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19 May 2003 : Column 552W—continued
Child Care
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) pursuant to the answer of 1 May 2003, Official Report, column 485W, on looked after
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children, on what dates he held meetings with the Independent Schools Council; what issues were discussed; and when he plans to hold future meetings; [113349]
- (2) pursuant to the answer of 1 May 2003, Official Report, column 485W, on looked after children, what steps his Department is taking to encourage co-operation between local education authorities and the Independent Schools Council on the education of looked after children. [113350]
Mr. Miliband: My right hon. Friend last met representatives of the Independent Schools Council (ISC) on 7 April. A range of issues were discussed, including the ISC's proposal that some looked after children could be educated in independent boarding schools, where that would be appropriate and beneficial to the young people concerned. No arrangement has yet been made to hold further meetings. We are actively considering how best to build on these productive discussions.
Children Act
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 29 April 2003, Official Report, column 351W, on Command Paper 5778, which parts of the Children Act 1989 are failing to be implemented effectively in his Department as set out in paragraph 2.22 of Command Paper 5778. [112184]
Mr. Miliband: Paragraph 2.22 of Command Paper 5778 neither states nor implies that the Children Act 1989 is not being implemented effectively. As the then Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Hilary Benn) noted in the answer that he gave on 29 April, the Children Act is a shared responsibility across Government, and our aim, as set out in the Command Paper, is to increase the range of family support provisions that can be made available through the Children Act, as part of our response to tackling anti-social behaviour.
City Academies
Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what systems he has in place for measuring the effectiveness of city academies. [110098]
Mr. Miliband: The Department for Education and Skills will monitor the performance of each Academy against the targets in its School Development Plan and against national trends for schools with similar characteristics. A wider evaluation of the effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and impact of the Academies Programme is being undertaken by the University of York in partnership with PricewaterhouseCoopers. This exercise will run to September 2007.
Completion Rates (University Degrees)
Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many mature students have
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(a) applied for, (b) taken up, (c) dropped out of and (d) completed a degree course at universities in England in each academic year since 1997. [104704]
Margaret Hodge: The latest available information from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) on applicants and acceptances to full-time undergraduate courses is shown in the table. UCAS does not cover students applying to part-time courses, the majority of whom are mature.
Around three quarters of all mature students enter part-time courses. Information on completion and non-completion rates of HE students is published annually by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) in "Performance Indicators in Higher Education (HE)", but these figures do not separately identify mature students.
| Academic Year | Applicants | Acceptances |
|---|---|---|
| 1996–97 | 90,687 | 59,193 |
| 1997–98 | 97,401 | 65,799 |
| 1998–99 | 85,859 | 58,557 |
| 1999–2000 | 81,882 | 57,439 |
| 2000–01 | 82,060 | 58,169 |
| 2001–02 | 86,467 | 63,707 |
| 2002–03 | 89,397 | 67,011 |
Source:
Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS)
Education Budgets
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list (a) maintained schools and (b) local education authorities which have made representations to his Department regarding their budget for the current financial year. [109423]
Mr. Miliband: As it does each year the Department for Education and Skills has received a large amount of correspondence concerning education budgets for the current financial year from both schools and local education authorities. It is not possible to collate this information without disproportionate cost.
Education Funding
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will hold a meeting at the earliest possible date with representatives of Essex local education authority and Essex head teachers to discuss education funding in Essex. [112442]
Mr. Miliband [holding answer 12 May 2003]: Officials in my Department are in close contact with representatives of all LEAs to discuss funding issues.
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will increase the funding for specialist colleges in line with the rate of inflation. [113175]
Mr. Miliband: The Department is currently considering the position in relation to whether to increase specialist school recurrent funding in 2003/04.
19 May 2003 : Column 555W
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the total funding allocated by the Learning and Skills Council to institutions (a) in each region of England and (b) in total in (i) 2001–02, (ii) 2002–03 and (iii) 2003–04 (estimated). [113210]
Margaret Hodge: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council. John Harwood, the Council's Chief Executive, will write to my hon. Friend with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Library.
Education Spending
Mr. Bacon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the total amount carried forward was in its budget from financial year 2002–03 into 2003–04 by each school in (a) Norfolk, (b) Suffolk, (c) Kingston upon Hull and (d) Durham. [110255]
Mr. Miliband: This information is not yet available. It will be contained in the outturn statements for 2002–03 to be produced by local education authorities under section 52 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, but the deadline for production of these statements will not be until 10 October.
Education Standards
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of students achieved the expected standard for their age in the Key Stage Two literacy tests between 1998 and 2002. [113075]
Mr. Miliband: The table as follows shows the percentage of pupils who achieved level 4 or above in the Key Stage 2 English test, and the reading and writing components, in England between 1998 and 2002.
19 May 2003 : Column 556W
| 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002(17) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | 65 | 71 | 75 | 75 | 75 |
| Reading | 71 | 78 | 83 | 82 | 80 |
| Writing | 53 | 54 | 55 | 57 | 60 |
Notes:
(17) 2002 data are provisional
Examinations
Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average number of exams taken by (a) an 11-year-old, (b) a 14-year-old, (c) a 16-year-old and (d) an 18-year-old throughout their school career to that point was, in each year since 1997, broken down by local education authority. [110107]
Mr. Miliband: All Local Education Authority maintained schools, in England, are required to administer the National Curriculum tasks/tests for pupils at the end of Key Stage 1 and tests for pupils at the end of Key Stages 2 and 3 in the core subjects of English, mathematics and science. Schools may, at their discretion, choose to administer other non-statutory tests in addition to the statutory requirements.
For GCSE and GCE A/AS/ and GNVQ schools enter pupils for the appropriate subjects and examination boards.
The following table shows the total number of statutory National Curriculum test papers in English, mathematics and science which will have been taken by most pupils in the relevant age group; and the average number of GCSE and GCE A/AS and GNVQ examination entries for those age groups. (All ages are at the end of the academic year).
| Age | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 years | 13NC test papers | 13 NC test papers | 13 NC test papers | 13 NC test papers | 13 NC test papers | 13 NC test papers |
| 14 years | 7 NC test papers | 20 NC test papers | 20 NC test papers | 20 NC test papers | 20 NC test papers | 20 NC test papers |
| 16 years | 7 NC test papers and 8.2 GCSEs | 7 NC test papers and 8.2 GCSEs | 7 NC test papers and 8.2 GCSEs | 20 NC test papers and 8.2 GCSEs | 20 NC test papers and 8.2 GCSEs | 20 NC test papers and 8.7 GCSEs |
| 18 years | 7 NC test papers and 11.3 GCSEs and GCE A/AS and GNVQs | 7 NC test papers and 11.3 GCSEs and GCE A/AS and GNVQs | 7 NC test papers and 11.3 GCSEs and GCE A/AS and GNVQs | 7 NC test papers and 11.3 GCSEs and GCE A/AS and GNVQs | 7 NC test papers and 11.3 GCSEs and GCE A/AS and GNVQs | 7 NC test papers and 11.7 GCSEs and GCE VCE and A/AS |
Notes:
1. Key Stage 1 tests for seven year-olds were introduced nationally in 1991.
Key Stage 2 tests for 11-year-olds were introduced nationally in 1995.
Key Stage 3 tests for 14-year-olds were introduced nationally in 1993.
2. The number of papers taken for GCSE and GCE A/AS/VCE and GNVQ vary for each subject.
3. The increase in the number of National Curriculum tests from 7 to 20 for 14-year-olds and from 7 to 20 for 16-year-olds reflects the fact that they were the cohort who took the first Key Stage 2 tests in 1994/95.
4. The increase for 16- and 18-year-olds in 2002 is due to the average points increase in GCSEs.
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