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5 Dec 2006 : Column 248W—continued
Further Education Colleges
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many inspectors were employed to inspect the (a) performance, (b) quality standard and (c) guideline compliance of further education colleges in each year since 1997, broken down by inspecting body. [103670]
Bill Rammell: Up to April 2001, inspection of further education colleges was by the Further Education Funding Council (FEFC) inspectorate. Since April 2001, further education colleges have been inspected jointly by Ofsted and the adult learning inspectorate (the ALI), with Ofsted in the lead.
The number of inspectors employed by Ofsted is a matter for Ofsted. HM chief inspector, Christine Gilbert, has written to the hon. Member on this aspect of his question and a copy of her reply has been placed in the House Library.
As follows, I provide the number of full-time equivalent inspectors employed in the FEFC Inspection and Audit Directorate between 1997-98 and 2000-01, and the number deployed by the ALI on FE college inspection since April 2001. The records do not separately identify the number employed on each type of activity as all inspectors assess the performance, quality standards and guideline compliance for the area they are inspecting.
| Number | |
Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 1 December 2006:
Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, for reply.
You asked how many inspectors were employed to inspect the (a) performance, (b) quality standard and (c) guideline compliance of further education colleges in each year since 1997, broken down by inspecting body.
The Learning and Skills Act 2000 gave Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector the responsibility for the inspection of further education colleges from 2001. It also required that these inspections be carried out jointly with the Adult Learning Inspectorate (ALI) where colleges also provided for education of learners who were 19 and over - which is the case for nearly all such colleges. This responsibility covers the inspection of sixth form colleges, tertiary colleges, colleges of further education, independent specialist colleges, and other specialist colleges such as those dedicated to agriculture and horticulture and art and design.
Before 2001, the inspection of further education colleges fell within the Further Education Funding Council. I am afraid Ofsted does not hold the records of that body.
Ofsted is required by the 2000 Act to inspect in accordance with a common inspection framework. Inspectors must report on the effectiveness of the educational provision, achievements and standards, leadership and management. It is not possible to separate the contribution of inspectors towards the inspection of performance and quality standards. The responsibility for guideline compliance primarily falls to the Learning and Skills Council.
Each of Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Schools carries out a range of inspections so that it is only possible to provide approximate information to that requested and on a ‘full-time equivalent’ basis for inspectors directly employed by Ofsted.
This number of inspectors on a ‘full-time equivalent’ basis directly employed by Ofsted and deployed on the inspection of colleges (by financial year) is as follows:
2001-02: 26 HMI
2002-03: 26 HMI
2003-04: 26 HMI
2004-05: 22 HMI
2005-06: 18 HMI
In addition, Ofsted has deployed the services of ‘additional inspectors’ on a contractual basis as and when they are needed.
A copy of this reply has been sent to Bill Rammell MP, Minister of State for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education, and will be placed in the library of both Houses.
Higher Education Admissions
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what estimate he has made of the number of school leavers in England who enrolled in Scottish universities in each of the last three years; [106081]
(2) what estimate he has made of the number of school leavers in England who enrolled in Welsh universities in each of the last three years; [106075]
(3) what estimate he has made of the number of school leavers in Scotland who enrolled in English universities in each of the last three years; [106082]
(4) what estimate he has made of the number of school leavers in England who enrolled in universities in (a) Scotland and (b) Northern Ireland in 2006-07. [105987]
Bill Rammell: The latest available information for 2003 to 2005 entry is shown in the first two tables. Provisional figures for 2006 entry are shown in the third table; final figures for 2006 entry will be available in January 2007.
| Students from England accepted for entry to full-time undergraduate courses by country of study for 2003 to 2005 entry | |||||
| Country of study | |||||
| Year of entry | England | Wales | Scotland | Northern Ireland | Total |
| Source: Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). | |||||
| Students from Scotland accepted for entry to full-time undergraduate courses by country of study for 2003 to 2005 entry | |||||
| Country of study | |||||
| Year of entry | England | Wales | Scotland | Northern Ireland | Total |
| Source: Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) | |||||
| Students accepted for entry to full-time undergraduate courses by area of permanent residence and country of study for 2005 and 2006 entry | |||||
| Country of study | |||||
| Area of permanent residence | England | Wales | Scotland | Northern Ireland | Total |
| Source: Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) | |||||
The trends in cross-border flows show that between 2005 and 2006 there has been a bigger drop in English students studying in Wales (down 12.2 per cent.) and Scotland (down 14.5 per cent.), than for those studying in England (down 4.1 per cent.), although those studying in Northern Ireland has slightly increased (1.7 per cent.) but the numbers are small. In other words, the introduction of variable tuition fees in 2006/07 has not seen an increase in the number of students from England opting to study in Scotland and Wales.
The trends in cross-border flows for Scottish students show that there has been a bigger drop in Scottish students studying in England (down 6.4 per cent.), Wales (down 7.8 per cent.) and Northern Ireland (down 27.8 per cent.) than for those studying in Scotland (down 3.3 per cent.).
Head Teachers: Peterborough
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many vacancies for head teachers there were in the Peterborough city council local education authority area on 30 October 2006, broken down by (a) secondary schools, (b) primary schools and (c) other schools; and if he will make a statement. [106498]
Jim Knight [holding answer 4 December 2006]: The information requested is not available for 30 October 2006.
On 19 January 2006 there were no head teacher vacancies in maintained nursery/primary, secondary or special schools in Peterborough city council local education authority.
This information is available from the Department for Education and Skills (DFES) annual survey of teachers in service and teacher vacancies, 618G.
Under the DFES standard definition, vacancies are those advertised for full-time permanent appointments, or appointments of at least one term’s duration, and include those being filled by a teacher on a temporary contract of less than one term’s duration.
International Baccalaureate
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools switched from offering the A-level syllabus to the International Baccalaureate in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [102536]
Jim Knight: According to the Schools' Census, no maintained secondary schools have switched from only offering the GCE/VCE A-level syllabus to only the International Baccalaureate in the last three years. However, since 2003, the number of schools with learners studying the International Baccalaureate has increased from 19 to 35 in 2006.
Learning and Skills Council
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many staff were employed by the Learning and Skills Council in each year since 2001, broken down by area of responsibility. [103650]
Bill Rammell: The information requested is provided as follows:
| Directorate | Year ended 31 March 2002 | Year ended 31 March 2003 | Year ended 31 March 2004 |
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