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7 Feb 2006 : Column 1132W—continued
Dedicated Choice Advisers
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which organisation will employ the dedicated choice advisers referred to on page eight of the White Paper, Higher Standards, Better Schools for All. [46452]
Jacqui Smith: Choice advisers may be employed by schools, local authorities or voluntary and community sector organisations.
Education Costs
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what her latest estimate is of the average total cost to public funds of educating a pupil (a) from primary school to age 16 and (b) from primary school to and through university; and if she will make a statement. [41440]
Jacqui Smith:
The information is as follows.
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(a) The estimated average cost of educating a pupil from primary school to age 16 is £55,000.
(b) It is not possible to produce a reasonable estimate of the average total cost of educating a pupil from primary school to and through university because the length of further and higher education courses varies considerably. However annual unit cost figures can be estimated and are produced in this year's departmental annual report. These show that the average annual cost of funding a further education place is £5,410, while the cost of funding a higher education place is £4,630.
1. The cost of educating a pupil to age 16 has been calculated as follows. Per pupil funding figure for 3 to 10-year-olds in England in 2005–06 have been multiplied by eight (for the eight years of funding a child would receive between the age of three and 10) and by five for age 11 to 15. These are then summed together to give the total cost of educating a pupil to 16.
2. All figures in 2005–06 prices. As a result, HE figures quoted differ from those quoted in the departmental annual report.
3. Total funding also includes all revenue grants in DfES departmental expenditure limits relevant to pupils aged three to 15 and exclude education maintenance allowances (EMAs) and grants not allocated at LEA level.
4. The pupil numbers used to convert £ million figures to £ per pupil are those underlying the EFS settlement calculations.
5. Figures are based on eight years of funding for pupils aged three to 10 and five years of funding for pupils aged 11 to 15.
Examination Results
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to her answer of 3 November 2005, Official Report, column 1326W, on vocational qualifications, how many 15-year-olds achieved five or more A* to C grades at GCSE or equivalent including a full intermediate GNVQ (a) as a proportion of all 15-year-olds and (b) as a proportion of all 15-year-olds who achieved five or more A* to C grades at GCSE or equivalent. [36027]
Jacqui Smith: Out of the 636,796 15-year-old 1 pupils on roll in 2005 7.8 per cent. achieved five A*-C grades at GCSE and equivalent including a full intermediate GNVQ. Of the 358,413 pupils who achieved any five A*-C grades in 2005,13.9 per cent. achieved this level including a full intermediate GNVQ.
Of course, these pupils may still have achieved this level even if they had not taken the GNVQ.
Forensic Science
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many individuals have startedforensic science-related National Vocational Qualifications since 1997; and what percentage have completed the course. [49132]
Bill Rammell:
Two NVQs for Forensic Science" at Levels 4 and 5 were accredited by QCA in January 1998, expired on 30 June 2000 and reached their certification end date on 30 June 2003. Information is not collected on how many learners started NVQs—however, no certificates were awarded for either of these qualifications.
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General Teaching Council
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) how many disciplinary cases were heard bythe General Teaching Council in each year since 2000; [48134]
(2) what the average period between referral to the General Teaching Council and a disciplinary hearing taking place was in each year since 2000; [48139]
(3) how many teachers were referred for disciplinary action before the General Teaching Council in each year since 2000. [48140]
Jacqui Smith: According to information provided by the General Teaching Council for England (GTCE) 161 teachers were referred to the Council for disciplinary action in 2001–02. This figure rose to: 217 in 2002–03, 267 in 2003–04 and 322 in 2004–05. For 2005 to date there have been 265 referrals.
These figures relate to the receipt of all referrals made to the Council. The Council has the power to take disciplinary action on teacher incompetence, and on cases of teacher misconduct which do not relate to child protection.
Cases are scrutinised by the Council's Investigating Committee before being recommended for a full formal hearing before a professional conduct or professional competence committee. Based on the latest information available from the Council, the number of full hearings dealt with by these committees is set out in the table:
| Number of hearings | |
|---|---|
| 2001–02 | (34)3 |
| 2002–03 | 20 |
| 2003–04 | 43 |
| 2004–05 | 40 |
| 2005–31 January 2006 | 53 |
(34) The first regulatory hearing of the Council was convened in January 2002
The GTCE does not hold the data about the average period between referral of a case to the Council and a disciplinary hearing taking place in a readily accessible form. However, the Council estimates that the average waiting period is currently around 12 months.
Head Teachers
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what powers school governors have to regulate head teachers' (a) work-life balance and (b) holiday periods. [49312]
Jacqui Smith:
Governing bodies have a statutory duty, in their management of the head teacher, to have regard to his/her work-life balance. Members of the leadership group, as well as some other teachers, are not subject to the working time provisions which apply to full-time classroom teachers through the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document, and it is for governing bodies to establish their expectations regarding holiday periods, having regard to the general duties required of different classes of teacher.
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Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps she has taken to ensure that the regulation of head teachers' work-life balance by school governors is applied consistently. [49313]
Jacqui Smith: Following on from my previous response to the hon. Member today, the issue of regulating the work-life balance of head teachers falls to the governing body who would be expected to agree suitable arrangements with the head. With over 20,000 schools across the country there will of course be a range of differing measures and practices adopted by schools, head teachers and governing bodies to ensure that the work-life balance of their head teachers is appropriately agreed and addressed. We are confident in the professionalism of our head teachers and in the skills and judgment of school governors across the country. We would expect that they will work collaboratively to ensure that the work-life balance of the head and indeed the whole school workforce is addressed accordingly.
Jewish Festivals
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what her Department did to (a) celebrate Hanukkah and (b) mark Yom Kippur in 2005. [46756]
Bill Rammell: The Department celebrates a range of diversity events and publicise them to staff via personal invites on the Department's intranet system. Some events are generated by staff themselves. In 2005 we have provided, ongoing mandatory, cultural awareness training events for staff, which cover issues on religion and belief and highlight legislation.
Prisons
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps she plans to take to increase the uptake of educational opportunities and skills learning in the prison estate; and if she will make a statement. [48430]
Phil Hope: We are introducing a new offender learning and skills service that is more learner-centred and flexible, with better links between education and vocational training. This is intended to motivate more offenders in custody to address their learning and skills needs. The new service is already being delivered by the Learning and Skills Council in three development regions and will be rolled out in the remaining six English regions from 31 July 2006.
Looking further ahead, the Government have set out a strategy to improve the skills and job prospects for offenders in the Green Paper Reducing Re-Offending Through Skills and Employment", published on 15 December. The document was published jointly on behalf of the Department for Education and Skills, the Home Office and the Department for Work and Pensions. We have now embarked on an extensive period of consultation, running until the end of May, during which we welcome a full range of views.
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