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21 Jun 2005 : Column 999W—continued
Bury Lawn School, Milton Keynes
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will commission an inquiry into the relations between parents and school administrators, Global Education Management Systems, at Bury Lawn school in Milton Keynes. [5284]
Jacqui Smith: Bury Lawn school is an independent school. Like other independent schools, it is registered with the Department and is subject to regular inspection. All independent schools must reach and maintain satisfactory standards of education, health, safety and welfare which are set out in regulations, in order to achieve and maintain registration. These standards do not interfere with the freedom of independent schools to manage their own affairs, including the commercial relationship between the school and parents. In the case of Bury Lawn, the dispute is not related to our statutory minimum standards, so the Secretary of State has no power to intervene.
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the academy project in Milton Keynes following the withdrawal of Global Education Management Systems from the project. [5285]
Jacqui Smith: Proposals for an academy in Milton Keynes are at a very early stage. No formal project has been agreed there. We had been in discussion with GEMS and with Milton Keynes council about the proposal but no agreement was reached. Academies officials are continuing their discussions with a range of sponsors about potential academy projects around the country, including the proposal in Milton Keynes.
Child Care Vouchers
Mr. Willis:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether qualified teachers working in schools under the control of local education
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authorities are entitled to participate in the Government's child care voucher scheme; and if she will make a statement. [5262]
Jacqui Smith: The scheme referred to works on the basis of 'salary sacrifice'. School teachers at maintained schools in England and Wales are not eligible to participate in salary sacrifice schemes. The School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document, the statutory framework governing teachers' pay, makes no provision for permitting a reduction in salary in any circumstances. However, any teachers may be paid recruitment and retention incentives and benefits of any value or nature, including child care vouchers, in addition to their salary.
Citizenship Curriculum
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what plans she has for reform of the citizenship curriculum; [5744]
(2) what steps her Department has taken to promote volunteering within the citizenship curriculum; [5745]
(3) what steps her Department has taken to support teachers in the delivery of the citizenship curriculum. [5748]
Jacqui Smith: The Secretary of State has asked the QCA to review curricular provision at Key Stage 3 to ensure that it provides the springboard into the reformed 14–19 phase. As part of this, QCA will review the content of citizenship and the non-statutory framework for personal, social and health education in order to ensure greater coherence between the two. The review must ensure that young people secure the key discipline concepts and content in each of the subjects.
The Department has funded Active Citizens in Schools (ACiS)—a pilot which builds on principles of millennium volunteers to encourage 11 to 15-year-olds to make a commitment to volunteering in line with the citizenship curriculum and encourage them to become millennium volunteers when they reach the age of 16. Piloted over three years from 2001, the programme tested how schools can ensure that volunteering activities in which young people engage support curricular objectives, in particular active citizenship through community involvement. We have funded the development of a best practice guide which we are currently disseminating.
Detailed guidance, produced by the Qualifications and the Curriculum Authority on the teaching of citizenship has been sent to all schools. The Department has also produced a dedicated website including a database giving teachers access to resource materials to support classroom practice. In addition, we have funded the production of a school self-evaluation tool to support schools in monitoring their progress in citizenship education. We have also put in place a package to support teacher continuing professional development (CPD) which involves
(b) piloting in three centres around the country of CPD certification of effective teaching in citizenship.
City Academies
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to her Answer of 6 June 2005, Official Report, column 331W and 13 June (ref 3259), on city academies, what proportion of lessons in city academies that have been examined by Ofsted were setted. [5015]
Jacqui Smith: This information is not collected by either the DfES or Ofsted and there are no plans to do so.
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when the decision not to include city academies in the two-tier workforce regulations was taken; and what representations were received (a) from trade unions and (b) from other bodies prior to this decision. [4769]
Jacqui Smith:
Academies are registered independent schools, run by Trusts which are charitable companies limited by guarantee. As such, they are not bound by the
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same legislative framework as maintained schools, including the Code of Practice on Workforce Matters in Public Sector Service Contracts.
In response to a consultation to apply the local government Best Value Code to schools in the maintained sector, run by my Department, a total of 21 representations were received of which six were from the Trade Unions with the majority of the remainder from national partner organisations and local education authorities. The vast majority of respondents to the consultations welcomed the new Code, and the introduction of specific regulations to afford protection to school staff.
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils in each city academy are entitled to free school meals; how many pupils in schools which formed the basis of each new academy were entitled to free school meals; and what proportion of the school's intake each figure represents in each case. [4772]
Jacqui Smith: The requested information is given in the table.
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(31) Figures are as reported by schools and are unconfirmed.
(32) Provisional figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.
(33) Includes pupils of all ages. Also includes dualy registered pupils.
Source:
Annual Schools Census
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Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make it her policy that contracts entered into by city academies should be subject to competitive tendering; and if she will make a statement. [4774]
Jacqui Smith: Academies are bound by their Funding Agreements to follow the good practices and procedures set out within the Academies Financial Handbook, which is published by my Department. This document sets out guidance on establishing and maintaining good financial systems and controls, drawing on best practice from both the public and private sectors, including procurement procedures.
The purchasing and contracting of goods and services in Academies is governed—as for other public bodies—by the core principles of probity, accountability and
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value for money, with governing bodies being required to demonstrate the proper and effective use of public funds. All Academies will have a tendering policy, which will take account of such issues as conflicts of interest; levels of delegation and whether contracts can be entered into by staff or need to be referred to the governing body; the number and requirements of tenders and procedures for their submission and opening; the thresholds above and below which telephone or written tenders need to be obtained; and the documenting of decisions accepting tenders or quotes other than the lowest price. Such policies will also identify where contracts are of sufficient value that they would require tendering under European (OJEU) procurement rules.
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