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Local Learning Partnerships
Mr. Lepper: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on (a) the role of local learning partnerships in the work of local learning and skills councils and (b) the timetable for consultation on local learning partnerships. [106796]
Mr. Wicks:
There are now over 100 Learning Partnerships throughout the country. They were established following extensive consultation by DfEE
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with national partners and, through them, with local agencies (colleges, TECs, careers services, LEAs etc.). Learning Partnerships have a key role in the new post-16 arrangements. They will provide the local LSCs with invaluable advice about the learning needs of young people, adults and the community in general, as well as the skill needs of employers. This advice will inform the local LSCs' annual planning of learning and skill needs and priorities for the development of local provision.
The role of Learning Partnerships in relation to the local Learning and Skills Councils has been published in the Learning and Skills Council Prospectus "Learning to Succeed" (December 1999)--paragraph 2.43 to 2.48 and the Secretary of State's letter of 17 January 2000 to all Members enclosing the Learning Partnership Policy Statement. Both documents are available in the Library of the House.
The White Paper "Learning to Succeed" posed specific questions regarding the role of Learning Partnerships and how they might best support local LSCs. Respondents indicated overwhelming support for their role in the new post-16 arrangements and therefore there are no plans for further consultation on Learning Partnerships.
Mr. Ronnie Campbell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list the (a) total number of pupils on school rolls and (b) pupil-teacher ratio in (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools in Northumberland for each year since 1995. [106823]
Ms Estelle Morris:
The information requested is shown in the table.
| Primary schools | Secondary schools | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full-time equivalent number of pupils | Pupil:teacher ratio (31) | Full-time equivalent number of pupils | Pupil:teacher ratio (31) | |
| 1999 | 20,155 | 24.1 | 29,968 | 19.0 |
| 1998 | 20,271 | 24.8 | 30,011 | 19.2 |
| 1997 | 20,348 | 24.5 | 30,052 | 18.6 |
| 1996 | 20,241 | 24.6 | 29,804 | 18.5 |
| 1995 | 20,160 | 24.3 | 29,758 | 18.4 |
(31) The pupil-teacher ratio within schools is the ratio of the full-time equivalent number of pupils (counting each part-time pupil as 0.5 where applicable) to the full-time equivalent number of qualified teachers.
Free School Meals (Blyth Valley)
Mr. Ronnie Campbell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many pupils in Blyth Valley schools who are from families on the (a) income support and (b) family tax credit schemes will be entitled to free school meals. [106822]
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Ms Estelle Morris:
The information is not available in the form requested.
In schools 1 in the Northumberland local education authority area, there were 7,427 pupils who were known to be eligible for free school meals. This represented 14 per cent. of the total pupil population in these schools.
Mrs. Anne Campbell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list the upper and lower quartile and median SSA per pupil for each year since 1990-91 at 2001 prices for all LEAs in England. [106559]
Ms Estelle Morris:
The table lists the information requested for the primary and secondary SSA per full-time equivalent 5 to 15-year-old pupil.
1 Includes Maintained Nursery, Primary and Secondary Schools and all Special Schools.
| Lower (1st) quartile | Median | Upper (3rd) quartile | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990-91 | 1,735 | 1,801 | 1,988 |
| 1991-92 | 2,004 | 2,073 | 2,302 |
| 1992-93 | 2,124 | 2,195 | 2,449 |
| 1993-94 | 2,160 | 2,259 | 2,507 |
| 1994-95 | 2,182 | 2,273 | 2,519 |
| 1995-96 | 2,138 | 2,226 | 2,484 |
| 1996-97 | 2,239 | 2,305 | 2,512 |
| 1997-98 | 2,301 | 2,379 | 2,527 |
| 1998-99 | 2,416 | 2,502 | 2,636 |
| 1999-2000 | 2,537 | 2,612 | 2,763 |
| 2000-01 | 2,655 | 2,739 | 2,895 |
Note:
All figures are in pounds per pupil at 2000-01 prices, using the GDP deflators published on 22 December 1999. No adjustments have been made to take account of changes in local authority function.
Special Measures Schools
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many newly qualified teachers were working in schools in special measures in September 1999. [106691]
Ms Estelle Morris: Since 1 September 1999, schools already on special measures cannot employ newly qualified teachers who are going through induction, unless they are certified by Ofsted as suitable for the induction of teachers.
Information on the number of newly qualified teachers in schools on special measures certified as suitable for induction is not available centrally.
Higher Education
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to introduce value-added measurements in higher education. [106842]
Mr. Wicks
[holding answer 25 January 2000]: Following the recommendations of the Dearing report, we asked the Higher Education Funding Council for England
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(HEFCE) to develop a set of indicators and benchmarks for the higher education sector. The new performance indicators for higher education were published on 3 December 1999. The HEFCE has no current plans to introduce value-added measures as strictly defined.
Mr. Coaker:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what funding he has made available to local education authorities to support the changes to the sixth-form curriculum coming into force from September 2000; and if he will make a statement. [106832]
Mr. Wicks
[holding answer 25 January 2000]: The Department estimates that the recurrent costs of successfully implementing the forthcoming reforms to post-16 qualifications in LEA maintained schools are likely to be of the order of £35 million in 2000-01. The sum was added to the Education Standard Spending Assessment for that year, in the light of the Comprehensive Spending Review. It is for individual local education authorities to decide how to allocate resources to the schools they maintain.
Mr. Boswell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on (a) the size and composition of the independent non-publicly funded sector in (i) further and (ii) higher education, (b) the steps he is taking to ensure that its quality is maintained and (c) his action intended to improve its contribution to the objectives of the White Paper, "Learning to Succeed" (Cm 4392). [106844]
Mr. Wicks:
There is no centrally held information on the number of independent non-publicly funded providers or institutions of Further and Higher Education.
Under the Learning and Skills Council's new funding system, independent providers may receive funding, and would therefore be subject to inspection and quality assurance.
Dr. Cable:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what assessment he has made of the pilot schemes supported through the Special Educational Needs Standards Fund Grant to develop work on the education of children with emotional, behavioural and psychiatric problems. [106757]
Jacqui Smith:
Local education authorities in receipt of grant to support children with emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD), under the Special Educational Needs Standards Fund for 1999-2000, must produce a progress report by June this year. Similar levels of information will be required on projects beginning in 2001-02. A major consideration in deciding whether to support each project continues to be that adequate mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating the work are built into the design.
We will be writing to LEAs before Easter with details of the type of additional information we will require. I am setting up an EBD Advisory Group, composed of practitioners and other experts in the field, and we will
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draw on their expertise as to the most useful form this information might take. The information from LEAs will be used to inform decisions on SEN for the longer term. Where they report good practice we will seek to disseminate this widely through published case studies, conferences and through the Department's Special Educational Needs website.
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