Education Counsellors Supporting Pupils in Education Information

Our reference: 1351 FOI
 
Dear C McEwan
 
Thank you for your request of 5 June 2009 in which you asked for the
following information:

1. Does your Local Authority presently employ Education Counsellors*
(rather than `buying in' such a service from an external provider)?

2. If the answer to Question 1 is `yes', please state for each
Education Counsellor employed by the Local Authority:

o Whether they have been deemed to be eligible to join the Teachers
Pension Scheme and

o The date when they joined the Teachers Pension Scheme

o Whether they are employed on Teachers Terms and Conditions of
Employment

3. If your Local Authority does not presently employ Education
Counsellors have they done so in the past?

4. If the answer to Question 3 is `yes', please state for each School
Counsellor employed by the Local Authority since 31 March 2004:

o Whether they were deemed to be eligible to join the Teachers
Pension Scheme and

o When they joined the Teachers Pension Scheme

* Education Counsellors meaning those employed to support pupils in
education

Your request is being considered and you will receive the information
requested as soon as possible and in any event within the next 20 working
days in compliance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000, unless an
exemption applies. This means that the council will respond to you by 3
July 2009 at the latest.

 
There may be a fee payable for this information. You will be informed if
this is the case and you can decide if you wish to proceed with your
request.

 
If appropriate, the information requested can be made available in
alternative formats, including other languages, Braille, large print, and
audiocassette. If you require any of these formats then please let me
know.

 
Please contact me if you have any have further enquiries about your
request. I would be grateful if you could quote the reference number
given at the top of this email.

 
Yours sincerely,

James Willoughby
Senior Information Officer
Oxfordshire County Council
Corporate Core
Freedom of Information Team
County Hall
New Road
Oxford
OX1 1ND
Tel: 01865 810584
Fax: 01865 247805
E-mail: [email address] (direct)
E-mail: [1][Oxfordshire County Council request email] (FOI team)
Internet: [2]www.oxfordshire.gov.uk

This email, including attachments, may contain confidential information.
If you have received it in error, please notify the sender by reply and
delete it immediately. Views expressed by the sender may not be those of
Oxfordshire County Council. Council emails are subject to the Freedom of
Information Act 2000. http://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/emaildiscl...

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[Oxfordshire County Council request email]
2. http://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/

Our reference: 1351 FOI
 
Dear C McEwan
 
Thank you for your request of 5 June 2009 in which you asked for the
following information:

1. Does your Local Authority presently employ Education Counsellors*
(rather than `buying in' such a service from an external provider)?

2. If the answer to Question 1 is `yes', please state for each
Education Counsellor employed by the Local Authority:

o Whether they have been deemed to be eligible to join the Teachers
Pension Scheme and

o The date when they joined the Teachers Pension Scheme

o Whether they are employed on Teachers Terms and Conditions of
Employment

3. If your Local Authority does not presently employ Education
Counsellors have they done so in the past?

4. If the answer to Question 3 is `yes', please state for each School
Counsellor employed by the Local Authority since 31 March 2004:

o Whether they were deemed to be eligible to join the Teachers
Pension Scheme and

o When they joined the Teachers Pension Scheme

* Education Counsellors meaning those employed to support pupils in
education

Taking each of your points in turn:

1. Does your Local Authority presently employ Education Counsellors*
(rather than `buying in' such a service from an external provider)?

Oxfordshire County Council does not employ education counsellors directly,
nor does it buy in this service from an external provider. Some secondary
schools employ 'school counsellors' for the benefit of their pupils. Most,
but not all, schools employ their staff via the council. The council is
not aware that schools buy in this service. Some schools are Foundation
Schools and they employ their staff directly. There are also two Academies
in Oxfordshire who employ their own staff directly. Further to this,
church school employees are technically employed by the Diocese and / or
the School Governors and are therefore not employed by the council.

2. If the answer to Question 1 is `yes', please state for each
Education Counsellor employed by the Local Authority:

Most `school counsellors' will not be teachers or employed on teachers pay
and conditions so would be unlikely to be eligible for the Teacher Pension
Scheme.

3. If your Local Authority does not presently employ Education
Counsellors have they done so in the past?

The council is not aware that this was the case in the past.

If the answer to Question 3 is `yes', please state for each School
Counsellor employed by the Local Authority since 31 March 2004:

N/A.

Feedback

Following our completion of your information request, we would be grateful
if you would take a few minutes to give us some feedback.

Please click on the weblink below to open a short survey which should take
less than 5 minutes to complete.

[1]http://portal.oxfordshire.gov.uk/content...

Responses are anonymous and will help us improve our service. Thank you.

Help Us To get It Right

If you are dissatisfied with the service or response you have received you
can complain as follows:
 
o Use the online complaints form on our website -
[2]www.oxfordshire.gov.uk;
 
o Complete the leaflet "How do I complain about a council service?".
Copies are available from any Oxfordshire library or by telephoning 01865
815906. Large print and audio tape versions are available on request from
this number;

 
o Write to us at our FREEPOST address:

Complaints and Comments
Oxfordshire County Council
FREEPOST (SCE 7709)
Oxford OX1 1YA.
 
Please let me know if you have further enquiries. I would be grateful if
you could use the reference number given at the top of this email.

Yours sincerely,

James Willoughby
Senior Information Officer
Oxfordshire County Council
Corporate Core
Freedom of Information Team
County Hall
New Road
Oxford
OX1 1ND
Tel: 01865 810584
Fax: 01865 247805
E-mail: [email address] (direct)
E-mail: [3][Oxfordshire County Council request email] (FOI team)
Internet: [4]www.oxfordshire.gov.uk

This email, including attachments, may contain confidential information.
If you have received it in error, please notify the sender by reply and
delete it immediately. Views expressed by the sender may not be those of
Oxfordshire County Council. Council emails are subject to the Freedom of
Information Act 2000. http://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/emaildiscl...

References

Visible links
1. http://portal.oxfordshire.gov.uk/content...
2. file://../3.04%20Information%20requests/3.16.02%20Requests%202006/Local%20Settings/3.16.02.08%20Requests%20August%202006/FOI%20344/www.oxfordshire.gov.uk
3. mailto:[Oxfordshire County Council request email]
4. http://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/