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15 May 2006 : Column 786W—continued
School Drinks
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what criteria his Department uses to assess the suitability of drinks for sale in schools; and what drinks have been assessed as unsuitable in the last three years. [69810]
Jim Knight: Later this month we intend to announce, in response to recommendations from the School Meals Review Panel and the School Food Trust, a full suite of new standards, which will incorporate standards for drinks available at lunch and other times of the day. The School Food Trust plans to publish good practice guidance to assist with the implementation of the standards.
The 'Healthy School Lunches' guidance, published by DfES, contains the Secretary of State's expectation that drinking water should be made available to all pupils every day, free of charge. In addition the 'Healthy Living Blueprint' includes guidance on both the importance of drinking water and how schools can increase their pupils' consumption.
School Statistics
Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what percentage of children (a) are in receipt of free school meals, (b) have special educational needs and (c) are from ethnic minority families in each local authority. [68783]
Jim Knight [holding answer 10 May 2006]: The information requested has been placed in the House Libraries.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many governing boards of failing schools have (a) resigned and (b) been asked to resign in the last five years. [69801]
Jim Knight: The Department does not collect information on resignations by the governing bodies of failing schools. However, proposals to replace a governing body by a temporary interim executive board require the Secretary of State's approval. Such approval has been given for 32 schools since the relevant legislation came into force in September 2002.
Sex Education Packs
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what guidance the Department issued to schools on the use of the teachers' sex education packs (a) Beyond a Phase and (b) Taking Sex Seriously; and how many (i) secondary and (ii) primary schools are using such packs, broken down by local education authority area. [70418]
Mr. Dhanda: These resources are not funded or endorsed by the Department for Education and Skills and we do not collect data on the use of materials by schools.
The Department issued guidance in 2000 which outlined the statutory responsibility on head teachers and governors to protect their pupils from inappropriate teaching and materials. The guidance advises governors and head teachers to discuss with parents and take on board any concerns raised on sensitive materials to be used within the classroom.
Staff Discipline
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people in his Department have been (a) disciplined and (b) dismissed for (i) inappropriate use of the internet while at work and (ii) using work telephones to access premium rate numbers in each of the last five years. [67999]
Mr. Dhanda: The Department allows personal use of the internet and e-mail outside normal working hours. Staff are warned that internet access may be monitored and misuse may lead to disciplinary action. Staff are also reminded of the policy each time they log on to the Department's network and must indicate that they accept the policy before log-in can be completed.
New monitoring software, introduced in 2003, prevents staff from accessing any inappropriate site, and records any attempted access. All access to premium rate numbers are barred.
The information requested over the last five calendar years is as follows:
| Internet abuse | Premium rate numbers | |||
| Disciplined | Dismissed | Disciplined | Dismissed | |
Student Internet Access
Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps he is taking to increase the use of internet access by students in their homes using high speed mobile technology following the recent Budget announcement; and if he will make a statement. [70518]
Phil Hope [holding answer 12 May 2006]: Budget 2006 announced £10 million revenue funding over 2006-08 specifically to provide internet connectivity to supplement the £50 million capital announced in Budget 2005 to put computers into the homes of the most disadvantaged secondary school pupils. This £60 million funding will support around 100,000 families and we expect the funding to be allocated shortly.
Student Loans
Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether interest has always accrued on a student loan from the moment the loan is paid out. [70092]
Teachers
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of teachers completed training but did not enter the profession in each of the last five years. [68603]
Jim Knight: The following table shows the number of teachers known to have completed training in England for each of the last five years for which data are available from the Teachers Pension Scheme. It also shows the proportion of qualifiers who had not entered teaching in England or Wales by March of the following year and the proportion of qualifiers with no known teaching service to March 2004.
| Year of qualification | Qualifiers recorded on Teachers Pension Scheme | Percentage who had not entered teaching by March of the following year | Percentage without any teaching service by March 2004 |
Figures exclude those qualifying through employment-based routes.
Since 1990, the pattern for entry to teaching has been that about 20 per cent. do not enter in the year after they qualify. This falls substantially in the second year with between 8 and 10 per cent. not entering teaching service in the long term; the figures for the 2003 qualifiers are expected to follow this historical pattern and fall to a similar level.
These statistics take account only of teachers who are part of the Teachers Pension Scheme. While the coverage is good in the maintained sector, it is patchier in, for example, independent schools and further or higher education. Therefore the true proportion of qualified teachers with no service is expected to be lower.
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of teachers left the profession before retirement age in each of the last five years. [68604]
Jim Knight: There is no set retirement age for teachers. Many teachers retire at age 60 but some retire earlier, for example on actuarially reduced terms, and some choose to retire later.
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent assessment he has made of the quality of the teaching of (a) science and (b) mathematics in secondary schools. [68641]
Bill Rammell: The Annual Report of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools 2004/05 states that the teaching of science is good or better in nearly three quarters of secondary schools, and that the teaching of mathematics is good in two thirds of lessons in secondary schools.
Telephone Advice Lines
Mr. Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many telephone advice lines his Department and its non-departmental public bodies support; how many telephone advisers each employs; and how much funding is provided by (a) his Department and its non-departmental public bodies, (b) other Government departments, (c) the private sector and (d) the voluntary sector. [66585]
Mr. Dhanda: The Department for Education and Skills does not have the requested information readily available and therefore an answer to this question could be given only at disproportionate cost.
Temporary Classrooms
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) primary and (b) secondary schools are using temporary mobile classroom accommodation in each region; and if he will make a statement. [67404]
Jim Knight [holding answer 2 May 2006]: Data supplied to the Department by local education authorities in 2003 showed the following numbers of primary and secondary schools using temporary mobile classrooms:
| Primary | Secondary | |
Central Government capital support for investment in schools has increased from under £700 million in 1996-97 to £5.8 billion this year and will rise further to over £6.3 billion by 2007-08. Progress is being made year by year in improving the quality of the school building stock. The bulk of schools capital is now allocated by formula to authorities and schools so that they can address their local priorities, including the replacement of decayed temporary accommodation, on which we have set a high priority. Given the high levels of funding, authorities have the opportunity to replace temporary classrooms where they are considered to be unsuitable.
Modern, high quality mobile or demountable classrooms provide a good environment for teaching and learning where there is short-term need. They might, for instance, be needed to cope with a short-term increase in pupil numbers, or where extensive remodelling or rebuilding of permanent accommodation means providing temporary accommodation on the school site, rather than transporting children elsewhere.
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils he expects to be taught in temporary classrooms in Milton Keynes at the start of the 2006-07 academic year. [68139]
Jim Knight: The local authority advises that a total of 450 pupils are expected to be housed in temporary classrooms at schools in Milton Keynes at the start of the 2006-07 academic year.
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils are being taught in temporary classrooms in Milton Keynes, broken down by school. [68140]
Jim Knight: The Milton Keynes local authority advises that a total of 450 pupils are currently housed in temporary classrooms at the following schools:
| Number | |
Not all of the pupils' time during the school day will be spent in these classrooms.
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