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Schools (Internet)
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make it his policy to allow local education authorities to act as monitors of minimum standards for internet service providers to schools and to stop non-monitored access of chatrooms in schools. [140785]
Mr. Wills [holding answer 29 November 2000]: Policies on students' access to chatrooms and the services provided by internet service providers are a matter for each school. However, access to unsuitable materials is something we take very seriously and we have issued advice to schools and local education authorities on all aspects of internet safety. The Department's Superhighway Safety Guide includes advice on filtering software, monitoring student access, acceptable use policies and the use of chatrooms.
Named Person Scheme
Mr. Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what the aims of the named person scheme are for children with special educational needs; and what assessment he has made of the scheme. [140858]
Jacqui Smith: The aim of the named person scheme is set out in the Code of Practice on the Identification and Assessment of Special Educational Needs, paragraphs 4:70 to 4:73. The named person is intended to be someone, named by the authority when a statement of special educational needs is served on parents--someone who can give the parents advice and information about their child's special educational needs. The scheme has been subject to assessment by my Department, and new arrangements are being proposed in the draft revised Code of Practice, issued for consultation by my Department earlier this year, and separately for Wales by the Office of the Welsh Assembly, for a new Independent Parental Supporter who would replace the named person.
Work-related Studies
Mr. Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list the local education authorities involved in the work-related studies project, indicating in each case the value of the project and the progress in meeting their objectives. [140941]
Mr. Wicks: The Department is providing funding to local education authorities in 2000-01 to support locally derived and delivered work-related learning projects under two initiatives:
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| LEA | £ |
|---|---|
| Barnsley | 60,000 |
| Coventry | 61,000 |
| Derbyshire | 63,000 |
| Devon | 65,000 |
| Dudley | 50,000 |
| Islington | 65,000 |
| Lancashire | 65,000 |
| Leicester | 65,000 |
| Manchester | 65,000 |
| Portsmouth | 58,000 |
| Rochdale | 27,000 |
| Sheffield | 77,000 |
| Solihull | 65,000 |
| Southwark | 66,000 |
| Tower Hamlets | 53,000 |
| Wakefield | 60,000 |
| Warwickshire | 53,000 |
| Wigan | 65,500 |
| York | 50,000 |
The aim of the programmes is to develop work-related opportunities which are relevant to all 14 to 16-year-olds, but with the disaffected and underachievers a priority. The projects seek to encourage schools to pursue innovative approaches to vocational and work-related education that also help pupils make a successful transition to adult and working life.
An independent national evaluation is being carried out on these projects on behalf of the Department. The Key Stage 4 Demonstration Projects evaluation has been completed and the report is currently being made ready for publication. The evaluation found that projects made good progress against key objectives during the two years they were evaluated, with project participants showing improving attendance and behaviour and helping with attainment and progression.
The Action Research Projects evaluation is still under way, with outcome data being collected. This should be complete by the end of this year, with a report ready in early 2001.
Teachers (Remuneration)
Ms Kelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what recent research his Department has undertaken on salary and employment comparisons between teachers and other professions. [141220]
Ms Estelle Morris: My Department has published research this month by the University of Cambridge on ill health retirement and absenteeism among teachers, which includes comparisons with other professions.
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Pay comparisons are available from a number of sources such as the New Earnings Survey, and these are taken into account as appropriate by the School Teachers' Review Body and by my right hon. Friend in their annual consideration of the level of teachers' pay.
Mr. Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list for each local education authority (a) in receipt of area cost adjustment and (b) not in receipt of area cost adjustment, the average teacher salary in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available. [140518]
Ms Estelle Morris: Average salaries of full-time qualified teachers (including heads and deputy heads) in the maintained schools sector at 31 March of each year 1990 to 1999, by local education authorities, are contained in tables, copies of which have been placed in the Library. Local authorities created by local government reorganisation are shown below their parent authorities.
Reforms of teachers' pay, implemented in full from September 2000, will mean that good teachers will benefit from the new post-threshold pay scale and the new upper pay scale.
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many teachers are eligible to apply to cross the threshold to the upper pay scale in each of the local education authorities in Berkshire. [140585]
Ms Estelle Morris [holding answer 28 November 2000]: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
Ghausia Girls High School
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when the Ghausia Girls High School in Nelson was inspected by Ofsted; how long the inspection took; how many inspectors were involved; and when the report will be published. [140969]
Ms Estelle Morris: This is a matter for Ofsted and I have asked HM Chief Inspector of Schools to write to my hon. Friend and to place a copy of his letter in the Library.
Higher Education Funding
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will set out the unit of student funding in higher education for each of the next three financial years. [140364]
Mr. Wicks [holding answer 27 November 2000]: Between 1989-90 and 1996-97, under the previous Government, the unit public funding for higher education students in England fell by 36 per cent. In 1997, the National Committee of Inquiry into Higher Education chaired by Lord Dearing stated that planned further rapid reductions in unit funding were not achievable without putting quality unacceptably at risk, and that efficiency improvements should be limited to 1 per cent. a year for the following two years. The present Government agreed with and followed Lord Dearing's recommendation. Now, for the first time in over a decade, there will be a real-terms increase in funding per student in 2001-02, and that level of funding will be sustained in the following two years.
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Teacher Training
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what the cost in real terms was of training a teacher for each of the years from 1990 to 2000. [140771]
Ms Estelle Morris: Teacher training takes many forms and funding comes from a number of sources. In addition to Government grants to institutions to run ITT courses, ITT providers receive public and private fee income and many ITT students will be receiving support in the form of grants, loans or the newly introduced training salaries for postgraduate trainees. No figures are available centrally of the total cost, including all of these factors, of training a teacher.
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many students failed to complete their teacher training courses; and what percentage of all the students on such courses this represented in the most recent academic year for which figures are available. [134911]
Ms Estelle Morris: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) if he will list for each UK teacher training institution the number of (a) target and (b) actual acceptances for (i) PGCE courses and (ii) BEd courses for each of the years 1997 to 2000 for (A) secondary teaching, broken down by subject specialism, and (B) primary teaching; [140784]
- (2) how many people entered initial teacher training courses for (a) primary and (b) each secondary subject through (i) undergraduate, (ii) postgraduate and (iii) employment-based routes in each academic year from 1992-93 to 2000-01; and how many people in each intake have gained qualified teacher status to date. [140854]
Ms Estelle Morris: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
Ms Kelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) what measures he has introduced to encourage professionals from the private sector to enter the teaching profession; and how many people from the private sector have trained as teachers in each year since 1990; [141221]
- (2) how many students undertook teacher training in (a) BEd and (b) PGCE courses, and how many of these were mature students, in each year since 1990. [141222]
Ms Estelle Morris: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
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