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Five Year Strategy for Children and Learners
John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will publish an assessment of the implications for traffic levels arising from the implementation of the Five Year Strategy for Children and Learners. [192230]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: The Five Year Strategy for Children and Learners aims to clarify the context for reform, to set the goals we strive to deliver, and to lay out the priority initiatives to get us there, across the early years, primary and secondary education, adult skills and higher education sectors.
There are no plans at this stage to publish a detailed assessment of the implications for traffic level arising from the implementation of the Five Year Strategy.
With regard to schools, we recognise that there may be traffic implications as a result of the new patterns of learning outlined in the strategy and we have already put
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a number of measures in place to address these. In September 2003, DfES and DfT jointly launched the Travelling to School initiative with the aim of creating conditions which will enable more children to walk, cycle or travel by public transport in safety. By the end of the decade we want every school to draw up a travel plan which, through consultation, identifies the issues of concern—including trips during the school day—and details how and by when these will be addressed.
DfES and DfT are jointly providing £7.5 million per annum to fund a network of school travel advisers to support schools in developing travel plans. DfES has also allocated up to £20 million pa in capital grants to state funded schools which draw up robust plans, which they can spend on items like lockers and secure cycle storage. In addition, the School Transport Bill, will give the flexibility local authorities require to design travel schemes for the 21st century.
Fixed Term Exclusion Orders
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills who is responsible for the education of pupils subject to fixed term exclusion orders. [194769]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: The governing body of the school that the pupil attends is responsible for ensuring the pupil receives suitable education during the fixed period exclusion. This responsibility is usually discharged by setting work for the pupil to do at home. For longer fixed period exclusions, although schools still have a responsibility to provide education, we expect them to work with the local education authority, where possible, to do this and to plan for the pupil's reintegration into school at the end of the exclusion.
Knives
Mr. Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what assistance he is providing to (a) head teachers and (b) local education authorities to combat the carrying of knives and other bladed weapons in schools; and if he will make a statement; [193038]
(2) if he will review advice given to (a) local education authorities, (b) head teachers and (c) school governors over disciplinary action to be taken over pupils found carrying knives and other bladed weapons in schools; and if he will make a statement. [193039]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: My Department's guidance makes it clear that head teachers can permanently exclude pupils for a range of first or one-off offences, including actual or threatened violence and the criminal offence of carrying an offensive weapon on school premises. Police have long-standing powers to enter schools and conduct personal searches of pupils where they have reasonable suspicion that a pupil may be carrying an offensive weapon.
Over 20 recommendations by the Working Group on School Security on improving school security have been acted on. The group continues to advise DfES. The Department keeps the advice under review and whether further measures would assist in dealing with this problem.
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Pupil Exclusions
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what schemes are available to assist families of children who have been permanently excluded from school. [194771]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: The Department funds the Advisory Centre for Education (ACE) to provide a telephone helpline for parents of excluded pupils. Some local education authorities have schemes, often delivered through partnership and multi-agency working, to assist the families of children who have been permanently excluded from school. Information on the number and location of such schemes is not held centrally. If the local education authority consider that parenting is a factor in the misbehaviour leading to exclusion, they may provide support to the parent by offering a parenting contract or applying for a parenting order.
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what remedies are available to an independent appeals panel which decides that a pupil has been wrongly excluded from a school. [194772]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: There are two remedies available to an independent appeal panel if it decides that a pupil has been wrongly excluded. It may direct that he or she is to be reinstated either immediately or by a date specified in the direction, or it may decide that, because of exceptional circumstances or for other reasons, it is not practical to give a direction requiring his or her reinstatement, but that it would otherwise have been appropriate to give such a direction.
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what guidance the Department issues on the education of children with special educational needs who have been permanently excluded from school. [194773]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: Under the Education Act 1996, local education authorities have a duty, where necessary, to identify, assess and arrange suitable provision to meet the special educational needs of children from their areas for whom they are responsible, whether they are in or out of school. When doing so they must have regard to the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice which gives guidance on meeting children's special educational needs. The Code of Practice is available to those who make provision for excluded children.
School Uniform
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average cost of providing school uniform and other required clothing is for a child starting (a) primary and (b) secondary school. [194357]
Mr. Stephen Twigg:
The information my hon. Friend has requested is not collected by the Department for Education and Skills.
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Sexual Health
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much was spent by each local education authority in the Greater London area on promoting responsible sexual behaviour in (a) 1997, (b) 2002 and (c) 2003. [194899]
Mr. Miliband: Information about individual local education authority expenditure on promoting responsible sexual behaviour is not collected by the Department.
Educating young people about sexual health and safer sex are key elements of the Government's sexual health strategy. The Teenage Pregnancy Strategy has a multi-faceted approach which includes helping young people resist pressure to have early sex, improving sex and relationship education and access to effective contraception and sexual health services.
Truancy
Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schoolchildren played truant in schools in East Sussex in each of the past five years; and how many days in total were lost through truancy in the county in each of those years. [193703]
Mr. Stephen Twigg [holding answer 25 October 2004]: The available published information is as follows:
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(6) A session equates to half a day.
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