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13 Jan 2003 : Column 471W—continued
Schools (Earned Autonomy)
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps he has taken towards awarding earned autonomy to schools; and which schools he proposes to be in the first tranche. [88882]
Mr. Miliband: We shortly expect to publish a consultation paper on the proposed criteria which schools should meet to qualify for earned autonomy. Until the outcome of consultation is known it is not possible to say which schools will be eligible.
Schools (Specialist Status)
Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what changes have been made to the selection criteria for schools applying for specialist status since 1997. [89300]
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Mr. Miliband: Apart from minor amendments, including those designed to clarify existing criteria, the changes made have been:
- a) schools are required to show how links with other schools and the wider community will be extended by achieving specialist status, through the production of a community plan.
b) the sponsorship requirement has been reduced to 50,000; with a further reduction in the sponsorship requirement for mainstream schools with under 500 pupils.
c) schools are asked to submit four year development plans (instead of three year plans).
d) an introduction—and subsequent removal—of a limit on the proportion of specialist schools in an area.
e) removal of the criterion relating to the proximity of other schools with the same specialism.
f) priority for applicant schools in Excellence in Cities areas—which was rendered unnecessary by the 28 November 2002 announcement on the expansion of the programme. This announcement also made redundant other criteria relating to location.
g) the exclusion of schools in Special Measures or with Serious Weaknesses from being able to attain specialist status.
Mr. Miliband: Applicant schools seeking designation as a specialist school are assessed against published criteria. In the past, applicants were unsuccessful if they did not meet the meet the criteria or if their development plans were not as strong as other applicants in the same competition round. For the future, applicants will not be in competition for places, provided they meet the criteria.
Copies of the full list of schools, broken down as requested, has been placed in the Libraries.
Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what criteria a secondary school has to fulfil to achieve specialist status. [89303]
Mr. Miliband: Any such school has to: (a) produce a four-year development plan demonstrating effectively how the school will raise standards in the relevant specialist subjects and across the whole school; (b) demonstrate effectively in the plan that links with
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other schools and the wider community will be extended through attaining the status; and (c) secure the required sponsorship.
Standards Funds
Dr. Pugh : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the total cash value in 2002–03 was of the standards funds programmes and specific grants which are to be abolished, as announced in the ministerial statement on 9 December. [88968]
Mr. Miliband: The total cash values, in 2002–03, being provided by DfES in respect of programmes that will cease to attract grant funding over the next three years is:
| Programmes that will cease to attract grant funding in: | Cash value provided in 2002–03 |
|---|---|
| 2003–04 | 736 |
| 2004–05 | 343 |
| 2005–06 | 696 |
These sums are accumulative. They represent both programmes where the activities previously supported are scheduled to cease; and programmes where it will be for schools and LEAs to use part of the increases in Education Formula Spending for the next three years announced in the 2002 Spending Review, if they wish to continue all of the activities for which grant funding was provided in 2002–03.
Alongside this, DfES will be transferring #500 million in 2003–04, #500 million in 2004–05 and #1,340 million in 2005–06 from its grant provision to Education Formula Spending. This transfer of resources to Education Formula Spending, and the associated cessation of ring-fenced grant support, demonstrate DfES' commitment to reduce the proportion of local authority funding provided as ring-fenced grant.
Student Loans
Mr. Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to change the method of funding student loans and administration of student loans; and if he will make a statement. [88271]
Margaret Hodge: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will announce the outcome of the review of student finance later this month. In addition, we are working with local education authorities and the Student Loans Company to modernise the administration of student support so that studentscan obtain financial help more easily and quickly.
Terrorism
Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what discussions his Department has had with each local education authority in England with regard to the provision of guidance for a possible terrorist attack. [89366]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: My Department continues to work closely with the Cabinet Office and Home Office on what additional advice local authorities and schools need in order to safeguard pupils, staff and property. Local
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authorities, which have direct responsibility for contingency and emergency planning, will be able to use such advice to determine policy in their locality, including what should be said specifically to schools. To date, no local education authority has asked the Department about this. We have previously provided advice and guidance for authorities and schools collectively on school security generally (www.dfes.gov.uk/schoolsecurity), and specific guidance following the events of September 11 (www.dfes.gov.uk/sept11 guidance).
Trainee Teachers
Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of teacher trainees left the profession permanently after (a) one year, (b) two years, (c) three years, (d) four years and (e) five years, in each of the last five years for which information is available. [89313]
Mr. Miliband: The information is not available in the form requested. The table shows the proportion of newly-qualified teachers who gained their teaching qualifications in England in the period 1996–2000 who were not in full- or part-time regular service in any sector 1 in England on 31 March 2001:
- 1 Teachers for which we have a record of being in service in the FE, HE or the independent schools sector are counted as being in service. However, some teachers who work in the FE, HE or independent sector are not included on the Teacher Pension Scheme records and so will be counted as not being in service in the table.
| Year qualified | Percentage not in service on 31 March 2001 |
|---|---|
| 1996 | 29 |
| 1997 | 27 |
| 1998 | 25 |
| 1999 | 20 |
| 2000(37) | 23 |
(37) Numbers of completers in 2000 are provisional and may be revised upwards.
The figures exclude 10 per cent. to 20 per cent. of part-time teachers not included on the Teacher Pension Scheme records.
Some teachers who are recorded as not being in service may be teaching in Wales or in other countries. Others that are not currently in service may return after a career break.
University Admission Standards
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer from the Prime Minister of 18 December 2002, Official Report, column 844, what the requisite standard for admission to university is. [89318]
Margaret Hodge [holding answer 9 January 2003]: Admission to university is the responsibility of individual institutions, and each institution determines the requisite standards of entry to the courses it offers. Decisions taken by institutions should be made on the basis of merit, by judging the potential of the applicant to succeed on the course.
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University Degrees
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much Government money has been allocated towards funding university degrees in (a) fashion knitwear, (b) surf science, (c) football studies, (d) golf course studies and (e) jazz studies in the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [87943]
Margaret Hodge: The Government allocates funding for higher education to the Higher Education Funding Council for England. Institutions receive funding from the Council as a block grant, calculated on the basis of the number of students who attended in previous years plus any extra student places awarded through the Additional Student Numbers exercise. It is for each institution to determine which courses it offers. They will clearly have regard to the demand as they will only receive funding for students they teach, not courses they run.
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