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23 Jan 2007 : Column 1648W—continued

Darwen City Academy

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which companies have been selected for the (a) construction and (b) operation of Darwen City Academy to date. [115103]

Jim Knight: Aedas Architects Ltd. has been selected to design the proposed Darwen Aldridge Community Academy. No companies have been selected for the construction or operation of the Academy.


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Early Retirement

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures his Department is taking to reduce the number of teachers choosing to take early retirement. [117470]

Jim Knight: The number of teachers retiring early is significantly lower than it was 10 years ago. In 1996-97, some 10,200 teachers were given premature retirement and a further 4,980 retired early on the grounds of ill health. Corresponding figures for 2005-06 are 6,640 and 1,470 respectively.

From 1 January 2007, new provisions have been introduced into the Teachers’ Pension Scheme that will provide teachers with greater choice and flexibility over the way they manage the transition from work to retirement. These changes will allow teachers to wind down in the years leading up to retirement, for example by moving to part-time working or taking a post with less responsibility, while protecting their pension rights. New phased retirement provisions have also been introduced that will enable teachers to remain in teaching in a reduced capacity while at the same time drawing some of their pension benefits.

Work force reforms, the continuing drive to reduce bureaucracy in schools and these new pension provisions will serve to encourage older teachers to extend their working lives in ways that better support their personal circumstances and in doing so will have a positive impact on teacher retention.

Education Expenditure

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton (Sir Gerald Kaufman), of 5 December 2006, Official Report, column 239W, on education expenditure, how the figure given for schools capital investment in 2005-06 was calculated, and how it relates to the figure given on 30 October 2006, Official Report, column 209W; and if he will make a statement. [110084]

Jim Knight: The figure given for schools capital investment in 2005-06 on 5 December 2006 was £5.5 billion, in unadjusted cash terms. This comprised grant allocations from the Department of £2.9 billion, supported borrowing allocations of £1.4 billion, and allocations of PFI credits amounting to £1.2 billion.

The figure for schools capital investment in 2005-06 given on 30 October 2006 was £3,080 million, at 2005-06 price levels. This was taken from local authority returns submitted to the Department for Communities and Local Government.

The difference between the two figures is one of timing. The allocations figure of £5.5 billion represents the additional financial commitment made to local authorities by the Department in 2005-06, while the £3,080 million figure reflects authorities’ actual expenditure within the year, with some of the allocated supported borrowing being delivered by the local authority over a period of years.


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Education Supervision Orders

Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many education supervision orders were put in place for children with special educational need in (a) Eastbourne and (b) East Sussex in each of the last five years. [116543]

Jim Knight: The Department does not collect data relating to education supervision orders.

Educational Psychologist Referrals

Mr. Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average waiting time for a pupil between being referred to, and seen by, an educational psychologist was in the last period for which figures are available. [117256]

Jim Knight: This information is not collected centrally.

E-Learning Credits

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much was distributed to schools through e-Learning credits in each year since 2002. [110752]

Jim Knight: The following funding has been issued to schools through the Standards Fund as a ring-fenced e-Learning credits grant:

£ million

2002-03

30

2003-04

100

2004-05

100

2005-06

100

2006-07

75


Schools may supplement this investment from other budgets, and in line with our policy to reduce ring-fencing, we only ring fenced £75 million in 2006-07, and will only ring fence £50 million in 2007-08 but have ensured additional funding has been made available through the devolved formula capital grant.

Foreign Language Programmes

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on foreign language programmes on (a) television and (b) radio; and what the implications will be for foreign language channels on the radio post-digital switchover. [109600]

Bill Rammell: There have been no discussions between the Secretary of State for Education and Skills and the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, or between officials in each Department, on foreign language programmes on television or radio. The Government’s programme for digital switchover, which is the responsibility of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, relates to the switchover to
23 Jan 2007 : Column 1651W
digital-only broadcasting on television. I understand there are no current plans to switch over from analogue to all-digital radio broadcasting.

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when he expects to answer (a) question 109600, on foreign language programmes, tabled on 12 December 2006 and (b) question 108545, on the Book Share Scheme, tabled on 7 December 2006 by the hon. Member for Vale of York (Miss McIntosh). [114818]

Bill Rammell: My right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Children, Young People and Families replied to the hon. Member’s question 108545 on 15 January 2007, Official Report, column 798W. I have responded to the hon. Member’s question 109600 today.

Foreign Languages

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) whether schools are required to abide by the non-statutory guidelines for modern foreign languages at Key Stage 4; [117406]

(2) what the mandatory elements are of the National Curriculum in relation to the provision of modern foreign languages at Key Stage 4. [117407]

Jim Knight: As a result of changes introduced in September 2004, modern foreign languages is no longer a compulsory subject in the Key Stage 4 curriculum. Instead pupils have a statutory entitlement to study languages. The non-statutory guidelines, first published by QCA in 2004 as part of the Guidance document "Modern Foreign Languages in the Key Stage 4 Curriculum", provide a non-statutory framework for the teaching of modern foreign languages, which is similar to a programme of study. The QCA Guidance is for head teachers, curriculum managers and teachers with responsibility for modern foreign languages in schools with Key Stage 4 provision. It is expected that regard will be had to the guidance, though schools are not bound to follow the non-statutory guidelines. The content of study for the range of qualifications, approved under sections 96/98 of the Learning and Skills Act 2000, which pupils may take at Key Stage 4 varies with some courses emphasising certain aspects more than others.

