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15 Feb 2006 : Column 2078W—continued
Schools (Newcastle-upon-Tyne)
Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of pupils of secondary schools in Newcastle-upon-Tyne achieved (a) English GCSE grades A to C, (b) mathematics GCSE grades A to C, (c) no GCSEs, (d) five GCSE grades A to C and (e) GNVQ four grades A to C equivalents in each of the last three years for which figures are available. [49347]
Jacqui Smith: The information requested on the number of pupils achieving various qualifications in Newcastle-upon-Tyne local authority can be found it the table.
(8) Age at the start of the academic year
(9) Pupils achieving no passes at grades A*-G in GCSEs only
(10) Pupils achieving at least five passes at grades A*-C in GCSEs only
(11) Pupils achieving the equivalent of at least one full Intermediate GNVQ
Schools for the Hearing Impaired
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to her answer of 12 January 2006, Official Report, column 830W, on schools for the hearing impaired, how many of the special schools approved to make provision for pupils with hearing impairment are schools for the deaf; and how many schools for the deaf there were in each year since 1996. [48247]
Jacqui Smith:
The available information is shown in the table. Numbers of schools that indicated they were approved to make provision for hearing impaired pupils, and no other category of need, are also shown in the table.
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(12) Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools
Special Needs
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what guidelines have been issued by her Department to local education authorities on the allocation of special needs funding. [50116]
Jacqui Smith: In May 2004 the Department published guidance to local authorities The Management of SEN Expenditure", which can be viewed online at www.teachernet.gov.uk/senexpenditure. It includes information and recommendations on delegating SEN resources to mainstream schools and also on the monitoring and accountability arrangements that local authorities should put in place to ensure that pupils' needs are being met.
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the role of the Index of Multiple Deprivation in the establishment of guidelines for the allocation of special needs funding. [50117]
Jacqui Smith: Our funding guidance The Management of SEN Expenditure", published in 2004, included advice to local authorities on developing a funding formula to support most pupils with additional and special educational needs. The guidance included information on the most commonly used indicators and the Index of Multiple Deprivation was suggested as an indicator of deprivation. Other commonly used indicators include prior attainment based upon end of key stage test data; a social need factor such as free school meals; a turbulence factor based on unplanned admissions and leavers; and the number of children for whom English is a second language.
State Education (Procurement Budget)
Mr. Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the total procurement budget for the state education sector has been for the last three financial years; and what the project budgeted is for the next three financial years. [50112]
Jacqui Smith:
The Department for Education and Skills does not have a specific budget for procurement that it allocates to the state education sector. The Government believes that educational institutions should be responsible for managing their funding according to their individual priorities and to make their own expenditure decisions.
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Data on non-pay expenditure is available for 2003–04 which amounts to approximately £13 billion. This will include expenditure on procurement as well as running costs and capital expenditure. It is not possible to break down the non-pay expenditure further.
Student Mobility
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has to support UK student mobility within the European Union in the years 2007 to 2013. [51211]
Bill Rammell: The Government will continue to encourage UK higher education students to take part in Erasmus, the European Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students. We will work with the national agency responsible for Erasmus to promote the benefits of student mobility.
Sure Start
Edward Miliband: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children living in disadvantaged areas of Doncaster North constituency participated in Sure Start local programmes in the last period for which figures are available. [50592]
Beverley Hughes: There are six Sure Start local programmes in Doncaster reaching a total of 3,898 children under the age of four. Three of the Sure Start local programmes are based within Doncaster North reaching a total of 2,192 children: Sure Start Moorends and the Willows covers 429 children; Sure Start Bentley, Central and Adwick serves 951 children and Sure Start Spa Spiders which covers 812 children.
Teacher Training
Mr. Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the Training and Development Agency category rating is of each school-centred initial teacher training schemes in the single secondary subject of physical education. [51470]
Jacqui Smith: The following table shows the quality grading of school-centred initial teacher training (SCITT) providers which offer physical education (PE) as an initial teacher training (ITT) route.
| Provider | Quality category |
|---|---|
| Chiltern Training Group | C |
| Colchester SCITT | C |
| Marches Consortium SCITT | C |
| North East Partnership | B |
| Suffolk and Norfolk Secondary SCITT | C |
| Titan Partnership | C |
| West Midlands Consortium | B |
Note:
The quality scale comprises five categories:
A—Very good;
B—Good;
C—Satisfactory;
D—Unsatisfactory; and Non-compliant.
In academic year 2006/07 there will be seven SCITT providers offering PE. These providers will offer about 5 per cent. of the available places.
15 Feb 2006 : Column 2081W
Mr. Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what criteria are used by the Training and Development Agency in allocation rounds for school-centred initial teacher training schemes. [51473]
Jacqui Smith: The criteria used by the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) when making allocations of initial teacher training (ITT) places are the same for higher education institutions (HEI) and school-centred initial teacher training institutions. The overwhelming influence on allocations decisions is the quality of ITT offered by the provider, determined through independent inspection by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted).
These criteria are set out annually for all providers in an 'invitation to bid' issued by the TDA each July and are further described in their allocations manual. Both the letter and the manual are publicly available on the TDA website: http://www.tda.gov.uk/partners/funding/fundingallocations/allocations.aspx
The criteria for 2006/07 and 2007/08 allocations are listed as follows:
Quality of provision. The TDA give priority to bids from providers with high Ofsted quality gradings;
Track record in recruiting from under-represented groups in primary. Priority is given to bids from providers with good track records in recruiting primary trainees from minority ethnic groups and/or men (greater than 1.5 times the national average);
Denomination. Priority is given to bids from denominational over non-denominational providers if analysis shows the balance needs to be adjusted;
Viable cohort size. Priority is given to bids from providers with small cohorts that need additional or recycled places to make those cohorts of an economic size;
Regional need. Priority is given to bids from providers in regions or sub-regions where vacancies are particularly high (Greater London, the West Midlands, the South East and the Eastern Area Government Office regions);
Training, standards or management and quality assurance. Priority is given to providers receiving a grade 1 for their training, standards or management and quality assurance cells when inspected by Ofsted; and
Qualified teacher status (QTS. Priority is given to providers with a strong track record in converting completers with QTS into newly qualified teachers in maintained schools as evidenced by their performance profiles data (providers with completion rates greater than average plus 10 per cent.).
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