amendment. I have a couple of questions. The Bill introduces the general duty on the commission to publish information about the procedures for complaint. Will that information be in a format suitable for children and young people to...

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill: Third Reading (10 Nov 2009)

Baroness Walmsley: My Lords, the majority of these amendments provide that an Ofqual determination is to be approved by a resolution of both Houses of Parliament. I little thought when I tabled Amendment 177 on Report that it would take 10 amendments to bring it into force at this stage. However, I welcome them, particularly Amendment 139, which is the provision that makes it quite clear that this has to be...

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill: Report (2nd Day)(Continued) (4 Nov 2009)

Baroness Walmsley: I thank the Minister for her response and the noble Baroness, Lady Verma, for her support. I am afraid that I disagree with the Minister when she suggests that this is an opportunity for the partnership to reach into the children's trust. I think that it is the opposite: it is an opportunity for the children's trust to reach into the partnership. Frankly, it has better things to do. Although...

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill: Report (2nd Day)(Continued) (4 Nov 2009)

Baroness Walmsley: My Lords, if we are trading trades unions, the NAHT is also against it, as are the ASCL and the NUT, so that is three against one. Let me make it quite clear that we on these Benches are not against making behaviour partnerships statutory, but we still disagree about the best way to make sure that that happens. I still think that it is not appropriate to give this to the CTB and I do not...

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill: Report (2nd Day)(Continued) (4 Nov 2009)

Baroness Walmsley: I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Verma, for her support and the Minister for her reply. I already had a hint that she might be offering us this concession, and I am delighted to hear it from her own lips this evening. It is a step in the right direction, and I thank her for it. I look forward to seeing that amendment at Third Reading. Obviously, we will need to think carefully between now and...

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill: Report (2nd Day)(Continued) (4 Nov 2009)

Baroness Walmsley: I shall also speak to Amendment 219. Both amendments refer to school behaviour partnerships but I shall first say something about Amendment 219 and then I will come to Amendment 218. Under the Bill, schools are required to join together into behaviour partnerships to work together to promote good behaviour. I am sure that the Minister is aware that the vast majority of good schools do this...

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill: Report (2nd Day)(Continued) (4 Nov 2009)

Baroness Walmsley: My Lords, I was hoping that the Minister would say that. In light of that, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment 208 withdrawn. Amendments 209 and 210 not moved. Clause 202 : Power of Local Commissioner to investigate complaint Amendment 211 not moved. Clause 205 : Investigations: further provisions Amendment 212 not moved. Clause 237 : Power of members of staff to search pupils...

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill: Report (2nd Day)(Continued) (4 Nov 2009)

Baroness Walmsley: My Lords, I will speak to Amendments 213A, 213B, 215 and 216 in this group. Following our debate in Committee, I drafted Amendments 213A and 213B to protect any teacher who seizes drugs or alcohol during an authorised search. It is important to protect teachers from any possible allegations that they had used the drugs or alcohol themselves, or even sold them or given them to someone else. It...

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill: Report (2nd Day)(Continued) (4 Nov 2009)

Baroness Walmsley: My Lords, I shall speak also to Amendment 217A, and I apologise that it was tabled late. This group of amendments and the next are about behaviour in one way or another. A similar amendment to this was tabled by us in Committee to ensure that the head teacher who knows the child and his family may use his discretion as to whether to report the use of force on every occasion to the parent or...

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill: Report (2nd Day)(Continued) (4 Nov 2009)

Baroness Walmsley: I thank the Minister for her reply, and agree with her about the benefits of a good complaints system. I used to work for a very good marketing director of a large hotel chain, who turned every complainant who came her way into a customer for life, because she dealt with them so well. She would get on the phone to the complainant, find out what their grievance was and pay them back in...

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill: Report (2nd Day)(Continued) (4 Nov 2009)

Baroness Walmsley: To continue, I thank the noble Baroness for telling me a little more about the sorts of head teacher duties that would fall under this scheme. It was very helpful, too, to have that further information on the time limit for ex-pupils. I am also delighted to hear that the new system will be tested; the criteria that the noble Baroness outlined sounded very sensible. I think she also said that...

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill: Report (2nd Day)(Continued) (4 Nov 2009)

Baroness Walmsley: My Lords, I am grateful to those who have taken part in this short debate. I take some comfort from what the Minister said about the letter from the Children's Minister to all directors of children's services. It would be good if I could have sight of that letter; perhaps that can be arranged. I am pleased that she emphasised that high-quality provision should not be threatened by the way in...

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill: Report (2nd Day)(Continued) (4 Nov 2009)

Baroness Walmsley: I interpret that as, "We will keep an eye on them". I hope that is exactly what will happen. I hope that the debate has highlighted the problem—the newspapers highlighted it yesterday—and that the Government will keep an eye on this and make sure that it is working properly. In the mean time, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment 205 withdrawn. Amendment 206 not moved....

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill: Report (2nd Day)(Continued) (4 Nov 2009)

Baroness Walmsley: I shall speak also to Amendments 211 and 212. We now come to the proposed new school complaints system. We on these Benches are still not fully convinced that this system is going to be any better than the previous one. It introduces another layer of accountability for schools rather than letting complaints go to the Secretary of State, if they have exhausted the local complaints process. We...

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill: Report (2nd Day)(Continued) (4 Nov 2009)

Baroness Walmsley: Amendment 205 seeks to protect centres of excellence in early years education when the new budgetary framework comes into force. During Committee, I expressed my concern that these leading-edge settings, which set the standard for the high quality of early years education, to which we should aspire for all children, are being threatened by the way local authorities are planning to implement...

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill: Report (2nd Day)(Continued) (4 Nov 2009)

Baroness Walmsley: My Lords, the amendment would ensure that the first set of child safeguarding targets, which have resulted from the second report of the noble Lord, Lord Laming, following the death of Baby Peter, on which the Government are currently consulting, have to go before Parliament for a debate and vote under the affirmative resolution procedure. In Committee, the Minister agreed with the spirit of...

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill: Report (2nd Day)(Continued) (4 Nov 2009)

Baroness Walmsley: My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Verma, for her support and to the Minister for her remarks. I hope that she will take the amendment away and consider whether, even if it is defective, between now and Third Reading we might in some way put it right. She would please not only every Member of your Lordships' House but every Member of another place if she accepted that it is...

Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill: Report (2nd Day)(Continued) (4 Nov 2009)

Baroness Walmsley: My Lords, perhaps I might make a few comments on this rather mixed bag of amendments. It is a bit like a curate's egg as far as I am concerned, as I support some and not others. On Amendment 191, I am frankly shocked and horrified that the noble Baroness thinks that academies should not have a duty to co-operate as a relevant partner on child safeguarding, which is a responsibility and duty...