Foundation Schools

Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many foundation schools had a trust or foundation attached in each year since 1997. [116863]

Jim Knight [holding answer 19 January 2007]: We do not hold this information centrally: foundation schools with a foundation are not a distinct category of schools, and so are not identified separately on the register of schools. However, based on information supplied by local authorities and schools, we understand that 101 foundation schools currently have charitable foundations, comprising around 11 per cent. of the total number of foundation schools.


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GCSEs

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps he (a) is taking and (b) plans to take to ensure that the schools which did not meet the Government’s GCSE targets in 2006 do so in future years. [117468]

Jim Knight: All secondary schools are required to set ambitious targets for the performance of their pupils at Key Stage 4—notably the numbers of pupils that will get five or more good GCSEs or equivalent qualifications, and from 2008, the number of pupils that will get five or more good GCSEs or equivalent qualifications including English and maths. School Improvement Partners, typically high quality head teachers, will work closely with a school, ensuring that it identifies the support it needs to evaluate its performance and make improvements that enable all children to fulfil their potential.

All schools have access to high quality curriculum support and professional development opportunities for staff in the core subjects of English, maths, science and information and communications technology provided by the Government’s Secondary National Strategy. The National Strategy also provides expert subject consultant support for those schools facing particular challenges in those subjects. The Government supports programmes that help underperforming schools work in collaboration with excellent schools to drive up their performance, with a particular focus on use of performance data and sharing of good practice. For schools below the Government’s minimum floor targets, we have a range of strategies for ensuring the performance of these schools increases rapidly, including the replacement of the school by an Academy, the federation of the school with another stronger, often specialist, school, and bespoke packages of support focusing on improving the leadership and management, teaching and learning at the school. We are monitoring the impact of the support currently in place at each of these schools to ensure that it has the necessary impact. We are also aiming to identify those schools that are currently above our floor targets but are at highest risk of missing them in future years, so we can provide them with additional support now to ensure that their performance improves.

Our approach has been highly successful—as evidence from the figures published last week suggests—58.5 per cent. of pupils aged 15 achieved 5 A*-C GCSEs or equivalent qualifications in 2006, an increase of 13.4 percentage points since 1997; 45.3 per cent. of pupils achieved this standard including English and maths, a 9.7 percentage point improvement since 1997. The number of all-ability schools where more than 70 per cent. of pupils achieve five or more good GCSEs or equivalent qualifications has risen seven fold since 1997—up from 83 to 604; and the number of schools where fewer than 25 per cent. of pupils achieve this standard is now 47, down from 616 in 1997.

Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of pupils in maintained schools achieved five A*-C grades at GCSE in 2006 excluding equivalents, applied GCSE
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double awards, media/film/TV studies GCSE, physical education GCSE, social sciences GCSEs, information and communication technology GCSE, statistics GCSE and humanities GCSE. [114674]

Jim Knight [holding answer 18 January 2007]: In 2006, 47.6 per cent. of pupils at the end of key stage 4(1) in maintained schools(2) in England achieved five or more GCSEs at grades A*-C excluding equivalents, applied GCSE double awards, and GCSEs in media/film/TV studies, physical education, social sciences, information and communication technology, statistics and humanities. The corresponding figures for five or more A*-C grades at GCSE and equivalent in any subjects are 57.0 per cent. for maintained schools and 59.2 per cent. for all schools.

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils attending (a) mainstream maintained schools and (b) all schools took (i) English, (ii) mathematics and (iii) any subject at GCSE in 2006. [115482]

Jim Knight: The information requested is in the following table:

Number of pupils at the end of key stage 4 entered in English, mathematics, and any subject at GCSE in 2005/06
Thousand
Subject Maintained mainstream schools All schools

English

563.7

611.2

Mathematics

570.0

615.3

Any subject

576.2

628.7


History Teaching

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many history graduates entered teacher training to qualify as primary school teachers in each of the last 10 years. [116048]

Jim Knight: The following table shows the number of history graduates entering Initial Teacher Training (ITT) courses in order to qualify as primary school teachers in England between 2001/02 and 2004/05.

Number of history graduates entering post graduate initial teacher training to qualify as primary school teachers
History graduates entering teacher training to qualify as primary school teachers

2001/02

720

2002/03

620

2003/04

690

2004/05

660

Notes:
1. Includes universities and other HE institutions, SCITT and OU, but excludes employment based routes.
2. Recruitment numbers shown are rounded to the nearest 10.
3. Figures for 2005/06 will be available in July 2007.
Source:
TDA’s Performance Profiles.

23 Jan 2007 : Column 1654W

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps he plans to take to increase the teaching of British history in schools. [110593]

Jim Knight: British history is a key requirement at Key Stages 1-3 (ages 5-14) for history. For example, at Key Stage 3 there are six units pupils must study three of which are on British history spanning 1066-1900. Pupils must also learn about the impact of world events on Britain. At GCSE and A-level the criteria set by QCA includes a requirement that pupils study at least 25 per cent. British history.

IT Equipment

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the (a) number and (b) value of incidents of theft of information technology equipment from schools in 2005. [110755]

Jim Knight: The Department does not collect this information.


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