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Education and Inspections Bill

I am very grateful for the Minister’s detailed reply to the large number of amendments I spoke to in the group. In particular, I am delighted that in his response to Amendment No. 216A he said that the Government are establishing a series of pilots for the pupil and parent support workers. That is a very important move and can help not only with discipline issues but also with the degree to which we can help some of the more disadvantaged children to improve their performance in schools. Therefore, I am pleased that we have such a positive response to that. As for Amendment No. 218, yes, it is part of teachers' contracts, and so forth, but it would be nice to have the concept of mutual respect reflected in the Bill. We will read in Hansard what the Minister said but we may come back to this issue on Report, because it would be good to have that concept of mutual respect reflected. I am pleased to hear what he said about the guidance to be issued—in particular, the information for parents. He is quite right that in the Childcare Act, we are ensuring that parents get access to early parenting information, but people forget and lose information that they obtain when children are quite small. As children grow up, different issues arise. It is vital that parents recognise what is a normal part of growing up and that, if they need help, it is available. I shall be delighted if the guidance to be issued means that, especially at important points of transition, parents are reminded of where they can get help. I take on board what the Minister said about the existing complaint procedures in the Education Act 2002. I had forgotten that section and it is good to be reminded that there is a very clear complaints procedure. That is important and I am grateful for that.