House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 26 Jan 2006 (pt 14)

26 Jan 2006 : Column 2290W—continued

Nursery Schools (West Lancashire)

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children in West Lancashire constituency attended nursery in each of the past 10 years; and how many have taken up free nursery places since the policy was introduced. [45006]

Beverley Hughes: All four-year-olds have been entitled to a free early education place since 1998 and from April 2004 this entitlement was extended to all three-year-olds. The free entitlement consists of a minimum of five two and a half hour sessions per week for 33 weeks of the year for six terms before statutory school age, which is the term following their fifth birthday.

Some local authorities may additionally offer subsidised childcare places but this information is not collected centrally.

Figures for January 2005 show that all four-year-old children receive some form of free entitlement. The figure for three-year-olds is 96 per cent. This covers all maintained, private, voluntary and independent providers and represents 535,100 three-year-olds and 568,300 four-year-olds.

The available information on the number of free nursery education places taken up by three and four-year-olds in West Lancashire parliamentary constituency area and Lancashire local authority is shown in the tables.

The latest figures on early education places for three and four-year-olds in England were published in Statistical First Release 43/2005 Provision for children under five years of age in England—January 2005 (final)" in September, which is available on my Department's website www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/.
Number of free nursery education places⁽¹⁴⁾ taken up by 3 and 4-year-olds, Lancashire local authority

3-year-olds
4-year-olds

Position in January
each year Maintained nursery and primary schools⁽¹⁵⁾ Other mtd and private, voluntary and independent providers Total
3-year-olds Maintained nursery and primary schools3 Other mtd and private, voluntary and independent providers Total
4-year-olds

1997 4,400 n/a 4,400 n/a n/a ⁽¹⁷⁾12,400

1998 4,400 n/a 4,400 n/a n/a ⁽¹⁷⁾13,500

1999 4,400 n/a 4,400 n/a n/a ⁽¹⁷⁾16,000

2000 4,300 ⁽¹⁸⁾0 4,300 n/a n/a ⁽¹⁷⁾15,900

2001 4,200 ⁽¹⁸⁾5,200 9,400 n/a n/a ⁽¹⁷⁾15,700

2002 4,100 ⁽¹⁸⁾5,300 9,400 10,500 ⁽¹⁷⁾2,500 13,000

2003 3,900 ⁽¹⁸⁾6,200 10,100 10,200 ⁽¹⁹⁾2,500 12,700

2004 3,800 ⁽²⁰⁾6,700 10,500 10,100 ⁽²¹⁾2,600 12,600

2005 3,700 ⁽²⁰⁾6,600 10,200 9,600 ⁽²¹⁾2,500 12,100

n/a=Not available.
⁽¹⁴⁾Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 or 100 as appropriate.
⁽¹⁵⁾Headcount of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Annual Schools' Census.
⁽¹⁶⁾Headcount of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Annual Schools' Census.
⁽¹⁷⁾Part-time equivalent number of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Nursery Education Grant data collection exercise.
⁽¹⁸⁾Part-time equivalent number of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Nursery Education Grant data collection exercise.
⁽¹⁹⁾Part-time equivalent number of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census supplementary data collection exercise and the Annual Schools' Census.
⁽²⁰⁾Part-time equivalent number of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census and the Annual Schools' Census.
⁽²¹⁾Part-time equivalent number of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census and the Annual Schools' Census.

26 Jan 2006 : Column 2291W

Number of free nursery education places⁽²²⁾taken up by 3 and 4-year-olds, West Lancashire parliamentary constituency

3-year-olds
4-year-olds

Position in January
each year Maintained nursery and primary schools⁽²³⁾ Other mtd and private, voluntary and independent providers⁽²⁴⁾ Total
3-year-olds Maintained nursery and primary schools⁽²⁵⁾ Other mtd and private, voluntary and independent providers⁽²⁶⁾ Total
4-year-olds

2004 390 460 850 900 190 1,100

2005 400 450 850 810 190 1,000

⁽²²⁾Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 or 100 as appropriate.
⁽²³⁾Headcount of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Annual Schools' Census.
⁽²⁴⁾Part-time equivalent number of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census and the Annual Schools' Census.
⁽²⁵⁾Headcount of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Annual Schools' Census.
⁽²⁶⁾Part-time equivalent number of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census and the Annual Schools' Census.

