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2 Nov 2005 : Column 1167W—continued
Best Practice
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether there is a structure in place for successful schools to share best practice with failing schools. [22721]
Jacqui Smith:
The Department supports several programmes which enable successful schools to collaborate and share good practice with other schools including those which are underperforming and failing. These include the Leading Edge Partnership
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Programme; Primary Learning Networks; Excellence in Cities; the Leadership Incentive Grant; and the Specialist Schools Raising Attainment in Teaching and Learning Programme which funds specialist schools to work in partnership with others to raise standards.
In addition, the Department supports a number of tailored projects, for example through School Improvement Partnership Boards, to enable leading schools directly to support the recovery of a failing school. We are also encouraging more general collaboration to raise standards in schools through the development of Education Improvement Partnerships.
Bullying
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils left school because they were victims of bullying in (a) the Tees Valley and (b) the Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland constituency in each year since 1997. [22068]
Jacqui Smith: Data on bullying among children and young people, including data on pupils who have left school because of bullying, are not collected centrally. Bullying cases appear to be reported more often now than before but we have no hard evidence that bullying is increasing or that it is affecting more children.
However, any level of bullying is too high and we are determined to help schools tackle the problem. Our guidance Bullying: Don't Suffer in Silence", the anti-bullying Charter and the anti-bullying website www.dfes.gov.uk/bullying offer detailed advice on preventing and addressing bullying.
Mr. Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what guidelines she has issued to teachers on how to (a) prevent and (b) report bullying; and if she will make a statement. [22738]
Jacqui Smith: We attach a high priority to helping teachers and school staff to reduce and respond to bullying, to encouraging pupils to report bullying and to helping staff respond when bullying has been reported: bullying is a serious problem which puts the emotional well-being and educational achievement of pupils at risk. Our guidance pack Bullying: Don't Suffer in Silence", the anti-bullying Charter for Action and the anti-bullying website www.dfes.gov.uk/bullying all offer advice to teachers on preventing and reporting bullying.
The Bullying: Don't Suffer in Silence" pack was updated in September 2002. Its key message is for children to report bullying to someone they trust and not to suffer in silence. It offers valuable guidance to teachers on preventing and tackling bullying, the effects of bullying, how to respond to parents, and how to monitor bullying incidents. The Department is currently reviewing the material to provide teachers with the most up-to-date information.
In addition to the written resources we provide we have also held a number of workshops and conferences at which best practice in reducing and responding to bullying has been discussed and shared. In particular our Make the Difference" conferences, held between November 2003 to June 2004, attracted over 5,000 heads and education staff.
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The Department has also recently launched the Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) curriculum resource—an intervention to develop children's social, emotional and behavioural skills from foundation stage to year 6. It is available to all primary schools and the evidence from the pilot suggests that it helps reduce bullying and promotes positive behaviour generally.
Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate she has made of the number of cases of bullying in secondary schools in Leeds North West in each year since 2001. [23999]
Jacqui Smith: As data on bullying are not collected centrally we do not have statistics relating to incidents of bullying at secondary level in the Leeds North West area. Bullying cases appear to be reported more often now than before but we have no hard evidence that bullying is increasing or that it is affecting more children.
However, any level of bullying is too high and we are determined to help schools tackle the problem. Our guidance Bullying: Don't Suffer in Silence", the anti-bullying charter and the anti-bullying website www.dfes.gov.uk/bullying offer detailed advice on preventing and addressing bullying.
City Academies
Mr. Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of (a) whether city academies will need to make a profit from community usage of their facilities in order to fund their VAT bills and (b) the effect charging fees for community use of city academies will have on community involvement; and if she will make a statement. [23562]
Jacqui Smith:
The use of their facilities and any charges made are a matter for individual academies. VAT is not chargeable on the construction of academy buildings, or parts of these buildings, that are used exclusively for core education activities and/or for
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community use where no charge is made. VAT relief also applies to those parts of the building used for community activities where any charge is made, provided this does not exceed 10 per cent. of the total use.
Counselling
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of school children have access to a free counselling service by fully qualified counsellors on their school premises. [22324]
Jacqui Smith: The information requested is not collected centrally.
Departmental Initiatives
Mr. Newmark: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the individual initiatives aimed at improving (a) participation, (b) attendance and (c) equality of opportunity introduced by her Department since 1997. [21801]
Jacqui Smith: The information requested has been placed in the House Libraries.
Education (Bedfordshire)
Mrs. Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many appeals have been made against the allocation of school places in Bedfordshire local education authority in each year since 1997; and how many were upheld in each year. [16617]
Jacqui Smith: The information requested is shown in the table.
At the time of the admission appeals survey which collected figures for the year 2003/04 Bedfordshire local authority was contacted for an explanation of the large increase in primary school appeals between 2002/03 and 2003/04. The reason given was that it was due to the revised Admissions Code of Practice and changes in procedures within the authority due to infant class size limits.
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(56) Number of appeals heard by a committee expressed as a percentage of the number of appeals lodged by parents.
(57) Number of appeals decided in parents' favour expressed as a percentage of the number of appeals heard by a committee.
(58) A revised Code of Practice was issued in January 2003 within Bedfordshire local authority.
Source:
Annual Schools Census and Admission Appeals Survey
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