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Sir John Cope : The cash limit for this vote- -class XX, vote 1--will be reduced by £1,217,503,000 to £132,497,000.Provision of £1,350,000,000 was taken on this vote to cover the difference between, on the one hand, United Kingdom contributions to the EC up to the level provided for under Community legislation, and paid direct from the Consolidated Fund under the terms of the European Communities Act 1972, and, on the other hand, those contributions sought by the EC Commission, reflecting a budget adopted by the European Parliament, but not agreed by the Council. The council, Commission and European Parliament have subsequently adopted an amending and supplementary budget, resolving the legal uncertainty. Payments from May 1992 have reverted to full payment from the Consolidated Fund. Therefore, April's payment of some £132.5 million from this vote will be the only expenditure incurred.
EDUCATION
Teacher Training
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what assessment he has made in the last two years of the effectiveness of basic counselling skills for students in initial teacher training establishments ; and how many establishments have been studied for this purpose ;
(2) what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of teacher training courses in developing group management skills ; and if he considers further specific measures are needed in this regard.
Mr. Forth : The Secretary of State's criteria for the approval of courses of initial teacher training (ITT) require that students should be trained both in the effective management of groups of pupils and in the pastoral skills required to interact well with individual children. All ITT courses must be approved by my right hon. Friend before they start. Courses are also monitored regularly by OFSTED to ensure that they continue to comply with the Secretary of State's criteria.
Mr. Bowis : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many students successfully completed courses in the teaching of pupils with severe learning difficulties for each of the last five years (a) on initial teacher training, (b) on postgraduate certificate of education courses and (c) on in-service training courses ; and what is his projection to the next five years.
Mr. Forth : The Secretary of State's criteria for the approval of courses of initial teacher training require that all courses should develop in students the ability to identify special educational needs or learning difficulties. Since 1984, it has been the Government's policy that specialist qualifications of this kind should be acquired after initial training and a period of classroom experience. The specialist courses of initial training have therefore now been phased out. Data on the final output of these courses is not readily available.
The long in-service training courses which equip teachers with such specialist qualification have been a priority for specific grant support for a number of years. For 1992-93, this is sufficient to support the training of 206
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new and 90 existing students. Information on the numbers successfully completing such courses is not collected centrally. Projections beyond 1992-93 are for local determination.Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of in-service training for articled teachers ; and what percentage have withdrawn from the scheme since its inception.
Mr. Forth : An evaluation of the management and organisation of the articled teacher scheme, which is a two-year course of initial teacher training leading to a postgraduate certificate of education, was carried out by the National Foundation for Educational Research during the first year of the scheme's operation. Her Majesty's inspectorate has recently completed a two-year study which focused mainly on five articled teacher schemes. I understand that OFSTED will shortly be publishing a report of this study. Both of these studies focused on the articled teacher scheme in England. During the first two years of the scheme approximately 4 per cent. of students withdrew before completing their training.
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) if he will make a statement about the way in which the principles of good classroom management are being implemented by teachers and their trainers ; and what contribution his Department has made in this process and the extent to which implementation has been achieved ; (2) what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of those involved in the provision of teacher training in determining whether potential teachers have the ability to relate well to pupils.
Mr. Forth : The Secretary of State's criteria for the approval of initial teacher training--ITT--courses require that courses must provide satisfactory training for students in classroom management. No students can gain qualified teacher status unless they have demonstrated in the classroom both the ability to teach effectively and secure effective learning, and the ability to manage pupil behaviour. Assessment of students' ability to relate well to children is done both when the application for teacher training is submitted--by means of an interview-- and also through assessment of the student's teaching practice. My right hon. Friend has not studied the effectiveness of trainers in making such assessments.
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of initial teacher training establishments in introducing students to the concept of peer support and its uses.
Mr. Forth : My right hon. Friend has not made an assessment of peer support within ITT courses.
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many local education authorities provide midday supervision and other non- teaching staff with training in the management of pupils' behaviour ; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of this training.