	3-year-olds	4-year-olds
Position in January each year	Maintained nursery and primary schools⁽¹⁵⁾	Other mtd and private, voluntary and independent providers	Total 3-year-olds	Maintained nursery and primary schools3	Other mtd and private, voluntary and independent providers	Total 4-year-olds
1997	4,400	n/a	4,400	n/a	n/a	⁽¹⁷⁾12,400
1998	4,400	n/a	4,400	n/a	n/a	⁽¹⁷⁾13,500
1999	4,400	n/a	4,400	n/a	n/a	⁽¹⁷⁾16,000
2000	4,300	⁽¹⁸⁾0	4,300	n/a	n/a	⁽¹⁷⁾15,900
2001	4,200	⁽¹⁸⁾5,200	9,400	n/a	n/a	⁽¹⁷⁾15,700
2002	4,100	⁽¹⁸⁾5,300	9,400	10,500	⁽¹⁷⁾2,500	13,000
2003	3,900	⁽¹⁸⁾6,200	10,100	10,200	⁽¹⁹⁾2,500	12,700
2004	3,800	⁽²⁰⁾6,700	10,500	10,100	⁽²¹⁾2,600	12,600
2005	3,700	⁽²⁰⁾6,600	10,200	9,600	⁽²¹⁾2,500	12,100

	3-year-olds	4-year-olds
Position in January each year	Maintained nursery and primary schools⁽²³⁾	Other mtd and private, voluntary and independent providers⁽²⁴⁾	Total 3-year-olds	Maintained nursery and primary schools⁽²⁵⁾	Other mtd and private, voluntary and independent providers⁽²⁶⁾	Total 4-year-olds
2004	390	460	850	900	190	1,100
2005	400	450	850	810	190	1,000

Changes in pupil figures may arise from changes to the underlying population in the local authority area and other factors. However, my Department doesn't publish population figures for individual age cohorts at sub-national level because of the unreliability of the underlying population estimates. The Office for National Statistics publish sub-national population estimates in five-year age bands.

Ofsted

Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps Ofsted is taking to ensure that inspectors who have been removed from, and subsequently reinstated to, the list of team inspectors should not be disadvantaged in the award of future contracts. [43051]

Jacqui Smith: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM chief inspector, Maurice Smith has written to my hon. Friend and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.

Letter from Maurice J. Smith, dated 24 January 2006:

Your recent parliamentary question has been referred to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools, for reply.

You asked what steps Ofsted is taking to ensure that inspectors who have previously been removed from, and subsequently reinstated to, the list of team inspectors should not be subsequently disadvantaged in the award of future contracts.

In connection with inspections under Section 10 of the School Inspections Act 1996, a person whose name was included on the roll of team inspectors should not have been disadvantaged in seeking and securing inspection work on the basis that they had previously been removed from, and then reinstated to, the roll. Inclusion on the roll signified that a team inspector satisfied the conditions of his or her enrolment: that he or she was fit and proper, and competent and effective, to discharge the functions of a team inspector. However, the roll of team inspectors was discontinued in September 2005 following the implementation of the Education Act 2005 and the introduction of the new Section 5 inspection arrangements.

Under the Education Act 2005, Ofsted has secured the provision of inspection services for the inspections of schools covered by Section 5 of that Act, by contract with six Regional Inspection Service Providers (RISPs). The RISPs are responsible for the recruitment, selection, training and deployment of inspectors, and the standards of competence required of the

26 Jan 2006 : Column 2292W

http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/publications/index.cfm? fuseaction=pubs.summary&id=1438

It is for the RISPs to satisfy themselves that inspectors meet these competences and they may only carry out Section 5 inspections once they have inspected satisfactorily under the supervision of HMI. The RISPs have different recruitment and selection processes but all include checking whether inspectors were previously Section 10 inspectors. Where an inspector had previously been de-registered or removed from the roll, the RISP would have to look at the individual's circumstances. However, we have no reason to believe that inspectors would be disadvantaged in seeking and securing inspection work simply on the basis that they were previously removed from, and reinstated to, the Section 10 roll of team inspectors. Finally, I should inform you that, although there is no longer a roll of team inspectors, HMCI is required, under the Education Act 2005, to publish at intervals of not more than 12 months the names of those persons who are notified to him by a RISP as persons with whom the RISP proposes to make arrangements for carrying out of inspections on behalf of HMCI. The list of these persons, known as additional inspectors, was published on the Ofsted website on 07 December 2005 and can be found at:

http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/publications/index.cfm? fuseaction=pubs.summary&id=4112

A copy of this reply has been sent to Jacqui Smith and will be placed in the library of both Houses.

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