| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Academic Standards
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what consultations he plans on the maintenance of academic standards while extending participation in higher education to 50 per cent. of young people. [94678]
Mr. Wicks: My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has announced that 50 per cent. of young adults will be able to enter higher education by the age of 30. Increased participation is likely to be largely in high quality, shorter qualifications valued by employers. Maintenance and improvement of standards would be central to any consultation.
Young Carers
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to support learning at a distance by young people who have responsibilities as carers. [94748]
Jacqui Smith: There is already a comprehensive range of distance learning materials available for young people which can be accessed by those young people who have caring responsibilities.
Education Business Partnerships
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when he expects to complete a national network of education business partnerships. [94757]
Ms Estelle Morris: There is already a national network of education business partnerships in place. We are, however, working closely with the National Education Business Partnership Network and others to strengthen the national, regional and local structures for promoting and encouraging greater collaboration between schools and business.
Educational Maintenance Allowances
Mr. Boswell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will give details of pilot
19 Oct 1999 : Column: 538
schemes for Educational Maintenance Allowances and define the basis on which income eligibility is to be calculated and the number of pupils affected. [94751]
Mr. Wicks:
The Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) is being piloted in 15 local education authorities (LEAs) across England to test the effectiveness of targeted financial support on post-16 participation and attainment rates. The 15 pilot LEAs are: Middlesbrough, Walsall, Southampton, Oldham, City of Nottingham, Bolton, Doncaster, Stoke-on-Trent, Gateshead, Cornwall, Leeds, Lewisham, Southwark, Greenwich, Lambeth. Different pilot variants are being tested in different areas.
Young people resident in the pilot areas may be eligible to receive an EMA if they left Year 11 last summer, participate in full-time post-16 education at school or college, and satisfy a financial assessment based on their parents' annual gross taxable income. The full allowance (£30 in all areas except Nottingham and Oldham where £40 is the maximum) will be payable if the parents' gross taxable income is less than £13,000. For higher incomes, the amount will be tapered, down to a minimum of £5. No allowance will be payable where the taxable income exceeds £30,000 (£20,000 in London). In the London LEAs, eligibility is restricted to young people living in selected wards; in Leeds to those who attended selected schools pre-16.
The EMA will be paid during term-time only and will be stopped if the young person fails to comply with the terms of a learning agreement (such as not attending lessons) drawn up with the institution. Bonuses are payable for retention and achievement.
We estimate that around 29,000 young people in the 15 pilot areas will be eligible for an EMA.
Mr. Boswell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the correlation between those accessing the Learning Direct helpline and their eventual attainment of (a) qualifications at Level 2 or above and (b) basic skills qualifications. [94738]
Mr. Wills:
The information is not available from existing evaluation. We are currently designing continuing evaluation arrangements on the use made of Learning Direct.
Mr. Boswell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will give details of the network of local learning and skills councils and Small Business Service areas. [94755]
Mr. Wicks:
When the Government published the "Learning to Succeed" White Paper and Small Business Service consultation document, my right hon. Friends the Secretary of State for Education and Employment and the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry asked the Regional Development Agencies and the London Development Partnership to provide us with advice on potential local Learning and Skills Councils, and Small Business Service boundaries.
Ministers are currently considering the advice received and we intend to announce details of boundaries shortly.
19 Oct 1999 : Column: 539
Mr. Boswell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on progress to date with the National Record of Achievement in education. [94677]
Mr. Wicks:
Following early trialling of the ideas proposed by the 1997 report of the National Record of Achievement Review Steering Group, materials under the title of "Progress File" have been developed and are being tested and adapted over the next three years with schools, colleges and employers in ten demonstration projects in different areas of England. The new materials are also available to other interested schools. The existing National Record of Achievement remains available to schools and training providers.
Mr. Boswell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what estimate he has made of the current social rate of return to (a) primary, (b) secondary and (c) tertiary education. [94730]
Mr. Wicks:
The estimated social rate of return to A-levels taken by young people is 14-21 per cent. The National Committee of Inquiry into Higher Education estimated the rate of return on first degrees at 7-9 per cent. in the first half of the 1990s, and there are some indications that a marginally higher figure may now be appropriate. Estimates for compulsory education are not available.
Mr. Boswell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what detailed proposals he has for the 16 to 18 discount card; who will finance these discounts; what arrangements will be made to deal with complaints by (a) dissatisfied consumers and (b) potential providers who are excluded from the scheme; and what is the anticipated cost to public funds. [94750]
Mr. Wicks:
The Youth Card will build on the current Learning card which is issued to all young people during their final year of compulsory education. When fully up and running it will reward young people in learning and help to remove some of the barriers to further learning by offering a range of attractive discounts covering transport, leisure, and the commercial sector.
Discussions are taking place with a wide range of organisations to secure these discounts. The expectation is that the cost of discounts will be borne by those organisations willing to accept the Youth Card for discounting purposes. Consequently no significant additional public cost is anticipated.
All those organisations willing to recognise the Youth Card for discounting purposes will be bound by contract to deliver the agreed discount and to ensure that any complaints are dealt with properly. This contract will be reviewed annually.
Mr. Boswell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when he will announce the results of his consultation on school sixth forms. [94754]
19 Oct 1999 : Column: 540
Mr. Wicks:
The consultation on the funding of school sixth forms closed on Friday 15 October. Some late responses are still being received. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will announce the results of the consultation after he has considered all views.
Mr. Boswell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what progress has been made in developing professional qualifications, matched to NVQs, for learning support assistants. [94728]
Jacqui Smith:
Work is currently in progress to develop a national framework of training and qualifications for teaching assistants. The Department is working on this with the Local Government National Training Organisation (LGNTO) in consultation with Local Educational Authorities, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority and other bodies. This framework will cover all teaching assistants including those learning support assistants who support children with special educational needs. As part of the first phrase of this work, we have commissioned LGNTO to develop national occupational standards for all teaching assistants. This work is due to be completed in Spring 2000.
Mr. Boswell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what reply he has made to MENCAP's report on school inclusion entitled, "On a Wing and a Prayer". [94727]
Ms Estelle Morris:
The DfEE is working closely with MENCAP. However, the publication of this report coincides with the publication of a DfEE commissioned report entitled "The Management, role and training of Learning Support Assistants". Both reports explore how learning support assistants work with pupils with special educational needs in inclusive settings. They each highlight good practice. The Government are already taking forward work relating to a number of the recommendations in the MENCAP report, as highlighted in the Teachers Green Paper. Specifically we are:
working with the Local Government National Training Organisation to develop a national framework of training and qualifications;
developing good practice materials on the effective deployment of teaching assistants, including learning support assistants;
making available £350 million over this and the next two financial years to support the recruitment and training of an additional 20,000 (FTE) assistants, including learning support assistants.
In addition, we are currently in discussion with MENCAP and the authors of the two reports about the possibility of a joint conference to discuss the research findings and identify ways forward for improving practice.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |