| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
28 Nov 2002 : Column 391W—continued
Young Carers
20. Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what advice he has given schools in order to accommodate the particular needs of young carers, while at the same time, pursuing their careers at schools. [81986]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: Advice on how to support young carers at school has been provided to schools in DfES circular 10/99.
- adopt flexible strategies to address the young carers' needs e.g. approve absence when needed and set work to avoid gaps in education;
work with statutory and voluntary agencies to identify specific problems and offer solutions; and
designate a member of staff to take responsibility for young carers.
Higher Education Funding
21. Helen Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has for the funding of higher education. [81987]
23. Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has for funding of universities. [81989]
Margaret Hodge: We will publish a strategy document setting out our 10-year vision for the development and reform of higher education in January. It would not be right for me to say now exactly what is or is not planned.
School Funding
Mr. Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the (a) average amounts paid to English local authorities and (b) amount paid to Leeds education authority per pupil were in respect of (i) educational standard spending, (ii) standards fund and (iii) other special and specific grants in each of the last three years. [83472]
Mr. Miliband: The information requested has been placed in the Libraries.
Education Act
22. Mr. Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools he expects to apply for new freedoms under the Education Act 2002; and if he will make a statement. [81988]
28 Nov 2002 : Column 392W
Mr. Miliband: The Department has no preconceived idea of the number of applications for new freedoms that will be received. It is intended that schools should be in the lead in making proposals.
We have always made clear that we intend to consult widely on the criteria for exemptions related to school performance before regulations are laid. Subject to consultation, we envisage linking the criteria to those that Ofsted propose to use for standard inspections.
School Staff
24. Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the levels of staff turnover in schools in the South East in the last 12 months. [81990]
Mr. Miliband: The table shows the latest available turnover and wastage data for the South East Government Office Region.
| Full-time | Part-time(6) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turnover rate(7) | Wastage rate(8) | Turnover rate(9) | Wastage rate(10) | |
| South East Government Office Region | 17.2 | 10. 4 | 32.1 | 27.8 |
(6) 10–20 per cent. of part-time teachers may not be included in the data.
(7) Full-time turnover is defined as all teachers in full-time service in the maintained schools sector on 31 March 1999 who were not in full-time service in the same establishment on 31 March 2000. Turnover therefore includes wastage, transfers to other establishments within the maintained schools sector and teachers leaving to part-time service. Not all employers record all movements between their schools so turnover rates may be underestimated.
(8) Full-time wastage is defined as all teachers in full-time service in the maintained schools sector on 31 March 1999 who were not in full-time service anywhere in the maintained schools sector on 31 March 2000. This includes teachers leaving to part-time service.
(9) Part-time turnover is defined as all teachers in part-time service in the maintained schools sector on 31 March 1999 who were not in part-time service in the same establishment on 31 March 2000. Turnover therefore includes wastage, transfers to other establishments within the maintained schools sector and teachers leaving to full-time service.
(10) Part-time wastage is defined as all teachers in part-time service in the maintained schools sector on 31 March 1999 who were not in part-time service anywhere in the maintained schools sector on 31 March 2000. This includes teachers leaving to full-time service.
Note:
More recent data, for wastage/turnover up to March 2001, are available at national level but the data are not yet sufficiently complete for regional analysis.
Source:
Database of Teacher Records.
There has been a net increase in the number of teachers in the South East region. The full-time equivalent number of regular teachers in the maintained sector rose from 61,800 in January 2001 to 63,500 in January 2002.
The South East region includes: Bracknell Forest, Windsor and Maidenhead, West Berkshire, Reading, Slough, Wokingham, Buckinghamshire,
28 Nov 2002 : Column 393W
Milton Keynes, East Sussex, Brighton and Hove, Hampshire, Portsmouth, Southampton, Isle of Wight, Kent, Medway, Oxfordshire, Surrey, West Sussex.
Food Technology
25. Jane Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will introduce Food Technology into the National Curriculum; and if he will make a statement. [81991]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: Food technology is part of the design and technology curriculum and is therefore already a statutory entitlement for all primary pupils within the National Curriculum. They learn practical food handling skills, including food hygiene, and are encouraged to develop positive attitudes to food. At Key Stage 3, the Government strongly encourages secondary schools to offer pupils the opportunity to study food technology, and nearly 90 per cent. do so. Food, nutrition and healthy eating are also taught within science and personal, social and health education.
School Transport
27. Mr. Tyler: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the variation in school transport costs between different local education authority areas in (a) 2002–03 and (b) 2003–04. [81993]
Mr. Miliband: The variation in spend on home to school transport between local education authorities was considered in papers to the Education Funding Strategy Group at its meetings on 31 January 2002, and 13 March 2002. In both instances data from 2001–02 were used to develop a formula for the distribution of funding for home to school transport in the new LEA funding system, to be introduced for 2003–04.
Schools (Coalfield Communities)
30. John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many new schools have been built in coalfield communities since 1997; and how many are planned. [81996]
Mr. Miliband: We do not have this information. Local education authorities determine the need for additional places in the maintained sector and, where necessary, build or support the provision of new schools. The Department makes available capital funding for new school places; many of these are provided in existing schools.
Sure Start (Gloucester)
Mr. Parmjit Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on Sure Start in Gloucester. [81998]
Maria Eagle: There is one Sure Start programme operating in Gloucester, a Round Two programme in Barton, Tredworth and White City that was approved in October 2000, with a catchment area covering 934 children under four.
28 Nov 2002 : Column 394W
It has revenue funding of £2.2 million until March 2004 and capital funding approval, in principle, of £852,000. It operates over six separate sites within the area, linked to local schools, in educational centres.
The catchment area is situated outside the city centre, bounded by main roads and partially disused railway lines. It serves a diverse community including Afro-Caribbean, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Chinese, Ukrainian and Irish groups. There are also a number of asylum seekers settling in the area.
Home visiting is a key service for the programme, as it is enabling 'hard to reach' people who might not otherwise be supported, to be picked up. It has funded 10 people to complete accredited courses for learning support workers in primary schools and a further two people to take the Further Adult Education Teacher certificate. It has increased the overall number of children using library services. Its parents' forum awards small grants to community organisations (e.g. for new equipment for a parent toddler group or adventure playground) and inputs into the local evaluation of Sure Start.
Graduate Earnings
33. Ross Cranston: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent estimate he has made of the average lifetime earnings of (a) graduates and (b) non-graduates. [81999]
Margaret Hodge: We estimate that the average lifetime earnings of a graduate with a first degree are just over £1 million.
This is based on current labour market conditions, using data from the Labour Force Survey.
The estimated average for the working population as a whole is around £675,000, and it would be significantly lower than this for non-graduates.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |