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National Learning Targets
Mrs. May:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list the national learning targets and the current policies against target for each and all other targets set by his Department. [107539]
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Mr. Wicks
[holding answer 28 January 2000]: My Department's Public Service Agreement (PSA), published in the Department's Annual Report, sets out its key performance targets. The DfEE Annual Report and the Annual Report of the Employment Service also include other performance-related information. Targets for Agencies and Executive Non-Departmental Public Bodies can be found annually in the Next Steps Report and Executive and Non-Departmental Public Bodies Report on the Stationary Office website. My Department has also published a Strategic Framework to 2002 "Learning and Working Together for the Future", setting out the aim and objectives, targets and supporting policies for that period; and a leaflet, "National Learning Targets for England for 2002", and the publication "National Learning Targets Action Plan", setting out the Government's National Learning Targets to 2002.
Mr. Cohen:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will attend the World Education Forum to be held in Senegal in April. [107426]
Mr. Wicks:
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will not attend the World Education Forum. However, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development has stated previously that she will participate.
Mr. Bob Russell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what assessment he has made of the impact of the private finance initiative on reductions in numbers of school playing fields. [107165]
Jacqui Smith:
Section 77 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 prevents local authorities and governing bodies from disposing, or changing the use, of school playing fields, without the prior consent of the Secretary of State. Section 77 applies also where such disposal or change of use is required as part of an approved PFI scheme.
PFI and other Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) encourage schools to make the most of their assets in collaboration with the private sector and in the interest of their pupils. That interest is not served by selling off those playing fields which children need for sport. Indeed, many PPP proposals are specifically aimed at upgrading school sports facilities.
Mr. Bob Russell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what percentage of school playing fields are capable of sustaining minimum standards of seven hours a week use. [107158]
Jacqui Smith:
The information requested is not collected centrally.
Mr. Bob Russell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many private finance initiative schemes for schools have involved the sale of parts of school playing fields. [107157]
Jacqui Smith:
Contracts have been awarded on eight schools' projects in England under the Private Finance Initiative, six of which are for building projects covering new or replacement single schools and two of which are
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for Local Education Authority-wide service contracts. None of these schemes has involved the sale of parts of school playing fields.
Mr. Bob Russell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to review Circular 3/99, relating to the protection of school playing fields. [107162]
Jacqui Smith:
The Government will review Circular 3/99, "The Protection of School Playing Fields", during the Spring, with a view to announcing any changes in June.
Mr. Bob Russell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what discussions have taken place with national bodies with expertise in related matters since the issuing of Circular 3/99. [107160]
Jacqui Smith:
The three national bodies cited in Circular 3/99, "The Protection of School Playing Fields", are the National Playing Fields Association, the Central Council of Physical Recreation (CCPR) and Learning through Landscapes. Since the Circular was published on 7 June 1999, Ministers have met with the CCPR and officials have held several meetings, and corresponded, with all three organisations.
Mr. Bob Russell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many school playing fields or parts of fields have been sold since the issue of Circular 3/99; and if he will make a statement on its impact on sales of playing fields. [107161]
Jacqui Smith:
Since the issue of Circular 3/99, the Secretary of State has approved 13 applications to sell areas of land affecting sports pitches at schools. Of these, six involved sports pitches at closed schools and a further three provided new or improved sports facilities including, in one case, a new sports hall. In the four remaining applications, the sales proceeds have all been reinvested for educational purposes.
The introduction in Circular 3/99 of strict criteria against which decisions are made has been a great success. Since the issue of this Circular, the Department has received an average of just five applications a month to dispose or change the use of sports pitches. Not all of these applications involve the loss of a playing field. For example, some are for transfers of ownership or involve acquiring new replacement pitches. Authorities now see how tough our criteria are and generally bring forward only those proposals which make all round sense.
Mr. Cox:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many after-school clubs there are in England and Wales. [107122]
Jacqui Smith:
The Government are committed to supporting after-school-hours provision to support pupils' learning and to provide child care for working parents.
DfEE does not itself collate information on the number of out-of-school child care clubs which have been set up, but Kids' Clubs Network estimate that there are now around 5,000 such schemes in England and Wales. In addition, the New Opportunities Fund has so far made awards to 361 new or expanded out-of-school child care clubs in England and Wales.
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In England, research shows that 98 per cent. of primary and 99 per cent. of secondary schools already provide out-of-school-hours learning activities for their pupils. The New Opportunities Fund has already made grants covering 957 schools in England to help them provide more and better activities and by 2001 will have supported at least a quarter of primary and half of all secondary and special schools. From April this year, schools in disadvantaged areas will also be able to benefit from a new Standards Fund grant to help them fund out-of-school-hours learning. Out-of-school-hours learning in Wales is a matter for the Welsh Assembly.
Mr. Cox:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement about school security. [107063]
Jacqui Smith:
We take the issue of school security very seriously. The Working Group on School Security, set up after the fatal stabbing of Philip Lawrence in December 1995, continues to meet on a regular basis to advise on school security matters. Most of the Group's recommendations, published in its report in May 1996, have been implemented. One of those recommendations was that money should be made available specifically for school security improvements. I announced last month that £22 million would be made available in 2000-01 for school security, building on the £66 million that has been made available over the past three years.
Dr. Cable:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many year 11, 10 and 9 pupils were excluded from schools in London and the South East in the academic year 1998-99. [106758]
Jacqui Smith:
The Department is currently collecting information on the number of permanent exclusions in 1998-99 in maintained primary, secondary and special schools. Provisional information will be published in a Statistical First Release in May.
| Pupils by age(2) | Greater London | South East | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age 13 | |||
| Number of permanent exclusions | 396 | 355 | 2,385 |
| Percentage of school population(3) | 0.58 | 0.43 | 0.44 |
| Age 14 | |||
| Number of permanent exclusions | 523 | 513 | 3,351 |
| Percentage of school population(3) | 0.77 | 0.62 | 0.61 |
| Age 15 | |||
| Number of permanent exclusions | 356 | 355 | 2,447 |
| Percentage of school population(3) | 0.55 | 0.44 | 0.46 |
(2) Ages as at 31 August 1997
(3) The number of permanent exclusions expressed as a percentage of the number of pupils in the age group
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