What is the Star Chamber?

The Star Chamber is one of the main vehicles in the Department's drive to reduce bureaucracy impacting on local authority children's services (including education) and schools.  It was formed in 1999 to review existing and proposed data collection exercises originating from within DCSF and re-launched in October 2006 with a wider remit and enhanced powers.  The Star Chamber ensures that new data collection exercises do not create unnecessary burden; do not duplicate in content existing collections; seeks to keep data requests to the absolute minimum needed to develop policy; and will amalgamate and streamline exercises wherever possible.

An External Scrutiny Group (ESG) comprised of local authority representatives and an Internal Scrutiny Group (ISG) of data and finance experts consider proposals and make recommendations to the Star Chamber Board for final decision. The Board is chaired by the Director, School Standards Group, DCSF, Peter Lauener with members including DCSF management, local authorities (LAs) and head teachers, supported by a Secretariat. The Secretariat would be pleased to offer initial advice, right at the outset, when policy colleagues requiring Star Chamber clearance are planning any data collection exercise involving schools or LAs.

Star Chamber approval is needed for all data collection exercises.

Step one, ask yourself:

• Is your exercise needed?
• Is every question you wish to ask essential to the need?
• Are you certain that the data doesn't exist already? Policy colleagues must check that no similar data is already held, both within the DCSF but also held by partner bodies such as OFSTED, QCA, LSC, TDA, CSCI and others. The Star Chamber Secretariat will be happy to advise.
• Will you need to make significant numbers of schools or local authorities aware of your exercise and, if so, have you thought how best to reach them?  For advice on this visit these links http://scu.teachernet.gov.uk/Client/ASP/
  _home.asp?Id=313&LevelNo=1  and
  http://ntweb1/communicationsdirectorate/marketingchannels/
  lagateway/default.asp (please note, these sites are only available from within the department).

Step two:

• Submit your completed Star Chamber template to the Secretariat.
• You should ensure that information about the data collection exercise is clearly explained, avoid jargon and acronyms.
• Your responses should be succinct, explaining, for example, how standards will be raised or outcomes for children affected, as a result of the exercise.
• You should contact the Data Services Group (Wendy Turpin, ext 62022) for advice on sample size and mechanisms for collecting the data; and that these are reasonable for the purposes required. Roger Edwards, (ext 62234) should be consulted if your plans involve the Department's Data Services Centre carrying out the collection.
  Questionnaires must adhere to the Star Chamber guidance on this website.

Step three:

• The Star Chamber process consists of three distinct processes including consultation with internal and external partners. The final decision rests with the Star Chamber Board.
• You should allow approximately 3 weeks (15 working days) for each template to be processed. We therefore recommend that you build in sufficient time into your exercises for this.

Step four:

• Following clearance from Star Chamber, schools must be given a minimum of 4 weeks to reply, and LAs 2 weeks.  If LAs will need to gather any information from schools, then 4 weeks must be given to LAs also.
• Please note that any requests that will require changes in system design (such as social care collections or the school census) may involve a lead in time of many months. Changes to social care collections must be agreed six months prior to the start of the data collection year. 
• When considering the appropriate timing for a collection you should consult the data collections calendar so that you are aware of the other pressures that schools and local authorities may be under.

For further information please contact: Sarah Nairne, Secretary to the Star Chamber and Head of Secretariat - ext 56049, 2nd floor, Sanctuary Buildings

Martin Childs, Assistant Secretary - ext 56815, 2nd floor, Sanctuary Buildings