Supplementary memorandum submitted by
the Department for Education and Skills
We enjoyed our session with the Committee on
7 May. This letter responds to some outstanding issues that were
raised during the meeting.
David Chaytor asked about national testing and
the publication of school performance tables.
England is not the only country to undertake
national testing; France, Italy and New Zealand all do some form
of national testing. Annex A provides a brief outline of what
other major countries do.
However, as far as we are aware, we are the
only country where performance data is turned into tables. Some
countries (Canada, Slovenia) conduct national surveys of eg reading
attainment but these are only samples and individual schools are
not identified or held accountable for the results.
David also asked about the correlation between
teacher assessments and KS results.
The provisional analysis in Annex B shows the
relationship between teacher assessments and test results for
KS2 English in 2002. These figures do not include all pupils who
were at the end of KS2 in 2002 as they are based only on pupils
with both a valid test and teacher assessment result. The results
are broadly similar for maths and science.
The provisional analysis in Annex C shows the
relationship between teacher assessments and test results for
KS3 English in 2002. These figures do not include all pupils who
were at the end of KS3 in 2002 as they are based only on pupils
with both a valid test and teacher assessment result. At KS3 the
results are also broadly similar for maths and science.
Absences and schools' differing policies on
disapplications and on pupils assessed as working below expected
levels who are then not entered for tests, makes it difficult
to derive a single accurate correlation for teacher assessments
and tests. You will see from the figures that whilst teacher assessments
appear to be a good general guide of ability there are significant
numbers of pupils who exceed or underachieve the teacher's expectation.
David also asked about the determinants of a
school's position in performance tables and we committed to providing
the committee with some data on performance within Free School
Meal bands.
Annex D shows the range of performances of schools
within particular Free School Meal (FSM) bands at KS2 and GCSE.
(These charts were included in the original memorandum which was
sent to Select Committee).
Valerie Davey asked about the underachievement
of African-Caribbean pupils in particular and variants of English
spoken at home.
Linguists take different views about the influence
of Creole on writing in Standard English. There is little comprehensive
research on African Caribbean Creole/Patois speakers and the impact
of Creole/Patois on educational experiences and achievement of
African Caribbean pupils. The Department is not aware of any research
which proves a negative impact.
In most cases to consider UK born Caribbean
heritage pupils as in need of support for EAL would usually be
inappropriate and may well lead to low expectations. It is likely
that recent arrivals to the UK who speak Creole/Patois as a first
language may experience many similar issues as any child for whom
English is not their first language or mother tongue. Where Creole
is English based, English acquisition is usually quite rapid.
Some, but not all, recent arrivals who speak Creole/Patois may
have come from an educational system in their home country where
the medium of instruction is also English.
The variety of English which is spoken by Caribbean
families in the home and on the street deviates from Standard
English in vocabulary and grammar. The majority of UK born speakers
of Patois/Creole also speak Standard English and switch between
the two depending on context. This is not therefore the same situation
as learning English as an additional language.
Paul Holmes asked how flexible the curriculum
can be and how far it can be adapted to value the different cultures
and backgrounds of different Ethnic Minorities.
The Department does not hold information on
how many schools or teachers actively employ or promote a culturally
relevant or diverse curriculum. However, studies such as the Ofsted
study Achievement of Black Caribbean Pupils: Good Practice
in Secondary Schools (HMI 448), indicate that schools present
a standard curriculum which does not generally reflect diversity
to any great extent. The same Ofsted study does give case studies
of two schools (St Martin-in-the-Fields High School, Lambeth and
St Bonaventure's School, Newham) that successfully employ a culturally
diverse approach to the curriculum to good effect, including recognition
of the role of extra curricular activities.
Aiming High recognises that Initial Teacher
Training, Induction for Teachers and Continuing Professional Development
must equip teachers to work effectively with all pupils and for
teachers to be able to plan and manage lessons which take into
account the varied interests and experiences of pupils with differing
backgrounds. As with any lesson planning, teachers need to have
the confidence to plan and research the curriculum in light of
the diversity of the class population and to educate all pupils
to live in a culturally and ethnically diverse society.
The QCA has recently launched the "Respect
for All" website which has been designed to give schools
and teachers greater confidence in introducing a more culturally
diverse approach to the curriculum which includes subject guidance
and examples of good practice.
This website can be viewed at: http://www.qca.org.uk/ca/inclusion/respect
for all/
You asked about the representation of different
Ethnic Minorities in maintained schools in England.
Please find enclosed data on the maintained
school pupil population in England by ethnic group. Two of the
attached files are the recently published figures from: Pupil
Characteristics and Class Sizes in Maintained Schools in England:
January 2003 (Provisional) Reference SFR 09/2003. (Published
29 April) 2003. The DfES website link to full document is:
http://www.dfes.gov.uk/statistics/DB/SFR/s0390/index.html
These figures derive from the 2003 Pupil Leave
Annual Schools Census (PLASC) and are in two tables: Ethnic background
of pupils in primary and secondary schools in maintained schools
in England (annex E) and figures for the number of pupils whose
first language is other than English (generally referred to as
English as an additional language or EAL, Annex F).
The Select Committee may be interested to know
that this is the first published ethnic background data arising
from the January 2003 PLASC, which gives the breakdown by the
new categories including the mixed/dual heritage categories.
Please also find included the GCSE 2002 achievement
data by ethnic group (Annex G). This is the achievement data that
appears in our Aiming High: Raising the Achievement of Minority
Ethnic Pupils consultation document.
You also asked about the Department's internal
research budget. The Department's research budget is £9 million
per annum. This figure does not include funds for the evaluation
of individual programmes (e.g. SureStart, Excellence in Cities)
which is funded through each individual programme.
Paul Holmes asked about teachers leaving the
profession at 55.
1,060 regular teachers with QTS that turned
55 between 31 March 2000 and 31 March 2001 left full or part time
service in the maintained sector in England in that period. Of
the 1,060: 320 full-time and 150 part-time teachers went out of
service (means a teacher was in service in the maintained sector
in England on 31 March 2000 and is not in service in the English
maintained sector and is not receiving a pension on the 31 March
2001—they may be teaching in FE/HE sectors or Wales) and
400 full-time and 190 part-time teachers retired (means they are
receiving retirement benefits—includes premature retirements,
Actuarially Reduced Benefit, ill-health and age retirements).
To put these figures into context, there were
8,960 regular teachers with QTS aged 55 on 31 March 2000 and 8,900
regular teachers with QTS aged 55 on 31 March 2001 in the maintained
sector in England.
Jeff Ennis asked about vocational GCSEs and
we gave a commitment to provide figures on the impact/take-up
of GCSE engineering when they are available.
The new engineering GCSE was introduced in schools
from September 2002. The first exams in this subject are scheduled
for summer 2004. Therefore, take up figures will not be available
until late autumn 2004 at the earliest. We will be happy to provide
these figures at that time.
5 June 2003
| 
