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7 Dec 2005 : Column 1344W—continued
Under-achievement
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the provision of mentoring upon underachievement by children from low socio-economic backgrounds. [26053]
Beverley Hughes:
The scope and understanding of mentoring practice appears to vary widely depending on the intended aims of the programme. By and large, mentoring appears to have benefits on achievement, and generally such schemes are directed at those from low socio-economic groups almost by definition.
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Our principle mentoring programme working with children from low socio-economic backgrounds is the learning mentor programme.
Excellence in Cities (EiC) is a targeted programme of support for schools in deprived areas of the country. Learning mentors are part of this programme, described by Ofsted (2003) as:
Learning mentors are salaried non-teaching school support staff who work with school and college students and pupils to help them address barriers to learning. These barriers can be wide ranging and often very personal to the individual pupil. They include the need to develop better learning and study skills, personal organisation, difficulties at home, behaviour, bullying, or just general disaffection and disengagement from learning.
At present it is estimated that around 6,000 learning mentors are working in the secondary sector and 4000 in primary, funded through excellence in cities (EiC) provision. The numbers will be higher than this as an increasing number are being employed outside of EiC areas.
Learning mentors work with caseloads of pupils, largely on a 1:1 or small group basis, but also run clubs and drop ins". They liaise closely with teachers and other support professionals, and often act as a supportive link between the family and school. One to one support may include developing coping strategies, enhancing motivation, raising aspirations and encouraging re-engagement in learning, taking account of a range of complex underlying issues that may impact negatively on learning and achievement (e.g. bereavement, lack of confidence/low self-esteem, low aspirations, mental health issues, relationship difficulties, bullying, peer pressure, family issues/concerns).
NFER (2004) Evaluation indicates positive impact of learning mentors on attainment outcomes for young people. Seeing a learning mentor was associated with a level of performance above that which might be anticipated from their prior attainment. In particular:
In low performing schools, young people who had seen a learning mentor in a low-performing school performed an average of 0.15 GCSE points better than their peers who had not seen a mentor.
In low performing schools, students with a learning mentor were also one and a half times more likely to have achieved five or more GCSEs at A* to C grades than young people with similar prior attainment and other characteristics who had not been mentored.
In high performing schools, mentees were three times more likely to have achieved three or more GCSEs at A* than those who had not seen a learning mentor
Regarding learning mentors' impact on behaviour, more than half of the identified group of 430 young people who had been mentored over two years demonstrated a positive change in either their attitudes (to school, to teachers and/or to learning) or their behaviour (in terms of improved attendance, punctuality and/ or completion of work).
In addition to their impact on academic performance, Ofsted (2003) found that:
Learning mentors are making a significant effect on the attendance, behaviour, self-esteem and progress of the pupils they support".
Ofsted further reported that in 95 percent. of the survey schools, inspectors judged that the mentoring programme made a positive contribution to the mainstream provision of the school as a whole, and had a beneficial effect on the behaviour of individual pupils and on their ability to learn and make progress." (Ofsted 2003)
The behaviour improvement programme (BiP) evaluation report by the university of London, published in November 2005, states that learning mentors were seen to fulfil one of the key roles in the programme and were highly valued by schools particularly at primary level. The BiP focuses on addressing behaviour and attendance issues in schools.
There are additional forms of mentoring provided within schools which are not provided by school learning mentors (employed by the school/local authority) e.g. peer and voluntary mentoring. There is also the work carried out by the mentoring and befriending foundation (ttp://www.mandbf.org.uk/).
DEFENCE
Afghanistan
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many troops have been contributed by each country contributing troops to Operation Enduring Freedom; and if he will make a statement. [27158]
Mr. Ingram: The UK contributes around 340 troops to Operation Enduring Freedom. The majority are either part of the Harrier GR7 detachment based in Kandahar or are conducting preparations for a possible UK deployment to southern Afghanistan. In addition, we provide an Afghan National Army Training Team which trains the NCO cadre of the Afghan Army, and there are a number of staff officers in the Coalition HQ.
The US provide information about other nations contributing troops and/or other support to Operation Enduring Freedom on the following website:
Any further information on numbers of troops currently deployed with Operation Enduring Freedom is a matter for the troop contributing nations.
Aircraft Carriers
Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of the value of the aircraft carrier programme will be given to Swan Hunter. [34514]
Mr. Ingram:
The decision on the ship build strategy for the two future aircraft carriers (CVF) and any associated contracts has yet to be taken but will form part of our main investment decision on CVF. This will happen when we are confident that the design is right, the contracts are right and we have sufficient understanding of cost, scheduling and risks involved.
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Ammunition
Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the (a) type and (b) quantity of ammunition which was acquired from outside the United Kingdom in 2004–05; and what the source was in each case. [24821]
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Mr. Ingram: The information in the following table relates to general ammunition sourced directly from overseas for the financial year 2004–05. It does not include missiles, torpedoes or 'smart' munitions. The total figures provided amount to less than five per cent. of the volume of general ammunition purchased in 2004–05.
Details of ammunition sourced specifically for special forces have been omitted from the list for security reasons.
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