Education and Skills Bill

I very much support what the noble Earl, Lord Elton, said, and the way in which he set it out. There is a huge cost in not addressing this issue much earlier. The postcode lottery aspect, as the noble Baroness, Lady Sharp, said, makes it crucial that more thought is given to how much more attention we can give to dealing with and supporting as far as we can young people with these problems. As has been mentioned, a huge percentage of young offenders in prison suffers from these sorts of problems. If anybody thinks that that is not costly, they have another think coming. I am glad to hear that teacher training is going on in some areas. A worried teacher’s basic knowledge of when a child needs to be assessed is crucial, but I suggest that there is also a need to have, particularly in larger schools, a governor with training and experience. Training for school governors is not as compulsory as it should be. It takes place in some areas, but by no means all.