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8 Nov 2006 : Column 1748W—continued
Pupil Ethnicity
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children of white European ethnic origin were being educated in (a) primary schools and (b) secondary schools in the Peterborough city council local education authority area on (i) 30 September 2004, (ii) 30 September 2005 and (iii) 30 September 2006; what percentage of the total number of pupils this represented in each case; and if he will make a statement. [99973]
Jim Knight: The requested information is not held centrally.
As part of the Schools’ Census (SC) collected in January each year, schools are required to record ethnicity data to reflect the main categories used in the 2001 National Population Census. Children of White European ethnic origin are recorded under the category of “Any Other White Background”. Following a consultation exercise in 2002, local authorities (LAs) were given the option of using extended ethnicity categories in their schools if they felt that the main ones did not meet their local management needs. The extended ethnicity categories do include a separate “White European” code but not all LAs have chosen to use the extended categories. The majority of authorities use a mixture of main and extended codes and, therefore, the Department does not hold complete data for the extended ethnic background categories.
Pupil Profiles
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of the intake of (a) faith schools, (b) non-faith schools and (c) all schools were from disadvantaged backgrounds in each of the last five years. [98855]
Jim Knight: The Department does not collect an indicator to identify disadvantaged pupils directly. However, one commonly used measure of low socio-economic status is eligibility for free school meals.
A table showing the number of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals in (a) faith schools, (b) non-faith schools and (c) all schools is given as follows.
| Maintained primary and secondary schools ( 1) : Number and percentage of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals Position in January each year: 2002 to 2006—England | |||||||||
| Primary schools | |||||||||
| Faith schools | Other schools | Total pupils | |||||||
| Total pupils( 2) | Number of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals( 2) | Percentage of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals | Total pupils( 2) | Number of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals( 2) | Percentage of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals | Total pupils( 2) | Number of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals( 2) | Percentage of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals | |
| Secondary schools | |||||||||
| Faith schools | Other schools | Total pupils | |||||||
| Total pupils( 2) | Number of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals( 2) | Percentage of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals | Total pupils( 2) | Number of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals( 2) | Percentage of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals | Total pupils( 2) | Number of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals( 2) | Percentage of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals | |
| (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes pupils with sole and dual (main) registration. Note: Pupil numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. There may be discrepancies between the sum of constituent items and totals as shown. Source: Schools’Census | |||||||||
Religion in Schools
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what guidance his Department has issued to schools on their capacity to restrict the expression of religious belief on school premises. [99825]
Jim Knight: It has not proved possible to respond in the time available before Prorogation.
School Closures (Bad Weather)
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what guidance his Department has issued to schools about closures due to inclement weather; [100023]
(2) how many schools closed for at least one day due to inclement weather in the last year for which data is available; [100022]
(3) how many school days were lost due to snowfall in the last year for which data is available; [100024]
(4) how many schools closed for at least one day due to snowfall in each of the last 10 years in each (a) region and (b) local education authority. [100025]
Jim Knight: As stated in our published guidance on the internet, by law, any school in England must meet for 190 days in each year unless it is “prevented from meeting”. The governing body of an individual school is responsible for deciding whether to close; it can delegate that decision to the head teacher. Schools must make up lost days where it is reasonable practicable. The statistical information requested is not collected centrally.
School Science Laboratories
Dr. Gibson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps his Department has
taken to refurbish school science laboratories since May 2005. [100413]
Jim Knight: It has not proved possible to respond in the time available before Prorogation.
School Sport
Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether time spent (a) in the playground, (b) changing and (c) travelling is included in assessments of performance against the PSA target for two hours of high quality sport and physical education in every school per week. [99871]
Jim Knight [holding answer 6 November 2006]: Time spent by pupils in the playground on high quality PE, school sport and structured physical activity counts towards the two hour PSA target for PE and school sport. Timetabled time spent changing for PE lessons also counts towards the two hour target, as this is often used by teachers to explain the lesson plan to pupils and to feed back to them on their performance after the lesson. Time spent travelling to or from PE and school sport opportunities does not count towards the two hour total.
Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what definition of high quality sport and physical education he uses in relation to the school sport PSA target; and what extra resource he has allocated to local education authorities to achieve it. [99872]
Jim Knight [holding answer 6 November 2006]: The document, “High Quality PE and Sport for Young People” (DfES/DCMS, March 2004), provides a detailed description of the outcomes of high quality physical education and school sport. For the purposes of the joint DfES/DCMS PE and school sport public service agreement target, high quality PE and school sport produces young people with the skills, understanding, desire and commitment to continue to improve and achieve in a range of PE, sport and health-enhancing physical activities, in line with their abilities.
A further document, “Do You Have High Quality PE and Sport in Your School?” (DfES/DCMS, January 2005), helps teachers to use the pupil outcomes of high quality to carry out self evaluation of the quality of PE and sport they provide. Copies of these documents have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
In the five years to 2008, the Government will have invested £1.5 billion (including Lottery funding) to improve the quantity and quality of PE and school sport across the Country.
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of schoolchildren receive two hours of physical education or sport each week in each local education authority area. [99916]
Jim Knight:
The 2005/06 School Sport Survey found that overall, 80 per cent. of pupils in schools within a school sport partnership took part in at least two hours of high quality PE and school sport in a typical
week—exceeding the 2006 PSA target of 75 per cent. The following table sets out the percentage of pupils in each local authority area taking part in at least two hours of high quality PE and school sport in a typical week. Direct comparisons between local authority areas are not appropriate as the number of schools in school sport partnerships, and the length of time they have been within partnerships, differs. The results only report on pupils who attend schools within school sport partnerships.
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