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Teacher Contracts
Mr. Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what guidance he gives to local education authorities on providing written contracts; and what redress an employed teacher has against a local education authority that fails to provide a contract of employment. [137101]
Ms Estelle Morris: My right hon. Friend has not given any guidance to local education authorities on the provision of written contracts of employment. He has given guidance to school governing bodies about their obligation to provide a written statement each year to teachers of how their pay has been determined.
Mr. Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what statutory provisions govern the provision of written contracts by local education authorities on the (a) part-time and (b) full-time employment of teachers. [137100]
Ms Estelle Morris: Local education authorities are under the same requirements as other employers to provide written particulars of employment to employees. In addition, authorities, or the governing bodies of schools with delegated budgets, are required under the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document to provide written statements each year to teachers of how their pay has been determined.
Pupil Referral Units
Mr. Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what discussions he has had with disaffected young people about the framework and curriculum of pupil referral units. [137084]
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Jacqui Smith: Officials from my Department regularly meet disaffected young people, including as part of the recent review of the Social Inclusion: Pupil Support Standards Fund grant. We are also reviewing standards at pupil referral units (PRUs) and are arranging to meet pupils who have been excluded from school to find out from them what worked in PRUs. Ofsted inspection of PRUs usually includes discussion with students about the education they receive. The recently established Children's and Young People's Unit is considering how we can increase the involvement of children and young people in the design and delivery of policies and services that affect them.
My officials are also working with a number of voluntary sector partners to develop innovative programmes for disaffected pupils.
Mr. Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) what guidelines he has issued on pupil/teacher ratios in pupil referral units; [137083]
- (2) what guidance he has given pupil referral units about reintegrating pupils into mainstream education; [137080]
(3) what special training is given to staff working in pupil referral units. [137078]
Jacqui Smith: As part of comprehensive guidance covering pupil attendance, behaviour and exclusion my right hon. Friend issued detailed guidance in July 1999 on staffing and training in Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) and re-integration into mainstream education of pupils attending PRUs.
Staff in PRUs must be qualified teachers. Teachers in their induction year may require additional training in meeting the needs of difficult and disruptive children. A PRU's management committee should help identify staff development needs and the local education authority should provide opportunities for career development and in-service training. Training should include national curriculum courses, behaviour management and, where relevant, guidance from subject advisers on the curriculum.
Following exclusion, an individual re-integration plan should be drawn up for the pupil. Where possible, excluded pupils should be re-integrated as quickly as possible. It is expected that primary pupils will be re-integrated within one term. By 2002 all excluded pupils must be offered full-time education.
Staffing levels in PRUs should allow time to plan for individual pupils; helping pupils' re-entry into education or employment; building relationships with pupils and parents and administrative tasks. It is considered good practice for a PRU always to have at least two members of staff on site. In 2000 the pupil:teacher ratio in PRUs was 4.3 compared to 4.5 in 1999.
The money available from the Social Inclusion: Pupil Support Standards Fund Grant to help schools and local education authorities tackle poor behaviour and provide education outside school for those who have been excluded will increase tenfold from £17 million in 1996-97 to £174 million in 2001-02.
Copies of the guidance mentioned above, DfEE Circulars 10-99 (Chapter 7) and 11-99 (Chapters 4 and 5), are available in the House of Commons Library.
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Mr. Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) how many young people (a) are receiving and (b) have received an education in a pupil referral unit in each of the last three years; [137081]
- (2) how many pupil referral units there are in (a) England, (b) Nottingham and (c) Nottinghamshire. [137082]
Jacqui Smith: Provisional figures for 2000 show that there were 8,479 pupils registered at pupil referral units (PRUs). This compares with 7,530 in 1997, 7,740 in 1998 and 8,263 in 1999. This means an increase of nearly 1,000 places since 1997. In addition, the number of pupils dually registered at both school and PRU increased from 4,166 in 1998 to 4,586 in 2000.
Latest figures show that there are nearly 300 PRUs in England. Nottingham City LEA has two PRUs. Nottinghamshire LEA has four PRUs. A number of LEAs are amalgamating pupil referral units to bring them under one management structure in order to rationalise and improve provision. As indicated above, there has been an increase in the scale of provision for pupils at PRUs.
Mr. Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what criteria are used to evaluate the effectiveness of pupil referral units. [137079]
Jacqui Smith: OFSTED inspects pupil referral units (PRUs) using the framework of inspection for schools, adapted for PRUs. The inspection includes looking at quality of teaching; pupils' progress; management and value for money. Following an OFSTED inspection, the LEA must prepare a written action plan, in consultation with the management committee of the PRU and the teacher in charge. A recent OFSTED analysis of inspection reports from 38 inspections undertaken in 2000-01 highlights: improved teaching; improved pupil progress and achievement; better management; better value for money and some improved accommodation.
Class Sizes (Leicestershire)
Mr. Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what steps he is taking to ensure that Leicestershire LEA meets his target that no infant is taught in a class size of 30 or more by September 2001. [137058]
Ms Estelle Morris: For the huge majority of infants, the Government have secured early delivery of their pledge to limit infant class sizes to 30 pupils. In September 2000, as few as 30,000 five, six and seven-year-olds remained in infant classes of 31 or more. The figure in January 1998 was 485,000. The pledge is supported by over £600 million, and allocations so far to Leicestershire LEA amount to nearly £4 million--enough to support 71 additional teachers this year, and 24 additional classrooms. This has enabled the authority to make steady progress towards meeting the pledge: in September 2000, over 94 per cent. of five, six and seven-year-olds in Leicestershire were in infant classes of 30 or below, compared with 89 per cent. in September 1999. The figure in January 1998 was 78 per cent.
School Playing Fields
Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will provide a breakdown by region
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of the number of state schools which sought approval from his Department for the sale of playing fields between 1990-2000. [136752]
Jacqui Smith [holding answer 6 November 2000]: The information is not available in the form requested.
Prior to October 1998 only grant-maintained schools were required to seek consent from the Secretary of State before selling any land. Since the introduction in October 1998 of section 77 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, local authorities and governing bodies of all maintained schools, including foundation schools, have been required to obtain the Secretary of State's consent before disposing of playing fields or any part of a playing field. The Secretary of State will grant such approval only if the application meets the tough criteria against which all applications are considered.
Before the change in the law, local authorities could and did sell playing fields as and when they chose to do so. An estimated 40 playing fields a month were sold in this way under the previous Government.
Since October 1998 there have been 180 applications from local authorities and governing bodies to sell a playing field or part of a playing field. The following table provides a breakdown of these applications by local education authority.
Note:
School playing fields means school playgrounds and other pupil recreation and social areas as well as grassed playing fields. It also means small areas of playing fields as well as whole playing fields.
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