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EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT
Maths Examinations (Special Needs)
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what special arrangements will be made for those required to sit a maths paper for which the use of calculators is forbidden at GCSE who suffer from dyslexia or other specific difficulties. [92728]
Mr. Mudie: Special arrangements are operated by the examining boards with special needs. The special arrangements provide for additional examination time to be made available to candidates with dyslexia and other learning difficulties giving them more time to read the paper and to plan and correct their answers.
University Engineering Courses
Mr. Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many students are currently taking engineering courses at universities in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement. [92289]
Mr. Mudie: Figures for 1998-99 show there are approximately 120,000 people studying engineering and technology subjects in UN universities.
The Government recognise the importance of engineering and technology to the UK economy, place high value on education in these disciplines and are seeking to encourage more people to study in these areas.
Bolton Schools (Damage)
Mr. Crausby:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many schools in the Bolton area were damaged by (a) vandalism and (b) arson during each of the last five years; what was the cost to the education authority of this damage; and if he will make a statement. [92287]
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Ms Estelle Morris:
Most schools in Bolton have been subject to some form of vandalism such as broken windows and guttering over the last three years. Some 50 arson attacks have been reported over the last five years with some schools being subjected to more than one incident.
| Year | Vandalism | Arson |
|---|---|---|
| 1998-99 | 32,518 | 275,000 |
| 1997-98 | 46,748 | 239,000 |
| 1996-97 | 45,820 | 829,000 |
| 1995-96 | (3)-- | 74,000 |
| 1994-95 | (3)-- | 53,000 |
(3) not available
Since 1997-98 the Government has made funding available to support measures to improve security in schools, including measures to reduce the incidence of crime against schools. In the last three years Bolton LEA has had over £370,000 of support from Government grant and the LEA's own contributions for expenditure on school security measures. This is in addition to the continuing revenue and capital spending by the LEA and school on school security. The decisions about detailed arrangements for the distribution of the grant and for assessing needs in individual schools will be for the LEA, on the basis of risk assessments undertaken in individual schools. This should reflect priorities in school and LEA security strategies.
Teachers (State Schools)
Mr. Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many people aged 40 years and over have trained since 1994 to become teachers and are now employed in state schools; and if he will make a statement. [92290]
Ms Estelle Morris: The table shows teachers who qualified in 1994, 1995 and 1996, when aged 40 or above, and those in service in the maintained nursery, primary, secondary and special sector in England and Wales at 31 March 1997.
| Year qualified | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | |
| Total qualifiers(4)(1) | 1,850 | 2,190 | 1,970 |
| In service in the maintained schools sector (5) | |||
| Full-time | 920 | 1,000 | 850 |
| Part-time | 130 | 190 | 160 |
| Full-time and part-time | 1,050 | 1,190 | 1,010 |
(4) Includes those for whom service details are not recorded; entrants to the 'old' university sector; entrants to the independent sector; entrants to part-time service outside the maintained nursery, primary and secondary sector who are not in the TPS.
(5) Data are provisional. The numbers shown as in service will increase as a result of late receipt of annual service returns.
Concordat (Wales)
Mr. Wigley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will publish, before the
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summer adjournment, the most recent draft concordat between his Department and the National Assembly for Wales. [92332]
Mr. Mudie:
Work on the concordat is proceeding well. We hope to be in a position to put a draft concordat to the First Secretary of the National Assembly for Wales shortly. We do not intend to publish the concordat in advance of that.
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Mr. Alan Campbell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many (a) primary and (b) secondary school teachers took early retirement in each year since 1993. [91931]
Ms Estelle Morris:
The following table shows early retirement from the maintained nursery, primary and secondary sector, England and Wales, in financial years 1992-93 to 1998-99.
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| Nursery/primary | Secondary | Nursery, primary and secondary | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Financial year | Premature | Ill-health | Premature | Ill-health | Premature | Ill-health |
| 1992-93 | 3,370 | 2,110 | 4,120 | 1,760 | 7,480 | 3,870 |
| 1993-94 | 3,490 | 2,350 | 4,800 | 2,270 | 8,290 | 4,610 |
| 1994-95 | 3,450 | 2,670 | 3,870 | 2,290 | 7,320 | 4,960 |
| 1995-96 | 3,800 | 2,600 | 4,910 | 2,270 | 8,710 | 4,870 |
| 1996-97 | 4,900 | 2,810 | 5,360 | 2,350 | 10,260 | 5,160 |
| 1997-98 | 5,730 | 1,830 | 6,370 | 1,560 | 12,100 | 3,390 |
| 1998-99(6) | 1,040 | 1,160 | 1,370 | 1,010 | 2,410 | 2,170 |
(6) 1998-99 data are provisional
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Pupil Exclusions
Mr. Love:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many (a) primary and (b) secondary school pupils have been (i) temporarily and (ii) permanently excluded from school; and what proportion of each were from ethnic minorities in each London borough over the last five years. [91784]
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Mr. Charles Clarke:
Information on fixed period exclusions is not held centrally. However, in the autumn, my Department will begin collecting this information for the current school year, 1998-99. Information available on permanent exclusions is shown in the table.
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| 1995-96 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary | Secondary | |||
| Borough | Total exclusions | Percentage Ethnic minorities (7) | Total exclusions | Percentage Ethnic minorities (7) |
| City of London | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Camden | 6 | 83 | 41 | 46 |
| Greenwich | 17 | 35 | 71 | 45 |
| Hackney | 11 | 91 | 25 | 84 |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | 9 | 56 | 55 | 64 |
| Islington | 13 | 46 | 58 | 52 |
| Kensington and Chelsea | 8 | 88 | 19 | 53 |
| Lambeth | 11 | 91 | 45 | 69 |
| Lewisham | 16 | 63 | 59 | 64 |
| Southwark | 13 | 54 | 71 | 73 |
| Tower Hamlets | 8 | 38 | 44 | 61 |
| Wandsworth | 9 | 89 | 85 | 71 |
| Westminster | 5 | 60 | 66 | 73 |
| Barking | 17 | 24 | 50 | 16 |
| Barnet | 10 | 40 | 67 | 43 |
| Bexley | 8 | 0 | 52 | 8 |
| Brent | 5 | 80 | 103 | 84 |
| Bromley | 8 | 0 | 101 | 26 |
| Croydon | 12 | 17 | 101 | 51 |
| Ealing | 14 | 57 | 80 | 69 |
| Enfield | 3 | 67 | 89 | 39 |
| Haringey | 7 | 86 | 41 | 95 |
| Harrow | 5 | 0 | 59 | 47 |
| Havering | 3 | 0 | 69 | 3 |
| Hillingdon | 9 | 22 | 58 | 14 |
| Hounslow | 11 | 27 | 74 | 45 |
| Kingston upon Thames | 4 | 0 | 34 | 9 |
| Merton | 8 | 63 | 39 | 31 |
| Newham | 4 | 50 | 38 | 45 |
| Redbridge | 3 | 67 | 29 | 41 |
| Richmond upon Thames | 3 | 0 | 47 | 19 |
| Sutton | 7 | 0 | 23 | 9 |
| Waltham Forest | 11 | 55 | 101 | 55 |
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(7) Ethnic minorities include black Caribbean, black African, black other, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Chinese and any other ethnic group.
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