To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many performance reviews were undertaken in respect of staff of his Department and its predecessors in each of the last five years; in how many cases performance was rated as unsatisfactory or below; how many staff left as a direct result of such a rating; and what percentage of full-time equivalent staff this represented. (313831)

The information requested is set out in the following table:

The Department reviews the performance of staff against their set objectives throughout the year and takes immediate action to address performance or development issues. If performance does not improve dismissal can result. The number for unsatisfactory in the above table only refers to those in grades below the senior civil service (SCS). There is no unsatisfactory mark in the SCS performance management system and poor performance procedures are started immediately.

Staff don’t leave automatically as a result of an unsatisfactory marking as the performance improvement measures described above are put in place. Data for the former Department for Education and Skills (DfES) for the period 2005-07, is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.