Teachers who are members of political Parties.

Dear Mr Walker,
I acknowledge your request for information which was received at this office on 9th October 2009. This request has been considered as a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Your request may take up to 20 working days to be processed, so we will respond to you by 6th November 2009.

Please be advised that if an exemption applies to the information requested, the statutory period may be exceeded in accordance with the provisions of the Act. Please also note that a charge may be applicable. You will be advised of this in due course. If a charge is made, the clock will stop in respect of the 20 working days, until the fee is received.

Kind regards,
Kathryn Kennedy
HR Support Manager
Human Resources, Customer & Support Services, Salford City Council, Civic Centre, Chorley Road, Swinton, M27 5BN
Mailto:[email address] www.salford.gov.uk

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Dear Mr Walker,
Apologies for the delay in responding, I am waiting for some further information and you will receive your response very shortly,
Kind regards,
Kathryn Kennedy
HR Support Manager
Human Resources, Customer & Support Services, Salford City Council, Civic Centre, Chorley Road, Swinton, M27 5BN
Mailto:[email address] www.salford.gov.uk

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Dear Mr Walker,

I refer to your request for information under the Freedom of Information
Act 2000 which was received at this office on 9th October 2009, requesting
the following information:

1. Has your authority ever found a member of the BNP or any other
political Party guilty of a disciplinary offence related to their Party
membership in the last three years? If so please give information as to
when and how many.
I can advise that the Council has not found a member of any political
party guilty of a disciplinary offence.
2. Has any parent complained to you regarding the Party membership of any
employee or the expression of political views within School classrooms
under your authority during the last three years?
I can advise that the Council has received no complaints. We do not hold
information for schools, as they are separate authorities under the
Freedom of Information Act. You would need to contact the schools directly
to ascertain this information.
3. What safeguards do you currently have in place to prevent members of
any political Party promoting their views within Schools?

School students are taught to be critical and analytical of any opinions
which are expressed in what they read, what they find from ICT resources,
what they watch on television and, ultimately, what they hear from adults.
So if they hear party political views outside school or in school,
students would be equipped to identify bias, challenge views appropriately
and form their own viewpoints.

These skills are taught regularly in subjects such as English, History,
Religious Education and Citizenship. For example, in English students are
'assessing the validity and significance of information and ideas from
different sources', while in History they are 'evaluating a range of
interpretations... to assess their validity' (both taken from National
Curriculum orders). The development of students' Personal Learning and
Thinking Skills, a statutory requirement which goes across the curriculum,
involves teaching them to 'analyse and evaluate information, judging its
relevance and value'. So producing students with an effective ability to
analyse points of view critically is a key element in safeguarding them
from attempted political indoctrination.

Please note that this request is now considered closed. If you are unhappy
with the service you have received in relation to your request and wish to
make a complaint or appeal against our decision, you should write to
Debbie Brown, Assistant Director, Human Resources, at the below address,
or email [1][email address]

Should you disagree with the decision not to comply with your request, or
if you wish to make a formal appeal against this decision, please contact
me. Guidance on how to make a formal appeal against a decision under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000 is also available on our web site at
[2]www.salford.gov.uk.

Should you further disagree with the decision following the appeal, you
may wish to contact the Office of the Information Commissioner:
Office of the Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF
[3]www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk
Tel: 01625 545700
Fax: 01625 524510

If you have further queries please do not hesitate to contact me using the
contact details given below,
Regards

Kathryn Kennedy
HR Support Manager
[4]Mailto:[email address] [5]www.salford.gov.uk

DISCLAIMER: The information in this message is confidential and may be legally privileged. It is intended solely for the addressee.

Access to this message by anyone else is unauthorised. If you are not the intended recipient, any disclosure, copying, or distribution of the message, or any action or omission taken by you in reliance on it, is prohibited and may be unlawful.
As a public body, Salford City Council may be required to disclose this email [or any response to it] under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, unless the information in it is covered by one of the exemptions in the Act.
Please immediately contact the sender if you have received this message in error.

For the full disclaimer please access http://www.salford.gov.uk/e-mail. Thank you.

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