Written question asked by Tim Loughton (Conservative) on Thursday, 2 December 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 9 December 2004. It was answered by David Miliband (Labour) on Thursday, 9 December 2004 on behalf of the Department for Education and Skills.

Dept for Education and Skills

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what the duties of independent schools will be under the terms of the Children Act 2004.

Answer: Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the duties of independent schools will be under the terms of the Children Act 2004. [203279] Mr. Miliband: The Children Act 2004 does not put duties on independent schools in relation to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. However, it will affect the way that they carry out their duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of pupils under S157 of the 2002 Education Act and the 2003 Standards Regulations. Section 12 of The Children Act 2004 provides for the establishment of a national network of databases, or Indexes, to support better information sharing about the needs of children between practitioners working in children's services. These databases will contain basic identifying data for each child, contact details for professionals working with the child and a facility to indicate that a professional has a concern about a child. Proprietors of independent schools are under a duty to disclose information to Indexes once they are established. I will write to the hon. Member with a fuller explanation.

Secondary information