Consultation on the Improvement in Scottish Education Bill

OTHER MEASURES

Scottish Ministers propose a series of other measures included in the draft Bill which will assist improvement in the Scottish education system more generally and which support other key commitments of the Scottish Executive.

• The provisions on registration of independent schools and corporal punishment will underwrite the commitment to the protection and the care and welfare of children.

• The provisions on self-governing schools fulfil the commitment to return 'opted out' schools to the control of local authorities.

• The provisions on elections to School Boards will support the aim of involving parents more in schools.

• The provisions relating to pre-school education will support the commitment that all pre-school year children and all three year olds have access to a quality part-time place by 2002.
• The provisions on placing requests will continue to protect parental choice, while at the same time assisting authorities to meet the national target that class sizes for Primary 1, 2 and 3 should not exceed 30 by August 2001.

Corporal Punishment

1 In 1980 corporal punishment was abolished for pupils attending state schools or independent schools whose fees or costs are supported by public funds. In 1993 further legislation made unlawful corporal punishment that is inhumane or degrading in any circumstances, including in those schools not covered by the 1980 prohibition.

2. The same law applied in England and Wales until last year when new legislation extended the prohibition on corporal punishment to all pupils in independent schools and for children receiving nursery education.

3. The Scottish Executive believes that on the important issue of child protection and welfare there is no reason why children in England and Wales should be better protected than children in this jurisdiction and proposes to make a similar change to the law in Scotland.

4. In practical terms, the provision will make little difference as most pre-school education centres are prohibited from administering corporal punishment through their conditions of grant (under the current arrangements for supporting pre-school provision) and only a few independent schools still administer corporal punishment or include it in their discipline policy. Nevertheless, Scottish Ministers attach importance to the amendment which will finally abolish corporal punishment in all schools and publicly-funded pre-school centres.

Self-Governing Schools

1. Since 1989 schools in Scotland have been able to opt out of local authority control to become self-governing. The policy of opting out has never been popular in Scotland and the recent consultation on School Boards found that although parents wanted to be consulted on key issues, they wanted the professionals to make the decisions. Parents in Scotland do not wish to manage schools.

2. The Scottish Executive believes that schools are properly managed within the framework of the local authority, which is best placed to take an overview of provision needed in their area and to monitor and manage schools accordingly.

3. There are currently only two self-governing schools in Scotland, Dornoch Academy in Highland and St Mary's Episcopal Primary School in Dunblane. Dornoch Academy has already begun to make arrangements to return to the control of Highland Council. A third school, Fort William Primary, was approved for self-governing status in 1996, but following this election has not progressed to become a self-governing school and this status remains.

4. Under the draft Bill all opted out self-governing schools would be returned to local authority management and the transitional status of Fort William Primary School would end. The provisions that allow schools to apply for self-governing status would also be repealed.

1. These proposed measures confirm the priority the Scottish Executive is placing on protecting children. The proposals have been discussed with the Scottish Council of Independent Schools.

How Registration Works

2. All independent schools in Scotland must register with Scottish Ministers, through the Registrar of Independent Schools, within one month of commencing operation. Schools are granted provisional registration as soon as a manager approaches the Registrar of Independent Schools, but they are not finally registered until the school has been inspected by HMI and on its advice, Scottish Ministers award final registration.

3. Regulations outline particular information which a manager must provide for the Registrar of Independent Schools when applying for registration, and independent schools must provide pupil and teacher information every year. If a school does not inform the Registrar of changes to particular information, or provide the annual return of pupil and teacher information, it can be taken off the Register of Independent Schools, making it illegal for the school to continue operating.

Formal Notice of Complaint

4. Scottish Ministers may issue a formal notice of complaint against an independent school on all or any of the following grounds:

• That efficient and suitable instruction is not being provided at the school, having regard to the ages and sex of the pupils attending it.
• That the school premises or any parts of them are unsuitable for a school.
• That the accommodation provided at the school is inadequate or unsuitable.
• That the manager of the school or any teacher employed there is not a proper person to be the manager of an independent school or be a teacher in any school.

5. The notice of complaint will specify the steps the school must take to address the problems identified and the time the school has to make the changes. If the school does not comply with the notice, the school can be taken off the Register. The school can appeal against a notice of complaint to an Independent Schools Tribunal.

6. In 1997 the Children's Safeguards Review undertaken by Roger Kent recommended that there should be an additional ground for serving a notice of complaint - that of failure to provide adequately for the welfare of a child or children. The Scottish Executive accept the recommendation as consistent with its commitment to protecting all children and has brought forward the necessary legislative amendment at the first appropriate opportunity.

Provisional Registration

7. Under the current arrangements an independent school may apply for provisional registration after it has begun to operate. In theory a school could be in operation for at least one month before checks are carried out on that manager. Scottish Ministers consider that this does not allow the necessary level of protection and that in future there should be a requirement for managers, who are planning to start an independent school, to apply for provisional registration before the school is due to start operation. This would allow sufficient time for checks to be carried out on the manager, any other staff identified at that stage and on proposed premises before the school becomes operational.

Refusing Provisional Registration

8. At present, because provisional registration is automatic, registration can only be refused if the manager of the school has already been disqualified from being a manager of an independent school or if the premises have already been disqualified from being used as a school. Although Scottish Ministers have the power to refuse final registration and to withdraw provisional registration, they consider that this does not offer the necessary level of protection.

9. The draft Bill would give Scottish Ministers new powers to refuse provisional registration of a new independent school on any of the following grounds:

• That the manager was not a proper person to be a manager of an independent school.
• That a proposed teacher was not a fit person to be a teacher at any school.
• That the premises, or any parts of them, were unsuitable to be a school, on the basis of checks undertaken at that time.

10. The manager would have the right to appeal against refusal to an Independent Schools Tribunal.