asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Answer by Lord Adonis on 20 March (Official Report, House of Lords, col. 362), whether they will arrange for the response of the chief inspector of Ofsted to Lord Morris of Manchester requested by Lord Adonis about bullying of and physical hurt to children with learning disabilities to be published in the Official Report. [HL3439]

I have arranged for Her Majesty's Chief Inspector's response to Lord Morris to be published in the Official Report and a copy of the letter to be placed in the Library of the House. The Government take the issue of bullying involving children with special educational needs and disabilities very seriously. We are currently considering how best to work with Ofsted in our continuing drive against such bullying.

Letter from Christine Gilbert, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Ofsted, to Lord Morris of Manchester dated 21 April 2008.

Lord Adonis has written to me about your exchange in the House of Lords on 20 March 2008.

The bullying of disabled children is an issue that Ofsted takes very seriously. I know colleagues within the Education Directorate in Ofsted have recently met with representatives from Mencap to discuss the implications of their report: Bullying Wrecks Lives. Eileen Visser HMI discussed with Lesley Campbell and Rachel Hughes (Managers for the Stop the Bullying Campaign) what more inspectors might look for in relation to bullying of disabled pupils in schools.

A consequence of this meeting has been to provide a platform for a young woman with a learning disability to address our forthcoming Education Directorate conference, which will include references to disablist bullying in schools. At this same conference, training will be given to inspectors on the inspection of learning difficulties and/or disabilities in schools. The issue of bullying as a result of a disability is included.

In February this year, the Children's Rights Director in Ofsted published a report which had canvassed children and young people's views about bullying and what could be done to improve this problem. This survey included residential special schools and the views of 153 children who declared themselves as having a disability were taken. The report can be found at www.ofsted.gov.uk/assets/Internet_Content/Shared_Content/Files/2008/feb/chldrnonbllyng.doc.

Referring now to your comments about the Disability Discrimination Act, I can advise that Ofsted recently carried out a rapid response survey looking at schools' compliance with equalities legislation. This report was sent as an internal briefing paper to the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). In this small scale survey one in four schools indicated a shortfall in their compliance with legislation. This shortfall was reported in their inspection report where it had a negative impact on the overall judgment about equalities. Concerns about compliance are also included in a school's inspection report where there is an impact on the outcomes for learners. Over time this should lead to improvement in schools' compliance with legislation.

We are conducting a survey of SEN provision and outcomes in 2009-10 and bullying could be a factor in this work. Furthermore we have indicated that it would be possible to include a separate survey solely looking at this issue in the 2009-10 work programme and will discuss that with the DCSF.

I hope this is helpful. Do please contact me if I can provide you with further information.