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Pupil Exclusions
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what information she has collated about the linkage between exclusion and the number of criminal offences committed by under-18s. [23410]
Mr. Timms: My Department does not specifically collate any information about the linkage between exclusion and the number of criminal offences committed by under-18s.
However, the Home Office, which lead on Youth Crime issues, have carried out a number of research projects in this area. The latest of these is the report "The independent effects of permanent exclusion from school on the offending careers of young people", Home Office (RDS Occasional Paper No 71). MORI's (2001) Youth Survey 2001 for the Youth Justice Board also examines the link between exclusion and crime.
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many decisions taken by schools in the Buckingham constituency permanently to exclude pupils were reversed by independent appeal panels in each year since 1997. [23733]
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Mr. Ivan Lewis: The information for Buckinghamshire local education authority is shown in the table.
Parliamentary constituencies figures are calculated by adding figures from all the schools in the constituency together. As exclusion appeals are collected at local education authority level and not at school level they cannot be aggregated into parliamentary constituencies.
| School year | Number of appeals lodged | Number of appeals heard | Number of successful appeals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996–97 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1997–98 | 12 | 8 | 3 |
| 1998–99 | 9 | 9 | 3 |
| 1999–2000 | 10 | 8 | 4 |
Pre-school Funding
Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to her answer of 10 December 2001, Official Report, column 643W, on pre-school funding, if she will place the Ofsted and QCA advice referred to in the Library. [23576]
Margaret Hodge: Any documentary information relating to the advice given has now been archived. The relevant files have been called for and appropriate information identified will be placed in the Library.
Teaching Posts
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teaching posts are (a) vacant and (b) filled by supply, temporary and agency teachers in (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools in the Buckingham constituency. [23726]
Mr. Timms: The information is not available in the form requested.
Full-time teacher vacancies in maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools in the Buckinghamshire local education authority in January 2001 were:
- Nursery and primary: 21
Secondary: 33.
- Nursery and primary: 59
Secondary: 51.
ICT Spending
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the amount was (a) in total and (b) per pupil spent on information and communications technology in (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools in the Buckingham constituency in each year since 1997. [23727]
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John Healey: This information is not held by the Department on a constituency basis. However, expenditure on ICT in schools in England has been collected annually since 1998 and is shown in the table:
| Expenditure on ICT | 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary schools | ||||
| in total (£ million) | 68 | 125 | 150 | 186 |
| per pupil (£) | 15 | 32 | 37 | 42 |
| Secondary schools | ||||
| in total (£ million) | 143 | 161 | 177 | 210 |
| per pupil (£) | 46 | 53 | 56 | 66 |
Teachers (Buckingham)
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many new teachers have been employed in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in the Buckingham constituency in each year since 1997. [23730]
Mr. Timms: The information is not available in the form requested. Teachers in full or part-time regular service in the maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools sector in Buckinghamshire local education authority area, in the March of the year after they qualified, by year of entry to teaching, were as follows:
| 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999–2000(48) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nursery and primary | 110 | 80 | 110 |
| Secondary | 90 | 130 | 100 |
(48) Data are provisional. 1999–2000 is the latest year for which information is available.
Note:
1. All figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
2. The figures may exclude some part-time teachers who are not members of the teachers pension scheme.
National Grid for Learning
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much National Grid for Learning funding has been granted to schools in the Buckingham constituency in each year since 1997. [23728]
John Healey: National Grid for Learning funding through the Standards Fund commenced in 1998–99. Funding is allocated to local education authorities and information is not kept on a constituency basis. Since 1998 schools in Buckinghamshire have benefited from the following allocations (including match funding from the LEA):
| Year | £ million |
|---|---|
| 1998–99 | 1.25 |
| 1999–2000 | 1.125 |
| 2000–01 | 1.694 |
| 2001–02 | 2.032 |
Through Buckinghamshire's membership of the South East Grid for Learning consortium, its schools have also benefited from a share of £5,051 million of National Grid for Learning funding allocated in 2000–01 and £6.256 million in 2001–02 to equip them with broadband internet connections.
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Pupil Referral/Learning Support Units
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the (a) pupil referral units and (b) learning support units which are based in the Buckingham constituency indicating (i) staffing levels and (ii) number of places in each case. [23732]
Mr. Timms: Buckingham has the following Pupil Referral Units (PRUs):
| Name of unit | Number of teaching staff | Number of non-teaching staff |
|---|---|---|
| Aylesbury Vale Primary PRU—Aylesbury | 3 | 1.9 |
| Aylesbury Vale Secondary PRU—Aylesbury | 5 | 3.2 |
| Chilbec PRU—Chesham | 3.8 | 1.5 |
| The Oaks PRU—Amersham | 2 | 1 |
| Woodlands PRU—High Wycombe | 4.5 | 4 |
| Wycombe Grange PRU—High Wycombe | 9 | 8 |
These staffing levels do not include the Home Tuition and Hospital Teaching Service staff who are managed via the PRU Service.
