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Inspection Procedures
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what proposals he has for co-ordination of inspection procedures for post- compulsory education between Ofsted, the Further Education Funding Council Inspectorate and the Training Standards Council Inspectorate. [94761]
Mr. Wicks: Under the proposals in our "Learning to Succeed" White Paper (CM 4392), we will bring together the current arrangements for the inspection of provision for post-16 education, (excluding higher education), and of work-based training, into a single system.
Ofsted will take responsibility for the inspection of 16-19 provision in schools and colleges. For post-19 provision in colleges, and for work-based provision for all age-groups, there will be a new independent Inspectorate. The two Inspectorates will work together, where appropriate, to plan a joint inspection plan for sixth form, further education and tertiary colleges, working to a common inspection framework.
Social Exclusion Unit Report
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many times the departmental-led Ministerial Group has met to progress the Social Exclusion Unit report (Cm 4405); and how many times the official cross-departmental implementation group has met. [94747]
Mr. Wicks: The Ministerial Steering Group has met once to progress the work set out in "Bridging the Gap: New Opportunities for 16-18 year olds not in education, employment or training". The official cross-departmental implementation group has met twice.
Careers Education
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the relationship between the proposed Connections Support Service and the existing providers of careers education and advice, with specific reference to the professional qualifications and inspection regime; if the remit covers all young people; and who is to finance the service. [94683]
Mr. Wicks:
The Social Exclusion Unit report "Bridging the Gap: New Opportunities for 16-18 year olds not in education, employment or training", published in July, outlined a new support service for all 13-19 year olds. Since then we have consulted widely on the service, including its functions, structure and professional formation. The consultation closed on 15 October and we
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are considering responses. Decisions on the structure, professional qualifications, inspection and funding of the new service and how these will affect existing organisations providing careers education and advice to young people, will be taken following analysis of the consultation response.
Mr. Boswell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what advice he has issued to higher education institutions about collection of tuition fees in circumstances where students have not yet received their loan cheques. [94676]
Mr. Wicks:
Loan cheques are intended to cover maintenance costs rather than tuition fees and have already been issued to eligible students who applied on time and provided all the necessary documentation. We have asked higher education institutions to be flexible and sensitive in collecting tuition fees and not to bill or require payments from students whose financial assessments have not yet been completed. A copy of our written advice to institutions has been placed in the Library.
Mr. Boswell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what progress he has made in developing new professional qualifications for lecturers in further education and the private training sector. [94762]
Mr. Wicks:
All further education colleges in England will shortly be consulted about proposals. As regards the private training sector, the Employment National Training Organisation (ENTO) is currently reviewing the range and scope of its qualifications.
Mr. Boswell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on standards fund grants for adult and continuing education. [94756]
Mr. Wicks:
The level of the 2000-01 Standards Fund grant for Local Authority Lifelong Learning Development Plans will be announced shortly. Local education authorities have an important role in lifelong learning and the grant next year will be significantly higher than this. We want authorities to use this money to reach new learners, to improve the quality of learning opportunities they offer, and to strengthen their own internal planning and their links with other learning providers. That is the way to ensure the learning opportunities they offer best meet the needs of the people they serve.
Mr. Boswell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what representations he has received concerning the withdrawal of local authority discretionary award schemes and the implications of new funding arrangements for improving access to further education. [94735]
Mr. Wicks:
The discretionary awards scheme was not working well with large variations in funding in different parts of the country with consequential effects on access. A number of letters have been received about the new further education student support arrangements in 1999-2000. But more money will be available overall so
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that, in general, students are better off than in the previous year and than would have been the case had we allowed discretionary awards to continue for this year.
Mr. Boswell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment on what basis his Department is planning for 50 per cent. participation in the right to time off for study or training; and if he plans any incentives to providers to achieve this level of participation. [94681]
Mr. Wicks:
The Department made a planning and costing assumption, published in the 1997 Regulatory Appraisal, based on our estimate of the number of young people aged 16 and 17 in employment, not qualified to Level 2, and not working towards a Level 2 qualification. This is a new entitlement, and performance will be kept under review. Employers can apply to the local TEC for a contribution towards the cost of the study or training.
Mr. Boswell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what arrangements he proposes to put in place to secure an element of moral and social education and pastoral arrangements in post-16 education. [94759]
Mr. Wicks:
It is a matter for the individual institutions and private training providers to decide how they address moral and social education and pastoral arrangements for their post-16 students. There is no compulsory curriculum post-16, and therefore no requirement to study any particular subjects. However, for example, the new GCE A-level specifications have been written to identify, as appropriate to the subject, ways in which the study of the area can contribute to an understanding of spiritual, moral, ethical, social and cultural issues.
Mr. Boswell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when he will announce the result of his consultation exercise on hardship loans. [94746]
Mr. Wicks:
The review of Hardship Loans and Access Funds will be completed by Christmas and the outcome will be announced in the new year.
Mr. Boswell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on progress with the Schools Access Initiative. [94725]
Jacqui Smith:
The Schools Access Initiative gives capital support to make more mainstream schools accessible to pupils with disabilities and those with sensory impairments. It has run each year since 1996 and a total of £25 million had been allocated by March 1999. We have allocated a further £20 million in 1999-2000 which will benefit over 1,600 schools and are planning further big increases for the following two years.