Mr. Forth : Information about training of this kind is not collected centrally and my right hon. Friend has made no assessment of its effectiveness.
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Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many local education authorities provide in-service training in classroom management for supply teachers.
Mr. Forth : This information is not collected centrally.
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what percentage of staff providing training in teaching skills have had at least one term's regular teaching experience in the last five years.
Mr. Forth : The Secretary of State's criteria for the approval of initial teaching training courses include the requirement that, from the beginning of the current academic year, all staff at institutions who are concerned with training students in teaching skills must have had at least one term's experience of teaching in school in the previous five years.
OFSTED monitors courses regularly to ensure that accredited courses comply with this requirement.
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) how many schools counted separately in the primary, secondary and special education sectors offer pupillages to prospective initial teacher training students ; and what is the percentage of schools involved ;
(2) how many entrants to initial teacher training last year undertook a period of pupillage, or other work with children, before starting their courses ; what percentage of all students this was ; and what contribution his Department has made to encourage this practice ;
(3) how long a period of pupillage in a school lasts on average ; what are the longest and shortest periods of times ; and what advice is given by his Department to encourage high quality student experience.
Mr. Forth : Many courses of initial teacher training--ITT--require students to spend soem time in schools prior to the start of the course. However, information about the numbers of schools and prospective students involved in such schemes of work experience, and the lengths of the schemes, is not held centrally.
The Government have given financial support to a number of taster courses providing school experience for people who are interested in teaching.
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps have been taken in the last two years to promote multicultural awareness and equal opportunities in school and initial teacher training establishments.
Mr. Forth : In the last two years the Government have continued the phased introduction of the national curriculum, which is designed to challenge and stimulate all pupils whatever their ethnic or cultural origin. The National Curriculum Council and the Schools Examination and Assessment Council, which advise my: :right hon. Friend on the curriculum and assessment, are required in exercising their functions to take account of the ethnic and cultural diversity of British society and the importance of promoting equal opportunities for all pupils regardless of ethnic origin and gender. The Government are also proposing to strengthen religious education, which provides opportunities to study other faiths and cultures and develop greater tolerance and understanding.
The criteria for the approval of courses of initial teacher training--ITT-- include a requirement that they should
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help student teachers to develop an awareness of individual differences, including social and cultural dimensions. The Department has encouraged the development of ITT courses for people from ethnic minority communities. The Department issued guidance in August 1992 about the design and management of such courses, drawing on conclusions from Her Majesty's Inspectorate inspections.Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to encourage the recruitment of teachers from minority ethnic backgrounds ; and what success has been achieved in the last two years.
Mr. Forth : The Government have adopted a range of measures to encourage people from ethnic minority backgrounds to consider a career in the teaching profession. They include "Teaching as a Career"--TASC-- publications, advertising, participation at careers events, stimulating the development of special access courses, and supporting relevant local projects.
The Government introduced ethnic monitoring of teachers in January 1990 following recommendation by the Swann committee, but response so far has been poor, though it is improving. As a result, it is not yet possible to draw conclusions about the percentage of teachers nationally who are from ethnic minorities, nor to identify improvements over the last two years.
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of local education authority induction programmes for new teachers.
Mr. Forth : The Department published a report in March 1992 by Her Majesty's inspectorate on the induction of new teachers. A new grant to support expenditure by local education authorities on improvements in induction training was introduced, through the grants for education support and training programme--GEST--with effect from the 1992-93 financial year. Evidence about the effectiveness of local education authorities' induction arrangements is taken into account when decisions about the allocation of GEST support are made.
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make a statement about the way in which initial teacher training establishments are selecting applicants on the basis of their personal qualities for effective classroom management and for relating well to children, the way in which his Department is contributing to more effective selection procedures and the number and percentage of applicants who are not accepted for initial teacher training.
Mr. Forth : The Secretary of State's criteria for the approval of initial teacher training--ITT--courses require institutions to ensure that entrants to teacher training have the necessary personal qualities for the profession, including an ability to manage and to get on well with children. No one can be accepted on an ITT course without being interviewed.
The number of applicants not accepted for ITT courses in 1992 were, for undergraduate courses, around 9,900 (39 per cent. of applicants) ; and for postgraduate courses around 8,800 (35 per cent. of applicants).
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School Buildings
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what advice has been published in the last two years on school building design ; and what were the principal purposes of such advice in each case.
Mr. Forth : The Department has published nine documents over the past two years to assist those concerned with the provision and management of school buildings. These are : "Educational Design Initiatives in City Technology Colleges" (Building Bulletin 72) ; "A Guide to Energy Efficiency" (Building Bulletin 73) ; "A School for Armenia" (Building Bulletin 74) ; "Close Circuit TV Surveillance Systems in Educational Buildings" (Building Bulletin 75) ; "Maintenance of Electrical Systems" (Building Bulletin 76) ; "Designing for Pupils with Special Educational Needs (Building Bulletin 77) ; "Energy Efficient School Refurbishment" (Broadsheet 27) ; "School Glazing and Vandalism" (Broadsheet 28) ; "Energy Use in Educational Buildings" (Broadsheet 29). Copies are available in the Library.
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is the latest information available to him on the money needed to bring all school buildings into a good state of repair.
Mr. Forth : The latest information available is that contained in the "Survey of School Buildings" published by the Department in 1987. A realistic estimate of the cost of remedying the principal deficiencies identified by the survey, which covered county and voluntary controlled schools in England, is some £2 billion at 1990 prices. LEAs in England spent over £2 billion on capital expenditure on school buildings between 1986-87 and 1989-90. We estimate that between 1990-91 and 1993-94 LEAs will spend some £2.5 billion on their schools. Much of this will go on remedying deficiencies. Education matters in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are the responsibility of my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Wales and for Scotland and of my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
Personal and Social Education Programmes
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the effective provision of personal and social education programmes in schools in the last two years.
Mr. Forth : During the last two years Her Majesty's inspectors of schools have published a number of reports focusing specifically on aspects of personal and social education ; and have also addressed the subject, as appropriate, in their reports on individual schools. OFSTED is now responsible for providing my right hon. Friend with information and advice about all aspects of school education, which includes personal and social education.
Examinations
Mr. George : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what percentage of (a) Walsall and (b) west midlands school children of GCSE age take the exams ; and what proportion carry on from GCSE to A-level.
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Mr. Forth : It is estimated that 91.8 per cent. of pupils, who were 15 years old at the beginning of the 1991-92 academic year in Walsall schools, were entered for GCSE examinations compared with 91.7 per cent. in the whole of the west midlands. Information on the proportion who carry on from GCSE to A-level is not available centrally for individual local authority areas.
School Discipline
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many local education authorities have used their powers of intervention under section 28 of the Education (No. 2) Act 1986 ; and on how many occasions.
Mr. Forth : This information is not collected centrally.
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what is the latest information he has concerning the number of indefinite exclusions of pupils from (a) local education authority maintained schools and (b) grant-maintained schools.
Mr. Forth : Information on indefinite exclusions is not collected centrally.
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of local education authority serious incident reporting systems.
Mr. Forth : My right hon. Friend has made no assessment of the effectiveness of local education authority serious incident reporting systems.
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what action he has taken on recommendations (a) 68 and (b) 69.1 of the Elton report on discipline in schools.
Mr. Forth : Recommendation 68 deals with the importance of positive parental influence. The Government's stance on this is well known : parents should instil the values of responsible citizenship into their children. Recommendation 69.1 concerns education for parenthood. The National Curriculum Council has issued guidance to schools on the content of family life education, including education for parenthood, and its place in the wider curriculum.
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps have been taken by his Department to overcome bullying and racial harassment in schools.
Mr. Forth : The Government expect schools to deal firmly with bullying and racial harassment. Copies of the pack "Action against Bullying" were sent to all schools in England in July 1992. The Department is also funding research to develop and test a range of intervention strategies against bullying in schools and further guidance will be issued in due course. Guidance on responses to racial harassment was given to chief education officers in 1989 and 1992. OFSTED has been asked to ensure that all inspecting teams appointed under the Schools Act 1992 pay particular attention to the arrangements for securing good discipline and behaviour.
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Records of Achievement
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of records of achievement in giving due weight to a wide range of pupil achievements and personal qualities.
Mr. Forth : Records of achievement are a valuable means of recording and reporting pupils' achievements. The national record of achievement is an effective summary for school-leavers to take forward to further education and working life. Recent evaluation has shown that take up of the NRA among schools has been high. New regulations governing reports on pupils' achievements require schools to use the format as part of the NRA to provide a specified minimum of information for school-leavers. Copies of the regulations and the explanatory circular have been placed in the Library.
Management Training
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of management training programmes for head teachers and other senior staff.
Mr. Forth : It is for individual schools and teachers to decide which training programmes can most effectively meet their particular needs. The Department has helped by supporting the development and assessment of a number of new management training initiatives in recent years. We also commissioned a survey of overall provision for school management training in February 1989 to guide and support the work of the school management task force, the body we established to lever up standards of provision in this field. The Office for Standards in Education has responsibility for inspecting the training of teachers including management training programmes.
Articled Teachers
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many people have become articled teachers since the inception of the scheme ; and in what sectors and subjects.
Mr. Forth : Around 1,200 primary and secondary phase students have been recruited to the articled teacher scheme in England since its inception in 1990. Secondary training has been in the subjects of business studies, design and technology, English, modern foreign languages, mathematics, science and religious education.
Pupil Behaviour
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the provision that local education authorities make for their most difficult pupils ; and how many local education authorities have been studied in this regard.
Mr. Forth : As part of its detailed enquiry into discipline in schools, the Elton committee asked LEAs about their provision for pupils whose behaviour teachers found most difficult to manage. Its report commented on both the nature and quality of the provision made. For the future
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inspecting teams appointed under the Schools Act 1992 will pay particular attention to schools' arrangements for securing good discipline and behaviour.Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of local education authorities in promoting better co-ordination between various local agencies dealing with pupils with behaviour or attendance problems and their families.
Mr. Forth : The importance of effective co-ordination with other agencies is stressed in much of the guidance produced by the Department of Health on the Children Act 1989 and in the guide to the Act for the education service which the Department of Education commissioned from the Open university. Where school attendance is concerned, the education welfare service has a long history of close collaboration with social services and other agencies. The importance of these contacts was stressed in the Department's circular 2/86 "School Attendance and Education Welfare Services".
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many cases of bullying have been reported in each local education authority in the primary, secondary and special education sectors in each of the last three years ; and what percentage of those cases were racially motivated.
Mr. Forth : This information is not collected centrally.
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what research his Department has sponsored in the last two years on the implications for pupil behaviour of arranging pupils in groups for teaching purposes ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Forth : No such research has been commissioned in the last two years. The behavioural implications of grouping pupils for teaching purposes were however discussed in Her Majesty's inspectorate's 1987 publication "Good Behaviour and Discipline in Schools" and in "Discipline in Schools", the report of the committee of inquiry into discipline in schools chaired by Lord Elton, published in 1989.
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much money under the grants for education support and training scheme has been allocated since 1990-91 for programmes dealing with the management of pupil behaviour ; and what percentage of overall funding this is.
Mr. Forth : Some £7.6 million of expenditure has been supported over the three years from 1990-91 to improve support services for the most difficult pupils through approved projects in 24 local education authorities (LEAs). A further £3.5 million was supported over the two years from 1990-91 to help improve teachers' practical skills in managing pupil behaviour. Together, these grants supported £4.2 million in 1990 -91 (1.2 per cent. of the overall education support grants and LEA training grants programmes in that year) ; £4.2 million in 1991-92 (1.2 per cent. of the overall grants for education support and training--GEST-- programme) ; and are supporting £2.7 million in 1992-93 (0.7 per cent. of the overall GEST programme).
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Education Welfare Officers
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many education welfare officers are employed by each local education authority ; what is the ratio of officers to pupils in each local education authority and if he will make a statement about the adequacy of this provision.
Mr. Forth : This information is not collected centrally. It is for each individual local education authority to determine whether the number of education welfare officers employed is sufficient to enable it to meet its statutory responsibilities.
Special Educational Needs
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the number of educational psychologists, physiotherapists, speech therapists, qualified specialists in hearing and visual impairments and other specialist support staff needed to ensure that all statements of special educational needs are prepared within six months while work with other children with special needs is maintained at satisfactory levels.
Mr. Forth : The provision of suitable numbers of specialist staff to ensure that all statements of special educational needs are prepareed within six months is for LEAs to determine. The recent Audit Commission/HMI report on provision for pupils with SEN noted, however, that the time taken for making assessments and statements is largely a matter of effective management. In discharging their duties under the Education Act 1981, it is essential for LEAs to work closely with district health authorities and social services departments, who also have important roles to play in this process.
Civil Servants (Bicycles)
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make a statement on the current conditions on which civil servants in his Department are granted salary advances to enable the purchase of bicycles for home-to-office travel ; if he will make a statement on the current conditions in each agency of his Department ; what plans he has to change the conditions ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Boswell : Advances of salary up to a maximum of £100 are available to junior staff for the purchase of bicycles for home-to-office travel. The conditions applying to the scheme are being reviewed in the light of the reply that my hon. Friend the Member for Loughborough (Mr. Dorrell) gave on 16 December 1992 to my hon. Friend the Member for Chelmsford (Mr. Burns) at columns 285-86.
Grant-maintained Status
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list each one-day conference in the "Going GM : A conference for Heads and Governors" series, hosted by his Department, that has been held or is planned, giving dates, venues and the speakers for each one.
Mr. Forth : The information available is as follows :
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Speakers/Workshop
contributors
Venue |Date |GM Heads |DFE Officials
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Leeds |16 November 1992|3 |4
Bolton |12 December 1992|6 |7
Sheffield |15 January 1993 |5 |5
Manchester<1> 30 January 1993 6 5
<1> Planned.
My noble Friend the Minister of State spoke at the initial conference in Leeds. A GM bursar contributed at Bolton. A representative of the GMSC has attended to run a workshop explaining the services that the GMSC can offer to schools once they are approved for GM status.
Additional DFE conferences are planned as follows :
Newcastle : 10 and 11 February
Leicester : 15 February
Nottingham : 1 and 29 March
Birmingham : 19 March
Details of contributors to these conferences have yet to be confirmed.
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what are the (a) editorial, (b) design, (c) printing, (d) distribution and (e) total costs, of the conference material sent to potential participants in the series of one-day conferences called "Going GM : A conference for Heads and Governors" ;
(2) if he will list the total conference costs of the series of one-day conferences hosted by his Department entitled "Going GM : A conference for Heads and Governors", including staff time for civil servants within his Department ; and what are the projected costs for all such conferences.
Mr. Forth : The conference material sent to potential participants includes a letter of invitation and a copy of the standard GM information pack. Printing and distribution costs for the information pack included with the invitations were approximately £18,000. The initial mailing of invitations and packs was carried out at a total cost of around £15,000. Further mailings have fallen within the terms of the contract with the departmental despatch centre and therefore costs cannot be identified separately.
The total costs to date for conference accommodation and facilities for the three conferences held at Leeds, Bolton and Sheffield are approximately £20,000. The expected cost of a further seven conferences is approximately £45,000. There is a contract for specialised support services for the conference series at a total cost of £67,000. Disaggregating the costs of civil servants' time could not be achieved other than at disproportionate cost.
Education, Enfield
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what action he will take to ensure that Enfield is able to fulfil its duty to provide full-time education to all its pupils.
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