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Class Sizes
Miss Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the average size of secondary school classes. [94264]
Ms Estelle Morris: The average size of a secondary class was 21.8 in January 1999. January 1999 saw the first fall in overall average class size for 10 years from 24.9 in January 1998 to 24.8.
National Curriculum
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when the consultation period on the national curriculum will end. [94268]
Jacqui Smith: Consultation on my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State's proposals for revisions to the National Curriculum for the year 2000 ended on 23 July 1999. On 9 September my right hon. Friend announced his decisions on a revised National Curriculum, which will raise educational achievement, while safeguarding every child's entitlement to a broad and balanced education. We also consulted between 15 September and 18 October on the draft statutory Orders which give effect to these provisions. Revised National Curriculum documents will be sent to all schools in November.
Area Inspectors (Young Adult Provision)
Mrs. Heal: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to undertake area inspections of 16 to 19 years provision. [96731]
Mr. Wicks: In its White Paper "Learning to Succeed--a New Framework for post-16 Learning" the Government looked to Ofsted to lead area-wide inspections of 16-19 education and training, encompassing all providers. From 2001 these inspections will be partnership with the proposed new adult inspectorate; prior to that the work will be done jointly with the FEFC Inspectorate and the Training Standards Council.
The programme of inspections will commence in autumn 1999 and will focus in some cases on areas where the challenge to raise achievement and participation is particularly acute. For inspection purposes, areas will usually be single LEAs, but they may comprise more than one LEA, or part of a large LEA.
Most school sixth forms, colleges and major training providers in the area will be visited in the course of the inspection, but the emphasis will be on provision in the area as a whole, rather than on individual organisations. Inspectors may draw on evidence from other recent or
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current inspections of individual institutions or providers, in complementing, rather than duplicating inspection activity.
The inspections will be in two stages. In the first, the focus will be on visits to institutions and providers to gather and interpret evidence on performance, curriculum and programmes, and cost/resource issues, and to meet staff and students or trainees. In the second stage, usually several weeks later, inspectors will visit a sample of lessons/sessions to assess the quality of what is provided and students' and trainees' responses to it. In addition, certain themes, such as guidance, will be addressed across the different sectors. Inspectors will also consider the contribution of the LEA(s), the local TEC(s) and the Careers Service to 16-19 provision in the area, and will take account of available information on the local market and skills needs.
Each inspection will result in a published report which will include judgments on:
Mr. Wigley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the Government's latest policy towards introducing a new computer network for public libraries, as outlined in his publication, "New Library--People's Network". [95322]
Mr. Alan Howarth:
I have been asked to reply.
Responsibility within Government for the People's Network rests with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
We are making £70 million available through the New Opportunities Fund to create content for the Public Libraries ICT Network and to train library staff in ICT skills. In addition, up to £200 million is available through the New Opportunities Fund's Community Access to Lifelong Learning programme to support the development of the network infrastructure. Libraries also stand to benefit from a range of other educational programmes including the £252 million set aside for the development of learning centres under the Capital Modernisation Fund.
Mr. Woodward:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment for what reason the regional development agencies have been tasked to determine the boundaries of local Learning and Skills Councils. [96002]
Mr. Wicks:
Regional Development Agencies are well placed to advise on local Learning and Skills Councils boundaries in their regions because of their leading role in developing economic strategies for the English regions. In reaching their recommendations they have consulted widely with business and wider communities in their regions.
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Mr. Boswell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to develop the concept of associate and pass degrees for those unable to take a full degree; and at what national level of attainment they would be scored. [96118]
Mr. Wicks:
All qualifications in higher education should represent positive achievement at specified levels and should offer scope for further progression in lifelong learning. The independent Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education is consulting on proposals for a qualifications framework based on these principles. The framework will include provision for existing qualifications below honours degree level and is intended to be flexible enough to accommodate new qualifications that may be developed. The Government believe that there is an important place for high quality qualifications below honours degree level that are valued by employers.
Mr. Boswell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will issue guidance to higher education institutions concerning post code discrimination in admissions policies. [96119]
Mr. Wicks:
Entry to higher education institutions should be based on merit and the ability to benefit from the courses they offer, not on social background. New information services from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service will help institutions assess whether they are reaching all the potential students who could meet their entry requirements. The Department does not intend to issue guidance.
Mr. Boswell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment at what point of annual income a graduate with an income-contingent student loan will start to repay less in the current year than a graduate with an old-style mortgage loan. [96110]
Mr. Wicks:
Assuming a borrower was repaying an old-style mortgage loan at £1,000 a year (reflecting a loan of £5,000 being repaid over a five year period), someone with an income-contingent loan of the same size would repay less until they earned over £21,111 a year.
The repayment of income contingent loans will be fairer than mortgage-style because it will be tied closely to income. Repayments will be based on 9 per cent. of income over £10,000 a year so that repayments will increase or decrease in line with changes in income. £21,111 would be quite a high salary for a new graduate, so most new graduates will initially be repaying small amounts each year in line with their income.
The repayment of mortgage style loans above a threshold--currently £18,192--is not income contingent. A fixed proportion of the loan has to be repaid each year: someone earning £20,000 a year will repay at the same rate as someone earning £40,000.
Mr. Boswell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the
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numbers of (a) industrial sectors which have developed programmes of graduate apprenticeships and (b) students currently involved in such programmes. [95782]
Mr. Wicks:
Seven sectors of industry and business are currently developing Graduate Apprenticeships in a series of pilot projects: chemical manufacturing and processing; electronics and software services; engineering (aerospace sub-sector); management and enterprise; rail; steel; and sport and recreation. A total of 34 Graduate Apprentices are involved in the pilot projects.
Mr. Boswell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on implementation of the revised level 3 curriculum for 2000-01 as it affects teaching and staffing at further education and sixth form colleges and school sixth forms, respectively. [96111]
Mr. Wicks:
The 16-19 qualification reforms arising from the Government's 1997 "Qualifying for Success" consultation document will be introduced for teaching in further education and sixth form colleges and school sixth forms from September 2000. The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority has already issued detailed guidance on how different types of institution might introduce the broader, more demanding post-16 curriculum which the reforms are designed to encourage, in the light of their own circumstances and the resources--including staffing levels--available to them. In addition, the Government have made available substantial additional resources specifically for staff development and training in support of the introduction of the new qualifications next year. Many schools and colleges have already indicated that they will be responding positively and constructively to the opportunities which the revised advanced level curriculum will create.
the standards achieved and quality of provision in the area;
the range and coherence of provision available;
the value for money provided.
By commenting on the match of provision to local demand, the inspection programme will provide a basis for future planning of 16-19 education and training.
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