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7 Mar 2006 : Column 1430W—continued
Foundation Schools
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools have applied for foundation status since the fast track scheme was introduced; and how many of these applications have been successful. [54358]
Jacqui Smith: The fast track arrangements were introduced on 1 August 2005 for community and voluntary controlled secondary schools to change category to foundation. Under these arrangements proposals are decided by the governing body itself. Since then the Department has been informed that proposals have been published by 14 community secondary schools to change category to foundation. To date we have been notified that the governing bodies of seven of these schools have determined that they should be implemented. We are awaiting notification of the decisions on the other seven.
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many applications for foundation school status were received in each year since 1997. [55963]
Jacqui Smith: The category of foundation school was established by the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. There was a moratorium on changes of category following the introduction of the new schools framework, and no proposals were published until 2001. The number of proposals for maintained schools to change category to foundation schools is as follows:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 2001 | 16 |
| 2002 | 12 |
| 2003 | 6 |
| 2004 | 4 |
| 2005 | 11 |
| 2006 | 6 |
In August 2005 a fast-track to foundation status was introduced. Under this the governing bodies of community and voluntary controlled secondary schools may determine their own proposals to change category to foundation status, following consultation, publication of the proposals and a period during which representations may be made. There have been 14 proposals published to change category to foundation school since 1 August 2005, all for secondary schools under the fast track arrangements.
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School Meals
Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of children at (a) all (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools and (b) the (A) top and (B) bottom 100 performing (1) primary and (2) secondary schools (x) have special educational needs and (y) are eligible for free school meals. [37354]
Maria Eagle: The figures for maintained primary and secondary schools in England in 2005 are shown in the following table. Top and bottom schools are calculated on the basis of Value Added scores, more detail about which can be found on the Achievement and Attainment tables website:
(54) These figures are derived from the Annual School Census in 2005.
(55) The percentage of pupils known to be eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) is expressed as a proportion of the number of pupils on roll.
(56) Top and bottom schools on the basis of Key Stage 1-Key Stage 2 Value Added measures. Note that the list of top schools contains 121 schools and the list of bottom schools contains 109 schools as the value added measure (centred on 100) is rounded to 1 decimal place and schools below the cut-off may have equal values to those at the lower end of the list.
(57) Top and bottom schools on the basis of Key Stage 2-Key Stage 4 Value Added measures. There are 100 schools in each list as the measure is centred on 1,000 and so rounding does not present the same issue as in (58).
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what action may be taken by (a) a school and (b) a social worker if a parent refuses to provide the relevant income information necessary for a child to obtain free school meals but it is clear that they are malnourished. [55931]
Jacqui Smith: Schools and local authorities have the discretion to decide whether or not to provide a child with a free school meal, despite a parent refusing to provide the relevant income information.
Schools can seek advice from their children's services colleagues within the local authority (LA) and request them to make an assessment of the child. The LA as well as the school has wide discretion to provide what the child needs, such as a free school meal.
Government guidance, 'What To Do If You're Worried A Child Is Being Abused' was produced in 2003 to assist practitioners, including those working in social care and education, to work together to promote children's welfare and safeguard them from harm.
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Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what analysis she has made of the reasons for failure to take up entitlement to free school meals. [55936]
Jacqui Smith: The Department is aware that there is a gap between eligibility and take up of free school meals and has funded research commissioned by the Child Poverty Action Group into the reasons children fail to take up their free school meal entitlement. The findings were published in a report entitled Improving the Take-Up of Free School Meals" in May 2001. The report shows that pupils and parents considered that the quality and choice of food on offer can discourage take up.
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) how many schools in Hendon serve healthy school meals; and if she will make a statement; [56743]
(2) what additional funding has been made available to Barnet to improve school meals; and if she will make a statement. [56744]
Jacqui Smith: The Department for Education and Skills does not collect information on how many schools in Hendon serve healthy school meals.
The Government are determined to transform the quality of food in schools and supports the work local authorities and schools are doing to raise the nutritional standards of school meals.
In March 2005 the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, Ruth Kelly, announced a £235 million package to transform the quality of school meals. In October 2005, as part of a three year package and paid as part of their Standards Fund Allocations, schools received a share of £30 million to enable them to fund local improvements such as increased training and working hours for school cooks. A further £60 million (£30 million/£30 million) will be paid in 2006 and 2007. Over the same period, local authorities will receive, £130 million (£30 million/£50 million/£50 million).
Barnet local authority received £176,529 from the Targeted School Meals Grant for 2005–06. In addition, schools were each awarded a lump sum of £1,070 per primary school and £1,500 per secondary school, with an additional amount per pupil. The per pupil amount for PRUs and all schools except nursery schools is 50p; for nursery schools it is 50p for half of FTE pupils, to reflect the fact that fewer pupils in nursery schools take school meals.
GCSEs
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of 15-year-olds attending (a) faith schools and (b) other maintained schools achieved five or more grades A* to C at GCSE or equivalent (i) in any subject and (ii) including GCSEs in English and mathematics in each year since 1996. [52556]
Jacqui Smith:
The information requested is not readily available and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, figures for 2005 have been provided in the table.
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Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of 15-year-olds in receipt of free school meals attending (a) faith schools and (b) other maintained schools achieved five or more grades A*-C at GCSE or equivalent (i) in any subject and (ii) including GCSE in English and mathematics in each year since 1996. [52558]
Jacqui Smith: The information requested is not readily available and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost. However, figures for 2005 have been provided as follows.
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which schools have taken steps to address under-performance in GCSEs of white working-class boys in receipt of free school meals. [53550]
Jacqui Smith: The Department does not hold information to be able to identify all the schools that have, or are, tackling this issue. It does support programmes which target underperformance, such as the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust's project for Raising Achievement Transforming Learning, which aims to challenge and empower schools to review their current practice and look at how to move this forward through engaging with mentor schools. In addition, the National Education Breakthrough Programme has successfully used rapid cycle change management to help schools raise the motivation, attendance and attainment of cohorts of underachieving boys.
The Department also encourages schools to identify where there is underperformance, for example by using the Pupil Achievement Tracker, and to offer appropriately targeted support to those pupils. The introduction of School Improvement Partners for all
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schools will provide a further opportunity for schools to analyse and reflect on the progress made by all groups of pupils and to develop targeted improvement strategies to support those pupils whose progress has fallen behind expectations. Advice, guidance and resources are also available to schools and teachers from the Secondary National Strategy.
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of the marks in GCSE history are awarded by each examination board for (a) course work, (b) historical knowledge and (c) skills-based knowledge. [53882]
Jacqui Smith: The information requested is set out in the following table for the three unitary awarding bodies in England.
(59) Historical Skills
The criteria permit between 20 per cent. and 40 per cent. of the total marks to be allocated to the following two assessment objectives:
Assessment 1: Candidates demonstrate their ability to use historical sources critically in their content, by comprehending, analysing, evaluating and interpreting them;
Assessment 2: Candidates demonstrate their ability to comprehend, analyse, and evaluate, in relation to the historical context, how and why historical events, people, situations and changes have been interpreted and represented in different ways.
(60) Historical Knowledge and Understanding
The criteria permit between 60 per cent. and 80 per cent. of the total marks to be allocated to this assessment objective, as follows:
Candidates demonstrate their ability to recall, select, organise and deploy knowledge of the specification content to communicate it through description, analysis and explanation of:
the events, people, changes and issues studied;
the key features and characteristics of the periods, societies or situations studied.
(61) Coursework is optional—candidates can take a written paper instead.
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) boys and (b) girls in England gained five or more GCSE grades A* to C in each of the last three years. [56425]
Jacqui Smith: The information requested can be found in the following table.
(62) Figures for 2002/03 include GCSEs/ GNVQs. Figures from 2003/04 include GCSE and other equivalent qualifications approved pre-16.
(63) Age at start of academic year i.e. 31 August.
(64) Includes achievements for these pupils in other academic years.
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Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many girls undertook GCSE courses in England in 2005; and what proportion did not achieve a graded result. [56426]
Jacqui Smith: The information requested can be found in the following table.
(65) Pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 in 2004/05 academic year.
(66) Includes achievements for these pupils in other academic years.
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