Written question asked by Claire Curtis-Thomas (Labour) on Monday, 7 June 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Friday, 18 June 2004. It was answered by Stephen Twigg (Labour) on Friday, 18 June 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 assessment has been made of the (a) cost and (b) inconvenience caused by the transfer of records between the schools of highly mobile children.

Answer: Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment has been made of the (a) cost and (b) inconvenience caused by the transfer of records between the schools of highly mobile children. [177790] Mr. Stephen Twigg: Assessments have not been carried out of either the cost or the inconvenience caused by the transfer of records between schools of highly mobile children. However, the Department recognises the additional burden that high pupil mobility places on schools and we introduced the electronic Common Transfer File in 2002 to ease such demands. The Common Transfer File is an electronic record that comprises a statutory set of information on pupils who move from one school to another. Its aim is to ensure that there is a consistent set of information available to teachers and staff at the receiving school, thereby saving time that would be spent in re-entry of pupil information and on reassessment of the pupil. Feedback from schools on its effectiveness has been positive. In addition, the Department is also conducting a review of the effectiveness of the Parent Held Pupil Record, which is currently used to transfer information on gypsy/traveller pupils between schools.

Secondary information