| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
22 Jan 2007 : Column 1472W—continued
Direct Instruction Teaching
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what research his Department has funded into the Direct Instruction method of teaching since 1997. [115061]
Jim Knight: The Department has not funded any research into the Direct Instruction method of teaching since 1997.
Drugs
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many incidents involving the (a) sale and (b) use of illegal drugs on school property have been reported in each local education authority in each year since 2000. [117140]
Jim Knight: The Department does not hold this information.
Education Funding: Ashford
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much central Government allocated for education in Ashford local authority areas in the most recent year for which figures are available. [117012]
Jim Knight [holding answer 19 January 2007]: The following figures are taken from the new dedicated school grant, which was introduced in April 2006. The Ashford constituency falls within the local education authority area of Kent and the information supplied is the level of funding which applies to all of Kent:
| Kent 2006-07 | |
| £ million | |
| Notes: 1. These figures are in cash terms. 2. The figures include the pensions transfer. | |
Educational Psychologist Assessments
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children in (a) East Sussex and (b) England were assessed by an educational psychologist in each of the last 10 years. [116549]
Beverley Hughes: These figures are not collected at a national level. Jenny Clench, Principal Educational Psychologist, at East Sussex county council has been contacted and will write to the hon. Gentleman at his Eastbourne address within the next two weeks giving any figures which they have available on this issue.
Executive Agencies
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much was spent by each of his Department's executive agencies in each Government office region in the most recent year for which figures are available. [116667]
Mr. Dhanda: The Department for Education and Skills does not have responsibility for any executive agencies therefore we have no expenditure through executive agencies to Government office regions.
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which of the executive agencies of his Department have regional offices outside London. [116730]
Mr. Dhanda: The Department for Education and Skills does not have responsibility for any executive agencies therefore we have no offices related to executive agencies outside of London.
Foundation Schools
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools have (a) expressed an interest in, (b) made an application for and (c) been granted foundation status in each year since 1997. [116861]
Jim Knight [holding answer 19 January 2007]: 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. Schools wishing to change category do not have to submit an expression of interest to the Department, and proposals to change category are decided locally. The following table indicates how many schools have published proposals to change category to foundation, and how many were approved:
| Number of proposals published | Number of proposals approved | Awaiting decision | |
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many foundation schools were in operation in each year since 1997. [116862]
Jim Knight [holding answer 19 January 2007]: The following table details the numbers of primary and secondary foundation schools each year since 1999:
| Primary | Secondary | Total | |
The 1999 figures reflect the position at 1 September 1999 following the introduction of the new schools framework, and subsequent figures have been derived from Annual Schools Census returns made by schools to the Department in January each year.
GCSEs
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of pupils in England gained five A*-C grades at GCSE, excluding equivalents and Applied GCSE Double Awards, in each of the last five years. [113719]
Jim Knight: The following table shows the percentage of 15-year-old pupils who achieved five A*-C grades at GCSE only, excluding equivalents(1 )and Applied GCSE Double Awards.
(1) These other qualifications are not the same as GCSEs. Not all approved qualifications are exactly the same, but they can be measured and accredited on a common scale, which gives point scores according to their different challenges and different breadth. The value of a qualification will depend entirely on the young person’s needs and aspirations and the context for their learning.
| 5+ A*-C at GCSE only | |
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what proportion of hours per week of the timetable schools are recommended to allocate to the new GCSE science and GCSE additional science in (a) Year 10 and (b) Year 11. [115814]
Jim Knight: There is no statutory number or proportion of hours per week of the timetable that schools should dedicate to teaching GCSEs. At Key Stage 4, school timetables are determined by the individual school’s curriculum and qualifications offer and the requirements of the examining bodies’ specifications. Guidance from examining bodies suggests that around 10 per cent. of the timetable should be spent on studies leading to each of the new science GCSE and the additional science GCSE in both Years 10 and 11.
Head Teachers
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in England are advertising for a head teacher. [113718]
Jim Knight: In January 2006 there were 130 advertised vacancies for nursery and primary school head teachers and 30 for secondary school head teachers. This is the latest information available. An estimate for January 2007 will be available in April.
These numbers are advertised vacancies for full-time permanent appointments of at least one term’s duration including those being filled on a temporary basis of less than one term.
Education Data Surveys Ltd. recently reported that during calendar year 2006, around 2,700 advertisements were placed for head teachers in England and Wales.
International Baccalaureate
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools in London have taken up the International Baccalaureate in each of the last five years, broken down by borough. [115986]
Jim Knight: The available information is given in the following table.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |