| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Ofsted
Mrs. May:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to his answer of 8 February 1999, Official Report, column 107, if he will set out the
11 Mar 1999 : Column: 317
budget for Ofsted for the financial years (a) 1997-98 and (b) 1998-99, calculated on the same basis as the figures contained in his answer. [75488]
Ms Estelle Morris
[holding answer 8 March 1999]: Total provision for Ofsted in the financial year 1998-99 is £110.3 million and total expenditure for 1997-98 was £151 million. The reduction in 1998-99 results principally from the change, announced by the previous Government and confirmed in July 1997 in the "Excellence in schools" White Paper, from a four-year cycle of school inspections to a differentiated approach in which schools will be inspected at least every six years but more frequently where weaknesses are apparent, and from lower than expected contract prices for inspections.
Mr. Dawson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will review local authority circular 94/23 which permits child minders to smack minded children with parental permission. [75152]
Ms Hodge:
The guidance was introduced following a High Court judgment. The Department of Health will shortly be consulting on how the law can be improved to better protect children from assault. We will review the guidance in the light of this consultation.
Mrs. May:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when he expects to announce the findings of his review of A-levels; and if he will make a statement. [75660]
Mr. Mudie
[holding answer 9 March 1999]: We expect to make an announcement shortly on taking forward our commitment to support broader A-levels and upgrade vocational qualifications, underpinned by rigorous standards and key skills. This will support A-level students studying more subjects particularly in the first year of sixth form, recognising the lower levels of taught time at this stage in England compared with other European countries. We have already made it clear that reforms will be introduced nationally for teaching from September 2000.
Mrs. May:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when he plans to announce the findings of his review of the national curriculum; and if he will make a statement. [75661]
Mr. Charles Clarke
[holding answer 9 March 1999]: We will be consulting widely on draft proposals for revisions to the National Curriculum during the summer. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will then make final decisions in the early autumn before the revised National Curriculum is sent to schools. Schools will then have most of the 1999-2000 school year to prepare for any changes from September 2000.
Mr. Jenkins:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what assessment he has made of education standards in (a) Tamworth Borough and (b) Staffordshire. [75651]
11 Mar 1999 : Column: 318
Ms Estelle Morris
[holding answer 9 March 1999]: Statistics showing the standards of attainment by pupils in each school and local authority area are published in annual performance tables. A summary of recent results in Staffordshire and in primary and secondary schools in Tamworth Borough, which is not itself a local education authority, is set out in the following table. A sample of schools in each authority is inspected annually by Ofsted and reports published which include judgments about standards of attainment and the quality of education. A programme of inspections of all local education authorities is now being carried out by Ofsted, but none of the named authorities has yet been inspected. All authorities have just submitted for approval an Education Development Plan which includes a three-year programme for securing school improvement, and targets including those for pupil performance at ages 11 and 16 which will be monitored in future years.
| Tamworth borough (2) | Staffordshire | England | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key Stage 2 | ||||
| Percentage of pupil's achieving level 4 or above | ||||
| English | ||||
| 1998 | 57.3 | 65.9 | 64.1 | |
| 1997 | 55.5 | 66.5 | 62.5 | |
| 1996 | 50.8 | 56.3 | 56.3 | |
| Maths | ||||
| 1998 | 50.0 | 60.2 | 57.9 | |
| 1997 | 54.1 | 65.3 | 61.3 | |
| 1996 | 49.8 | 51.5 | 53.2 | |
| Science | ||||
| 1998 | 60.9 | 72.6 | 68.6 | |
| 1997 | 60.6 | 72.2 | 68.1 | |
| 1996 | 56.2 | 62.1 | 61.2 | |
| Aggregate | ||||
| 1998 | 168.1 | 198.7 | 190.6 | |
| 1997 | 170.1 | 204.0 | 191.9 | |
| 1996 | 156.8 | 169.9 | 170.7 | |
| GCSE | ||||
| Percentage of 15 year olds achieving 5A(1)-C GCSEs | ||||
| 1998 | 38.2 | 45 | 46.3 | |
| 1997 | 38.2 | 45 | 45.1 | |
| 1996 | 36.5 | 40.9 | 44.5 | |
| GCE A/AS level (1) | ||||
| Average point score | ||||
| 1998 | 15.1 | 16.2 | 17.8 | |
| 1997 | 13.7 | 17.7 | 17.3 | |
| 1996 | 14.7 | 16.6 | 16.8 | |
(1) Only for those entering two or more GCE A/AS Levels
(2) Not including special schools
Education SSAs
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) if he will make a statement on the funding for education in Staffordshire in 1999-2000; [75652]
- (2) what assessment he has made of the current SSA formula for the distribution of education funding to shire authorities; [75653]
(3) if he will review the current SSA formula for funding education; [75654]
11 Mar 1999 : Column: 319
(4) what meetings he has had with Ministers at the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions to discuss the review of the SSA formula for education. [75655]
Ms Estelle Morris [holding answer 9 March 1999]: The education SSA for Staffordshire for 1999-2000 represents an underlying increase of £18.2 million or 6 per cent., after allowing for local authority changes of function. An increase on that scale should be sufficient to meet the pressures faced by Staffordshire schools, although my right hon. Friend appreciates the concern expressed by schools in Staffordshire and elsewhere about the fairness of the current education SSA system. In announcing the conclusions of the comprehensive Spending Review for the three years up to 2001-02, Ministers made it clear that they would not seek to change the current SSA system. It will, nevertheless, be subject to review. That will be led by DETR Ministers, and it will involve local government representation, and Ministers with local government service interests.
Mr. Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to take account of levels of turnover in pupil enrolments in setting local education authority standard spending assessments. [75751]
Ms Estelle Morris [holding answer 9 March 1999]: None in the immediate future. In announcing the conclusions of the Comprehensive Spending Review for the three years up to 2001-02, Ministers made it clear that they would not seek to change the system of calculating standard spending assessments. It will, nevertheless, be subject to review. That will be led by DETR Ministers, and it will involve local government representation, and Ministers with local government service interests.
Employment Service
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what proportion of the Employment Service targets under the New Deal had been achieved by 1 March 1999. [75667]
Mr. Andrew Smith [holding answer 9 March 1999]: Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its Chief Executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Leigh Lewis to Mr. Graham Brady, dated 11 March 1999:
11 Mar 1999 : Column: 320
As the Employment Service is an Executive Agency the Secretary of State for Education and Employment has asked me to reply direct to your question regarding what proportion of the Employment Service targets under the New Deal had been achieved by 1 March. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.
The most recent information available relates to the position at the end of January. This shows that the Employment Service had by then achieved 55% of its target to place 100,000 New Deal for 18-24 year old participants into work during 1998-99. The target set for the Employment Service measures only those young people who secure employment as a direct result of a submission to a vacancy by the Employment Service or one of its partners.
I hope this is helpful.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |