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2 Jul 2003 : Column 288W—continued
Job Evaluations
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what requirement there is for local education authorities to carry out job evaluations on non-teaching staff; what the purpose of such evaluations is; and if he will make a statement; [121762]
- (2) what estimate he has made of the number of staff (a) in England and (b) in Gloucestershire who will experience (i) reductions and (ii) increases in their pay in 2003–04 as a result of job evaluations; what he estimates the average amount per employee will be; and if he will make a statement; [121763]
(3) what estimate he has made of the net cost or savings of the changes in salaries of non-teaching staff following job evaluations in (a) England and (b) Gloucestershire in each of the next five years; and if he will make a statement. [121764]
Mr. Miliband [holding answer 26 June 2003]: Most local authorities, including Gloucestershire, are party to the national agreement on pay and conditions of local government staff (commonly known as the Single Status Agreement), which was negotiated by the National Joint Council for Local Government Services in 1997. The agreement commits authorities to carrying out grading reviews in accordance with equal pay legislation. This is consistent with broader government policy, which is to encourage employers to carry out pay reviews to help ensure that they meet their obligations under the legislation.
The pay of school support staff is determined at local level: the Government believe that this is the best way of ensuring a flexible system that can respond to local needs and circumstances. My Department does not hold information on the impact of job evaluations on pay either nationally or in individual local authorities.
Level 3 Qualification
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many additional students he estimates will gain a Level 3 qualification in each of the years 2003–04 to 2009–10. [120969]
Alan Johnson: The Department does not produce projections of the number of people in the total population holding level 3 qualifications.
As reported in "The Level of Highest Qualification Held by Young People and Adults: England 2002", the proportions attaining level 3 in Autumn 2002 were:
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19-year-olds 1 qualified to at least level 3—51.6 per cent.
21-year-olds 2 qualified to at least level 3—53.8 per cent.
Economically active adults 3 qualified to at least level 3—48.8 per cent.
The Department anticipates growth in level 3 attainment by 2010, supporting growth in participation in Higher Education.
- 1 The highest level of attainment for the 19–21 year old group is used as a proxy for achievement at age 19.
- 2 The highest level of attainment for the 21–23 year old group is used as a proxy for achievement at age 21.
- 3 Economically active adults are defined here as men aged 18–64 and women aged 18–59 in employment or ILO unemployed.
Modern Languages
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent representations he has received regarding the compulsory teaching of one modern language between the ages of 14 and 16. [121752]
Mr. Miliband: Through our Green Paper '14–19: extending opportunities, raising standards' we consulted extensively on our proposals to create more choice and flexibility at Key Stage 4. Through our Language Learning pamphlet we also consulted on our aspirations for the future of language learning in this country. The overall response to the consultations endorsed our view that schools should no longer be required to teach modern foreign languages to all pupils but that schools should be required to ensure that any pupil wishing to study a modern foreign language should be able to do so.
The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority are currently consulting on the detailed proposals for the implementation of this curriculum change and the other proposed changes to the curriculum at Key Stage 4.
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make an assessment of whether the acquisition of a modern foreign language is (a) a generic and (b) a specialist skill. [121800]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: While we have made no formal assessment on this issue, we consider that the acquisition of a modern foreign language can be both a generic and a specialist skill, depending on a number of factors, including the age of the student, the reasons for learning a language and the level of competence required.
We have asked the 14–19 working group chaired by Mike Tomlinson to consider the appropriate balance between generic and specialist skills in learning programmes for this age group.
Physical Education
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps he plans to take in response to the recent Ofsted report concerning the quality of school PE lessons; and if he will make a statement. [122301]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: The Government welcome Ofsted's report on phases one and two of the School Sport Co-ordinator partnerships. The report shows
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good progress in the early years of the programme: the profile of physical education (PE) and school sport has been raised; the majority of partnerships have made substantial progress; and out of hours sports activities have been widened and increased. The report will help us ensure that the expansion of the network of partnerships, to include 75 per cent. of schools in England by 2006, builds on best practice and delivers lasting benefits for children.
An additional £459 million is being invested over three years (from April 2003) to deliver a national PE, School Sport and Club Links strategy. The aim—a joint Department for Education and Skills and Department for Culture, Media and Sport PSA target—is to have increased the percentage of five to 16-years olds who spend a minimum of two hours a week on high quality PE and school sport, within and beyond the curriculum, to 75 per cent. by 2006.
The School Sport Co-ordinator programme is just one element of our strategy and focuses on enhancing links between schools and their local communities and increasing the quality and quantity of out of school hours sports opportunities and competitive school sport. We will raise the quality of PE teaching by delivering a professional development programme for teachers and others. This will be piloted later this year and then rolled out to all schools from April 2004.
Rural Issues
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) how many schools were involved in the Growing Schools programme in (a) 2001–02 and (b) 2002–03, broken down by region; [122825]
- (2) pursuant to his answer of 18 June 2003, Official Report, column 314W, on rural affairs, if he will list the (a) partners involved and (b) types of activities undertaken by urban schools using the outdoor classroom; [122826]
(3) pursuant to his answer of 20 June 2003, Official Report, columns 443–44W, on rural issues, how many students (a) took and (b) passed (i) GCSE Geography, (ii) GCSE Environmental Science, (iii) GCSE Rural and Agricultural Science, (iv) GNVQ Leisure and Tourism and (v) GNVQ Land and Environment in each of the last 10 years, broken down by region. [122827]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: My Department has received a number of representations concerning rural and countryside education. Between September 2001 and March 2003, around 225 schools and 40 partner organisations were involved in "Growing Schools", a programme which aims to encourage and inspire all schools to use the 'outdoor classroom' as a context for learning. The Department has not collected information on a regional basis.
Partners selected to be involved in 'the outdoor classroom' will vary, depending on the local area, whether urban or rural. It is for schools to determine what sort of activities will meet the needs of their pupils. In some areas, for example, schools involve pupils
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directly in planning and implementing projects to develop their school grounds as a learning resource. In others, a school might link with a city farm, field study centre or community allotment.
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The following tables set out GCSE and GNVQ achievements from 1992/93 to 2001/02 in Geography, Environmental Science, Rural Science or Agriculture and Leisure and Tourism:
(18) Environment Science is a separate subject for exams but these were only taken in the one year as shown.
(19) Rural science and agriculture are two different subjects but the figures are shown for those that attempted and passed either rural science or agriculture.
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| 1997/98 | 1998/99 | 1999/2000 | 2000/01 | 2001/02 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number passed a GNVQ in Leisure and Tourism | |||||
| North East | 30 | 33 | 92 | 183 | 371 |
| North West | 111 | 186 | 318 | 487 | 951 |
| Yorkshire and Number | 19 | 112 | 145 | 208 | 527 |
| East Midlands | 51 | 143 | 225 | 285 | 572 |
| West Midlands | 57 | 120 | 180 | 250 | 769 |
| East of England | 51 | 133 | 128 | 245 | 540 |
| London | 20 | 76 | 122 | 393 | 597 |
| South East | 55 | 177 | 197 | 425 | 902 |
| South West | 54 | 189 | 181 | 297 | 457 |
| England | 448 | 1,169 | 1,588 | 2,773 | 5,686 |
Notes:
Table shows GNVQ data for those that achieved either a Part 1 or intermediate GNVQ in Leisure and tourism.
Data only available from 1997/98.
There are no passes in land and the environment.
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