Vetting and barring - ISA madness

I read today that the Singleton report is going to say tomorrow that the government has watered down its proposed rules on vetting and barring of adults working with children. As far as exchanges are concerned the Telegraph reports that there will be no need for an ISA registration if the exchange is arranged privately between families and is shorter than 28 days long. I am not yet sure whether this yet means that a school organised exchange will require host parents to be vetted. I am hoping this will be clear tomorrow when the report is published. The wording of the Telegraph article suggests that ISA registration will still be required. I'll keep you posted.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/6801960/Ed-Balls-under-pressure-to-rethink-entire-vetting-scheme.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/majornews/6797770/Vetting-rules-climbdown-after-public-backlash.html

This second piece says:

Parents who host exchange visits for less than 28 days, in cases where they have been directly chosen by an overseas family in a private arrangement, will not have to register

Update: I read on FT online a quotation from Ed Balls:

“We’ve reduced the test down from monthly contact to weekly contact,” he said. “We’ve also said that a foreign exchange trip or an author going from school to school won’t be affected.

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Language Teacher Toolkit: Steve Smith's blog

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