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Mr. Boswell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on local education authorities' progress in developing special educational needs development plans. [94724]
Jacqui Smith:
From 1 October 1998 LEAs have a statutory duty under Section 5 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 to carry out all their functions to promote high standards. Education Development Plans are three-year plans whose purpose is to draw together the main actions which LEAs are taking in pursuit of this statutory duty. They will increase accountability to schools, local partners and to Government.
Targets for special schools and information on how LEAs plan to improve standards achieved by pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEN) in their schools must be reflected in the main body of the EDP. The SEN Annex (Annex 4) gives further more detailed information about the LEA's policy.
All LEAs now have an EDP, and almost all have been approved for three years from April 1999 to March 20002. The Department will continue to monitor and evaluate EDPs during this period.
Mr. Boswell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if a premium will be available for work-based training of those with special educational needs. [94752]
Mr. Wicks:
The funding which the Department provides to Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs) for work-based training includes an element to cover the additional costs incurred in providing quality training for those with special training needs.
Mr. Boswell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many pupils in England carried statements of special educational need in each of the last 10 years; and what proportion of the total of pupils they represented. [94680]
Jacqui Smith:
The available information is shown in the following table.
| Year | Number of pupils with a statement of special educational needs | Percentage of pupils with a statement of special educational needs |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 248,041 | 3.0 |
| 1998 | 242,294 | 2.9 |
| 1997 | 234,629 | 2.9 |
| 1996 | 227,348 | 2.8 |
| 1995 | 211,307 | 2.6 |
| 1994 | 194,541 | 2.5 |
| 1993 | 178,029 | 2.3 |
| 1992 | 160,759 | 2.1 |
| 1991 | 153,228 | 2.0 |
| 1990 | 159,485 | 2.1 |
| 1989 | 155,191 | 2.1 |
Mr. Boswell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has for improving the transition planning for those aged 16 years with special educational needs. [94753]
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Jacqui Smith:
The Government intend to change the law in order to require local education authorities to conduct the 'transition review' of a child's statement during academic year 9. At present the transition review takes place after the child's 14th birthday, which means that the review may not in practice be undertaken until year 10. Where the young person leaves school at age 16 he or she may therefore have had only one review which has focused on the personal 'transition plan'. The proposed change will ensure that 16-year-old school leavers who have statements of special educational needs will have had the benefit of at least two and in most cases three annual reviews at which planning for their transition from school has been actively and effectively addressed. Further guidance on good practice in transition planning will be provided in the revised SEN Code of Practice.
Mr. Boswell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to encourage local education authorities to alter the balance of their provision for children with special educational needs between (a) privately funded institutions, (b) publicly funded special schools and (c) inclusion in mainstream schools, respectively. [94729]
Jacqui Smith:
It is for local education authorities to decide the pattern of provision they need to meet the special educational needs of pupils in their area.
Where parents want a mainstream setting for their child, our policy is to try to provide it. Equally, where more specialist provision is what is sought, it is important that parents' wishes are respected. Our approach has been practical, rather than dogmatic, with an acceptance that the key objectives must be to safeguard the interests of all children and to ensure that they achieve to their full potential. We are advocating inclusion by choice and have underlined that there remains a continuing and vital role for specialist schools.
We are seeking to join up the different sectors (maintained, independent and voluntary) and establish more effective links between the special and mainstream schools. Through the establishment of the SEN regional co-ordination projects local authorities are being encouraged to work with each other and with the voluntary and private sectors to better plan and meet the needs of pupils with special educational needs.
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what initiatives he has taken to improve the education provision within the special needs sector within Sefton Metropolitan Borough. [94587]
Jacqui Smith:
The Government's Programme of Action: Meeting Special Educational Needs, published in November last year, announced a package of measures designed to improve special educational needs provision across the country. As part of the targeted support available to local education authorities in 1999-2000, Sefton Metropolitan Borough was allocated £182,987 under the Special Educational Needs Standards Fund Programme and a further £152,800 under the Schools Access Initiative to make more primary and secondary schools accessible to disabled pupils.
These targeted resources are additional to the substantial increase in resources available to local education authorities via the Standard Spending Assessment. Sefton's Standard Spending Assessment for
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1999-2000 was £122.2 million, an increase of £5.7 million on the previous year. It is for local education authorities to determine, within the total resources available to them, the level of resources available for special educational needs provision.
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many primary and secondary children with (a) learning and (b) physical difficulties are accommodated within the mainstream school system in Sefton Metropolitan Borough. [94588]
Jacqui Smith:
The information requested is not held centrally. However, in January 1998, of the 27,882 pupils in maintained primary schools in Sefton Metropolitan Borough, 369 were pupils with a statement of special educational needs and 4,239 were pupils with special educational needs but without a statement. Of the 19,744 pupils in maintained secondary schools in Sefton Metropolitan Borough, 506 were pupils with a statement of special educational needs and 2,020 were pupils with special educational needs but without a statement.
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