Recently, confusion has reigned concerning the position of the government and Ofsted over the registration and possible monitoring of church youth groups.
During the period of consultation on the registration of groups who teach children for more than six hours a week, including churches, the Chief Inspector for schools, Sir Michael Wilshaw stated that he wanted Sunday schools registered and if problems were cited, Ofsted would ‘go in’. This implied there were no current mechanisms for investigating such problems, which is not the case. Any member of the public can go to the police or social services if they have concerns about any child in any setting.
No monitoring
However, the Prime Minister contradicted Mr Wilshaw, saying that he did not intend legislation to cover Sunday schools and summer camps. Mr Cameron is reported to have held ‘productive’ discussions with faith groups to ensure that the system is ‘targeted and proportionate’. This does not fit entirely with the PM’s assertion that he would not register church groups.