Capacity in the PRUs is flexible to enable unpredictable demand for places to be met. For example, Key Stage 4 pupils are offered a range of off-site provision, including work experience and college courses. In addition, pupils may be supported on site in their own schools as well as off-site at the PRUs. Last year a total of 764 pupils were supported by the Buckinghamshire PRUs.
Buckingham's Learning Support Units (LSUs) are as follows:
| Name of school | Number of teaching staff | Number of non-teaching staff |
|---|---|---|
| Buckingham School—Buckingham | 1 | 2 |
| Chesham Park Community School—Chesham | 1 | 2 |
| Cressex School—High Wycombe | 1 | 2 |
| Holmer Green Upper School—Holmer Green | 1 | 1 |
| Mandeville School—Aylesbury | 1 | 2 |
| Quarrendon School—Aylesbury | 1 | 2 |
For the LSUs, DfES guidance on capacity is as follows:
- A maximum of 10 Key Stage 3 pupils working in the centre at any one time;
Pupils to spend no more than 50 per cent. of their time in the centre;
Support is provided to pupils in class;
This intensive support is provided for approximately one term.
Special Educational Needs
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many cases concerning schools in the Buckingham constituency were heard by the Special Educational Needs Tribunal in each year since 1997, indicating in how many cases the Tribunal ruled that additional support should be provided for children with special needs. [23734]
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Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Special Educational Needs Tribunal records appeals for individual local education authorities (LEAs), rather than individual constituencies. The following table shows the number of appeals involving Buckinghamshire LEA in each year since 1996–97 together
8 Jan 2002 : Column: 718W
with information about the number of appeals withdrawn, decided or outstanding and information about the number of cases which were upheld. A case is listed as "upheld" when any of the points at issue are decided in the parents' favour.
| 1996–97 | 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | Total years | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total number of appeals | 18 | 19 | 19 | 22 | 19 | 97 |
| Total number withdrawn | 10 | 12 | 10 | 15 | 13 | 60 |
| Total decided | 9 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 36 |
| Outstanding | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Total decisions upheld(50) | 4 | 5 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 29 |
| Total decisions dismissed(51) | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
(49) Buckinghamshire was involved in the re-organisation of LEAs on 1 March 1998. These figures include appeal for this LEA before the changes.
(50) Upheld are those appeals where the Tribunal ruled, in whole or in part, in favour of the appellant.
(51) Dismissed are those appeals where the Tribunal ruled in favour of the LEA.
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much funding has been made available to schools in the Buckingham constituency from the Special Educational Needs Standards Fund. [23736]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Standards Fund grant is allocated to local education authorities (LEAs), rather than individual constituencies. It is for individual LEAs to decide how they will use their grant but we expect them to work in partnership with their schools when deciding their special educational needs priorities.
In 2001–02, Buckinghamshire local education authority received £647,509 from the Standards Fund for pupils with special educational needs or who cannot attend school because of illness or injury or who are in public care. This allocation will increase by 11 per cent. to £717,443 in 2002–03. It will be available for a range of issues, for example training and preparation for the new SEN and Disability Codes of Practice, and improving partnership working between schools, LEAs and health and social services.
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many special needs status (a) primary and (b) secondary school children there were (i) nationally and (ii) in the Buckingham constituency in each year since 1997. [23737]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The information requested is shown in the table.
| Buckingham constituency | England | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils with statements | SEN pupils without statements | Pupils with statements | SEN pupils without statements | |
| Maintained primary schools | ||||
| 1997 | 113 | 819 | 63,551 | 759,449 |
| 1998 | 112 | 1,042 | 67,014 | 821,342 |
| 1999 | 118 | 1,063 | 69,797 | 859,742 |
| 2000 | 88 | 1,081 | 72,525 | 885,952 |
| 2001 | 91 | 1,102 | 73,144 | 898,601 |
| Maintained secondary schools | ||||
| 1997 | 64 | 396 | 70,080 | 442,024 |
| 1998 | 75 | 394 | 73,956 | 479,675 |
| 1999 | 43 | 294 | 77,330 | 514,386 |
| 2000 | 93 | 563 | 79,788 | 541,406 |
| 2001 | 87 | 585 | 80,919 | 557,342 |
Note:
Special educational needs data are as reported by schools.
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