| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
School Governors
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has for ensuring that the skill-mix of school governing bodies is sufficient for the proper discharge of their responsibilities. [4428]
Mr. Timms: The Code of Practice on Local Education Authority-School Relations advises local education authorities to appoint as governors those who are best qualified to help schools improve and to have regard to the skills and experience of which particular schools have the greatest need. The Department's advice to governing bodies is to consider, when co-opting governors, what skills are needed to enable the full discharge of their responsibilities.
The Department will make available to governor trainers in local education authorities from September 2001 a package for governors to help ensure that they have the information to develop the skills to do the job.
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has for improving the recruitment of school governors. [4427]
Mr. Timms: The Department for Education and Skills is funding the School Governors' One-Stop Shop (SGOSS) to recruit people with business and management skills to become school governors in areas covered by all phases of the Government's Excellence in Cities programme. SGOSS is a private company limited by guarantee and registered as a charity. Since its inception in January 2000, SGOSS has found 1,098 candidates of whom 291 are serving governors and 181 are matched with schools and awaiting final placement.
The Department's strategy for supporting the recruitment of governors by schools and LEAs also includes the production of publicity materials. A national school governor advertising campaign took place last autumn and funding is available for a campaign extension to support the election and appointment of governors at the beginning of the autumn term this year.
18 Jul 2001 : Column: 248W
Education (Bedfordshire)
Mr. Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the level of Government funding awarded per sixth form student in (a) a sixth form further education college and (b) a sixth form situated in a secondary school in the 2000–01 academic year. [4463]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: In the 2000–01 financial year the range of funding delegated to schools across LEAs for their school sixth form pupils was £2,600 to £4,100. Funding for each further education college depends on the size of each individual student's programme of study, but the average for all full-time equivalent students in 2000–01 was some £3,300. Figures for funding comparisons on an academic year basis are not currently available.
Mr. Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has to enable schools in Bedfordshire to fund more programmes to tackle drug abuse. [4711]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Funding to support drug, alcohol and tobacco education will rise from £14.5 million in 2001–02 to £15.5 million in 2002–03 and £17.5 million in 2003–04. This funding will improve the quality and coverage of drug education programmes in schools, provide funding for every school to have access to an LEA drug adviser and will fund drug education training for teachers and Connexions advisers. Bedfordshire LEA will receive £98,600 in 2001–02 as part of this funding. No specific figures are available beyond 2001–02.
In addition to this specific funding, schools will receive £15 million in 2001–02 to support Personal Social and Health Education and Citizenship, which they can choose to spend on programmes to tackle drug misuse if they wish. Bedfordshire LEA have been allocated £87,300 from this fund.
Mr. Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many unfilled vacancies there are in the further education sector for lecturer posts in Bedfordshire; and how many there were in 1997. [4712]
John Healey: The information requested is not collected centrally. The Learning and Skills Council collect information on staff numbers in Further Education (FE) sector colleges by the Staff Individualised Record (SIR). SIR does not include details on vacancies, leavers, salary or grade.
Mr. Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of three year olds in (a) Bedfordshire and (b) England have free early years places. [4713]
Mr. Timms: In March 2001, around 55 per cent. of three year olds in England had access to a free part-time early education place. We are currently on target to provide 66 per cent. of all three year olds with a free place by March 2002. We are committed to providing all three year olds with a free place by September 2004.
Bedfordshire local education authority estimate that around 44 per cent. of three year olds have access to a free early education place in their area.
18 Jul 2001 : Column: 249W
Mr. Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time teaching vacancies there are in (i) lower, (ii) middle, (iii) upper and (iv) special schools in Bedfordshire. [4716]
Mr. Timms: The number of full-time vacancies for teachers in the maintained schools sector in Bedfordshire local authority at January 2001 (provisional) is as follows:
| Vacancies | Vacancy rate (percentage) | |
|---|---|---|
| Nursery/Primary | 23 | 2.3 |
| Secondary | 48 | 2.7 |
| Special | 5 | 3.7 |
| Total | 76 | 2.6 |
Data are not collected on part-time vacancies.
Data are not collected on a lower, middle or upper school basis.
Mr. Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) lower, (b) middle and (c) upper school teachers there were in Bedfordshire on 1 May; and how many are projected for 1 May 2002. [4719]
Mr. Timms: Full-time equivalents of regular teachers (excluding short-term supply) employed in the maintained nursery, primary and secondary sector in Bedfordshire local authority at January 2001 (provisional) are as follows:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| Nursery | 30 |
| Primary | 1,100 |
| Secondary | 1,970 |
| Total | 3,090 |
Notes:
Figures rounded to the nearest 10.
The total does not equal the sum of the component parts because of rounding.
Regular teacher data are collected in January of each year. Figures for May 2001 and projected figures for May 2002 will not be collected or estimated.
Data are not collected on a lower, middle or upper school basis.
GM Technology (Teaching Materials)
Mrs. Lawrence: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if information provided by the Biotechnology Institute on GM technology is an approved teaching aid in United Kingdom schools. [4510]
Mr. Timms [holding answer 17 July 2001]: A wide range of organisations disseminate resources and information which can be used to support the delivery of the school curriculum. The Department for Education and Skills does not approve or quality assure such resources for use in schools in England. Teachers use their professional judgment to decide which resources will best meet the educational needs of their pupils.
School Places (Wandsworth)
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils living in the London
18 Jul 2001 : Column: 250W
borough of Wandsworth have not been allocated a secondary school place within the borough for the autumn term. [4529]
Mr. Timms: My Department does not hold this information. However, Wandsworth LEA has told my officials that it is in the process of identifying and contacting children who have not obtained a place at their parents' preferred school. The LEA has said that there are sufficient secondary school places available in Wandsworth to be able to place any children in the area who do not yet have a school.
Standard Spending Assessment
Tony Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what the SSA per primary and secondary pupil is for (a) Staffordshire and (b) Hertfordshire; [4549]
- (2) what the percentage variation was of (a) Staffordshire and (b) Hertfordshire from the shire county average in terms of SSA per primary pupil and secondary pupil in (i) 1992–93 and (ii) 2001–02. [4550]
Mr. Timms: The table shows for 1998–99 and 2001–02 the Education SSA per primary and secondary school for Staffordshire and Hertfordshire and compares them with the shire county average. It is not possible to produce comparable figures for 1992–93, because of local government re-organisation, which was completed on 1 April 1998.
| Staffordshire | Hertfordshire | Shire county average | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998–99 | |||
| Primary (£) | 2,040 | 2,260 | 2,150 |
| Percentage variation from shire county average | -5.1 | +5.1 | — |
| Secondary (£) | 2,650 | 2,930 | 2,790 |
| Percentage variation | -5.0 | +5.0 | — |
| 2001–02 | |||
| Primary (£) | 2,330 | 2,610 | 2,460 |
| Percentage variation | -5.3 | +6.1 | — |
| Secondary (£) | 3,000 | 3,330 | 3,160 |
| Percentage variation | -5.1 | +5.4 | — |
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |